Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” - John 6:26-27
This morning I am reading John 6. It is a long chapter, 71 verses. And it is theologically dense. If you want to know more about salvation, Jesus, the Trinity, faith, worship, and more, it is a great place to go. We could spend months on a John 6 sermon series if we were so inclined!
As I read this, my eyes are drawn to verses 26-27 (see above). At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus feeds the five thousand with only five barley loaves and two fish. He goes up on the mountain and then, under the cover of darkness, he crosses the sea by walking on water. The crowd is unaware and surprised to find Jesus on the other side of the sea the next day. They have been seeking him after benefiting from his miraculous feast from the day before. That is when he hits them between the eyes with a truth they do not want to hear, “you are not seeking me for me, but for what you can get from me (my paraphrase).”
I totally get it. If I were following this new rabbi around and he miraculously provided for my needs, I would also wonder what else he could give me. I would be just as short sighted as they were. I might miss that what Jesus is offering is much greater than having my immediate, even my most basic and essential, needs met.
Jesus’ miracles are a display of his mercy, grace, and compassion. If he did not love people, he would not have healed and fed them. However, Jesus’ miracles are also the evidence of who he is, and the proof that what he says, and the claims he makes about himself are true. At this point in his ministry, Jesus has already made bold claims about who he is and his relationship to the Father. He has made these claims in public, at the temple, in Samaria, in Galilee, and to Nicodemus and other religious leaders. The truth has been made known and his miracles are the evidence of his deity.
The crowd does not hear the message and misses the point of the miracles. They only see them through the lens of immediate gratification. Jesus points this out to them directly because he is about to once again deliver the message that he is the Son of God and that only in him can they find life. Yet, even though Jesus clearly explains that in him they can have eternal life, by the end of the chapter they reject his message. They only want the temporal benefits without giving up the illusion of control of their own lives.
I understand the crowd’s incorrect focus because it is still a temptation today. We have needs and desires that we want to fulfill. It is easy to focus on these so that all of our work and effort and energy is directed that way. However, when it comes to our needs, Jesus tells us “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you(Matt. 6:31-33).”
We can, and often do, run hard after our desires. We sometimes fall for the deceit of riches. We can come to believe that the next car, piece of jewelry, article of clothing, sports championship, promotion, sexual conquest, is the key to unlocking our happiness and fulfillment. Somehow, it is still always the next one or just a little more. We are always left wanting. Even if we got every desire of our heart, we have to contend with Jesus’ words when he says, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36)
At the end of the day, my takeaway is this; the life that will actually fulfill me is not found in anything I can gain or achieve in this life outside of Jesus. I am going to be tempted to find life in those things but if I give into those temptations, I am putting my hope in perishable things. However, if I trust completely in Jesus (the work we do for eternal life according to 6:29) then I will gain a life reconciled to God, a life indwelt by the Spirit, a life free from sin’s control. It may mean that I forfeit some instant gratification, but the long-term benefits far exceed any of their empty promises.