John 6: Be Not Afraid

John 6 (interlinear Greek) John 6 (KJV – NRSV)

Key verse (6:20): But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

Meditation (6:37): him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out 

Feeding the Multitude

¹ After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. ² And a great multitude followed him, because they beheld the signs which he did on them that were sick. ³ And Jesus went up into the mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. ⁴ Now the passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. ⁵ Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude cometh unto him, saith unto Philip, Whence are we to buy bread, that these may eat? ⁶ And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷ Philip answered him, Two hundred shillings’ worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little. ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, ⁹ There is a lad here, who hath five barley loaves, and two fishes: but what are these among so many? ¹⁰ Jesus said, Make the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus therefore took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down; likewise also of the fishes as much as they would. ¹² And when they were filled, he saith unto his disciples, Gather up the broken pieces which remain over, that nothing be lost. ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which remained over unto them that had eaten. ¹⁴ When therefore the people saw the sign which he did, they said, This is of a truth the prophet that cometh into the world.

When Jesus saw the multitude, he had compassion on them. It was not his responsibility, according to our ordinary notions, for him to provide the people with food. If they were hungry, they should have brought something with them or headed into town to buy for their own families. The story casts some doubt on whether they were even there because they saw Jesus as the Messiah. Rather, a great multitude followed him, because they beheld the signs which he did on them that were sick. They had heard of his healing of the man at the pool and other healings that he was doing as he ministered to the people. They followed him, most likely, because they wanted something for themselves.

What strikes me in this story is how matter-of-fact Jesus is, like it was no big deal. If there was not enough food available, he simply made more. It is much like the story of making water into wine at the wedding in Cana. There, he told his mother not to worry about it. Here, he tells his disciples the same thing. Why worry? I am here and will take care of it. We learn from both stories that God in Christ is our provider and will supply our needs in abundance. So far, we have had wine, new life, and healing. Now he adds food to the list. And, in every case, Jesus provides more than enough.

Walking on the Sea

¹⁵ Jesus therefore perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again into the mountain himself alone.

¹⁶ And when evening came, his disciples went down unto the sea; ¹⁷ and they entered into a boat, and were going over the sea unto Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ And the sea was rising by reason of a great wind that blew. ¹⁹ When therefore they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they behold Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the boat: and they were afraid. ²⁰ But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. ²¹ They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat: and straightway the boat was at the land whither they were going.

As if all the power of God had not yet been fully shown, Jesus here demonstrates his power over the wind and waves. He had withdrawn into the mountain himself alone because it was not yet his time. The people did not understand that his kingdom was spiritual. He was not there to set himself up as king of Israel in order to get the people out from under the yoke of the Romans. Evidently, after a bit of time alone, he was ready again to join his disciples and the simplest way was to walk over to the boat. That it was in a raging sea did not seem to trouble our Lord at all.

Again, we see the simple power of God working through His Son with no great fanfare. He just walks on the water of the sea as if that is an everyday thing to do. Why were they afraid? Surely this feat of power was unexpected. But I suspect they did not at first realize it was Jesus. Seeing that it was Jesus conquering even the sea made them fully aware that He was who he claimed to be, the Son of God. When He says, be not afraid, he is bestowing his own peace upon them. When they recognized him, They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. There was no reason to wait any longer. They were all together, so they simply arrived at the shore.

Heavenly Bread

²² On the morrow the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, save one, and that Jesus entered not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples went away alone ²³ (howbeit there came boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks): ²⁴ when the multitude therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? ²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled. ²⁷ Work not for the food which perisheth, but for the food which abideth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him the Father, even God, hath sealed. ²⁸ They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? ²⁹ Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. ³⁰ They said therefore unto him, What then doest thou for a sign, that we may see, and believe thee? what workest thou? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. 

³² Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, It was not Moses that gave you the bread out of heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread out of heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is that which cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world. ³⁴ They said therefore unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. ³⁵ Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said unto you, that ye have seen me, and yet believe not. ³⁷ All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. ³⁸ For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Jesus does not explain how he came to be on the other side of the sea. His disciples knew but the multitude following him did not. But they realized that something miraculous had occurred for him to be there. Jesus answers again what they did not ask. They were looking for the magic but Jesus had something more. Even when he points to eternal life, they insist on discovering how we may work the works of God. When our focus is on the miracles and not the life within, we are just as misled as the multitudes here. What is the work of God that Jesus asks people to do? To believe on him whom he hath sent. In spite of all the signs Jesus had already done, they demanded yet another sign. They wanted a sign that would satisfy their needs. They were hungry. They wanted more bread, just as Moses had provided to their ancestors.

Again, Jesus points them to the spiritual significance of his ministry. The exchange is nearly the same as with the Samaritan woman who wanted to no longer have to draw water from the deep well after a long walk from the city where she lived. The true bread out of heaven… giveth life unto the world. Again and again, John the Apostle turns us to the inner life that Jesus provides. Coming to Jesus we shall not hunger and never thirst. They did not understand the spiritual nature of this filling up of what we need because they did not truly believe. Jesus asks no more than to come to Him. It is not some work that we do. Jesus is the one that does the work. To believe is to seek Jesus himself and not the benefits. When come to him, he will not turn us away. God is calling, For every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. This eternal life is for now and for the future.