John 6:1-29
"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."
(JOHN 6:27)
Today we read of Jesus using food as a metaphor for our life's foremost pursuits. He is addressing the multitude that crossed over Galilee after Him, mainly because they wanted more free food. Isn't that just like us? Jesus does not miraculously provide for them again, but He does give them - and us - a feast of truths to consider.
First, Jesus gives a prohibitive command: "Do not work for food that spoils." He is not saying that we are to avoid the basic economy of working to provide for ourselves, our families, and others. But that must not be the sole focus of our lives. Whatever we do in life, He commands us to labor for the "food that endures to eternal life," to pursue those things that have an eternal value. Jesus tells us that He is the Source for lasting "food," and all of this is pleasing to the Father.
Let's look to the Lord for our temporal nourishment (Matthew 6:11), but also remember that the better food is that which does us eternal good, every word from God (Deuteronomy 8:3). What a feast!
INSIGHT
"BUT SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AS WELL."
(MATTHEW 6:33)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Song of Solomon 1-2
Psalm 69
John 9
John 6:1-29
New Living Translation (NLT)
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
6 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money[a] to feed them!”
8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.
14 When the people saw him[b] do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”[c] 15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.
Jesus Walks on Water
16 That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. 18 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They had rowed three or four miles[d] when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here![e]” 21 Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!
Jesus, the Bread of Life
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man[f] can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
Footnotes:
a. John 6:7 Greek Two hundred denarii would not be enough. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
b. John 6:14 Some manuscripts read Jesus.
c. John 6:14 See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
d. John 6:19 Greek 25 or 30 stadia [4.6 or 5.5 kilometers].
e. John 6:20 Or The ‘I Am’ is here; Greek reads I am. See Exod 3:14.
f. John 6:27 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
KEEPING FAITH
with Alex Chediak
What is the greatest challenge for today's college student? Many would assume grades or social status. But there is a greater challenge every Christian student will have to face.
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