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By Mike Caton

John 6:1-2, Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias) and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.

John 5:1 tells us that Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish feasts and it appears that all of chapter five takes place then and there. Now, sometime after this, Jesus has gone back north into Galilee. John ends his book with these words, Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written, 21:25. We cannot imagine that every move Jesus made and every word he spoke has been recorded for us. But we can be assured that, through the inspiration of God, he told John and those other writers what he wanted us to know. And we can be just as sure that God preserved his written word for us throughout the centuries.

But Jesus has gone back to his home region. And great crowds of people are following him. We might think that is great, many people are becoming disciples, followers of Jesus. They are learning the truth about him, they are committing themselves to him. But John tells us the real reason they are following him; they saw the miracles he performed by healing the sick. I suppose most of the miracles Jesus did were healings. Certainly, he performed other miracles, as we are about to see. But those miracles were not just to offer a sick person physical relief, they were to be signs to point people to the truth about what he said, to the truth that he was the Messiah, the Son of God. No doubt many people got that, but there can also be no doubt many didn’t. Many just saw Jesus as a miracle worker, a showman, an entertainer.

We need to make sure that we always exalt Jesus to the highest place, to the place he deserves. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! He is the Savior of the world. As his followers, we must never forget that fact. And all we do must be to point others to that fact as well. It is not about the show, not about the music, not about the flash, it is about Jesus! And we must make sure he is central to all we do.

Father, help me focus more clearly on Jesus. In His name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works part time with Hyde County EMS. If you would like to receive daily devotions in your inbox, email mikecaton@centurylink.net.

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