Three Questions Every Christian Ought to Answer
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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.
Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
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.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
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.
Do not work 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.”
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
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.
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
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.
But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
Introduction: I’m certain that at some point in your life, you have stopped at an intersection and encountered a homeless person holding a sign like this one. (Hold up Will Work 4 Food sign.)
These days in Raleigh, it seems like almost every corner has someone flying a sign.
What is the first thing that goes through your mind?
Some possible thoughts: “Don’t make eye contact. Pretend they are not there. Come on green light!”
“I wonder if they would really work if offered a job or do they just want a handout?”
“I bet they are just going to buy drugs or alcohol.”
Some have even stood on the corner pretending to be homeless and when they finish begging, they walk to a parking lot and get into an expensive car and drive away.
You are naturally going to wonder what their motives are. The question is, what would Jesus do?
The people in our text today weren’t flying a sign on a street corner, but they did come to Jesus looking for a handout. Their motives for following Jesus were self-centered and impure. They wanted to fill their bellies rather than fill their hearts.
Context: John 6:1-15
Jesus performed one of his most significant miracles in the first part of this chapter - the feeding of the 5,000. This is only miracle recorded by each gospel writer.
Verse 2 tells us that many of these people were following Jesus because of his healing work.
Jesus saw the people and went up a little ways on the mountain and began to teach. The crowd began to grow and the passover was at hand.
He turned to his disciples to test them asking where they could buy enough to feed the crowd knowing that he was going to feed them miraculously using a little boys two piece fish dinner.
Phillip pointed out that it would take over 200 days wages to feed a crowd that size and then, it would only be enough money for appetizers.
That is when Andrew brought the boy’s meal to Jesus. Jesus had them seat the people down in the grass and he took the bread and gave thanks. He had them distribute to food to the people and they ate their fill.
Jesus then had the disciples collect the remaining food and they did so, they had 12 baskets from the barley loaves remaining.
When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Jesus then retreated to the mountain by Himself to get away from the people.
John also records the second miracle when the disciples tried to cross the sea in boats but the waves and wind was working against them.
Jesus comes to them walking on the water and got into the boat. The disciples were the only ones who witnessed this miracle.
Now that we are caught up, lets look at three questions that every Christian ought to ask.
What Satisfies Your Heart? (vv. 22-27)
What Satisfies Your Heart? (vv. 22-27)
The next day, the crowd realized that Jesus was no longer there. Many of them got into boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
When they found him there, they asked, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” I kinda feel like this was an awkward moment for them because they were surprised to find him there.
But Jesus knew their heart. He didn’t respond to their question in the way they expected. Instead, he confronted them about their motives for seeking him.
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.
Jesus fed them dinner and now they wanted breakfast too.
They were concerned with Jesus meeting their physical needs rather than their spiritual needs.
What motives do you have for seeking Jesus? Are you more concerned with Jesus meeting your earthly needs or your spiritual needs?
One of my mentors, Dr. Bill Thomas would say that there are people out there who want the blessings of God but they don’t want God.
Illus. Have you every had a stray cat or dog show up at your door? What happens if you feed them? Congratulations, you have a new mouth to feed! Stop feeding them and what happens? The crowd was like that stray animal.
We see this in the prosperity gospel movement. “If you just sow a seed of faith into my ministry, God will bless you a hundred fold.” People are caught up in that because they want the blessings of God. But guess who really benefits? The one who lives in the 10 million dollar mansion!
That kind of thing is the most obvious, but sometimes our motives for following Jesus are subtle.
For example, look at the prayer list for most churches. Practically every request is for physical needs. Healing, finances, grieving… we should pray for those things, but how many times do we have the names of lost people on there that we want to see saved?
We spend more time praying that people will stay out of heaven than we do praying for people to connect with the God of heaven.
Jesus cautions them.
Do not work 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.”
Illus. D L Moody - A double paradox:
(1.) Jesus tells them to work not for the perishable food, which they could only get by work:
(2.) But for the heavenly food, which they could only get by faith.
Jesus is saying you are looking for the wrong thing. Food that parishes might give you temporary satisfaction - a full belly - but only that food which endures to eternal life will satisfy your heart forever.
Jesus is the treasure, not his gifts! The person of Christ alone satisfies, not his provision. Are you seeking Him or are you seeking his benefits?
Why is that so important? Kent Hughes points out in his commentary on John this: “Wise missionaries know that Jesus is not essentially a materialistic Savior and are careful not to make the people dependent on their material support. But when someone else comes along with more money, many people switch their allegiance.”
What Saves Your Soul? (vv. 28-29)
What Saves Your Soul? (vv. 28-29)
Their response to what Jesus said here really reveals the Jewish mindset - and the mindset of most people.
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
What must we do…
Their question reminds me of the question that the rich young ruler asked.
“Teacher, what good deed must I do to inherit eternal life?”
It’s interesting that Jesus said he would give them the food that leads to eternal life, but they wanted to know what they could do to work for it.
They had been taught that you work for your salvation. They used the same word that Jesus used for work when they asked their question.
The way they asked this question however is a little bit shrewd.
Pastor David Guzik commented on their question saying, “The sense behind their question seemed to be, “Just tell us what to do so we can get what we want from You. We want Your miracle bread and for You to be our Miracle King; tell us what to do to get it.”
In other words, how can we do this in a way that gets us what we want.
Let me just say that a majority of religions around the world think in terms of what can I do to earn eternal life.
Why is that? What is so appealing about having a works based salvation?
First of all, it seems right in the eyes of man. Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Salvation by works appeals to our pride and our desire to control our destiny.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
If you could obtain salvation by works, you would boast about it and the cross would be unnecessary.
Salvation by works is also appealing because in our natural state, we fail to see just how sinfully wicked we truly are and how perfectly Holy God is.
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Jesus responds to this by pointing them in a different direction.
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
To believe or trust in Jesus as the Messiah is the only “work” that God requires.
Man by nature does not seek to do the will of God. In fact, we are in rebellion against God. It is only when we believe on Jesus Christ, receive Jesus Christ, and become filled with the Holy Spirit that we become alive and want to do his will.
Faith in the work of Christ on the cross is what saves your soul. Not your works. Works are the fruit is faith.
What are you trusting in to save your soul? I have lost track of the number of professing Christians who are actually struggling with their salvation because they are trusting in their own faithfulness rather than Christ.
As the old hymn says, “dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
What Sustains Your Spiritual Needs? (vv. 30-36)
What Sustains Your Spiritual Needs? (vv. 30-36)
The crowd came back again with a question. “What sign do you do, that we may see and believe you?”
They were hard-headed like I am sometimes. The feeding of the 5000 was not enough. The healings were not enough. His teaching was not enough.
If you every talk to someone who says, “If God will show me evidence for His existence, I will believe.” They would still not believe because it is a matter of their will, not evidence.
Illus. Actor and director Woody Allen has been quoted as saying, “If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.”
They mentioned the miracle of the manna which was a miracle attributed the Jews to Moses. Scripture spoke of a prophet greater than Moses was coming. So by asking this, it’s like they are saying, “Show us a sign greater than the one Moses did.”
This is why he corrects them. “It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father…”
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Manna is a type of Christ. It is an Old Testament story that points to a New Testament truth. Pastor Brian Bell points out
“The manna came at night. Jesus came into the darkness of tis sinful world.
“The manna met physical needs - Jesus came to meet spiritual needs.
“The manna was a gift from God - Jesus is God’s gift to the world.
“The manna had to be picked up and eaten - Jesus has to be received and appropriated.”
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.
Jesus is the sustenance that your soul needs. If you are feeding off of him, you will always be satisfied. The world offers nothing but junk food with empty calories. Jesus offers soul-sustaining food that satisfies.
James Smith wrote: “The Bread of God is not only the bread of life, but the life-giving and life-sustaining bread from Heaven. God has in mercy reckoned up the real need of this poverty-stricken, starving-to-death world; and so gave His Son, as His gift of bread, for famished souls. The bread of fashion, of riches, or worldly preferment, soon becomes stale. There is no real soul-nutriment in the bread baked in the world’s oven. The life-giving bread must come from the life-giving God. Jesus Christ, the Bread of God—the Bread that delights the heart of God—and, oh, what grace that this Bread has come from Heaven to give life unto the world.”
What is it that sustains your spiritual needs? Are you feasting on Jesus? Or the junk food that this world offers?
John Piper said, Jesus will be a feast for you when all else fails.
