The
next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had
taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. Several
boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread
and the people had eaten. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his
disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to
look for him. They found him on the other side of the lake and asked,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the
truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the
miraculous signs. But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend
your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For
God the Father has given me the seal of his approval." They replied,
"We want to perform God's works, too. What should we do?" Jesus told
them, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he
has sent." They answered, "Show us a miraculous sign if you want
us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while
they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, 'Moses gave them
bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, Moses
didn't give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the
true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from
heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said,
"give us that bread every day." Jesus replied, "I am the bread
of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me
will never be thirsty. John
6:22-35 (Underlined for clarity.) [Continue reading through John 6:71.]
Jesus just fed 5,000 men and families.
What other miracle do they need?
Meditate
on Jesus’ miracles and what people wanted.
What
do you want from Jesus? Jesus was very specific about what God expected people
to do… spend your energy seeking the eternal life that
the Son of Man can give you and believe. These people said, “Show
us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do?” Do you need a miraculous sign to believe in
Jesus today? On what do you spend your energy?
Are
you hungry? Do you want a slice of bread…or some spiritual food? Jesus declared
to these people that He was the “true bread of God…the one who comes down
from heaven and gives life to the world." Do you want this life—eternal life—that Jesus
offered then…and now? You’ll be filled with spiritual life—never to be hungry
for it again. What a great feeling! I’ve got that.
These
folks wanted to perform God’s works, too. What should we do? Is
that something of which we want to be a part? Sure, I’d like to heal people
just like Jesus did. But here Jesus said, just believe. Later, speaking with
His disciples, we have His recorded words that give us hope of helping others.
"I tell you the truth, anyone
who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works,
because I am going to be with the Father.” John 14:12
Hope of
serving…of doing the same works. What do you think? What do you want from
Jesus, the Bread of Life?
What do we learn about Jesus from
this long scripture passage today?
Prayer
– Lord Jesus, I believe in You. You are the Son of God…You are God. Powerful.
Compassionate. Loving. Everything we have or want comes from God the Father. Help
us to believe and to be like You in our willingness to serve others for You.
Verse
of Salvation ~ Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you
and trust you. You are my God. Psalm
86:2
© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
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