Jesus is…the Son of God. Jesus is…the Lamb of God. Jesus is…the Teacher. Jesus is…the Messiah. Jesus is…the Temple. Jesus is…the giver of eternal life. Jesus is…the giver of Living Water. That is who He is, and this morning at we look at John 6:1-26, we’ll see who else He has revealed Himself to be.
Join me please as we have a conversation with Jesus this morning, and we read from John 6:1-26 to hear what He has to say.
There are 3 stories in this passage. Each passage focuses on a miracle, and through that miracle, Jesus proves that is He is the Lord of CREATION.
The first of these stories is found in verses 1-2, “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.” (NIV).
The main setting of this passage isn’t the healing of the sick, it’s the feeding of the 5,000, but in order to understand that miracle, we have to understand the circumstances leading up to it. We’re told that Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee and a great crowd followed Him because they saw that He had been healing the sick. The healing of the sick John was referring to takes place at the beginning of John 5. You can see the map I’ve got on the screen, the little place underlined in red is called “Bethsaida”. This is where Jesus had been healing people. We know that there were pools there, probably some sort of natural hot springs that were thought to heal whoever soaked in the water. Great numbers of sick people would come to those pools to receive healing, but…while they might have felt better, more relaxed, the pools didn’t actually heal anybody.
Jesus went there though, and He healed people entirely. He didn’t just make them feel good, He completely cured them of whatever was ailing them. This healing of the sick that John spoke about was so miraculous that it stirred excitement and generated interest in who this Jesus guy was and what He was doing. His actions of healing the sick showed the people one thing: that Jesus is the Lord of Creation.
In healing the sick, He showed the people that He is the Lord of Creation through His knowledge of the human body, even at a molecular level. How do I know that? How do I know that Him healing the sick at Bethsaida would mean that He had a such a deep knowledge of the human body?
Look at Psalm 139, verses 1-5 and 13-16, “Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; You understand my thought from far away. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, Lord, You know it all. You have encircled me behind and in front, And placed Your hand upon me.
“For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You When I was made in secret, And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my formless substance; And in Your book were written All the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” (NASB)
He knows us. The word used for know indicates that it is the most intimate way a person can be known, down to their soul. He understands our thoughts. He knows the words we will say before they are even on our tongues. He created our innermost parts. He wove us in our mother’s wombs. He made us and saw us before we even had a form.
This shows me that He has a deeper and richer knowledge of the human body than we do, even now after all the medical advances we’ve managed to make. He can see every part of our bodies and so He can see what exactly the problem is when something goes wrong. The people who were in need of healing had gone to the so-called healing pools to get well, but what they found was that only the Lord of Creation, the One who made them, could truly heal them because He alone could see the root of their ailments.
Jesus is the Lord of Creation, and He shows this through His knowledge and supremacy over the human body.
The people were amazed and this, and they followed Him as He left Bethsaida and went to the hillside. The story is familiar to us, the people gather to hear Jesus speak or to see Him do more miracles, and they get hungry. There’s over 5,000 of them gathered. No one has enough food, and there’s not enough money to buy food. But one boy has five loaves of bread and two fish.
Verses 10-13, “Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.” (NASB)
Jesus showed that He is the Lord of Creation through the creation of matter. He took what they already had, matter that already existed, and multiplied it. I don’t know how…I can’t do that. Can you? We can’t, because we do not have mastery over creation!
In this instance, it seems that Jesus multiplied matter, things that already existed. But let’s look at Colossians 1:15-18, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
This is just my opinion, but in this miracle of feeding 5,000+ people with five loaves of bread and two fish, I don’t think Jesus just multiplied what already existed. He could have, because He is the Lord of Creation, and maybe He did. But, we’re talking about the One who has created all things, in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, all things. The beginning of John tells us that He did that just by speaking. If He can do that, then creating more fish and loaves to feed 5,000 people would have been easy! No 7th day rest period required, right? He could have just multiplied what they had, but He just as easily could have created more out of nothing just by speaking!
Jesus is the Lord of Creation, and He showed this through the creation of matter to feed over 5,000 people.
The third story in this passage is when Jesus walked on water. Let’s look at John 6:16-21, “Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. In addition, the sea began getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” So they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” (NASB)
Jesus showed that He is the Lord of Creation through changing the natural function and physics of created things. He walked on water. I’m sure this doesn’t need to be said, but water is not a solid object. The surface tension of water is not enough to push against the force of gravity on a human body. We can’t walk on water.
Let’s look at Job 38:8-11, 24-27, and 33-35. “Who created the ocean? Who caused it to be born? I put clouds over it as if they were its clothes. I wrapped it in thick darkness. I set limits for it. I put its doors and metal bars in place. I said, ‘You can come this far. But you can’t come any farther. Here is where your proud waves have to stop.’
“Where does lightning come from? Where do the east winds live that blow across the earth? Who tells the rain where it should fall? Who makes paths for the thunderstorms? They bring water to places where no one lives. They water deserts that do not have anyone in them. They satisfy the needs of dry and empty lands. They make grass start growing there.
“Do you know the laws that govern the heavens? Can you rule over the earth the way I do? Can you give orders to the clouds? Can you make them pour rain down on you? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?” (NIRV)
In these three sections of God’s speech to Job, and even as He continues speaking to Job in chapters 39-41, He makes it very clear that He is the One who not only created all things in creation, but that He is also the One who created the laws that govern nature and all living things, and so He is the only One who can change those laws as He sees fit.
If Jesus wants to walk on water, all He has to do is temporarily change the physics of the water He created. Or change the nature of the force of gravity that He created. Or both!
Jesus is the Lord of Creation, and shows it through changing creation and the way it works when He sees fit.
1. What difference does it make to your every day life that Jesus is the Lord of Creation? Does knowing this about Him change the way you might relate to Him?
2. What encouragement does Hebrews 12:1-2 offer for us, with the knowledge that Jesus is the originator of our faith, just as He is the One who created all things?
3. Compare John 6:15-25 with Matthew 14:22-36. How else does Jesus show He is Lord of Creation through changing the laws of nature? What do you learn about the role of faith in the Christian life through Peter’s role in this passage?