Reflection on John 6 #1

In the previous chapter, Jesus claimed that He as God the Son is equal with God the Father. After the Jews in Jerusalem heard the revelation of the truth about Jesus' identity, they "tried all the harder to kill him". Jesus wished to avoid a confrontation with them before God's time for this had come. So He apparently decided not go to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. He didn't break the rule because He was in Galilee, too far from the temple to be required to travel there for the Passover.

Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke fill in the background details of why "Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee" with His disciples at first place. It is because that Jesus and disciples needed rest. They had been ministering people so hardly that "they did not even have a chance to eat". They were exhausted and needed a refresh. Jesus planed to take the disciples "to a quiet place and get some rest. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the town and got there ahead of them". The "great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick". Miraculous signs attracted people because they had needs to be met. They wanted to benefit from Jesus. Were they aware of that their needs were both physical and spiritual? Did they know that Jesus could satisfy both?

Despite His own need for rest, Jesus saw in this circumstance His Father's signal for Him to work. " He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd."  The people had no one who really cared for them. And Jesus knew that He was the only One who understood their needs and was able to help. Jesus laid aside His own desire for solitude and "went up on a mountain and sat down", "began teaching them many things". However, Jesus not only taught the crowd in order to take care of their spiritual need, but also "healed those who needed healing". (Matthew 5, 14, Mark 6, Luke 9)

"Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, ‘ Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.’” Jesus turned to Philip and asked, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" When Jesus asked the question, He "already had in mind what he was going to do". He asked Philip this "only to test him". Jesus did not need Philip's assessment of the situation; It was Philip who needed Jesus' help to realize that he should come to Jesus asking for help. Philip already saw "the miraculous signs " Jesus had performed. Did he have faith in Jesus? Did he know that Jesus was the One who could help? Instead of asking Jesus for help, Philip felt that he needed to help Jesus to see clearly that this particular problem was too much for Him to handle. By quickly computing the number of people and the cost of food, Philip answered in a hopeless tone, "Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" On a merely human level, Philip did a good survey. His assessment was quite accurate. Jesus and other disciples clearly saw the point. Jesus wanted the disciples to remember the survey result for them to later recognize and appreciate the supernatural work of God. They must first recognize that without Him, it is truly impossible.

Whereas Philip saw how much the cost was and how large the problem was, another disciple Andrew seemed to have survived how small their resources were. Andrew used their poor inventory to highlight how impossible it would be to feed the crowd. After asked around for food supply, Andrew decided to help Jesus to see even more clearly how impossible the situation was. He said, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" Of course, not far! Did Andrew know that Jesus didn't need the boy's lunch? Did he know that Jesus had the supernatural power to feed the thousands out of nothing on that day? But Jesus chose to do His mighty work with the heartfelt offer from an innocent little boy on that day. 

Nothing is said about the little boy except that he gave what he had to Jesus. His family must be a poor one because only the poor ate bread baked from the cheapest barley flour. I guess that the boy was not the only one who brought lunch with. But the boy was the only one who offered his lunch to Jesus. Did the boy except to go hungry himself? That would be the hardest thing for a growing poor little hungry boy to do at that moment! Whatever the boy hopes or fears, he could not have guessed how Jesus would use his sacrificial gift. Nor could the disciples.

Facing the impossible situation, Philip counted the cost, Andrew checked the resources, the little boy offered all he had. Compared our attitudes with theirs, what do we learn?

After heard the survey reports from Philip and Andrew, Jesus ordered His disciples, "Have the people sit down." Our Lord is an orderly One. Under His quiet authority, the people sat in orderly groups to avoid the disorder that is usual in such huge crowd. There must have been a feeling of expectancy among the people as they followed Jesus' instruction. Jesus asked the big crowd to sit on "plenty of grass". It was spring, the grass should be green. The good Shepherd led "the sheep without a shepherd" to the green pasture to feed them. The eyes watched as "Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish." 

As the crowd looking up to Jesus, Jesus, looking up to His Father, thanked His Father for being the Provider, the Giver. The other Gospel accounts make a point of how Jesus gave the food to His disciples to distribute. We as Jesus' followers do have the job to distribute spiritual and physical blessings from God to others. But the sole focus of the Gospel of John is the Lord Jesus. John wanted to emphasize that the praise and glory for all Jesus does through His followers belongs to Jesus. 

The simple barley loaves and fish the people got from the hands of the Lord were not the boy's cold loaves and dried fish. They must be freshly baked loaves and fish, smells very good. To the hungry people, it must have tasted like the finest meal, a Passover Feast prepared by their loving Shepherd and Lord. Later, the Lord used His body to be their Passover Feast to help them pass the curse caused by sin, over to the eternal life blessed by God. Did the people have the awareness of their real need for the Passover? When the people all had enough to eat, Jesus said to His disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." Jesus gave freely yet refused to waste anything. He made sure that all His Father's blessings were put in use. He also made sure the beautiful green pasture was still beautiful and clean when the crowd left. When we help others, do we display God's character, giving generously, wasting nothing, cherishing beauty and order? The disciples gathered the leftover "and filled twelve baskets". 

After the crowd could eat no more, they realized that an astounding miracle had occurred right in front of them. They expected more from Jesus. Their stomach couldn't hold more now, but their stomach would soon feel the need again. They showed no sign of thanking God or thinking about what the miraculous sign revealed about Jesus. They focused on their future need. They wanted their next meal to be free. That explained why the thoughts of the crowd jumped easily from the idea "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world" to the intention to "make him king by force". They wanted to force the Prophet to be their king to serve them. They wanted to get their king now so that they could get free food soon. The people were right to see Jesus as the long awaited Prophet God promised to send. Sadly, they didn't intend to listen and obey Him, or serve Him. They only desired the physical blessings He offered. They were blind to the lasting spiritual food Jesus came to give.

The intense excitement threatened to turn the orderliness of the feast into a scene of upheaval and confusion. Even a rebel army with 5,000 men was a possibility. The crowd's enthusiasm was temporary and against the Father's purpose for Jesus' life. Jesus could righteously and ably govern Israel and this world as the ideal King. He was king by right. But His Father wanted Him to be on the cross first. Until He rose from death, His only crown would be the one woven from thorns. Jesus understood His Father's heart. But His disciples might not. Perhaps the disciples were caught up in the crowd's enthusiasm, for "immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd". Jesus quickly put an end to the crowd's plan and prevented His disciples from losing their focus. Everyone was being taken cared except Jesus Himself.

As the night closed in, and the full Passover moon rose, Jesus "went up on a mountainside to pray". Jesus had no human friend who fully understood His thoughts, emotions and temptations as Him being the Son of Man and the Son of God. In His human nature, where could He get help from to deal with subtle temptations or pressure by being offered a position that promised the ability to do great good? The temptation was real. Jesus poured out His heart in prayer to His Father. Only fellowship with His Father could satisfy His inner being and give Him power to conquer the temptations and quiet the storm. Do we have human friend who fully understand us? I doubt. Where do we get help we need to face our challenge? The answer is from Christ alone. It may seem impossible to spend time alone with the Lord in our daily busyness. The Lord knows our need. He experienced this need when He had His busy life on earth. He does not condemn us but will be quick to answer our prayer to spend time alone with Him. When we meet Him in prayer, we breathe His atmosphere to help us to set our heart and mind "on things above", not only for our own spiritual and physical good, but also for the good of our families and others God has placed in our lives.

When I visited the Sea of Galilee at noon, a captain told me the inland freshwater quiet lake was not usually quiet after nightfall when the cooler air racing down to the warmth of the low lying lake which lies about 700 feet below sea water. The strong winds are common and often stir up strom unexpectedly. The city of Tiberias was flooded once by the storm from the lake. There were experienced fishermen among the disciples. They probably againsted the idea to set off across the lake at night. But Jesus made them go. "They got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough." It was pitch dark. They didn't have Jesus on their boat but Jesus was not distant by any definition. Space is not a limitation for the One who created it. The disciples  tried their hardest to keep the boat in control. They were scared and exhausted. They knew their danger. At "the fourth watch of the night", almost dawn, even the strong, experienced fishermen probably lacked the strength to battle the waves. Then "they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified." Why they "were terrified" instead of "were relieved or were happy", because "they thought he was a ghost". Sure the darkness was thick, but did the disciples ever prayed when they rowed so hard for long hours in the stromy night? If they prayed, shouldn't they anticipate Jesus to be with them soon and gave no chance for them mistake Jesus as a "ghost". Jesus deliberately delayed His coming but He didn't arbitrarily put them in storm. Jesus was aware of their struggle and He wanted the disciples to be aware of His authority and purposes. At precisely the right time, when the disciples had recognized they had no strength left but fear, Jesus came to them and said, "It is I; don't be afraid." Jesus has authority over all nature. After hearing their Master's voice,  the disciples must be so relieved. "They were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading." This passage contains not one, but two miracles: Jesus walked on the water, and the boat instantly reached its destination. 

There was nothing wrong to feel afraid in a storm. But more importantly, we need to remember that Jesus is never any distance from us when we are in storm. Jesus within us is greater than all that is against us. Let the Lord's voice which recorded in Bible to relief our fears.The Lord wants to mature our faith in storm, to wake up our awareness of His constant presence.The Lord wants us to trust that "all authority in heaven and on earth" belong to Him. His followers are on His boat which will reach the shore.