The Gospel of John - Outline Part 14 - Doubting Disciples

TITLE

John 6:1-21 – Doubting Disciples

EXPLANATION

After poking the Pharisaical hornets nest in Jerusalem, Jesus traveled back to Galilee, to the other side of the Sea of Tiberias.  He went up to a mountain, and a large crowd followed Him.  The time for the Passover had come once again, and the people who were with Jesus had nothing to eat.  So, Jesus took the opportunity to both test His disciples and to perform another miracle.  He asked His disciples how they were going to feed the crowd, so as to gauge their answer and see how strong their faith was.  Thinking purely in human terms, Philip and Andrew spoke up and gave reasons for why they could not possibly feed the crowd.

However, Jesus, taking the available food, which amounted to five barley loaves and two fish, gave thanks for it and then distributed it to all the people who were there; the number was 5,000 men, plus women and children presumably.  Not only was everyone satisfied, but there were twelve baskets full of bread left over.  Upon seeing this miraculous display of power, the people said that Jesus was the Prophet spoken of by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15.  Jesus knew they were prepared at that point to attempt to make Him king by force.  Yet, He knew that it was not time for that, and in fact that was not the object of His ministry during this first incarnation on earth.  So, He drew away from the people before they could enact their plan.

Later that evening, the disciples began to row across the sea in a boat.  Jesus went out to them, walking upon the water.  Having never seen anything like this before, the men were afraid.  Jesus reassured them, and they took Him into the boat.

APPLICATION

The thing that stands out in this passage is the weak faith of the disciples.  Although they had already been eye witnesses to multiple supernatural displays of Jesus’s power, they still tended to think in human terms.  When confronted with an impossible feeding situation on the mountain side, they defaulted to their natural understanding that there was no way to feed the people.  When seeing someone out walking on the surface of a lake, they immediately jumped to the conclusion that what was going on was a product of the forces of darkness.  John records that the disciples were frightened.  They would have had no reason to be afraid unless they thought that Jesus was an apparition or some other type of nefarious being.

In both circumstances, the men’s impulse was to lean on what they knew from before their time with Jesus rather than what they had learned from their time with Him.  We face the same struggle today.  Even after walking with the Lord for a period of time, we are often still filled with doubts and fears.  The message of the gospels is one of reassurance and comfort.  As Christians, we have nothing to fear, because we are in the hands of One who loves us and has all power to protect us.