"Believing “Out of Yourself” and Into Christ:" John 6:22-34
John 6 contains 71 verses and includes 2 days in the ministry of Jesus. After Jesus fed the 5,000, He sent His disciples out ahead of Him while He spent time alone with His Father. Last week we had the privilege of witnessing a miracle which Jesus had only shown His disciples, that of Jesus’ walking on water. We saw that this miracle was a declaration that Jesus is “Lord of Creation” because He transcends the limits of gravity and space. He alone is worthy of the adoration and worship of our hearts and lives, creatures made in His image for His glory.
We pick up in John 6:22 (NASV): “The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. (that is, the disciples left without Jesus-the crowd is watching Jesus closely!) 23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. (AFTER Jesus had given thanks, the bread was multiplied…John was paying close attention to the details, too.) 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You get here?" (Or HOW did you get here? The crowds who travelled by foot didn’t catch up with Jesus on the land, and knew He didn’t get into the boat and the sea travelers didn’t see Jesus by boat, so the natural question would have been: How did you get here?
We aren’t certain of the exact location of the feeding of the 5,000, but according to the text, news had traveled to the seaport of Tiberias overnight, and a fleet of boats followed Jesus in search of food after they had heard the story from the multitudes who had been fully fed by Jesus with so little. So the crowd no doubt had grown overnight with the news that Jesus had now gone to Capernaum.
Look at Jesus' response in verse 26: Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." 28 Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
We find a reason NOT to seek Jesus in verse 26: The crowds were seeking Jesus only because they sought miracles and signs. To them the signs were entertaining and physically stimulating. Today many people still seek to be entertained by Jesus, but they do not truly believe in Him.
They think that if they if God would only reveal more, then they would see and believe.
They also think that if they could DO more, then God would give them forgiveness, or at least a better “feeling” about themselves, but eternal Life is not earned; it is received by faith. (That’s why Jesus warned: “Do not work for food…that spoils.”) Eternal life is not achieved but it is received as a gracious gift from the benevolent, merciful, gracious God who reveals His salvation plan in the flesh, in Jesus the Son. That is the “Best News” that a lost world could ever hear and accept!
It is this JESUS who sustains and upholds the entire universe. Colossians 1:15-17 says: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (John 1 and Hebrews 1 are fabulous descriptions of the True Jesus as well.) It is this Jesus who saves from sin and grants new life in His Name.
The “Works” that God requires are the “works” which only God can perform! You can’t save yourself, but God provides the works you need IN CHRIST. He lived the perfect life that would be required to entire the Kingdom of God, and He died a vicarious death, a substitutionary death for anyone and everyone who truly BELIEVES.
The literal translation for verse 29 would read like this (“that you Believe”): “that you may believe into whom sent that {One}”- The heart of the believer has been dethroned by the power of God and he has no other option but to throw himself upon his Lord in self-abandoning faith and trust in Him alone for the saving work that must be accomplished. This God-given knowledge of faith in the Lord Jesus takes the believer spiritually “out of himself”, out of the deadness of sin and places him in Christ, making him one with Christ. God takes sinners and He turns them into saints by the power of His Spirit and Word and protects them forever IN CHRIST. (Ephesians is a good letter to read in conjunction with being “in Him”, “in the Lord Jesus Christ”, “in Christ”. Those phrases are used some 23 times in Ephesians, and we are equipped for the rest of our lives with the God-issued armor of Ephesians 6:10-18.)
Saving Faith is more than a nod of the head or a raising of the hand. It certainly includes knowledge which is received from the Word of God and preached by disciples, witnesses who testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith includes an understanding of who Jesus is, of what He has done, and who you are without Him and who you are WITH Him. Faith is not merely “blind faith”. (The Greek word for “believe” is “pisteuo”, meaning “to be persuaded of and place confidence in.”)
“Believing” includes assent, which is a commitment or trust, not merely in the “facts about Jesus” but a commitment to deny oneself and follow this Jesus. One’s trust must be in the all-sufficient One, the LORD Jesus Christ. Trust and commitment includes obedience to this mighty Savior and Lord. Since Saving Faith is a God-given Gift and responded to by the person who has been born from above, our belief and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ is our exercise of the fruit of God’s activity and work from above. Our faith is lived out in gratitude and service to our Savior and King who reigns in majesty today, holding everything together by the almighty word of His mouth. When saving faith is realized in a heart from within, there inevitably is a life change on the outside.
The crowds did not understand what Jesus was saying, and their response in verse 30 proves it: “So they said to Him, "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.' " 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who 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 Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread."
The crowd wrongly compared Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5,000 one time with Moses’ feeding a nation for 40 years. The Jewish people held Moses in the highest regard but never realized that Moses was a type of Jesus who was to come. When the multitudes met Jesus, they failed to see that Jesus’ signs and miracles pointed to the fact that He was the Promised Messiah, the Promised Redeemer, that He was God in the flesh.
The Truth was this: Moses didn’t feed anyone; the Father from Heaven sent the manna for forty years, in spite of the murmuring, disobedience and unbelief of the people of Israel, and now the Father is sending the TRUE BREAD who has come down from Heaven.
The multitudes needed and wanted physical bread and sustenance, but they did not see their need for spiritual nourishment which God alone could and would supply. How could they not understand and receive what Jesus said about Himself? We will look at that next week in the following self-revelation of Jesus when He says: “I AM the Bread of Life!”
OUTLINE
Last Week: Jesus’ “walking on water” is a declaration that He is “Lord of Creation”, transcending the limits of gravity and space. (He alone is worthy of the adoration and worship of our hearts and lives.)
Vs. 22-24: A fleet follows Jesus in search of free food.
Vs. 25-29: A reason NOT to seek Jesus: Miraculous signs which only entertain most.
Eternal Life is not earned, but received by faith. (“Do not work for food…that spoils.”)
Jesus is Lord: He sustains and upholds the entire universe. (Col. 1:15-17)
Eternal life is not achieved but received as a gracious gift. “Best News!” John 3:18-21
The “Works” that God requires are the “works” which only God can perform!
Vs. 29, that you believe: Literal translation: “that you may believe into whom sent that {One}”- the believer throws himself upon his Lord in self-abandoning faith and trust which takes the believer “out of himself” and makes him one with Christ.” Eph. 2, Col. 1:13 (Key chapters of the Deity of Christ and His Work: John 1, Col. 1, Heb. 1)
Faith (knowledge (Deut. 30:14), assent (Matt. 16:16, John 6:68, John 20:31), commitment or trust (John 14:23), must be in the all-sufficient One, Jesus Christ.
Faith is a God-given Gift and responded to by the person born anew.
Our “Belief” in Christ is our exercise of the fruit of God’s Activity from above and realized in a heart and life change from within. (“Pisteuo”: to be persuaded of and place confidence in.)
True and Saving FaithGratitudeFruit.
A new Birtha New Hearta New Life.
Vs. 30-34: The crowd wrongly compared Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5,000 one time with Moses’ feeding a nation for 40 years.
The Truth: Moses didn’t feed anyone: The Father sent the manna and the Father sends the TRUE BREAD.
What kind of bread did the multitudes want? Spiritual or physical? How could they not understand what Jesus said about Himself?
