*John 6:22-40
Jesus explains that he is the true source of eternal life and salvation.
- The Crowd Searches for Jesus:
- The day after Jesus feeds the 5,000, the crowd realizes that Jesus and His disciples are no longer there.
- They know that there had been only one boat and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples.
- Other boats arrive from Tiberias, and the crowd gets into them to go to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
- Jesus Teaches About the Bread of Life:
- The crowd finds Jesus on the other side of the lake and questions Him about when He got there.
- Jesus responds by addressing their motivations:
- He tells them they are seeking Him not because of the miraculous signs but because they ate the loaves and were filled.
- He advises them not to work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give them.
- Jesus indicates that God the Father has placed His seal of approval on Him.
- Work of God:
- The crowd asks what they must do to do the works God requires.
- Jesus answers that the work of God is to believe in the one He has sent.
- Request for a Sign:
- The crowd asks for a sign so they can believe in Him, referencing the manna their ancestors ate in the wilderness.
- Jesus corrects them, saying that it was not Moses who gave them the bread from heaven but His Father who gives the true bread from heaven.
- He explains that the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
- Declaration of the Bread of Life:
- The crowd asks for this bread always.
- Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
- He expresses that they have seen Him and still do not believe.
- Jesus’ Assurance:
- Jesus assures that all those the Father gives Him will come to Him, and He will never drive them away.
- He explains that He has come down from heaven not to do His own will but to do the will of Him who sent Him.
- The will of the Father is that Jesus shall lose none of all those He has given Him but raise them up at the last day.
- Promise of Eternal Life:
- Jesus concludes that the will of His Father is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and He will raise them up at the last day.
John 6:22-40 reminds us that Jesus is the true source of life. The crowd was looking for more physical bread, but Jesus pointed them to something greater—Himself, the “bread of life.” This teaches us that while we need food and other necessities, our deepest need is a relationship with Jesus. When we seek Him, He satisfies our hearts in a way nothing else can. No matter what we face, we can trust that He will never turn us away and will always provide what we truly need—His love, guidance, and eternal life.
John 6:22-40 (WEB)
6:22 On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn’t entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone. 23 However, boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
26 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.”
28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
30 They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see and believe you? What work do you do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe. 37 All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39 This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. 40 This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”