Episode 3: Jesus the Promised Lord (John 6:1-21)
We’re straight into the big stuff today, as John shows us his eye-witness account of two astounding miracles, confirming just how glorious Christ is, and how much we’ve got to look forward to in this group of chapters.
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What did you notice afresh about these familiar miracles?
What's striking about the way Jesus reveals himself here?
How are we tempted to shape Jesus differently to how he reveals himself here?
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This episode is sponsored by Crossway.
Crossway is a not-for-profit ministry, publishing gospel-centred, Bible-based content that honours our Saviour and serves his church. For information, click here.
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The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
Sarah: This season we're sponsored by Crossway. Lucy and the Saturday Surprise, written by Melissa Kruger and illustrated by Samara Hardy, is a story of one little girl's envy of something her brother has and the heart wrestle that accompanies her on the journey. Melissa wonderfully shows us parental compassion in the mess that ensues and ultimately points us to the glorious gospel hope that we all need, all wrapped up in beautiful illustration. Pick up a copy for any four to seven year olds you know from wherever books are sold.
Felicity: Welcome to two sisters and a Cup of tea. My name is Felicity. I'm in the States and I'm here with my sister Sarah. She's in the UK and we are excited to be continuing in our season in John six to twelve. This episode, we're going to be jumping into chapter six, verses one to 21. Sarah, great to see you.
Sarah: You too. Now, tell us, how's the gluten free journey going? I'm aware that we kind of say we're going to talk about tea and biscuits, and that's been slightly, what's the word? Complicated and shrunken in the chat because you don't eat biscuits anymore. So how's it going?
Felicity: I know. Well, I do find it possibly the most tempting place in which to break the gluten free consumption rule. And so what it means is that I feel like my intake of just pure chocolate has gone up quite significantly. I basically need to make some gluten free biscuits and I'm really grateful to a number of listeners who have sent in some recipes and I actually now need to just do it.
Sarah: Get on and do it. Okay.
Felicity: One of resolve. The journey is one of resolve rather than of actual kind of joyful flourishing.
Sarah: Well, you know, New Year, new bakes, it's all there, ready for the taking, isn't it, really?
Felicity: Yeah. Everything's there for the taking in January. January can feel a little overwhelming in that sense, an overhaul of all of life.
Sarah: Yeah, I know. All right. Well, what isn't overwhelming and what we do suggest most episodes are not just at New Year, is that we love to encourage one another to get the Bible open with others, don't we? BUt I wonder whether people have got a question in their mind or they've kind of had one in the past or maybe kind of haven't even thought about it, but just that kind of niggling kind of worry of, what if I get the Bible open with someone else and it just goes wrong? What if we end up going down a rabbit hole? What if it just becomes really confusing and we don't know what we're talking about. Or even worse, maybe we start telling one another the wrong thing and leading one another down the kind of wrong path. What would you say and how would you speak into that? Felicity?
Felicity: I think that's quite a normal kind of concern, isn't it? Because rightly we hold the Bible in high esteem and we want to hear God speak to us rightly. And so that is a natural thing to fear. I think the beauty of the Christian life is that we're not alone. And as we then ask someone to read the Bible with us, sit down together, we're not doing that in a vacuum. We would definitely suggest that you don't do that in a vacuum. So local church life is going to be a factor in that. In that your church likely has some wiser older Christians in there, even if it's not your church. Maybe you know people around and about who would be able to just be your kind of sounding board. Like, it's totally okay just to check, just to ring someone up, text someone, say, hey, we were just talking about this and just wondered whether you agree with that or not. There's also a wealth of Christian books out there. There are resources all over the place. There are lots of resources on the Internet. Just hesitation about just jumping into any old Google search. But seeking the advice of others, I think would be a very wise thing to do. Not that you have to check everything, just checking the trajectory, I think. Have you got anything to add in terms of wisdom on that?
Sarah: No, I think that's really helpful. I guess the only thing I'd add is just keep praying. Just keep praying for clarity as you're reading it through and really ask the Lord to reveal to you if you think thEre's something that's gone awry in your understanding or in both of your understanding. The Lord is faithful and he wants his word to be understood clearly, doesn't he? So just kind of praying to that end. Well, we're going to get into chapter six today. I'm really excited. As we say at the start of each season, we're very aware of our need for God to open our eyes and our minds to understand what's in front of us. And it's essential that we pray that the Lord would give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we would know him better. But we make the conscious decision to pray before we press record each time. So we have already prayed. And as with each season, we're also reading from the NIV translation so I'm going to get going and read chapter six, verses one to 21 for us. Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee. That is the Sea of Tiberius. And a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing those who were ill. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover festival was near when Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him. He said to Philip, where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, it would take more than a half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite. Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish. But how far will they go among so many? Jesus said, make the people sit down. There was plenty of grass in that place. And they sat down. About 5000 men were there. 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. When they had all had enough to eat he said to his disciples, gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted. So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign Jesus performed they began to say, surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world. Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force withdrew again to a mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or 4 miles they saw Jesus approaching the boat walking on the water. And they were frightened. But he said to them, it is I, don't be afraid. Then they were willing to take him into the boat. And immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Felicity: Wow. A lot going on. High drama, massively well known story to kick it off. But actually, as we read carefully through this feeding of the 5000 I think it's even more amazing than we might have originally thought given any kind of Sunday school exposure or wherever we've come across it. But the combination of this feeding of the 5000 and then immediately afterwards the walking on the water. I mean, it's a bold chapter in terms of what Jesus is conveying.
Sarah: It is really amazing, isn't it? The kind of scale of the first miracle in terms of feeding from a lunchbox, 5000 plus, we don't know how many, but it will be certainly plus women and children as well, and the repetition of bountiful, abundant plenty. Words like Jesus really can do more than you could ever imagine with just a simple kind of boy's lunch, basically. So you've got that to thousands and then the next miracle, it is literally just a handful of disciples, isn't it? So he kind of goes from the kind of massive scale to the tiny. And I think that's just really striking that these two are put side by side in that. And don't forget the third miracle because yes, he walks on water, but then in verse 21, immediately the boat reaches the shore. Just putting it out there, it's not one that people talk about, but there's another one just there.
Felicity: And if we come back to John's purpose in writing this whole thing, that we might know that Jesus is the Messiah, that he is the Son of God and that we may believe, I think that the miracles are all a part of that evidencing who he is, which is interesting because if you look at verse two, we have this unestimable number of people, the crowd of people who are following him. And John makes it quite clear because they saw the signs he had performed by healing those who were ill. So the chat around Jesus is growing. People have heard everyone's kind of, you can imagine they're sort of flocking from a town, a whole town almost like gathering to see more of the signs. And Jesus is performing the signs, he's making miracles here. And I think it then immediately from that very first get go, asks the question, well, what are we going to do with the signs? We kind of have this display of who Jesus is and it's been set up. The crowd are there just maybe just to spectate. And as we go through, we have different people's responses to what Jesus is doing.
Sarah: Isn't it amazing then that in verse 15 Jesus knows their intention, they see the miracle, he hears their response, but he knows their intention is to come and make him king by force. And so he withdraws. So he sees the intention of their heart to make him into something that he's not. And therefore he chooses to withdraw very quickly. And then he chooses to reveal himself in a stunning way by walking on water. And he reveals himself to the disciples to be well. What does he say? He says, it is I, don't be afraid. And that is a kind of revelation of the I am of Yahweh, he's kind of showing himself to be that. I guess this is where we get into some of the Old Testament connections, isn't it? But just one of the Psalms 107, or job nine, verse eight, we read, he alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. And so anyone, any of the disciples who had been vaguely familiar with any of these words would be going, whoa. Well, firstly, I can see that Jesus is walking on the water, but also that only the creator of the heavens and earth could possibly do this. And then Jesus matches it with his words to say it is I and I am him.
Felicity: And as we're sort of dipping our toes into that Old Testament Lake, let's just to be clear that in Exodus, when we have the revelation of Yahweh, when he says it is I, I am, then that is all a part of God revealing himself. And if we think John wise Jesus is seeking to reveal himself to be the Messiah, and so we have the picture building as to who Jesus is. And I think that not just the statement of who he is, but actually the nature of who he is, we have it in that abundant provision that you mentioned briefly there. So go back to verse 13. They filled twelve baskets with the pieces of barley left over. So the people have been provided for more than they need. There's enough. And the walking on the water, I mean, that's more than enough as well to display who God is. I feel like it's kind of this more than idea. Like Jesus is giving us so much evidence as to who he is and what he's.
Sarah: Yeah, yeah. Which is just wonderful, isn't it? I know we're going to go on to the bread properly next week as Jesus then explains what he's been doing. But I do just want to kind of sit there just for a moment. So as I was reading, I guess this is meant to take us back to the Exodus. It's meant to take us back to the manor in the wilderness. And in Exodus verse 16, we read that kind of God did that miracle in the desert back in Exodus, so that they will know that he is the Lord their God. And I think just seeing that here as well, and seeing him then reveal himself to the disciples in this way as well, it's the kind of, this is who I am. This is the revelation of who I am. So see me for who I am. And don't try and make me into the king who's not who he's revealing him to be. Does that make sense?
Felicity: Yeah, I think that's right. Because what we have is the priority of revealing himself in eternal terms in things of eternity. The God who provided Manna in the desert, actually. And we're going to hear more of this, the bread that he gives here, this is the God who provides in such a way that it goes beyond what the people are hoping and thinking for. They're thinking, this guy, he is a miracle maker. He's got power. He could lead us and kick the Romans out and we could be a free people. They're thinking kind of geopolitically, and already we're getting a sense that Jesus is kind of going beyond that, this level of provision, this level of revelation, and even just to dip the toe a little more into the Old Testament. So we're going to get onto this much more as we go through. But in verse four, John makes it clear the Jewish Passover Festival was near. And as soon as we hear Passover, we're thinking redemption. We're thinking life. Not just life now, but we're thinking freedom, eternal life, new creation, kind of, you know, we're just touching the surface there, what Jesus is implying.
Sarah: No, that's really helpful. And it's really helpful to bring out, I think, yeah, it's kind of not wanting to overwhelm ourselves with thinking, oh, we have to always go to the Old Testament, always kind of find all these different things, isn't it? But actually, as we just kind of take two or three verses there, that does really help to root what we're reading, doesn't it? I guess the challenge for our hearts is that we wouldn't be dulled to these amazing miracles because we've heard them so much before, isn't it? And I think what's been exciting for me this week is just realizing, wow, this brings freshness to what is a well known miracle. And it gives me a hunger to want to go on. I want to know this Jesus more. I want to sit under him more and hear what he has to say next and hear him explain what's going on as well. And I feel, yeah, I'm anticipating that next week and excited for that, I think that's right.
Felicity: There's a humility that comes, I think, or a growing humility that comes as we encounter Jesus in this way, that he is bigger and better and actually a bit different to how we might have thought, how we might assume or, yeah, if we just blur the lines in any way, I think we begin to kind of box Jesus into something that he's not. And I feel the challenge here that as we walk slowly through these verses, not only are we going to have our view of Jesus kind of exploded, but in that is going to be a view of his Lordship, the level of authority that he has the right to be number one in my life. And just the challenge there as to whether I'm really willing to listen. Sometimes it feels a bit easier to skip through these kind of things, these kind of accounts, because I kind of prefer it to be that Jesus is my way rather than his way. That's my kind of heart temptation, I think. And so I think I'm challenged here to really sit in it, to really listen carefully and closely and allow my view of Jesus to be recalibrated, to be reshaped, to let this word be the final word on who is.
Sarah: Oh, definitely. Because how easy is it to rattle off that Jesus is Lord? I mean, we can say that so easily in the way that we talk about him, can't we? But actually, are we really willing to sit under him and to let him shape our view of him, to let his actions hear and then his words as we go on to shape how we view him as Lord? Or are we trying to shape him into our own image?
Felicity: Yeah. Which is a lesser thing. It'd be a lesser thing for him to be in our image. If you just even just pick out a few things about him here, it's desirable. He provides abundantly more than is needed. He has power over the wind and the waves. He is in conversation with people. He's relational. He is the God of the universe. And yet he speaks on an individual basis to his disciples here. And he has compassion on the crowd. He does want to feed them. He acknowledges that they are weary and tired. I think that is a really desirable lord. Yeah, I'm kind of ready to sit under that Lord.
Sarah: Yeah. And he's worthy of our worship, isn't he? When we Describe him like that, when you pick out all of that, he is worthy of all the glory and all the worship and all the praise. Felicity, would you pray to that end?
Felicity: Heavenly Father, thank you that you give us Jesus. Thank you that Jesus reveals himself, that we can hear this word and know that this is the Lord, the universe. We praise you so much that you're not a mystery, that you're not hiding. And that as we encounter you in this Gospel, in this eyewitness account, we pray, Father, that you would give us a humility to sit under your word. We pray that you'd give us soft hearts, that we would be eager to allow this word to shape our view of Jesus. Pray that as we see him as he is, would we be eager to worship you, to sit under your authority and to love, to live out this life of following you. And we pray this in your name. Amen.
Sarah: Amen. What a joy to be back in the word together. This is brilliant. Well, this month marks our third birthday. We've been going for three years and we thought it might be nice to celebrate it with a giveaway. So if you haven't already, click the link in our show notes to sign up for our newsletter, as that's where our giveaway will be happening over the course of this month, and we look forward to seeing you next Friday as we read the rest of John, chapter six together. We'll see you then.
Felicity: See you then.
Sarah: Bye bye. This episode has been sponsored by Crossway.
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