1672 英翻中(約翰福音第6課 I 部分) JESUS loses His crowd 耶稣失去祂的群众 01/09/2026
親愛的阿巴父, 謝謝祢醫好孩子的病. 我要永遠跟隨祢, 見證的主活著, 活在孩子的心裡. 奉主的名禱告. 阿們.
CHAPTER SIX JESUS loses His crowd John Chapter 6. 第六課 耶稣失去祂的群众 约翰福音第6章
Since John’s gospel is selective (John 20:30–31), he does not record events in the life of Jesus that do not help him fulfill his purpose. Between the heal ing of the paralytic (John 5) and the feeding of the five thousand, you have many events taking place, some of which are mentioned in Luke 6:1—9:10 and Mark 3:1—6:30. During this period our Lord preached “the Sermon on the Mount” (Matt. 5—7) and gave the parables of the kingdom (Matt. 13). 因为约翰福音作者用选择性的记载(约 20 : 30-31), 他不记载那些达不到他写该书卷的目的的事件. 在医治瘫痪(约 5) 和喂饱五千人的神迹之间, 有很多的事件发生, 在路加福音提到一些 (路 6:1-9:10) 和在马可福音 3章1至6章30节. 在这段时间内我们的主在讲 “登山寶训” (太 5-7), 并且讲天国的比喻 (太 13).
The feeding of the five thousand was a miracle of such magnitude that it is recorded in all four gospels. A great multitude had been following Jesus for several days, listening to His teaching and beholding His miracles. Jesus had tried to “get away” to rest, but the needs of the crowd pressed on Him (Mark 6:31–34). Because of His compassion, He ministered to the multitude in three different ways. 喂饱5,000人的神迹记载在全部四福音, 显示它是那么的重要. 群众跟随着耶稣有数天之久, 听祂讲道, 并且看祂行神迹. 耶稣试着 “离开” 他们而去休息, 但是群众的需要祂, 使祂不能休习 (可 6:31- 34). 由于祂的爱心, 祂用三种不同的方法来牧养群众.
The problem, of course, was how to meet the needs of such a vast crowd of people. Four solutions were proposed. 问题显然的在如何来满足如此多的群众的需要. 建议的四个方案:
The second solution came from Philip in response to our Lord’s “test question” (John 6:5): raise enough money to buy food for the people. Philip “counted the cost” and decided they would need the equivalent of two hundred days’ wages! And even that would not provide bread enough to satisfy the hunger of all the men, women, and children (Matt. 14:21). Too often, we think that money is the answer to every need. Of course, Jesus was simply testing the strength of Philip’s faith. 第二. 腓利响应的我们的主 “提出试验的问题” (6:5) : 思想凑足钱去买食物给百姓吃. 腓利 “计算其费用”, 算出要工作 200 天的工资的钱才足够! 甚至这样做, 也不能预备足够的麫包, 来喂饱所有男人, 妇女, 及小孩(太 14:21). 我们常常以为金钱可以解决问题. 耶稣显然只是想用这问题来试试腓利对祂的信心.
The third solution came from Andrew, but he was not quite sure how the problem would be solved. He found a little boy who had a small lunch: two little fish and five barley cakes. Once again, Andrew is busy bringing somebody to Jesus (see John 1:40–42; 12:20–22). We do not know how Andrew met this lad, but we are glad he did! Though Andrew does not have a prominent place in the Gospels, he was apparently a “people person” who helped solve problems. 第三. 安得烈,并不能完全肯定该如何来解决这问题. 他找到一小孩有五饼二鱼, 這是小孩的中餐. 這是安得烈再一次, 忙碌着带小孩来到耶稣面前(参看 约 1:40-42; 12:20-22). 虽然不知道安得烈如何找到这小孩, 但是我们喜乐他却找到了. 虽然安得烈在圣经中并没有很显著的地位, 但他显然 “人缘很好” 帮助解决问题.
The fourth solution came from our Lord, and it was the true solution. He took the little boy’s lunch, blessed it, broke it, handed it out to His disciples, and they fed the whole crowd! The miracle took place in the hands of the Savior, not in the hands of the disci ples. He multiplied the food; they only had the joyful privilege of passing it out. Not only were the people fed and satisfied, but the disciples salvaged twelve bas kets of fragments for future use. The Lord wasted nothing. 第四. 是出于我们主, 祂知道真正的答案. 祂把小孩的小小的中餐, 祝福后, 剥开, 送给门徒, 让他们来喂养整个群众! 这神迹是在救主的手中发生, 不是出于门徒的手. 耶稣倍增食物, 他们只是很高兴的来派给群众. 不仅仅群众都吃饱和满足, 并且门徒们零碎收拾共十二蓝, 供将来食用. 主从不浪费.
The practical lesson is clear: whenever there is a need, give all that you have to Jesus and let Him do the rest. Begin with what you have, but be sure you give it all to Him. That little lad is to be commended for sharing his lunch with Christ, and his mother is to be commended for giving him something to give to Jesus. The gift of that little snack meant as much to Jesus as the pouring out of the expensive ointment (John 12:1ff.). 实际的教导很明显: 每当需要来临时, 把你所有的奉献给耶稣, 请祂来完成其余的工作. 开始时,你必须将你所有的完全的交给祂. 这个小孩被命令将他的晚餐与耶稣分享, 并且他的妈妈也被指示给小孩一些食物转交给耶稣. 这小小的餐点礼物对耶稣却有莫大的意义, 正如浇典使用的珍贵膏油 (12:1比照研读).
But did Jesus really perform a miracle? Perhaps the generosity of the boy only embarrassed the other people so that they brought out their hidden lunches and shared them all around. Nonsense! Jesus knows the hearts of men (John 2:24; 6:61, 64, 70) and He declared that the people were hungry. Surely He would have known of the existence of hidden food! Furthermore, the people themselves declared that this was a miracle and even wanted to crown Him King (John 6:14–16)! Had this event been only the result of mass psychology, the crowd would not have responded that way. John would never have selected this as one of the “signs” if it were not an authentic miracle. 但耶稣真的行了神迹吗? 或许这慷慨的小孩的形为, 使其它的人感到惭愧, 因此他们都把藏起来的食拿出来与人分享. 胡说八道! 耶稣知道人心 (2:24; 6:61, 64, 70), 是祂宣称百姓饥饿. 肯定的, 祂应该知道隐藏的食物的存在! 再说, 群众自己宣称这是神迹, 并且甚至要为耶稣加冕称祂为王! (6:14-16) 倘若这事只是群众的心理的结果, 群众不可能有这样的响应. 若它不是那么真实的神迹, 约翰也不会选上它作为 “标记(神迹另一名称)”.
It is significant that twice John mentioned the fact that Jesus gave thanks (John 6:11, 23). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all state that Jesus looked up to heaven when He gave thanks. By that act, He reminded the hungry people that God is the source of all good and needful gifts. This is a good lesson for us: instead of complaining about what we do not have, we should give thanks to God for what we do have, and He will make it go further. 非常明显的, 约翰两次的提出耶稣向父感谢(6:11, 23). 马太, 马可, 和路加都一致的陈述耶稣仰天的向天父祷告感谢. 由此事实, 祂提醒群众这些好的和需要的礼物都是来自上帝. 对我们来说, 真是非常好的教训: 为那得不到的, 我们不要发怨言, 而代之以我们得到要感谢上帝祂的赐给, 祂肯定将继续供给我们.
2. Jesus Leaves the Multitude (6:15–21) 2. 耶稣离开群众(约 6:15-21)
Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat (Matt. 14:22; Mark 6:45) because He knew they were in danger. The crowd was now aroused, and there was a movement to make Him King. Of course, some of the disciples would have rejoiced at the opportunity to become famous and powerful! Judas would have become treasurer of the kingdom, and perhaps Peter would have been named prime minister! But this was not in the plan of God, and Jesus broke up the meeting immediately. Certainly the Roman government would have stepped in had a movement begun. 耶稣强迫门徒上船(太 14:22; 可 6:45) 因为祂知道他们在危险中. 群众开始耸拥而上, 有一种动向要立耶稣为王. 当然, 有些门徒会喜乐, 因为, 他们有机会出人头地和有权柄! 犹大势必想做国家财政部长, 并且或许彼得可能被选上为内阁总理! 但是这不是上帝的计画, 耶稣立刻打散集会. 肯定的, 罗马政府要进入干涉.
Did Jesus know that a storm was coming? Of course. Then why did He deliberately send His friends into danger? Quite the opposite is true: He was rescuing them from greater danger, the danger of being swept along by a fanatical crowd. But there was another reason for that storm: the Lord has to balance our lives, otherwise we will become proud and then fall. The disciples had experienced great joy in being part of a thrilling miracle. Now they had to face a storm and learn to trust the Lord more. The feeding of the five thousand was the lesson, but the storm was the exami nation after the lesson. 耶稣知道这风暴要来吗? 当然, 祂知道. 那为什么祂定意要把祂的朋友带进危险? 不是的, 却却相反: 祂要救他们完全的真实的脱离危险, 那由无知的百姓形成的危险. 这里还有形成这风暴的另一个原因: 主必须要使我们的生活平衡; 不然的话, 我们就变成自傲和堕落. 门徒曾有过在震撼的神迹, 使他们极度的快乐的经历. 现在他们必须学习面对这暴和更信靠主. 喂饱五千人的神迹是功课, 但风暴是经过这功课后的考试.
Actually, there were several miracles involved in this event. Jesus walked on the water, and so did Peter (Matt. 14:28–32). Jesus stilled the storm, and instantly the boat was on the other shore. Of course, all of this happened at night so that only Jesus and His disciples knew what had occurred. Jesus had led His people into the green pastures (John 6:10), and now He brought them into the still waters (Ps. 23:2). What a wonderful Shepherd He is! 事實上，這件事包含了好幾個神蹟。耶穌在水面上行走，彼得也是一樣（太14:28-32）。耶穌平息了風暴，船瞬間就到了對岸。當然，這一切都發生在夜裡，所以只有耶穌和祂的門徒知道發生了什麼事。耶穌曾帶領祂的子民進入青草地（約6:10），如今祂又將他們帶到平靜的水邊（詩23:2）。他真是位奇妙的大牧者！
As you read the gospel records, note that our Lord was never impressed by the great crowds. He knew that their motives were not pure and that most of them folowed Him in order to watch His miracles of healing. “Bread and circuses” was Rome’s formula for keeping the people happy, and people today are satisfied with that kind of diet. Give them food and entertainment and they are happy. Rome set aside ninety-three days each year for public games at government expense. It was cheaper to entertain the crowds than to fight them or jail them. 当你读到圣经的记载, 我们的主从未曾被群众感动过, 因为祂知道他们的动机不纯, 并且大多数跟随祂的群众都是为了观看祂行医治病的神迹. “麫包和马戏” 是罗马政府来使百姓快乐的模式, 今日的人也因这种节食而快乐. 给他们食物和娱乐, 他们就快乐. 罗马政府一年中有九十三天由政府举办的娱乐节目. 用娱乐来治理百姓比用打仗或监狱囚禁他们要便宜多了.
We must never be deceived by the “popularity” of Jesus Christ among certain kinds of people today. Very few want Him as Savior and Lord. Many want Him only as Healer or Provider, or the One who rescues them from problems they have made for themselves. “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40). 我们千万不要被拥耶稣基督为 “名人” 而欺骗, 像今日某类的人一样. 很少人要祂为救主和主. 却有很多人只要耶稣做医治者和供给者, 或者希望祂做他们自己所形成的拯救者. “然而你们不肯到我这里来得生命.” (约 5:40).
CHAPTER SIX John 6 JESUS LOSES HIS CROWD Since John’s gospel is selective (John 20:30–31), he does not record events in the life of Jesus that do not help him fulfill his purpose. Between the heal ing of the paralytic (John 5) and the feeding of the five thousand, you have many events taking place, some of which are mentioned in Luke 6:1—9:10 and Mark 3:1—6:30. During this period our Lord preached “the Sermon on the Mount” (Matt. 5—7) and gave the parables of the kingdom (Matt. 13). The feeding of the five thousand was a miracle of such magnitude that it is recorded in all four gospels. A great multitude had been following Jesus for several days, listening to His teaching and beholding His mir acles. Jesus had tried to “get away” to rest, but the needs of the crowd pressed on Him (Mark 6:31–34). Because of His compassion, He ministered to the multitude in three different ways. E.The multitudes—6:1–71 Jesus Feeds the Multitude (6:1–14) The problem, of course, was how to meet the needs of such a vast crowd of people. Four solutions were proposed. First, the disciples suggested that Jesus send the people away (Mark 6:35–36). Get rid of the problem (see Matt. 15:23). But Jesus knew that the hungry peo ple would faint on the way if somebody did not feed them. It was evening (Matt. 14:15), and that was no time for travel. The second solution came from Philip in response to our Lord’s “test question” (John 6:5): raise enough money to buy food for the people. Philip “counted the cost” and decided they would need the equivalent of two hundred days’ wages! And even that would not provide bread enough to satisfy the hunger of all the men, women, and children (Matt. 14:21). Too often, we think that money is the answer to every need. Of course, Jesus was simply testing the strength of Philip’s faith. The third solution came from Andrew, but he was not quite sure how the problem would be solved. He found a little boy who had a small lunch: two little fish and five barley cakes. Once again, Andrew is busy bringing somebody to Jesus (see John 1:40–42; 12:20–22). We do not know how Andrew met this lad, but we are glad he did! Though Andrew does not have a prominent place in the Gospels, he was apparently a “people person” who helped solve problems. The fourth solution came from our Lord, and it was the true solution. He took the little boy’s lunch, blessed it, broke it, handed it out to His disciples, and they fed the whole crowd! The miracle took place in the hands of the Savior, not in the hands of the disci ples. He multiplied the food; they only had the joyful privilege of passing it out. Not only were the people fed and satisfied, but the disciples salvaged twelve bas kets of fragments for future use. The Lord wasted nothing. The practical lesson is clear: whenever there is a need, give all that you have to Jesus and let Him do the rest. Begin with what you have, but be sure you give it all to Him. That little lad is to be commended for shar ing his lunch with Christ, and his mother is to be commended for giving him something to give to Jesus. The gift of that little snack meant as much to Jesus as the pouring out of the expensive ointment (John 12:1ff.). But did Jesus really perform a miracle? Perhaps the generosity of the boy only embarrassed the other peo ple so that they brought out their hidden lunches and shared them all around. Nonsense! Jesus knows the hearts of men (John 2:24; 6:61, 64, 70) and He declared that the people were hungry. Surely He would have known of the existence of hidden food! Furthermore, the people themselves declared that this was a miracle and even wanted to crown Him King (John 6:14–16)! Had this event been only the result of mass psychology, the crowd would not have responded that way. John would never have selected this as one of the “signs” if it were not an authentic miracle. It is significant that twice John mentioned the fact that Jesus gave thanks (John 6:11, 23). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all state that Jesus looked up to heaven when He gave thanks. By that act, He reminded the hungry people that God is the source of all good and needful gifts. This is a good lesson for us: instead of complaining about what we do not have, we should give thanks to God for what we do have, and He will make it go further.
2. Jesus Leaves the Multitude (6:15–21)
Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat (Matt. 14:22; Mark 6:45) because He knew they were in dan ger. The crowd was now aroused, and there was a movement to make Him King. Of course, some of the disciples would have rejoiced at the opportunity to become famous and powerful! Judas would have become treasurer of the kingdom, and perhaps Peter would have been named prime minister! But this was not in the plan of God, and Jesus broke up the meet ing immediately. Certainly the Roman government would have stepped in had a movement begun. Did Jesus know that a storm was coming? Of course. Then why did He deliberately send His friends into danger? Quite the opposite is true: He was rescu ing them from greater danger, the danger of being swept along by a fanatical crowd. But there was another reason for that storm: the Lord has to balance our lives, otherwise we will become proud and then fall. The dis ciples had experienced great joy in being part of a thrilling miracle. Now they had to face a storm and learn to trust the Lord more. The feeding of the five thousand was the lesson, but the storm was the exami nation after the lesson.
Sometimes we are caught in a storm because we have disobeyed the Lord. Jonah is a good example. But sometimes the storm comes because we have obeyed the Lord. When that happens, we can be sure that our Savior will pray for us, come to us, and deliver us. In writing the account of this event years later, perhaps John saw in it a picture of Christ and His church. Christ is in heaven interceding for us, but we are in the midst of the storms of life, trying to reach the shore. One day, He will come for us and we shall reach the port safely, the storms all past.
Actually, there were several miracles involved in this event. Jesus walked on the water, and so did Peter (Matt. 14:28–32). Jesus stilled the storm, and instantly the boat was on the other shore. Of course, all of this happened at night so that only Jesus and His disciples knew what had occurred. Jesus had led His people into the green pastures (John 6:10), and now He brought them into the still waters (Ps. 23:2). What a wonderful Shepherd He is!
As you read the gospel records, note that our Lord was never impressed by the great crowds. He knew that their motives were not pure and that most of them fol lowed Him in order to watch His miracles of healing. “Bread and circuses” was Rome’s formula for keeping the people happy, and people today are satisfied with that kind of diet. Give them food and entertainment and they are happy. Rome set aside ninety-three days each year for public games at government expense. It was cheaper to entertain the crowds than to fight them or jail them.
We must never be deceived by the “popularity” of Jesus Christ among certain kinds of people today. Very few want Him as Savior and Lord. Many want Him only as Healer or Provider, or the One who rescues them from problems they have made for themselves. “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40).
3. Jesus Teaches the Multitude (6:22–71)
The purpose of the sign was that He might preach the sermon. Again, it was a ministry of “grace and truth” (John 1:17). In grace, our Lord fed the hungry peo ple, but in truth, He gave them the Word of God. They wanted the food but they did not want the truth, and, in the end, most of them abandoned Jesus and refused to walk with Him. He lost His crowd with one sermon!
The next day began with a mystery: how did Jesus get to Capernaum? The crowd saw the disciples embark to go across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, and then the men were lost in the storm. The crowd also saw Jesus leave the place and go by Himself to a mountain. But the next morning, here were Jesus and His disciples together in Capernaum! Certainly He had not walked around the lake, and there was no evidence that He had taken another boat. Other boats had arrived, no doubt driven in by the storm, but Jesus had not been in any of them.
No doubt some of the people who had been fed simply went away to their homes, while others stayed to see what Jesus would do next. Our Lord’s sermon probably began outdoors, and then the discussion moved into the synagogue (John 6:59). It would be impossible for a huge crowd to participate in the syna gogue service, though the overflow could remain outside and hear what was being said.
This sermon on “the bread of life” is actually a dialogue between Christ and the people, especially the religious leaders (“the Jews”). We see four responses of the crowd to the Lord Jesus in John 6: seeking (vv. 22–40), murmuring (vv. 41–51), striving (vv. 52–59), and departing (vv. 60–71).
Seeking (vv. 22–40). The disciples may have been impressed that so many people stayed through a storm in order to seek their Master, but Jesus was not impressed. He knows the human heart. He knew that the people originally followed Him because of His mir acles (John 6:2), but now their motive was to get fed! Even if they were attracted only by the miracles, at least there was still a possibility they might be saved. After all, that is where Nicodemus started (John 3:1–2). But now their interest had degenerated to the level of food.
Jesus pointed out that there are two kinds of food: food for the body, which is necessary but not the most important, and food for the inner man, the spirit, which is essential. What the people needed was not food but life, and life is a gift. Food only sustains life, but Jesus gives eternal life. The words of Isaiah come to mind: “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?” (Isa. 55:2 nasb).
The people picked up the word labor and misinter preted it to mean they had to work for salvation. They completely missed the word give. Steeped in legalistic religion, they thought they had to “do something” to merit eternal life. Jesus made it clear that only one “work” was necessary—to believe on the Savior. When a person believes on Christ, he is not performing a good work that earns him salvation. There is certainly no credit in believing, for it is what God does in response to our faith that is important (see Eph. 2:8–10).
The crowd began by seeking Christ, but then started to seek a sign from Him. “For the Jews require a sign” (1 Cor. 1:22). The rabbis taught that, when Messiah came, He would duplicate the miracle of the manna (see Ex. 16). If Jesus was truly sent by God (see John 6:29, 38, 57), then let Him prove it by causing manna to fall from heaven. They wanted to “see and believe.” But faith that is based on signs alone, and not on the truth of the Word, can lead a person astray, for even Satan is able to perform “lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:8–10). Note also John 2:18–25; 4:48.
The quotation in John 6:31 is from Psalm 78:24, a psalm that records the unbelief and rebellion of the nation of Israel.
In His reply, our Lord sought to deepen the people’s understanding of the truth. It was God, not Moses, who gave the manna, so they must take their eyes off Moses and focus them on God. Also, God gave the manna in the past, but the Father is now giving the true bread in the person of Jesus Christ. The past event is finished, but the present spiritual experience goes on!
Then Jesus clearly identified what the bread is: He is the true Living Bread that came down from heaven. But He came, not only for Israel but for the whole world. And He came, not just to sustain life, but to give life! Seven times in this sermon, our Lord referred to His “coming down from heaven” (John 6:33, 38, 41–42, 50–51, 58), a statement that declared Him to be God. The Old Testament manna was but a type of the “true bread,” the Lord Jesus Christ.
This dialogue began with the crowd seeking Christ and then seeking a sign, but listeners soon began to seek the “true bread” that Jesus talked about. However, like the woman of Samaria, they were not ready for sal vation (see John 4:15). She wanted the living water so she would not have to keep going to the well. The crowd wanted the bread so they would not have to toil to maintain life. People today still want Jesus Christ only for the benefits He is able to give.
In His reply to their impetuous request, Jesus used two key words that often appear in this sermon: come and believe. To come to Jesus means to believe on Him, and to believe on Him means to come to Him. Believing is not merely an intellectual thing, giving mental assent to some doctrine. It means to come to Christ and yield yourself to Him. At the close of His sermon, Jesus illustrated coming and believing by speak ing about eating and drinking. To come to Christ and believe on Him means to receive Him within, just as you receive food and drink.
