The Prophet?
Opening Prayer
Pray that God will give you eyes to see new and fresh truth as you read this familiar story today.
Read John 6:1-15
[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. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What was so great about this miracle of Jesus?Familiarity sometimes deadens our ability to read with fresh eyes. But look at vs. 14,15. What has happened has caused spectators to wonder whether Jesus just might be the prophet foretold by Moses (Deut. 18:14-22). Many Jews took this prophet to be a kind of political messiah and they tried to make Jesus king (15). Jesus wanted to avoid this, especially as their understanding of what a king might be was in stark contrast to his mission (John 18:28-40). So the feeding miracle wasn’t just an act of compassion, though we may assume that Jesus was concerned for the well-being of the crowd. But he is also the prophet of whom Moses spoke. He is a kind of second Moses, feeding God’s people in the wilderness (see Exod. 16). And John makes the connection to Passover explicit (4). It would seem that Jesus wanted to use the sign to indicate some things about himself (6). Maybe he even “stage-managed” it for those who had eyes to see and to draw conclusions. Even those who did get the point, however, clearly needed further enlightenment! He was a king, alright, but a very, very different one!
Apply
Ponder your understanding of Jesus. Pray that God will deepen, clarify and correct, if needed, how you see the Lord.
Closing prayer
Father God, continue to feed me from Your Word so that I can know You better as I know Jesus better.
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