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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 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
Yesterday, 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 His 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 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. This is the fifth sign of Jesus' divinity in John's Gospel. It is just after Jesus has fed five thousand men, and more women and children. He has gone to the mountain by Himself alone, as the crowd wanted to take Him by force and make Him king. We have already noted the parallels with the Exodus in John's sixth chapter. Here there is a parallel to Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea (Exodus 14:15-31), as Jesus walks on the sea as if it were dry ground.
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." These are the same people who wanted to forcefully make Jesus king, whom He had eluded. They are those who were fed in the wilderness, and they manage to track Him to Capernaum. Jesus' saying here is similar to the ways in which He spoke to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, about the water that made it so one would never thirst. This crowd has sought to make Him king just because He fed them; it is a misreading of the signs of His divinity. They have labored to find Him, but they must labor for the food which endures to everlasting life.
We can think of the parallels with the Exodus suggested by my study bible, and think about these people who have been fed by Christ, and therefore sought to make Him king. They have followed Him to Capernaum, although with difficulty, as the disciples had set sail without Him. He teaches them to labor not for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures to everlasting life. We can think of the Israelites following Moses -- with grumbling and quarrels -- to get to the Promised Land. But is that what faith is really about? Is it a journey toward a promise of wealth, food, material abundance that is easy and free? Again, the Gospel is asking us to think about faith, and Jesus is teaching about faith. What is it for? Where does faith come from? From what is it inspired? Jesus offers a different kind of food, which He instructs has even more benefits than the physical food with which He's fed them. That feeding was a sign, of His divinity, of a heavenly origin from which He's come to offer us something more. But that something more, the food which endures to everlasting life, is a food that feeds something more -- that part of ourselves capable of understanding and perceiving more, of relationship, of love, of the nurturing of soul and spirit. This is the kind of food He wishes for them to seek, something greater that He offers. Once again we're drawn into the nature of faith, akin to trust, but even more in the ways that He sparks our thinking. In Jesus' view, it is a love of God that must draw us to faith, a participation in relationship. We must be hungry for the life of that kingdom, a kind of heavenly participation in what is offered by the One on whom God the Father has set His seal. What would that food be that endures to eternal life? What feeds us something beyond the material and the worldly, gives meaning and dimension to our lives, renders beauty and goodness and our ability to perceive that? What gives more dimension to relatedness, to love? This is the food He wishes for us to desire, the thing of greater value He is here to distribute. If our goal is simply material gain, then what is our faith all about? In the next reading, on Monday, Jesus will teach just what the specific labor is that He speaks of when He tells the people to labor for the food which endures to everlasting life. His definition of what constitutes that "work" may surprise you, but there is so much contained in what it implies.
