Why Do You Seek Jesus?

Pastor Kenneth Cutler

Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

John 6:22–27

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Sometimes a meal is just so great that you can't wait to go back to that same restaurant or cafe. It was such a great experience that you want to try it at least another time or two. At least that's what seems to be happening after the 5,000 had some fish and chips at Cafe Jesus. Our text for today actually begins in verse one of this sixth chapter. In the first 15 verses of this chapter we have the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000. Sandwiched between the feeding of the 5000 and our text Jesus walked on water. Please note that when Jesus walked on water, those who were partakers of the fish and chips were sleeping and slumbering and so they did not witness that miracle, only the disciples.

The next morning the 5,000 people started looking for Jesus. They knew that the disciples had left after the meal to go back across the Sea of Galilee. They also knew that Jesus had gone up to the mountain to spend some time in prayer. But as they looked for him that morning no one could find him. They knew that Jesus hadn't taken the one boat that was left behind and yet, he was nowhere to be seen.

Wondering what to do they decided to go back towards Capernaum. Perhaps Jesus had found some other way to get back home. While they were wondering about all of this some boats from Tiberias came by and welcomed to take them back across the Sea of Galilee.

Verse 25 tells us that when they got back home, sure enough there was Jesus. They couldn't figure out how Jesus had gotten back so quickly when they knew that the disciples had left him on the mountain to pray and he had not used the boat that had been left. What they didn't know at the time was that Jesus merely walked across the water and joined his disciples in their boat.

Brothers and sisters to be honest, I admire the effort the people in our text put forth to locate Jesus. However, what minimizes their effort is there reason for seeking Jesus. If you know the text, they were seeking Jesus for a temporary fix. They were not seeking Him for the reason Jesus desired they seek Him, they were seeking Him for that which would not last. With all the miracles He had done before their eyes, they missed it. They got so caught up in getting full that they missed a major tenet or widely held belief among the Jews that the signs and miracles that Jesus did could only be done by one sent and approved of by God. They were seeking Jesus and that’s alright, but their reason for seeking Jesus put them on the outs with Him.

Well beloved, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you seeking Jesus?

Well beloved,

What do you want from Him?

Why are you looking for Him?

And for you who claim to know Him, why did you seek Jesus?

what did you want from Him when you gave your life to Him?

Why do you seek Jesus?

As we look at our text, there are a couple of reasons that people seek Jesus and only one of them is valid.

First of all some people:

I. Seek Jesus for selfish reasons:

As I mention in the introduction our text actually begins at verse one of this sixth chapter. The story of the feeding of the 5000 plays into the reason the people were seeking Jesus. Although this is Jesus bread of life discourse, before He zeros in on that teaching, He deals with the reason the people were seeking Him. Beloved the reason the people were seeking Him was for selfish reasons. On the other side of Galilee when the people got hungry Jesus took five barley loaves and two fish and fed them. According to the text that was the day before. It’s a new day now and the fullness from the bread and fish has worn off and its time to eat again. They were not seeking Jesus for the right reason, they were seeking Him because a miss meal pain had set in again. Look at how the conversation plays out beginning at verse 25. It says, “ When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” Please note that the mere fact they addressed Jesus as Rabbi suggests they did not know who He really was. Rabbi in the Hebrew was an honorific and respectful term of address for a teacher of the Mosaic Law. But as you well know Jesus was not a teacher of the Mosaic Law, He’s the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law.

He’s the promised Messiah.

He’s the consolation of Israel.

He’s the Savior of the world.

But these folk in our text, didn’t understand that about Him. For selfish reasons they were seeking Jesus, that’s why Jesus responded to them in the manner that He did by saying in verse 26, “I assure you: You are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Jesus’ reply did not answer their question of when He got there. Instead, he went straight to the heart of the matter, exposing the real reason the crowd had followed him. They followed Him simply because they had eaten their fill of the loaves he had multiplied and they were selfishly looking for some more.

Beloved there are folk who show up in the Lord’s Church every Sunday seeking Jesus for selfish reasons. They experienced Jesus doing something great and they decided to show up selfishly seeking Him to do something for them instead of doing something within them. Are you with me?

They seek Jesus for the temporary pleasures of this world.

Kruse, C. G. (2003). John: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 4, p. 167). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

They seek Jesus to fill their materialistic appetite.

Kruse, C. G. (2003). John: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 4, p. 166). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

When they pray, its all about them and what they want. And although they try to act holy in their seeking.

Although they call upon Him using a name that honors Him, they are seeking Him for selfish reasons. But you need to know today, that Jesus knows your motive for seeking Him. He knows what is in your heart. He knows why you are looking for Him, so you might as well come clean and stop being selfish in your seeking.

You see beloved folk want Jesus to do for them, but they don’t want to surrender to Him. They want a sugar daddy Jesus.

They want Jesus to be their cabin boy.

They want Jesus to be His Lord instead of Him being their Lord, that’s why they only want to recognize Jesus as Savior and not savior and Lord. Selfishly they seek Jesus for what He can do for them without ever desiring to serve Him.

Second, Some folk:

II. Seek Jesus for a miracle:

Brothers and sisters the people in our text who were seeking Jesus had experienced a miracle by Jesus when He fed them with five barley loaves and two fish, and the kicker to the miracle was there were some leftovers that filled twelve baskets. Isn’t the Lord alright?

But these folks witnessed this great miracle and for some they viewed Him to be just that. A miracle worker So, when they woke up the next day many of them who witnessed the miracle, desired to see more miracles from Jesus. And brothers and sisters the tragedy of them desiring to see more miracles from Jesus is they missed the purpose of the miracles. Here it is, look at verse 26 again. Jesus says, “I assure you: You are looking for Me, not because you saw[f] the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Beloved Jesus was letting them know that they did not understand the significance of the miracle. The miracles that He did were not done for the people to want more miracles.

They were not done to pacify the human need to see the abnormal or miraculous.

The miracles that Jesus did, were not done to get the folk all geeked up desiring another show.

No, the miracles that Jesus did were done as a sign that He was sent from God, and beloved the folk in our text were missing it. They wanted to see more.

They were caught up in the hype instead of being enlightened by the signs.

It escapes my mind where I read this statement but it said, “humanity has a tendency to want to see the abnormal.”

You see there are many who claim to be Christian who feel nothing is going on in the Lord’s Church unless there’s a miracle taking place.

Some folk feel the Lord is off in a far country if miracles are not happening every day in their lives.

So, they seek Jesus to see what type of miraculous act He’s going to perform.

And then there are those who need a miracle in their life and they seek Jesus for a miracle, but they are unwilling to surrender themselves to Jesus who is able and willing to perform it in their lives.

They want the benefits of relationship without relationship. Have I got a witness?

They want to see Jesus do something mind blowing in their lives without entrusting their lives to Him. Some seek Him for miracles.

Well,, my friends can I help us today? you see Jesus is willing to perform the miracle, but He doesn’t want us to get caught up in the miracle, He wants us to recognize the purpose of the miracle and the purpose is to draw us to Him or draw us closer to Him.

Brothers and sisters the evidence of your true understanding of the miracles of Jesus lies in your response after the miracle.

Are you better than you were before?

Are you striving to live as the Lord would have you?

Has your praise gotten louder and crazier for the Lord?

Are you in His word more than before?

Has your worship evolved from faking to real?

Have you drawn closer to the Lord, or have you settled on just talking about the miracle and seeking Jesus to do another one?

Why do you seek Jesus?

Is it for selfish reasons? Is it for a miracle?

Why do you seek Him?

Finally, there are those who:

III. Seek Jesus for a relationship with Him:

To seek a relationship with Jesus is the valid reason out of the three. And beloved I make that statement because of what Jesus Himself has proclaimed.

In Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ”

In Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

In Jesus says, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

In Jesus says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Brothers and sisters this is relationship language. Jesus desires those who seek Him to seek Him to have a relationship with Him. That’s why in verse 27 Jesus tells the people in our text who were looking for Him, “Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him.” Seeking to redirect their efforts, Jesus said, in effect, do not follow me in the hope of more food provided miraculously to meet your physical needs—‘food that spoils’—like the manna provided through Moses. Instead, work for the food that endures (does not spoil), food that brings eternal life, food that the Son of Man will give. The word work in our text does not suggest you must work to be saved, Jesus uses the word work to let them know don’t exert yourself or labor to seek after Him for the temporary.

Don’t wear yourself out like you did trying to find me so I can give you another meal or perform another miracle for you.

But labor to have a relationship with me.

Brothers and sisters it is a shame but it is the truth, that there are to many in the Church who labor or seek after Jesus for the temporary, when Jesus wants a relationship with them. And then there are those who have a relationship with Him and now that they have a relationship with Him they seek Him for material things rather than spiritual. But Jesus desires that they seek Him for that which is eternal.

When you seek Jesus for a relationship with Him you receive eternal life. And when you have a relationship with Him and seek Him for spiritual things, then you build up treasure in Heaven where things are eternal, but it all begins with a relationship. And beloved the relationship must be with Jesus because as He closes verse 27 He says, “because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him.” In other words, God through His divine approval sealed or guarantees if they seek Jesus to have a relationship with Him they will receive that which is eternal. Jesus was the only one to receive this seal of approval. Here it is, in at the baptism of Jesus it says, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

In on the mountain of transfiguration while Peter was speaking it says, “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

Brothers and sisters if you seek Jesus to have a relationship with Him, eternal life is guaranteed because God the Father approves of Him and He approves of what He did to make that guarantee.

He approved of Christ dying on the cross for our sin.

And since He approved it He raised Christ from the grave on the third day.

And since He raised Him, He has approved a day that He will return.

So, beloved why do you seek Jesus? are you seeking Him for selfish reasons, just for what He can do for you?

Are you seeking Him for a miracle? You messed up and now you want Him to miraculously fix it, yet you don’t want to have a relationship with Him.

Why do you seek Jesus?

Well my friends we have to answer that question for ourselves, and since I have the mic I might as well testify.

I sought Jesus for a relationship with Him, and now that I have a relationship with Him, when I seek Him I want Him to help me with His word.

I want Him to help me be more like Him.

I want Him to help me worship Him.

I want Him to help me serve Him.

I want Him to help me pray like Him.

I want Him to show Himself through me.

That’s why I seek Jesus, but why do you seek Jesus.

Is it for the temporary? those things that will fade away and be destroyed in the end, or are you seeking a relationship with Jesus where you will receive the eternal. Amen!

John: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Bread of Life Discourse (6:25–59)