Tuesday, May 24, 2022
“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 perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed” (John 6:26,27 KJV).
Where is our interest—in “the meat which perisheth” or in “that meat which endureth unto everlasting life?”
The physical bread with which Christ supplied them would impart life to their temporary flesh and blood bodies, but were they concerned about what would nourish their eternal, spiritual bodies? No. Appropriately, the Lord corrected their misconception. They had a greater need, and He alone could meet it. Verses 33-35: “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
He likened Himself to spiritual bread or spiritual sustenance. They needed to prepare for the ages to come, and this was the purpose of His earthly ministry to them. Alas, they failed to appreciate the full extent of what He could do for them and the rest of their nation. He invites them to come to Him and believe on Him (which they have obstinately refused thus far). If they come to Him, that is the equivalent of satisfying spiritual hunger; if they believe on Him, that is the same as quenching spiritual thirst. “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).
If only the people of today’s Scripture were as passionate to learn these simple spiritual truths as they had been enthusiastic about partaking of more free food in the physical realm. Here in the 21st century, we have yet to make application of these passages….