The significance of the fifth sign is best understood in relation to the fourth. Jesus had accepted the bread and fish found by the disciples as the physcal means through which he fed the hungry crowd, but because he was the creative Word of God, who had been with his Father at the creation of all things, he had no need to use external resources in his saving work. In the fifth sign, Jesus shows his disciples, the only witnesses of his action, that his power is within himself and not dependent on anything external. John's emphasis in this miracle (also recorded by Mark and Matthew) is on Jesus' divine nature. In 6:20 Jesus speaks of himself in the way that God spoke of himself to Moses (Exodus 3:14), yet the one who called himself 'I AM' climbed into the boat with his very human disciples and told them not to be afraid. The fifth sign anticipates the great 'I AM' sayings of Jesus, the first of which comes in the ensuing discourse. The teaching to the disciples and to the Church in the fifth sign was that however great the darkness and danger which they might have to endure, their Lord would always be there with them.