JOHN 6, 24-35
Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who 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.”
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
The man is on his deathbed. He is successful, rich well known! He has the type of life everyone dreams of. But now he is staring at eternity, and all the things he’s worked so hard for are slipping out of his hands. And he remembers the sacrifices he made, and things he’s given away to get where he was today. And suddenly the question is asked. Was it worth the price? WAS IT WORTH THE EFFORT?
And now you’ve got this crowd. They really wanted to be with Jesus. This is the crowd on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, who, when Jesus left by boat to go to a solitary place with His disciples, ran on foot, around the lake some 15 miles to get there before Jesus got there! This is the crowd who spent that day listening to Jesus preach, watching Jesus do miracles, and finally having their hunger filled when Jesus fed them with five loaves of bread and two small fish. This is the crowd who was so impressed with Jesus, they wanted to make Him their king by force if necessary! And when Jesus disappeared into the mountains, this crowd stuck around all night waiting for Him to come back.
The next morning most of that huge crowd went back home! But not these people. When they couldn’t find Jesus, they got into some boats and sailed to Capernaum to find Him. And sure enough they tracked Him down. Now these people had jobs, and homes, and a life. I’m sure there were a lot of things demanding their attention. But they put all that on hold, just so they could see Jesus. But this morning Jesus asks this crowd, WAS IT WORTH THE EFFORT?
I
When they found Jesus in Capernaum, they ask, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Last night, when Jesus disappeared from their sight, there was only one boat missing! That was the one the disciples had taken to go over to the other side. And Jesus was still on the shore with them. This morning, there still was only one boat missing. So, how in the world did Jesus get to Capernaum? They were probably hoping that Jesus would entertain them with a story about how He miraculously transported Himself to the other side of the Sea.
But Jesus doesn’t give them what they wanted. He gives them what they need. “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” Oh, yeah, these people were very dedicated in their pursuit of seeing Jesus. They were willing to put the rest of their life on hold, and spend the time, and the energy, to find Jesus. Not because they recognized that Jesus was the Messiah and their salvation from the wrath of God! But because they got a free meal! Because they appreciated a good show! Because they were sure Jesus was the Messiah God had sent to rescue them from the clutches of Rome, and to set up Israel as a world power dominating and ruling the world. They weren’t seeking a Savior from sin for their soul. They were looking for a King who would take care of their physical lives.
That’s why Jesus encourages them, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give you.” They didn’t want spiritual food! They wanted physical food! They wanted physical blessings! They wanted physical salvation. They wanted Jesus to make their lives better, to take away their grief and anxiety, and to give them all the things that would make them happy. But Jesus tells them, what you are looking for doesn’t last. Like physical food, it lasts for a while, but then it spoils. They were putting all their time and effort looking for something that will not last!
We can see their attitude in the conversation they had with Jesus. “What must we do to do the works of God?” They knew that Jesus came from God. So, what they wanted from Jesus is a handbook of the rules that God wanted people to follow so they could be acceptable to God. They wanted Jesus to give them a shortcut as to how to please God. They wanted Jesus to show them how they could win God’s favor, like He had!
When Jesus tells them, “It’s not about doing things to please God that will get you into God’s favor, it’s believing in the one that God sent, Jesus. The first thing they say is, “What miraculous sign will you give us that we may see it and believe in you?” “What miraculous sign will you give us that we may see and believe you?” You’ve got to be kidding me! How many miracles had they seen the previous day? How much bread and fish did they eat yesterday? How many lame people did Jesus make to walk, how many blind people did Jesus cause to see, how many demons had Jesus cast out of God’s people? Just like Isaiah prophesied! And they have the audacity to ask, “What miraculous sign will you do for us, that we may see it, and believe in you?” This crowd expended a lot of energy, and time and effort to see Jesus. But not for food that will last forever. They were working for bread that will spoil. And we think, What a waste?
II
Jesus encouraged them, and us rather, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.” If you’re going to spend your energy and your time and your hard-earned money for something, then make sure you’re working hard for something that will last! “Work for bread that endures to eternal life.”
But wait a minute? Is Jesus telling us that we need to work for our salvation? No! What does that passage say? “Do not work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” Jesus is the Bread of Life! Jesus has given that bread to us. We have eternal life not because we have earned anything. We have eternal life because Jesus earned it for us. Because Jesus gave it to us by Grace. It did not cost us a single thing, not one hour, not one bit of energy, not one bit of effort on our part. Jesus gives it to us free of charge.
But now that you are a child of God, it may cost you everything you are and everything you have, to live
your Christian life. When it comes to how you will live your life, when it comes to how you will spend your time, and your energy, and your money, Jesus says, make sure you are working for the bread that last to eternal life. If you are going to make sacrifices, make sure you are sacrificing for something that will last eternally!
During our life, we spend a lot of time and effort working for “bread that spoils,” don’t we? And that’s not bad! We buy groceries to feed our family. We pay the mortgage so my family can have a place to live. We buy shoes and school supplies for our children each year. We go on vacations! We spend time watching our children perform in one contest or another. We work hard at our jobs and do the best work we can! We pay for education to help us find a career, or to advance in our career. We spend a lot of time and energy and effort on things that entertain us. We spend a lot of time and effort on “bread that spoils.”
The meal that mom prepared last night was fantastic and it was very filling, and we all ate ourselves silly because it was so good. And yet, today, we’ll need to eat again, won’t we? We bought a ton of groceries last week, to stock up on the supplies that we needed. But in a matter of weeks, we will need to go back to the store and once again stock up on those supplies. We bought new shoes for our children last year before they started school, but we’ll have to buy new shoes again this year. Either they have outgrown them, and they need a bigger size, or they wore them out! We spent a great deal of money on the vacation we planned this year, and all too quickly it’s over! But soon, we will start planning the next one.
We spend a lot of time, and energy and money on “bread that spoils.” But that’s OK, because we know that these temporary blessings are blessings that God gives us to enjoy. We realize that these things help our relationship with the family that God has given us. We realize that these temporary blessings will help us show our faith to other people. We do these things because we are filled with the food that last into eternity.
See the difference between us and that crowd that eagerly sought Jesus. They sought “bread that spoils” because that’s all they wanted, that’s all they knew, and they will be very disappointed. Even though we may seek “bread that spoils,” Jesus has given us the bread that last into eternity. We have Jesus living in our hearts. We have eternal life waiting for us in Heaven. And even though we enjoy “the bread that spoils,” that God allows us to enjoy, we know that what is most important is the “bread that lasts eternally.” And when we are on our deathbed, and all those earthly blessings are slipping from our fingers one by one, we don’t care, we’re not worried! Because we have the “bread that last forever.” We have our Savior from Sin, and we have our eternal home in heaven waiting for us. Because Jesus lives in our hearts! Because Jesus has given us that bread that last into eternity. That crowd that so eagerly sought Jesus, they had nothing but the “food that spoils.”
Every person in this world, at one time or another, will end up, facing eternity, and watching all those things they had sacrificed so much to acquire, slipping away from their hands. They will be reminded of the sacrifices they made, the time and energy they spent on these things, and they will be asked, WAS IT WORTH THE EFFORT? We too will face that same eternity! We too will be asked the same question. WAS IT WORTH THE EFFORT?
But for us, because Jesus lives in our hearts, because Jesus has fed us with the Bread of Life that will last forever, we will be able to say, “Oh, yeah. Our eternal life is worth anything we ever had to go through!”
