John 6:1-24

John 6:1-22 Teen Church

Introduction:

· Last week we finished off John 5. Now, that was a tricky chapter, so we’re going to just go back over the main points that we hit. The chapter started with Jesus claiming a strong relationship between himself and the Father. The Father provided him with all the direction and guidance that he needed to do his work, and by doing that work as perfectly as he did, Jesus provided witness to the Father.

· After this, we saw that Jesus has the ability to give life. The power to do this comes because the Father has given it to him. Just as God the Father has life in himself, so Jesus too has life in himself, and this allows him to give that life to others. From having life in himself, Jesus is able to give it over to others. How does this happen? Well, Jesus preaches his message, and then when people come to believe in it, they receive life, and life abundantly. That is what is happening in this time that is coming and has now come. Later, we saw that there would be a time where Jesus would come again. And when he came again, he would be in the role of a judge. He tells us in vv28-30 that there will be a time in the future when all who have died will be raised, some to new eternal life, and some to eternal strife and damnation. And the thing that separates them, as we saw before, was their reaction to Jesus.

· Now, this is a lot for Jesus to claim about himself. As v18 reminds us, he’s basically just considered himself to be equal with the Father. So, in v31-47 he gives us four sources of testimony to back up what he says about himself. The first is John the Baptist. Jesus tells us that he does not rely on man’s testimony, but he nevertheless appeals to John because the people trusted John, and Jesus hopes that by appealing to John more of them may come to believe. But he has greater sources of testimony. These include the works his Father has given him to do. His miracles testify that he is who he says he is. For if he wasn’t, how would he be able to do what he does? Similarly, the Father himself testifies that Jesus is all that he says he is. Finally, the Scriptures, that is, the OT, testifies that Jesus is who he says he is. This is bad news for the Jews. They consider themselves to be people of the book, people who seek to study and understand Scripture well. But now they’re being told that these Scriptures point to Jesus. This means that if they don’t see Jesus in the Scriptures, they’ve clearly misunderstood. So, with those four strands of evidence, we can have confidence to say that Jesus is who he says he is.

· Today we’ll be looking at the start of John 6. We’ll be looking at two miracle stories. But these miracle stories are deeper than first meets the eye. So what we’ll do is go through the miracle at face value, trying to understand what happened, and then we’ll take a look at the spiritual significance of each. Finally, we’ll see what it means for us.

· So, to break it down, we’ll look at:

o 1-15: The feeding of the five thousand.

o 16-24: The walking on water.

1-15: The Feeding of the Five Thousand

· Okay, so the time we’re given is some time after the events of John 5. Where is Jesus?

o He’s on the shores of the sea of Galilee.

· Who follows him, and why? (vv2-3)

o A great crowd, because they have seen the miracles he’s been doing.

· And so what does Jesus do?

o He goes onto a mountainside to teach his disciples. It seems he wanted to be alone with them, but this was not possible.

· And when was this? (v4)

o Around the time of the Passover. Remember that.

· In v5, Jesus notes the crowd. What does he then ask Philip?

o Where they will get food for the crowd.

· And why does he ask this? (v6)

o To test him. I’m not sure if it’s irreverent to say this, but being Jesus’ disciple sounds like it was frequently challenging.

· In what way do you think this was a test for Philip?

o It’s not clearly stated, so we do need to speculate. But it seems to have been a test of his faith. Does he really think that Jesus is able to provide, even when he can’t see how?

· And what does this verse say about Jesus?

o That he knew exactly what he was going to do.

· Why do you think John includes this?

o To show that Jesus is in control of what’s happening. He’s not winging it, but operating according to a definite plan.

· How does Philip respond? (v7)

o He says that it would take a lot of money to feed these people.

· Now look at vv8-9. How does Andrew respond?

o He shows Jesus a boy with loaves and fish.

· And what does he have to say about this food?

o He doubts that it will be enough to feed such a large mass of people.

· What does Jesus do in v10?

o He tells the disciples to seat everybody. The place was full of grass, so that would have been fine for them.

· And how many people are there?

o Well, there are 5000 men. The men is important, because it means that we don’t actually have a full reportage of the people there. There could easily have been many more than that, if most men had at least a wife, and even some children.

· In v11, Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks and distributes. How much does each person eat?

o As much as they want.

· Why do you think John includes this tidbit?

o To show the extent of the miracle. Jesus doesn’t simply feed them a little token meal. Every person is full with all they need.

· What does Jesus then tell his disciples to do? (v12)

o Gather the left overs into baskets.

· And how many baskets are filled? (v13)

o 12.

· And when people see this miracle, what do they say about Jesus? (v14)

o They say that he is the prophet who was to come. This is a reference to Deuteronomy 18:18.

· And what do they try do to him? (v15)

o They try make him king by force.

· But Jesus is wise to this, so what does he do?

o He retreats to a quiet place.

· Why do you think Jesus didn’t want them to make him king? Especially since he considers himself the king of God’s kingdom.

o Jesus understands two things. Firstly, he is the king of God’s kingdom, and he will rule. He is ruling, and his kingdom will come. But, it has to come in God’s way, and anything else will not be sanctioned by God (cf. Luke 4:5-8). Secondly, he recognises that the people don’t have this vision, and want their king sent from God to be a military ruler who kicks out the Romans. He’s not that, and so their establishing him would be both with the wrong intentions and the wrong results.

· Okay, so that’s the miracle. It’s got one more significant layer that I want to unpack quickly. And the first clue is in v4. What time of year is it again?

o It’s the Passover.

· Right, and who knows when the first Passover took place?

o It was in the Exodus. It was the festival they celebrated before they left Egypt and spent time in the desert.

· Interesting. And where are they?

o They’re on a hillside. Mark 6:35 helps us understand a bit more clearly what this place was like. It was a desolate place.

· Okay, so what we have is a people who are in a desolate place around the time of the Passover. What does that make you think of?

o The Exodus, right? Where God made a people for himself and set them free.

· And then, when the people of the Exodus were in the desert, what did God give them?

o Manna, which is like bread.

· And what does Jesus give them here?

o Bread.

· And when the bread is done, how many baskets are left?

o 12.

· Where have you heard of the number 12 in the Bible before?

o The 12 tribes of Israel.

· And, at the end of everything, who do the people say Jesus is?

o The Prophet who was to come. The prophet like Moses.

· So, this whole miracle is designed to point us to the Exodus. Why do you think this is the case?

o Well, think of what it shows us about Jesus. Jesus is showing himself to be like the new Moses, the one whom God uses to win himself a people and set them free, not from Egypt this time, but from sin. Likewise, Jesus is putting himself in the place of God. In the Exodus story, it was God who sent the bread to feed his people. Now, it is Jesus. And by providing for them, Jesus is saying, “Just as God provided for you in the desert when you became his people, so I too will provide for you, now that you are my people. In this miracle, essentially, we are seeing that through Jesus we have a new Exodus. Not from Egypt, but from our own death in sin.

· John’s miracles are really cool when you look at them like that.

16-24: Walking on Water (cf. Matt 14:22-33)

· Okay, from there we move on to the second miracle. The walking on water.

· Look at vv16-17, what do they disciples do?

o They get into a boat and set sail for Capernaum.

· And who isn’t with them?

o Jesus.

· And what is sailing like for them? (vv17-18)

o It’s tricky. The wind and waves are picking up dramatically. The sea of Galilee is in a kind of bowl, and so when the wind comes along it tends to get stuck and create some nasty storms.

· And what do they see? (v19)

o Jesus walking on water approaching them.

· How do they feel?

o They are terrified. Understandably so. It is a confusing thing to see at night when your life is in danger.

· And what does Jesus tell the disciples? (v20)

o He says “it’s me. Be calm.”

· And after this, what happens?

o Jesus gets put in the boat and they immediately reach their destination. This could be a miracle, in the sense that Jesus mystically transported them to the location they needed, like in Psalm 107:22-32, or it could be a narrative thing, where John abruptly concludes this story. Either way, Jesus’s presence carries the disciples over to the edge of the lake.

· What happens the next morning? (v22)

o The people who had formed the crowd realise that Jesus is gone, as well as his disciples.

· But what confuses them?

o One boat is gone, but they know that Jesus didn’t get on the boat with his disciples, so they are unsure of how to take this.

· And what comes along? (v23)

o Some boats from Tiberias.

· And so what do the people do?

o They go across the way to Capernaum to go and find Jesus.

Application

· So that’s the two miracle stories. The first is the feeding of the five thousand and the second is the walking on water. So, how do we apply these passages?

· Well, as always with John’s Gospel, it’s important to be aware of the fact that a huge reason for writing this as it is written is to show who Jesus is in such a way that we might believe in him. And indeed, our main application comes from that.

· The crowd was a massive group of people. Jesus was teaching them, but they weren’t his disciples. In fact, what we see next week is that a large portion of these people reject Jesus. But, nevertheless, he was gentle and kind enough to provide for them. How much more so will he provide for you, if you are in him. Consider the fact that if you are in him, while you are far from perfect, you are reckoned as perfect by virtue of you abiding in Jesus. To abide in him, then, is to enjoy the permanent smiling of a Father who sees your needs and is able to supply them exactly as they need to be supplied. Just as Jesus was moved in his heart to take care of these people’s needs, so he is delighted to take care of yours. Not always to ensure your perfect comfort and happiness, but always to grow you and bring you closer to him, which is the root of true happiness.

· Also, and this is a side point, but to see Jesus should create for us, a certain amount of peace. Just as the disciples in the boat saw Jesus and were thereby comforted, so we, when we truly understand who Jesus is and what he has done for us, we are also able to feel peace, regardless of what might be going on around us.