Well, turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter six. John chapter six. So we’ve been studying this section of John’s gospel, and we’ve seen various responses to Christ. There’s the rejection that really characterized chapter five from the Jewish leaders. They persecuted Christ, and were trying to kill him. because he was breaking their Sabbath rules. He healed a man, and it happened to be the Sabbath day. Because of that, they were persecuting him all the more, and when they heard what he had to say, then they wanted to kill him. Because he was identifying himself as equal with the Father, because of the work that he was doing, and the work that he could do, And therefore, the authority that he has, he is equal with the Father. And that was a lot of what we saw in chapter five is this hostility and this rejection of him.

But throughout the gospel of John, we’ve also seen the disciples, the disciples who come to him and follow him. We saw the calling of the first disciples in chapter one. And these guys have been present with Jesus ever since. They’ve seen many signs that he’s already been doing. And then last week, we saw the most recent sign in John’s gospel, where he walked on the water. Jesus walks on the water to these disciples. He comes to them in the middle of a storm and he calms their fears. simply by reminding them who he is. He came to them and he said, it is I, or I am. He is the I am, and therefore, do not fear. Because he is the I am, and because he is with them, they have no need to fear. And they received him into the boat, and Matthew, in his gospel, tells us that at that point, they worshiped him. They worshiped him. And then as we left off last week, they had come to the other side of the sea. And it’s just Jesus and his disciples there on this other side of the Sea of Galilee.

But there’s also another group that we’ve seen throughout John’s gospel. We’ve seen the disciples and we’ve seen the rejection or the hostility, the opponents to Jesus, if you will. But there’s also these crowds. The crowds who begin to follow Jesus around, and the crowds are growing and growing. They come to see who this guy is. They’ve been hearing things about him, and they were starting to see things that he could do, miraculous things. He was turning water into wine. He was healing people. He was even making food appear out of nowhere. And as you would expect, the word was spreading. The word about him was getting around, and the crowds were beginning to grow more and more.

But who were these people? Who are in these crowds? Are they true disciples? We saw, if you remember, back in John chapter 2, starting in verse 23. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs, when they saw the signs which he was doing. But Jesus, on his part, was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men, and because he had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man.”

We start to see that although there are these crowds, many who are coming to Him and seeing the signs, Jesus is not entrusting Himself to them because He knows them. He knows their hearts. He knows who they are. And as we’ve come through the different chapters so far, we continue to see these people, these crowds that come.

John the Baptist’s disciples in chapter 3. Starting in verse 25, therefore there arose a debate between John’s disciples and a Jew about purification. And they came to John and said, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, that is Jesus, to whom you’ve borne witness, behold, he is baptizing and all are coming to him. And then in chapter four, verse 45, so when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him. having seen all the things he did in Jerusalem at the feast, for they themselves went to the feast.” So these people are gathering more and more because of what they see.

And then as we started John chapter 6, before the feeding of the 5,000, John chapter 6 verse 2 says, now a large crowd was following him. because they were seeing the signs. Again, it’s a concurrent theme throughout all these chapters. They see the signs, and they wanna see more signs. So they come, and they follow him, and let’s see what we can see next. Let’s see what’s gonna happen. This is exciting. These crowds keep growing, and they’re coming to Jesus, and they’re actually following him around.

But does that make them followers? of Jesus. By all appearances, they seem to be seeking and following Him. But again, who are these crowds? Who are in the crowds? And that is exactly the focus of our text this morning.

As we’ve seen as we came through chapter 5 and into chapter 6, one of our focus points for chapter 6 is how Jesus is superior to Moses. And John set it up that way because at the end of chapter five, Jesus confronts the Jews and says, if you don’t believe in Moses, if you don’t believe what Moses said, he wrote about me. So if you don’t believe him, you’re not going to believe me. And then chapter six begins with all of these things that show that Jesus is superior to Moses.

Well, our text this morning is a bit of a transition between him being the I am and walking on the water and his really discourse about the miracle of the bread where he talks about the bread given in the wilderness. So it’s kind of in between those Moses signs or illusions. But it’s really important to focus in this morning on these crowds and who exactly they are.

We’ll pick up this morning in John chapter six, verse 22. And again, we just witnessed the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. He had sent the disciples away, and they crossed the Sea of Galilee, and he comes to them out on the sea, calms the storm, and they arrive at the other side.

What we’ll see in this text this morning are three characteristics of a true follower of Jesus, of a disciple. But only two of these three are true of the crowds, as we’ll see. The three characteristics we see are, number one, they’re seeking Jesus. And then secondly, finding Jesus. But thirdly, and most importantly. is believing Jesus, seeking Jesus, finding Jesus, and believing Jesus. These are all essential for a true follower of his.

And John is very transparent with the character of these people. He keeps pointing us to what they are really like, what their motives are, what they’re actually doing here. It’s not very hard to see what these people are actually after, because John points it out to us. We’ll see that in this text.

I’m going to read our text for us this morning. It’s John chapter 6, starting in verse 22 and going through verse 29. John 6, verses 22 to 29. This is the word of the Lord.

On the next day, the crowd which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus had not entered with his disciples into the boat. but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other small boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him the Father, God, set his seal. Therefore they said to him, what should we do so that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.

” The first thing we see that John shows us about these crowds is that they were seeking Jesus. At least in some sense, they were seeking Jesus. This may not be the seeking Jesus that we typically think about, if there is such a But these people were looking for him. They wanted to find him. They were looking, they wanted to see where he went.

Again, verse 22, on the next day, the crowd. The crowd is there, and we pick up this very next day after Jesus had walked on the water to the disciples. But John picks up back on the other side of the sea. On the next day, on the other side of the sea, The crowd sees that there’s no boat there except for one. And after Jesus has escaped from them the day before, now the next day they’re trying to find him again. And remember why the crowds were trying to find him the day before, why they were trying to get a hold of him, why Jesus left them. Remember in verse 15 of chapter six, so Jesus, knowing that they were going to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself alone. This is why he’s not with them anymore. They were trying to take him by force and make him king. This is the last time they’ve seen him, and he gets away from them. He slips away and goes on the mountain alone.

But now instead of finding him, they find that he and his disciples are gone. So the detectives are on the case. They’re going to figure this mystery out. Where did he go? And slowly it dawns on them that something strange must have happened because we saw the disciples leave and Jesus wasn’t with them. But now he’s not here. Where did he go? Where did Jesus go? They don’t know what happened the night before where Jesus walks on the water, but they knew that neither he or his disciples are there. Verse 23, other small boats came. They’re waiting there, looking for Jesus. They don’t find him anywhere. All of a sudden, as the day breaks, boats are coming in. They come from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks. When the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they get into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

We got to find him. He’s not here. His disciples aren’t here. We’ve got to find him again. They’re not going to give up easily. They want to find this bread maker once again. Must have been some really good bread. This is a new day. They’re hungry again. You see, there is a type of seeking going on here, but it’s a very different type of seeking than what we saw in his disciples. In chapter 1, if you remember, the first disciples he called, chapter 1, verse 41, Andrew, he first found his brother Simon and said to him, we have found the Messiah, which is translated Christ. And then in verse 45, Philip, he found Nathanael and he said to him, we have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth. See, these men were seeking him too. But they were seeking him for who he truly is, who the Bible says he is. The Christ, the Messiah, the one whom Moses spoke about.

But these crowds, as we’ll soon see Jesus point out, they had a totally different reason for seeking Jesus. They had a different thought on their mind than we found the Messiah. Namely, it was their rumbling stomachs. And the reality is that in some sense, every person does need to seek Jesus. You need to come to him. But we don’t seek him first on our own. As Jesus will explain later in this very chapter. As he is explaining to the Jews and his disciples what’s going on in these people. Why it is that some people seek him for who he is. And why these crowds are seeking him for a different reason and eventually leave him When they start to hear what he’s saying, in John chapter six, verse 44, Jesus simply says, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. No one can truly come to him, come to him for the right reason, for salvation, unless the Father draws him.

So again, while we do seek Jesus, when we come to Him, those who truly come to Jesus for salvation are drawn first. God initiates the work in us. We are drawn to Him because we see our own sinfulness and depravity. And we see that He is the only one who can save us from our own sin. is the only acceptable sacrifice for us. Salvation from the wrath of God due to us. That is what draws us and causes us to seek out Jesus as our Savior.

But people seek Jesus for other reasons too. We see that in the crowds here. We see that today. Some people seek Jesus because of what they think he can do for them. Like he’s some sort of lucky charm or get-rich-quick scheme. I need to add a little Jesus to my life. Then my life’s really gonna start going my way. Or maybe they want their nation or their neighborhood to look a certain way. So you think, well, if we claim the name of Jesus, then we’re going to win. We claim the name of Jesus, then things will start going the way I want them to. This is exactly what the crowds were doing. Back in verse 15, they were going to come to take him by force to make him their king. They didn’t want him. They just want a king. A king who will rule Israel and defeat the Romans. They wanted the slogan, Christ is king, but they don’t want to follow him. They had no interest in actually submitting to him as Lord. They didn’t even want to listen to him. And in verse 66 of this chapter, we see as a result of this, as a result of what he says Many of his disciples went away and were not walking with him anymore.

Well, maybe they don’t want him as king. Not if he’s going to say that. What we see here is the first characteristic of Jesus’ followers is that, number one, these crowds and all disciples start by seeking Jesus. Again, it’s after God does that work in us of drawing us to him, but we start seeking Jesus. The next thing we see, number two, is that they end up finding Jesus. They do find Jesus in verse 25, and when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Oh, Jesus is here too. What a coincidence. Fancy meeting you here. All of us who were on the other side of the sea together yesterday, we all just happened to come across the sea and look, you’re here. When did you come here?

And notice Jesus doesn’t even answer the question. He can see right through them. Verse 26, Jesus answered them and said, truly, truly, I say to you. You seek me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. It’s another truly, truly statement of Jesus. It’s when he’s getting serious, when he wants their attention, when he is saying something they need to hear. And it’s usually a rebuke. Truly, truly listen up. Listen to what I’m saying.

And we’ve already seen in John’s gospel that there were those who came for the signs. They came to see Jesus, to see what he’s about because they saw the signs. But Jesus says, you seek me not because of the signs. Again, there were those who saw the miracles, turning the water into wine, healing people, all sorts of things Jesus was doing. And they wanted to come and see some more of these cool tricks, these neat things that he could do, like he was some sort of traveling magician. And that’s bad enough. They were just coming to see the signs.

But Jesus says, you don’t even do that. You don’t even want to see the signs. You come because you want your stomachs filled. Again, John calls Jesus’s miracles signs because of what they do. They do what signs do. They point you to something. They point you to something other than the sign. The sign for a business points you to the business and should tell you something about them, what they do, what service they provide for you. Usually you see a sign and it informs you. But again, many people who saw Jesus’ signs were so distracted by the sign itself that they never came to what the signs pointed to. They never understood that the signs pointed to that he’s the son of God. He’s the Messiah. He’s the one you’ve been waiting for.

But they’re so distracted that, oh, that was water and now it’s wine. Isn’t that cool? Oh, look at all the bread he just made. Well, I want to see that again. But Jesus says that these crowds aren’t even sign seekers. It was worse, they’re just consumers. As one scholar commented on this, instead of seeing the bread in the sign, they had seen in the sign just the bread. All they wanted was more bread. They just wanted the material benefit that Jesus was to them. Jesus says, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not even because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.’” Oof. “‘Not even to see the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.’”

Jesus was nothing more than a food pantry to these people. It’s like the signs you see at national parks. It says, don’t feed the wildlife. Why? Because then they become dependent and they won’t go out and forage and hunt for themselves. Yeah, it works the same way with people. Free meals tend to make people think that food should always be free. And that’s what Jesus sees in these crowds. You want another free meal. You want your bellies filled again. They came because their hunger was satisfied the day before, but now they’re hungry again. And Jesus was here for much bigger purposes than that. So Jesus challenges them to seek after the right things. Because in verse 27 he says, do not work for the food that perishes. but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” You shouldn’t be simply seeking after the bread or the food that perishes. There are much more important things to seek after. And specifically, the salvation of their souls. This is a reality check for these crowds. Get your priorities right. You’re so focused on the day to day and what you will eat. Don’t you know that you will die one day and you’ll stand before your creator? Are you ready for that? Your savior is standing before you and you want food.

This is a very similar conversation to the one Jesus had with the woman at the well in John chapter four. Remember when he told her of the water that he could give her as they’re standing at the well? In verse 14 of chapter four, Jesus said, whoever drinks of the water that I will give will never thirst, ever. But the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. Jesus is telling her, I can give eternal life. I am the Savior, the Messiah. Yet in that moment, she’s only focused on this water because that means she doesn’t have to come back to the well. It’ll relieve a chore out of her day. And here too, these people are only focused on their temporal material needs.

And notice what Jesus is trying to get them to focus on. He wants them to understand who He is. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life. Their focus is wrong. And then He says, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him, the Father, God has set His seal. You’re focused on the wrong thing. The Son of Man will give you eternal life. And God the Father has sent Him and set His seal on Him. This is the answer that they need. This is the food they ought to be after. It’s Him. It’s who He is. He is the Son of Man. He’s the Son of God. God has set his seal on him, which means God has set him apart and marked him as the one who can provide for their eternal needs.

Don’t be so distracted by the benefits of Jesus that you miss him. Yes, he does provide for all of our needs, and yes, we need that provision. But more importantly, we need Him. We need to know Him. And Jesus lays it out for these crowds. Don’t be after the food. Be after Him. But they still don’t see it. Because even though they end up finding Jesus, they still need to, number three, believe Jesus.

Next, the crowds ask him a question after he reveals to them who he is. Verse 28, therefore. They said to him. Well, what should we do? So that we may work the works of God. Oh, you’re talking about eternal life. Well, what should we do? They still don’t see it. They’re missing the point. Jesus says, don’t work for the food that perishes, and they think he’s telling them they’re doing the wrong work. Okay, well, if we shouldn’t come to you for food, where should we go? What should we do? But what was the work he’s talking about? They were seeking him for food. Jesus wasn’t saying, don’t seek after me. He was saying, don’t seek after me for food. Jesus is confronting the object of their work, what they’re working for. He just declared to them who He is and what He can do. And He’s done it through signs and His own words. And all they can think about and see is themselves and what they need to do.

So Jesus answered them in verse 29, this, this is the work of God. This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. Jesus makes it clear to them. You want to know what you need to do? You know what you need to do in order to get eternal life? Just believe. Faith alone in Christ alone. That’s the only solution. That’s the only thing that any sinner can do that’s pleasing to God. To do the works of God, all start with belief.

They’re thinking of what they need to do in order to accomplish working for God and pleasing God and therefore getting eternal life. And this sounds like other people Jesus encounters. In Matthew chapter 19, he encounters the rich young ruler who comes to him and says, teacher, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life? I want eternal life too. Tell me what I need to do to get it. And then in Luke chapter 10, another man that comes to Jesus, a lawyer. Luke 10 verse 25, a lawyer stood up and was putting him to the test saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

You see, this is the natural disposition of all people. This is who we are at our core. It must be something that I do. What must I do to be saved? I’m the one who sinned, so I’m the one who needs to fix it, right? Wrong. In Titus 3, verse 5, we read, He saved us not by works, which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that we can do to accomplish our salvation. He’s already accomplished salvation.

This is why we believe in what are called the five solas of the Reformation. Grace alone. It’s nothing we can do. It’s grace. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves. What must I do? Nothing of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast. If you could do something, you could boast about it. But it’s not of works. It’s not of anything that you could do, and therefore you cannot boast. You can’t boast about something you didn’t do. And that’s the way it is with salvation.

And salvation is through faith alone. Romans 3.28, we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works. And salvation is in Christ alone. We sang the song in Christ alone. Because in Acts 4.12 we read, there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved. Salvation cannot be earned by you. It already has been earned by him. Because the wages of sin is death and the gracious gift of God is eternal life. If you have to earn it, it’s not a gift. Salvation cannot be by works because it’s the gift of God.

And Jesus tells this crowd that the work of God, the thing they must do to answer their question, what must we do? Well, he says the work of God is just belief. Believe in him whom he has sent. And yes, belief does lead to a life of obedience as we read in 1 John earlier. The good works that he has prepared for us. Belief and obedience go hand in hand. But all of this is a gift of God and the work that he does through us. So Jesus’ answer for this crowd seeking the wrong things is the gospel. It’s himself. Just believe in him. Believe in him whom he has sent.

But, that is not what this crowd wanted to hear. Because that’s not why they came to him. They didn’t come to him because they’re looking for the Messiah to believe in. They came to him because they’re hungry again. and they want their bellies filled. And you can see this by the next few verses. We’ll get into this more next week, but the crowd responds in unbelief. After Jesus says, just believe in him who he has sent, they respond in unbelief.

In verse 30, they say, so they said to him, what then do you do for a sign that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Jesus is so patient. Oh yeah, prove it. You want us to believe in you? How about another sign? What have you done for me lately? Yeah, that bread thing was yesterday. Do something else. Speaking of which, how about some more bread? That would be cool. You do that again, then I’ll believe. They want him to prove himself by doing another trick for them. Because that’s what they’re after.

And the reality is, for them and for us, if the words of Jesus, the word of God, if that’s not enough for you, if that’s not enough for you to believe, then nothing will be. If you hear and you see and you read God’s word and you’re still demanding more from him before you believe, you won’t believe. Yes, God, I know that’s what the Bible says, but if you just do this thing for me, then I’ll believe. If you just come through for me this one time, I promise, then I’ll believe. No, you won’t, because that’s not how belief in him works.

Romans 10 tells us in verse 17, faith, the thing they are lacking, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. Faith does not come by seeing a sign. Faith does not come by witnessing a miracle. Faith does not come by having Jesus make you bread again. Faith comes by hearing Him, hearing His word.

So hear the word of Christ. The word of Christ is that this is the work of God, that you believe in Him, whom He has sent. So do you believe? You’ve heard His word, do you believe in Him? If you do not yet believe, you need to come to Him today. Do not leave here today without knowing Him. If you’d like to talk to somebody about Christ and how you can be saved, please stay behind and talk to me or somebody else here. It’s too important for you to go home not knowing him.

And if you are a believer, let’s stand and worship the one who is our salvation. Let’s stand and close in a word of prayer.

Our God, we thank you so much for your kindness, for your patience with us, because while we look at this stubborn, selfish, self-centered crowd, that is exactly who we would be without your work in our heart. Thank you, Lord, for working in us, helping us see the truth, helping us know who Christ is, and helping us come to Him to believe in Him.

Lord, I pray if there is anyone here this morning in whom you are doing this work of softening their heart, opening their eyes, helping them to hear for the first time who Christ is. Help them to see their need for you. Help them to see their sinfulness and their depravity and the wrath of God that will come upon them. if they don’t repent and turn to Christ.

Lord, if there is anyone here, help them come to you today. Help them stay behind and talk to somebody about how they can know you. Lord, most of all, we worship you. We glorify you because you alone are our salvation. We pray all this in Christ’s precious name, amen.