Read the Sign

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.  Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." -- John 6:26-27

I am still more than moderately fried, and today was supposed to be a vacation day.  I was going to get the bike out and cruise for a few hours.  That's not going to happen.  I might get off early enough to ride over to Lambert's and catch a biscuit.  I suppose that leaves me laboring "for the food that perishes".  Paul, though, said if I didn't work, I shouldn't eat, so there's that. 

I don't think Jesus is chastising anybody for honest work or for fielding a "throwed roll".  This passage follows John's account of the feeding of the five thousand, the fourth miraculous sign recorded in his Gospel.  The first sign was turning water into wine at Cana, the second was healing an official's son at Capernaum after He had returned to Cana, the third sign was healing the sick man at the pool of Bethesda.  Signs were given and miracles wrought not so much to convince those who refused to believe but to assure and encourage those who did.  A sign does not create faith; it is more like adding a catalyst.  Faith is activated when it sees a sign.

Those to whom Jesus spoke were not people who had faith in Him, whose faith had been quickened by seeing His power and authority impacting their material existence.  They were people who had eaten, filled their bellies, and started thinking that their days of having to work for a living were over.  They did not care who Jesus was.  They would have followed the devil himself just as quickly and devotedly if he had fed them.  It has happened before, is happening now, and will happen again.  Far too many people -- and many who sit on church pews, have their bellies as their god, living, so it seems, only to consume.  They try to fill their emptiness with everything from food and drink to all manner of material possessions to the life force of other people whom they would drain dry. 

Jesus offers only Himself.  He is the Authentic, the one sealed by the Father.  He will do things in our lives to demonstrate His presence, His love for us, His goodness and mercy.  None of these things, though, have ultimate meaning apart from Him.  What He gives us is His body, His blood, His life.  For our wandering spirit, its homelessness and loneliness and sense of isolation, He gives His body.  For our sin, shame, and guilt, He gives His blood.  For our death, He gives His life.