“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 – however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks – when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?’” John 6:22-25.
This somewhat confusing scenario may be explained in the following manner.
After having fed the five thousand, the Lord sent the disciples away in a boat, then dismissed the crowd and went up onto a mountain to pray.
It is not stated what the crowd did after being dismissed; either they went into the neighboring towns or all or some of them stayed near the place where they were fed.
The next morning, not having seen Jesus leave by walking on water, and knowing that the disciples had left alone in the only boat that was there that night, they congregated in the same place expecting more miracles or to be fed when Jesus returned.
When they could not find the Lord, they decided to seek Him by following the disciples. Having either observed that they headed in the direction of Capernaum, or knowing that the Lord often stayed there they entered some boats which came from the city of Tiberias, which was close by, and sailed for Capernaum.
Finding Him in Capernaum they naturally questioned how He got here.
There was no long winded answer; Well, I walked on water saved the lives of the disciples and the boat was instantly transported to this shore. Rather, the Lord immediately touched upon the heart of the matter, their worldly unbelief.
Before continuing on to verse 26 it would be helpful to consider one more thing in our passage, John 6:23, “…however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks”.
I could not help but notice that this verse might just as well have ended at “…near the place where they ate bread”. Yet it adds, “…after the Lord had given thanks”.
The obvious purpose is to note that it was the blessing and creative act of Christ that accomplished this miracle. Yet one cannot get past the fact that He blessed it, reinforcing the model that we should bless or give thanks for our food.
The giving of thanks often slips our minds as we begin to eat. However since it is mentioned twice in this chapter, John 6:11 and 23, we would do well to examine our own practice of giving thanks for our food.
In a similar vein we should also ask God for wisdom in the reading of His word because in the coming discussion of manna it will become apparent that reading God’s word can be another form of eating.
“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. 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.’” John 6:26-27.
Jesus immediately confirmed the diagnosis of this crowd taken from John 6:2, “Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.”
These people were more curiosity seekers than folks seeking after God.
Having been miraculously fed, their desires take on a new dimension. Once they decided that Jesus was the Prophet whom Moses spoke of, believing the Prophet to be a man, not God incarnate, and with the intent of making Him king and throwing off Roman rule; they next envision a welfare state where the king feeds them as God did in the wilderness.
Be assured though that there was plenty of work to do in the wilderness for forty years. This is not how God operates, man is meant to work for a living.
The primary reason for this is that without labor, a man or woman starts to drift, much like the idle rich; bored, they fill their lives with meaningless pleasures, drinking, parties, and lavish dinners.
Soon enough they begin to get into mischief, drunk driving, divorces, drugs, dangerous promiscuous behavior, and while this sounds like much more fun than unemployed poverty there is little difference between them.
Poor men may gather out back with their friends, talking and drinking while the wife is inside changing diapers, cleaning house, and trying to make the food budget stretch. Later when he comes inside a fight ensues.
Other men, unable to cope with idleness and ashamed of having no work, go out drinking to avoid the stress at home, and when they get home they beat the wife or the children.
But if the king were to take care of them, it would be different; a man can be secure in knowing he will never have to look for a job again.
The wife can know that there is a steady check coming which will stretch, if it is not used for drink, drugs, or wasted on frivolous luxury items.
Secure in knowing that they will never have to rely on wit or incentive again; and not having quite enough money for anything else, the family can sit in front of the television or video games for the rest of their lives.
Living in a vacuum, the mind is fed by endless hours of banal talk shows, soaps, sports, endless speculation on UFOs, or the supernatural. Life is never lived except through another.
The media, television, or video games will never present the truth of God; only sex, violence, and a person’s rights to immoral behavior. This is the reason we have reached the state which Paul prophesied about circa 66 A. D.
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:1-7.
Children raised in a welfare environment never learn how to work, learn a trade, or even how to look for a job.
As a result they rebel against parents and law; often they join a gang. Once they are with their peers they sit around talking about – nothing, because they have been taught nothing. God is not sought out, because He is not a god like their comic book heroes.
God made man to work, it is in his nature, and if he does not work, he begins to feel useless, unable to face family and friends. Things will never improve because there are no merit raises, no way to work oneself to the top where the salary is greater; no chance to invent, create, or say, “I did that by being smarter and working harder than anyone else.”
Without the ability to better oneself a person can only buy lottery tickets with impossible odds, get drunk, watch television and fantasize about a sports car, new house, or boat. No different from dying of thirst in the desert and seeing water afar off only to chase a mirage.
“Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.” Proverbs 13:11.
“In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23.
“The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.” Proverbs 21:25.
“There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.” Ecclesiastes 2:24.
“Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” Ecclesiastes 9:9-10.
We all receive a portion in life; we can either enjoy it, or work to increase its benefit, while enjoying it, or we can spend our time staring at some distant unattainable horizon, and waste our lives living in discontent.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:6-10.
I have been unemployed a number of times, sometimes for long periods. Being rejected interview after interview gives one a feeling of helplessness and discouragement, but by God’s grace we can make it through.
The above pretty much covers Jesus’ statements concerning the crowd’s motivation, which was the desire to be fed. One thing to remember from John 6:26 is the phrase, “…you seek Me, not because you saw the signs”, again we are reminded that the signs were Christ’s credentials, yet as we will see from the following.
“For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness…” 1 Corinthians 1:22-23.
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life…” John 6:27a.
Food is essential for health and life itself. Jesus was aware of this, and these things are available in the world, but this must not be divorced from eternity which is also a certain reality.
“…while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.
The ancient Egyptians spent their entire lives planning their death. The pyramids then are proof that they were right about one thing; after about four thousand years, they are still dead.
The truth is that we will spend more time dead than we ever will alive. Christianity though is about life and not a morbid thing; the Christian accepts Christ as their savior ensuring everlasting life and opens the potential to live this life to its fullest.
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.
“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.” John 6:27.
Jesus’ gift is everlasting life; it is a gift, not something to be earned. The Father’s seal on Jesus; through the miraculous signs, healing the maimed, diseased, and raising the dead and feeding five thousand plus people confirms the gift of everlasting life.
Bread of Life, John 6:22-27 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 9-26-12, updated on 8-17-17.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.