Daily Devotions
John
Understanding the itinerary of Jesus
Text: John 6:1-15
UNDERSTANDING THE ITINERARY OF JESUS
Jesus had spent some time in Jerusalem and Judea. His usual itinerary was to preach from one town to another. The Gospel of Mark well recorded that Jesus established and maintained the following itinerary.
“At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him
all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.
And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases,
and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the
demons to speak, because they knew Him.Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight,
He went out and departed to a solitary place;
and there He prayed.And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.
When they found Him, they said to Him,
‘Everyone is looking for You.’
But He said to them, ‘Let us go into the next towns,
that I may preach there also, because for this purpose
I have come forth.'”
Mark 1:32-38
Jesus would therefore travel from Galilee to Judea. There were many towns that had not yet heard Him proclaim the Gospel. He desired very much to preach the Word of God to as many people as He could reach.
His ministry in Jerusalem had not been totally unfruitful. Yes, the Jews had opposed Him despite the fact that He had given them a full exposition of what He came to do. Still, there were “multitudes” that flocked to Him. When they knew that Jesus was moving to minister in Galilee, they followed Him. John recorded this phenomenon.
“After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee,
which is the Sea of Tiberias.
Then a great multitude followed Him,
because they saw His signs which He performed
on those who were diseased.”
John 6:1-2
There might have been “a great multitude” that “followed Him” but that did not necessarily mean that they were truly believers. John felt that he needed to include this incident in his Gospel for it would help his readers to understand Jesus better.
THE SEA OF TIBERIAS
The Sea of Galilee was also known by another name. The Sea of Tiberias was the other name. Tiberius Caesar was the second Roman Emperor. He succeeded Augustus Caesar who had ordered that a census be taken (Luke 2:1). In order to honour the new emperor, the Sea of Galilee was named after him.
Tiberius Caesar was the one who had appointed Pontius Pilate as governor of Palestine. His rule was fairly conservative. He followed the guidelines used by his predecessor, Augustus Caesar.
A LITTLE TEST
Jesus saw the multitudes, and he knew that they had followed Him not because they had personal faith in Him. Some were just curious. Others were impressed by His miracles, but had still not made up their mind concerning full faith in Him. Still others just followed the crowd. This great multitude created a big problem. They had followed Him without looking into the matter of provision for food.
Jesus decided that He would test Philip, His disciple, on this occasion. Although Philip was personally mentioned, it was as much a test for all the disciples.
“Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.
Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude
coming toward Him, He said to Philip,
‘Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?’
But this He said to test him,
for He Himself knew what He would do.”
John 6:4-6
John noted that another Passover had drawn near. That meant that the Disciples had been with Jesus for about a year already. They had heard their Master teach the multitudes for a whole year. They had also seen Him perform numerous miracles. They had observed the power that resided in Him. They would now be tested. The test was in the question Jesus raised to Philip. How would they feed the multitudes?
NOT DOING TOO WELL ON THE TEST
After one year spent with Jesus, the disciples still did not fully comprehend who their Master really was. Philip did not do too well on this test, nor did the other disciples.
“Philip answered Him, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of bread
is not sufficient for them, that every one of them
may have a little.’
One of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,
said to Him. ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves
and two small fish, but what are they among so many?'”
John 6:7-9
Their knowledge of Jesus was limited. Their faith was even more limited! After having spent a full year with Jesus, the disciples were still lacking in fullness of faith!