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Bread and Water &Jesus' Miracles - John 6:1 - 21

 Tuesday, October 27 –

We are continuing to read from the Gospel of John in our daily readings.  Today, the text to read is in John 6:1 – 21.  Please read the scripture first, and then return that he might walk through it together.


I mentioned this before, but in John 5:1 we began a long section of John’s narrative in which Jesus offers five signs that demonstrate he is the Messiah, the Son of God.  In the latter part of chapter five, Jesus offered several different examples of why they should see him as the Son of God who is God-incarnate.  The signs served as marker points in proving that He could do impossible things.  Perhaps you noticed it in your reading today.  After the loaves and fish were distributed, and all had eaten, with leftovers besides, John says – “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (6:14).

The story of the feeding of the five thousand is a well-known story.  Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee (6:1), and a large crowd followed because of the sign of his healing the sick (6:2).  When Jesus takes his disciples up on the side of the mountain (6:3) they all saw a large crowd coming towards them (6:5).  John anchors this at the time of the Passover which included bread in its festivities!  Jesus takes the opportunity to test one of his disciples – Philip. 

“Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.  Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little” (6:5-7).

My brother Ed comments on what is happening is a good reminder: “We need to keep in mind that Jesus is ‘making disciples’ as he goes through his earthly life. He is building in these followers a firm foundation as to who he is and why he has come. The miracle of the feeding took place in a crowd, one that sadly followed for the show more than to discover Jesus, the person. But Jesus used it to help build in his disciples the significance of what they just heard him say in Jerusalem to the religious leaders, that he was God the Son.  Those of us reading this (story) might take the words for granted, but to them it was… unreal, unbelievable, audacious, maybe even bordering on blasphemy”.[1]

Jesus must have regularly shocked his disciples with his commands.  He hears Philip’s response, but then Andrew speaks up about a boy who is in the crowd with two fish and five barley loaves – ending this information with the words, “but what are they for so many?”.  On the surface, who could disagree.  Jesus did!

“Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.  Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.  And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”  So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten” (6:10-13). 

The details are important, and that’s why John wrote them.  The meal had come from meager sources, but the miracle was that it fed over five thousand (remember it was men who were counted).  When he told the twelve to collect the left-overs, they each took a basket (kophinos), which would have been used for a journey of one to two days provisions.  The “fragments” were enough for all of the disciples!  They must have noticed the lesson – don’t say “impossible” to God. 

The response of the people is what we noted at the onset – they saw it as a “sign”, and for the first time, “they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!’” (6:14).  The reference to “the Prophet” comes directly from Moses who wrote in Deuteronomy 18:15 – 18, that a Prophet would arise one day like Moses, who would speak God’s words.  When John the Baptist was baptizing, the Priests who came out to see him asked him if he was “the Prophet” (John 1:21).  The Prophet to follow Moses was always assumed to be the Messiah.  Consequently, there must have been a stirring of voices that made Jesus aware of what they wanted to do, for Jesus quietly makes a departure out of their sight (6:15).  Even in this, John is making the point that Jesus was not looking for responses of people, but came determined to do the Father’s will, which ultimately would lead to his death.

The evening came, the crowd left, and the disciples minus Jesus took their boat back to Capernaum, as Jesus must have instructed them to do (6:16-17).  Almost all of his disciples were experienced boat people and the Sea of Galilee was known for its sudden squalls that made the water turn from a business place into a life-threatening event.  The squall came upon them suddenly – “The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing” (6:18).  The only power on that boat was their strong arms and backs rowing against the wind.  They normally would have crossed the sea in an hour or so, but that night in a pitch-black storm they couldn’t make any headway.  They were experienced, but they didn’t expect what happened next. 

“When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.  But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”  Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going” (6:19-21).

Jesus had had their attention before in the healings and the miracles, but this shocked them to the point of being afraid.  His words, “It is I”, come from John’s pen and he heard it over and over again from Jesus – it was the Greek words, “ego eimi”, literally “I, I AM”.  It is daunting to think that the Savior, is the Creator who made the wind and the seas, and can speak to them, for “immediately the boat was at the land where they were going”.

Healings, miracles, water-walking, waves-silenced… how do we make sense of it all?  It’s God!  When we see the impossible it is because, humanly speaking, that is what it is – impossible.  My friends: a stroke victim, a paralysis disease, cancers, virus-induced coma… they are right now happening, and they are all humanly daunting events bordering on the impossible.  We don’t have to be afraid to be frightened.  It is not our adequacy that is necessary – it is God’s omnipotence and providence that we need.  What I cannot do, God can, and often does.  Not because of our faith, but according to his own plan!

Peace



[1] Edward Pollasch, Gospel of John Devotional, page 32

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