John 6:6-71
Many of the people who had eaten of the bread Jesus supplied for all the multitude in the country place, came to the town where He was the next day. Some of them may have walked a long way to find Him, but He knew they came wanting Him to give them more food, not to hear the words of God which He told them.
Most of the people in those lands, were poor and it may have been very hard to get food enough, yet they should have known that One Who could provide so much food from a few loaves must come from God, and that. His words must he true and for them to believe.
He told them to “labor”, or be really in earnest for what He could give them that would last forever; the bread He had given, though good, could not last long, they were hungry again. They asked Him,
“What shall we do, that we may Work the works of God?”
He told them, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent.”
The people may have thought there were laws they must keep, or work to do for others before they could have everlasting life, but Jesus told them what they must do for God was to believe on Him Whom God had sent, and that One was Jesus Himself.
But some of those people were so selfish or hard of heart that they did not believe Jesus was sent by God, even though He had done so many kind and great things for them, which no one else could do: they asked Him to do scinething more, “a sign”, that they could believe Him. They spoke of the food, called manna, which God had given for the many thousand people of Israel while they lived in the wilderness on the way to Canaan, and they seemed to think Jesus should do the same for them.
You remember the story of the manna, how God had sent the small round pure food each morning (except on the seventh day of the week), and it was upon the grass or ground around camp of Israel, and the people gather all they wanted to (Ex. 16: 14-18).
Yet those people tired of the pure food God sent, and complained. And the people would also if Jesus had supplied them each day. He told them the manna did not give people everlasting life, for all those who ate it had died. But He said God had now sent the bread to them, and that He was the Bread of life, He said,
“I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven.”
Bread, or food, is what keeps us on earth, no one here can live without food. Jesus is the One to give life for Heaven, so He is called “the bread”: He gives life forever to those who take Him as their own Saviour.
“Verily, verily (it is true, it is true) He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.”
“We believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ (the Chosen of God), the Son of the living God,” was Peter clear testimony of Jesus.
ML 09/01/1946