Thru the Gospel of John Загвар

5 Hamburger buns and 2 sardines

In the week leading up to Passover in Jesus’ second year of teaching, we see Him in action and learn from Him the depths of who He is and why He’s come. 

By then, Jesus was famous for His miracles. Crowds followed Him, not because they believed He was the Son of God, but because they were addicted to His miracles. 

One day in Galilee, Jesus sat with His disciples on a mountainside. But they weren’t alone for long. As the crowds gathered, Jesus put His disciples to the test. 

“How should we feed all these people?” 

“We can’t. There are more than 15,000!”

“Send them home,” another suggested. One disciple brought a little boy’s lunch to Jesus—and Jesus got to work. Without Him, the situation was hopeless. But five hamburger buns and two sardines plus Jesus can feed thousands. 

Jesus took the lunch, thanked His Father, and created enough sandwiches for everyone to have their fill. In a day when people often went hungry, some were full for the first time in their lives. When the people saw the miracle, they conspired to take Jesus by force and make Him their king. It took another miracle for Jesus to get through that crowd. 

Later that evening, Jesus wanted to get alone to pray, so He put the disciples in a boat and sent them to Capernaum (just a short distance away). But a big storm blew in and threw the disciples off course. As they battled the waves, the disciples were terrified . . . and then Jesus walked by on the waves! 

Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s Me.” When they took Him into the boat, they immediately were at the shore (verses 20, 21).

The next day, the crowds looked for but couldn’t find Jesus. Eventually, they found Him on the other side of the lake. Jesus asked them if they wanted more sandwiches—or if they would believe He was the source of the spiritual food they really needed: The Bread of Life. 

Most of the people refused to believe in Jesus. But His offer stood: Anyone who comes to Him for salvation will be received. When we accept by faith what Jesus did for us, we can trust and rest in Him for eternal life. 

Next: Where else can you find life?

Question: Can you think of a specific miracle Jesus did in the Bible or your life? What was the impact of that miracle?