10.29.17-John 6:16-29, Long Night in a Boat…

Bible Text: John 6:16-29 | Pastor: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John |

Last week we studied the feeding of the 5,000, after which (John 6:14-15) Jesus

sent His disciples away (Matthew 14:22) and withdrew by Himself to the mountain. Today we are going to look at the 5th miraculous sign recorded in the gospel of

John, which immediately follows the feeding of the large crowd.
As we learned last week, the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke) provide very

important additional information about the events we are studying in John. When Jesus sent His disciples away, according to Mark 6:45, they probably

sailed to Bethsaida, which is not very far from where Jesus fed the crowds, but far enough to get away form this mass of people.

It would seem the disciples planned to meet Jesus at Bethsaida, before crossing over to Capernaum together (cf. Matthew 14:34; Mark 6:53).
Read John 6:16-19… When evening came (it was getting dark) the disciples went to the shoreline and got back into the boat they had arrived in. They were, no doubt, expecting Jesus to meet up with them, and go together to Capernaum, but He didn’t show, it was dark, so they headed for Capernaum on the northwest shore of the Lake.

Note: The Sea of Galilee is a fresh water lake about 700 feet below sea level, surrounded by hills that are about 2000 feet above sea level. This geography helps to formulate the conditions which cause very violent storms on the Sea of Galilee.

As the disciples cross the lake, John tells us that a sudden storm comes up, driven by strong winds that (Matthew 14:24; Mark 6:47-48), push the boat away from the land toward the middle of the lake, for they are heading into the wind; the disciples strain at the oars trying to reach safety near the shore.

But these guys are not making much progress; in fact, they left Bethsaida after dark, and it is now (cf. Matthew 14:25; Mark 6:48) the fourth watch of the night (1800-2100, 2100-2400, 2400-0300, 0300-0600), and they have only gone (3-4 miles).

Jesus is alone on the mountain praying (cf. Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46); the storm is raging and the disciples (cf. Mark 4:37; Luke 8:23) are worried that the waves might flood and overturn their boat.

Jesus now comes walking on the water toward them; the disciples are frightened, (cf. Matthew 14:26; Mark 6:49) crying out in terror, thinking Jesus is a ghost.
Read John 6:20-21… The disciples are frightened that they are going to capsize and because they mistake Jesus for a ghost. Jesus tries to calm their fears saying to them, “It is I, don’t be afraid.”

You think these guys were ready and willing to have Jesus in the boat with them? Oh yes! But something else happens before Jesus gets into the boat; not only did Jesus walk on water, but Peter also (very briefly) is allowed to walk on the water before almost drowning (see Matthew 14:28-31).

We also learn (cf. Matthew 14:32; Mark 6:51) that when Jesus and Peter climb into the boat, “the wind stopped blowing and the storm was calmed,” and the disciples were completely amazed (cf. Mark 4:41); in fact, the disciples worshipped Jesus, saying (cf. Matthew 14:33), “Truly You are the Son of God.”

John records another miracle (verse 21), telling us,“immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” Wow! Jesus steps into the boat, the storm quits and immediately they are all transported to their destination.
Read John 6:22-24… Jesus and the disciples had crossed the lake during a very long night and were now at Capernaum. But back on the eastern side of the lake where they had departed from, the crowds were looking for Jesus, no doubt, they were hungry and hoping to get another free meal from Jesus.

The crowds were aware that only one small boat had been anchored on shore the previous day, the one the disciples had arrived in with Jesus prior to the miraculous lunch. That boat is now gone, as are Jesus and His disciples.

Verse 23 is kind of parenthetical, in that, it tells us that other small boats from Tiberias arrived where Jesus had fed the crowds, but it doesn’t say why.
John MacArthur speculates that, “Perhaps the owners of the boats had heard of the miraculous feeding and had come to investigate. Or they may have come to pick up friends and loved ones, or to act as water taxis, seeking to cash in on the large numbers of people in need of transportation. Or they may have been forced to seek shelter from the same storm in which the disciples had been caught the night before.”

Whatever reason the small boats ended up there, it is clear that when the crowds realized both Jesus and His disciples were gone, they got into the small boats and made their way to Capernaum, looking for Jesus.

Matthew 4:12-13 tells us that when Jesus heard about John the Baptist being put into prison, He left Nazareth and went to Capernaum to live, so it would be a logical place for the people to look for Him.
Read John 6:25-29… The people finally find Jesus and ask Him how He got to Capernaum, which Jesus does not answer; but instead, He confronts a more important problem, beginning with “Amen, amen” [Truly, truly, or I tell you the truth]. Jesus wants their attention, for He is going to rebuke them for totally missing the importance of the miracle He did by feeding all of them with one boy’s lunch.

It is no wonder Jesus didn’t answer their question about how He got to Capernaum – His miraculous feeding of the crowd the day before had led them to try and make Him King by force; can you imagine if they also knew that He had walked on water, calmed the storm and then, instantaneously transported the boat, with the disciples in it, to their destination.

Earlier in chapter 4 with the Samaritan woman, Jesus distinguished between physical water from the well and living water [eternal life] that He alone could provide.

The free lunch people who had eaten the fish and bread are seeking more food for their physical bodies; but Jesus is emphasizing that they should be seeking spiritual food from Him, for He is the Bread of Life, and they should be seeking spiritual nourishment that only the Son of Man, Who has God’s Seal upon Him [God’s approval and authority]. Only Christ, the Word of God, can provide eternal life.

Matthew 4:4, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” [cf. Deuteronomy 8:3]

Do you see, much more important than literal bread that brings temporary relief to our physical bodies from hunger, is the Word of God, for it satisfies and nurtures us supernaturally, providing eternal benefits.

We have already studied (cf. John 1:1-3, 14, 18) that Jesus Christ is the Word of God [Logos, fullness of God] Who became flesh and walked among us to show us the Father that we might hear, believe and be saved.

The people ask (John 6:28) what they must do to earn eternal life. This was a common concern in Israel: The rich young ruler (cf. Matthew 19:16) and the expert in the law (cf. Luke 10:25), both basically asked Jesus the same question: What do I have to do to be saved, i.e., what work must I do to inherit eternal life?

Salvation cannot be acquired by works (cf. Romans 3:20), and no one will be counted as righteous through the work of keeping the law , yet (James 2:17) “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead,” (James 2:26) “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

Jesus answers the people by saying (John 6:29),”The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”

Basically, Jesus tells them that the only “work” that is acceptable to God is to believe in God’s Son, who happens to be standing right before them!

Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-10), “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Jesus Christ is (John 14:6), “the way and the truth and the life.” No one comes to the Father, accept through Him, i.e., no one is acceptable to God, let alone righteous; no one is forgiven by God, let alone saved; no one, that is, except for all who believe in God’s Son, confessing Him as Lord and receiving Him as Savior, for to all such as these will be granted a new birth, by God’s Spirit, into the family of God and we will spend eternity with God in heaven.

Salvation is in Christ alone (Acts 4:12), “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved,” (Philippians 2:10-11), “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Pastor Mike <‘(((><