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

 

 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 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, after disputes with the religious leaders (see John 5), 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 of seven signs given to us in John's Gospel.  We recall that chapter 6 of this Gospel reads as a parallel to the story of the Exodus.  In the Exodus, Moses led the people across the Red Sea, walking on dry ground in the midst of the water (Exodus 14:15-31).  Here, Jesus has sent the disciples over the sea, and Himself walks on the sea as if it were dry land.  We note how, as with Israel in the Exodus, Christ allows the disciples to be alone in the storm on the sea.  It is a type of pattern in which faith is tested and strengthened.  My study Bible comments that Christ strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the storms of life.  It is I is literally translated "I Am" (ego eimi/εγω ειμι), the divine Name of God which so enrages the religious leaders when Christ uses it in chapter 8 (see Saturday's reading). 

 

 On the following day, when the people 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."  Let us note that these people who so assiduously seek Jesus were the same ones who had been fed in the wilderness with Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  They are the same people who had wanted to forcefully make Him king, and whom He avoided by going to the mountain alone (also in yesterday's reading).  Jesus knows and understands their motivation, but turns that into an opportunity for teaching.  As so often happens in John's Gospel, His teaching turns us from an "earthly" understanding of earthly things, to the spiritual understanding illustrated by them.  Here Christ turns their thoughts, and ours, to the food which endures to everlasting life.  Just as "giving thanks" and distributing the bread in yesterday's reading gave us an image of the Eucharist, this understanding is given more clearly in Christ's final teaching here.

Jesus takes note of all the effort that these people have put into following Him.  They're the ones He fed in yesterday's reading (above), and they've followed Him on foot by anticipating where He would go after watching the disciples sail away without Him, and discovering He's not in this area after all.  They've gone to Capernaum in search of Him.  After all of their "work" Jesus continues to teach these people -- whom Matthew and Mark write were like sheep without a shepherd -- what exactly they should be "working" for.  They have made all this effort, followed Him all this way, "not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled."  After He fed them with the multiplication of loaves and fishes, they wanted to take Him and make Him king by force, but Jesus eluded them.  But now is another opportunity for teaching, and as the Good Shepherd, He says to them, "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."  This is another order of magnitude of meaning beyond anything they have even considered.  Even the miraculous signs aren't what got them this far, but the desire for a king who can feed them at will, and provide everything for their physical needs.  He shifts their attention not only to the signs He's done (rather than the fact that their appetites were so filled), but beyond them.  What is the real substance of the food He offers?  It is the food which endures to everlasting life, the stuff that makes for salvation, for a substance beyond what the world the can give.  And this is what comes uniquely from the Son of Man, and only because God the Father has set His seal on Him.  Here they are presented with several orders of meaning:  the authority and blessing that comes only from God the Father (God's seal), that Christ is the Son of Man whose has come into the world to offer this food to us, and that the kind of food He wants them to work (labor) for is the food which endures to everlasting life.  What Jesus offers them, in addition to these valuable things, is a teaching that turns all of their thinking around -- and He will go further in our subsequent readings also.  So, we learn all kinds of things from today's reading, and Christ's teaching.  First, it is important to work.  God does not just want us to sit back and receive everything without working for it.  The disciples go through a test, one in which they are extremely challenged and threatened with a storm on the sea that even has seasoned fishermen (whose territory is this sea) afraid.  And yet, He is with them.  This period of fear and perceived risk is as important to their discipleship as to the period when Israel fled Phaaroah and came to the Red Sea.  The people chase after Christ, because of the physical food He was able to give them in the wilderness.  But they, too, must learn to work for something, and for the proper thing.  The good God is not just about making us into beings who simply wait to be cared for, but God's children, formed and shaped in the image and likeness of God with which we've been endowed.  We, also, must learn to labor, and what to labor for.  We need to learn the values we can serve with full hearts and ready souls.  We need to understand that it is God the Father who sets that true seal upon what is truly good for us, upon the One whom God has sent to us.  This is the place of real value, of true teaching, and the true Shepherd, because it is the One upon whom God has set His seal.  And finally, the kind of food Christ has been sent to offer us is the food that endures to everlasting life.  They're not merely to labor for the food they can put on the table as the ultimate goal in life, but something of a substance much greater, which can give fuel for an eternal life, and the value of which  is far beyond anything this world can offer, more rare than what most seek.  Let us consider all these ways in which Jesus teaches us what is good, what God wants for us, what we are to seek, and for what we are to labor -- because the One who loves us and calls us back to an eternal life has willed it, has sent Him, and He will sacrifice His life just so the sheep can receive what He is here to give.

 

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

 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 with 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 ear 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 after events of the first Passover at Jerusalem during His ministry, 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 with 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 ear 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 that is given in John's Gospel.  As noted in yesterday's reading, this sixth chapter of John parallels the story of Passover and Exodus of Israel from Egypt in different ways.  This particular event parallels Moses leading the people across the Red Sea, walking on dry ground in the middle of the waters (Exodus 14:15-31).  In John's Gospel account, Christ first sends His disciples across the sea, and then He Himself walks on the sea as if it were dry ground.  In the Exodus account, those following Moses complain that they were brought out of Egypt simply to die.  But Moses cries to God for help, after which he is told to tell the Israelites to go forward, and instructed what to do so the waters part.  Here the disciples are sent alone, and Christ Himself comes to them on the water.  Interestingly, the people have just tried to make Jesus their king, calling Him the Prophet (foretold by Moses).  But the differences in the scenaria also tell us of the differences between Moses (and the Prophet foretold by Moses), and Christ.

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."    Once again, my study bible expresses the understanding that this chapter of John gives us parallels to the Exodus.  Then, God fed the people manna (Exodus 16:1-17:7).  Here, Christ speaks of the food which endures to everlasting life, which He as Son of Man will give, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.

We see the people's desire at conflict with what Christ wishes to give them.  He is the One who has fed the 5,000 men (and more women and children) in the wilderness, for which they have pursued Him to take Him by force and make Him king.  Subsequently He fled from the very crowd He fed, and now they have followed Him by anticipating His arrival across the Sea of Galilee.  It's almost a hilarious picture, if you think about it in a certain way.  But in the meantime, He sent His disciples across the sea by night (the Sea of Galilee is actually a very large lake), and walked to meet them in about the middle of the lake and in the midst of a storm.  Therefore, at that point in this chapter, our understanding of Christ has expanded not only to include mysteriously multiplying and distributing a supply of food (with Eucharistic overtones), but for the disciples, manifestly displaying a command over the physical elements of the world and even of gravity.  We are to understand these are indeed signs that "a greater than Jonah is here" (Matthew 12:41), and this "feeds" our perception of what He tries to teach the people who pursue Him to make Him king.  In that framework of revelation through the signs John gives us, Jesus begins to speak to the multitudes about what kind of food He wants to offer them.  He tells them first that the only reason they pursue Him is because they are filled with the loaves with which He fed them in the wilderness.  But then He tells them, "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." Here Jesus ties in themes of work (labor), His identity not merely as Son but as Son of Man, and the Father who has set His seal on Him,  with a food which endures to eternal life.  We are to understand Him as one made Incarnate, come into the world and so fulfilling this title Son of Man -- which He has earlier indicated is linked to the power of judgment, and here links to the Father setting a seal on Him.  He is uniquely qualified to offer the kind of food for which He proposes that they labor.  They seek Him to make Him king so that they will be fed with earthly food.  But here, in a sense, Jesus confronts them and offers them what we might call a much better deal, a far rarer and precious item that no one else could give them, and which He alone is uniquely qualified to offer.  In a sense, this ties in His admonitions in Luke about excess worry and toil and anxiety (Luke 12:22-34) by comparing earthly food to the special kind of food which He alone can offer to them.  He's telling them that it's really far preferable to labor for that special thing He offers, as Son of Man upon whom God the Father has set His seal, than the thing they're working so hard chasing Him down to get a hold of.  And that is where we need to start to approach today's Gospel, because He's talking about what precious thing is worthy of our time and effort, and comparing it to that which we are willing to go to the ends of the earth to seek.  In a sense, He's telling us that if we think if the purely earthly is so much more worthy of our time and labor, then we are selling ourselves short.  So in light of these things, let us consider what we put our best efforts and our time into in life.  Do we really take His offer as seriously as the rare and precious gift Jesus describes would warrant?  Do we take Him at His word, and think about what it means that He is not simply Son, but rather the Son who has come into the world and lived a human life, experienced the Passion and death and Resurrection, so that the Father has set a seal on Him?  Let us consider such treasure and weigh its value in terms of our own work and what it is we choose to labor for.  Think about the world that offers us promises and bills of goods, and then think about this Son of Man, the One so unique that the Father has set His seal upon Him.  From whom would you rather buy?  Who would you rather trust?  What might He offer that the world with all its venues and points of sale could not?  What better offer can you get?

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 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 of the feeding of five thousand people. Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee, and was up on the mountaintop, where the people had followed Him, because of all the miracles of healing that had taken place earlier in His ministry. There were only five barley loaves and two small fish as food to eat. In a clear preview of the Eucharist, Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down. The people wanted to make Him a king, but He refused, and 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. Immediately after the feeding of the five thousand, we read of this episode of Jesus walking on the water. In other readings, the fear of the disciples is quite palpable here. My study bible notes that this is the fifth of the miracles or signs reported by John in his Gospel, and it is a re-enactment, or fulfillment of a type, of ancient Israel's passage through the Red Sea. Chapter 6, which we began yesterday, is a great passage on the fulfillment of Old Testament types - a great lesson on the nature of Christ and the identity of the person Jesus. While ancient Israel was led to liberty through faith, Jesus, as God of all, walks on the water to rescue His disciples and lead them to safety, out of their fear. In some sense, we must see His whole ministry as that of healing -- healing our fears and vulnerability in ways that only faith in a loving God can do. We must always remember this loving ministry as central to the reality of our faith: the Bread of Life comes to us incarnate, through all things for us, even unto death on the Cross.

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. Clearly, the people seek Him out. They have witnessed miraculous healings and experienced for themselves the feeding on the mountaintop, a fulfillment or reenactment of the feeding of the ancient Israelites in the desert. But it is important to remember why we seek Him out. We know He is here for us in our distress, and to liberate us in the spiritual and other senses. But why do we seek Him? He has already refused them when they sought to take Him by force and make Him king.

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." What does Jesus offer to us? What kind of people must we be to accept that offer, and to want what it is He offers to us. Here, He takes the people from one level to another: the bread with which they were fed is the obvious thing, but He wants something else. He desires in His followers that they want the true value He has to offer, and it is the Bread of Life - everlasting life - that He wishes for them to seek and value.

My study bible says, "He does not chide them for seeking and working, but for pursuing temporary satisfaction rather than eternal fulfillment." What is it to seek that which Christ truly has to offer, "the food which endures to everlasting life"? What does this mean for us? Christ offers us liberation in an extraordinary sense; that is, a liberation from sin. The food He seeks to give us feeds us on levels that explore our depths in every sense, and touch on every sense of life, even unto life everlasting. How many ways does this food nurture you, and feed you with life? It is inexhaustible, but it is something we need to desire with our hearts, and it comes from the depth of our relationship to Him. How have you been filled with this bread, and how have you come to know its nurturing in your life? When you fear, do you hear the words He said, too? "It is I; do not be afraid." Our Lord has manifest His life to us, in order to bring us His bread, His spiritual food. Let us understand all the ways in which we can be filled, and give thanks.