Jesus Is Greater Than Moses, Part 2 (John 6:22-51) Series

Chapter 6 is really one long story, and we are supposed to read it all at once (5:1, 6:1, 7:1 all begin with "After these things," marking new sections). But it's 71 verses, and I can't hold that much together at once. I tried, and I started to lose my mind a little. Today, I'm going to fly a little higher over the text, and try to see the forest more than the trees. Some of the details, I'll just leave in footnotes for you to reflect on. We will try to work through about 30 verses, from John 6:22-51a.

Last week, in John 6:1-21, Jesus did two main things:

(1) He miraculously fed 5,000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish.

(2) He walked on water, showing his mastery over the Sea, and revealing himself to be God.

Now, when AJ (author of John) was telling us about these two things, he did so in a way that forces us to compare Jesus and Moses. Jesus is the prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18).

But what does it mean, to say that Jesus is "like" Moses? When you hold up Jesus and Moses, side by side, and compare them, you have to make a decision about which one of them is more important. "Judeans" (in the gospel of John) are convinced that Moses is more important, and their religion revolves around Moses, and the Mosaic covenant. Christians are convinced that Jesus offers a greater grace, and that he is superior to Moses.

Maybe, you'd be tempted to say, why not just say both are important? Why do you have to make a choice?

Part of the reason you have to compare them, is because of what Jesus claims. Jesus claims to be greater than Moses. And Jesus claims to offer a greater grace than Moses. And you have to decide whether or not you believe that Jesus is, who he says.

The other part of why you have to make the choice, is that Jesus claims to be the only way to the Father. In the past, God gave grace to his people through Moses. But now, if you want to be part of God's family, the only road runs through Jesus-- through giving your allegiance to Him. Christians, not Judeans, are God's people.

Or so Jesus claims. And so AJ claims. The question is, do you believe him? And are you willing to stake your life on this?

In today's passage, Jesus will give us reason to trust him, and to choose him, over Moses.

Verses 22-27:

(22) On the next day, the crowd-- the one standing on the other side of the Sea -- saw

that other boats weren't there, except only one,

and that he hadn't entered with his disciples-- Jesus-- into the boat,

but his disciples alone had departed,

but boats from Tiberias came near the place

where they ate the bread/loaf, after the Lord gave thanks.

(24) Then, when the crowd saw that Jesus isn't there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats,

and they came to Capernaum,

seeking Jesus,

(25) and finding him on the other side of the Sea, they said to him,

"Rabbi, when here did you get?"

Let's notice first, in verse 25, how the crowd addresses Jesus. Jesus is "Rabbi." Let's pause, and talk about this:

As far as I can remember, everyone who has called Jesus "Rabbi" in the gospel of John, does so after failing to really come to grips with who Jesus is. In chapter 1, John the Baptist calls Jesus the "Lamb of God-- the one taking away the sins of the world," but when John's disciples come to Jesus, they simply address him as "Rabbi." When Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night, understanding that he is from God, and doing great signs, he begins by calling Jesus "Rabbi."

In John 6, just the day before, the crowds had decided that Jesus was "the" prophet, and they tried to seize him and make him king. But now, today, they simply call him "Rabbi"-- teacher. It's like they are stepping back from their understanding; it's too much for them. This doesn't mean it's hopeless for the crowd, but we should understand that they are starting from a very "low" place here. They are "seeking" Jesus, but there is an enormous gap between who they think Jesus is (on this day), and who he actually is. And the only question is, will the crowd bridge that gap, like Jesus' disciples, and the Samaritans? Or will it fail to reach for the higher level of truth, and end up like Nicodemus?

Verse 26:

(26) He replied to them-- Jesus--

and he said,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me,

not because you saw signs,