John 6:20

But Jesus, upon noticing their suddenly petrified state, speaks above the surrounding noise and says, “Don’t be afraid, it’s me!”  John 6:20 EFP

I can’t help but wonder why the disciples are frightened by Jesus’ appearance that night.  You would have thought they would have been relieved to see him, considering their plight.  But somehow, rather than rejoicing over their Master’s sudden appearance, they are petrified!  Let’s be clear: the previous verse says they knew it was Jesus.  So why would fear be their response?

Could it be, as is the case when God went looking for the wayward couple in Eden, they are afraid because they also know they should not have wandered off without their Master?  Had the disciples left in a huff after seeing Jesus rebuff the people’s effort to crown him king?  Now their behavior is more than a bit embarrassing and as a result their situation considerably precarious.  Whatever the case, Jesus gives no mention to their hissy-fit. He simply says, “Don’t be afraid. It’s me!” 

Those words are music to my ears.  When I reach the end of my rope or have run out of options and now face the consequences of my own folly, those words, “don’t be afraid, Ruben, it’s me, and I’m here for you” rush over me like a soothing breeze and envelope me in the comforting cover of grace.  My fear is transformed into a warm assurance that God knows my condition and has come to find me, rescue me and save me.  I say “amen” to that!

John 6:19

The disciples try their best to row through the storm.  When they have rowed about three or four miles out into the lake, they spot Jesus walking on the sea toward the boat; they are quite frightened by what they see.  John 6:19 EFP

This verse is very interesting.  It points out the fact that the disciples do not simply surrender to the stormy onslaught.  They put up a fight.  The text states they rowed about three or four miles out to sea. Considering the wind and the rain, this was no easy feat.  But there were fishermen in the boat who had weathered storms before.  If they were concerned about their fate they apparently do not let on.  They just keep battling the tempest.

It’s too easy to see the spiritual parallels in this scene.  I can’t number times I have tried to deal with one of my life’s storms on my own.  The old “you got yourself here—now get yourself out” adage resonates in my mind.  I don’t know how much progress or success this motley crew was having out on the lake, but certainly I do not remember any memorable successes trying to maneuver myself out of a self-inflicted dilemma.  I just row myself into deeper and deeper water. The calamity only intensifies.

An interesting point raised by this passage is the disciples not letting on to being afraid of their predicament, yet being frightened when they see Jesus coming at them on the surface of the water.  That scares them!  Not the wind or rain.  Not the lightning or thunder. Not the white-capped waves swallowing them.  But they see Jesus, and what? Unmitigated fright! Things certainly turn topsy-turvy when we wander away from the Master.

John 6:18

Suddenly the water becomes turbulent.  A storm hits the sea-going party; a mighty wind buffets them from all directions. John 6:18 EFP

Suddenly—isn’t that how it happens? Recap: Jesus is not with them. Yes, it’s dark and they are not quite certain how steady their course is.  But these are seasoned fishermen in charge of handling the boat.  Certainly they have navigated these waters many times before.  Then boom—sudden chaos.  The still dark night becomes a raging storm.  Flashing lightning strikes give the struggling navigators the only glimpse into the quickly deteriorating circumstances.  Mighty thunder claps mock their circumstance. Mountainous white-capped waves threaten to envelope them.  A howling wind swirls and slaps them from all sides.  Suddenly.  And Jesus is not there.

I have plenty of experience in this scenario.  Perhaps you do as well.  Oh, I have never been aboard a doomed Galilean fishing boat hanging on to its last vestige of hope drowning under a flood of water from above and from every side.  No.  But I know the feeling of despair from a life suddenly gone awry, swirling out of control and about to sink under the waves of defeat and discouragement.  It’s not a pretty sight.  Oh, did I mention?  Jesus is not there—at least that is what it seems like.  I may struggle to regain control.  I may even summon the strength to stay afloat.  But all I hear is the pounding thud of the deafening thunder of my defeat, sprinkled with enough flashes of light to expose my frightful state.  Where is Jesus when I need him most?  Where is he when I can’t see him?  He is closer than I think….

John 6:17

They get into their boat and set sail across the waters in the direction of Capernaum.  The sun has already set—it is dark and Jesus is not with them. John 6:17 EFP

OK, so they do have a destination in mind.  They apparently do not just set off with no idea where they were headed.  Perhaps they do chart their course carefully before setting out to sea.  They would not be the first or the last to set out with the best laid plans only to discover a catastrophic miscalculation.

The text gives us a couple of hints concerning oncoming complications.  For one, it is already dark.  The sun has set.  I was about to say the stars are out, but I don’t know if that is the case…at least not yet.  How they charted their course would mean little if they do not have the stars or landmarks to guide them.  But the major miscalculation follows: Jesus is not with them.

Why do I set off without Jesus with me?  Careless?  Absent-minded?  Upset?  Headstrong?  What does Jesus know about sailing? He’s a carpenter! Do any and all of these ring true.  It doesn’t really matter why I do it.  I have learned that doing so never ends well.  It can be the middle of a sunny and picturesque day, but without Jesus with me it is a dark episode all the time.  My best intentions or laudable plans soon descend into the darkness of my own dark motives; and my well-masked frailties escape into the soul-suffocating spiritual night.  Jesus—don’t ever leave home without him!

John 6:16

When the day is done, as evening arrives, and in the absence of Jesus, His disciples decide to go out to sea. John 6:16 EFP

I am not alone in recalling moments in my life when Jesus seems absent.  I remember the sense of despondency and discouragement I felt in those moments.  My heart grew restless.  My outlook looked dark and menacing.  But the feeling I most recall is that of emptiness and abandonment.  I wonder if the disciples are feeling this.  After all, they have witnessed the events of the day and Jesus’ sudden disappearance?

It is not surprising, and quite honestly it is quite familiar, to see the reaction of the disciples to Jesus’ absence.  They do not apparently go look for him.  They do not, as a lost child is counseled to do, stay and wait for the Master to return.  Just like me, they go out to sea, literally and figuratively.  They take to the sea, I sense with no particular destination in mind.  Drifting.  Heading nowhere…quickly.  One boat.  Twelve men.  This is already a recipe for havoc.  Throw in some fishermen, a zealot, a tax collector; add some immaturity and no Jesus presence, and what you have is a disaster waiting to happen.  I know.  I’ve been there.

The Lord is teaching me to wait on Him when I am tempted to believe he is gone.  He is never gone!  He not only walked the worst of my days for himself, but he walks them with me today.  I am learning to wait.

John 6:15

No sooner does Jesus perceive the mass movement to declare him king of Israel by force, he makes a quick exit and escapes again by himself to a local mountain. John 6:15 EFP

It is more than a bit easy to look back at those backwards and headstrong people with a critical and smug attitude.  I mean, how could they see in Jesus noting more than a road to escape economic bondage and national malaise?  Who could possibly mistake this humble, itinerant teacher for a purveyor of prosperity and abundance?  Yet, that is what they see in Jesus.  He is their ticket to abundance.  If he could multiply bread and fish, why couldn’t he duplicate drachmas and talents of gold?  If he could feed thousands with a mere two fish and five loaves of bread, imagine the benefit of having a steady stream of food for the insurrection against the hated Romans!

They are in for a big disappointment!  Jesus would not have anything to do with their temporal plans.  This world is not his home.  His battles are spiritual.  His destiny is the cross.  He calls for riches to be stored in heaven.  That is still his message today.  The path of the believer may bring abundance and power, but any prosperity and influence is only a means to an end, and not the focus.  All we are and all we have belongs to God—be it much or paltry.  We are blest in any situation and under any circumstance.  That is the inner strength of the believer. 

I am reminded the ministry to which God calls me is not defined by success in human terms of numbers, buildings, or influence.  Such opportunities cannot be the result of my controlling, manipulating, coercing, or even my persona.  I have to remember my model is and must always be Jesus, the humble servant that shunned human success and power in favor of the quiet yet powerful leading of the Holy Spirit. 

John 6:14

It doesn’t take long for the people to react to the miracle Jesus has just performed. “This man is surely a prophet!” they begin to say to one another, “In fact, he must be the Prophet sent to us from heaven.” John 6:14 EFP

Well, now things are beginning to take an interesting spin.  Not surprising, really.  People living in this time in history are people who live a mostly subsistent life.  They work hard to scratch out a living.  The rich are in a category all their own, but there is a wide chasm between the “haves” and the “have-nots.”  The people who flock to Jesus are mostly the “have-nots.”  They have just witnessed a miracle not seen in their lifetimes.  Food miraculously multiplied by a stranger who is also able to heal their sick—their lame, their blind, their deaf, even the demon-possessed.

The rumblings begin.  This is perhaps a prophet.  This is a prophet.  Perhaps this is the prophet.  This is certainly the Prophet.  God sent the Prophet to us!  Moses had written the words spoken to him by God who said, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you…”  Even in the land on the east side of the Jordan people are descendants of the tribes that had settled that land and were later taken into captivity.  They are almost forgotten, but even they longed for the day when Israel would be restored by the Messiah—the Prophet promised by God to Moses.  But there is something very unsettling about placing their expectations on Jesus, who has no interest in establishing an earthly kingdom.  There is more to the miracle just witnessed than food.  But food is their focus.  How sad that, like me, they miss the point—they focus on the tangible and temporary while overlooking the spiritual and eternal.  I guess we all do it in one way or another.

John 6:13

The disciples do as Jesus asks.  They collect it all and fill twelve baskets with the leftover barley loaves.  No fish scraps are collected. John 6:13 EFP

Obviously, the words “no fish scraps are collected” is not explicitly in the text, although it can be argued that it is implicit and sensible.  In fact, I believe there is some serious symbolism in this scenario that requires the exclusion of the fish from the collection.

Follow me, the barley loaves are a basic staple of Palestine.  The arrival of the first fruits of the harvest of barley is celebrated prior to Passover.  Barley is the poor man’s grain.  It is used in the temple bread.  The parallel to the story of Moses and the people of Israel is clear.  God provides manna to his people in the desert.  Now Jesus provides bread to the hungry masses.  I read somewhere the five loaves of bread, a possible symbol of the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses), become twelve baskets of bread, an obvious symbol of the twelve tribes of Israel leading into the twelve disciples.  The torch is being passed.  One greater than Moses is here.  Moses did not feed anyone.  God did.  Moses was the instrument.  In this case Jesus is the miracle-worker.  He is the one who provides for the needs of the God’s people.

Here’s the amazing part—this miracle is not performed in Israel!  It is performed on the “far side of the sea,” in Perea.  The net of salvation has been thrown wide open to include all, to the exclusion of none!  The Kingdom that Jesus has come to establish is not limited by national, ethnic, racial, or even gender boundaries.  God is the God of all…even me.