John 6:25-27 - Do not work for food that spoils

6:25,26

The crowds succeeded in finding Jesus, referring to Him as “Rabbi”, and they asked how He had got there. As noted in 6:22 they had worked out He could not have got there by boat. Jesus replies with a “truly, truly”. He does not answer their question, but goes to the heart of the matter. The people did not need to know how Jesus had got there. It was really neither here nor there. What did matter was the whole focus of their lives. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches on not worrying about what we will eat or wear, but on seeking first the kingdom of God (Matt 6:19-34). The people “did not see signs”. What does this mean, for they had indeed experienced the great miracle? Their focus was purely on having free food. If Jesus had turned up with a Tesco delivery van dishing out free pizzas they would have been happy. So they had seen the miracle, but they had learnt nothing from it, nor did they have a desire to learn from it. They were concerned only about their daily needs, their stomachs. We all need to watch ourselves, for we so easily become all consumed by the immediate needs of life.

6:27

Having pointed out their current state, Jesus then starts to tell them why it is wrong and how they need to change. The “food” they are currently focused on will perish. We can all focus on things that are not eternal. Earthly wealth will one day be of no use to us at all. It can vanish in an instant, and when we die it is of no value to us. Career success, or success in any other realm is equally temporal. Now it is not that these things are wrong in themselves, or are of no value. The problem arises when we give them the wrong place, making them the centre of our lives. So Jesus tells the people to focus on the “food that endures for eternal life”. And how do we get this eternal life? It is the Son of Man who gives it to us. And why can He give it to us? Because the Father has set His seal on the Son. God has chosen Christ, so we are in no position to choose anyone else!

Genesis 25:7-18 - Abraham lived 175 years

25:7-11

Abraham died at the age of 175. He was”an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. Note that death is not viewed as negative if one is buried with your people.  Earlier we had read of how Abraham had acquired the cave where he was buried. Note that both Isaac and Ishmael came to bury him. Ishmael still felt an affinity towards Abraham. So Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. The blessing now passed to Isaac, and it was God who blessed him.

25:12-18

Ishmael is also considered important by God, for we have an account of his genealogy here. The promise that God gave to him in Gen 17:20 would be fulfilled. Twelve tribes came from Ishmael, and he lived until he was 137. Then he breathed his last was gathered to his people.

John 6:22-24 - In search of Jesus

6:22-24

John is setting the scene for the bread of life discourse. There is an incidental confirmation of the walking on water in that it is noted that there had been only one boat and Jesus had not got in that one. So how had He got to the other side? John mentions that Jesus had given thanks before they had eaten the bread on the previous day. The common human approach is that we think we are entitled to things, or we ask out of insecurity. As Christians we are still prone to this approach. The way we are meant to live is in thankful trust in the Father. We should practise this, going against what might be our natural feelings. Then, step by step, we learn the secret of being content in all situations (Phil 4:11), and as it says in Phil 4:9 when talking about focusing on what is good, “practise these things, and the God of peace will be with you”. 

The crowd realised that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, so they set off in boats to try and find them.

Genesis 25:1-6 - Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac

25:1-4

We have had Sarah’s death, now Abraham will die. He was very old by this stage, but took another wife, Keturah. We are not told much about Keturah except that she bore him several children. It seems that Abraham wisely had only one wife at a time, though he did seem to have concubines! With Sarah there were all sorts of problems, mostly over having a child, namely Isaac. With Keturah children seemed to come easily, but it is through Isaac that God’s covenant promises flowed. We would all like to have an easy life, but it is often through the difficult times that God’s fullness comes.

25:5,6

“Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac”. Abraham recognised that God’s promises would be fulfilled through Isaac. Abraham did give gifts to the sons of his concubines, and Keturah seems to have been treated as a concubine, but he sent the sons away from Isaac. It would seem he had learnt the lesson with Ishmael, and did not want any repeat of that situation.

John 6:16-21 - Jesus walks on the water

6:16,17

Jesus walking on water is also recorded by Matthew (Mt 14:22-33) and Mark (Mk 6:47-51). John does not give much in the way of detail, in particular there is no mention of Peter’s involvement in the episode, given in Matthew. Also, there is no obvious link to a discourse, whereas the feeding of the five thousand will shortly lead into the long discourse on Jesus being the bread of life. So why does John record it, when he seems to have chosen with great care the incidents he relates? Maybe it is just to record how they got to the other side and the incident was so significant that it would have been remiss not to mention it?

6:18-21

Whatever the case, the disciples were in the boat going down the lake. Jesus was not with them at that point, and the seas started to become very rough due to a strong wind. They were rowing the boat and had travelled about three to four miles (25 to 30 stadia, in the original). Then they saw Jesus walking on the water, and were frightened. Matthew and Mark record that they thought it was a ghost, it not being normal for men to walk on water! Jesus assured them that it was indeed He, and He urged them not to be afraid. They welcomed Him into the boat and then immediately reached their destination. There is a possibility that this last bit was another miracle.

Genesis 24:42-67 - I will go

24:42-49

The servant then recounts the tale of how he met Rebekah. The servant then poses the key question to Laban (who seems to be in charge of the household at the time), will he let Rebekah go to be Isaac’s wife or not. The servant does not put any direct pressure on Laban, though his recounting of events strongly implies that to say no would mean going against the will of God.

24:50-59

Rebekah’s brother and father both acknowledge that it is God who has been orchestrating events. So they consent to Rebekah going to be Isaac’s wife. After this the servant brought out more jewelry, and costly ornaments. So they continued feasting together. In the morning the servant wants to head back to Abraham, but Laban seems to want to delay things. This is a trick he deployed in extremis when Jacob came. However, the servant did not want to delay, and Rebekah agreed to go as well.

25:60-67

Rebekah’s brother and father pronounced a blessing on her. Rebekah then left with her maidservants. Although all this is for Isaac’s wife, Isaac has not been directly involved at any point yet! However, he sees the servant and Rebekah returning. Anyway, he seems to like Rebekah and they marry. Rebekah became the focus of his affections, so he was comforted after his mother’s death.

John 6:11-15 - Let nothing be wasted

6:11-13

Jesus took the food and gave thanks to God for the food. He then distributed the food among the people. We know from the synoptics that it was the disciples who actually carried out the distribution (Lk 9:16). This is just a useful warning of an overly literal interpretation of the Bible. The people had more than their fill. There are some who try to demythologise the incident, i.e. make out that no actual miracle occurred, but the boy’s generosity encouraged others to be equally generous. Such ideas are nonsense. All the gospels are quite clear that this was a miracle, in particular the rest of John 6 makes little sense if no miracle occurred.

6:14,15

“When the people saw the sign ...” The people clearly thought a miracle had occurred. In Deut 18:15-19 (one of the most important passages in the Old Testament)  Moses tells of one who would come after him. The people are now convinced that Jesus is the Prophet. Jesus perceived that the people were about to try and make Him king. This may have been a supernatural awareness, or just a sensible reading of the situation. Jesus would not allow Himself to become the puppet of the people. He would do the will of the Father, not the will of the people. So He withdrew to the mountain, to a solitary place.