II: Du fils de Zébédée (pas du tout Jacques!)

Jean chapitre 6
As stated in a recent post, my current amble with John Zebedee through the gospel God inspired him to write is based on variations-on-a-theme of two questions:

1. How to know God?
2. How to know what He wants for His people?

Here we go gathering nuts in May..
..No, wait.
That's not right!

I meant gathering ideas in chapter 6, of course.

Not an easy task..!
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vv.1-15
In opening, I cautiously venture to say that, since Jesus is right there with the disciples & the people of Israel's countryside, then knowing God is obviously about being near Him. But what the motivation is for people to be near Him - well, that varies..

.."because they saw the miraculous signs He performed on the sick" (v.3)

..context of Philip, to whom Jesus speaks - "Finding Philip, [Jesus] said to him, 'Follow Me.' .. Philip found Nathanael and told him, 'We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote..'" (1,43 and 1,45)

Hah!

Even Philip understands that knowing God - & recognising the One whom He sent - is through God's own Word (ie. the Law/Prophets).


Knowing God seems to have to do with relationship, too
- esp. the communication side of things. Jesus talks to His disciples, e.g. Philip & Andrew (vv.5-10), engaging them in conversation - quite simple, in a sense.

Also, Jesus uses the little physical resources available, with His disciples following His instructions - in order to supply food for the people to eat.

His own knowledge of God the Father shows plainly here, as He takes the available food & gives thanks for it before distributing it.

In this section it is hard to see what God is saying about what He wants for us. I do not believe that He wants us to see exactly this kind of miracle today in 2010.

So why was it written? The short answer that jumps to mind is John 20:31. BUT I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the passage.
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vv.15-21
The disciples are on a boat in the lake, facing rough waters & strong wind.

Knowing God here & being who He wants appears tied up in what Jesus has to say as He approaches them by walking on the water:
"It is I; don't be afraid."
In some ways, self-explanatory. As if a knowledge that Jesus is not only with them, but has authority over the waters (as God the Son), should be enough to quell their fears.
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And now we get into very deep water. Time for a rest before the next related post.

L/T.