Here is a teaching of part 1 of chapter 6 of the book of John. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
Part 1 of John Chapter 6:
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs that he had performed on the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go amongst so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
All right so let's discuss these verses here. First, I just wanted to mention that when Jesus went to be alone in places, a lot of the times big crowds would follow him. They would follow him because they would see this miraculous signs that he would do and they wanted to see more miraculous signs and to learn from him. So in verse 5, Jesus asked Philip, "where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" and Phillip said that "eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each to have a bite." Phillip was so worried about the cost of the bread and how many people there were, he wasn't thinking that Jesus Christ was right here beside them. Then we have Andrew over here that found this boy that had five small loaves of bread and two small fish. Andrew told Jesus how much this boy had and he said, "how far will they go amongst so many?" So instead of being like Philip and thinking about how much it would cost to feed so many, Andrew went and found a boy that had some food, but he still was thinking how far that food would go. They both didn't realize the power of the person that was with them, the power of Jesus Christ.
So instead of Jesus answering the questions that Andrew and Phillip had, he did even better, he showed them how this would be distributed. He showed them how five small loaves of barley bread and two small fish could feed 5,000 people. So Jesus told Andrew and Philip to have all the people sit down, they sat down on the grass, and then he took these five small loaves of bread and 2 small fish and distributed them among 5,000 people, as much as they wanted. It doesn't say that he gave them one piece or a few pieces, but he distributed as much bread and fish as they wanted. That's the power of Jesus Christ right there. And that just goes to show that if we believe in him and we do as he says, he's got us, he will take care of us. If we seek him, he will feed us and give us living water.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
All right, I'm just going to stop here real quick. The pieces leftover from these five loaves of bread, small barley loaves, of bread was 12 baskets. These weren't small baskets, these were the big, huge baskets, 12 of them they filled with the pieces leftover. Whenever I was reading this and doing my study so I could teach you guys about this, I was reading the verses here where he said, "gather the pieces that are left over, let nothing be wasted," and I was thinking "why would he want to gather the pieces leftover?" But Jesus was generous, he wasn't wasteful, and he wanted to make good use of everything. These pieces could be used for birds or different things, but he didn't want to waste anything. But also here, because we see in these verses that with the pieces leftover it filled up 12 big, huge baskets, that's an illustration for us to know how much food they actually had. Once they were all full, they had as much as they wanted, and they couldn't eat anymore, there was still 12 huge baskets full just from the leftovers. Jesus doesn't only feed his people, but he feeds his people as much as they want and still there's leftovers.
14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who has come into the world." 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
So I'm just going to discuss these verses here with you guys. So like we know, Jesus came on this earth and had a mission to save lives, to die on the cross for our sins, to forgive us of our sins, to raise three days later, and whoever believes in him shall have eternal life. Jesus went to this mountain by himself because he didn't want the people to try to make him King by force. The crowd wanted to use Jesus to throw off the Roman oppression. They saw these miraculous signs that he did, and they saw that he fed the 5,000, so they wanted to make him a King by force. Jesus went to pray on this mountain because he wasn't interested in the applause of the crowd, he wasn't interested in all of that, he was more interested in having that relationship with his Father in heaven and doing the will of God the father.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into the boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
So let's discuss these verses here. So his disciples got on a boat and set across the Lake for Capernaum. There was a strong wind and really rough waters, so it was a lot of hard work for them to row 3 or 3.5 miles. Then they saw Jesus walking on water and he was approaching them, and they were terrified because it was dark, they thought it was a ghost or spirit, they didn't know that it was Jesus walking on water. And I love verse 21 because it says "they were willing to take him into the boat," and this just goes to show that Jesus waited to come onto the boat until his disciples willingly received him. This is a good illustration of us receiving the words of Jesus Christ, the truth of the Bible, and us believing in Jesus Christ and receiving him into our hearts. Jesus is always right there and he will be there to give us peace and to comfort us, just like he told them, "It is I; don't be afraid," and he gave them peace in that moment that they were terrified. He also waits to come until we receive him, until we willingly say, "Jesus come into our hearts, forgive us of our sins," or we willingly accept Jesus into our lives. I love that verse because it was a good demonstration that he didn't just come onto the boat, he wanted to make sure that they received him onto the boat. He could have easily just come onto the boat.
Immediately once he went on that boat, they reached the shore where they were heading. So for 3 to 3.5 miles, they were rowing this boat with these rough waters and it was dark and windy, and as soon as he got in that boat, they immediately reached the shore that they were heading. So as soon as they accepted him and they willingly received him, their hard work was finished, they got to their destination. That right there is powerful. We have to be willing to receive the teaching of Jesus Christ, the testimonies about Jesus Christ, and to ask him into our hearts, receive him into our hearts, know that Jesus is the son of God, that he did walk on the earth to live a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, rose three days later, and that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And he will always come through for us.
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
So these are the last verses that I'm going to read here in part 1 of chapter 6 of the book of John, but I'm just going to discuss this versus with you guys. So this crowd realized that there was only one boat that had left and that the disciples had gone alone. So Jesus wasn't in that boat with them, but they couldn't find Jesus. They were in search for Jesus because they wanted to make him King, they wanted to force them to be King. So whenever these boats came from Tiberias and they realized that Jesus nor his disciples were there, then they went on the boats and search of Jesus. They wanted to find him because they saw him feed the 5,000 and for greedy reasons. They wanted to see more miraculous signs he could do and if he could give them more food.
John Ch 6 Study Guide Part 1
1. Why would big crowds follow Jesus when he went places to be alone?
2. Why did Jesus ask Philip where they should buy bread for the people to eat?
3. What did both Andrew and Philip not realize?
4. How much bread and fish did Jesus use to feed 5,000 people?
5. Why did Jesus tell his 2 disciples to gather the pieces that are left over?
6. Why did the people want to force Jesus to be king?
7. Why were Jesus’ disciples terrified when they saw him walking on water?
8. Why did Jesus wait until his disciples were willing to take him into the boat?
9. What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible study. On Sunday I will be posting part 2 of this Bible study on chapter 6 of the book of John, so stay tuned for that.
Before I let you go, I want to say a quick prayer for you... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray that you open up their eyes, their ears, their hearts, their mind to you Lord. I pray that they see the truth of your words and your power, your mercy, your grace, that you feed the hungry, and you will come through for them. I pray that they spread the gospel to others and let other people know about you and how amazing you are so that everyone they know and love will know about you, have a relationship with you, and when it's their time to go, that they will be going to heaven. I love you so much Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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