Home • Bible Studies • The Feeding of the Five Thousand & the Sufficiency of Christ: A Study of John 6
What the People Wanted from Jesus
By Jake Hanson
VII. What the People Wanted (vv 26-27)
The text reads, that the people ask Jesus where He has been (verse 25), and then Jesus doesn’t answer their question with an answer of His own (typical Jesus).
"Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw 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, has set His seal."
Do you see it? Jesus is calling them out for seeking the blessings and the benefits (“you ate the loaves and were filled”), but not the One who blessed them. Jesus was saying that they wanted the bread, but not what the miraculous sign pointed to—that is, to Him.
In verse 27, Jesus makes clear, what the point of the rest of the discussion is. If they seek the bread, they will be unsatisfied (“the food which perishes”), but if they seek after Him, they will be forever satisfied.
From here, we won’t go through the whole rest of the chapter, but quickly move through the main points.
But first, we need to do a little background Old Testament work into Manna.