John Chapter 6 Verses 1-20

[Ginger]

Welcome back, Agonstino!  We've missed you.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

Why do you think Jesus didn't go in the boat with his disciples?

Reference: Matthew 14:
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him."

3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet.

6 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance[a] from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

[Agostino]

Thank you, it is a pleasure to be back 

The passage describes that at dark, Jesus had not yet come to the disciples, which possibly indicates He was to come to them, in the sense that He set up a situation that allows Him to come to them in a powerful fashion. That it is dark I think is a really important point. Well, I know it is, this is the Gospel of John after all, every detail is important here! 

Following on from the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, the crowd are seen to remain at the place where the miracle happened, still in their misunderstanding of their messianic hopes for Jesus. The disciples had moved on, without Jesus, and in darkness they come to difficulty. I think the clear message here is all, anyone of us, who move on without Jesus risk losing our way in the darkness. And, we risk coming into difficulty, when all of a sudden the wind shall blow, and leave us a float in the midst of the sea, ruddderless, without direction and unable to find our way. Then, across the water, will come Christ, revealing Himself as He does here in this passage.
He uses the ego eimi, the I AM, the name of God. As the disciples look up, they are afraid, until Jesus reveals Himself. As they accept Him into the boat, "immediately they are at land" which offers a hint of fulfilment of Psalm 106 (107) 23-32, especially 30, "and he brought them to the haven which they wished for"

If we accept the Lord into our boat, we too shall be guided to the haven which we wish for. I know I am pulling this analogy to the limit, but this message is clear in this passage. If we lose our focus on Jesus, we will run adrift in the sea, lost in the darkness.

[Ginger]

That is one of the truly amazing things about Scriptures; one short passage, one short verse can tell us so many wonderful things about our God and Savior and His plan for us.

You brought all the little details of this passage together to bring a deeper meaning to the events very well, Agostino. 

If I may back up a little....

Jesus had just heard the news about John the Baptist's beheading. He withdrew to a solitary place, but the crowds followed.

I believe Jesus stayed behind to have time to mourn John's death.  This is not specifically stated, but implied in Matthew 14:13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.

[Ginger]

Jesus, fully God, yet fully human, shared the human experience completely with mankind.  He is God, yet we cannot accuse him of not understanding what we go through because he shared in our humanity from birth to death.  Jesus experienced all the emotions and physicals needs every other human being experiences.  He felt hungry and sleepy, love and anger and stress beyond what most people have to go through.

He also mourned for those he loved, like John the Baptist.

Jesus teaches us something very basic, yet very overlooked in these passages.

Jesus sought time alone after hearing of the death of his cousin, John.  But the crowds followed him depriving him of that needed solitude.  

How did Jesus react?  He didn't neglect the needs of others, but postponed his time for a little while to care for those who needed him.

Sometimes we need to put our own needs aside for a time because we have responsibilities to others,... our parents, our children or friends and neighbors.

That doesn't mean we have to neglect our own needs, but rather that we shouldn't forget that others may have needs to be met before ours.

Can you think of a time you or someone you know put themselves first when they should have put someone else first.  No names please.

How do you think the situation could have been handled better, satisfying the needs of all involved?