He Did What?
John 6:1-21
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Key Verse: John 6:14 –
“When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”
Today’s text is the first of five lessons from John 6. Why, you may wonder, did the committee behind the lectionary choose this sequence? In the first place, John 6 is quite long: 71 verses, to be exact. In the second place, it is packed with memorable stories about Jesus’ growing popularity, his remarkable demonstrations of power, and his mind-boggling teachings. The chapter is so dense, in fact, that today’s text contains two of those stories. [DD] [DD]
A hungry people (vv. 1-9)
The first story must have been especially popular, for it is the only one of Jesus’ “mighty works,” other the resurrection, that is recorded in all four gospels (Matt. 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:1-14). There are some differences in the stories, but also many similarities.
The story’s appearance in all four gospels tells us how significant the early church considered the memory of this event to be. Broken bread and fish not only fed thousands of people, but provided important lessons for those who follow Jesus. Before chapter six is done, Jesus will confound his listeners by describing himself as the bread of life (v. 35).
The story comes at a time when Jesus’ ministry was just beginning, when he was best known as a wonder-worker and healer. Large crowds followed him, hoping to witness a miracle or to be healed (v. 2). When Jesus climbed up the side of a low mountain and sat down with his disciples, it’s not surprising that multitudes followed them (v. 3).
John’s brief mention of the approaching Passover (v. 4) seems to have nothing to do with the story, but may have been intended as a pointer to Jesus’ later remarks that speak of his body and blood in ways that foreshadow the Last Supper. Since the miraculous meal follows directly, some commentators see the feeding of the five thousand as a type of Passover meal marking a new kind of deliverance.
While the other gospels spell out Jesus’ compassion for the multitudes, the Fourth Gospel is more concerned with a test of the disciples’ faith – or creativity. In the obvious absence of markets, Jesus asked where they could obtain bread for the people (vv. 5-6). Phillip calculated that it would take a half year’s wages to buy food for the crowd, even if it had been available (v. 7).
Andrew knew of a boy who’d brought five small loaves and two fish, which suggests that they may have already canvassed the crowd for resources and found them sorely lacking (vv. 8-9). [DD] The people were so intent on being healed or watching others that they had not come prepared – but they were about to see a wonder they could not have imagined.
An amazing meal (vv. 10-14)
The author of John’s gospel ascribes no great ceremony to what happened next. Jesus simply had the disciples go among the people and tell them to sit down (v. 10). [DD] Then, “Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted” (v. 11).
The mechanics of the miracle did not interest the author as they do us. Did Jesus go among the people, handing out food? Did they line up and come by? Did he pile the quickly multiplying bread and fish into baskets for the disciples to distribute?
We don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. The point is that the people had a need, and Jesus was able to supply it. Perhaps we are to recall how the Israelites were said to have wandered in the wilderness, complaining to Moses that they had no food, when God supplied bread-like manna from heaven and more quail than they could eat (Num. 11:31-32).
The story, as in the other gospels, adds a note that Jesus had the disciples gather up the leftovers after the people had eaten their fill, and they filled 12 baskets with uneaten food (vv. 12-13).
The point of the story then becomes clear: Jesus’ mighty works were a convincing demonstration that he was no ordinary teacher or run-of-the-mill medic: “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world’” (v. 14).
By “prophet,” they spoke of more than a preacher: the anticipated prophet was also the long-awaited Messiah. For hundreds of years, the Jews had been oppressed by other peoples, but retained the prophet-fueled hope that one day God would turn history around by sending an anointed deliverer who would lead the Jews to defeat their enemies and then rule over a new and glorious kingdom.
Try to put yourself in their situation. If you encountered a young prophet who could heal the sick and feed 5,000 people without breaking a sweat, wouldn’t you believe he was the coming king, and fall in line to follow him?
A fast getaway (vv. 15-21)
The problem is that Jesus was indeed the intended Messiah, but he had no intention of leading a bloody rebellion against Rome and setting up a new Jewish kingdom in the land of Israel. He had indeed come to inaugurate what the gospels call the “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven,” but not in the expected way. God’s reign would be in the minds and hearts of women and men and children who learned to follow Jesus – not into a war of conquest, but into lives of love and compassion that reflect his ethic of love and justice.
The crowd around Jesus evidently did not yet understand this or want to accept it. Like athletes who rush to lift a game-winning hero to their shoulders, people in the crowd must have pressed forward hoping to pick Jesus up and carry him in a great procession to gather further support, crown him as king, and begin the revolution.
This was not Jesus’ agenda, however, so when he saw the crowd wanted to “take him by force to make him king,” he somehow managed to get away and go further up the mountain by himself (v. 15).
Verse 16 brings a surprising shift to the narrative. The reader must assume, perhaps, that Jesus had instructed the disciples to take their boat to Capernaum without him, otherwise they surely would have waited. The distance was only a few miles. Perhaps Jesus sought solitude and gave the impression that he would walk alone and meet them there (vv. 16-17).
The Sea of Galilee is 700 feet below sea level. It can frequently become quite rough when swirling winds affected by the surrounding mountains create impressive waves. The winds had apparently made it too dangerous to use a sail, so the disciples had rowed along the shore for several miles when they looked up to see Jesus walking out to meet them (vv. 18-19).
Seeing Jesus calmly striding across the stormy waves terrified the disciples, and we can understand why. There’s no account of Peter trying to join Jesus, as in a similar story in Matthew (Matt. 14:22-33): Jesus simply told the disciples not to fear, and didn’t even bother to get into the boat, for “immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going” (vv. 20-21). [DD]
Whether we are to imagine that Jesus miraculously transported them the rest of the way, or to understand that they were already nearing the shore when Jesus came to them, is unclear. The point of the story, however, is obvious: the gospel writer wants to portray Jesus as wise and powerful beyond the abilities of any ordinary human. Jesus was indeed the one who would be sent from God – but he defied all expectations.
Both of these stories glorify Jesus while also pointing to the inabilities of the disciples. In doing so, they challenge the contemporary disciples in at least two ways. First, how would Jesus have us respond to the many needs – including hunger – that surround us? Some readers have offered a naturalistic explanation for the miracle by suggesting that most people in the crowd had brought food with them, but kept it hidden: only the one boy was willing to reveal his stash. When Jesus prayed and began distributing the boy’s food, according to this view, it led other people to bring out and share their own resources.
While this view downplays the miraculous element that was clearly intended by the writer, it is a reminder that when Jesus calls us to care for the poor and oppressed, the resources we need may already be at hand – if we are willing to share them. In these materialistic days, getting people to share generously from their own resources may seem miraculous in itself.
The second story in our text focuses on the disciples’ inability to recognize Jesus when he approached them. They thought he was still on land, and never expected to see him coming to meet them on the stormy sea.
We, too, have a tendency to think of Jesus as distant, sitting idly on a heavenly throne, uninvolved in our daily lives. But texts like this remind us that Jesus is here among us, challenging us to minister to “the least of these” and empowering us to do what needs to be done. If we would see Jesus, the spiritual disciplines of prayer and contemplation – along with scripture – might help us to discern his presence in the most surprising of places.
Adult Teaching Resources
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This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: John 6:1-21
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
There are times that parenting can seem like teaching a foreign language. We have to translate what our students are living, or what they see, into events and words they understand. We aren’t called to live our students lives for them or direct their every move, but we are there to guide them and help them to see what is going on in their lives using the experiences that we have before us. Help your students translate what is going on in their lives so they might have a better idea what is next.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: John 6:1-21
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