Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. When the crowds re-gather around Jesus on the near side of the lake, what rebuke does He give them? See John 6:26a (printed below)
Jesus answered them, I tell you the truth, You are looking for me, not because you saw signs…(John 6:26a)
When the crowds re-gather around Jesus on the near side of the lake, our Lord rebukes them with these words: “I tell you the truth, You are looking for me, not because you saw signs.” Jesus is saying, You are not flocking to Me because you have spiritual perception and have rightly understood the spiritual significance of the mighty works I have performed. You are not flocking to Me because you appreciate the fact that My miracles demonstrate that I am the divinely-appointed Savior who can give you entrance into the kingdom of God.
2. Why were the crowds looking for Jesus? See John 6:26b (printed below)
Jesus answered them, I tell you the truth, You are looking for me… because you ate of the loaves and were filled. (John 6:26b)
Jesus confronts the crowds with the truth, “You are looking for me because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” Jesus is saying, You are flocking to Me not because you have spiritual perception, but because you had a physical experience—your belly was filled with the food I provided—and you are hoping for more of the same. You are flocking to Me because you view Me as someone who is able to satisfy your physical and material needs (John 6:2) and fulfill your political ambitions (John 6:15). Jesus is saying to them, You are flocking to Me because you have “felt needs” (you feel, you are acutely aware of, your need for food, healing, peace of mind, stability in marriage and family, success and prosperity), and you view Me as the one who can meet those needs.
3. What does Jesus counsel these people not to do (see verse 27a printed below?) How would you explain what He means?
Do not work for the food that spoils… (John 6:27a)
Jesus counsels them and us: “Do not work for the food that spoils.” That is to say, do not devote your life to the losing cause of keeping your body alive. The men of this world labor for the food that spoils (it’s perishable, it rots): they work long hours to purchase food, they consume that food, then they do it all over again, working more hours for more food to consume—and what does it ultimately profit them? That natural bread that feeds and sustains the physical body does not give life, it merely sustains physical life, enabling men to go back to work and continue the cycle throughout the years of their lives until they die.
4. What does Jesus tell these people that they should do (see verse 27b printed below?) Again, how would explain His meaning?
… work … for the food that lasts for eternal life, the food that the Son of man will give you… (John 6:27b)
Jesus counsels those people and us to work “for the food that lasts for eternal life.” We are to put our labor, our effort, our heart and soul, into obtaining the spiritual food that is imperishable and that provides eternal life (as opposed to merely sustaining this present earthly life for a few short years). We are to invest our lives in Christ and the kingdom of God, rather than in ourselves and the things of this present world that is passing away.
5. When Jesus exhorts us to “work” for the food that lasts for eternal life, is He telling us that we must earn our salvation? Note John 6:28-29, 35 (printed below)
Therefore they said to him, What must we do so that we may perform the works God requires? (29) Jesus responded to them by saying, This is the work God requires, namely, that you believe in the one whom he has sent… (35) Jesus said to them. I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:28-29,35)
No; our Lord Jesus is not teaching that we must in any way earn or merit our own salvation. As He states in verse 29, the “work” that God requires is that we believe in Him (note, also, verse 35). What Jesus is speaking about in verse 27 is Christian discipleship. The Christian life requires devotion, dedication, discipleship. The initial act of receiving Christ as our Savior is the beginning of the Christian life; it is not the consummation of the spiritual life. Note further that Jesus assures us that our labor shall not be in vain, for “the Son of man shall give to you” this spiritual food (John 6:27c). As we seek to cultivate the spiritual life, the Holy Spirit will develop that life within us (note Philippians 2:12-13 and Ephesians 2:10). Indeed, the spiritual life is cultivated and developed by means of the Holy Spirit, as opposed to our own human effort—we must surrender ourselves to Him and rely upon Him.
