John 6:25-26
And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, Rabbi, when did You come over here?
Jesus answered them and said, Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.


The crowds that came seeking for Jesus on the other side of the sea, heard from Christ's disciples how He had crossed the sea. The fury of the storm, and the many hours of fruitless rowing against adverse winds, the appearance of Christ walking upon the water, the fears thus aroused, His reassuring words, with the sudden stilling of the tempest and landing of the boat.
But they wanted to hear the story again and gathered about Jesus, questioning, "Rabbi, when did You come hither?" They hoped to hear an exciting miracle story from Jesus, Himself.

Jesus had other concerns that He was compelled to share with them. He sadly said,
"You seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled."
They were, what we would term "rice Christians".
They did not seek Him because they wanted spiritual food and freedom from sin and it's power; but having been fed miraculously with the loaves, they hoped to receive many more temporal benefits by attaching themselves to Him.

A serious question we need to ask ourselves:
Are we seeking Jesus with the right motive?

John 6:26-27
6:26 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.
Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him has God the Father sealed.

How hard people work to obtain the things of this world, whether material things or knowledge!

They spend time and money in filling their minds and houses with things that are not essential to a life of purity, that will not help them in their character development, nor fit them to become members of the royal family, children of the Heavenly King.

In John chapter six, Jesus seeks to turn the focus of the people away from the temporal things of this world, to the eternal knowledge and life in Him.

The Bible offers "living food" the bread of heaven. God gave us this book so we can have real understanding that will guide and direct our lives.
We are to live in the world and yet to be not of the world, and that is a problem that many Christians have never been able to implement in their practical life.
Why? Only as we seek intelligence and strength from God to do the will of God can this take place. The world is full of books on general information, and now we have access to the global internet to find all manner of information but there is only one book, the most wonderful book that can give us the most correct ideas and ample understanding.

Christ is the bread of life, and we must feed upon his word, and allow the Holy Spirit to write his commands upon our hearts that we do them.

John 6:28-35
6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he has sent.
6:30 Then they said unto him, What sign will you show then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? (31) Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
6:32 Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. (33)For the bread of God is He which comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world.
6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst.



John is devoting considerable space to present this discourse which Jesus taught to the crowds flocking to Him in Capernaum . There is so much to learn from it! And so many questions arise in people's minds as to what and why it happened as it did.

At that time Jesus, was been healing the sick, often whole village were left with not a single sick person therein, and He has just fed 5000 people with two fishes and 5 barley buns. The people are flocking to Him. They have high expectations of what He would/could do for their nation. His popularity is at an all time high!

And then -- if one looks at this through modern eyes -- it appears that Jesus just blows His popularity all away. His popularity score goes from very high, and plunges down till it almost goes out all together. Why?

In the texts above we see the people are still eager to honor Jesus. "what shall we do" they ask? Jesus says to them, to believe in Him as the Messiah sent by God.
Now the people back track, "Show us a sign" they demand.
They had just seen Jesus feed 5000 from one small lunch. They had seen Him perform miracles.
Yet they want another SIGN?
But listen to their reasoning -- they refer back to the time of Moses when God gave them manna every morning. The people still don't get the meaning of what Jesus is saying. They are probably thinking, "wouldn't it be great if Jesus would continue to repeat the feedings every day, just like it happened in the wilderness with the manna?"
After all, food wasn't all that easy to get in those days, the people depended largely upon their crops for food.
So they are hoping for a "prosperity gospel". A take care of temporal needs, and temporal comforts gospel.

Jesus tells them straight that He is not talking about food that simply goes through the digestive tract.
The food (manna) in wilderness had to be replaced every day, or they went hungry, and even then, everyone who ate of that manna was now dead. He hadn't come to this world to make sure there was literal food on their tables. He came to give them something far more eternal and life changing.

He challenges them to BELIEVE IN HIM!
He is the bread of life -- eternal life.

What was He asking?
Why did it turn them away?

Jesus tells them in plain words that they need to believe in HIm, He has come down from heaven to give them (not just temporal things) but life everlasting! He is the bread of life!
He is fulfilling the plan of redemption agreed upon by God the Father. The plan put in place for the redemption of mankind.

John 6:35-40
6:35 And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst.
6:36 But I say to you, That you have seen me, but you believe not.
6:37 All whom the Father gives me shall come to me; and those who that come to me I will in no wise cast out.
6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
6:39 And this is the Father's will Who has sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.



Yes, this was the plan agreed upon, Christ, who was with God, and was equal with God, would come down from heaven, God would reconcile the world unto Himself through Christ! But there is a condition.
"Whosoever, believeth in Him..."
But so many "believe not".

Jesus is pleading with them to listen to the Divine voice speaking to their hearts and minds, and come to Him,, those that come He will in no wise cast out.
And even should they die in this earthly life, Christ will rise them up again at the last day, when He comes in the clouds of glory to take them home to everlasting life.
Every one who sees that Christ is the Son of God and believes on Him.

As we continue in John chapter six, we can hear the yearning in Christ's words.
Why don't you believe?
I want to save you, and am doing so much to help you believe, but why don't you believe?
It means eternal life, or eternal death.
Respond to the urging of God's voice and come to Me, for I am the bread of LIFE!

John 6:40-45
6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
6:42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto me

Christ is speaking, they should be hearing. But they aren't listening as people taught of God, they aren't learning.
Of course there were some that did hear, and came to Jesus. But the majority of that vast throng that came to see Jesus, hoping for more temporal benefits, were not allowing the Holy Spirit sent by the Father to draw them to Christ as their Savior.

They see only a man, after all, they knew his father and mother. They knew he grew up just like other children. How can He claim to have come down from heaven?
Obviously, when we hear any modern person claim he is the christ, we tend to back off and think, "this guy has a problem."
However, the evidence was strong, this was not an ordinary man. Here was a man who could control the wind and weather, heal all manner of disease, even leprosy, order demons to go away, feed thousands with next to nothing.
The Holy Spirit was convicting them, but they resisted.


In our own witnessing, often the best Bible studies and sharing of truths, just doesn't make an impression on our friends. We need to pray for the Holy Spirit, for it is only as people respond to the drawing power of the Divine heavenly Spirit, that people become followers of Christ.

John 6:45-47
6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto me.
6:46 Not that any man has seen the Father, save he which is of God, he has seen the Father.
6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me has everlasting life.


Jesus is explaining that:
Everyone who had been listening to God's voice would recognize Him (Jesus Christ). Those who had been taught by God and learning from Him, would recognize and come to Christ.
No one had ever actually seen the Father. Everything anyone knew about God had been through Christ. It was Christ who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. Christ had led them out of Egypt, He was in the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. He was the Rock giving them water. (Ex 13:21, 1 Cor. 10:1-3)

No one has seen the Father, yet, those who have seen and recognized Christ, have seen the Father. (John 14:9-10) "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; why do you [then] say, Show us the Father?
And God, through the Holy Spirit has been working on their minds and hearts drawing them to Christ.


By these words, Jesus tells us that all whom the Father has given him, whether Jews or Gentiles, shall be taught of God; by the Holy Spirit as they see and hear the works of Jesus: Taught, in a way to be drawn and brought to Jesus our only Savior, and believe in him, and have everlasting life. In the gospel dispensation, every person, whether a Jew or a Gentile, that listens (is taught) by God through the Holy Spirit, will come to Christ in a spiritual way, and trust in him for eternal life and happiness.

JOHN 6:47-51
6:47Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
6:48 I am that bread of life.
6:49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

This chapter is awesome!!! It's so loaded with meaning and hope. The hope for the world is contained in these verses.
Jesus is offering the people EVERLASTING LIFE!!!!
A world that is on fast track into death and utter destruction, Christ has come offering everlasting life!!!

How can people be so unreceptive, so centered in material things and temporal pursuits that they would actually leave in a huff and reject Christ, turning their backs on Him.

As we can see, this was not a short conversation. Jesus was talking long and earnestly. (We still have several verses as Jesus continues to plead with people to understand). The truth in this chapter is absolutely central in finding salvation .
He offers everlasting life!

So what are the conditions?
BELIEVE ON HIM. Believe on Christ!
He is the living bread. Feed on Him!

Yes, He also granted them temporal bread a day or two earlier, there on the mountain, which they ate. But the temporal bread does NOT give eternal life, the temporal bread only sustains life for a short time, until the person dies. Everyone who ate the manna in the wilderness is dead. Everyone who ate the fish and barley loaves Jesus supplied on the mountain would be dead within the next few years. There is NO ETERNAL life in temporal food or temporal securities. There is eternal life ONLY in Jesus.


One wonders, why did they not understand?

Why did they not understand?

This discourse was delivered in Capernaum, probably given over several hours during the day, as the crowds followed Jesus from the docking place by the lake, to the synagogue, where the public discourse was given.
This city was Capernaum, the scene of so many of Christ's great miracles and the centre of His teaching. They had seen demons cast out, winds and waves obeying Christ's command, paralytics forgiven and healed, and even the daughter of their synagogue's master, being raised from the dead and restored to life, and thousands of people being fed! Christ's popularity had risen to great heights, and large crowds from surrounding areas also followed Him.
They came because they sought temporal advantages from this man who seemed to be able to give them temporal advantages. They came because they did eat of His miraculous provisions. But they didn't see in them the "signs" . So they came asking for signs, because they wanted to hear things according to their expectations and desires. They were ready to accept a Messiah and advance according to their understanding of how things were supposed to proceed.

Of interest -- the synagogue of Capernaum has been excavated. Among the ruins the lintel has been discovered. It bears the engraving of a pot of manna, ornamented with a flowing pattern of vine leaves and grapes. The Jews tended to put the emphases on Moses as the provider of the manna. So naturally they expected the "new" prophet to do as Moses did -- provide the food and other benefits. Moses delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians, the Messiah was supposed to deliver them from the Romans.

Now they saw Jesus avoiding what they believed a Messiah would do! Jesus' sermon seemed to them, as well as some of his disciples, as a very hard saying, it was an entire upturning of all their Messianic thoughts. Even some who had been genuinely drawn to Jesus, now reasoned this could not be the Messiah.
Jesus was saying their deliverance was dependent on an inward commitment to Him, inner connection with the Christ. They were to feed on His words, mediate on His life, contemplate His mission. It wasn't about outward conquering, it was about an inner conquering of self through Christ. By feeding upon Christ, His character, His life, His redemptive acts to save, a personal relationship is established that is essential

But, didn't they have the sanctuary services, that typified what Christ was trying to tell them?
Yes, they had the sanctuary services, but the meaning of those services had been lost. Instead of pointing them to the ministry of Christ, the temple services had become rather like the heathen in which people bring sacrifices to appease the gods. Had they understood the true meaning of the sanctuary, they would have accepted Christ.

JOHN 6:50-58
6:50This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
6:54 Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
6:56 He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me.
6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.

We have reached the final verses of Jesus' appeal for people to look to HIM as the bread of life. He is the only hope for salvation and eternal life. He came down from heaven so none need perish but have everlasting life!
All through the discourse the people seem to be set in their opinion that the Messiah would come to relieve them of their temporary needs, they want their idea of "bread" but don't grasp the spiritual meaning Christ is presenting.

They have completely forgotten (or never understood) the meaning of their feasts and symbolic sanctuary rituals. Why, did they sacrifice and eat the Passover Lamb every year?
Had they forgotten that back in Egypt, their forefathers had sacrificed a blemish free lamb, sprinkled the blood on the doorposts of their homes as a sign they were to be spared from the terrible last plague of death. Had they forgotten that they ate that lamb while standing ready to depart in freedom from the bondage of Egypt?
Had they totally lost the meaning of the Passover, in which a perfect substitute died as a sacrifice, His shed blood symbolizing their escape from the penalty of sin? And the eating of the Lamb symbolic of taking into themselves, life?

They had not grasped the meaning of Jesus' words when He began to speak of Himself as the Bread of Life, trying to get them to understand He was opening for them the door to eternal life;
He is offering all who come to Him, everlasting life.

Now, in the above passage, He speaks more bluntly.

If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life
He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him

The people recoil and accuse Jesus of promoting cannibalisms.
How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

Even the disciples were a little bewildered.

So what was Jesus saying?

When we receive, and believe Christ's Word, (the gospel message we find in the Word of God) we eat Christ's flesh and drink His blood. We take these truths into our minds and souls. We grasp the truths that He is our Savior, Who gave Himself to die, for our transgressions, that with His stripes we are healed. He shed His blood, blood being the symbol of life in the body, so that everlasting life may be ours.
As by eating temporal food the physical system becomes strong, so by eating, that is by taking into our minds, and mediating and praying as we contemplate the meaning of Christ's mission here on earth, we are eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God, and our spiritual nature is strengthened. God's Word is spirit and life to all who appropriate it.
By claiming and seeking fuller understanding of Christ's sacrifice for our salvation we become partakes of Christ's flesh and blood, and by this we are partakering of the divine nature.

As we seek to fill our minds with the Bread of Life, we loose our carnal hunger for earthly attractions, worldly excitements, and earthly recognition. The health of our spiritual lives is totally dependent upon what we feed our minds. So we must daily eat the Word of God that our spiritual life may be renewed and continue to grow.

We find this is further emphasized in the Last Supper.



1 Corinthians 11:23-26 T
The Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.

Why is the church not thriving? Could it be that we are not eating and drinking the only diet that develops a healthy church body? Is this discourse in John 6 of utmost importance?
Has the Bread of Life been replaced by white bread?
Has the blood of Christ been replaced with the wine of false (or unbiblical) substitutes?

"Fill the whole heart with the words of God. They are the living bread from heaven. Jesus declares, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." [John 6:53.] And he explains himself by saying, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." [John 6:63.] Our bodies are built up from what we eat and drink; and as in the natural economy, so in the spiritual economy, it is what we meditate upon that will give tone and strength to our spiritual nature. {CE 57.1}

"It will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it not worthy of careful thought and study now? The infinite love and mercy of Jesus, the sacrifice made in our behalf, calls for the most serious and solemn reflection. We should dwell upon the character of our dear Redeemer and Intercessor. We should meditate upon the mission of him who came to save his people from their sins. As we thus contemplate heavenly themes, our faith and love will grow stronger, and our prayers will be more and more acceptable to God, because they will be more and more mixed with faith and love. They will be intelligent and fervent. There will be more constant confidence in Jesus, and a daily, living experience in his power to save to the utmost all that come unto God by him. {CE 57.2}