John 6:1-21
Title:
Miraculous displays of Christ’s Deity.
Analysis:
Jesus
has now left the Religious leaders in Jerusalem letting them stew over the
declarations He had made. The Lord was interested in serving those who would
believe in His name. It is quite possible that these next events that John
describes in his gospel take place 6 months or even 1 year after our Lord’s
confrontation with the Pharisees. Jesus has now travelled from the southern
area of Jerusalem, into the northern regions of Galilee.
As
he travelled we see that a large crowd begins to follow Him and the disciples
(vs. 2). No doubt the massage of Jesus and the miracles he performed had been
widespread throughout the many surrounding districts. The people “…saw the
signs which He was performing…” and this was the real motivation for their
following.
Regardless,
the Lord is very compassionate and performs an astounding miracle to put His
disciples to the test and once again show His deity. Our Lord questions Phillip
as a test in verse 5 saying, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may
eat?” The Lord was testing Phillip, who responded by reasoning that even 8
months of wages would not be enough to buy food for all the people. Andrew came
to Jesus with a child who had five loaves and two fish, offering it to the Lord
while realizing that it was far too little to feed the multitude.
Jesus
was unfazed by the minimal amount of food and tells His disciples to command
the people to sit down. In total, about 20,000 people were present. Our Lord
then took both the loaves and the fish and blessing them, distributed food to
all who were seated. In an astounding display of His glory the Lord creates
both bread and fish from nothing. The people were filled and satisfied with
their food. Jesus then commands the disciples to gather the leftovers. In total
they collect twelve small basketfuls, each of which would have been sufficient
to feed themselves. Once again the Lord shows His provision not only by feeding
the thousands but also feeding His disciples.
Unfortunately
the crowd’s response was one of unbelief. Verse 15 says, “So Jesus, perceiving
that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king,
withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.” The people were satisfied and
filled but not with what would give them eternal life. They rejected Christ’s
ability to give them spiritual food, but demanded that he give them physical
sustenance. They did not believe in Him as Lord and Messiah; rather they wanted
a man of power who could give them the earthly pleasure that they eagerly
sought after. Our Lord understood this and immediately removed Himself from
their selfish grasp.
The
disciples, having been left by Jesus decide to travel across the sea to the
city of Capernaum. While they travel it has become dark and the sea is
disturbed by a storm. They began rowing for shore, when suddenly Jesus appears
before then walking on the water. The disciples were terrified by His
appearance and even thought He may be a ghost (Matt. 14:26). It was not, but
rather it was the Lord displaying his deity. He comforts them by saying, “It is
I, do not be afraid.” The disciples receive Him into the boat and are
miraculously transported immediately to land.
Response:
These
miracles have once again affirmed the complete deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As part of personal application I need to guard my heart and sinful desires so
that I am not like the crowd. The crowd wanted to Jesus because He could meet
their immediate physical need; but this is not the reason why He came. Christ
came to save people from their sins not from their poverty. I am reminded that
Jesus as my Saviour wants me to be filled with spiritual food so that I may
serve Him and spread His gospel to all people.
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