Road Trippin With Rachael

I am a stubborn individual. Once I set my mind on something, there is very little that is going to dissuade me from path I’ve set out on. It doesn’t matter what roadblocks appear, I put my head down and plow forward.

There are two sides to this personality trait of mine. One is that I am determined, and desire to complete the tasks that I am given. The other side is that I’m bullheaded, and won’t let go of something even when I should. However, as I have gotten older (and what I like to think of as more mature) I can be convinced, with proof, that I need to change my mind.

This isn’t something that is all that new or exciting. It shouldn’t be a revelation to anyone that people like me exist. And God knows that. That is why, Jesus performed miracles in order to prove who he was, so that those like me, who would need some convincing would have the proof that was needed to be able to come to faith.

In John 6, we are going to be taking a look at two other signs that Jesus is the exactly who he says that he is. He walks on water, and he feeds the five thousand, with special attention going to who Jesus is as the Bread of Life.

Walking On Water

 Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. A high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. – John 6:17b-19 (CSB)

We’re going to tackle these miracles a little backwards, but I think God will forgive me.

Why is walking on water such an important miracle during the ministry of Jesus? Besides the fact that it goes against physics, and the natural laws of nature, it is also important because of what it proves. If we go back into Genesis 1:8 – 9, we will see that God spoke the waters into existence and by speaking he also caused them to gather so that they formed seas and oceans. In other words, God as creator, holds dominion over all that he creates. That is why he is God, and is therefore worthy of worship, devotion, and all glory and honor. It is something that no other existence is capable of doing, nor deserving of.

For Jesus to also display his dominion over nature, to walk on water, places him on equal footing with the God of creation. It means that Jesus is God, and is therefore worthy of all the same accolades that the God of the Old Testament is worthy of. He is worthy of worship, devotion, glory, and honor. He is able to do what no other being is capable of doing, and that is bend the laws of nature to his will while defying the laws of physics.

Feeding The Five Thousand

The other miracle that is covered in Chapter 6 is the feeding of the five thousand. John records this in verses 1 through 15. Because context is always king, it’s important to know that it was near the time of Passover. This means that there were more people in the area who were traveling towards Jerusalem to celebrate. For those who are not familiar with this miracle, there are 5,000 men (this count does not include the women and children) who were listening to the teaching of Jesus when lunch time hits. As only Jesus can, we turns it into a teaching moment for his disciple. “Where can we buy enough bread to feed these people?” – John 6:5 (paraphrased). The answer is, they can’t. It would cost an extreme amount of money that the disciples didn’t have to feed the number of people that were there. Which is completely reasonable in all honesty. I can’t say that if I saw 5,000 plus people that (even if I did have compassion on them) my reaction would be to figure out how I could feed them. Once the disciples (Andrew) realized that they couldn’t afford to feed them and instead brings a young boy to Jesus. This boy has fish and bread with him – basically, he had a Lunchable. Then Jesus asked for a blessing on this little boy’s lunch, and that humble meal stretched to feed the entire group of people with excess.

Once again, connecting it to Jesus walking on water, this the defies the laws of physics. Five loaves of bread and two fish should not be able to feed that many people. However, in an act of proving that Jesus holds dominion over all creation, they do. Not only are the people given something to eat, they were satisfied. When I was a little girl any time I heard this story I would imagine something like an appetizer – but that is wrong. This was an entree; they were satisfied with what they had been given.

Whenever I read through John 6:1-15, I can’t help but immediately jump down to 6:35 where Jesus describes himself as the Bread of Life. I love this picture! Because what is bread? Bread is sustenance, it is survival, it is provided by God, and it is a consistent. Let’s take each of these an expound on them.

• Sustenance. Bread is meant to feed people. Grain is a carbohydrate which means that is is going to fill out the person who is eating it. It is also slow releasing, which ultimately means that the consumer is fuller for longer. Although people do need other vitamins and nutrients consuming bread keeps the individual from going hungry and allows for survival. This is why God always provides some form of bread when people are hungry. Exodus 16:4 records where God tells Moses that he would give the Israelites Manna from heaven while they were in the wilderness.
• Survival. Since bread is what allows for people to live it is necessary for sustaining life. Especially if we are looking at this from a biblical context. People need to eat, and bread is relatively easy to prepare. Take Israel when they left Egypt – they made unleaven bread, which isn’t as fluffy or as pretty to look at as a lovely loaf of sourdough, but it is still edible and it does in a pinch. The people are later commanded that they are to eat unleaven bread as a way of remembering what God had done for them in bring them out of Egypt (Exodus 12:17-20).
• Provided by God. Both Jesus feeding the 5,000 and manna coming from heaven are both actions that were only able to happen because of God. Jesus, as the Son of God, is equal in authority and ability, and acts in accordance with his character as God in fellowship with himself. Because he acted in character he blessed the food – but he didn’t have to. God provided Israel with manna and also quail, not because they were deserving of it, but because God always takes care of his people. God cared for the people in the Exodus and he cared for the people in John.
• Consistent. As we go throughout scripture we can see that God is consistent in providing for the needs of his people. We’ve looked to Exodus 16, we see it in John 6, but where else do we see God caring for his people through the concept of providing bread? We can go to I Kings 17:8-17 and see how God provides bread for Elijah during a drought, and not only is Elijah blessed by God but the widow who was used by God is also provided for.

Coming back to Jesus being the Bread of Life: he is all these things. I do not know about you, but I am sustained spiritually by God through the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who gives me the desire to read scripture, to minister to others in ways only I can do. When life is hard for a season he keeps me going. When it comes to survival, yes I am cared for physically, but I’m also able to survive spiritually. Life can be so hard at times, and being able to know that what I’m taking in through the reading of scripture, and through my fellowship with others, I know that I can weather what life throws at me. Everything thing that I have is provided to me by God. Yes, I get up and go to work, I budget and I have to put in effort; but I’m only able to do those things because God has allowed me to do so. I’m healthy enough to go to work, I can comprehend numbers and finances, and I’ve developed a work ethic – but that’s only because God has allowed me to be able to do so.

Final Thoughts

As I look back at these two miracles of Jesus, I can’t help but be reminded that he really is who he claimed to be. He is the Creator God who holds dominion over all the created order – speaking all things into existence and then bending the laws of nature to him desires. He is the bread of life who has not only sustained his people physically through the centuries, but he is sustains his people spiritually. We don’t have to worry about being spiritually hungry or thirsty because he will provide all that we need.