Jesus Boats

Boats Jesus And Others Took

JOHN 6 BIBLE STUDY ◄
John 6:20-21 Fear Not

John 6:22-25 Jesus Boats

John 6:26-30 Work of God

JOHN 6:22-25 22 The next day, the people who were standing on the other side of the sea realized that no other boat had been there except the one His disciples had boarded, and that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone. 23 Then other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also boarded the boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

Where were the people “standing” (John 6:22)?
On the west shore of the Sea of Galilee, downhill from where they had been fed miraculously the day before (see Jesus feeds 5000).

Why were the people standing there?
When Jesus went away to the mountain to pray by Himself, instead of dispersing, at least some of them had followed the disciples to the sea shore, thinking that since rabbis never went anywhere without their disciples, Jesus would return for them, at which point they could crown Him king. Had the disciples waited for Jesus' return and tried to leave in the boat with Jesus onboard, the people would have tried to “take Him by force to make Him king” (John 6:15), which most likely would have led to commotion if not violence between them and His disciples. When the disciples left in the boat by themselves instead of waiting for Jesus, the people had no choice but to turn their focus to keeping an eye out for Jesus returning from the mountain, as they were sure that He “had not boarded the boat with His disciples” (John 6:22). By letting the disciples go first in the boat and then walking out to them in the middle of the night (see “Fear Not”), Jesus thwarted their plan for forced coronation without the commotion.

Why did the “other boats” come “from Tiberias” (John 6:23)?
The word about the miraculous feeding had spread to the city.

What did the people do next?
Since Jesus wasn't there, they surmised that He somehow must have gone to Capernaum, where His disciples had gone. So they took those boats and “came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus” (John 6:24), and asked upon finding Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” (John 6:25)

What are they really asking Jesus?
“How did you get here?”

Why would they be less likely to try to take Him by force in Capernaum?
Those transported by the boats were most likely a small proportion of the thousands from the day before, and they may have been less prone to aggressive behavior in Jesus' base town.