#16 - The Gospel of John

John 6:1-15 (NIV)
Read by: Anthony Rajski

What would it be like to live in a world where there was more than enough?
If you were a Jewish person in Jesus’ day, you would have grown up on the stories of God providing manna for Israel in the wilderness, baking ingredients for Zarephath’s widow, and Elisha feeding 100 people with 20 loaves of bread. Each one is a story of God providing more than enough!

But if you were a Jewish person on the day of the story in this passage, there was nowhere near enough--at least not that you had access to. Caesar and his taxes, the puppet jewish leaders. . . the whole situation would have left you longing for the LORD’s anointed one to come and bring his justice, and by force if necessary. Because like the stories of you’ve grown up on, when the LORD shows up… no one goes hungry.

----------REFLECT----------

1. John opens the chapter with a note about it being Passover and then proceeds to tell a story about Jesus providing abundant bread in the wilderness. What could it mean for Jesus to perform this sign, so close to the celebration of Israel’s rescue from slavery in Egypt?

2. As one of Jesus’ 7 signs in John, this story calls us to come and see what it looks like when God’s space and human space overlap. What kind of space does it create in this passage? What does it look like, feel like, sound like, smell like, and taste like when heaven and earth come together?

3. Jesus knew that he was going to perform this sign, but he is intentional about including his disciples in the work. How does this story expand the boundaries of what you see as the things that God can use in your life to create spaces of abundance, generosity, and hope?

----------CONNECT----------

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