John 6:22-34
22 The next day the crowd that stood
on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there,
except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat,
but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 There
came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread
after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So
when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves
got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 When
they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did
You get here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but
because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 “Do
not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal
life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has
set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What
shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus
answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him
whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What then do
You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You
perform? 31 “Our fathers ate the manna in the
wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN
TO EAT.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven,
but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 “For
the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the
world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord,
always give us this bread.”
Hunger is one of the biggest motivators on the face of the
earth. Our need for food makes us get
out of bed in the morning, motivates us to go to work and dictates how we spend
our money. Five-thousand men had just
eaten their fill of free fish and bread when Jesus multiplies the lunch of a
boy into a feast for the multitude.
Jesus sent His disciples away, sent the people away with full stomachs
and the He went away to pray. We saw the disciples frightened by the storm and
Jesus walking on the water to help them safely cross the sea. Jesus goes about teaching the people and
healing in a very powerful way.
Meanwhile, back on the other side of the sea, the people are getting
hungry again. All of us feel and are
motivated by our physical needs.
However, we must be very careful not to allow those needs to become the
exclusive or even the main purpose of our lives. The values of eternity are far greater than
the needs we feel. Jesus strives to
communicate this message to a group of hungry men.
THE PEOPLE LOOK FOR BREAD: The food from the previous day
had taken its course and now the people are hungry again. They saw that Jesus had stayed behind after
sending the disciples away so the presumed He was still there and were hoping
for another free meal. When they
realized He was nowhere to be found, they went looking for him by crossing the
sea in their boats. When they find Jesus
on the other side without any additional boat, they ask how he might have
gotten there. They would not have
guessed that He had walked across the sea.
They spend their day looking for Jesus because they are hungry and
believe that He will feed them once again.
Jesus knows their heart and wants to take their eyes off of their
physical needs so He can meet their greater need which is spiritual. Much of our lives is spent caring for our
bodies. Our desire to stay alive is
often the motivating factor behind much that we do. God wants us to live for a higher and eternal
purpose.
THE LORD LOOKS FOR BELIEF: Jesus tells the people to stop
being so concerned about the bread that is so temporary and to set their eyes
on the eternal. God wants His will to be
the motivating factor in our lives and not our personal needs and comfort. The people ask how they can do the works of
God, to which Jesus replies that God’s will starts with belief in Him. A life that is pleasing to God starts with
faith in the Lord Jesus. There is no way
that we can do the will of God without believing that Jesus is the Son of God
and has come to pay the price for our sin.
Now the people begin to step back and evaluate the situation. Eating free food is one thing. Recognizing Jesus as Messiah is another thing
especially in light of the growls in their stomachs after a rigorous row across
the sea. They try to get the Lord to
give them another sign in order for them to believe and they just happen to
hint that Moses provided mana from the sky every day. They seem to be bargaining with Jesus. “You want us to believe. We want food.
Give us our food and we will believe whatever you want.” Jesus wants them to realize that there is an
eternal life that is far more important than this life. The way to eternal life is to trust Jesus and
live to accomplish the will of God as our priority. When the kingdom of God becomes the focus of
our lives, we will experience a joy that makes this life so much more
meaningful and fill our hearts with eternal hope.
APPLICATION: Don’t allow our physical needs and desire for
comfort become the motivating factor in our lives. Seek the Lord with all our hearts; not
because He will give us what we want, but because we love Him and desire to see
His will accomplished on this earth.
Make eternity be the motivating factor in our hearts and lives.
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