2016.11.13                                        John 6: 12-21

              I am The Bread of Life  Part 2

                       Do not be Afraid

Good morning! I am glad that you are here! I have Good News for you… His name is Jesus… Here at CCW we teach through the Bible verse by verse…. We want to see the big picture… We want to know and understand our great God… and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ…

Again today we are studying the Gospel of John… We remember from our last time in John ch 6… That Jesus performed a miracle… He took 5 barley loaves and a few fish… given thanks to God, and then fed 5 thousand people with them… That’s the account that we read in the first part of John 6… The point of that miracle was to point to Jesus himself as the Living Bread of Heaven…

The point was not mainly that Jesus gives bread to meet our earthly needs…  But that he is The living bread to satisfy our deepest needs…

Jesus is pointing back to the miracle of Manna in the wilderness for 40 years… He is also pointing forward to the Symbolism that He will use as He turns the bread of Passover into Communion bread that represents His Body given for our redemption…

I will back up a few verses and read beginning at verse 12…

John 6: 12-21                            NKJV  slt 2000

12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

John 6: 12-21                          slt 2000

12 Und als sie gesättigt waren, sprach er zu seinen Jüngern: Sammelt die übriggebliebenen Brocken, damit nichts verdirbt!

13 Da sammelten sie und füllten zwölf Körbe mit Brocken von den fünf Gerstenbroten, die denen übriggeblieben waren, welche gegessen hatten.

14 Als nun die Leute das Zeichen sahen, das Jesus getan hatte, sprachen sie: Das ist wahrhaftig der Prophet, der in die Welt kommen soll!

15 Da nun Jesus erkannte, daß sie kommen würden, um ihn mit Gewalt zum König zu machen, zog er sich wiederum auf den Berg zurück, er allein.

16 Als es aber Abend geworden war, gingen seine Jünger hinab an den See,

17 und sie stiegen in das Schiff und fuhren über den See nach Kapernaum. Und es war schon finster geworden, und Jesus war nicht zu ihnen gekommen.

18 Und der See ging hoch, da ein starker Wind wehte.

19 Als sie nun ungefähr 25 oder 30 Stadien gerudert hatten, sahen sie Jesus auf dem See gehen und sich dem Schiff nähern; und sie fürchteten sich.

20 Er aber sprach zu ihnen: Ich bin's, fürchtet euch nicht!

21 Da wollten sie ihn in das Schiff nehmen, und sogleich war das Schiff am Land, wohin sie fahren wollten.

The point of this miracle is to point to Jesus himself as the Bread of Life… The people did not understand what Jesus was showing them… Look at verse 15…

John 6: 15                           NKJV   slt 2000

15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

15 Da nun Jesus erkannte, daß sie kommen würden, um ihn mit Gewalt zum König zu machen, zog er sich wiederum auf den Berg zurück, er allein.

v15… They wanted to force him to become their king… They wanted to get every earthly thing that they could from Jesus… This is not the point of His miracle or His Ministry…

He said it Himself often…. The Son of Man is come to seek and to save the lost…  But the people were blind to this truth… look with me at verse 26…

John 6: 26                     NKJV  slt 2000

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

26 Jesus antwortete ihnen und sprach: Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch: Ihr sucht mich nicht deshalb, weil ihr Zeichen gesehen, sondern weil ihr von den Broten gegessen habt und satt geworden seid.

Jesus said…. You have missed the sign… the point of the miracle… It is not about the bread… You are seeking me for the wrong reasons…. I can give you so much more than bread… I can forgive your sins and give you eternal life… Jesus takes off because they don´t understand… They want to force Him to become their king… They want far too little from Him…

Look at verses 16-21 again…

John 6: 16-21      NKJV   slt 2000

16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

16 Als es aber Abend geworden war, gingen seine Jünger hinab an den See,

17 und sie stiegen in das Schiff und fuhren über den See nach Kapernaum. Und es war schon finster geworden, und Jesus war nicht zu ihnen gekommen.

18 Und der See ging hoch, da ein starker Wind wehte.

19 Als sie nun ungefähr 25 oder 30 Stadien gerudert hatten, sahen sie Jesus auf dem See gehen und sich dem Schiff nähern; und sie fürchteten sich.

20 Er aber sprach zu ihnen: Ich bin's, fürchtet euch nicht!

21 Da wollten sie ihn in das Schiff nehmen, und sogleich war das Schiff am Land, wohin sie fahren wollten.

v19…  When they had rowed about three or four miles… We don't see the same fear in the disciples as with the first time Jesus calmed a storm… Here they seem simply frustrated… They were doing what Jesus told them to do…  but it was so hard… And they did not seem to be making any progress…

Matthew 14:25 tells us that this happened in the fourth watch of the nigh… sometime between three and six in the morning... That means that they rowed hard for perhaps six to eight hours… and had only come a little more than half way across the lake (three or four miles)…

Application

We often feel that when we are working for Jesus… it should be easy…   God is leading and helping us… But sometimes… God tells us to do something that turns out to be difficult… We struggle…. Sometimes we feel abandoned….. But we are not alone…

Look at this miracle… We see Jesus walking on the water… We see the disciples being rescued from the storm… Suddenly Jesus is with them and they are safely on the shore… Notice that Jesus did not calm the storm this time… He simply came to them… He was with them in the storm telling them to not be afraid… Then suddenly they were safely on the shore… Nothing is said of this to the people… They may not have known…. But the disciples knew… They heard Jesus tell them to not be afraid…

Why is this miracle included in John´s account of the feeding of the 5000…? As far as we know… the people that Jesus walked away from in verse 15…  never hear about this miracle… Jesus doesn’t talk about it… The disciples don’t talk about it… Who is it for?

This miracle is for the disciples... Jesus is telling them and us…. That we have no reason to be afraid… He was also showing them something more… look at verse 12,13…

John 6: 12,13                     NKJV    slt 2000

12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

12 Und als sie gesättigt waren, sprach er zu seinen Jüngern: Sammelt die übriggebliebenen Brocken, damit nichts verdirbt! 13 Da sammelten sie und füllten zwölf Körbe mit Brocken von den fünf Gerstenbroten, die denen übriggeblieben waren, welche gegessen hatten.

v12… Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost…  

12 baskets and 12 Disciples… One for each of them… They had been feeding the multitude…. They fed thousands… But they were not forgotten… Jesus provided for them too… Even before Jesus came to them… The proof of God´s blessing and help was riding with them in the boat… The 12 baskets of extra food was right there in the boat with them…

My friends…. The Lord Jesus wants you to understand something here…. Even though you give of yourselves…. Even though you have given everything up for Jesus… Which is right and good… Jesus is saying…  

When you serve me and you give and give and give until you think you can give no more… I will take care of you… I will always be enough for you…   

The more you give life to others… the more I will be everything in life to you… Over and over again in these verses Jesus says… I am the Bread of Life…

This is what I think Jesus is underlining and clarifying when he comes to them walking on the water... Look at verse 17…

John 6: 17-21                           NKJV   slt 2000

17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

17 und sie stiegen in das Schiff und fuhren über den See nach Kapernaum. Und es war schon finster geworden, und Jesus war nicht zu ihnen gekommen. 18 Und der See ging hoch, da ein starker Wind wehte. 19 Als sie nun ungefähr 25 oder 30 Stadien gerudert hatten, sahen sie Jesus auf dem See gehen und sich dem Schiff nähern; und sie fürchteten sich. 20 Er aber sprach zu ihnen: Ich bin's, fürchtet euch nicht! 21 Da wollten sie ihn in das Schiff nehmen, und sogleich war das Schiff am Land, wohin sie fahren wollten.

Here is a picture of the disciples laboring in the dark… Afraid in a storm… Where is Jesus...Their life is in danger…

This time he doesn’t give them twelve baskets of miracle bread… He gives them the miracle of his presence… When they thought they were alone and hopeless… He is there and says do not be afraid… The rest of this chapter is focused on The miracle of the feeding of the 5 thousand… He drives home the great truth that He is that Life giving bread come down from Heaven….

And both of these miracles are also for us… Jesus is Demonstrating His Blessings and provision and protection of His own… Here is a great truth…. I believe that many of us have experienced this ourselves…  We feel alone and abandoned… often…. But we are not…. Over and over in the scriptures we read God´s promise… I will never leave you… I will never forsake you…

v21.. Then they were glad to take him into the boat…

And with that, the story within the story is finished… Jesus is there with them…. and they are safe... Another translation says that they received Him into the boat with joy… 1 minute abandoned and afraid to die… the Next… They see Jesus walking on the water and their fears melt away…. I know that many of us are in our own storms… I know that we often feel hopeless and afraid for the future… Ours and our children…. But we have nothing to fear…. We just need to keep our eyes on Jesus… look with me at Hebrews 13…v5,6…

Hebrews 13: 5,6                     NLT  Neues Leben

5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,“ I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

 5 Hängt euer Herz nicht ans Geld und begnügt euch mit dem, was ihr habt. Denn Gott hat gesagt: »Ich werde dich nie verlassen und dich nicht im Stich lassen. 6 Deshalb können wir zuversichtlich sagen: »Der Herr steht zu mir, deshalb fürchte ich mich nicht.Was können mir Menschen anhaben?

In this passage the author of Hebrews is quoting Deuteronomy  31… It is a great place for your own personal Bible study… In this text God is encouraging His people… Don´t be afraid… I have been with you in the Wilderness… I provided your every need… I led you… I protected you all these years…  I will never leave you… Do not be afraid…

“I will never leave you… Many times we hear these promises in the Scriptures…  Over and over we are reminded of God´s grace and mercy…

Friends… God will not abandon His own…  not for any reason…  Have we really let God say that to us…  Do we really believe that He will never leave us and never forsake us? Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life… but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake me...  

We wait and hope for God to do some exceptional thing in our lives… We think that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future…. Friends the future is now…  As we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now…

Here’s the application of today’s text… At this very moment… We have nothing to fear… God is inviting us to be Thankful generous people…  Quick to freely give of our time and our money… To pour into the work of the ministry… Today is first day of the rest of our lives…  We are blessed…. Let us be joyful and thankful people… Quick to invest in the lives of our children… this community and each other… Since we have God’s promise that he will never leave us…  the most amazing strength becomes ours… and we learn to serve and give… We learn to glorify Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life… Today…

Even if  you have an overwhelming ministry in front of you… and you feel totally inadequate… not only will I give you resources you need to minister to them… I will be there for you when it is all over… I am the bread of life… Everything that you have is from me…

Because of these promises…  we can and should be very generous… and we can risk many storms… We can be Generous and risk-taking as a church…  And generous givers to the church…

Right now we have big projects to do… We need to support those who serve here at CCW…

I am asking and exhorting you as your pastor… if this is your church home… Give of your time and money… Do the work of ministry…  Get in the boat and risk storms… Look to Jesus to provide for you and to help you as you give generously of your time and money… Remember Jesus as the one who creates bread and walks on water… He is the one who said… I will never leave you…. I will never forsake you…  Let´s pray