A study of John 6:1–4

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

John 6:1–4 (ESV)

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Jesus: “Ἰησοῦς”, “Iēsous”; noun, nominative, singular, masculine | proper name — Jesus, Jehoshua; Jesus = “Yahweh is salvation”; Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind, God incarnate.

-Of [The] Sea: “θαλάσσης”, “thalassēs”; noun, genitive, singular, feminine | prepositional object — sea, lake; used of the sea in general. The Sea of Galilee = a large freshwater lake in northern Palestine, 13 miles long by 8 miles wide and up to 150 feet deep.

-Of Galilee: “Γαλιλαίας”, “Galilaias”; noun, genitive, singular, feminine | proper name — Galilee = “cirlce” or “circuit”; the name of a region of northern Palestine, bounded on the north by Syria, on the west by Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais and their territories and the promontory of Carmel, on the south by Samaria and on the east by the Jordan. It was divided into Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee.

-Of Tiberias: “Τιβεριάδος”, “Tiberiados”; noun, genitive, singular, feminine | appositive — Tiberias = “from the Tiber (as river-god)”; a city of Galilee near the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee), which Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, greatly enlarged and beautified, and named Tiberias in honor of Tiberias Caesar.

-Signs: “σημεῖα”, “sēmeia”; noun, accusative, plural, neuter | direct object of the dependent clause — miracle, of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s.

-Went Up: “ἀνῆλθεν”, “anēlthen”; verb, aorist, active, indicative, third person, singular | finite verb — ascend, go up to a higher place.

-Mountain: “ὄρος”, “oros”; noun, accusative, singular, neuter | prepositional object — a mountain, rise, hill, high ground.

-He Sat Down: “ἐκάθητο”, “ekathēto”; verb, imperfect, either middle or passive, indicative, third person, singular | finite verb — sit, sit down, seat one’s self, remain.

-Disciples: “μαθητῶν”, “mathētōn”; noun, genitive, plural, masculine | prepositional object — disciple, learner, pupil.

-Passover: “πάσχα”, “pascha”; noun, nominative, singular, neuter | subject — Passover; the paschal feast, the feast of the Passover, extending from the 14th to the 20th day of the month Nisan.

-Feast: “ἑορτὴ”, “heortē”; noun, nominative, singular, feminine | appositive — a feast day, festival, holy-day.

-At Hand: “ἐγγὺς”, “engys”; adverb | temporal adverb — near; of time: of times imminent and soon to pass.

-Jews: “Ἰουδαίων”, “Ioudaiōn”; Jew, Judean, Jewish as respects to birth, origin and religion; belonging to the Jewish nation.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

An indeterminate amount of time after His discourse with the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem about His identity and authority as the Son of God, Jesus traveled to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also known as the Sea of Tiberias, the Sea of Chinnereth (Num. 34:11) & the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1)). As He traveled across the sea by boat (See Mark 6:32), a large crowd followed Him around the Sea on foot because they had seen Jesus heal many sick people. When Jesus got to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he ascended “the mountain” with his disciples, and He sat down with them there. This all happened very close to the celebration of Passover; the time when the Jewish people remember and celebrate Yahweh’s deliverance of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

Chapter 6 of John’s gospel takes place after Jesus healed a paralyzed man on the Sabbath in Jerusalem. And then, in the face of false accusations that He had violated the Sabbath law, Jesus justified his actions to the Jewish religious leaders by explaining to them, and all who listened, that He did not violate the Sabbath. In fact, He told them about how He is the Son of God and everything He does is perfectly in unity with the will of God the Father. Jesus also explained how God the Father had given all authority into his hands to execute judgment, and on the last day, when the time for judgment comes, all those who have trusted in Him will be resurrected for eternal life, but all those who rejected Him will be resurrected for eternal punishment. Among other things, Jesus also explained how there are many witnesses that testify to the fact that He is God incarnate, but the reason they could not see the truth of this fact was because they were only concerned with their own glory. They did not truly care for the things of God.

This is true for all of us. What can be known about God is plain and obvious, but our pridefulness and sin; our self-seeking hearts, are what really keep us from the knowledge of the one true God (Romans 1:19–23). It is only by His grace, mercy and love that any of us can repent of our sin, believe in Him, and be saved (2 Timothy 2:24–26).

The events of chapter 6 do not take place immediately after the events of chapter 5. While chapter 5 ended with Jesus in Jerusalem, chapter 6 picks up with Jesus in the region of Galilee. Much of John’s gospel focuses on Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem and Judea, but there are points where John shifts to tell of some of Jesus’ actions in His home region of Galilee. We should also be aware that the words “After this” in verse 1 are not meant to denote precise chronology, but rather, the sequence or order in which these events take place. Although this chapter records an event covered in all 4 gospels (the feeding of the five thousand), the gospel writers do not all share the exact same events. Instead, they each focus on different themes of Jesus’ ministry. And in that way we have 4 different eyewitness perspectives of the same period of time that do not contradict each other, but instead, form a beautifully woven tapestry of the earthly ministry of Jesus, seen from 4 different and complementary angles.

Here, we read Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is actually a large, freshwater lake in current day northern Palestine. It is 13 miles long by 18 miles wide; and it is up to 150 feet deep. In older days it was called the Sea of Chinnereth, and it is also referred to as the Lake of Gennesaret in Luke 5:1. In Jesus’ day it was also called the Sea of Tiberias because the largest city, located on its western shore, was the city of Tiberias which was named after Tiberias Caesar, and also was the location of the court of King Herod Antipas. Interestingly, it seems the name “Tiberias’’ was not commonly used for the lake until later in the 1st century, which is why John, who wrote this gospel in the late 1st century (~ AD 85), referred to this as Lake Tiberias in a parenthetical reference to provide clarity for his contemporary readers.

In verse 2 John tells us that a large crowd was following Jesus because they had seen the “signs” that Jesus was doing on the sick. This means they had seen Jesus continuously and miraculously heal many sick people, so they followed Him. Luke 9:11 tells us that Jesus also taught the people many things about the Kingdom of God. And while there were certainly those who listened and wanted to hear more, most of the people were following Him because they wanted to see or experience miraculous healing for themselves. The majority of the people were more interested in the gifts, rather than the Giver Himself.

We should examine our own hearts towards Jesus because of this. He does give good gifts to His children, but do we follow Him because of who He is, or because of what we want from Him? To love someone only because we want something from them is not true love. No one wants to be loved because of what they possess, and neither does Jesus. To rightly love and worship Him means to love and worship Him for who He is as the one and only Son of God; the eternally existent Creator of everything. He is the One who knows and loves us fully, and He is worthy of our love and devotion simply because of who He is.

Next, in verse 3, we are told that Jesus ascended a mountain and sat down with His disciples. The ancient Greek word John uses here for mountain is “oros”. Oros can refer to a specific mountain or hill, but it can also be used to refer more generally to “hill country” or “high ground”. In this case John is most likely referring to an area of high ground located east of the Sea of Galilee that is known today as the “Golan Heights.” In Mark’s account of this event (Mark 6:32) he refers to this as a “desolate place” because Mark frames this journey in the context of Jesus calling his disciples to come away with Him to a quiet place for a time of rest after having spent a lot of time and energy healing the sick and teaching the crowds. But, as Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee by boat, the crowds followed Him around the lake on foot (see Mark 6:32–33) .

In verse 4 we find out the time of the Passover celebration was at hand. This is the 2nd of 3 Passovers that John mentions in his gospel account; and John mentions the Passover intentionally because the Passover is when the Jews celebrated Yahweh’s (Jesus is Yahweh) deliverance of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt. A very important part of the celebration was the slaughtering of a lamb by each individual household, just as their ancestors were commanded to do during the actual Passover event. John wants his readers to make a connection between Jesus, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36), and the lamb sacrificed during Passover to atone for the sin of the people as they also remembered their ancestor’s deliverance from bondage. While Yahweh had delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and protected them from the Passover judgment which killed all the firstborn in Egypt, Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God by whose blood all of mankind can be delivered from slavery to sin and death.

As D.A. Carson explains it, for ancient Jews in Palestine, the time of Passover was like the fourth of July to Americans, or like any holiday in another country that inspires nationalistic pride and zeal. It was a very significant event, and John repeatedly connects different elements of the Passover event and celebration to Jesus to illustrate that something, or rather, someone far greater had come. The original Passover only delivered the people from earthly, temporary slavery. And even a cursory look at human history since the time of the Exodus reveals that not only the Jews, but all peoples of the earth still live in slavery to sin and death. Jesus came to lead an infinitely greater Exodus than the one He led the Jewish people in centuries before. Jesus came to be the perfectly sinless sacrificial Lamb who would die and pay the penalty for the sin of the entire world (1 John 2:2). The Exodus He now leads His followers in is not one from merely temporal, earthly slavery, but instead is an Exodus from the tyranny of sin and death. He came to give eternal life in which there will be no more crying, suffering or death. And this deliverance is available to everyone.

No matter who you are or what you’ve done, Jesus, the Son of God, died to pay your penalty for your sin. He paid for all of us. But to receive His freely offered salvation we must repent of our sin and any other false god we used to worship, and trust in Jesus Christ alone as our God and Savior (Romans 10:9–10).

Response (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

As we read of the crowds who were following Jesus, because they had seen the miraculous healings He had been performing, we should think about why we follow Jesus. Do we follow Him because of what He can give us, or because we love Him for who He is? He will give eternal life to all who believe in Him alone, and it is good that we desire eternal life; but do we desire the gifts more than the Giver Himself?

Also, as John tells us this happened close to the time of Passover, we should consider how Jesus has accomplished an infinitely greater deliverance for us than the one He performed for Israel in the days of Moses. As we wander through the wilderness of this fallen world, we who follow Jesus can and should rejoice over the deliverance of our souls from the tyranny of sin and death. And we should also rejoice in the fact that He is leading us to the true promised land, a new heaven and new earth wherein there will no longer be suffering, mourning or death ever again (Revelation 21). And in place of these, there is instead fullness of joy and pleasure forever more (Psalm. 16:11). We who follow Jesus may be exiles in this world, but our risen King is leading us home. And for the short time we are in this fallen world, He has also given us the privilege of declaring the good news of salvation from sin and death by grace through faith in Him to everyone who will listen.

Self Reflection:

1. Am I following Jesus because of what I want to get from Him, or because I simply want Him? Is He worthy of my trust even when I don’t get what I want?
2. What parallels are there between the events of Passover in the time of Moses, and the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross?
3. What about my wilderness journey (life on earth) is making it difficult for me to trust the Lord right now? What do I need to take to Jesus in prayer to lament and ask for help with?