John 6:1-24 | Food for Thought
LISTEN: CONTEXT > CONTENT > QUESTIONS > VISION FOR DISCIPLES
Context
Continuing to Prove Himself | Jesus had just been arguing in defense of his claims to be the Son of God AND the Son of Man, even going so far as to say that Moses himself would attest to the true identity of Jesus. After pointing BACKWARDS towards evidence that the Jews have missed or misused in some way about him, Jesus decides to show a crowd in real time that he actually is the better Moses who was promised to come. (See Deuteronomy 18:15-19)
Old Testament Connections | The way John recounts Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000+ and his walking on the water alludes directly to the story of Moses. This was to directly support his use of Moses’ name and words to corroborate that he was the prophet who was to come into the world.
For example, John notes:It was almost time for Passover.
Jesus left a city, crossed a sea, and traveled up a mountain.
He supernaturally fed a hungry crowd of people who had been out into the wilderness.
He miraculously crosses a sea in order to flea from a pursuing crowd.
He provided safe passage for his people as they crossed the sea.
Extra: A reference to Elisha, a prophet who came after Moses and fed a multitude of people with barley loaves. See 2 Kings 4:42-44.
Map | If you need a map, I included one in the sermon slides here.
Content
Jesus wants to show us who he is.
The miracles that Jesus perform here aren’t just to prove his power or authority over creation, his provision, etc. They are to directly connect his ministry with the ministry of Moses, showing how his is superior to what has come before!
Jesus went out of his way to make the callbacks and references to Moses’ ministry clear. He was presenting himself in a way that his audience would understand… even if it’s less clear to us today!
This is affirmed by the fact that the people immediately knew what he was trying to say about himself (“This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!”) without Jesus ever saying a word about it.
He also made sure to perform these signs and wonders in a place where there was “much (or plenty) grass.” In a story where what’s lacking is usually the focus, the one thing that there was more than enough of from the beginning was room for people to come and see.
We make Jesus into something he’s not.
Despite understanding that Jesus is this promised prophet, the people immediately want to take him by force and crown him as their king.
They merely see the potential for what he could accomplish for them according to their own desires, plans, and purposes. They don’t stop to ask him what his purposes are or seem interested in submitting to his will.
Jesus perceives this and retreats by himself further up the mountain.
It’s good news that Jesus won’t let us make him into something he’s not; he won’t give into the mob, but is steadfast in who he is and what his mission is (our salvation!).
In the crossing of the sea (paralelled in Mark 6:30-52), Jesus had instructed the disciples to head across the sea without him. This wasn’t an oversight or an act of abadonment on the part of the disciples!
Because of the analogy of Moses’ crossing of the Red Sea, Jesus corresponds to Moses, the disciples correspond to the escaping Hebrews, and the crowd of Jesus’ fans corresponds to the pursuing Egyptians.
While the analogy of the crowd to the Egyptians might seem strange, both groups wanted to put God’s people to work in service of their own purposes.
The crowd likely thought the Romans were the new Egyptians in the story of God’s people.
Pay attention to what we’re seeking.
The crowd of people are genuinely seeking after Jesus. Plenty of people would desire to find and follow him, but not always for the best of intentions.
Their desire for a capable king was so strong that they sailed after him in hot pursuit to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
Questions
Why would Jesus lead thousands of people all the way out there and show them who he is, only to hide from them and not them make him king?
What was the problem with what the people wanted to do?
If John wrote this account to parallel Moses and the Exodus in some way, then who’s the “new” Moses, God’s people, and the Egyptians in this story?
Which one should we identify with most?
What’s it look like when folks use Jesus to advance their own agenda? How have you seen that play out?
What really good things about Jesus are often exploited the most by others?
How are YOU prone to do the same thing?
Which is easier to do: trying to put Jesus to work for you in your own life, or letting Jesus put YOU to work in someone else’s? Why?
How can we safeguard ourselves in this? How can we make sure we’re following the Jesus is already is King and not trying to follow an imaginary Jesus we want to crown ourselves?
What do you think of Jesus’ willingness to disappoint his fans? …to not meet their expectations?
How do you react when Jesus disappoints you? …when he doesn’t meet your expectations?
How do you know that he’s still good? …that he’s still king?
Vision
There’s room for everyone - skeptic, doubter, fake fan, full disciple, etc. - to see and know the real Jesus. He has plenty of room for all of us!
Discipleship is letting Jesus lead, confront, challenge, convict, and repair us as king; it’s becoming more like him, not him becoming more like us!
Disciples are committed to the whole person of Jesus, not just pieces of him or a verse here-and-there or a favorite story. Disciples entrust their lives to the whole person of Jesus who lived, died, and rose again for them, even if it meant disappointing them in the moment!
The gospel is proof time and time again that Jesus is King and that he is Good. He puts his power to work for us in the deepest ways possible, even when we fail to see it or believe it.