Alright, let me set the stage for you just a little bit before we get started. If you will recall, prior to our text from last Sunday, Jesus had just fed the masses, retreated with his disciples, and gone into a time of solitude. Then, last Sunday, we saw that Jesus’ disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee in order to go to Capernaum. Jesus had stayed behind, but went to them later on walking on the water. Do you remember what I’m talking about? When our text from last Sunday ended, Jesus had brought himself and the disciples safely to dry land after they brought him onto the boat during a violent storm. Well, after all of this has occurred, the people who had just witnessed Jesus’ feeding of the multitude were looking for him at the spot where this event had taken place. In fact, more people, having heard what happened there, had come to try and find Jesus. Remember, there were those who wanted to make him a king, and even more who just wanted something else from him. The problem for them is that he is nowhere to be found. Some of the people in the area had seen the disciples get into the boat, but they didn’t see Jesus get in with them. In fact, they even saw him retreat for a moment alone and they know they didn’t see him go out onto the sea by himself. They don’t really know where he is, but they know he isn’t around there, so they go to Capernaum in search of him.
This group of people makes their way to Capernaum in search of Jesus, and they find him. After finding him they ask him when he got there, but what they are really wanting to know is not only when, but how he got there. Over this past week, as I read and reread this text, I found myself thinking how great it would have been if Jesus just looked at them and said, “I walked.” However, he doesn’t; he gives them these words instead, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” Here Jesus is referring back to the aforementioned feeding of the 5,000. He’s saying to these people that the only reason why you are after me is because of what you got from me. The whole reason you wanted to make me a king in the first place was because you gained from the works that I have done. You care nothing for the thing that these signs are pointing to, but only what you get out of them. They don’t really care what the purpose is; they just care about what they receive. Does any of that sound somewhat familiar to you? It’s like the person who gets up and goes to church each and every week not to give thanks to God, but because they make some great connections at church or because it gives them something to do. They go more out of obligation than they do out of love for God. It’s like the person who becomes a Christian and really wants to live a Christian life, but won’t make the sacrifices and choices that are required. It’s like the person who wants God to only be part of their life instead of committing their life to God. These people here, and many people today, simply want all the good and none of the “bad” or difficult, but it doesn’t work that way. They want all of the reward, with none of the “risk” for lack of a better term. It isn’t about us and our getting what we want and need. It is about God, and don’t forget that God has promised to provide for all that we truly need in this world.
However, Jesus’ words to these people are not entirely condemning. He does give them some much needed advice for how they should proceed. “Do not labor 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.” I’m one of the most lucky and fortunate people in the world. Now there are a lot of reasons why this statement is true, but what I am specifically referring to here is the fact that I love what I do. I absolutely love my calling, my vocation. Sure, there are some days when it isn’t very fun. There are those times when I have to do something that I would rather not do, but for the most part I love what I do. Maybe you are lucky like I am and you either love what you do or you did love it back when you were working. Unfortunately, not everyone has this good fortune. There are many people who wake up and go to work dreading what they are about to endure. You can ask someone who is in this type of situation why they do it. The entire reason why they do it is so that they can put food on the table and that’s it. There is no sense of calling or joy to what they are doing with their lives. Now, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing entirely. I have myself worked jobs just to make ends meet, but there was no joy there. I’m well aware of the fact that some people, most in fact, have to work in something that they don’t exactly enjoy. But ones occupation isn’t what Jesus is talking about here. He is quite simply giving us this one truth: don’t spend your life pursuing that which has no ultimate significance. For those who work and work just for stuff and possessions, it truly is a sad thing. Think about the non-Christian who does all of this and one day wakes up and realizes that they have done this for 30, 40, or 50 years and there is, at least in their minds, nothing else. However, as Christians, we know that there is something else. We know that that something else is much greater than this world. Our eyes are not fixed upon the things of this world, or at least they shouldn’t be. No amount of joy or happiness is what our goal should be. Our goal should be Christ. Our goal should be the proclamation of the Word. Our goal should be the growth of the kingdom. We should not labor for the things of this world, the things that perish. Instead we should labor for the Kingdom of Heaven, the things that endure to eternal life.
Our question at this moment is probably very similar to that of the people gathered around Christ, “what should we do?” Or in other words, if we are to work with Christ as our goal, then what should we be doing? Jesus responds, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” We are to believe in God and have faith that we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ. However, we want something more tangible than faith. We are as foolish as these people when they ask, “then what sign do you do, 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 from heaven to eat.’” This reference, of course, is of the events of Exodus 16 where God gave Israel bread from heaven to provide for them and to show them that He would indeed deliver them safely to the Promised Land. They want to know what sign they have from God this time that tells them that they should have faith and work only towards the goals of heaven and not the goals of man. Jesus tells them that they need not focus upon the sign, but the one who gives the sign. “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Israel’s receiving of the bread was not the important matter, but that God would provide for the needs of His people.
Look at it like this; think about it in terms of a baptism. The act of baptizing someone isn’t magical or a work of conversion in-and-of itself. Baptism is a sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace; a sign and seal of God’s promise of redemption for all who believe in Him. The water used during the baptism of a person doesn’t literally wash away the sins of that person. The water itself has no salvific power; it is the sign. What the water represents, our engrafting into Christ, our rebirth, the remission of our sins, and our yielding to God through Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life, is what matters. Jesus, here is saying that these people shouldn’t worry about the bread; not the bread given to Israel and not even the bread given by him the previous day. What they should concern themselves with is the bread of God which is Jesus Christ himself, the one sent from the Father. Jesus Christ himself is the one who has the power to satisfy and give life everlasting. Now, we will take a little closer look at Jesus as this bread of life next Sunday, but let’s leave this day singing the words of those listening to Jesus. “Sir, give us this bread always.” In other words, “Jesus, we want you. We want all of you. Lord, do not let our focus be upon the things of this earth. Do not let us worry about our earthly desires and the things of this world that are sure to perish, but let us focus upon you. Let us focus upon your kingdom. Let us focus upon the one who created us, redeemed us, and sustains us.” Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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