22 The next day the multitude 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 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And 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 with perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal." 28 They said therefore to Him, "What shall we do, 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."
Message: The Work God Requires
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: Thus far in this chapter Jesus has fed 5,000 and upon seeing this the people wondered if Jesus was their prophet, the one to come and rescue them from their land problems and political difficulties, but Jesus goes off to himself alone, to the mountain. The disciples head to the sea to get to the other side, Capernaum and while they are in a sea storm, Jesus shows up, walking on water and coming to them.
The multitudes now looked on, having seen the disciples leave in the boat and seeing Jesus there now in Capernaum, but did not see another boat that Jesus had been in. After eating the bread (and fish) that Jesus provided they got into boats to go to Capernaum, again seeking Jesus. Once they arrived, they asked Jesus how he got there. Jesus, as is typical, does not answer question directly as He has more to say to them. And Jesus responds, saying to them, that they continue to follow because they have had a personal experience with Jesus - having been benefactors of the feeding of loaves of bread now and fish. Stated another way, people come to Jesus because they want something - personally. This is not necessarily bad, but Jesus wants them to want more than a miracle. He says "You seek Me not because you saw signs." The people are not seeking after Jesus because they are trying to discover more of God and more of who God has sent. The signs purpose is to point to Jesus and to show that Jesus is more than a mere man, even more than a miracle healer, but He is the Son of God.
Back in verse 14 and 15, the people want something, but Jesus has a different mission. We must be willing to look at Jesus and embrace who He is. Instead, we come to Jesus with a wish list of what He is supposed to do for us. He is the genie in a bottle, a Santa Clause type. We are selfish. We are needy and Jesus is going to grant us what we need so we can fulfill our life now.
But now they are to work not for food (Do not work for the food that perishes). Do not focus only on this life, this temporary life.
Carrie Underwood, the country singer, sang in 2009 with the song of the title, Temporary Home:
"This is my temporary home
It's not where I belong
Windows in rooms that I'm passin' through
This is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary home"
Instead of comfort coming from getting my needs of this present life met, I need to focus on eternal life, "for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you." And even as Jesus is explaining this they still feel like they must do something, but Jesus says to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." Their response is again wondering what work they need to do. But Jesus says to them, the work you do is only to believe.
This is the message that I need to be trained on each day (I Timothy 4:17-18) because I too often am trained by a message of "It is all about me and all about me now." Jesus says life is all about Him. Trusting Him. Loving Him.
I have seen this before and it continues. Jesus responds to questions and situations in a different manner and way than people expect because His agenda is different and His prescription to people is rather simple: Follow Me and Believe.
Summary: Jesus talks to the multitudes, helping them see that they only need to believe in Him in this life and not go after that which meets their own temporary needs of this life.
Promise: We do faith following a regeneration by the Holy Spirit of us. We are to be filled with Christ and with His grace.
Prayer: Lord, I am reminded in this text of how I am so focused in this life and going after that which pleases me. I suppose it is a natural way in which I live, but I do want to be trained by You so that My life is being lived in the way that glorifies You. Help me to glorify You. It all needs to come back to You. This is a tricky balance in My life. I suppose I can't help most of the time pleasing myself, but I want to be a person that is focused on the needs of others. I will self-protect myself and will naturally take care of my needs, but my work needs to be for others, for you O God. You will satisfy what I need. Help me to understand this further Lord and to understand You further and How you work in Me, in people to bring them to faith and a knowledge of You. I love this simple milk but I also love solid food that I discover through these same words. Keep teaching me. Keep challenging Me to share this truth with others.
Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.
No comments:
Post a Comment