Bread that satisfies
November 11, 2011When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
— John 6:25-26 (NIV)
After Jesus fed the five thousand, the people tried to make him king. He dismissed them, sent the disciples off in a boat, and spent most of the night in prayer on a nearby hilltop. A little before dawn, he walked on the water until he reached the boat. The next morning, the crowd came back looking for him. Something phenomenal had happened, and people knew it!
A worldly leader would relish the acclaim and the willingness of all these people to follow him. Jesus rebuked them! Because their motives weren’t right. But was it really true that they didn’t seek him because they saw miraculous signs? Surely that’s exactly why they were seeking him. But the point of the signs was lost on them. All they could see was free food. Their willingness to follow Jesus was out of short range self-interest, not because he was the Messiah or because he taught them about God.
We need to look inside ourselves to see how much selfishness is in our own motivation. And we need to truly listen to Jesus. Just listen to some of his teaching from the same conversation, as he tries to get through to them (and to us):
“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” (verse 27)
We work hard to gratify ourselves in the short term, in all kinds of ways. But that gratification never lasts. What Jesus has to offer lasts forever, and is far more valuable.
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (verse 35)
We can never satisfy our cravings—we always want more. We fill up, but then we just get hungry again. In contrast, what Jesus provides is truly satisfying, and it lasts.
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away… And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (verses 37-40)
Jesus will never drive us away, no matter what. His purpose is to save us, and he will save us—unless we turn our backs on him. Jesus will raise us from the dead in the last day, to share eternal life with him. Keeping this in mind will help us to keep perspective on the “bread” (of whatever sort) that we crave, which doesn’t satisfy or last, and on the bread that really satisfies, and lasts forever.
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