We have been looking at different encounters that people had with Jesus. In today’s lesson we are going to look at a group of people who started following Jesus. As we look at this group, I want us to think about this question. Is there a wrong way to follow Jesus? Is it possible to follow Jesus in a wrong way? This is what the Gospel of John wants us to look at in John 6. Please take your copies of God’s word and turn to John 6. John 6 begins with Jesus on the other side of the Sea of Galilee and a large crowd is following him because they saw the signs he was performing (cf. John 6:1-2). You will then notice that this section records the miraculous feeding of the 5000. Please observe the response of the people in John 6:14-15. The people proclaim that Jesus is truly the Prophet who has come into the world and they are ready to make him king. Jesus withdraws from the crowd and his disciples get into a boat and cross the Sea of Galilee. This is when Jesus walks on the water and they reach the other side of the sea. This brings us to the moment that is before us in John 6:22.
The Following Crowd (John 6:22-25)
The next day we read that the crowd that had been with Jesus the day before returns to where Jesus had been. However, when they arrive they are able to figure out that Jesus did not go with his disciples when they had left the night before. But the crowd does not give up. They are not disappointed that Jesus is still not there and decide to all go home. The crowd is not going to be turned away. They decide to go look for Jesus in Capernaum, which is across the Sea of Galilee. So the crowd gets in boats and make their way across the sea, looking for Jesus. In verse 25 we see that the crowd finds Jesus on the other side of the sea. They come to Jesus and ask him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” You can imagine the people thinking that Jesus has been hard to find. When did you leave our area? When did you get over here?
Before we look at Jesus’ response to the following crowd, I want us to think about what you would expect Jesus to say. These people had seen Jesus miraculously feed the 5000 yesterday. They came back today. When they could not find Jesus, they decide to cross the sea to look for Jesus. The travel time by boat would be a couple of hours. Now they have found Jesus. What will Jesus say to them? Look at verse 26.
Jesus’ Response (John 6:26)
Jesus tells the following crowd that they were not seeking him because they saw the signs but because they ate the loaves and had their fill. I would have expected Jesus’ answer to their question to be something more along the lines of how he had crossed the sea to continue doing the Father’s work. Maybe Jesus would have told the people that he had completed his work on the eastern side of the sea and now must continue his work in Galilee. But Jesus does not answer their question about when he got to Capernaum. Further, please notice that Jesus does not praise this crowd for going through the effort and giving the time to find him. Instead, Jesus examines the motive for their following. In short, Jesus tells the crowd that they followed him for the wrong reason. They had the wrong motivation for seeking him. Jesus does not praise them for seeking him but exposes their hearts.
So what went wrong? Jesus says that the people had experienced the miracle of the feeding but that sign did not bring them to belief. Instead, the miracle merely moved them to look for more food. Jesus is going to teach them that they missed seeing him as the bread of life (cf. John 6:35), which was the point of the miracle. They should have seen Jesus as the giver of true life and crossed the sea to find Jesus for that reason. The problem was the crowd stopped short. They saw the miracle and ate the bread and everything ended there. They were satisfied because their physical need was met in the moment. But that was not the point. That was not Jesus’ goal. Jesus did not come to feed people. Jesus did not come to hand out dinners and make breakfast. Jesus came to show through his miracles that he is the bread of life. But they missed it.
Jesus’ Teaching (John 6:27)
Now Jesus takes this opportunity to teach this following crowd. Look at verse 27. Jesus tells them that they were working for the wrong food. Do not seek after the food that perishes. Do not work for the food that does not last. Seek the food that endures to eternal life which comes from Jesus. Work for the food that gives true satisfaction and gives true life. Stop seeking the wrong things. To say this another way, Jesus is telling the crowd that they need to check themselves. They need to consider their motives. They need to pay attention to what they are working for and seeking. I asked this question at the beginning of the lesson. Is there a wrong way to seek Jesus? Jesus answers this question by saying yes. Yes, there is a wrong way to seek him. The standard is not simply to seek Jesus because there are wrong ways to seek Jesus. It is not enough to seek Jesus. It is not enough to show up. It is not enough to come to him. What also matters is the reason a person comes to him.
Wrong Ways To Seek Jesus
So what Jesus is asking us to do is to question why we seek him. There are wrong ways to seek the Lord. One of the wrong ways to seek the Lord is for physical fulfillment. Amazingly, even though Jesus condemned these people for following him for the food, people will still do this today. I have seen people who hardly come to worship but then suddenly come when there is a potluck after services. I have seen people want the church to offer coffee, donuts, or other snacks as they enter into the building. Some want to have meals as a time of fellowship during their time together. I have seen churches advertise in print and in their announcements that they are having a great cookout and great meal and, by the way, we will also have a spiritual meal that you do not want to miss. Doing these things is to attract people to Jesus for the wrong reasons. These things are to encourage people to follow Jesus for the wrong reasons. I want us to see that Jesus never encouraged this. Jesus never set up a sign or told people that he was going to feed them and, while feeding them, he would tell them a sermon. When Jesus miraculously fed people, the people did not know it was going to happen, Jesus did not advertise it was going to happen, and Jesus did not do this for the mere purpose of filling their stomachs. In fact, when these people who were fed through the miracle of loaves came the next day for a meal, Jesus did not feed them. Jesus never used food to draw people to him. In fact, Jesus turned people away and challenged their hearts when that was the reason for the people to seek him.
Similarly, people often seek the Lord for the entertainment. Churches today have completely leaned into being an entertainment center. From having bands, to playing games, to offering yoga, to showing movies, and even to flying Santas, churches have given themselves completely to trying to draw people in by offering fun and being entertainment experience. But I want us to think about this scripture that we have looked at today. I want us to also think about the various interactions that Jesus had in the New Testament. When did Jesus ever draw people to him by being entertaining? When did Jesus ever try to draw a crowd by offering to do something fun? When did Jesus ever try to dazzle the people with his powers? Friends, Jesus never did this. Think about how we looked the scripture last week that Jesus did not do many mighty works in Nazareth because the people did not believe (cf. Matthew 13:58). Jesus did not do something fun to try to generate belief or to get people to follow him. Now we may think we are immune to this problem. We do not offer fun and fireworks. We do not offer bounce houses, pumpkins, fairs, and the like. But consider this: are we just as excited to attend an area wide gospel meeting as we are to attend an area wide singing? Friends, if we come just for the fun of singing, then we are showing the wrong motivation. We are showing that we are letting singing terminate on the fun we have from doing it rather than allowing the singing to be the teaching of God’s word to ourselves and to one another. How could it be possible that more Christians are interested in going to a singing and not go to hear a sermon? I wonder if we would have listened to the apostle Paul preach. I wonder if churches today would have allowed the apostle Paul to be their located preacher. Listen to what Paul said about how we proclaimed God’s word.
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. (1 Corinthians 2:1 NIV)
Listen to how Paul’s opponents spoke of Paul’s preaching:
For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.” (2 Corinthians 10:10 NASB)
Jesus did not try to be entertaining. Paul did not speak to try to draw a crowd. Fun and entertainment was not the goal and must not be how we evaluate the message or evaluate our worship. Please consider that how we attract people is what we will need to keep people. If we bring in people for the food, then they will only stay for the food. If we bring in people for the fun and entertainment, then they will only stay for the fun and entertainment. There are wrong ways to follow Jesus.
But let us consider one more way that we can follow Jesus in the wrong way. We can follow Jesus the wrong way through prayer. Please think about this idea as I explain what I mean by this. We can seek Jesus because there is something that we want from God. Perhaps we are going to through something hard in our lives, so we turn our eyes upward. Maybe we are being crushed by life so we start looking to follow Jesus. Maybe we think that if we follow Jesus that all our life problems will be solved. So we cry out to God. We start going to church more. Maybe we start praying more in our lives. Maybe we start the year reading the Bible. But then God answers our prayer and then we stop seeking. We get what we wanted so then we go back to how we were living before the crisis came. How many times people starting getting really religious because something bad is happening in their lives only to stop when the crisis is over! This is another example of seeking Jesus for the wrong reason. We are trying to use Jesus to get what we want rather than seeking Jesus as our Savior and our Lord. Friends, the Lord cannot and will not be the god of our stomachs. The Lord is not here to serve us, to give us our wants and desires. Listen to how the apostle Paul made this point to the Philippians:
For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. (Philippians 3:18-19 ESV)
Who does Paul say are enemies of the cross of Christ? Those who make their desires, their appetites, and their bellies their god. They set their mind on earthly things. Their concern stops on the physical, wanting to be comfort and happy rather than seeking the Savior as the bread of life. The reason Israel kept wanting to go back to Egypt rather than stay with the Lord in the wilderness is because all they wanted was their flesh to be satisfied (cf. Exodus 16:3). We see God as the piñata and prayer as the stick in which God will give us all that we want. The reason to seek Jesus is because we understand he is the bread of life.
So why are you here? What are you seeking? Jesus shows us that there are wrong ways to seek him. There are wrong motivations for following him. There are wrong reasons to listen to his word. Do not work for the food that perishes. Work for the food that gives eternal life which the Son will give to you (John 6:27).