“The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.”
John 6:22-24 NLT
The crowd were still hanging around the next day. They must have camped out all night, because John recorded that they “stayed on the far shore”. But with the new dawn, they realised that the only boat there had headed off with the disciples, and that Jesus hadn’t gone with them. Why did they stay there and not head back home? What about their work? Perhaps there was business they needed to attend to. But in their minds they had had an encounter with Jesus, and that was worth hanging around for. How many times have we wished that we could have stayed longer in a meeting, but knowing, reluctantly, that we have to get up for work the next day? When in the middle of an encounter with Jesus time seems to stand still and we want to camp in His presence. But the cynic observing the behaviour of the people staying overnight would say that they only waited around to get another free meal.
So where was Jesus, they wondered? Then several boats arrived from Tiberias, a town on the west side of the Sea of Galilee but further south from Capernaum. John mentioned in his account that the boats landed at the shore where Jesus had fed the crowd, so perhaps he too was wondering if it was free food that was drawing people to this remote place.
What was this crowd of people like? Well, there would have been old and young people. Men, women and children. Rich and poor (but probably mainly the poor). Amongst them would have been some religious leaders. All in all, a good cross section of the Jewish Galilean society. Why did they come to see Jesus? John 6:2 gives us a clue, “A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick“. These people in the crowd were drawn by the supernatural events that were beyond any natural explanation. In those days, sick people generally died of their illness, unless it was a mild attack of something. There were no antibiotics capable of fighting infections. In fact, someone has researched life expectancy in those days, and come up with a figure of thirty five years. So to find a miracle healer who could heal a sick person was worth going to see, especially if you weren’t feeling very well. But it wasn’t just a sickness that Jesus healed. He also cast out demons. This is a contentious subject because we don’t generally talk about demon possession today. But if it was a problem in the Holy Land two thousand years ago, then it probably still is today. We just call a “demon” something else. Is it some form of mental illness? People often refer to dealing with their “demons”, referring to some form of oppression, or behaviour, perhaps with historical or family roots. Behavioural problems, challenging societal norms, can perhaps be due to some form of demonic influence. And certainly we can look at many practices (current gender ideologies?) that could be attributed to the devil and his minions.
Another consideration that we have with the “crowd” is that the great majority of them were not following God’s ways but instead marching along the broad way that leads to destruction. Matthew 7:13, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way“. God in His grace gave them the opportunity to hear what Jesus was saying and teaching about the Kingdom of God. Nothing has changed today, however. Most of the people that we pilgrims know have also chosen to go with the flow, the broad way that Jesus warned about.
So we pilgrims, journeying along the narrow path, fighting our way against the tides of public and family pressures and opinions, must never give up. The society around us will persecute us, ostracise us, treat us as though we are different to them and therefore try and force us to turn back. But we stand firm. Jesus said in Matthew 24:13, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved”. Jesus taught the people in His day to focus on spiritual food that will lead to eternal life. So must we pilgrims, because there is no other way.
Father God. Thank You for Your grace and love, available without limit to anyone who comes to You. and thank You for Your Son Jesus, who so willingly came to earth to show us how much You care for us. We worship You today. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 