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.
John 6:26 NKJV
In the Gospel of John chapter 6, Jesus had a lot of followers and they had just seen signs which He performed on those who were diseased. Then they witnessed firsthand the miraculous feeding of 5000 with just 5 loaves and 2 fish, and even had leftovers. This was truly a sign that He was the Son of God. The Messiah. The fulfillment of prophecies. But Jesus knew the intentions of their hearts and before the questions were started, He called them out that they did not believe. Then a few verses later they asked for a sign confirming this.
He just gave them one of many, and they either glazed over them, or didn’t pay attention at all. There were no fully staffed mobile hospitals. No Walgreens pharmacies on the street corners. No same-day delivery companies. No food trucks. Only a boy with a grocery bag and Jesus, and the multitude was healed and fed. If those weren’t signs, they were more lost than they were leading on.
Then on top of that, they knew Jesus did not get in the boat with the disciples, yet somehow He got to the other side the same time they did. They asked Him when did He get there. His reply opened up a conversation and He taught on everlasting food. That He was the bread of life which went way over their heads because of their disbelief. It was even hard for some of Jesus’ disciples to understand which caused some to go away.
Unfortunately, some people seek Jesus because of the benefits, receive them, but still doubt and need a sign. They have needs and are hopeful that He will provide for them, but have missed it because there is a lot more beneath the surface. He has a lot more to offer beyond fulfilling our physical needs. He offers the bread of eternal life which is something we can never obtain on our own.
When Jesus said that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood he was talking figuratively of course. His flesh and blood provides us eternal life because He sacrificed both for us. When we accept this, even though we don’t fully understand it as the disciples didn’t, but just trust Him, we will never hunger and thirst for everlasting life. Our spiritual needs are always filled. The joy and the peace that the world cannot offer is ours.
If we are following Him because of what we can get out of it we have it all wrong. If we are waiting for signs or trying to comprehend His sayings we have it all wrong. When Jesus’ hard sayings are uttered and come our way, are we going to try to rationalize and demand a sign, or are we going to be like Peter and respond, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:68-69 NKJV
Blessings!
Elder Steve Smith