In today’s passage, Jesus performs two miracles. He feeds the five thousand and walks on water.
click here for an online Bible John 6:1-21
Jesus has already gathered a crowd. There were over 5000 people there. He fed them in a miraculous way for a purpose. Notice that John tells us why the people were there. They were following Jesus because of the healings that he had performed. Some were there out of curiosity. Some were there hoping for something, maybe their own healing. Some were probably just there because it was the place to be. As a result of the miraculous feeding, they believe that he is the prophet that they had been waiting for. The people are ready to name him king, so he leaves them. He didn’t just want a crowd. He didn’t want to be the king. He wanted them to believe.
He walked on the water for the benefit of his disciples. He showed them more of his authority over nature. Initially, they were afraid. Can’t say that I blame them. We tend to interpret things based on what we know. This miracle was beyond anything they had experienced or even dreamed.
Too often, we spend our time and energy trying to understand God. That’s fine to a certain extent, but we have to come to grips with the fact that God is beyond our understanding. The good news is that we don’t have to fully understand God in order to know him. God reveals himself so that we can know him.
I spend a lot of time trying to understand God’s plan. What I should be doing is trying to know God better. Just as Jesus revealed himself to the people on the mountain and he revealed himself to his disciples on the lake, he reveals himself to us. He wants us to know him. And we can know him. He reveals himself through his word, through prayer, and through his church.
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I have somewhat become addicted to opinion columns. I saw this and could not help but think about how it related to our sermon series, especially yesterdays sermon.
http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/082008/08112008/400849
The disciples didn't know exactly how Jesus was going to feed everyone, but when He said to tell them to sit in the grass - they did it. They trusted Him and did what He said. And everyone received more from the Lord then they could have provided for themselves.
When Jesus approached the disciples on the water and told them not to be afraid they trusted Him and stopped being afraid. And I note that immediately - not a couple of hours later - but immediately they reached their goal.
We can trust that God has a purpose and a plan for each of us and walk in it - reading our Bibles to see what He has to say and listening for His guidance along our route - and we will reach our goal too because it will also be God's goal - we will be walking in His will.
We have a Billy Graham movie, Last Flight Out, and in it a main character says, "there is no better place to be then in God's will, unless it's in His presence" and I say amen!
The crowd was so enthusiastic over the miracle of feeding them that they were ready to grab Jesus and crown Him King. Jesus' response to this was to slip away to be by himself.
Jesus possesses the power to do anything, yet his humility is what strikes me in this situation. He could have so easily gotten caught up in the moment and allowed them to king him and it would've forever changed the earthly path he was on.
How many times throughout my walk have I gotten "caught up in the moment"? Has that altered the path God had me on? Maybe...
I can't help but think how important it is to follow Jesus example here. Take time out of the situation to be alone and meditate and pray (my interpretation of what he did). Then, and only then, you can re-enter the situation (if you choose) and make the decision God is leading you towards.
I find it interesting that Jesus tests a disciple with the question of how they are going to feed all those people. It is as if he is constantly getting what I call,a gut check. He skillfully ascertains for Himself if his disciples have really got the "Big Picture" of who He is and what their measure of faith is. I want my faith in Christ to be so strong that He would never think to question me. I would like to know I would respond to this question by saying "Why Jesus, you are able to feed them and it is you who will feed them!"
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