“A lesson for our times”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Wednesday, January 3, 2024

John 6:15-27 (Forward, p. 66) CEV p. 1107

Certain passages of Scripture are so familiar, so well-known, that a Bible student might well wonder what he or she might ‘get’ out of it that would speak to us today. They might wonder just what the Lord might want to say through that passage.

One such passage is the one selected for today, the story of Jesus’ walking on the water, which takes place just after He has fed the 5,000. In the verse immediately preceding today’s passage, verse 14, we hear the crowd, which has just seen Jesus work this miracle, say to each other: “This must be the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

This idea must have been somewhat widespread, for it shows up earlier in John’s Gospel when the Pharisees quiz John the Baptist about who he was: “Why are you baptizing people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?” According to some scholars, this refers back to God’s promise in Deuteronomy 18:15,18, where He promises to send another prophet like Moses, but one with even greater power.

Unfortunately, the crowd was not content to ‘just leave it there’. Someone who could fill their bodies, meet their material needs, was worth having around. Surely, they thought, this was the kind of person we could use as king. Jesus realized that they were about to try to force Him to be their king and so decided to nip it in the bud. John’s account doesn’t tell us just how He handled this, but Matthew and Mark do. Their accounts tell us that He immediately sent His disciples—presumably so that they wouldn’t get caught up in this ill-advised madness—dismissed the crowds, and then went up on the mountain to be able to pray alone. Surely, this whole business was something that He’d need to seek the Father’s will about, especially seeing it was a kind thinly veiled repetition of Satan’s earlier taunt, his earlier temptation to ‘turn stones into bread’ (see Matthew 4:3).

Jesus had sent off His disciples off across the lake by boat while He prayed, and later that evening He joined them—joined them in a rather unforeseen method, namely by walking on the water. Of course, the fact that He was now with the disciples on the other side of the lake but had not departed with them in their boat was not lost on some of the crowd, and

they wanted to know how He’d got there. But, Jesus, being wise to their ways, didn’t tell them, for surely such a revelation would have fueled their desire to forcibly make Him king all the more.

Anyway, Jesus knew that the root of their enquiries wasn’t really a question about His comings and goings, but rather about the food that He had miraculously provided for them. And here He issues a rather firm reproach to them—and to us. He tells them that they have missed the point, the intent of this miracle. It was meant as a sign, a sign that would point beyond itself to something greater, namely Himself, and who He was. But, they, being fixated on their bellies, on their earthly physical needs, had missed that. So, He tells them not to desire, not to work for, the kind of food that spoils, that kind of food that doesn’t truly last or satisfy (see Isaiah 55: 1-2) but the kind of food that gives eternal life, which, we later learn, is none other than He Himself (see John 6:28-29, 35).

To me, then, this story from Jesus’ life and ministry, can point us to one or two very pointed and appropriate messages. The first one is rather obvious, especially in our overly materialistic and secular world. Everything around us seems to emphasize our physical needs, whether that has to do with our health or diet or our transportation or the countless other things that our society—and its media—seems to think that we absolutely must have. Seldom does any of it touch on our spiritual needs, and sadly, even if it does on occasion, it does so with a more ‘consumer’ type of approach, namely what will meet our needs or make us happy. And so, Jesus’ warning here is most appropriate for our times.

And, maybe there’s a second message for us here. While Jesus knew that an earthly king, an earthly dispenser of governmental ‘largeness’, was not the way to go—at least for Himself, we might well ask whether this is the route or role for any earthy ruler. And yet, this is the temptation for almost every would-be secular governmental leader or official these days, namely, to be seen as the dispenser of ‘all sorts of good things.’ And so, we are advised to put our trust in this one or that, and to somehow see that person as a ‘saviour’ who’d meet all our needs and put ‘everything to right’ (whatever that means). Thereby we forget God’s earlier warning not to put our trust in princes or in earthly forces (see Psalms 146:4-5; 20:7-8).

And while there are many things that our earthly rulers, especially godly ones, can and should be expected to do, being our Saviour is not one of them. After all, there is but one Saviour, Jesus Christ, and it is He, and He

alone, that we should put our trust in. And should this too not be taken as a helpful warning as well, for once again, we are solely tempted to put our trust, not only in things, but also in people, people who try to promise us too much, to promise us only those things that God can deliver? And surely, this should be something that we take firmly to heart as we enter into this new year!

Forward notes: “But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid’” (verse 20).

“I have heard people claim that the phrase ‘Do not be afraid’ is written 365 times in the Bible, a reminder for each day. Whether it’s 365 or 100 times, the admonition against fear is a common one throughout Scripture. God’s desire for us is that we should live with confidence and the power of knowing that God is with us, and we need not feel any fear.

“But fear exists. We experience fear of the unknown and of failure, especially at the beginning of a new year with laudable aspirations. We fear that we are not enough—or that sometimes, we are too much. But the truth is that even when the waters are rough, and we feel we are drowning, we need not fear, for God is always with us. There will always be opportunities to be afraid. We are human, after all. But imagine going through life, facing those moments with the blessed assurance that God is all around us, inside us, on our lips, in our hearts, in our minds, and in our hands.

“Change remains constant. God remains unchanged. We need not fear. God is with us, Emmanuel!”

Moving Forward: “Write the words, ‘Do not be afraid’ on some sticky notes. Put them on your mirror, desk, or dashboard, and thank God”.

A concluding note: what the author of today’s Forward Day by Day meditation says about the presence of Jesus Christ is undoubtedly true, but it is only those who put their trust in Him and surrender their lives to Him that can fully know His abiding presence and help in times of trouble or distress.