A Confused Crowd!
Notes
Transcript
A Confused Crowd
A Confused Crowd
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
The crowd did not get it! After the feeding of the 5,000
15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
They wanted to take Him by force to make him King! Let stampede Jerusalem and get rid of the Romans.
Thee are 5,000 men here a massive group to start a rebellion....
Jesus directs the disciple to get over to the other side of the lake via a boat. possible against their will the complied and left the crowd before it got out of hand.
45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.
In the middle of the night Jesus walk on the water crossing over to the other side to rescue the disciples from storm...
50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
Wow a private miracle walking on the water and calming the storm that only the disciple saw.
Now for todays text !
It's morning - they saw the disciples leave last night
Jesus went up into the hills to pray - but he is gone!
The crowd had witnesses a great miracle !
But he is gone ....
They are confused and in disarray!
illustration here - in a fog
Where is HE
President will have many plans when leaving an arena or large
Secrete service will have a plan to quietly exit without any fan fare and sometime a decoy
2004 - George Bush was here ( quietly exited )
more her about
questioning what is going on
I. Looking For Jesus
I. Looking For Jesus
22 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
The evidence
vs 21- only one boat was here last night he disciple left on it
Jesus is gone - how did he leave?
Other boats had arrived from Tiberius over the evening vs23
vs 24 - now lets go find him - he must have gone to Capernaum
vs 25 - sure enough they found him there
They were looking for the man that healed
They were looking for the man that just fed 5,000
You not going to disappear that easy
We are not sure how many came
Surely not all 5,000
Here we goin again chasing Jesus to the other side
They may not be saved
They may be following for the wrong reasons
But they are following and hearing from Jesus
They found HIm - how did you get here?
Maybe you are looking for Christ today
Not sure whey you are here
Not sure but God is tugging on you life
I was attracted to some people-in the late 80’s that lead me to Christ
My reasons for following them were not spiritual But God used it
II. Laboring for the Temporal
II. Laboring for the Temporal
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Somewhere between vs 25 and verse 26 not recorded in John Jesus healed multitudes :
34 And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; 36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
so when they arrive at the other side :
The healing continued
No do you see why he is attracting such a crowd?
He just fed 5,000 the night before
Now he back to healing multitudes .
55 And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.
then we get to the statement in
The crowd asked - how did you get here?
Jesus never answers the question
vs 26 - He goes right to the heart of the matter
You are only traveling to find me for food and temporal items
He rebuked them for their materialistic motivation and their lack of spiritual perception.
They saw miraculous signs, but to them it was only an easy meal. They failed to see what it signified.
Your thoughts rise no higher than your physical needs,” he said. “That’s why you come running after me. Even the sign I gave you was lost on you.”
They railed to get the message of the miracle; they did not even know that there was a message to it. All they knew was that when they went hungry he had fed them.
Once the Lord explained to them the significance of the sign, they would not like it at all.
They would leave, thoroughly disappointed that he did not perform another gratifying miracle for them.
Then the Lord put his finger on their crying need (6:27–29). “Do not labor for the meat that perishes, but for the meat that endures to everlasting life,” he said. At once this opened a discussion on the way to receive this sublime possession. We should contrast the warning “Labor not” with the promise, “that meat … which the Son of man shall give.”
This discussion in many ways parallels the Lord’s conversation with the woman at the well. There it was water about which he spoke; here it is bread. In both cases he spoke in metaphors and in both cases he was misunderstood. His listeners insisted on taking his words literally.
They toiling for that which will not last ......
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Remember Jesus only did miracles to point to the fact he was the redeemer.
Jesus is saying you are following me for the wrong reasons
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
ladies and gentlemen we spend a lifetime chasing, working and following that which will not last ......
what is important :
The crowd was following for food and the temporal
We follow because Jesus is God and we want to get to know HIm.
Illustration -
Beach - sandcastle
spend several hours building and carving out a sandcastle. Then with horror the tide come in and totally destroys the sandcastle and in Just a few moments there is no evidence that the sandcastle ever existed.
It gone!
Jesus said you are chasing me to fill your belly!
Labor for that which is eternal...
More here !
vs 27 - seal When the Lord Jesus said that God the Father had set His seal on Him, He meant that God had sent Him and approved Him. When we set our seal to something, it means that we promise that it is true. God sealed the Son of Man in the sense that He endorsed Him as One who spoke the truth.
III. Listening to Whom God Sent
III. Listening to Whom God Sent
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
The answer is simple believe on the One that God has sent!
Just listen to what God has said!
Let me simply it Listen to Jesus he is the one God sent!
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. 25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
The Crowd was confused!
They were chasing the wrong thing!
Just listen to Jesus!
Are you confused?
Are you chasing the temporal ?
Why not listen to Jesus?