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Following a series of teachings and miracles around the Sea and in Capernaum, Jesus then returns to Jerusalem, where he continues preaching and teaching about the Good News. In turn, the hostility against him increases, as he confronts the teaching of the day—and the Jewish leadership.

We find these events described in John 6:1 through 7:9, as Jesus teaches on the shores of Galilee and in Capernaum. Along the way, as part of our study, we will learn a few things that we can apply to our own lives as we continue to follow Jesus our Lord and Savior.

In John Chapter 6, we read about the signs Jesus provided on both the sea and the land before his trip to Jerusalem, which is introduced in John 7:1-9. Read all of Chapter 6, and continue through the first 9 verses of Chapter 7. Then consider the following:

1. Jesus has crossed the Sea of Galilee and is sitting on a hill looking back across the Sea towards Capernaum (see John 6:17). His disciples are with him. A large crowd gathers; they have seen his healing miracles and are curious to see what miracles he will perform next. How many people were in the crowd (see John 6:10)? Be thoughtful in your answer, as that verse does not tell us how many people were there. Nevertheless, are you able to make an estimate from what verse 10 tells us?
   1. ANSWER: Verse 10 tells us that 5,000 "men" were present; it does not consider the number of wives and children. If we assume an average family of four for each man, then Jesus will feed twenty-thousand or more people with five loaves of bread and two small fish.
2. What can we apply to our lives today from the this miracle? What do the circumstances of the disciples show us about our own lives and the difference between man’s thinking and the Lord’s (see Isaiah 55:8)?
   1. ANSWER: Many times when we are challenged by what we believe, it can be overwhelming as we attempt to think about them in man’s terms and not God’s. But if we consider this miracle as an example, we can see that Jesus sees things differently than we do. The disciples didn’t think it was possible to feed that large of a crowd, but Jesus entered the picture and made the impossible possible. He will do that with our lives as well if we will only allow him to. (See Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27 and Luke 18:27.)
3. In the aftermath of the miracle above, how did the crowd react to Jesus? (See John 6:14-15.)
   1. ANSWER 1: Again, the crowd did not understand the true purpose of Jesus’ earthly ministry and immediately wanted to make him King—and they wanted to do it by force.
   2. ANSWER 2: We also need to watch that we do not fall into this same trap, i.e., trying to make Jesus something that fits our perceptions and desires of the Savior. We need to make sure that our motives are always pure and that our first desire is for the Kingdom of God, and not the kingdom of man. (See Matthew 6:33.)
4. Jesus walking on water is another well-known miracle. What a night it must have been for the disciples, tossed by the sea and frightened—and Jesus was not in the boat with them. Looking closer at that sea crossing and Jesus’ miracle, we note that the Sea of Galilee is about eight miles wide and thirteen miles long. How far had the disciples rowed before they saw Jesus; and what happened with regard to the back half of the trip? How long was that? (See John 6:19-21.)
   1. ANSWER: The disciples had rowed approximately four miles; so they were in the middle of the Sea when Jesus came aboard the boat. They still had approximately four miles to go, but the trip ended the minute that Jesus came aboard; as they were miraculously moved the additional four miles to the other shore instantly.
5. What often gets lost with respect to this miracle is that Jesus not only had command of the sea and the winds and nature; but he also had command of time and space, moving the disciples and the boat four miles in an instant. He can do the same for us, What does he teach us in Matthew 17:20?
   1. ANSWER: We again see that nothing is impossible if we put our faith in Christ and Christ alone. If we limit our thinking to man’s thinking, it will limit our faith, and it will limit what Jesus can do in our lives.
6. The following morning, Jesus and his disciples returned to Capernaum. Once the crowd on the other side of the Sea realizes this, they quickly jump into the available boats and head for Jesus in Capernaum. Jesus, knowing why they have come, quickly points out their error and teaches us another valuable lesson. Why does Jesus say they came to see him in Capernaum? (See John 6:26-27.)
   1. ANSWER: He tells them that they had come all that way for one reason: they wanted him to continue to feed them. Essentially, they wanted to follow Christ so that he would meet all of their physical needs.
7. This illustrates that our motivation should always be to do good works for the Kingdom of God, and not to meet our own selfish and earthly desires. Where does Jesus say this "food that endures to eternal life" will come from? What does he say "the work of God" is? (See John 6:27-29.)
   1. ANSWER: He tells us that this eternal food comes from "the Son of Man," and that to do "the work of God" is "to believe in the one He has sent."
8. It is amazing that, in spite of all the miracles they’ve seen Jesus do, they ask for yet another sign, "that we may see it and believe." (John 6:30) Read John 6:34-51, what does Jesus promise them (and us) in verse 40, who does he say will raise up the saved in the "last day," and what does Jesus tell them about bread in verse 48?
   1. ANSWER: He tells them (and us) that "everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and [he] will raise them up at the last day." Jesus himself will raise all of us who believe to eternal life; he is truly the "bread of life."
9. How did the crowd react to Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue? (See John 6:52-59.) How did his disciples react to the same teaching? (See John 6:60-66.)
   1. ANSWER 1: The Jews who had come to Capernaum to hear him teach, to see him do miracles, and to be fed human food, could not understand his teaching—believing Jesus actually wanted them to eat his flesh.
   2. ANSWER 2: His disciples also found this to be "a hard teaching" and had difficulty accepting it. We read in John 6:66 that, from that time on, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. However, the Twelve remained with him, even though they did not understand the teaching.
10. Jesus than asked the twelve disciples who remained, ":You do not want to leave too, do you?" How did the disciples respond? How are we to respond today when something Jesus teaches is hard for us to understand? (See John 6:67-69.)
    1. ANSWER: The response should be, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.7quot; We may say the same thing today. If we turn from Jesus, where would we go? Who else has the words of eternal life? Who else can save us, but Jesus? Even if we do not understand all of his teachings, we believe he is the true Messiah; and that is all that we truly need to understand. No one else has the way to eternal life—only Jesus. (See John 14:6.)
11. Jesus’ ministry now moves to Jerusalem, as described in John 7:10. At the beginning of Chapter 7, Jesus is encouraged to go from Galilee to Judea and into Jerusalem for the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles. Why does Jesus tell them he does not want to go, even though it is a Jewish Festival? (See John 7:1-9)
    1. ANSWER: He asserts that his time "is not yet here" and that the world "hates me because I testify that its works are evil." Further, he tells them that "my time has not yet fully come." This is an important precept for us to consider as well: God’s timing should be paramount in our lives; we should not try to shoehorn God’s will for our lives into our schedule.

In the next lesson, we will observe Jesus travelling to Jerusalem and once again confronting the leadership and teaching of those in authority. He will show them how the world’s ways are totally opposed to God’s ways, and once again demonstrate that he is the true Messiah.

Have a blessed week as you continue to study with us.

In Christ,

Wes

[2018]

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