Wanting Jesus more than what He gives us...

“The Food that Endures”

(John 6:16-40, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 19, 2009)

John 6:16-40 ¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." ²¹ Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. ²² On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵ 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, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷ 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." ²⁸ Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" ²⁹ Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." ³⁰ So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" ³² Jesus then said to them, "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. ³³ For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." ³⁴ They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." ³⁵ Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Jesus walking on the sea (16-21)

We have been talking about seven signs of Christ and the kingdom of heaven, seven signs chosen by John for his purposes in this gospel. So far we have seen heavenly wine, the healing of an unseen son (“Your Son lives!”), the healing of an invalid (“Do you want to be healed?”), and most recently, heavenly bread for thousands. In the chapters that follow we learn of a man born blind, the raising of Lazarus to mortality, and then finally the sign of all signs, the resurrection of Jesus Christ to immortality as the heavenly Man. All of these seven signs have something of a public element to them, something for everyone to see or to hear about. There were many things that Jesus did that were for the disciples alone, and then for later recording in the accounts of his life that we call the gospels. At the time, these miracles were not presented as matters of general knowledge. Our Lord’s walking on the water was one of those amazing, but private, deeds. This was something for the disciples to think about and to remember. The fact that Jesus was able to come to His disciples at night by walking through the sea was for them alone to know.

The seas that night were rough, and the disciples were in the middle of a large body of water. We’re supposed to be able to think about that, and to feel it. The world can be a frightening place, and a tumultuous and threatening sea on a dark night is a good metaphor for that danger. More than likely, these men were already on edge, but verse 19 uses the word “frightened” to describe their reaction when they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat. But in verse 20, He says to the disciples, “It is I,” or literally, “I AM. Do not be afraid.” And we are told that “immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” They were glad to take him into the boat, to have this one and only I AM with them. In a dangerous storm it is of some comfort to have a Captain who can walk on the sea. Even now, we are encouraged in our efforts to seek God’s kingdom throughout this life by these words, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” It is not hard to imagine how this special private display of divine authority over the elements would be a help to those who had been sent forth as ambassadors of this great King.

On Him God the Father has set His seal (22-27)

The people in the crowd that had earlier been fed with heavenly bread were watching the coming and going of boats very carefully, apparently because they wanted to stay near Jesus wherever he went. They had seen the disciples go off in a boat without Jesus, and they waited, but Jesus did not come. They went looking for Him on the other side of the lake, and they found Him, at which point they asked Him, “When did you come here?” The question they were getting at, but were apparently afraid to ask was, “How did you get here?”

Jesus does not answer their question. That was a private matter. He turned to a deeper issue. The signs that He was performing were signs of Messiah in fulfillment of the Scriptures. It would have been good for them to be seeking Him because of that fact, because of who He was, so that they might have believed in Him in the fullest way. He knew their minds, so He spoke to them their real desire. They liked the bread that they ate, and they wanted more. They needed to love a different kind of bread, a bread that would not perish, and the Giver of that true Bread, more than the bread that comes and goes with eating. They needed to “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” in line with Psalm 34:8. There is only One whom the Father of lights has sealed with His seal of approval. Here was the One who was the authorized and full Representative of the Father. Here was the Son. Here was the eternal One. The loaves and the fish that fed thousands were not eternal. The Giver of loaves is.

Believe in Him (28-29)

In verse 28, they continued their conversation, seeming to ignore His instruction. They asked, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” It is not unusual for people to think that their right standing with God has everything to do with what they are doing. That is why the response of Jesus to this question is of such critical importance. In a very plain and clear way, Jesus indicated that any of our doing for God must flow out of the one work of believing in Him whom the Father has sent.

The Father sent the Son. Let that fact sink into your hearts. This Son is the central fact of the Christian faith. If we are to make any progress in doing, and we must, as many other passages tell us, all of our doing must start by looking to the Son of God in faith for life. He is the only One who can set us on this right pathway. Is He the Messiah who takes away our sins, or is He something else? This cannot become an irrelevant question to us, because Jesus Himself indicates that the work of God is to believe in the Son of God, whom the Father has sent.

There is no one way to do this believing in Jesus. There is no magic prayer with special words, but if you believe of course you will turn to Him in prayer. This believing in Jesus is seeing Him presented in the Scriptures as the only answer for the salvation of mankind, seeing Him as the only answer for you, and then resting your weary heart fully upon this solid Rock for your life, and for the life and ministry of the entire church throughout the centuries. This is believing.

The bread of God, the bread of life (30-35)

Is this such a hard thing to understand that the crowd needed to turn the conversation back to physical bread again? They give notice (yet again) that they will be most impressed if He will feed them (once again). They know that God did that for forty years in the wilderness to a people that He stated, “would not enter His rest” (Psalm 95:11), meaning that they were not allowed to enter into the Promised Land of Canaan. The Lord was not pleased with that generation, but now this generation was imitating them in their strange faithless behavior.

They could not be clearer about what they wanted. Jesus could not be clearer about who they needed. Does this sound familiar at all. We say to God, “Why don’t You give me what I want?” God says back to us, “Why won’t you receive the One you need.” Jesus says, “I AM.” He says, “I am the true bread who has come down from the Father. I am the bread that brings life forever. I can take care of you. I can fill your soul, your life. I can care for you body and soul forever. You need me or you will never be really satisfied.” They had a good meal from him not so long ago, but they become hungry and thirsty again. They need Him, and not just the things He can do for them.

I will raise him up (36-40)

When we want what Jesus can give us in this life, but we do not want Him, then we need to take another look at Him, at the One who alone has the Father’s seal of approval in the fullness of divine life. We need to believe. The odd thing is that we already admit the truth of so much of what we need to know, but we need to do what so many millions have done, resting in the One who we know to be God. We need to rest in Jesus Christ. This is believing; this is coming to Him; and the one who comes to Him, He will never cast out. That is a great promise.

Jesus has come down from heaven, where He existed in His divinity from before all time. He has come down from heaven to do the will of the Father. Adam did not do the will of the Father. God said to Him that He should not do something, but He went ahead and did that thing anyway when He ate the forbidden fruit. Jesus never had one thought like that. He never uttered one word like that. He never did one thing like that, despite all of the worst provocation and temptation, He was without sin. Not only that, He positively did all that the Father commanded. He came to do the will of the Father perfectly. And this was the Father’s will, that none of us who belong to Him would be lost, but that this same Jesus who died for us on the cross would raise us up on the last day.

Everyone who looks on the Son as He is presented in the Scriptures and believes in Him, has eternal life, and eternal life is a very blessed gift. This is the will of the Father, and this is what He sent His Son to do. This could only be accomplished by the one who has the Father’s complete approval, the Son of the Father in truth and love. He has the power of eternity in Him because He is the Son of God. He walked on the water in the view of His disciples. He did the will of His Father in every thought, word, and deed. He came from heaven to do these things, and He has accomplished these things for you. You really do know who He is, and it is your privilege to receive Him as the One who is of far greater worth than anything that He can give to you now, even that thing you want so very much.

1. Why did Jesus walk on the water? Distinguish between His private and public miracles.

2. What evidence in the passage tells us the great desire of the crowd?

3. What is it that God has for us above every other gift, help now, help later, or the Son of God?

4. How is it that Jesus has the power of eternity? What is He going to do with the power of eternity?