What Jesus Did

That evening Jesus' disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn't come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward ###. Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, "Don't be afraid. I am here!"

—John 6:16-20 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus' words to his...

 

When Jesus saw that [the people who witnessed his miraculous sign] were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.

—John 6:15 NLT

Key Thought​

While tucked away in the middle of a busy couple of days in Jesus' ministry, this insight about what Jesus did is a significant one we shouldn't miss. Jesus was being tempted with fame and an earthly position of power. The temptation was a shortcut to glory among the people, and it didn't entail the...

 

When the people saw [Jesus perform the miraculous sign of feeding more than 5,000], they exclaimed, "Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!"

—John 6:14 NLT

Key Thought​

The people were "wowed"! They recognized something incredible had happened. When they first saw the miraculous sign, they were convinced that something great was going on. But their reaction didn't last long as this was the "miracle on demand" crowd. [1] Unfortunately, they let their praises die down...

 

After everyone [in the crowd of more than 5,000 people] was full, Jesus told his disciples, "Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted." So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

—John 6:12-13 NLT

Key Thought​

Some leftovers I love. Others I can do without. These leftovers are marvelous. I especially love the fact that there were twelve baskets of leftovers — one basket for each...

 

"Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus said [after being told that a boy in the crowd had five barley loaves and two fish]. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about ###.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

—John 6:10-11 NLT

Key Thought​

What do you notice here? The organization? The number of people? The bread and the...

 

[After Philip said that even wages from months of work wouldn't be sufficient to feed the crowd following Jesus] ###, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?"

—John 6:8-9 NLT

Key Thought​

Our resources are limited. God's aren't. Our wisdom is limited. God's isn't. Our power is limited. God's isn't. What we offer, in the face of a great need, is small ... until it is brought to...

 

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to ###, he asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" He was testing ###, for he already knew what he was going to do. ### replied, "Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!"

—John 6:5-7 NLT

Key Thought​

"Be careful what you pray for; you just may get it!" My experience with major outreach efforts of churches has been mixed. Some of them have gone bust — much...

 

So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill [###]. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.

—John 5:18 NLT

Key Thought​

John's Gospel confronts us with a crucial decision: Is Jesus really the Son of God, God with us in human flesh? John paints the story of Jesus so we see that he claims to be God in the "I am" statements, for example:

• "I am the bread of life."
• "I am the...

 

Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.)

—John 6:3-4 NLT

Key Thought​

If God's people live with a proper sense of urgency and passion before the lost world, they are going to grow weary. They will grow weary physically. They will grow weary spiritually. They will grow weary of all the demands placed upon them. Jesus frequently got away from the crowds, or at least tried to get away from them...

 

After [his confrontation with the Jewish leaders], Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.

—John 6:1-2 NLT

Key Thought​

Folks follow the show, especially if they can get something for free. This chapter begins with a huge crowd that was seeking to commandeer Jesus' ministry for their own reasons. It ends with most of...