"THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES"

 After Jesus fed the crowd, he had his apostles leave the area to return to Capernaum by boat and he withdrew to the mountain avoiding the crowd's efforts to make him king. (Read John 6:16-20.) While the apostles were sailing, a storm arose, bringing violent wind and waves. Then Jesus came to them, walking on the water. And he invited the apostle Peter to walk on the water too. (Matthew 14:22-31) Once Jesus was in the boat, the wind abated. The disciples were moved to say: "You really are God's Son." (Matthew 14: 33) Still, they did not see the connection between this miracle and what happened earlier with the crowd.  Mark adds this detail: [The apostles] were utterly amazed, for they had not grasped the meaning of the loaves, but their hearts continued dull in understanding." (Mark 6:50-52) Yes, they failed to grasp the extent of the power that Jehovah had given Jesus to perform miracles. Soon, though, Jesus himself brought up the miracle of the bread, and he provided a lesson for us.

The crowd that Jesus had fed were focused on satisfying their physical needs and desires. How so? The following day, they saw that Jesus and his apostles had left. So the crowd boarded some boats that Jesus had arrived from Tiberias and headed for Capernaum to find Jesus. (John 6:22-24) Did they do that mainly to hear more about the Kingdom. No. They were primarily thinking about their physical need for bread. How do we know? 

Next time: "THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES" - Conclusion

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