The Bread of Life, part 1

There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 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. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” (NASB) John 6:23-25

They were trying to determine how and when Jesus arrived at Gennesaret. But Jesus did not answer their question. Instead, His reply revealed the true desire of their hearts. He skipped to the real issue.

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. (NASB) John 6:26

They were not interested in Jesus, nor were they interested in His signs. They were interested in only themselves - their stomachs. What they could get out of Jesus. That was the issue. That describes the motivation of many people. “What can I get?” Sadly, that describes the attitude of some spouses in marriages today. It is one thing when children and teenagers act that way. We understand their immaturity. It is quite another thing when adults behave like adolescents. Just like these folks, people are still seeking Jesus for healing, to be rescued at sea, to have their marriage fixed, or to be saved from death when they are in a fox hole in the midst of war. We are selfish people at times. Are we not? Do you love Jesus because He is Jesus or because of what you can get out of Jesus?

The crowd and the disciples missed the message of the miracle of the feeding of so many people. Some today read the gospels and miss the message too! They miss Jesus because they are too preoccupied with themselves. John 7:31 says that many that day believed in Jesus,

But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?” (NASB) John 7:31

But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. (NASB) John 12:37

Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (NASB) John 20:30-31

They missed the message of the signs, especially the sign of the feeding of so many people from only two fish and five loaves of bread. The message was about the very nature and person of Jesus. Did they think that He was like them but with special powers? If so, they missed the truth.

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. (NASB) John 6:27

Do not seek the food of this world! Instead, seek the food that lasts forever. Oh, by the way, only the Son of Man was and is able to give this food. What a perfect fishing expedition! Jesus dangled the fishing hook with the spiritual bait and they bit. They wanted it.

Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” (NASB) John 6:28

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (NASB) John 6:29

Jesus said, “Believe in Me!” That is the only work anyone can and must do to gain eternal life. Jesus’ message was that there is nothing to do but believe. Believing is not those of a work. These are Jesus’ words and not some theologian, priest, pastor, or teacher. Then the crowd asked a question that revealed how truly spiritually blind they were.

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? “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’” (NASB) John 6:30-31

They wanted a sign as proof that He spoke the truth. They asked, “What signs do you show us? Moses gave us manna!” What do you do? Did they miss the message of the feeding of the massive crowd? Yes they did! Also, they appear to be irritated by Jesus. They did not want to hear about believing. They just wanted what Jesus could give them.

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. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” (NASB) John 6:32-33

He tells them that Moses did not give them the manna - the bread that came out of heaven. They were wrong! It was Jesus’ Father who provided the manna and it is the Father who gives eternal spiritual life. Now they are interested.

They were not truly interested in spiritual things. They just appear to be interested. They wanted only the special bread that Jesus was talking about and so Jesus told them where and how to get it.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. (NASB) John 6:35-36

Jesus promised them bread and water that satisfies. Jesus’ statement is strong. He emphasized the fact that He was and is the Bread of Life. The Greek text reads, “I, I am the Bread of Life!” He emphasizes the fact that He was and is the Bread of Life by using the emphatic first pronoun before the first person verb - “I.” Only He was and is the Bread of Life and no one else qualified. There are not many ways to God! Then He made a sobering statement.