Then they said to Him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” John 6:28 ESV1
Read Matthew 14:22-36, Mark 6:45-56 & John 6:16-29
Jesus always had compassion on the masses, He always rejected the self-sufficient, and He always expected much of His disciples. These facts are illustrated in this familiar account. Here Jesus encountered humble people who needed His help, selfish people who wanted to use Him for their own gain, and earnest people who were ready to accept valuable teaching on what pleases God.
It never ceases to amaze me how God meticulously plans out and fits together seemingly random details in the lives of humans for His glory and for the good of people. The event we will consider here illustrates how Jesus used that which His Father ordained to open the eyes of all who were willing to the most important element in the lives of those who desire to follow God. The Holy Spirit continues to do the same thing to this very day.
It had been an emotional day. It had been an exciting day. It had been a productive day. And it had been an exhausting day. Jesus still had not gotten any time alone to mourn the loss of His friend, John the Baptist. And the disciples still had not gotten any time to rest from their missionary journey, let alone process what had just happened in the miraculous feeding of more than five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish.
So, after they cleaned up from the impromptu banquet, Jesus “immediately … made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds” (Matthew 14:22). The next day was to be another busy day. Jesus and the disciples would be leaving the Bethsaida area (see Luke 8:10) and would be heading to Gennesaret (see Matthew 14:34; Mark 6:53) and Capernaum (see John 6:17) where Jesus would again supernaturally bring healing to the hurting, humble the hardhearted, admonish the selfish, and bless faithful with life changing instruction. Capernaum and Gennesaret were not far away from Bethsaida, less than ten miles. The disciples could have easily walked there, but they had taken a boat to Bethsaida, so Jesus sent His disciples across the tip of the Sea of Galilee toward their destination.
“And after He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone” (Matthew 14:23). Finally, He got His solitary time to mourn. Finally, He was able to spend precious time alone with His Father. And finally, He was refreshed, so that He could continue to fulfill the purpose for which He had come to Earth. Somewhere between three and six in the morning (“the fourth watch of the night;” see Matthew 14:25a); He got up off of His knees and began His trip to the other side of the sea.
Contrarily, the disciples weren’t experiencing much peaceful rest. In fact, they were struggling. They had been asked to take the boat a few miles across the Sea of Galilee, something expert seamen as themselves, fishermen who had made their living on that same sea, should have had no trouble doing. But “the sea [had become] rough because a strong wind was blowing” (John 6:18). “The boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them” (Matthew 14:24). Jesus “saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them” (Mark 6:48a). “And in the fourth watch of the night” (Matthew 14:25a), “when they had rowed about three or four miles” (John 6:19), “He came to them, walking on the sea” (Matthew 14:25b).
“He meant to pass by them” (Mark 6:48b), because, though they obviously needed help, they weren’t ready to admit it. “But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified” (Matthew 14:26a). Their Good Friend, their Master, their Helper stood before them, but in fear, all they saw was evil. “And [they] said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear” (Matthew 14:26b). “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid’” (Matthew 14:27). They heard His voice, but they still weren’t sure it was Him. And they still weren’t sure they needed help.
So, “Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’” (Matthew 14:28). Peter did not say, “Lord if is You, please, give us a little help here.” But, “Lord, if it is You, let me do what You are doing.” Jesus “said, ‘Come.’ So, Peter [believed it was Jesus and] got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me’” (Matthew 14:30). One can only imagine how far Peter made it out on the water before he began to sink. It must have been far enough that he didn’t think he could swim back to the boat. Now, Peter knew he needed help, and he asked for it. “Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:31).
“Then they were glad to take Him into the boat” (John 6:21a). “And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14:32-33). They were grateful, and they had undoubtedly been a little humbled, yet “they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51b-52). There was something preventing them from understanding what Jesus had tried to share with them during the feeding of the five thousand. And something was preventing them from understanding the lesson in what had just happened. Their hearts weren’t ready yet to understand the deeper truth. Fortunately, Jesus wasn’t done with His message.
“And immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going” (John 6:21b). Zip. Just like that, as soon as Jesus got in the boat, the whole situation changed. The storm was gone. The struggling was gone. They were immediately exactly where they were supposed to be. And they were in a position, not only to help minister, but to hear and understand the words of the Lord.
“They came to land at Gennesaret” (Matthew 14:34b). They were met by three groups of people.
The first group was desperately needy, and they knew only Jesus could meet their needs. “When the men of that place recognized Him, they sent around to all that region and brought to Him all who were sick and implored Him that they might only touch the fringe of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well” (Matthew 14:34-36; see also Mark 6:53-56). Jesus’ heart went out to these poor souls who acknowledged their need for Him. He responded to the pure faith of all of those who believed so completely in His power that a mere touch the fringe of His robe made them whole.
The second group was intelligent and resourceful but had impure motives. “The crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So, when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus” (John 6:22-24). They were seeking Jesus, not to follow Him, but to get something from Him.
“When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?’” (John 6:25). Jesus saw right through this question, and He refused to meet their desire for excitement by sharing with them the tale of how He got to this side of the sea. Instead, He chastised them with, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves’” (John 6:26). They wanted more of the gift than the Giver. And because their focus was on the physical favors Jesus provided, they would miss out on the spiritual provision Jesus shared on this side of the sea.
The third group was serious about pleasing God, but they had a misconception of what pleasing God entailed. With them Jesus shared a secret. He told them, “‘Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set His seal’” (John 6:27). Jesus didn’t mean they should quit their jobs and stop providing for their families, but He was drawing their attention to something worth acquiring that was more important than striving to meet physical needs. Jesus told them that the most important thing they would ever need was spiritual, and that it could not be earned, but it would be given to them if only they believed in Him. This was a foreign concept to them. They thought there was surely something they must do to please God, so “they said to Him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’” (John 6:28). So, Jesus put it another way. There was only one thing they must do. “Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent’” (John 6:29). Spiritually, the only thing they would have to do was believe in Him. Once they believed, everything else necessary would be given to them.
This lesson was as much for the disciples than those who had asked the question. The disciples started across the Sea of Galilee thinking there was something they must do to please Jesus. They thought it was something they could handle. In effect, they said, “We needed Your power to cast out demons and heal sicknesses. We needed Your Spirit to proclaim the Kingdom of God. We needed Your blessing to feed the five thousand. But taking a boat across the sea, we have this.” Jesus showed them just the opposite. They needed Him for everything, and when they relied on Him, they no longer had to struggle in their own strength.
Jesus got their focus off of doing, to where it belonged, on believing. He did that by healing all those who had enough faith in His power to touch the hem of His garment. He did that by sharing a valuable truth with those who wanted more of Him. He did that by blowing off those who wanted something from Him. And He did that through Peter when he stepped out and walked on the water. Sure, Jesus scolded him for only believing a little, but Jesus did not say, “You of no faith.” It took faith for Peter to walk on the water. To my knowledge, Peter is the only human who has ever walked on the water for even a little bit, so he deserved some affirmation for his faith. Through His reprimand, though, Jesus declared that so much more would have been possible if Peter had had more faith. Later Jesus taught, “‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you’” (Matthew 17:20). That is a tiny bit of faith, but it produces great results. Imagine what would be possible with the faith the size of a pea, or a watermelon, or a beach ball. The world has yet to see this kind of faith.
But, according to Jesus, this kind of faith is available to those who believe. This believing involves two steps. First, we must believe Him for salvation. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation, but if we believe Jesus has already done what is necessary, we will be given eternal life. “We have been justified by faith” (Romans 5:1). Second, “as [we have] received Christ Jesus the Lord [by faith, we need to] walk in Him, [being] rooted and built up in Him and established in … faith” (Colossians 2:6-7). “The righteous shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38). The Christian walk continues to be a walk of belief, a walk of faith.
Live in faith. Pray in faith. Rest in faith. Watch in faith. Serve in faith. Cease striving. “Be still, and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10). When you see what Jesus is doing, join Him. When you need help, admit it. “Apart from [Him] you can do nothing” (John 15:5b). When you are corrected, “Humble [yourself] before the LORD, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). When you pray, stop asking for God to help you do what you want, but ask Him to help you do what He wants. And when serving Him gets difficult, don’t blame it on the Devil, seek God. Perhaps you are trying to do what He has asked you in your own strength. Let Jesus take over, and you will find you are immediately where you need to be. All of this is the work of God–believing in Him.
If there is something preventing you from truly believing and experiencing all the blessings of abiding with Him (see John 15:5, 7, 9, 11, & 13), take time today to pray and seek God. No matter in what state you find yourself “draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). Ask Him to reveal what is causing the blockage. Ask Him to remove that thing from you. Believe He will answer your prayers. Then enjoy the kind of rest for your soul that only believing Him can produce.
1 Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.