John 6:22-24 (WEL) The next day the crowd, who stood on the other side of the sea, saw that no other boat was there, except the one in which his disciples entered, and that Jesus did not go with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had departed by themselves. 23 (But other boats came from Tiberias close to the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks). 24 As soon as the people saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
V22 The next day the crowd, who stood on the other side of the sea, saw that no other boat was there, except the one in which his disciples entered, and that Jesus did not go with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had departed by themselves.
They were amazed. These are sea people, who understood the weather, knew what boats were there before bedtime, and understood the storm that existed during the night. Now, they see one boat that made it from the other side. They knew that Jesus was in town but did not board the boat on the other side.
Comments:
(Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary): “…not the whole multitude that had been fed, but only such of them as remained overnight about the shore, that is, on the east side of the lake; for we are supposed to have come, with Jesus and His disciples in the ship, to the west side, to Capernaum.”
V23 (But other boats came from Tiberias close to the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks).
John emphasizes that there were other boats that came over but not at this specific place but away from where the disciples were.
V24 As soon as the people saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
Those who had stayed behind and did not leave the area where the 5,000 were fed, saw that Jesus was not there. So, they left. Why were they looking for Jesus? Two reasons are possible: 1) free food and 2) to make Jesus king.
Principle: Most people look and pray to Jesus for the wrong reasons, involving only their physical and emotional needs instead of the much greater need of spiritual needs.
We learn:
- People have a tendency to seek emotional and physical satisfaction with little regard for the much greater spiritual needs for salvation.
- People put effort into prayer and religiosity for things of this life but little into the eternal things.
Questions:
- Why do you pray?
- What is more important in your life—the physical and emotional or the spiritual?