I think that most people don't get past verse 21, talking about the two miracles early on and glossing over the rest. Well, forgive me as I (mostly) gloss over the miracles to focus on what I see as the real meat of the chapter. We start with Jesus feeding the 5,000 (or 12,000, or 20,000, depending on whose interpretation/commentary you're looking at) in Tiberias. I'm sure most of you are already familiar with that story. Next we have Jesus walking on the water. I like to look at this as another example of God's sense of humor. I can just imagine Jesus telling the disciples "Go on ahead, I'll catch up with you" and catching up halfway across the lake, literally scaring the...well, the bejesus out of them. And I think a lot of people miss the third miracle in verse 21, "So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going." Immediately the boat was at the land; hyperspeed? teleportation? suspension of time? Um, yes.
At this point mass confusion sets in. Only one boat came across the lake; nobody saw Jesus get into the boat, and yet here He is in Capernaum. Verse 25 has the obvious question, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Rather than explain what He did, or give an answer along the line of "I'm God, you wouldn't understand" Jesus actually lays into the crowd. Not exactly what you'd expect, especially if you were raised to believe that Jesus was the ultimate nice guy. He starts with one of the most important introductions used in the Bible, "Truly, truly" (or "Verily verily" if you're a KJV guy). You always know when "Truly, truly" comes up you'd better stop and get the highlighter, because something important is coming. Verse 26:
Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
In other words, spare me the Rabbi stuff, you're only here for the free food. Yikes! That would probably be enough to make me hang my head and sneak out the back. Fortunately the tone turns more positive immediately in verse 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.
I will admit that on first reading I was a little confused by this. Being firmly in the salvation is by grace through faith camp, is this telling me I need to work for this food which endures to eternal life? The crowd is clearly on the same page as me, since they ask in verse 28, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?"
Excellent question, and a fantastic explanation of why we read and discuss Scripture IN CONTEXT, and don't twist individual verses into saying what we wish the Bible said. Keep going, the answer's in the next verse.
Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
Ooooohhhhh. So the work is to believe. John Piper said it best, and if you've heard him preach please use his "excitable" voice in your head: "The labor is faith! The labor is STOP LABORING!" Nobody earns it by anything you do here. See also 1 John 3:23, Romans 10:9, and the ubiquitous John 3:16.
So with that out of the way, the crowd expressed their faith in Jesus, and they all lived happily ever after. Right? More like yeah, right. Remember this is Israel we're dealing with, the same people that were called "stiff-necked" or "obstinate" no fewer than seven times in Exodus and Deuteronomy. The first thing they ask is "What then do you do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'"
In other words, Moses fed us in the wilderness, this feeding you did yesterday is small potatoes. Are you starting to see where the obstinate label fits in?
This is the point that I'm glad I'm not God, because this would have been messy. My response would have been something like "I just fed FIVE THOUSAND of you off of one plate, and you're asking what work I perform? I'm about five seconds from going all Old Testament and smiting the bloody lot of you." Now, aren't you also glad I'm not God?
Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, [highlighter time!] 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. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world."
Then everyone understood that it wasn't Moses that had performed that miracle, but God, and they all lived happily ever after. Or not, as verse 34 shows: "Then they said to Him, 'Lord, always give us this bread.'" I'm not sure how clear this needs to be that Jesus is not talking about a loaf of Nature's Own descending from the heavens, but obviously they're not getting it. So Jesus said to them, "Have you not been listening to a word I've been saying?" No, wait, that's my wife. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst."
I am the bread of life.
I am the bread of life.
I AM the bread of life.
That's pretty clear. That's my happily ever after. I'm only halfway through this chapter; more to come shortly.
