Another Miracle

February 29 Another Miracle John 6:16-29

“It is important what we look at in Christ’s miracles. For he who does not aspire to God’s Kingdom, but clings to the comforts of the present life, seeks only to fill his belly. Just as today many would eagerly embrace the Gospel if it were empty of the bitterness of the cross and only brought carnal delights.” John Calvin “Commentary on John” Vol. 4:153

What is your motivation for being a Christian? Are you a disciple of Christ because it’s the right thing to do, or because it’s profitable in some way? In one sense, every decision to follow Jesus is self-interested since it results in salvation. To have faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord is to receive eternal life; it’s also to escape from the horrors of judgment. Who wouldn’t want to be rescued? But does this make the decision to receive Christ selfish? Hardly; it’s not selfish to want to be what God always wanted you to be. What is selfish is to follow Christ because of the benefits alone. There are those, even today, who will encourage you to be a Christian so that you will be prosperous and be materially blessed.

Some of those who followed Jesus back to Capernaum were more interested in being fed than in feasting upon His words. They had witnessed the feeding of the five thousand and had been impressed. This wandering rabbi really could work miracles. Some of them wanted bread; others were interested in the benefits He could bring to Israel. Few realized that, in Jesus, they had encountered the Bread of Life who satisfies our souls not for a moment but forever.

The disciples left Jesus after the miraculous feeding, returning to Bethsaida by boat. Jesus was still walking and praying somewhere up in the hills. As they crossed the lake it grew dark and a storm blew up. Despite their experience as fishermen they struggled through the rough waters. Then, some three miles from shore, they saw Jesus approaching them, walking on the water. They were terrified. From the heady heights of the successful gathering of over five thousand they plummeted to the depths of terror. How could this be? Real men don’t walk on water; was this an apparition, a ghost?

Jesus calmed both their fears and the rolling waves as He stepped into the boat. Within moments, or so it seemed, they had reached the shore. Did they sleep well that night, after the exertions of the day, or did they count the stars, wondering what exactly they had got themselves involved in? Did they stop to ask, “Who is this Jesus?”

As He walked upon the water, Jesus bore witness to His true identity. By dividing the tiny meal to feed a multitude Jesus had shown His authority over nature. He did it again, even more dramatically, when He took a short-cut over the Sea of Galilee, leaving His disciples open-mouthed and amazed.

When some of those who had witnessed the first of these miracles caught up with Him the following day, wondering out loud how He had managed to make the journey so quickly without a boat, Jesus turned the tables on them. They had come, He said, for all the wrong reasons. They were more interested in filling their bellies than in feeding their souls. They should seek the work that endures, not the work that spoils. And the work that God requires of us is this: that we believe in the One whom He has sent.

For further reading: Psalm 58