PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of
the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of
people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the
sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his
disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming
toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to
eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he
was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a
year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,
spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small
fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was
plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were
there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to
those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his
disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So
they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley
loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they
began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus,
knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again
to a mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the
lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for
Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A
strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed
about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the
water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t
be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and
immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the
opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that
Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.
23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people
had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd
realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the
boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake,
they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” (John 6:1-25, NIV)
REFLECTIONS:
I deliberately like to write these blogs on a pretty
unsophisticated level. It’s not to
insult anyone. When I read what someone
else writes, I want to be able to hear their thoughts quickly -- not have to
stop and concentrate on their words, the context, or anything else associated
with it. I'm willing to do that with
God's word, but anyone else's word is just their thoughts and opinions…like
mine. They don't carry the same weight
as His words do. This blog may be even more elementary than the others I have
written. Christ says we are to come to
him with the faith of a child. This scripture demands it.
Psalm 119:130 says this: “The unfolding of your words gives
light; it gives understanding to the simple.”
(That's me!)
When first reading this text, it seemed like an incredible
number of miracles, making it hard to believe that things really happened that
way. But in John 4:48 Jesus said,
"Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe."
In previous chapters, Jesus was just beginning His
ministry. He performed signs and
miracles so that the people might believe who He really is/was. He wanted them/us to know that He was not just
the earthly son of Mary and Joseph, but also God's son sent to earth.
Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine at the
wedding in Cana. He didn't want to do
this. It wasn't his
"time". But He did what His mother asked anyway.
Afterwards, He performed many miracles of compassion. What a heart!
That's why a great crowd of people followed Him -- because they had seen
the signs He had performed by healing the sick. He was no ordinary man.
In this scripture, the crowd consisted of about 5,000 men
and an unknown number of women and children.
At least one boy was there who had five small barley loaves and two
small fish.
I love this visual:
"Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those
who were seated as much as they wanted. He
did the same with the fish."
My preacher father, used to do that when we were growing up.
He and mom were hard workers, but with
10 kids, it's hard to feed a family that size. As dad blessed the food and gave thanks for
it, he would often ask that God would multiply it so that everyone would have
plenty. And we always did. I went without many things I “wanted”, but I
don't remember ever going to bed hungry.
Perhaps Christ was still working miracles around our family's dinner
table. (I'm certain of it.)
Some of the miracles in this text will either increase your
faith or cause you to question it.
- Multiplying 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish - To feed such an enormous crowd. Really? Really!
- Afterwards, His disciples gathered 12 baskets of leftover bread. That's one full basket for each of the 12 disciples! That's Interesting... But really? Yes, Really!!
- That evening after the picnic, the disciples left in their boat to go back across the lake. While they were on the water, in the middle of a storm, they saw Jesus walking on the water beside the boat. Really? Okay, how many of you have tried walking on water…trying to muster up enough faith to stay on top? Be honest! I know I have. It's miracles like this that make me wish I could've been right there with them, to see and do… like Peter.
- Verse 21 says, "And immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading". Like Jesus just beamed them over! Wouldn't you like to have experienced that? Maybe Jesus didn't want to hear his disciples asking all night, "Are we there yet, Daddy?"
Jesus promised that when He left the disciples they would
have all the same powers that He had while He was on earth. That extends to us as Believers in Christ. He
sent the Holy Spirit to walk with us and to teach and train us. We can do all things through Christ who gives
us strength, right? (The answer is…
RIGHT!!)
The Jesus I see in the early part of the book of John is a
Jesus whose heart is so full of compassion for us Earthlings. How open is your heart? And mine?
Do we have the faith at least the size of a grain of mustard seed? Are we serving others with love from open
hearts the way Christ did? If not, why
not?
TODAY’S CHLLENGE:
Ask God to show you at least one person who needs to know,
feel, and experience Christ-like love and compassion today. Then with
child-like faith, GO DO IT! If it will
require a miracle, ask for one.
PRAYER:
Daddy, are we there yet?
Please help us rely on you for every step of this journey. Increase our faith. Allow us to be other people's miracles on Your
behalf. Open our hearts to experience
Your compassion for Your people. May we
bring glory to You in all we do. In Jesus's
miraculous name, I pray. Amen.
I'm Georgia Arms, number seven of those 10 kids. This is a
picture of my mom taken about 8 months ago, dancing down the aisle after a
granddaughter’s wedding. Tomorrow she
turns 92 years young. She's feisty,
smart, and has done just about everything to help provide for our large family.
She loves to “go”. She has traveled to several countries, most
of the 50 states, and has been to every county in the state of Texas! God has richly blessed me and my family. I'm so thankful for the prayers of my
ancestors, His miracles and blessings.
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