Setting the Scene
Picture a hillside on the far shore of the Sea of Galilee in spring, with the Passover near. The grass is green underfoot, for once, and the lake below throws back a hard, bright light. Imagine the sound before the sight: thousands of feet on the slope, a child crying, someone calling a name that is lost in the noise. These people have walked a long way round the water because they have seen what Jesus does for the sick, and they are not ready to go home.
Picture the afternoon wearing on. The shadows of the hills stretch out across the grass, and the talk on the slope starts to change. Stomachs are empty. The disciples begin to look at one another and then at the crowd, adding it up. Out here a meal is not a simple thing to find.
Now watch Jesus. He lifts his eyes, sees the crowd still coming up towards him and turns to Philip with a question. Further along, Andrew is looking somewhere else entirely: at a boy, and at what the boy is holding.
The map
From Capernaum to the far shore.
- The far shore John 6:1–3; Luke 9:10
- Capernaum John 6:16–17, 24, 59
One question to start
1Level 1: Observation
Compare Philip's answer in verse 7 with Andrew's in verses 8 and 9. What does each man focus on, and what do they have in common? What does verse 6 tell us that neither of them knew?
Carry on with the whole session
Members see the whole session as the app shows it: the readings, the talk, the word studies, all three levels of question, the challenge and the prayer.