Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life

 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  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.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

- John 6:16-27

In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with the disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."  Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

  Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  My study bible says, "This, the fifth of Christ's miracles reported by John, reenacts ancient Israel's passage through the Red Sea.  Moses led the old Israel through the sea to liberty.  Christ walks on top of the water and leads His disciples over the sea to the land where they were going.  Christ's walking on the sea is a sign of His lordship over creation."

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  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.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  A note here tells us:  "The multitude had continued to pursue Jesus in the hope that He might miraculously solve all of their earthly problems as He had miraculously provided them with food.  He tries to turn their minds to spiritual concerns, telling them not to labor for perishable food but for the food of eternal life, which is available in the Son of Man.  He does not chide them for seeking and working, but for pursuing temporary satisfaction rather than eternal fulfillment."

It's kind of stunning that we have two parallel stories running here, and they can't be separated from the feeding of the five thousand men (and more women) in yesterday's reading.  Yesterday's reading told us of reliance on Christ; it's clear who provides the food in the wilderness on the mountaintop, when there was only a few barley loaves and fishes on hand.  And then, in the evening, in a stormy sea in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to them on the water.  This story, too, appears in other Gospels, and again, one element of the story is this dependence on Christ.  He is there for their food; He is there for their safety.  And yet, in John's Gospel, we go further with another element.  The people who were fed on the mountaintop still vigorously pursue Him to make Him their king, and this He refuses.  He will not be the authority figure who takes care of them in this worldly sense.  That is not what He is here for.  His is a different sort of quality of authority and of aim.  His messiahship is to be something different.  These extraordinary signs are not signs to get some sort of worldly position of authority; their aim is different, His aim is different.  This capacity to feed everyone, to save His disciples on the sea, it's not for merely the obvious, for use in a worldly sense, but is a sign that points to something else, a different expression for a deeper purpose.  Jesus says to the crowd, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  And this is another "sign," pointing the way to something.  And, if we really want to get where Jesus is taking us, we need to go to this place He's pointing to.  Inevitably, what He wants from us is to get to that place of faith, a deepening relationship -- as the Father and the Son are in relationship, so are we to be in relationship with them and through them to the world, to one another.  Ultimately, the purpose and the place to which He's leading us is love, the kind of trust that faith implies.  In the next reading, Jesus will begin by emphasizing just what this labor is.