Passage To Study:

John 6:22-29

[22] On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— [23] however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— [24] when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into 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 come here?” [26] Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. [27] “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” [28] Then they said 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 sent.”

What are the facts of the passage?:

  • The following day the people come looking for Christ and find Him gone.

  • More boats come and when they saw that Jesus wasn't there, they set out to find Him.

  • They found Him on the other side of the sea and ask Him why He went over there.

  • Jesus answers them with a rebuke and an exhortation.

  • Thy seek Him because He met their need, not because of what the miracles said about Who He was.

  • He exhorts them to value food that gives lasting value and leads to eternal life.

  • This food is that which Christ gives because the Father has set His seal on Him.

  • The people ask how they can work the works of God?

  • Jesus points them to believing in He Who He (God) has sent.

What do those facts mean?:

Once again we see that Christ is more concerned with reality than with appearance. We need to be careful that we are seeking God for the proper reasons and not because of what we get out of it. This is most important. We cannot seek God because of our bellies. Seeking motivated by self-oriented motives invalidates the seeking and causes Christ to with hold Himself from us. 

Just by way of note: Jesus here defines believing as a work - a work of God done by men. We cannot say it is not a work. Neither can we say that men don't do it. Both are true. It is a work done by men as they are enabled by God's Holy Spirit to do that which they would neither want to do nor be able to do.

How do those facts apply to my life?:

I should be careful that I am not seeking God because He fills my belly. I must also be careful that in my preaching I am not exhorting people to seek Him because of what He can do for them.

What should I do in response?:

Take care!

 

Day
26

 

 
The Bread From Heaven

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