Immediately they arrived at their destination

John 6:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶ This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” ⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

¹⁵ So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. 

In today’s text it says:       Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”  This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.      Know for certain that God will not tempt us. James 1:13 says:   Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.  There may though be things which test our faith. God may bring questions to us to make us determine whether we will see from the natural earthly perspective or if we will, with the eyes of faith, see things from the heavenly perspective. In today’s text Jesus already knew what He was intending to do. He intended to feed the people. His desire in asking was to cause the disciples to see and think, to believe beyond the normal and natural.  The text says:   Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” Philip, like we often do, saw the impossibility of the situation. The text continues:     One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”    Now at least there was something Jesus could work with. Andrew still could not see the possibility but he offered up the little that was available. Jesus response was:  “Have the people sit down.”     Now He could do what He intended. If we too will offer what we have to Jesus, He will work with it. He will use the little we have to do the great things He calls us to. Jesus says: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)  He will do the work, if we remain in Him. He only wants us to see beyond what we can do, to see with eyes of faith. He says: “All things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9:23)  

Today’s text ends with the account of Jesus walking on water to the disciples in the boat, on the stormy sea.    Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”  So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.    In other gospel accounts Jesus speaks to and calms the storm and the sea. Here it simply says that when Jesus came into the boat they were immediately to the land which they were going. Jesus is Lord of all. He has the power and the authority to calm the storms and sea. His power and authority also includes authority over anything which may be disrupting our lives. He can speak to those things and change them. Jesus also gave us that same authority. He says:  “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19) He says:  "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of 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) Once again we need to see with eyes of faith. We need to speak words of faith, believing that what is impossible for us is possible through Christ. It is not the size of our faith that matters, but rather the object of our faith. It is Jesus in us and through us who will accomplish what seems impossible.

Again though in today’s text, Jesus got into the boat and immediately it arrived at its destination. Jesus is infinite and eternal. He is omnipresent. He is not limited by space and time. Jesus knew where the boat was going and beyond the limitations of this natural realm, He took it there. Jesus also knows where we are going. He knows not only our destination but also our destiny. If we remain with Him, we can move through the storms of our lives quickly.   Rather than striving in our own strength against the wind and the waves, we can arrive with Christ, in His time.    Our entire lifetime is merely a twinkling in the scheme of eternity. Regardless of what we have struggled with or against in this time, if we remain in Christ, it will seem as though we arrived immediately at our destination, when we hear the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!”    Jesus knows our destination and it is secure, already accomplished in Him. Our destiny on the other hand, is to daily walk with Him, yoked to Christ, seeing and doing beyond what is possible in our own strength. Giving Him the little we have to accomplish all that He wants to do.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You that my eternal destiny is secure in You, through the finished work of the cross. All the struggles and storms of this life will pass, almost immediately in the scheme of eternity. I look forward with joy and anticipation for the day I hear the words well done good and faithful servant! Until that day though I pray that through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit, I will walk in my destiny, accomplishing all that You have for me to do in this life.   Amen.