After feeding over 5,000 people with just two fish and five loaves of bread, those on the hillside began to acknowledge the fact that Jesus was “the Prophet” predicted by Moses. Remember the dialogue from last week:
“This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14).
And this Prophet was predicted by Moses who told the Israelites over 1,400 years prior,
“You should listen to Him” (Deut 18:15).
Indeed, we should all listen to and obey all of Jesus’ words. He was surely the Prophet of whom Moses spoke, and the entire Old Covenant was centered upon Moses and the Law that was given to him on the Mountain. But he foresaw another one coming who would be greater than he, and that was THE PROPHET, and His name would be Jesus.
At that time, Jesus noticed that the people wanted to come and “force” Him to become their king and so He left the crowds and “escaped” unnoticed from them, as well as from His own disciples. As evening approached, the disciples decided to go down to the sea, get into their boat, and begin their journey back to Capernaum, thinking that Jesus would surely join them there. As dusk turned into darkness, a strong wind began to blow and suddenly, they saw Jesus coming toward them, walking on the water. To say the least, they were terrified, thinking that it might be a ghost! Jesus said to them:
“It is I, do not be afraid” (John 6:20).
It is interesting to note that the same two words in the Greek text, ego eime, (translated as “it is I”) are found two chapters later when Jesus said to the religious leaders “Before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58). Why is this important? Because in our current chapter, the translation could have easily been rendered “It is I am” instead of simply “It is I.” You may recall, this is the way the LORD introduced Himself to Moses, saying “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). Jesus is telling His disciples that He is indeed “God in the flesh.” But more on this when we get to chapter eight.
After Jesus got into the boat, John records that they immediately reached land. As you probably remember, Matthew in his gospel records much more than John does in his gospel, as he recounted Peter walking on the water only to begin sinking before Jesus rescued Him, and that when Jesus got into the boat, the wind and the rain stopped. For some reason, John didn’t focus on Peter or the wind, because he had other things to say which he felt were more important.
John records an interesting dialogue that took place the following morning between those who had been fed on the mountain side and Jesus. They noticed that Jesus was not with the disciples when they left in their boat to Capernaum, and yet they found Jesus with them “on the other side.” They asked:
“Rabbi, when did you get here?” (John 6:25).
Like true detectives or investigative reporters in our day, they wanted to establish a timeline, and find out how Jesus, without seeing anyone else get into a boat, got to Capernaum at the same time as His disciples. So, how did Jesus respond?
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal” (John 6:26-27).
At this point, the crowd responded with a question for Jesus:
“What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28)
To which Jesus responded:
“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent (John 6:29).
Did you notice how the Jews listening to and questioning Jesus were looking for something that they had to “do?” Of course, this was their entire mindset, that is, doing something to earn eternal life. But Jesus turned the table and said that the work that they had to do was to “believe” that God sent His Son, and that they were actually speaking with Him. Just “believe” in Jesus, the Prophet of whom Moses spoke, their Messiah, the Son of the living God, who was sent to redeem them.
And that’s what we have to do also, that is, to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, in whom we can have eternal life. Remember, it’s the gift of “LIFE” that Jesus came to give us, and the quality of that life is that it extends into eternity. If you haven’t done so, it’s never too late, just acknowledge Christ’s provision for the removal of your sins, and ask Him to give you His LIFE.
There is more to this dialogue between Jesus and the crowd, and we’ll pick that up next week. God bless you all.
