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” (John 6:26).
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
Have you ever noticed how easy it is for people to get caught up in new crazes? We become enthralled with the latest dietary trends. We get obsessed with toys like fidget spinners. And we become starstruck with pop artists because of some catchy new tune. Things like these dominate our attention for a while, until the newness wears off. Then we simply drop those things and move on to something else. This type of a superficial interest isn’t just a problem that belongs to these times. People have always been on the lookout for the next new thing that comes along. And during the first century, a lot of people treated Jesus just this way. Jesus performed countless miracles and healings during His ministry here on Earth. As a result, many people began to follow Him as they witnessed His extraordinary abilities. Some continued with Him to listen to His teaching and devote their lives to His coming kingdom. But the majority followed for a while until they either tired of the phenomenon or lost interest in the message.
In the sixth chapter of his gospel, the Apostle John gives us an account of Jesus’ interaction with such people. The first 15 verses recount the great miracle of Jesus feeding a crowd of 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. John tells us this group began following Jesus because they “saw signs He was doing on the sick” (John 6:2). He was healing diseases and infirmities as He was spreading the good news of His kingdom, and this was creating a buzz among the people. They wanted to see what else this man would do. As Jesus ascends a hill along the Sea of Galilee, He sees this large crowd following Him. He has compassion toward the multitude of people and desires to feed them. But there is no food and there is no money to purchase the quantity of food needed. In the crowd is a young boy who has a little bread and fish, and through a miracle, Jesus multiplies the tiny amount of food so that it is sufficient to feed the vast number of people with leftovers in a quantity greater than what the boy started with.
The value of this miracle does not escape the crowd. They were hungry, and Jesus satisfied that hunger. Providing food for the hungry is a miracle that appeals to our most basic needs. Food is essential to sustain life, so it is of infinitely higher value than other things we may want or desire. But in satisfying their hunger, Jesus created another hunger within the crowd, the hunger to exalt Him to be their ruler. A frenzy of excitement rose up in the crowd and they became set on making Jesus their king who would protect them and provide for them.
But the crowd’s intentions for Jesus did not align with His purpose. His kingdom is not of this world. So, Jesus manages to slip away and go up into the mountain. Later that night He crosses the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. The next day the people see He is gone, so they get in their boats and hurry after Him with the intention of resuming their goal of enthroning Him.
But something was wrong with the crowd’s perception of the miracle they experienced. They failed to see the real purpose of that miracle as an earthly sign of a greater spiritual truth. According to John, all the miracles throughout his gospel are given as signs, from the first miracle in chapter two of Jesus changing water into wine to the climactic miracle in chapter 11 when He raises Lazarus from the dead. They are each a sign meant to convey a heavenly reality about Jesus and what His mission here on earth is. The first miracle was small, and as John’s gospel progresses, the miracles become more significant, each teaching a greater spiritual truth. The miracle of feeding the 5,000 is couched in this progression. But instead of seeing the sign this miracle was intended to communicate, all the crowd saw was the miraculous benefit to them. All they saw was what they could “get out of Jesus.” So, Jesus tells them, “you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26).
It is so easy to witness a miracle and miss the sign. Having the compassion to feed 5,000 hungry people with physical bread is a very noble gesture. But this event was meant to teach us far more than compassion to the hungry. The world has a spiritual hunger, and although that hunger is not felt with any of our outward senses, it is a more significant hunger than our physical need. And the feeding of that hunger is more critical, for it is the nourishment and sustenance of an eternal life instead of a temporal life. Jesus tells the crowd, He is the bread of that eternal life: the true bread which came down from heaven to give His life for the world:
John 6:48-51 – 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
The crowd had been interested in the immediate benefits Jesus could provide them. But Jesus was more concerned about the sign than the miracle. He wanted the crowd to understand that spiritual life comes only through Him. Just as we must partake of the essence of bread for physical life, we must partake of the essence of Jesus to gain and sustain spiritual life. We must feed upon Him. We must appropriate the spiritual meal His death and resurrection provides.
John 6:53–54 – 53 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
At this point the crowd becomes disenchanted with Jesus. He is not meeting their expectations. As a matter of fact, He is saying hard things to them about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. And this isn’t what they expected to hear from someone they were intending to make their king. So, many of them begin departing. (John 6:66)
As a whole, the crowd could not comprehend the spiritual truth Jesus was communicating through the miracle. They were in a spiritual sleep which masked their true hunger. Something needed to wake them up so they might see the infinitely higher value of their spiritual need over their physical needs. But we cannot be too quick to point the finger at these people. We are inclined to have our eyes set only on our physical needs as well. Our day-to-day lives are filled with the preoccupations of this world instead of eternity. Our prayers are filled with supplications for our physical benefit instead of our spiritual. And if it wasn’t for God waking us up to our spiritual poverty, we would be like this crowd. They saw the miracles. They heard His words. But they were unable to have faith in Him.
Jesus says: But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out . . . No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, “And they will all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me (John 6:36-45).
Jesus knows we are in a sleep we cannot wake ourselves from. He trusts the Father to bring us out of that slumber. Our heavenly Father awakens us into a new life in Jesus. Only when we are drawn and taught by Him do we see the sign in the miracle, and the infinitely high value of Jesus. Has the Father spoken to your heart? Is He teaching you of Christ? Jesus is not just a miracle worker who can give bread, He is the bread of eternal life. Come to Him and be fed.
