John 6:11 Commentary and Bible Study

Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks. This is important. Salvation is by the sanction of the Father, so he gives thanks to the Father before he performs the miracle. Thanksgiving is due to the Father. But isn’t he the Son of God? Didn’t he die on Calvary to make an atonement? Hasn’t he purchased our salvation? Isn’t it Christ who has done it all? No, it is Christ giving satisfaction to the Father, and the Father is satisfied with Christ’s full atonement made for our sin. The Son has paid the full price, and the Father takes his place as the one who approves, sanctions, accepts, the sacrifice of the Son. So even the prayer at the beginning of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand keeps this in mind.The Lord uses the disciples, just as he uses the church. We do not dispense salvation, we cannot. That is why in our churches, we do not do what the Episcopalians do, and employ signs or symbols of blessing – the bishop or the priest holding out his hand, as though something is flowing from him, and he is dispensing the absolution. We must not do that because it is Christ who works the miracle. He breaks the bread and the fish and multiplies it. The disciples are only the porters, the distributors, and so are we, the preachers and the witnessers to Christ. We speak of him, we seek to persuade souls, but it is a work of the Spirit in the heart, and it is the salvation obtained by Christ which is given to those who are saved.The bread and the fish represent the righteousness of Christ which is given freely to all who come to him and trust in him. The bread was broken and so Christ would be broken and suffer and die in agony as he made atonement for their sin. But the people by and large did not understand. They saw the miracle, but they did not grasp the meaning, even when it was preached to them and explained to them so carefully.