2026 Reading Plan Reflections - Day 135

John 6 is full of echoes. Passover. Moses. Manna in the wilderness. The crossing of the sea. God feeding His people during the Exodus.

John wants us to hear all of it at once. Nothing here is accidental...

The crowds gather at Passover time, the season when Israel remembers God delivering His people from slavery and sustaining them in the wilderness. And into that story steps Jesus, feeding the multitudes with bread in a deserted place and then walking across chaotic waters toward frightened disciples.

John is showing us in these moments that a new Exodus is underway. But as usual, people only partially understand what they are seeing. The crowds recognize that Jesus is “the prophet” like Moses. They even try to make Him king. But their expectations remain small compared to what Jesus is actually doing. They want a miracle worker, a political liberator, a provider of bread on demand... Jesus is offering something far deeper. He is not repeating the Exodus story. He is fulfilling it. That tension still exists today.

We often come to Jesus wanting Him to solve immediate problems while missing the larger reality of who He is. We want enough bread for today, enough relief for this season, enough comfort to calm our anxiety. And while Jesus certainly cares about real needs, His signs always point beyond themselves toward the deeper truth of the Word made flesh.

That is why I love Andrew’s small role in the story. Philip sees impossibility. Andrew sees insufficiency. But Andrew still brings the boy’s small lunch to Jesus. Five loaves. Two fish. Not enough... And yet somehow enough when placed in Jesus’ hands... twelve baskets of leftovers. The math doesn't math, and that is Good News!

Most of us spend our lives focusing on what we lack: not enough strength, enough certainty, enough resources, enough influence, enough faith, enough time. But the Kingdom of God has always had a way of beginning with surrendered insufficiency. The invitation is not to manufacture abundance ourselves. The invitation is simply to bring what we have to Jesus and trust Him with it.

This is responsible grace in practice. Grace does not eliminate participation; it invites it. The boy offers what little he has. The disciples distribute the bread. The people receive it. God’s miraculous provision unfolds through ordinary acts of surrender and obedience.

Then John immediately shifts scenes. The sea becomes rough. The wind rises. The disciples strain against the storm. And suddenly Jesus comes walking toward them on the water. Again, John wants us thinking about Exodus. Israel once passed through the sea while God demonstrated His sovereignty over the chaotic waters. Now Jesus walks directly upon them. But perhaps the most comforting part of the story is not the miracle itself... It's the voice: “It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” In the CEB, Jesus says "I Am." YHWH. The sound of a deep breath or a sigh of relief...

There are seasons when life suddenly feels like rough water. The wind shifts without warning. Treatments resume. Relationships strain. Grief surfaces. Anxiety grows louder. Plans unravel. We row harder and still seem to make little progress.

And sometimes the presence of God initially feels unsettling before it becomes comforting because He arrives in ways we did not expect. But Jesus still comes toward frightened disciples in the middle of storms. And He still says: “It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

N. T. Wright reflects: when we take Jesus into the boat, we may discover we arrive at the harbor sooner than we imagined. 

Not because storms instantly disappear. Not because every question gets answered. But because His presence changes the journey itself. John invites us to see Jesus as more than a provider of temporary relief.

He is the One leading a new Exodus.
The One who feeds His people in the wilderness.
The One who walks over chaos itself.
The One whose presence carries us safely home.

Identify one area of insufficiency or fear in your life today.

Instead of focusing on what you lack, intentionally place it before Jesus:
Then ask: “What might Jesus do with this if I truly place it in His hands?”