After feeding over 5,000, Jesus calls out the unbelief of the people who are following him only to have their stomachs filled. Instead, Jesus calls them to believe in him, the bread of life, for eternal satisfaction.

In the storms of life, we too quickly become overwhelmed by the circumstances. We are more afraid of the winds and waves than we are of the God who controls them. Instead of wishing to avoid these storms, we need to see that through them we are being made more like Christ.

In this passage we see how easy it is to view Jesus as king when things are going according to plan. The challenge is whether or not we see Jesus as king when everything is stripped away. When everything is gone do you still find your joy and identity in Christ or is all hope lost?

The Gospel of John was written so that we would believe in Christ and his saving death for us on the cross. In this passage, Jesus calls out unbelief and the heart behind it, the desire to receive glory from man instead of from God. This is the greatest idol we face in our life and Jesus makes it clear that by it we are condemned. In showing our condemnation, Jesus points to our only hope of freedom being through his innocence.

Jesus not only claims to be doing the things that God does, but to be God himself. These words brought the Jews to a place of decision: do we love him as the Son of God or destroy him as a blasphemer? We are brought to a place of decision today as well: who is Jesus and how should that affect the way that we live our lives?

In the mess of our lives it’s easy to come to God only for healing. In this passage Jesus makes it clear that he cares more about our faith in his ability to save us from our sin than our faith to see miraculous deeds.

We all have deep longings to have our needs to met. In his interaction with the Samaritan woman Jesus shows that not only that he cares about these needs, but that he alone can satisfy them.

John the Baptist’s statement, “He must increase, I must decrease,” is a shot to our pride. His example shows us that true humility is not self-deprecation, but rather acknowledging who made us and why we’re here.

Jesus’ call for Nicodemus to be born again shows us that the Gospel call isn’t based on our status. Instead when we come to know Jesus we are urged to reset our lives spiritually. Walking with the Lord is not about the reformation of our actions but the total transformation of our lives.

The second chapter of John shows us that Jesus comes into our lives in two ways. He can come either to fill our tables or to flip them. When he chooses to flip our tables we are encouraged not to seek an explanation, but rather to be obedient and trust in Him.