So That Nothing Is Lost

More Than Enough

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Jesus did not give the crowd a snack. He gave them a full meal, and there were baskets of food left over. That shows us what God is like.

As much as they wanted. Jesus gave out the bread and fish “as much as they wanted” (John 6:11). Nobody had to settle for a crumb.

Filled. “So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost’” (John 6:12).

Left over. The disciples “filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over” (John 6:13). There was more at the end than at the start.

The God who feeds. “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-16).

My Shepherd. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Not want means I will have what I truly need.

Satisfied. “For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9). God cares about hungry bodies and hungry hearts.

Richly. Paul wrote that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). Good food, family and fun are gifts from a generous Father.

More abundantly. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). He gives more than just enough to get by.

Nothing wasted. Even with plenty, Jesus said to gather the leftovers. God's gifts are precious, so we take care of them instead of throwing them away.

Say thank you. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

In everything. “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). We thank God on good days and hard days.

Remember. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). Benefits are the good things God does for us.

What we learn. God is generous. He gives more than enough, and He wants us to enjoy His gifts, take care of them and thank Him.

What to do. At your next meal, name three good gifts from God. Then think of a way to share or save something instead of wasting it.

Everything about the hillside meal shows God's generosity: people ate “as much as they wanted” (John 6:11), they were “filled” (6:12), and the leftovers filled twelve baskets (6:13).

Left over (6:12-13). The word for remain and left over is perisseuo (say: peh-ree-SYOO-oh), to overflow or have more than enough. God's giving runs over the top.

John 10:10. Jesus uses the same word family when He says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The overflowing baskets were a small picture of the overflowing life He gives.

Psalm 145:15-16. The psalm pictures every creature looking to God for food and God opening His hand. On the hillside, the hand that opened was Jesus' own hand.

Psalm 23:1. “I shall not want” does not promise everything we wish for. It promises that the Shepherd will not let His sheep lack what they truly need.

Psalm 107:9. God “satisfies the longing soul.” He made us with physical hunger and with a deeper hunger that only He can fill.

1 Timothy 6:17. Paul warns the rich not to trust “in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” Enjoying God's gifts is right, as long as we trust the Giver more than the gifts.

Plenty and care. Jesus' command to gather the leftovers shows that generosity and carefulness go together. Wasting God's gifts treats them as cheap. Taking care of them honors the Giver.

Gratitude. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!” (Psalm 136:1). Jesus Himself gave thanks before He fed the crowd (John 6:11). Thanks is the right response to every meal.

1 Thessalonians 5:18. “In everything give thanks.” Paul does not say to give thanks for every bad thing. He says to give thanks in every situation, because God is still good.

Psalm 103:2. “Forget not all His benefits.” Forgetting what God has given is one of the quickest ways to grumbling.

No shortage. Many Christians see the full baskets as a reminder that God's supply never runs out, even after everyone is fed. There is always more grace.

Application. Keep a thank-you list this week. Each day write two gifts from God, and look for one way to use leftovers, time or money well instead of wasting them.

Jesus Loses None of His Own

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Jesus cared about every piece of bread. He cares even more about every person who belongs to Him. Later in John 6, He promised that He will not lose any of them.

Nothing lost. On the hillside Jesus said, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost” (John 6:12).

No one lost. The next day He said, “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day” (John 6:39).

Food that spoils. Jesus also said, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (John 6:27). Bread goes stale. The life Jesus gives does not.

Safe in His hand. Jesus said of His sheep, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).

Not perish. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Never. Jesus did not say His sheep would probably be safe. He said, “they shall never perish” (John 10:28). Never means not ever, not for one day.

He came for the lost. Jesus said, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). He goes looking for people who are far from God.

He gathers the lambs. “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11). A bosom is a lap or chest. Jesus holds His little ones close.

Two hands. Jesus said the Father gave the sheep to Him, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand either (John 10:29). God's people are held by the Son and the Father together.

Raised up. Jesus said it again and again in John 6: “I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40). Keeping His people does not stop when they die.

You can know. Jesus said that whoever “hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life” (John 5:24). A believer can know they belong to God.

What we learn. Jesus keeps His people safe. If you trust Him, you are never too small to matter and never too far for Him to hold.

What to do. If you have trusted Jesus, thank Him that you are safe in His hand. Anyone who has not trusted Him yet can come to Him today.

John 6 begins with Jesus caring for bread so “that nothing is lost” (6:12) and continues with His promise to lose none of His people (6:39). The same Greek word connects them.

Apollymi. The word translated lost in 6:12 is apollymi (say: ah-POL-loo-mee), to be lost, ruined or destroyed. It appears again in 6:27 (“the food which perishes”) and 6:39 (“I should lose nothing”).

John 6:39. “That of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” The Father gives, the Son keeps and the Son raises. Salvation rests on God's faithfulness from start to finish.

John 6:27. Bread, money and fame all spoil in the end. Jesus offers “the food which endures to everlasting life,” which no one can take away.

John 10:28. The same word appears: “they shall never perish.” Jesus adds, “neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” The safety of believers rests on His grip, not ours.

John 3:16. “Should not perish” is apollymi too. The gospel is God's rescue plan for people who would otherwise be lost.

A double never (10:28). The Greek here uses a double “not,” the strongest way the language could say never. Jesus' promise leaves no gap for His sheep to slip through. Then He adds that the Father holds them too, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand (10:29).

Luke 19:10. The word for lost appears here as well: Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” He does not wait for lost people to find their own way back.

Isaiah 40:11. The shepherd who feeds His flock also gathers the lambs. On the hillside Jesus fed the crowd and then had every piece gathered. He cares for His people the same way.

The last day (6:39-40, 44, 54). Again and again in this chapter Jesus promises, “I will raise him up at the last day.” Not being lost does not end at the grave. The One who keeps His people will also raise them, just as He Himself rose.

Assurance. “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life” (John 5:24). Believers can have real confidence, because it rests on Jesus' promise, not on how strong we feel.

Assurance and obedience. Being kept by Jesus never makes sin unimportant. People who are safe in His hand want to follow Him, and when they fall, they come back to Him.

Application. If you trust Christ, rest in His grip instead of your own. If you are not sure you belong to Him, come to Him today and ask Him to make you His.

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Read each section and answer the questions correctly.