The Five Thousand Want More Free Food (J24)

The crowd that Jesus fed found Him next day,
And, of course, wanted Him to give them more;
They did not care to hear what He had to say;
Free food they wanted, like Moses of yore!
Knowing their hearts, He spoke plainly to them,
“Moses gave no bread; God gave it, ev’ry day;
Why work for bread that spoils? My bread’s from Him,
The bread of life I give won’t waste away!
You’re not here because of signs I’ve done,
But for bread that makes you hunger again;
For Him that sent me is why I have come,
To gather all that believe in my name!”
They grumbled, “Who does he think he is?
We know the parents and siblings that are his!”

“When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’ Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the work God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: To believe in the One he has sent.’ “ (John 6:25-29) (The complete text of this poem/commentary is John 6:22-32)

The crowd of five thousand that Jesus had fed on five small loaves and two small fish hunted Him down in Capernaum the next day. Their motive was not to hear the gospel and be saved, but to have Him feed them again. He did not want to spend His precious time talking to people who followed Him out of selfish or this-world’s reasons, so He told them plainly He knew they sought Him to be fed earthly food again, but He also took one last opportunity to seek belief. He explained the difference between real bread, for which they would hunger again, and the symbolic bread of life, which would endure to eternal life; this symbolic bread is for each to believe in the One that was sent from the Father.

They asked Him the most important question a person can ask in his lifetime: What “work” does the Father require for this symbolic bread that gives eternal life? Jesus’ answer is the best news any person can hear in his lifetime: Believe in the One sent by the Father. Salvation is yours that simply: Believe in Jesus as the Son of God and you will be saved. Put that in your memory bank; engrave it on your heart. You can be saved by it, even if the five thousand were not.

There are a good many people today who profess belief in Jesus for some selfish reason. It can be as simple as professing to satisfy an anxious parent; it can be by a political candidate who professes in order to increase his total votes; or a merchant who hopes to increase his volume of sales. There are a lot of selfish reasons that might induce a profession of faith, BUT you can be assured that Jesus Christ knows the truth like He knew what this crowd really were after. You will not be saved by that kind of profession: Count on it!

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)