Following Jesus: John 6:1-71

Jesus answered and said to them, ‘this is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent’” (John 6:29, NASB).

The story of Jesus feeding five thousand people is recorded in all four gospels. The story as told by Matthew, Mark, and Luke is preceded by the execution of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas. Jesus and His disciples go off by themselves to get some rest. However, the crowds follow them. Jesus heals their sick and teaches them about the kingdom of God. Jesus has compassion on them and feeds them. Jesus sends the crowds away and Jesus sends the disciples to the other side of the sea. The story as told by Matthew, Mark and John places emphasis on the ministry of Jesus and His disciples. On the other hand, John emphasis is not so much about the earthly ministry of Jesus. John’s emphasis is upon the person of Jesus. Who is Jesus? If we are following Jesus, why do we do so?

In the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke the message is that there was a man from Nazareth in Galilee. This man came meeting the needs of the people. This man was the one that they could trust. They could depend on Him. He was the one that they had been waiting hundreds of years for. In Matthew, He is the Son of David, the Messiah, the hope of the Jews that God free them from the control of Rome. He will defeat Rome and restore Israel to its former glory that Israel had enjoyed during the reigns of David and Solomon. In Mark He is the One from God who challenges the powers of Satan, the devil, the evil one who oppresses all people. The devil controls them physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The devils know who Jesus is. The people do not know who Jesus is, but they follow Him because He has power to free them from their infirmities. In Luke, Jesus is driven by the Spirit of God. He is the One that ministers to all people regardless of their status in life. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus shows the people through His works of teaching and ministering to the needs of the people that He is the One sent from God the Father.

The Gospel of John was written around 80 A. D. to 96 A. D. Te exact dates is not known and scholars differ on the date and authorship of the gospel. Regardless, we know from the beginning of the gospel that the writer intended to show His audience that Jesus is God incarnate. He is the word of God. The word was with God and the word was God. God created everything by His word. Life exist because in Him was life. His life is the light of men. The gospel of John has no birth narrative as does Matthew and Luke. Matthew and Luke wanted to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promises to His covenant people the Jews and the prophecy that God would include people of every nation, tribe, and tongue in the reconciliation between God and all humanity. So, having said all of this, let us get back to the main purpose of this article. People are following Jesus, but what is their reason (s) for following Him.

We have said that in John the main question is who is Jesus? This is most important because the answer to this question determines if we are following Jesus for wrong reasons or for the right reason. So, in John there is not included the stories of John the Baptist being executed by Herod Antipas. Rather, the feeding of the five thousand is preceded by the continuing debate between Jesus and the religious leaders about Jesus’ relationship to God the Father. In the minds of the religious leaders, Jesus is guilty of blasphemy. How can a visible man that can be clearly seen with the human eye be the son of a God not seen? Jesus must be an evil person influenced by the devil to make such claims. Since Jesus is of the devil, he must do His works by the power of the devil. With this reasoning it can be concluded that Jesus is drawing the people away from God and leading them to Satan the devil the supreme ruler of death and the grave. Thus, the religious leaders convince the people that Jesus is not the One who can give them eternal life. These debates between Jesus and the religious leaders and their followers (the Jews) precede the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. Again, the synoptic gospels place emphasis on the works of Jesus and His relationship to the people. John places emphasis on the person of Jesus. The miracles are signs that show that Jesus does the works of God, but the people are torn between what they see Jesus do and what the religious leaders and the majority of the Jews believe about Him. So, let us look at John 6.

Chapter 6 begins saying, “After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias)” (6:1). “A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick” (v. 2). The people follow Jesus not because they believed in Him as the Son of God. They followed Him because they were followers of the crowds. People like to be a part of something exciting and unique. For most of the people it is an exciting event. It is something that they want to be able to say that they were there and they are eager to tell others that they were there, and they saw everything. They are not sick. They bring no one who needs Jesus. They just want to be a part of an exciting event.

It had been a long day and Jesus knew that the people were hungry. The disciples had no food, and they did not have enough money to buy food for the people. One of His disciples, Andrew, saw a lad with a lunch of five barley loves and two fishes. Jesus took this small amount of food, blessed it and gave it to the people. The people were excited. Their hunger had been satisfied. They wanted to make Jesus their king, but Jesus escaped to the mountain. “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed they said, ‘This is truly the Prophet who is come into the world” (6:14). They believed that Jesus was the man that God had sent to deliver them from Rome’s control. Jesus ho0wever came not just to free us from the control of men. Rather, Jesus had in mind deliverance from sin which keeps a person in bondage even if they enjoy the highest status among men.

When it was evening Jesus was in the mountain praying. The disciples got into a boat and started toward the other side of the sea. A storm came up and was tossing the boat around. It was dark. The disciples saw someone coming toward them walking on the water. They were scared to death, but Jesus said to them, “It is I, do not be afraid (v. 20). When Jesus got into the boat the storm ceased.

The next day the people looked for Jesus. Obviously, they were still looking for Jesus to be their king. “When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, Rabbi, when did You get here” (v.25)? The people called Him Rabbi (teacher) because they still saw Jesus as an ordinary man sent from God to deliver them from Rome’s control and provide for their everyday needs. Jesus answered their question. “Jesus answered them and said, Truly, Truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (v. 26). “Do not work for food that perishes, but for food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father God has set His seal” (v. 27).

Jesus tells the people that they had not understood what they saw when He fed them. They thought that Jesus was the Prophet who like Moses led the people out of bondage in Egypt. The people thought that Jesus like Moses had fed them bread when they had none. We can see that the people still did not know who Jesus really was. They still had not grasped the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. They had not come to understand that the Father sent the Son into the world to give them eternal life. They had been following Jesus for the wrong reasons. Jesus corrected their misunderstanding. He tells them the right reason that a person ought to follow Him. He is everything that they need to have eternal life. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” (v. 35).

After Jesus had fully explained who He was and His purpose for coming into the world the people did not believe Him. They could not comprehend what Jesus was telling them. May of those that had been following Jesus stopped. When Jesus saw that the people were no longer following Him, He asked the twelve disciples, “You do not want to go away also do you” (v. 67)? “Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (v. 68). “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (v. 69).

Again, are you following Jesus for the right reason” Do you want to be His disciple and gain eternal life? This is the only right reason for following Jesus.