Signs in the Gospel of John Part 3
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Signs of Authority Part 3
The fourth and fifth signs of authority in the Gospel of John are the feeding of the 5,000 and walking on water (with Peter).
The Fourth Sign
John 6:1–4 APNT:
1 After these [things], Jesus went to the other shore of the Sea of Galilee, which is Tiberias.
2 And large crowds followed him, because they had seen the signs that he did with the sick.
3 And Jesus went up to a mountain and was sitting there with his disciples.
4 And the feast of [not] the Passover of the Judeans was near.
This feast was not Passover. This reference to Passover was added to the text and is the reason people believe that Jesus’s ministry was 3–3½ years long instead of only one. This was probably the wood offering around the 15th of August.
If this had been Passover, then Jesus would have gone to Jerusalem!
Other gospel records fill in more details. This record of feeding the 5,000 is in each one of the gospels.
This record is after the murder of John the Baptist, and after the disciples return from being sent out two-by-two and had seen so many miracles. They had healed people and cast out devils themselves. They came back excited, only to hear the news that John the Baptist had been beheaded. So, Jesus wants to take the disciples up on a mountain on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Right from the shoreline is what we today call the Golan Heights. It’s a series of ridges rising up to a plateau.
Luke 9:10– APNT:
10 And when the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus everything that they had done. And he took them privately to a desert place of Bethsaida.
11 And when the crowds knew [it], they followed him. And he received them and spoke with them about the kingdom of God. And those who had a need for healing, he healed.
Mark adds a bit more for our understanding.
Mark 6:34 APNT:
And Jesus disembarked [and] saw the large crowds and had compassion on them because they were like sheep that did not have a shepherd. And he began to teach them many [things].
John 6:5 APNT:
And Jesus raised his eyes and saw a large crowd that came towards him. And he said to Philip, “Where will we buy bread that these may eat?”
The King James Version reads “lifted up his eyes.” Perhaps there’s an implication here that Jesus looked to God and away from the circumstances.
John 6:6–11 APNT:
6 And he said this, testing him, for he knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip said to him, “Two hundred denarii [equivalent to at least $4,000 today] [of] bread is not sufficient for them, [even] when each of them would [only] take a little.”
8 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, one of his disciples, said to him,
9 “There is a certain boy here who has five loaves of barley and two fish with him, but what are these for all those [people]?”
10 Jesus said to them, “Make all the men to sit to eat.” Now there was much grass in that place and the men sat to eat, five thousand in number.
11 And Jesus took the bread and blessed [it] and distributed [it] to those who sat to eat, and so also from the fish, as much as they wanted.
The other gospels explain that Jesus gave it to his disciples who, in turn, gave it to the people. In other words, he just kept breaking the bread and passing it out.
John 6:12–13 APNT:
12 And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments that remain, so that nothing will be lost.”
13 And they gathered [them] and filled twelve baskets [with] those fragments that remained to them who had eaten from the five loaves of barley.
The reaction of the people is only recorded in John.
John 6:14– APNT:
14 Now those men who had seen the sign that Jesus had done were saying, “Truly this is the prophet who has come into the world.”
15 But Jesus knew that they were going to come [and] grab him and to make him a king and he went out to a mountain alone.
Jesus knew that they just wanted him to keep feeding them.
Now we get to the fifth sign, walking on water.
The Fifth Sign
John 6:16–19 APNT:
16 And when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea.
17 And they took a ship and were going to the other shore, to Capernaum. And it was dark and Jesus had not come to them.
18 And the sea was lifted up against them, because a fierce wind was blowing.
19 And they went onward about twenty-five or thirty furlongs and they saw Jesus walking on the lake. And as he came near to their ship, they were afraid.
In Mark we learn that Jesus wanted to pass by them as he walked (Mark 6:48).
John 6:20 APNT:
And Jesussaid to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”
In Matthew 14 is the record of Peter also walking on water.
John 6:21 APNT:
And they wanted to receive him into the ship and immediately, that ship was at the land [to] which they were going.
The other gospels tell us about the wind ceasing. In John it seems like they were transported across the last three miles or so immediately.
What Authority is Shown by These Signs?
So what is the authority that Jesus is showing in these two records?
He is showing that he has authority over physical needs. He also is going to explain in the rest of the chapter that he has authority over spiritual needs primarily—physical needs don’t come first. It also shows that he has authority over dangers and fears.
Let’s look briefly at the discourse that follows the next day. There are basically four sections.
In verses 26–29, he tells them that they need to believe in him; that’s the work that they need to do.
In verses 30–46, he’s saying Come to me; I’m the bread that came down from heaven.
John 6:35 APNT:
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger and he who believes in me will not thirst forever.
In verses 47–58, he talks about eating of him. Eating bread is like a metaphor of being one with someone.
John 6:51 APNT:
I am the living bread, who came down from heaven and if a man should eat of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I give is my body, which I give for the life of the world.”
In verses 59–71, he speaks of eating his words.
John 6:63 APNT:
It is the Spirit that makes alive. The body does not profit anything. The words that I speak with you are spirit and they are life.
It’s like he’s saying that it’s no big deal that he fed them with physical food, because they would be hungry again tomorrow. What really matters is that I am the living bread who has living words to give to you.
These two signs (4th and 5th) point to the Son of God who has authority over not only physical needs, but spiritual ones as well.
Colossians 3:15–17 KJV:
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
See Also
Download a PDF chart of the Eight Signs of Authority in John
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