Have you noticed the frequency with which you ask yourself or your spouse, your mother or grandparent, “What’s for dinner?” It is a daily occurrence in the Gaither/Cagle household. I imagine it would be the same in yours. Do you find yourself discontent with the same routine of food: chicken strips, spaghetti, tacos, rice and chicken? We live in Hillsboro, OR, a bedroom community of Portland, Oregon, which is a virtual Foodtopia of the United States. We’ve become accustom to plethora of pallet pleasing spices and sense-intoxicating aromas that settling for the staples just seems dull-drum. We have hungry bellies… but I would say our physical appetite for food serves for us as a metaphor for our life. We have hungry souls.

It is in our nature to find something glorious to consume that would bring us great pleasure, and satisfy our cravings. We look to food, we look to recreation, we look to sports, we look to entertainment, we look to money, we look to drugs, we look to sex, we look to romantic relationships, we look to our children, our grandchildren, our possessions, our house, our vacations… the list goes on with all we try to stuff down the proverbial throat of our soul, in an effort to be satisfied. And the truth is, consuming the world’s goods, as good as it may be, doesn’t satisfy. Not ultimately. Not for eternity. 

Have you found yourself trapped on the treadmill of your appetite? You relent to the day-in-day-out routine of keeping your body alive and appeasing your senses, but it gets you no where. Like mice on a wheel, you’re running, working for the cheese you believe will satiate. 

We have hungry souls. When the Bible talks about the soul, napesh, it speaks to the whole of the person. The body, the mind, the spirit— all of that composed the soul. And, as Jesus spoke to His disciples, so he speaks to us: “life is more than food, and the body more than clothing (Luke 12:23).”

Today we continue in John 6. Jesus had just fed the 5,000. He broke bread and fish and gave to the crowd of Jews. Here was a man who could feed an army, and heal the sick, therefore, the crowd wanted to take him by force and make him king. Their intent was to cast out the Romans from Jerusalem, and set up the nation of Israel. They had an appetite for their own politics as well. Jesus had dismissed the crowd, yet some lingered behind. They were hungry. Today, we are going to look at this passage under the following headings:

The Soul’s Appetite

Work for Enduring Food

Seeing Is Not Believing

Soul Satisfied

John 6:22–35

[22] On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. [23] Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. [24] So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

[25] When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” [26] Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. [27] Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” [28] Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” [29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” [30] So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, 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 from heaven to eat.’” [32] Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. [33] For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” [34] They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

[35] Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (ESV)

[Pray]

The Soul’s Appetite

You may recall from last week, Jesus, perceiving the crowd’s desire to take him by force and make Him king, had dismissed the crowds, sent his disciples across the sea, and withdrew himself to the mountain. He circumvented their desire to manipulate him. He already was the King, my friends. But His Kingdom would come at His time and in His way. What we read is at least some of the crowd remained, and persisted to seek after Jesus. One would assume this was a good thing. When they saw Jesus’ disciples had left for the other side, and Jesus was no where to be found, they also went to the other side of the sea, via the boats that had returned from Tiberius. They found Jesus in Capernaum, and verse 59 tells us this conversation happened in the synagogue:

[25] When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” [26] Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Jesus is perfectly discerning. He knows what is in man. He perceives the thoughts and intentions of the heart. We cannot hide our innermost thoughts from him. We cannot mask our intentions, no matter what our behavior, facial expressions, body language, might communicate. Have you done this? Have you attempted to mask what you really think, or how you really feel? We do this to preserve our name, to save face, or as an effort to coerce someone towards our own desired end. This is impossible with Jesus. He is the Word of God, who pierces the heart, divides bone and marrow, separating spirit and soul. He lays the desires of their heart bare, right in front of them.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

You’re here for fleshly reasons. Don’t pretend you came to the synagogue to learn of me! Don’t pretend you’ve come to church to worship! You’re here because your flesh is hungry! You’re here to manipulate me - the Son of God! You’re not here to follow as my disciple, you’re here to leverage me to your own end! You’re caught in the rat-race of consume and be consumed! Your appetite has led your heart astray. Your desires are not for the things of God, but of the flesh! And that flesh will never be satisfied…

Eccl 6:7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 

This is the heart of the prosperity gospel. It does not seek Jesus as the King that He is, but seeks Jesus to be the king the flesh wants. The prosperity gospel prays to God to feed the flesh: more money, more power, more toys, more possessions, gimme gimme gimme. It works for the food that perishes! It feeds the appetite of the sinful flesh, and it will never be satisfied.

The heart is the mouth of the cavernous soul of man… it seeks that which will fill and satisfy it to the depths. 

This, Jesus knows. He knows because he created all things, and without him is not anything that was created (Jhn 1:3) and from him and through him and to him are all things (Rom 11:36). And, like His Father, and like a good brother, he points to that which will satisfy. He points to the work that will make for enduring food! Look at verse 27 with me.Work for Enduring Food

[27] Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” [28] Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” [29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Do you see the goodness of God? Do you see the mercy of Jesus, not to leave us in the cage, but to get us off the treadmill and to run in wide open fields! I hate treadmills. My mom is excited to have her treadmill fixed. That looks like death to me! I’d rather play basketball! Jesus didn’t design us to run on treadmills! Nor did He leave us to drown in the death of our own desires, but called us out and gave us food!

Friends, what is your work about? What do you labor for? What do you work for— what is the food you desire? What is on your mind when you go to work on Monday? Is it your wages? Your commission? Your next raise? Who do you look forward to see when you get to work? Why? For what reason? For attention? Recognition? Are you at work merely to get your job done so you can leave work? And go do what? For whom? With whom? Do they satisfy your soul? Does that work give you joy that will endure? Will these wages or food last into eternity? NO.

Only Jesus can give is food that will satisfy for all eternity. His call to us is to work for THAT food. Let the food that endures into eternity be what you strive for. Let that be the reason you live, you work, you move, you have your being. Don’t settle for piddly things like food and drink and sex and movies! They don’t satisfy!

You might be thinking: Who are you, Bob, to tell us what to work for? Nobody. I’m nobody. But Jesus is the one who is speaking here, not me. Who is Jesus to say that He gives us the food that endures into eternity? He is the one on whom the Father has set his seal. What did Jesus mean? The word seal is used in reference to the mark of a signet ring. It verifies the authenticity of the message bearer. The Father has set his seal on Jesus, the Son. His works verify the message of Jesus. Recall with me John 5, verse 19 to the end of the chapter. Jesus’ point to the Pharisees was that the Father, the Spirit, Moses, John the Baptist, Scripture, and his works all bear witness to Jesus as from God, and His testimony as true. Jesus was stating to the crowd who received food and saw the miracle he performed, that the Father had set His signet seal upon Jesus. His message was verified. 

So they respond, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” For a moment, we believe the crowd might be moving from their fleshly desires to the needs of their soul! This is encouraging, right? Here is Jesus’ response: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Jesus’ response was to move them away from the temporal and to Himself. He alone satisfies the body, the heart, the soul, the entirety of your being. He is the Word of God become flesh! To believe in him was to place confidence in Him. It was to accept His testimony about Himself, and about ourselves. The work of God is not something you earn, it is someone you believe. 

If believing is the work, what is the food?

Jesus, when being tempted in the desert by Satan to give in to his flesh and turn a stone into bread, answered him:

Matthew 4:4

“It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (ESV)

What’s your food, church? The word of God. His promises. His covenants. His Psalms, prophets, gospels, epistles, and Revelation. 

I want you to ask yourself this question: Do I hunger for, and feast on the food that leads to eternal life? How do you know you’re feasting on His food?

Let’s come back to that a little later… 

We learn from the passage that those who had Jesus right in front of them failed to feast on Him; they failed to do the work of God and believe on Him.

Seeing Is Not Believing

[29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” [30] So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, 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 from heaven to eat.’” [32] Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. [33] For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” [34] They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Do you see how fickle the crowd may be? They just witnessed him taking 5 loaves and 2 fish and feeding a multitude. They followed him because of the miracle. They wanted more! They were there, not because they wanted to do the work of God, but wanted his temporal blessings. FEED ME! GIVE TO ME! I WANT AN UMPA-LUMPA NOW DADDY!

Do you scoff at the crowd, or are you aware enough to find yourself among them? Do we not come to God with our wish-list before we ask of His will? Isn’t it true of the world that they ask for some great miracle in order to believe? Yet what we see from scripture is that no matter what miracle Jesus performed, they did not believe. They didn’t bow the knee to the King, instead they gave orders to their cook. 

Across the sea, the people had identified Jesus as the prophet of whom Moses foretold. They proceeded to attempt to manipulate him: “Then what sign do you do, 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 from heaven to eat.’”

If you’re the Prophet like Moses, he gave our fathers bread every day! C’mon Jesus! The ticket is in! Don’t make us wait or we’re gonna leave without paying the bill!

They had already seen the sign, the signet seal was displayed in living color, yet they did not believe the messenger nor the message. They also mistook the giver: they identified Moses as the benevolent benefactor for daily bread, not the Father in heaven! Nor did they grasp that the true bread from heaven had arrived. The manna of the wilderness was sweet like wafers of honey. That manna pointed forward to when God would feed the world with Jesus, the Word of God! He is the food that is sweet like honey. He alone is the one who gives life to the world. 

Take note that the crowd had the same response as the woman at the well. In John 4, the woman said, “Sir, give me this water always, so that I won’t be thirsty or have to come here to draw water!” The crowd responded: “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Make my life easy, Jesus! I want running water and a bread machine that outputs sandwiches, already made! That’s what will satisfy me! 

Jesus responded. He is the Creator who made us. He is the Great I Am. He doesn’t withhold good things from His children. But He alone knows what is good, and seeks for our soul to be satisfied in Him. That’s his admonition in verse 27: Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you…

 What does Jesus do? They ask for this bread always… and he said to them…

Soul Satisfied

[35] … “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (ESV)

Do you see how good God is? He knows. He knows we hunger and thirst. He knows our soul desire, our desperate need, that for which we long for, and he offers it to you. 

Why is he the bread of life? What does that mean? Next week we will unpack this thoroughly, but He is the bread of life because in Him is eternal life. In Him is eternal life, and we are born under the eternal wrath of God, deserving of eternal death, because of our sin. We were born this way. 

The story of humanity is this: Adam and Eve, our parents, had every blessing on the earth. They lived in a perfect Garden, and in prefect relationship with each other and God. Yet, they were lured away to sin. Their soul became hungry for other things, a fruit that promised the likeness of God. They ate, and in their desire to be like God, they became less like God. Friends, only God can be God. We cannot possess the wisdom or perfection that would deem us worthy to decide, to judge, to reign as He does. In their appetite for what is forbidden, their appetite became hungry for sin. Their eyes, and the eyes of humanity, were turned away from God who satisfied their soul, and they looked to things of the earth to be satisfied-- things that would bring death. The things the world now loves are the very things that have brought them death. 

We are self-centered beings, slaves to our craving, searching to be filled. God, in His mercy, in His perfect timing, sent His Son, the bread of life, to bear the wrath we deserve. He sent His Son to set us free from our sin! He sent His Son to reveal His love and grace. He sent His Son to reveal His perfect righteousness. He sent His Son, and placed His seal upon Him as testimony of His deity. He Sent His Son to live perfectly, die in our place, absorb the wrath we deserve, so we may have life eternal with Him, and our soul be satisfied to the fullest.

Jesus is the bread come from heaven to satisfy the soul.

Church, how do you know you’re feasting on Jesus? Let me ask you a few questions, and you can take inventory of your spiritual diet:

Does gathering with the church on Sunday excite you? Do you look forward to worship with your brothers and sisters? Do you rejoice in singing? Do you exult in the preaching of the word? Do you relish going to the communion table? Do you come early to love and fellowship with each other? Do you stay late?

What is on your mind when you leave church on Sunday? Is it the goodness of God? Is it the beauty of Jesus? Is it the blessedness of Christian fellowship? Are you looking forward to meeting with brothers and sisters during the week? Your Bible study, your table group, your prayer group? Do you look forward to prayer, and quiet time, Bible reading, and journaling?

Or… are you already thinking about what will satisfy your stomach. Is lunch calling your name? Now that we are wrapping up the sermon, has your heart moved from worship to television? shopping? play? Are you already thinking on what you will be doing this afternoon? 

There is a warning in this passage. Do not work for food that perishes. The result is death. Friends, the result of living for this life is death! That’s why Jesus says,  Matthew 16:24–26—  “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [25] For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [26] For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (ESV)

What shall you give in return for your soul? Fill it with things that perish, and so shall you. I’m guilty of this. I’m guilty of living for this life. I’m guilty these past few weeks of filling my soul, my flesh, with lesser things, and not with the bread of life. Would you pray with me and repent, and go to Him who alone satisfies the soul.