John 6:16–21

Read the passage.

It’s really funny to me that Jesus recognizes how the people feel about Him being the Messiah after giving them more food than they can eat, so He sends them away to pray by Himself and give them time to cool down, only to turn around and meet up with His disciples out on the sea without using a boat. Both of these were the kind of miracle that Elijah or Elisha might have done during their ministries, so while Jesus didn’t want the masses of people to hijack His ministry with their political ideas, He wasn’t afraid of the Twelve doing the same thing.

The detail that they had rowed for three or four miles before Jesus reached them is also interesting. The Sea of Galilee is a decent-sized lake, about 8 miles by 13 miles at furthest extents. Which means that depending on where the boat launched and which direction it went, Jesus may have met them right in the middle of the water.

I also wonder when they actually expected to meet back up with Jesus. Did they think He’d walk around the lake to meet them at Capernaum, perhaps? Or would He hire someone else’s boat to ferry Him across? John says they were “glad to take Him into the boat”. I can’t tell if that was just because they were frightened by seeing Him on the water, or the joy of being reunited with their teacher, or anything deeper.

We long for Your presence in the storms of life. Encourage us and spur us on in the calms as well.