Eternal Life Food – John 6:16-27

The sea can be super scary, especially during a storm (check out this video).  Can you imagine if you’re on a relatively small boat, how tossed around and vulnerable you must feel?  The disciples didn’t have to imagine it.

When evening came his disciples went down to the sea and getting in their boat they began to go to the other side of the sea to Capernaum.  It had already gotten dark and Jesus had not come to them.  The sea got stirred up because a strong gale was blowing.  When they had rowed about three or four miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near their boat, and they were terrified.  But he said to them, “It is I, don’t be afraid.  They decided to take him into the boat and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

The next day the crowd remaining on the other side of the sea saw that there was not another boat there and that Jesus had not gotten in the boat with his disciples, but the disciples had left alone.  Other boats came from Tiberius near to the place where they had eaten the bread for which the Lord had given thanks.  So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they left in small boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.  And when they found him on the other side of the sea they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs but because you ate bread and were filled.  Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that remains for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For he is the one on whom God the Father has put His seal.”   (John 6:16-27)

The way John gives it such little “press,” this miracle, miracle number five, almost slips past us.  But Jesus is walking on water!  This is another complete violation of natural laws, in this case the law of gravity.  And an additional miracle is done when he gets in the boat because it is immediately at the shore.  We’re not told how the disciples reacted other than their initial fear, but the crowds at the place they left from were baffled.  They hire the boats that come to their shore to go to Capernaum to find Jesus.

We learn from Jesus that their true motivation was a desire for more food.  If they were starving it would be hard to blame them.  But they are not being forthright and telling Jesus that they are hungry and desperate, as starving people would.  They are being manipulative, asking him questions about when he got there, just hoping they’ll be around for another multiplication of bread and fish.  Jesus challenges them to “work” for imperishable food that leads to eternal life, which he himself can give them as the one attested by the Father as Messiah.  Miracles are signs that point us to spiritual realities and we are truly responding to them when we find our hearts stirred more than our fleshly yearnings.

What do we value most?  “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  When we utilize spiritual disciplines, like fasting, we are showing that we value spiritual reality above physical necessities.  We are working for that which does not perish.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the most exciting boat ride you have been on?
2. Why do you think the disciples left without Jesus?
3. What factors do you think made Jesus walking on the water so scary?
4. Do you think the crowd (or whoever was speaking for them) was not being genuine?  Why or why not?
5. What is Jesus upset about?
6. How do you show that you love spiritual realities above all?