John 6

Chapter: http://www.esvbible.org/John+6/

Sorry I was unable to post yesterday! Things got crazy, but I will make two posts by the end of today. First is John 6.

John 6 opens with a well-known story: Jesus feeds five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Not only is this a great miracle, but it is also the only story from Jesus' found in all four of the gospels. John, who usually doesn't write according to the other three does share this story. Now Jesus sees the huge crowd at the beginning of the story, and since the high priests, Roman officials, and other rich people around at the time despised Him, the people in the crowd were probably ordinary, poor people, especially considering where He was; however, He wants to speak to the people, so He goes p to the mountain, which acts as a natural pulpit, and He wants to feed them. The poor are just as loved by God as the rich, and we should copy this in our daily lives. Jesus asks His disciple Phillip where they can buy bread for all the people, and Phillip can only think of the how and determines it would be way to expensive. Jesus really only asks this question to test Phillip's faith because He is never at a loss for what to do. Phillip fails. Andrew, another disciple, finds a boy with five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus says He'll take care of the rest. He first gives thanks for the food, even for as little as there is. then, He Himself distributes the bread as He does with every need and comfort in our lives. It comes from Him through others. Finally, He provided enough for them all to have as much as they wanted, and there was food to spare.

The disciples later set out to sea but are caught in a terrible storm. When Jesus goes out to save them, they are so afraid that they don't recognize Him at first and fear Him. Once they accept Jesus onto the ship, He immediately brings them to safety.

At the beginning of the next part of the chapter, the crowd confirms the miracle of Jesus walking on the sea because there is no boat gone for Him to have used. When the crowd sees that He is gone, they resort to follow Him, just as every person who does not have Him searches far and wide to find Him, even if they don't know that that is what they are doing. They eventually find Him just as all who seek Him will. Jesus knows that while the crowd did follow Him, their intentions were not pure; they did not want to hear his teachings, they wanted Him to feed them. Jesus tells them not to work after things in this world because they mean nothing in the scope of eternity. We should work at heavenly things because wealth, fame, popularity, and all of the shallow things of this world will one day be gone to us, and we need to be preparing things for what lies ahead of us. Jesus tells the people that He is the bread of life, and whoever comes to HIm will never go hungry because He takes care of the one's the Father sends Him. He then foreshadows the last supper when He says they must eat His body and drink His blood. At this time, Jesus had many more than twelve disciples, but they did not like what He told the people they had to do, so all but the twelve returned to the lives they had lived out before they met Him. Many who begin to follow Christ eventually return to the way they lived before because they do not want to live the way Jesus calls us to. In the end of the chapter, Jesus again predicts His death and that one of the twelve will betray Him, and John tells us then that Judas will be the one to do so.