July 7, 2026 • 24 mins
A boy shows up with five barley loaves and two fish, and suddenly we’re staring at one of the clearest pictures of who Jesus is and what we keep getting wrong about Him. We open John 6 with the crowds pressing in, drawn by healings and signs, while Jesus leads His disciples up the mountain during Passover season when everyone is thinking about Moses, the Exodus, and God’s provision in the wilderness.
We slow down and watch Jesus test Philip, not to embarrass him, but to expose how quickly we default to math, money, and self-reliance. Then the miracle lands with force: Jesus gives thanks, feeds thousands until they are satisfied, and still has the disciples gather every fragment. That small command turns into a big lesson about stewardship, gratitude, and how God’s abundance is never an excuse to waste what He provides.
The crowd calls Jesus “the prophet” and tries to make Him king, but their excitement reveals a dangerous misunderstanding: they want a political Messiah on their terms. From there, John shifts to the sea, the wind, and the fear of being stuck halfway to shore. Jesus walks on the water, speaks the divine “I AM,” and the moment He is welcomed into the boat they arrive at their destination, reminding us that His authority reaches beyond bread and weather into time and space.
If you’re hungry for a deeper Gospel of John Bible study that connects history, theology, and everyday trust, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review, then tell us what part of John 6 challenges you most right now.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thank you once again for joiningme for the mysteries of God's
Word.
Today we are in John chaptersix, where Jesus feeds the five
thousand.
This is an incredible andglorious miracle that Jesus does
(00:37):
to thousands of people.
And today we begin at verse one.
After this Jesus went away tothe other side of the Sea of
Galilee, which is the Sea ofTiberias.
And a large crowd was followinghim, because they saw the signs
that he was doing on the sick.
(00:59):
Jesus went up on the mountain,and there he sat down with his
disciples.
Now the Passover, the feast ofthe Jews, was at hand.
In the first four verses ofchapter six, we are once again
introduced to a new context andthe flow of Jesus' ministry.
(01:24):
In chapter five, we had read howJesus had been at a feast in
Jerusalem, where he healed theparalytic at the pool of
Bethesda on the Sabbath.
And then he gave the Jewishleaders quite an earful about
who he was and why they did notlove God.
(01:46):
If the feast in John chapterfive was the Feast of
Tabernacles, otherwise known asthe Feast of Booths, then at
least six months has passed.
And we read that Jesus wentacross the Sea of Galilee to the
eastern shore to find some rest.
Jesus and his disciples wereavoiding any conflict with
(02:08):
Herod, who had just killed Johnthe Baptist.
We also see that overwhelmingcrowds are beginning to follow
Jesus and his disciples.
They're coming from all overbecause of his miracles of
healing the sick.
One of the notes mentioned inverse one was that the Sea of
(02:29):
Galilee was also known as theSea of Tiberius.
The Sea of Galilee went bydifferent names, and it was
named the Sea of Tiberius byHerod Antipus in honor of the
Roman Emperor Tiberius.
Just to further show how thispopular lake was known by
different names, it was alsoknown as the lake of Gennesaret,
(02:52):
which was another small town onthis lake.
If that wasn't enough, in theOld Testament, the Sea of
Galilee was referred to as theSea of Kinereth.
Finally, in modern day, the Seaof Galilee is known in Israel as
Yam Kineret.
And as the scripture teaches us,a large crowd was now following
(03:17):
Jesus.
At this point, Jesus' ministryhad become very popular, not
because people were believing onJesus as the Messiah, but rather
because they saw him do signsand heal the sick.
Many people were coming to Jesusfor healing.
People were curious.
They wanted to find out who thisman was who could heal the lame,
(03:41):
who could make the blind to see,and many people just wanted
physical help.
And in the middle of all thisbecoming popular and all of this
pressure from the crowd, Jesusand his disciples are trying to
take a break.
They're trying to get somerespite, but the crowd is
quickly on his heels.
(04:03):
We also see that despite thiscrowd's largely lack of faith
and selfish motivations, Jesushas compassion on them.
He welcomes them and heals them.
He speaks to them about thekingdom of God.
So Jesus and his disciples go upon the mountain.
(04:24):
This mountain spoken of here isvery likely the Golan Heights.
It's a sloping hill country eastof the lake.
The reference to the mountainhere may be intentional by the
apostle John to try and draw acomparison as to how Moses had
once gone up on Mount Sinai.
(04:47):
And since the Passover wasdrawing near, the Jewish people
would have their minds set onhow Moses had delivered them
from the slavery in Egypt.
Many would have high hopes atthis time that there would be
that prophet like Moses todeliver them from the Roman
Empire.
(05:07):
And when Jesus went up to themountain with his disciples, he
sat down with them.
We might think of it like ameeting.
Jesus sat down with hisdisciples to prepare them for
the teaching of this crowd.
Jesus would regularly do this,sitting down with his disciples
apart from the crowds andteaching them how to minister.
(05:29):
And again, I want to remind us,as the scripture does, that the
Passover of the Jews was athand.
This is the second Passoverspecifically mentioned in the
Gospel of John.
There will be three Passoverssignifying three years of Jesus'
ministry mentioned in the Gospelof John.
(05:50):
Picking up in verse five.
Lifting up his eyes, then andseeing a large crowd coming
toward him, Jesus said toPhilip, Where are we to buy
bread so that these people mayeat?
He said this to test him, for hehimself knew what he would do.
Philip answered him, two hundreddenari worth of bread would not
(06:14):
be enough for each of them tojust get a little.
One of his disciples, Andrew,Simon Peter's brother, said to
him, There's a boy here who hasfive barley loaves and two fish,
but what are they for so many?
Jesus said to them, Have thepeople sit down.
(06:35):
Now there was much grass in thisplace, so the men sat down,
about five thousand in number.
Here in verses five through ten,even though Jesus had taken his
disciples up this mountain tospend some time with them away
from the crowd, the crowd becameimpatient, and they started
(06:58):
coming up the hill towards them.
Now Jesus asks Philip to testPhilip, where are we going to
get some bread?
Philip himself was fromBethseda, which was a town very
close nearby, less than ninemiles away.
Philip would have known thelocal resources.
(07:19):
But Jesus was testing him to seeif he would trust in his own
abilities, his own strength,rather than look to Jesus to
solve this problem.
And Philip answers that twohundred denarii would not be
enough.
Well two hundred denarii wouldbe about eight months wages.
(07:40):
The crowd was so large that eventhis great amount would not have
been enough to feed them.
Humanly speaking, it wasimpossible to get this amount of
food for this many people thislate in the day from one of
these small neighboringvillages.
And Philip knew it.
(08:02):
All four gospels include thisevent where Jesus feeds the five
thousand.
This event in Jesus' ministry isobviously monumental.
It is huge for the disciples,and it is included in every
single gospel account.
When cross referencing the othergospels, we see some more
(08:23):
details.
We see that when Jesus hadinitially gotten out of the boat
from crossing the Sea ofGalilee, he had compassion on
the crowd.
He began to teach them and evenheal their sick prior to this
event.
The other gospels teach us thatit was also late in the day when
this event happened.
(08:44):
And after Jesus talks with hisdisciples about where they are
going to get this food, a youngboy comes up in faith with five
loaves of barley and two fish.
Now a couple side notes on thebarley and the fish.
This was common food for poorpeople.
People who had money would eatwheat bread, but the poor would
(09:07):
eat the barley.
The two fish that this young boyhave were probably dried or
preserved, possibly evenpickled.
And this young boy comes toJesus and the disciples as
they're discussing where they'regoing to get food.
What a beautiful example of achild's faith wanting to help
(09:28):
with the little that they have.
And upon seeing this childlikefaith, Jesus orders these people
to sit down.
We learn in the Gospels of Lukeand Mark that the people sat
down in groups of hundreds andfifties.
This made distribution of foodeasy, and it also made counting
(09:48):
the crowd easy.
It's interesting that thescriptures note there was much
grass in this place.
It is the springtime, the timeof Passover season, and there
was plenty of grass in thisarea.
And Jesus as the good shepherdleads his people to green
pastures.
(10:09):
And we are told that the men sitdown, about five thousand in
number.
Another interesting and distinctnote of this is that the Greek
word used here for men meansmale individuals.
The men numbered five thousand,plus there were women and
children.
There were likely between tenand twenty thousand people that
(10:32):
had come seeking Jesus and hisdisciples.
This was the population ofmultiple villages coming to see
Jesus all at one time.
Picking up in verse eleven,Jesus then took the loaves, and
when he had given thanks, hedistributed them to those who
were seated, so also the fish,as much as they wanted.
(10:57):
And when they had eaten theirfill, he told the disciples,
gather up the leftover fragmentsthat nothing may be lost.
So they gathered them up, andthey filled twelve baskets with
fragments from the five barleyloaves left by those who had
eaten.
When the people saw this signthat he had done, they said,
(11:20):
This is indeed the prophet whohas come into the world.
Perceiving then that they wereabout to come and take him by
force to make him king, Jesuswithdrew again to the mountain
by himself.
Verses eleven through fifteendescribes the greatness of this
(11:40):
miracle.
Jesus didn't just give thepeople a small meal to tide them
over, he filled their stomachsuntil they were satisfied.
And we see another veryinteresting thing here.
Jesus commands his disciples topick up the leftovers.
Although Jesus had the power tocreate as much as he wanted
(12:03):
whenever he wanted, he takestime to pick up the leftovers.
This shows the responsibility hehas to his father's ministry.
Even though the bread isbiodegradable, if the pieces
would have been left behind onthe ground, it would have
reflected poorly on Jesus'ministry and the miracle that he
(12:27):
had just performed to anyonethat lived there locally.
Furthermore, Jesus is teachinghis disciples to be a good
steward of what they have beengiven.
When we are given an abundanceby God, we should use it for
God's glory, not wasting onefragment.
(12:47):
And as the disciples gatheredthese fragments, there was
enough leftovers so that each ofthe twelve disciples had his own
personal basket.
Certainly this was part of thereminder that Jesus gave each
disciple of his abundance.
Jesus shows the disciples thathe is more than sufficient to
(13:11):
provide for their needs, alesson they would soon need to
be reminded of.
Now as the crowd experiences andsees this incredible miracle and
signed from Jesus, they see itrightfully as Jesus fulfilling
the prophecy of the promisedprophet that Moses said he would
(13:32):
send in Deuteronomy 1815.
We also see in Acts chapterthree verses twenty two and
twenty-three that Peter andStephen confirm that Jesus is
the fulfillment of Moses'prophecy in sending a prophet
like him.
(13:53):
This incredible miracle andprovision of food as Jesus feeds
these five thousand, just afterhe had declared that he was the
living water at the Feast ofTabernacles, both declare to the
Jewish people as they'recelebrating God's feasts for
Israel in the wilderness, thatJesus is indeed the prophet
(14:15):
Moses spoke about.
However, Jesus is much more thana prophet.
He is God incarnate.
The title of prophet is not acommon title associated with
Jesus.
However Jesus was, Jesus is, andhe will fulfill all prophecy.
(14:38):
And in his carnation he revealedto us who God truly is, and what
all prophecy is about Himself,the Messiah Emmanuel, God with
us.
And as this crowd rightfullyrecognizes that Jesus is the
(15:00):
promised prophet, they weregoing to come and take Jesus and
make him king.
We see that Jesus perceivedthis, he had supernatural
knowledge of what they werethinking and what they were
planning to do.
The crowd, having seen this signfrom God, did not fully
(15:21):
understand its meaning, butrather they saw Jesus as a
political Messiah, one who wouldfree them from the Roman
oppression.
And then this crowd becomesincited by mob enthusiasm, and
they plan to go ahead with acrazy political agenda, an
agenda that would havejeopardized God's will.
(15:42):
In his first coming, Jesusdidn't come to be made a
political king, and he wantsnothing to do with what could
become a spontaneous politicaluprising.
So Jesus withdraws from thecrowd and goes to the mountain.
In the Gospel of Matthew andMark, we also find that Jesus
had told his disciples to go tothe boat and leave, as he would
(16:04):
dismiss the crowd.
All of this shows Jesus'protection over his disciples,
as he sends them away from thisunruly crowd while he deals with
the issue and dismisses them.
Jesus going up to the mountaingives us confirmation on how
both Jesus and the discipleswithdrew from this crowd.
(16:30):
Clearly some of the crowd didn'twant to be dismissed, so Jesus
goes by himself away from theunruly crowd to pray after
having dismissed them.
Picking up in verse sixteen Whenevening came his disciples went
down to the sea, got into aboat, and started crossing the
(16:52):
sea to Capernaum.
It was now dark, and Jesus hadnot yet come to them.
In verses sixteen and seventeenwe see that after Jesus had
dismissed his disciples, theywalked down the mountain to the
boat.
So what happened between Jesustalking to them and them getting
(17:15):
in the boat was that Jesus wasdismissing the crowd, and they
waited for Jesus on the shoreuntil it became dark.
Finally they get in the boat anddo what Jesus told them to do,
which was to go ahead of him.
Picking up in verse eighteen.
(17:35):
The sea had become rough becauseof a strong wind that was
blowing.
When they had rowed about threeor four miles, they saw Jesus
walking on the sea and comingnear the boat, and they were
frightened.
What an incredible two verses inverses eighteen and nineteen.
(17:55):
The Sea of Galilee is well knownfor its sudden storms.
The sea is almost seven hundredfeet below sea level, and the
cooler Mediterranean winds fromthe west get funneled through
several valleys that descendinto the lake, and they often
collide with the hotter inlandair, and this creates strong
(18:19):
winds.
The west wind often picks up atevening, and the disciples are
headed right into it.
In the Gospel of Mark, we'retold that the disciples were
having a hard time makingheadway because the wind was
against them.
Also in the Gospel of Mark, wesee that Jesus saw this
(18:40):
happening before he even camenear the boat, which gives us
insight into Jesus' supernaturalabilities, as the disciples were
three to four miles out and inthe middle of this storm.
The shortest distance toCapernaum from where they were
would have been about six miles.
So the disciples are pretty muchexactly halfway there, and in
(19:04):
the middle of the lake, they hida very bad storm.
Now both the Gospel of Matthewand Mark record that when the
disciples initially saw Jesuswalking on the water, they
thought it was a ghost.
The Gospels even record thatwhen the disciples saw Jesus
they were so afraid they beganto cry out in fear.
(19:28):
The Gospel of Mark even recordsthat Jesus meant to pass them
by.
And Jesus did this both to testhis disciples as well as give a
visible demonstration of hisauthority.
His authority over the worldthat he created.
Jesus is displaying his controlover gravity, over the winds and
(19:50):
over the seas.
In the Old Testament, itdeclares that God alone rules
over the seas.
Psalm eighty-nine nine reads,You rule the raging of the sea.
When its waves rise, you stillthem.
(20:11):
Picking up in verse 20.
But he said to them, It is I donot be afraid.
Then they were glad to take himinto the boat, and immediately
the boat was at the land towhich they were going.
Verses 20 and 21 are packed withincredible information.
(20:34):
When Jesus says, It is I, theGreek phrase is actually I am.
As Jesus is approaching hisdisciples walking on the water,
he tells them that it is he, buthe does so in a way that
declares his divinity the wayGod spoke to Moses.
(20:54):
When God told Moses, I am who Iam.
Now in the Gospel of Matthew, italso describes how Peter asks
Jesus if he can come out of theboat and walk on the water with
him, how Peter began to walk onthe water, how he became afraid
and began to sink.
(21:16):
And this all happened obviouslybefore they invited Jesus into
the boat.
But here in the Gospel of John,we find an amazing statement of
God's command over time andspace.
It says immediately the boat wasat the land.
Now remember, the boat was onlyhalfway across the Sea of
(21:39):
Galilee.
It was in the middle of a badstorm at the time they saw
Jesus.
They had been rowing againstthese strong headwinds and were
very likely completelyexhausted.
Think how in our own lives wecan be in the middle of a storm,
exhausted from striving on ourown strength, not seeing a way
(22:02):
to get out to our destination,and like the disciples, we can
be in a place where fear gripsus, not even recognizing that
God is walking right next to us.
But the moment the disciplesinvited Jesus into the boat,
they arrived at theirdestination.
The Gospel of John here has thesense that this is another
(22:26):
miracle that took place themoment Jesus got in the boat.
Jesus supernaturally transportedthem across two or three miles
of sea.
Not only did Jesus show hisdisciples the power he has over
the wind and the waves, but heshows them his power over space
(22:48):
and time.
One final note before we close.
In the Gospel of Mark, it tellsus that the disciples were
utterly astonished because theydidn't understand about the
loaves.
Their hearts were stillhardened.
Even after seeing the miracle ofthe five thousand, some of these
(23:09):
disciples did not yet understandthat Jesus as the Messiah was
God incarnate.
Jesus coming to them, walking onthe water, declaring that he was
I am, then calming the storm,showing his powers over the
elements of the earth, and thentransporting the ship across the
(23:33):
sea shows he has power even overspace and time.
These things were to show hisdisciples truly who he was.
Thank you for joining me todayfor the feeding of the five
thousand and Jesus walking onthe water.
God bless you this week.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thank you once again for joiningme for the mysteries of God's
Word.
Today we are in John chaptersix, where Jesus feeds the five
thousand.
This is an incredible andglorious miracle that Jesus does
(00:37):
to thousands of people.
And today we begin at verse one.
After this Jesus went away tothe other side of the Sea of
Galilee, which is the Sea ofTiberias.
And a large crowd was followinghim, because they saw the signs
that he was doing on the sick.
(00:59):
Jesus went up on the mountain,and there he sat down with his
disciples.
Now the Passover, the feast ofthe Jews, was at hand.
In the first four verses ofchapter six, we are once again
introduced to a new context andthe flow of Jesus' ministry.
(01:24):
In chapter five, we had read howJesus had been at a feast in
Jerusalem, where he healed theparalytic at the pool of
Bethesda on the Sabbath.
And then he gave the Jewishleaders quite an earful about
who he was and why they did notlove God.
(01:46):
If the feast in John chapterfive was the Feast of
Tabernacles, otherwise known asthe Feast of Booths, then at
least six months has passed.
And we read that Jesus wentacross the Sea of Galilee to the
eastern shore to find some rest.
Jesus and his disciples wereavoiding any conflict with
(02:08):
Herod, who had just killed Johnthe Baptist.
We also see that overwhelmingcrowds are beginning to follow
Jesus and his disciples.
They're coming from all overbecause of his miracles of
healing the sick.
One of the notes mentioned inverse one was that the Sea of
(02:29):
Galilee was also known as theSea of Tiberius.
The Sea of Galilee went bydifferent names, and it was
named the Sea of Tiberius byHerod Antipus in honor of the
Roman Emperor Tiberius.
Just to further show how thispopular lake was known by
different names, it was alsoknown as the lake of Gennesaret,
(02:52):
which was another small town onthis lake.
If that wasn't enough, in theOld Testament, the Sea of
Galilee was referred to as theSea of Kinereth.
Finally, in modern day, the Seaof Galilee is known in Israel as
Yam Kineret.
And as the scripture teaches us,a large crowd was now following
(03:17):
Jesus.
At this point, Jesus' ministryhad become very popular, not
because people were believing onJesus as the Messiah, but rather
because they saw him do signsand heal the sick.
Many people were coming to Jesusfor healing.
People were curious.
They wanted to find out who thisman was who could heal the lame,
(03:41):
who could make the blind to see,and many people just wanted
physical help.
And in the middle of all thisbecoming popular and all of this
pressure from the crowd, Jesusand his disciples are trying to
take a break.
They're trying to get somerespite, but the crowd is
quickly on his heels.
(04:03):
We also see that despite thiscrowd's largely lack of faith
and selfish motivations, Jesushas compassion on them.
He welcomes them and heals them.
He speaks to them about thekingdom of God.
So Jesus and his disciples go upon the mountain.
(04:24):
This mountain spoken of here isvery likely the Golan Heights.
It's a sloping hill country eastof the lake.
The reference to the mountainhere may be intentional by the
apostle John to try and draw acomparison as to how Moses had
once gone up on Mount Sinai.
(04:47):
And since the Passover wasdrawing near, the Jewish people
would have their minds set onhow Moses had delivered them
from the slavery in Egypt.
Many would have high hopes atthis time that there would be
that prophet like Moses todeliver them from the Roman
Empire.
(05:07):
And when Jesus went up to themountain with his disciples, he
sat down with them.
We might think of it like ameeting.
Jesus sat down with hisdisciples to prepare them for
the teaching of this crowd.
Jesus would regularly do this,sitting down with his disciples
apart from the crowds andteaching them how to minister.
(05:29):
And again, I want to remind us,as the scripture does, that the
Passover of the Jews was athand.
This is the second Passoverspecifically mentioned in the
Gospel of John.
There will be three Passoverssignifying three years of Jesus'
ministry mentioned in the Gospelof John.
(05:50):
Picking up in verse five.
Lifting up his eyes, then andseeing a large crowd coming
toward him, Jesus said toPhilip, Where are we to buy
bread so that these people mayeat?
He said this to test him, for hehimself knew what he would do.
Philip answered him, two hundreddenari worth of bread would not
(06:14):
be enough for each of them tojust get a little.
One of his disciples, Andrew,Simon Peter's brother, said to
him, There's a boy here who hasfive barley loaves and two fish,
but what are they for so many?
Jesus said to them, Have thepeople sit down.
(06:35):
Now there was much grass in thisplace, so the men sat down,
about five thousand in number.
Here in verses five through ten,even though Jesus had taken his
disciples up this mountain tospend some time with them away
from the crowd, the crowd becameimpatient, and they started
(06:58):
coming up the hill towards them.
Now Jesus asks Philip to testPhilip, where are we going to
get some bread?
Philip himself was fromBethseda, which was a town very
close nearby, less than ninemiles away.
Philip would have known thelocal resources.
(07:19):
But Jesus was testing him to seeif he would trust in his own
abilities, his own strength,rather than look to Jesus to
solve this problem.
And Philip answers that twohundred denarii would not be
enough.
Well two hundred denarii wouldbe about eight months wages.
(07:40):
The crowd was so large that eventhis great amount would not have
been enough to feed them.
Humanly speaking, it wasimpossible to get this amount of
food for this many people thislate in the day from one of
these small neighboringvillages.
And Philip knew it.
(08:02):
All four gospels include thisevent where Jesus feeds the five
thousand.
This event in Jesus' ministry isobviously monumental.
It is huge for the disciples,and it is included in every
single gospel account.
When cross referencing the othergospels, we see some more
(08:23):
details.
We see that when Jesus hadinitially gotten out of the boat
from crossing the Sea ofGalilee, he had compassion on
the crowd.
He began to teach them and evenheal their sick prior to this
event.
The other gospels teach us thatit was also late in the day when
this event happened.
(08:44):
And after Jesus talks with hisdisciples about where they are
going to get this food, a youngboy comes up in faith with five
loaves of barley and two fish.
Now a couple side notes on thebarley and the fish.
This was common food for poorpeople.
People who had money would eatwheat bread, but the poor would
(09:07):
eat the barley.
The two fish that this young boyhave were probably dried or
preserved, possibly evenpickled.
And this young boy comes toJesus and the disciples as
they're discussing where they'regoing to get food.
What a beautiful example of achild's faith wanting to help
(09:28):
with the little that they have.
And upon seeing this childlikefaith, Jesus orders these people
to sit down.
We learn in the Gospels of Lukeand Mark that the people sat
down in groups of hundreds andfifties.
This made distribution of foodeasy, and it also made counting
(09:48):
the crowd easy.
It's interesting that thescriptures note there was much
grass in this place.
It is the springtime, the timeof Passover season, and there
was plenty of grass in thisarea.
And Jesus as the good shepherdleads his people to green
pastures.
(10:09):
And we are told that the men sitdown, about five thousand in
number.
Another interesting and distinctnote of this is that the Greek
word used here for men meansmale individuals.
The men numbered five thousand,plus there were women and
children.
There were likely between tenand twenty thousand people that
(10:32):
had come seeking Jesus and hisdisciples.
This was the population ofmultiple villages coming to see
Jesus all at one time.
Picking up in verse eleven,Jesus then took the loaves, and
when he had given thanks, hedistributed them to those who
were seated, so also the fish,as much as they wanted.
(10:57):
And when they had eaten theirfill, he told the disciples,
gather up the leftover fragmentsthat nothing may be lost.
So they gathered them up, andthey filled twelve baskets with
fragments from the five barleyloaves left by those who had
eaten.
When the people saw this signthat he had done, they said,
(11:20):
This is indeed the prophet whohas come into the world.
Perceiving then that they wereabout to come and take him by
force to make him king, Jesuswithdrew again to the mountain
by himself.
Verses eleven through fifteendescribes the greatness of this
(11:40):
miracle.
Jesus didn't just give thepeople a small meal to tide them
over, he filled their stomachsuntil they were satisfied.
And we see another veryinteresting thing here.
Jesus commands his disciples topick up the leftovers.
Although Jesus had the power tocreate as much as he wanted
(12:03):
whenever he wanted, he takestime to pick up the leftovers.
This shows the responsibility hehas to his father's ministry.
Even though the bread isbiodegradable, if the pieces
would have been left behind onthe ground, it would have
reflected poorly on Jesus'ministry and the miracle that he
(12:27):
had just performed to anyonethat lived there locally.
Furthermore, Jesus is teachinghis disciples to be a good
steward of what they have beengiven.
When we are given an abundanceby God, we should use it for
God's glory, not wasting onefragment.
(12:47):
And as the disciples gatheredthese fragments, there was
enough leftovers so that each ofthe twelve disciples had his own
personal basket.
Certainly this was part of thereminder that Jesus gave each
disciple of his abundance.
Jesus shows the disciples thathe is more than sufficient to
(13:11):
provide for their needs, alesson they would soon need to
be reminded of.
Now as the crowd experiences andsees this incredible miracle and
signed from Jesus, they see itrightfully as Jesus fulfilling
the prophecy of the promisedprophet that Moses said he would
(13:32):
send in Deuteronomy 1815.
We also see in Acts chapterthree verses twenty two and
twenty-three that Peter andStephen confirm that Jesus is
the fulfillment of Moses'prophecy in sending a prophet
like him.
(13:53):
This incredible miracle andprovision of food as Jesus feeds
these five thousand, just afterhe had declared that he was the
living water at the Feast ofTabernacles, both declare to the
Jewish people as they'recelebrating God's feasts for
Israel in the wilderness, thatJesus is indeed the prophet
(14:15):
Moses spoke about.
However, Jesus is much more thana prophet.
He is God incarnate.
The title of prophet is not acommon title associated with
Jesus.
However Jesus was, Jesus is, andhe will fulfill all prophecy.
(14:38):
And in his carnation he revealedto us who God truly is, and what
all prophecy is about Himself,the Messiah Emmanuel, God with
us.
And as this crowd rightfullyrecognizes that Jesus is the
(15:00):
promised prophet, they weregoing to come and take Jesus and
make him king.
We see that Jesus perceivedthis, he had supernatural
knowledge of what they werethinking and what they were
planning to do.
The crowd, having seen this signfrom God, did not fully
(15:21):
understand its meaning, butrather they saw Jesus as a
political Messiah, one who wouldfree them from the Roman
oppression.
And then this crowd becomesincited by mob enthusiasm, and
they plan to go ahead with acrazy political agenda, an
agenda that would havejeopardized God's will.
(15:42):
In his first coming, Jesusdidn't come to be made a
political king, and he wantsnothing to do with what could
become a spontaneous politicaluprising.
So Jesus withdraws from thecrowd and goes to the mountain.
In the Gospel of Matthew andMark, we also find that Jesus
had told his disciples to go tothe boat and leave, as he would
(16:04):
dismiss the crowd.
All of this shows Jesus'protection over his disciples,
as he sends them away from thisunruly crowd while he deals with
the issue and dismisses them.
Jesus going up to the mountaingives us confirmation on how
both Jesus and the discipleswithdrew from this crowd.
(16:30):
Clearly some of the crowd didn'twant to be dismissed, so Jesus
goes by himself away from theunruly crowd to pray after
having dismissed them.
Picking up in verse sixteen Whenevening came his disciples went
down to the sea, got into aboat, and started crossing the
(16:52):
sea to Capernaum.
It was now dark, and Jesus hadnot yet come to them.
In verses sixteen and seventeenwe see that after Jesus had
dismissed his disciples, theywalked down the mountain to the
boat.
So what happened between Jesustalking to them and them getting
(17:15):
in the boat was that Jesus wasdismissing the crowd, and they
waited for Jesus on the shoreuntil it became dark.
Finally they get in the boat anddo what Jesus told them to do,
which was to go ahead of him.
Picking up in verse eighteen.
(17:35):
The sea had become rough becauseof a strong wind that was
blowing.
When they had rowed about threeor four miles, they saw Jesus
walking on the sea and comingnear the boat, and they were
frightened.
What an incredible two verses inverses eighteen and nineteen.
(17:55):
The Sea of Galilee is well knownfor its sudden storms.
The sea is almost seven hundredfeet below sea level, and the
cooler Mediterranean winds fromthe west get funneled through
several valleys that descendinto the lake, and they often
collide with the hotter inlandair, and this creates strong
(18:19):
winds.
The west wind often picks up atevening, and the disciples are
headed right into it.
In the Gospel of Mark, we'retold that the disciples were
having a hard time makingheadway because the wind was
against them.
Also in the Gospel of Mark, wesee that Jesus saw this
(18:40):
happening before he even camenear the boat, which gives us
insight into Jesus' supernaturalabilities, as the disciples were
three to four miles out and inthe middle of this storm.
The shortest distance toCapernaum from where they were
would have been about six miles.
So the disciples are pretty muchexactly halfway there, and in
(19:04):
the middle of the lake, they hida very bad storm.
Now both the Gospel of Matthewand Mark record that when the
disciples initially saw Jesuswalking on the water, they
thought it was a ghost.
The Gospels even record thatwhen the disciples saw Jesus
they were so afraid they beganto cry out in fear.
(19:28):
The Gospel of Mark even recordsthat Jesus meant to pass them
by.
And Jesus did this both to testhis disciples as well as give a
visible demonstration of hisauthority.
His authority over the worldthat he created.
Jesus is displaying his controlover gravity, over the winds and
(19:50):
over the seas.
In the Old Testament, itdeclares that God alone rules
over the seas.
Psalm eighty-nine nine reads,You rule the raging of the sea.
When its waves rise, you stillthem.
(20:11):
Picking up in verse 20.
But he said to them, It is I donot be afraid.
Then they were glad to take himinto the boat, and immediately
the boat was at the land towhich they were going.
Verses 20 and 21 are packed withincredible information.
(20:34):
When Jesus says, It is I, theGreek phrase is actually I am.
As Jesus is approaching hisdisciples walking on the water,
he tells them that it is he, buthe does so in a way that
declares his divinity the wayGod spoke to Moses.
(20:54):
When God told Moses, I am who Iam.
Now in the Gospel of Matthew, italso describes how Peter asks
Jesus if he can come out of theboat and walk on the water with
him, how Peter began to walk onthe water, how he became afraid
and began to sink.
(21:16):
And this all happened obviouslybefore they invited Jesus into
the boat.
But here in the Gospel of John,we find an amazing statement of
God's command over time andspace.
It says immediately the boat wasat the land.
Now remember, the boat was onlyhalfway across the Sea of
(21:39):
Galilee.
It was in the middle of a badstorm at the time they saw
Jesus.
They had been rowing againstthese strong headwinds and were
very likely completelyexhausted.
Think how in our own lives wecan be in the middle of a storm,
exhausted from striving on ourown strength, not seeing a way
(22:02):
to get out to our destination,and like the disciples, we can
be in a place where fear gripsus, not even recognizing that
God is walking right next to us.
But the moment the disciplesinvited Jesus into the boat,
they arrived at theirdestination.
The Gospel of John here has thesense that this is another
(22:26):
miracle that took place themoment Jesus got in the boat.
Jesus supernaturally transportedthem across two or three miles
of sea.
Not only did Jesus show hisdisciples the power he has over
the wind and the waves, but heshows them his power over space
(22:48):
and time.
One final note before we close.
In the Gospel of Mark, it tellsus that the disciples were
utterly astonished because theydidn't understand about the
loaves.
Their hearts were stillhardened.
Even after seeing the miracle ofthe five thousand, some of these
(23:09):
disciples did not yet understandthat Jesus as the Messiah was
God incarnate.
Jesus coming to them, walking onthe water, declaring that he was
I am, then calming the storm,showing his powers over the
elements of the earth, and thentransporting the ship across the
(23:33):
sea shows he has power even overspace and time.
These things were to show hisdisciples truly who he was.
Thank you for joining me todayfor the feeding of the five
thousand and Jesus walking onthe water.
God bless you this week.
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