Daily Devotions
John
Recognition of Jesus as the Son of God
Text: John 6:22-71
RECOGNITION OF JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD
The incident of Jesus walking on the sea in the middle of a storm served its intended purpose. Yes, it was a frightening moment for the Disciples for a little while. They were afraid of the storm, for who knows if the boat would capsize and they would drown? The other frightening moment was when they thought they had seen an apparition! They didn’t quite know how to deal with the problem.
For Peter, this incident was more than just a little embarrassing. He had asked to walk on water. After the initial few steps, fear overcame him and his doubts caused him to sink into the sea. Mercifully Jesus reached him in time and rescued him from drowning.
Matthew recorded an important feature that came out of this incident. We read,
“And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him,
Saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God.’ “
Matthew 14:32-33
The Disciples must have realized in a fresh new way Whom they were following. Jesus wasn’t just a brilliant Bible scholar who could hold His own against the finest brains in Israel. He was none other than the Son of God. It was surely as the Son of God that He was able to multiply the loaves and fish to feed the multitudes! How could they have doubted Him! Even as the Disciples mused on these thoughts, all too soon, the boat arrived at its destination.
“Then they willingly received Him into the boat,
and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.”
John 6:21
THE PURSUIT OF THE MULTITUDES
The multitudes could not find Jesus in the mountains, and they must have looked very hard for Him too. John recorded this carefully,
“On the following day, when the people who were standing
on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other
boat there, except that one which His Disciples had entered,
and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples,
but His disciples had gone away alone…”
John 6:22
The multitudes had kept their eyes on the disciples of Jesus and on their boat. There was only one boat to watch. One boat was not difficult to watch at all. Jesus had not entered into the boat with His disciples. Therefore, they figured that He must be somewhere in the vicinity. They waited till the next day, but they still couldn’t figure out where Jesus was. They were still very determined to find Jesus and make Him their king. How they must have dreamed that Jesus would be an ideal King for them.
The multitudes soon saw some boats coming towards them from the city of Tiberias. They figured that they might as well try and find Jesus in the city of Capernaum. But how He could have escaped their watchful eyes was beyond them.
“However, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place
where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks –
When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there,
nor His disciples, they also got into boats
and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.”
John 6:23-24
Their guess was right. They found Jesus in Capernaum. The moment they saw Jesus, they wanted an explanation from Him. They were curious as to how He came to Capernaum. How could He have crossed the Sea of Galilee? They knew that the Disciples had left on their own!
“And when they found Him on the other side of the sea,
they said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?'”
John 6:25
The Disciples of Jesus must have given each other knowing looks. Jesus on His part wasn’t about to tell them that He walked across the sea amidst a storm. Would they have believed Him even if He did tell them? Would they have responded correctly if they were to hear that Jesus had the power to walk across the sea, because He was the Son of God? They had already responded inappropriately. They had given indication that they wanted to force Jesus to be their king!
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
Jesus knew that the multitudes had followed Him for ulterior motives. Their interest was not in things spiritual. They were not enamoured of the teachings that they had heard. If they thought that Jesus might be flattered by their “devotion” to Him, they were sadly mistaken. Jesus saw right through them. There was only one way to deal with the situation. Jesus went directly to the root of the problem.
“Jesus answered them and said, ‘Most assuredly I say to you,
you seek Me, not because you saw the signs,
but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.'”
John 6:26
The multitudes appeared to have seen and understood the sign that Jesus had given, when He fed them (Cf. John 6:14). The people had even said that Jesus must have been a prophet. However, Jesus being who He was saw right through them. There hadn’t been any spiritual recognition at all. They were just astonished and happy that they ate and were filled! That was about all they understood of the sign-miracle that Jesus had performed! They had followed Jesus only in the hope of seeing more such miracles, but not because of personal faith in Him.