Jesus replied, “The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me.”
John 6: 26 (LB)
Jesus was very good about keeping the focus of His ministry on God’s plan of salvation. However, the crowds more than likely had other things in mind when they came to hear Jesus. This devotion looks at how we are to be fed by Jesus and God’s Word.
Nuggets
- We don’t always hear Jesus’ words to us because we are either focusing on physical issues or coming to Him for ulterior motives.
- He will always remain our spiritual Redeemer and Savior.
- We are promised that, if we seek God, we will find Him.
I bet Jesus drew the crowds when He was preaching. Hopefully, His message was the draw. Unfortunately, one time, He knew the draw was His miracles instead. Let’s take a look at that instance.
Let's Put It into Context
Jesus had already been ministering to the Jewish people. He had already healed the man at the pool (Jn. 5: 1-15) and ticked off the Pharisees. In Chapter 6, He had just feed the 5,000 and walked on water.
To read Out of the Sick Man’s Comfort Zone, click the button below.
At least, that is what the people saw. Feeding the people and healing their physical ailments was probably very much appreciated by the crowds flocking to see Jesus. They wanted more of that.
Jesus’ audiences were hearing but not listening to Jesus’ message. More importantly, they were not understanding. Of course, Jesus called them on it.
To read Do We Always Hear and Listen to God?, click the button below.
What Was Wrong
“… The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you …” (Jn. 6: 26 LB)
There are a couple of reasons that Jesus’ audiences were not listening to Him. Maybe they were struggling so much in their daily lives that they couldn’t see beyond the physical. Maybe they were looking to Him for the wrong reasons.
Have you ever heard that we have to meet someone’s physical needs first so they can then focus on the salvation message? I know I have.
That isn’t exactly what Jesus did. Yes, Jesus was good at meeting the needs of the people. But with Him, the spiritual needs came first.
Jesus knew people needed Him as a Savior, not just as a meal ticket. Meeting the needs of this world was not Jesus’ mission. He was not a social Savior.
The crowd was not searching for Jesus. They were not looking to change their character. They weren’t looking to dig into the meaning behind His words.
Jesus knew they were just looking for a feel-good solution. They were wanting their circumstances changed. Everything was surface with them, not even intellectual.
They were looking at Jesus through their self-interest. How would they gain by listening to Him? What could they get to help them better this life?
The Savior also knew they were wanting something for nothing. “Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: ‘Those unwilling to work will not get to eat’” (II Thess. 3: 10 NLT). He was combatting their entitlement mentality for earthly things.
That is the bottom line. Jesus knew the crowd was more focused on earthly pleasures and riches. They weren’t looking to the spiritual — where He wanted their focus to be.
A True Savior
“… not because you believe in me” (Jn. 6: 26 LB)
So, Jesus called them on it. He would not allow them to take Him to their level. He would remain their spiritual Redeemer and Savior.
Jesus knew they needed more than their hunger met. He knew they needed a hunger for God. Above all else, their motives needed to change.
We have to realize why Jesus was pointing out why they were wrong. He wasn’t making fun of them or putting them down.
Jesus was loving them. He wanted them to change to the right motivation — surrendering their lives to Him as their Lord and Savior.
That is why Jesus didn’t mince words. He told them point blank, “You are wrong. You need to change.”
What Is Right
Jesus just wanted His listeners — and us — to search for Him and seek Him. Truly seek Him. For the right reasons.
We are promised that, if we seek God, we will find Him. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Mt. 6: 33 HCSB).
Did you see that? It isn’t that God doesn’t want to provide for us. He wants to bless us abundantly (II Cor. 9: 8).
But we have to be blessed first. We’ve talked about this before. Who is blessed by the Father? Jeremiah 17: 7 says, “But I [God the Father] will bless the person who puts his trust in me” (GNT).
To read Will Being Kind to Others Get Us into Heaven?, click the button below.
When we search for Jesus, we need Him to be our Redeemer and Savior. When we seek Him, we show Him that we need Him in our lives.
We aren’t going to search for Jesus if we don’t want Him in our lives. Some level of trust and belief have to be present to seek Him.
Those who seek Jesus will always find Him. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29: 13 ESV).
Making the Connections
Jesus does want to help us through this earthly life. He does, however, want us to put it into perspective.
This earth is going to end. That is promised in Revelation.
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Then comes eternity. That life that is more important than this life.
Because our eternal life is more important, that is where Jesus focused His efforts. Yes, He healed and fed as He went on His way.
But Jesus never stopped talking about His kingdom. He prepared His listeners — and us — by telling us what we need to know.
How Do We Apply This?
If we are searching for Jesus because we have not asked Him to be our Lord and Savior, we have to ask ourselves why we are searching for Him. Are we going to turn our lives over to His control? Or do we have some ulterior motive for searching for Him?
We can’t rewrite scripture so that it suits more what we want to do. We have to come to God on His terms. That is the only way He will accept us.
To read Why Do We Try to Rewrite Scripture?, click the button below.
He is God. He gets to decide.
If we have already asked Jesus into our hearts and lives and are seeking to know Him better, we need to give ourselves completely to Him. We can’t keep back our pet sin or juggle Him in among our other priorities.
God is going to keep after us until He has refined us into who He wants us to be. He wants us to imitate Jesus. We will always be a seeker until we are called home.
How do we find God? Whether we are searching or seeking, the way is the same.
How to Find God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17 NLT).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3 ESV).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16 ESV).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11 NLT).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11 NLT).
To read Has God Provided Everything We Need?, click the button below.
When we search and seek for God, we benefit. We gain forgiveness for our sins and eternal life. We get an anchor and shelter for this life. We get joy and peace.
That is a really good deal. Are you a searcher or a seeker?
Gracious Heavenly Father. We are searching and seeking to find You as our Sovereign God. We give You control of our lives. Lord, we know when we do that, we will receive blessings from You. The most important to us is that we will be able to live with You for eternity. Refine us until we imitate Jesus and are in Your image. Amen.
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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