In the Beginning: The Book of John

((John 5:41-47[HCSB])

41 “I do not accept glory from men, 42 but I know you that you have no love for God within you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, yet you don’t accept Me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe? While accepting glory from one another, you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God. 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. 47 But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe My words? ”

How can we believe?

Simple acceptance of Jesus is our only avenue to salvation.

When Jesus is talking about “believing Moses” we have to consider the context of what that meant in the time and place of Jesus’ ministry. And … how, you might ask, did Moses write about Jesus?

1.) The context was a land under the traditional covering of Yahweh [God] and whose tradition was steeped in the inerrant Scripture of the Torah from which all laws and culture were drawn. Jesus is equating Himself with the primary author and prophet of the Hebrew faith. Jesus is the new Moses.

2.) How Moses wrote about Jesus is in the way he wrote about God Himself. Jesus is stating that not only is He “on par” with the Father, but that He is the Father. That alone was a blasphemy worthy of being stoned to death for under Jewish law.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19 says:

15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 This is what you requested from the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die! ’ 17 Then the LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to My words that he speaks in My name ...”

((John 6:1-10 [HCSB])

1 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).

2 And a huge crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was performing by healing the sick.

3 So Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with His disciples.

4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near.

5 Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so these people can eat? ” 6 He asked this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do.

7 Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.”

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish but what are they for so many? ”

10 Then Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

So little bread, so many people

This is the fourth sign.

What is fascinating, if we read this passage closely, is the motivation of the people that were following Jesus. The prevalence of illness and disability seems to be a theme that makes Galilee, two thousand years ago, very similar to the times we are living in. What motivates us has not changed significantly over the millennia:

“And a huge crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was healing the sick.”

The reason that the crowd was unusually large was because of the people who were assembling themselves for the Passover festival in and around Jerusalem. Yet, Jesus knows that within any group seeking entertainment and personal relief, there are those who have a genuine heart for God. Those are the individuals He ministers to in the larger context of the “five thousand.” Jesus took advantage of the crowds of festival-goers to have the infrequent opportunity afforded by a mass audience. This is a phenomenon that we take for granted today.

If we keep in mind that John’s primary goal is to remind us of Jesus’ identity as Messiah, then we begin to see that Philip’s question goes to a more deeply theological place. The answer to the disciple’s seemingly mundane question is that Jesus Himself is the bread of life, and He alone will sustain the believer in the way that manna sustained those in exodus from Egypt. We can also assume that when Jesus asked the crowd to be seated during the feeding, that He may have also intended to teach while they ate. What is the real meal miracle?

Note: How much is two hundred denarii? If a single denarius is 1 day’s working wage, then it appears that it would have taken the equivalent of about 7 to 8 months wages to feed the crowd.

(John 6:10b-15[HCSB])

There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated — so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.

12 When they were full, He told His disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.

14 When the people saw the sign He had done, they said, “This really is the Prophet who was to come into the world! ”

15 Therefore, when Jesus knew that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.

The real miracle

If, as it is asserted, there were more than 15,000 individuals assembled to hear Jesus, then there was far more food required than the disciples could have purchased at one time, even if they had the available resources and time to do so.

So, there was indeed a miracle performed that day; but what exactly was the miracle that occurred one spring day on the cool grassy shores of the Sea of Galilee? Was it Christ multiplying the loaves and fishes Himself, or was it the sharing of personal belongings which provided more than enough to eat for each man, woman, and child? Was it the gift of giving itself that provided such abundance?

I am not attempting to rewrite, or to reinterpret what the author of John and the others have written, but to try and better appreciate the true nature of our miraculous God and Savior.

Our Thanksgiving tradition gives us an annual glimpse into the miracle of feeding the 5000. For a brief time we gather and share what we have with those who have enough, and those who have little. The math tells us that if we pool our resources all will have more than enough if the abundance is distributed evenly and consumed wisely. The “Law of Divine Abundance” suggests that there is more than enough for each man, woman, and child (worldwide) if we do not hoard out of fear or make goods scarce for the sake of profit.

It should be noted that this same event is found in Matthew chapter 14, and is repeated to Gentiles numbering 4000 in chapter 16. Jesus felt incredible compassion for His followers. In His compassion what was the practical knowledge He wanted them to take away from the experience … one that we can practice today since fishes and loaves are still not produced without the use of nets and ovens?

Sheep feeding themselves is miraculous.

(John 6:16-25[HCSB])

16 When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 Then a high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. 19 After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid.

20 But He said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid! ” 21 Then they were willing to take Him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading. 22 The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea knew there had been only one boat. They also knew that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone off alone. 23 Some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord gave thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “ Rabbi, when did You get here? ”

The Fifth sign: walking on water

How would you react if you had rowed a long distance, in this case half-way across the sea, and then saw someone walking effortlessly toward you? What if it was after nightfall in rough waters, and it was hard to see? Would you be afraid, resentful, awestruck? Some of these? All of these? Then you can probably imagine what might have been going through the Disciples’ heads as they watched Jesus walking toward them on the water described as, “a churning sea,” by Scripture.

Do keep in mind that it is not clear that the Disciples were aware that the figure coming toward them was Jesus. He had not come with the group, and it is unlikely they assumed He would walk to them, because … if you recall … after teaching the hungry crowd, Jesus had “withdrawn” to a place of solitude to presumably pray and regain His strength in the Lord. Also a fact to consider: the Sea of Galilee was about 6 or 7 miles across in the direction they were rowing toward Capernaum, so they had only rowed part way; it was not close enough for a man to have easily swum to them.

In verse 20 Jesus says, “It is I …” which harks back to God in Exodus 3:14 saying to the Israelites, “I AM WHO I AM.”

Jesus is an expert at being both a surprise, and a stabilizing force! As God, and as man, He is both unexpected and wondrous in His mercy and His methods; as an anchor He is the One who not only calms the storm, but is the One who walks on the churning waters of our lives to reassure us, and to reach us.

If Jesus is our lighthouse when the seas churn, then how much more is He when they are calm?