A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. (John 6:2)Nothing makes for a popular guy like having stuff people want. You have enough money and everybody is your friend. If you are known as the guy who buys drinks for everybody whenever you go in the bar, it is not surprising that everybody likes you.
But when they start expecting it is when it gets kind of dangerous. If people begin to depend on you for what they want and you quit giving it to them, chances are they will get mad at you.
People were this same way around Jesus. He healed, he did really interesting things, and to some he was a never-ending source of entertainment.
In John 6, they are sitting around him after he had done a bunch of great things, miraculous signs, just waiting for something else to happen. In fact, they were so sure that he was going to do something good that they didn’t even bother to bring lunch.
Jesus saw that they were this way but he stayed with them anyway. He had come to tell them about the love and grace of God and meant to do so even though he knew they were going to get mad at him sooner or later.
But they were hungry so he fed them, making a lot of food appear from just a little. And the crowd loved him for it. Kind of like going to hear a politician and he gives everybody bar-be-cue. They eat it and think, this is great. All we have to do is follow this guy around and we have free food and free entertainment.
When he gets through, he has twelve baskets left over, just enough for his apostles. He is trying to show them that he can feed everybody and still have enough left over for them for a few days. He is saying that if they will give their lives to him, he will take care of them.
But he left his apostles and went out to pray. The apostles took a boat to the other side of the lake where they were supposed to go and a storm came up. They thought they were going to drown but Jesus came walking up on the water.
He asked them why they were afraid. Hadn't he just made a lot of food and fed 5000 men and their families? They were embarrassed and were scared of him.
Jesus can do great things both for others and in your life. He has promised that he will never leave you and that he loves you.
As long as we give ourselves to Jesus, he will be with us. he never promised a life of comfort or ease. Most of the apostles including himself died violent deaths.
But their lives meant something because they had given them to him. Without him, our lives are meaningless, just lived for nothing.
With him, we have the presence of the God and his Son who conquered the world and lives in our hearts.
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