The Fifth Sign    John 6:16-21

This post concerns the fifth sign or miracle recorded by John.

‘The Fifth Sign’ describes a miracle by Jesus that showed His power over nature and His Deity to His disciples. After the fourth sign, the feeding of the 5000, Matthew also reports that Jesus sent His disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while He went up the mountain to pray. They rowed for a time against the wind. Jesus saw their difficulty and came to them, John 6:19-21. “When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”

At first, they were terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. But then they identified Jesus. Matthew reports that Peter asked to walk on the water too, but after becoming fearful, he began to sink and needed Jesus to rescue him.

This boat trip resulted in a test for the disciples. Earlier, when Jesus and the disciples crossed the Sea, a storm arose. The disciples were afraid of drowning and woke Jesus. He stilled the Sea. But at this later time, Jesus had gone to pray. They were alone. Again, they were fearful. But He came to them and when they recognized him, they took him into the boat. The boat reached the shore immediately.

This sign shows Jesus’ power over nature and increased the faith in Him of the fearful disciples.

So, what did we learn?

1.Jesus has power over the forces of nature.

2.Without Jesus, the disciples showed fear.

3.With Jesus, the disciples’ faith increased.

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