John 6:1-3 Crowds and signs_
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. John 6:1-2 NIV
The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is amazing on so many levels: the physical reality of food being created; the way it was multiplied out of sight, unobserved; the compassion of Jesus to meet people’s needs wherever they are; how embracing the little they had was a gateway to release what they didn’t; the difference that a little boy could make; what a story!
Setting aside the thrill of the miraculous for a moment, I’m looking at this story from another perspective. Yes, it is an incredible miracle, but what follows is even more incredible. The multiplication of food ended in a confrontation and a showdown later in the chapter. The miracle became a stone of testing. A gateway to walk through. A portal in which one may embed faith and trust in the deepest recesses of the heart. Yet, those that saw the signs Jesus performed had roots of unbelief that were so deep, it threatened their very wellbeing. As important as it is for the body to receive nourishment, having a living faith is even more so.
The crowd
This multitude in this story was different than what we see in other places in the gospels. Their aggression and assertiveness was building. As I read the next few verses and even the rest of the chapter, it almost appears that Jesus was trying to get away from them. Here is an enthusiastic, seeking group, following and pressing him “because they saw the signs.” And the next verse says: “But Jesus had gone up into the mountain with his disciples…” Jesus was leaving the crowds and getting away for some much needed time with his disciples. He wasn’t initiating, the crowd was. It is one thing for an individual to be impacted by the miracles, it can become quite another when a crowd is affected. Crowd behavior feeds off itself and takes on a life of its own. If you have ever been part of a larger group dynamic, you’ve seen this first hand. Just think about what happens at a rock concert, or a football game, or even… a church service. There is power in people coming together. Whether the result is good, bad or indifferent is another thing. The act of idolizing a superstar or bullying an outcast takes on new dimensions within a crowd. Fundamentally, the personal sense of responsibility I feel for my behavior becomes absorbed by the group, emboldening my action beyond what I would normally do individually. And this is what was happening with the 5,000. This group was not being moved by the Holy Spirit, it was being moved by a different spirit.
Something was building among, like storm clouds on the horizon. It feels ominous. Yet, what occurs here continues to demonstrates Jesus’ love and compassion. He tried to get away with his disciples, but changed plans and lovingly and generously feeds this group, those that eventually walk away from him. His love is incredible. He never regrets offering an answer or generous supply even if I end up sticking it back in his face accusing him. Regarding that showdown, John 6 is still a confusing chapter to many. The test and clarification of what Jesus is looking for in his followers is not lost on us today. He’s looking for living faith, embedded in trust. He stumbled nearly everyone, including his own disciples, but at the end of the day he asks: “Does this cause you to stumble?” Or using my words: “Are you willing to follow me no matter what? Even if your mind doesn’t understand? Even if it appears that I’m pushing you away?”
Signs
The word used here for “sign” is the same throughout this chapter. In verse 2 they followed because they saw the healing signs. Then they witnessed the sign of the multiplication of food in verse 14 and were convinced this was the Messiah. These signs were convincing! The people recognized them and were amazed. Just like Nicodemus said in John 3, “for no man can be doing these signs which you are doing except God be with him.”
It’s important to note that seeing a sign and recognizing it as miraculous does not mean that one believes what that sign points to. If I see a road sign and it says, “I-10 to Los Angeles 30 miles” I tend to believe it is in fact the road to LA. That is the purpose of a sign — to point you somewhere. The signs that Jesus performed pointed to the fact that he was the son of God, the Messiah, the savior Israel was expecting for 4000 years. Yet, after all they had seen they still did not believe and, ironically, in verse 30, they asked him to perform another sign so they can believe. Incredible! They refused to step over that threshold of faith. They were not like the boy offering a couple of loaves and fishes, they demanded a Costco or WalMart sized sign before they would believe. The flesh will always find an excuse to delay or deny faith. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
This story reminds me of another in Exodus 16, when a similar group of unbelieving Israelites were taken out of Egypt with signs and wonders. Supernatural plagues. The Passover of the Jewish firstborn who were not killed like the Egyptians’. A pillar of cloud by day and fire by night protecting them from the pursuing army. The parting of the Red Sea. The drowning of the Egyptian army. Incredible things! Miraculous things! They too saw signs, and just like this group with Jesus, still doubted God. Even after the most dramatic miracle in history to save their lives, they doubted God could feed them. It’s as though Yahweh threw a giant deliverance party but forgot the catering. But despite the offensive unbelief in the wilderness, he still provided manna — miraculous provision heaven. The story in Exodus correlates closely with this story in John 6. In both they received miraculous provision and both ended in a testing of their faith.
Without any exposure to the Gospel, when one first encounters the miracles of Jesus, it staggers the imagination. Turning water into wine, healing the sick, raising the dead, and feeding the multitudes are amazing stories. As amazing as they are, miracles are the children’s bread. What Jesus did was simply the beginning of the possibilities for those that believe in him. As dramatic as it is to see a fiery evangelist on stage commanding a blind girl to see, it is just as amazing to stop and pray for a friend who is experiencing deafness and to see them recover — outside the view of anyone else.
As enthusiastic as I am about signs from heaven, I also recognize the risk they represent. Observing the miraculous, then walking away in unbelief puts a person in a worse position than if he’d never seen them. Jesus warned:
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. Luke 10:13-16 NKJV
I love the miracles of God. And I trust the Holy Spirit to know the best time and place for them to occur. And they will occur…
Consider this an introduction to a very interesting chapter in John which is to follow.