Seeking for Jesus

Imagine hearing the greatest sermon in your life. What could top? How about the greatest meal you’d ever eaten. Simple. Just fish and bread. But delicious. Wouldn’t you seek the source of such blessing? That is the context of one the greatest teachings of our Lord.

One day He taught and fed five thousand men and the next day, He was gone. The people woke up the next day, returned to the place they were fed, and Jesus was gone. Eventually they determined He crossed over to Capernaum, though they didn’t know how. Read verses 24-25 with me...

I love that phrase in verse 2, “seeking for Jesus”. There are two primary uses of this word, and they reveal a lot about the heart of the people here.

It means to seek for something which has been lost -

Jesus wasn’t lost, we know that, but they were looking hard for Him because they didn’t know where He went.

The passage reveals to us they were worried because they had lost their “meal ticket”

It means demand what is due.

Is this not indicative of our own society, where everyone thinks they are owed something by everybody?

In this case, they were seeking Him because they wanted their question answered

People today are seeking Jesus just like the crowd did in John 6, and just like the crowd in John 6, they are seeking Him for all the wrong reasons! In this passage Jesus reveals one of the greatest truths of His earthly ministry, and the people did not get it.

I wonder today if you are missing the greatest truth right in front of you?

The people who sought Jesus in this passage prove to us that it is possible to seek Him for the wrong reasons. We know this because they were...

I. Asking the Wrong Questions

(Verses 22-25; 28; ; 30-31)

“When did you come here?” v. 25

What they said and what they meant were two different things

They asked how, by what means He arrived to Capernaum, but they were not interested in His answer

They were not interested at all in how Jesus came to Capernaum, but what Jesus could do for them

Many times in John Jesus reveals to us that He knows the heart of man

He wastes no time answering pointless questions!

He gets right down to where rubber meets road

Verses 26-27...

“You’re not interested in me because of who I am, but because of what I did

You are not interested in believing on me as Messiah so that you will be saved, but my power to fill your bellies.”

He came to “seek and to save that which was lost”

This is the mission statement of Jesus!

He came not to provide food that would waste and rot and go bad in a few hours

He came to provide spiritual food which would last for eternity!

Next question...

“How can we do the work of God?” v. 28

Many asked Jesus similar questions in His day

The rich young ruler asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

That one word, “do”, is the largest stumblingblock for many people

If you will look back at verse 27, you will read...

“Labour not (do not work for) meat (food) which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give (freely) unto you...”

Jesus is already answering the question coming in verse 28 before it even comes!

Is that not just how Jesus is?

I am glad that I serve a Savior that knows what is coming before it happens!

That is a Savior you can trust

He answered the question before they asked it, and they still missed it!

“What shall we do…?

Verses 29, “…believe on him, whom he hath send.”

Do you want to know the key that unlocks this long passage?

The word believe. It is used at least 5 times as the means to obtain eternal life

He answers their questions but they miss it!

Next question...

“What sign will you show us?” vv. 30-31

“What sign shewest thou then”?

Really?

Not 24 hours ago Jesus took just two small fishes and five tiny loaves of bread and fed over 5000 men!

“What sign shewest thou?

What more could they need?

That was just the sign or miracle that they saw!

They didn’t know how he crossed the lake

They knew about the sudden storm; but not that He walked across the water!

Look closely at verse 33...

They wanted a sign, Jesus was that sign

They referred to Moses, Jesus referred to himself

The bread the day before, the manna in the wilderness, all pointed to Jesus

What are you saying to Jesus today?

I’ll serve you if you give me what I want. Meet my “felt needs”. Fill my belly and my bank account.

I’ll serve you if it means I can come to heaven on my terms.

I’ll serve you if you will do some mighty miracle, something I can see with my own eyes.

Listen to me: You will either come to Jesus on His terms, or go to hell on your’s.

You may be seeking Jesus, but is it for the right reason? Maybe today you’re asking the wrong questions, or maybe you’re...

II. Expecting the Wrong Results

(Verses 34-40)

This bread was not literal bread

That’s what they thought

That Jesus was answering a question that has haunted world governments for centuries: How to solve world hunger

Look at verse 33...

Look now at verses 34...

They so desperately wanted this bread

Just like the woman at the well that wanted the living water, that wanted to stop making the trip to Jacob’s well

These people so desperately wanted to be filled, without concern as where the next meal was coming from

Have you ever been there? Have you ever faced hunger? Most of us haven’t

In our family we pray before we eat.

We thank God for the food which He has provided

One day I was convicted by this

It hit me, that there are people living near me that are praying, not that God will bless their food, but that He will provide their food.

I want you to understand, there was a real need here

These people, some of them at least, were truly hungry

Jesus had met that need the day before and they wanted Him to do it again

I want you to understand, there was a greater need here than their physical need, and that is the need Jesus came to meet

No, the bread he referred to wasn’t physical...

This bread was spiritual bread v. 35...

Three times in this passage we see our word, “Believe” in one form or another

Belief, faith, trust, makes all the difference between heaven and hell

In verse 35 we read belief is what brings an end to our spiritual hunger.

In verse 36 we read that unbelief is what keeps us from eternal satisfaction

In verse 40 we read one last time that faith in Jesus is what not only forgives us of our sins, but assures us that we will live with Him forever!

This bread that Jesus offered was bread that would satisfy them for eternity

The bread of life is Jesus Himself

He came down from heaven to this earth to be our sacrifice, to end our hunger

The crowd that came “seeking for Jesus” was expecting the wrong result. They came to Him at Capernaum and based on the bread He had provided. That alone should have been enough proof. They ate, they were satisfied, and now, a few hours later, they were hungry again.

At Capernaum, when Jesus offered them the bread of life which would satisfy them forever, they jumped at the prospect of never going hungry, but they bucked at the offer of acceptance by simple faith. They wanted eternal life, but they wanted it their way.

Today people want a god who will fulfill their desires, their bellies, their bank accounts, but not their lives. Today people want to be “blessed”, but they do not even know the meaning of the word! They want a relationship with God, but on their own terms! You cannot have it both ways.

Today, you may be seeking God, you may be asking the wrong question, expecting the wrong result, and lastly, like the crowd in Capernaum, you may be...

III. Looking in the Wrong Direction

(Verses 41-58)

They couldn’t get passed His earthly lineage vv. 41-42

They thought He was only a man

They knew His parents..

Oh yes, they knew all about them

How His mother was pregnant before the big wedding day

Hos His “father” considered a quiet divorce

They knew them alright

They knew, but they did not understand!

How could this man, possibly be from heaven?

How can He possibly provide eternal life?

We like what He has to say, His words are comforting, but He is only a man.

This is the same response we hear today!

Jesus was a good teacher, but He wasn’t God

Jesus was a good man, but there is no way He was God

He was an example, but not God

The didn’t understand His heavenly lineage vv. 42-51

They may have known His mother, but they most certainly did not know His Father!

That comes by faith alone

Their eyes were clearly blinded

They were looking at Him, asking for the bread of Life and missed completely the He was the Bread of Life.

They could not accept Him on His terms vv. 52-58

Just look at verse 52...

Jesus goes on to explain that there is no other way to have eternal life!

Can’t you just see this raking their nerves?

Of course, Jesus was speaking figuratively here!

They had completely missed the meaning behind the miracle.

The feeding of the multitude was a stepping stone. They did not work for that food, but they ate it! They did not question where it came from, but they ate it! The act of eating and drinking are symbolic obviously. Jesus was teaching them that the only one way to be truly satisfied was to come to Him by faith. Later we read that from this point in His ministry, many chose to no longer walk with Him.

Conclusion: It is possible today that you are seeking Jesus, but are you doing it for the right reasons?

This entire passage, as long as it is, difficult to understand, comes down to one simple question: Do you believe. I will leave this message with one question: Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ?