Bible Study from John 6:1-13

Today I'd like to take a look at John 6:1-13 from the Bible. The first thing that we see here is that great crowds followed Jesus. Why did they follow Jesus? What did they want? Was it curiosity, or did they find something in Him that they needed? My guess is that it was both. They were curious because word was spreading rapidly about Him. They also were finding something that was being fulfilled inside of them when they were with Him. They were starting to feel or find hope. In this case, two things were being supplied. First, their physical hunger was supplied, and second, their spiritual hunger was supplied. How were these two things supplied?

In this chapter, Jesus made sure that the crowd all sat down to eat together. How were this many people going to be provided for when there was no food nearby? According to the Bible, there was a boy there who had some barley bread and fish. It wasn't much. It was just enough for himself. How do I know this? Back then barley was something that only the poor ate. This was the cheapest and easiest thing to get a hold of. So we know that he was poor. I'm sure that he probably did not have enough for anyone else but himself. What happens next is amazing. Even though the boy hardly has any food, he gives it to Jesus. This is an amazing step of faith. Jesus prays to the Father and thanks Him for the bread. Then He tells His disciples to pass the food around to the crowd. Everyone eats until they are filled. What an amazing miracle. When everyone is filled, there is still food left. We know this because the Bible tells us that the disciples gathered up all of the remaining food and there was a lot left. So we see in this chapter that Jesus is concerned with our physical needs.

How did Jesus supply their spiritual hunger that day? He did this by supplying their physical need. He was showing them that there is a God who cares about them. This meets a spiritual need. When we see that God cares about us, we are more willing to open up and listen or learn about other ways that He cares about us. Jesus was preparing them so that they would be able to listen to His truths. Then He could share with them about the Father and about His will for them. This in turn, would continue to meet their spiritual needs because as they changed then they would become well spiritually.

This is what Jesus wants for us today. He wants us to know that He cares about our every need. He cares about the physical and the spiritual. He knows and understands that we are but humans and that sometimes our physical need has to be met before we will listen and change spiritually. What a compassionate God we have.