This morning we continue in the Gospel of John. If you would turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 6. If you would stand as we read the Word of God together this morning. John chapter 6, verses 22 through 29. The next day the crowd that 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. There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the 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. 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 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 you. For on him the Father God hath set his seal. Therefore they said to him, What shall 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 you have sent, which is the word of God. It's a very interesting passage this morning that we come to. And again, last week and the week after, or the week before that, we spoke and I preached on the feeding of the 5,000. These 5,000 men who were fed miraculously by Jesus as five barley loaves were brought forth and two fish, and Jesus multiplied these and miraculously fed these people. The Gospel of Mark tells us that the disciples, because their hearts were hardened, learned nothing from this experience. And that night they went down to a boat on the Sea of Galilee and began to cross over the Sea of Galilee. And what happened is they were in the middle of the night, stuck in this small boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. This major storm came. And they were frightened, certainly. And all of a sudden they see what they believed was an apparition, a ghost. walking out on the water. They had never seen anything like this, and they were terrified to tell us. And then Jesus says to them what? It is I, do not be afraid. It is I. And in the Greek that we saw, it simply says, Ego I me. Do not be afraid. I am. Do not be afraid. That's the literal meaning. I am. I am. Do not be afraid. And when Jesus got into the boat, John says immediately they were to the other side. And then he points to this as another miracle in the Gospel of John. That when Jesus got to the boat, they were on the other side. I think this is probably a proof through Satan. This is a miraculous, another miraculous event reported somewhat subtly in the Gospel of John. And so now Jesus, with his disciples, are on the other side. Well, not really the other side, because remember, in Jewish lingo at the time, the other side of the Sea of Galilee was what? The eastern side, or really the more Gentile side. That's the other side, the other side of the tracks, as we may call it today. The side that is on the western side is the side closest to Judea, closest to Jerusalem, and certainly closest to the Jewish settlements of the time. So now Jesus is back. on the proper side, if you want to call it that, of the Sea of Galilee. He's now on the western side with his disciples. And this is where we pick up here in the 22nd verse of John chapter 6. The next day the crowd that 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. In the NASB, and in the original Greek this is kind of copy, it's difficult to understand. That's why in your notes I've included the ESB. The English Standard Version cleans this up for us and gives us a more accurate understanding of what's going on. Basically what happened is this large crowd that watched Jesus feed the 5,000, and again we said there were probably likely around 20,000 because the 5,000 were male, but is now the Golan Heights. area of the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, that whole crowd, this mob, so to speak, is following Jesus. And the next day, after he has created this miracle of this feeding, the next day this crowd goes down and notices that the day before there was one boat there. And now that boat's not there anymore. And what had happened? Well, the disciples, they knew, wait a minute, we know that the disciples got in that small boat. and went across to the other side of the sea. So they're on the other side of the sea, but they're wondering, where's Jesus? Where's this miracle worker that fed us exactly what they are thinking? Where is this man that fed us, this miracle worker, this man that we called prophet and that we wanted to crown king? God tells us. Where is this man? And they begin to wonder, and I want to read in verse 23, here of the ESV, the English Standard Version of John chapter 6, it says, Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. This is when he multiplied the loaves and the fish. And then verse 24, So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking. So they realized, well, Jesus isn't here. We don't know where he went. We don't know how he got across the other side, but you know what? Let's just assume he got there somehow. We're not really sure how. So, as these ships that morning started coming on shore, this crowd decided, well, let's get into some of these boats and let ourselves go across for several miles to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum, where we know the disciples went, and maybe Jesus is there with his disciples. So this is exactly what they do. They get in the boat, and they begin to cross the Sea of Galilee, and they do that. And then we see here in verse 24, 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 in verse 25, When they found him on the other side of the sea, now at this point we are on the western side, on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Quite a very interesting way of addressing this teacher. They address him as teacher, yet they will reject his teaching. Remember, earlier they wanted to crown him king, yet they rejected his kingdom. Note the irony here in the Gospel of John. They say to him, Rabbi, when did you get here? This can either mean, when did you get here? Or, how long have you been here? In the Greek, this can mean either one. How long have you been here, Rabbi? How long have you been here? To me, what Jesus does not say is almost as profound as what he does say. Because what does Jesus not say? Well, I will tell you what Jesus does not say. Jesus does not say this. Well, I'll tell you how long I've been here. I've been here for a few hours and let me tell you how I got here. I actually started walking on water. And when I got to the boat where the disciples were panicking, I got into it and immediately we were on the other side. Can you believe that? But what would they have done had he said that to them? They would have probably grabbed him by force, done so, and attempted to do what with him? crowned him king. If this were you, if this were me, I can tell you what I would have said. I would have said, okay, they were out in the middle of the boat and I started walking on water and I came to this is what I would do. Note the humility, even in what Jesus does not say. When we read scriptures, let's take close attention, not only to what is said, but what's not said. It is so counter intuitively human or unhuman, what Jesus said. over and over again, and I've said this many times, the humility of Jesus points to his deity as much as anything else. Because what a normal human being would do, Jesus 100 times out of 100 says, is to be honest. What any of you and I would do, Jesus does to us. Especially when it relates to his humility. So Jesus says to them, They asked the question, Rabbi, when did you get here? And in verse 26, 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. But Jesus doesn't answer the question directly. Why? Because that's not the answer that they need. Jesus goes always to what they need. I ask a question of Jesus. I ask a question of Him that is very selfish. This applies to our paralyzed people. We come to Him and we ask Him something that may be selfish. And that's normal. We should. We should ask Him whatever we want. And He will change us. But He may not always reply with an answer that we want. He will always reply with an answer that we want. Jesus says this to them. Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw a sign. I want to stop there. Look up to chapter 6, verse 14, just a few verses up. Chapter 6, verse 14 says, Therefore, when the people saw the sign which he had performed, they said, This is truly the prophet who has come into the world. Is this a contradiction? Jesus is now saying, You approach me not because you saw a sign. Yet before, John says it's because they saw a sign that they wanted to crown him prophet, or they wanted to hail him as prophet. What Jesus is saying here, it goes back to what John defines as a sign. What is a sign? A sign is something that reveals something about the character and nature of Jesus Christ which was previously hidden. What John is saying here, and what Jesus is actually saying here is, you seek me not because you saw a sign, Not because you understand the significance of the sign. Not because you understand what the sign is actually revealing. You don't understand that. All of that is completely over your head. Why? But because you ate of the loaves and were filled. This is why you sinned. Not because you saw signs. And again, a sign is something that is magnificent, something miraculous that Jesus does, that reveals who he is. You don't understand that. He tells us that. All you care about is filling your belly. When I was reading this, I was quickly reminded of growing up, and now I do it today, when a stray animal comes along to the house that I don't want around the house, what do I not do? I don't put out food. Because I know if I put out food, he's going to stick around. It's how base Jesus is saying that they're motivated. Not to be too crass, but they're like that. It's like no better than a wild animal. They just want their bellies filled. That's all. He says, not 52 times, not people who understand the Bible. He says, you want your bellies filled. This is that. He goes on and he says, Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him, the Father, God, has set His seal. This is a very meaty, not to be ironic, but this is a very meaty passage. He says this, Do not work for the food which perishes. Do not work for the food which perishes. This is the first thing he says. And here, food certainly doesn't mean physical food, necessarily. It certainly does in this context, but it also means more than physical food. Brothers and sisters, do not work for the food which perishes. What is the food that's prepared here? Well, certainly, it's the physical food that we eat. Don't work for that. But what else? The grand buildings, the empires that we love to build. Those do something very profitable for us, do they not? They give us praise. Praise from whom? Praise from other men. We don't work for that, do we? Don't work for that. That perishes. Work for the food that does not perish. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 through 21. These are other words of Jesus. Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 through 21. He says this, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." It's very easy to figure out the priorities in somebody's life. You've probably heard this many times. Look at their checkbook and look at their planner. Where you spend your time and your money. Because where your treasure is, there your heart is. It's very clear to understand somebody's heart. where they spend their time and their money, many times. And what Jesus is saying is saying, do not work for the food which perishes. Do not work for that food which simply satisfies for a moment. What does this require us to do, brothers and sisters? It requires us to see with eyes that are not merely physical. It requires us to see with eyes that are not merely physical. Probably, at this point, sound like a broken record because John emphasizes this point throughout his gospel. Again, Jesus says, My kingdom is not of this world. They try to count thousands of kings. He gives them food to eat. He satisfies them physically. What do they want? They want more. They want more physical satisfaction. They want to be satisfied physically in this physical world. I love what Larry Crabb in his book, Finding God, says, and I want to read this. It's in your notes on page three. He says this. As we explore our own lives, we must never get so immersed in ourselves that we fail to remember that there is something far more wonderful to ponder. I must surrender my fascination with myself to a more worthy preoccupation with the character and purposes of God. I am not the point. He is. I exist for Him, He does not exist for me. The question we need to ask is this, are we merely living, or are we walking with God? Are we merely committed to arranging our lives around getting our needs met, to building our cities, that is, feeding our bellies and working to feed the territories, or are we committed to knowing God, to becoming like the Son and the Father of the Lord, and to waiting for the city that Christ is building? right now. Don't work for the food which perishes. Don't work for that. Why? God is beautiful. But work for the food which endures to eternal life. Turn back to the New Testament chapter 6. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man We'll give to you. I would encourage you, if you're somebody who writes in your Bibles, I know if you've ever taken precepts or some sort of inductive Bible study, you're taught to do that, and that is a very good technique for some people. I would encourage you to go in the Gospel of John specifically, and everywhere where it says, Son of Man in red, that it's Jesus Christ, Son of Man. Box it, circle it, do what you will to pull that out. Every time Jesus says, Son of Man in the Gospel of God, it was very significant. Remember, I've said before, this is Jesus's self-designation. When he refers to himself, he refers to himself nine times out of ten in the Gospel of God as the Son of Man. As the Son of Man. One commentator says, Jesus prefers not to use a term such as Messiah in the context of such heated messianic and political expectations. He opts, on the other hand, for Son of Man, a more ambiguous term which nevertheless is increasingly laden in John with associations of revelation brought from heaven to earth. In John Chapter 1, John Chapter 3, and John Chapter 5, Jesus Christ calls Himself the Son of Man. And in John Chapter 1, Jesus Christ reveals Himself as the Son of Man in the fulfillment of what? Jacob's ladder. Do you remember that? Jesus says, you will see the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. This is the same verbiage used in Genesis chapter 28, verse 12, to refer to this vacant platter. What's the significance of that? Because Jesus says, I am of heavenly origin, and I have heavenly glory. I am equal with the Father in my essence, and I am the bridge. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the one. I am the door. I am. I am the one who connects heaven to earth, metaphorically speaking. That is me. It is I. I am. And this is what Jesus is saying over and over again in the Gospel of John when he uses this term, the Son of Man. That he again is of heavenly origin and he receives heavenly glory. And it ties back to Daniel chapter 7 verse 14. the Ancient of Days has blessed the Son of Man." We see this verbage again and again in the Gospel of John. And he says what here in John chapter 6? He says, "...do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." What's interesting about this point is not only will the Son of Man give you that which is the food which does not perish, He gives that food which does not perish. Not only does Jesus give it, but Jesus is it. This is very significant. And he goes on to say, "...which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father God has set his seal." Jesus Christ is the, as Hebrew says, the exact representation. In the Greek it's there, it says the exact character, the exact essence of the Father. And it's on Him, on Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, in which the Father has set His seal. The Father approves of the Son's work. He set His seal. Some people have said, and I think there may be some truth to this, that this actual setting of the seal appears in its probably clearest form at the baptism of Jesus Christ. Now, let us not fall into the heresy that others throughout history have said, and said that something changes in Jesus at the baptism. It's at this point where Jesus is adopted as Son. No, that is simply not the case. But it's at this point that it is revealed, and it's probably clearest form, that the Father is well pleased with the Son. He was well pleased before, and he's well pleased after. But at this point, it's revealed to us that it is Him on whom the Father has set the seal, on the Son of Man, And in verse 28, Therefore they said to him, What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? Now this reveals something about the character of the crowd. I want us to read these two verses again. I hope we can pick up on something very significant. Jesus says in verse 27, Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him the Father God has set His seal. Therefore they said to Him, What shall we do so that we may work the works of God? What word do they hear out of Jesus' mouth that they latch on to? Work! Work! We do it too! We don't see ourselves as Pharisees, but we do it too. What does our work do? If we're really good at our work, we should be. It goes back to our hearts and our motives. If we're really good at our work in, let's just say, the secular world, although for a Christian, I want to say there is nothing secular. But outside of the church, if we're really good at our work, what do we receive from them? If there is a banker out in the real world who's not saved, and he comes into the church, what do we automatically think he would be great at? Banking. Finance. We put him on the finance committee, do we not? We think in such physical terms, do we not? And we praise those people who are very successful out there. We praise them in here. Why? Because to us, work is very significant. because it earns the praise of men. So the crowd, no doubt many of them were Pharisees, heard him say work and they thought, huh, we'll get it back. So they latch onto it. And they say to Jesus, they say this, therefore they said to him, what shall we do so that we may work the works of God? One of the most powerful quotes that I want to read today comes from D. A. Carson, he says this. They, that is the crowd, display no doubt about their intrinsic ability to meet any challenge God may set them. They evince no sensitivity to the fact that eternal life is first and foremost a gift within the purview of the Son of Man. They say, okay, fine, don't work for the work, don't work for the food which perishes, but that for that, what you do is for eternal life. Okay, tell me what it is, I'll do it. This is what they're saying. Tell me what it is. What is that work? I mean, we're experts in work. We're experts in this. And Jesus is saying that. You're missing the point. These are likely experts in the law. Some of them. And they're saying to him, what is this work that we need to do for eternal life? And we'll do it. Just tell us what it is. What do they show? No. When we understand our sin, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When we understand our need for salvation, we understand our need for salvation. When Tell them the work that needs to be done to please the Father and the Holy Spirit. Tell them. Tell people what to do. And we'll do it. And Jesus is saying, you have no sense of the weight of the law. You have no sense of the sin. You have no sense of separation between you and God. You have no sense of how almighty and powerful He is and how sinful you are. You have no sense of that. They certainly have no need for a Savior. I put in here, and I think it's very significant, brothers and sisters, the times in our lives that we realize the greatness of God is in those times when we realize our great dependence upon Him, the past and the future. That is when we understand the greatness. Those people who understand who God is, This is why everything that we do in life should go to bringing glory to God and knowing Him more. With my wife, with Kimberly, I don't just say, well, we're married. I mean, we're married, so that's all that really matters to me. I'm saved. That's all that matters, right? I'm saved. But I don't expect to know him. I mean, I could go out and do... If I'm a true husband, I'm going to want to know her more. I'm going to want to know what makes her tick. In certain situations, in a certain situation, I want to know how she's been around and like that. She doesn't know. With God, when we want to know who God is, we want to know who's very... We want to know what, and I hate to use this because it's trivializing, what makes him change. It's not what makes him change. We want to know his very character, his very nature, who he is. And this is how we know it. But the Pharisees and the crowd on the other hand says, tell us what we shall do and we will do it. And in verse 29, Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He is. Pull the rug right out from under you. Pull the rug right out from under you. What? This isn't work. This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He is. This is the work. Note the irony here, it's not work. There's no work in this to believe as we will see shortly. Many people believe, and many Christians I hear believe, is just have faith. I hear Christians say all the time, just have faith. Just have faith and it's going to work out. What does Jesus say here is the work that God requires? This is the work of God, that you believe what in Him can He have sent? And focus on this for a second. I've heard from pulpits, I've heard in Sunday school classes, like all my life, testimonies that go like this. When I accepted God, my life changed. When I accepted God, my life changed. And we wonder why their lives don't go as we'd like them to. Is accepting God sufficient for our salvation? I know the Muslims accept God. There is a specific object, brothers and sisters, of our faith that reveals who we really are. What is it? In him, in me, in him. What causes my spirit to just well up with joy is when I hear somebody say that I was lost and I was found and now I have a personal relationship with the living God who is in me. At that point, you're like, wow. And they begin to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ. And they're very specific about the object of it. We're not called to have faith. Just have faith. The world tells us just have faith. It's going to work out. Why? It will fail you every time. Our faith must be directed at a specific object, and that object is the Son of the Living God. After all, is not this the purpose of the Gospel of John, that you may believe in Him, Jesus Christ, the Son of God? This is the purpose of the Gospel that we're walking through, that we have a very specific faith. Does this mean that we're narrow-minded? Yes, it does. Does it mean we're exclusive? Yes, it does. Does it mean that the world will hate us? Yes, it does, many times, because we are so very exclusive to the Scriptures, brothers and sisters. Jesus Christ is the only way. The Lord Jesus Christ is the object of our faith. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 11, verse 28-30. Matthew chapter 11, verse 28-30. And as we turn there, While you're turning there, I want to read again what Jesus says here. Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you may believe in him, and he is him. Brothers and sisters, when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the irony here is that it is a great rest. This is a rest. It says, Come to me, this is Jesus speaking, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. Yoke always implies work. For I am gentle, and humble, and hard, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. If we take the yoke of Christ upon our shoulders, it becomes what? It's obedience. And when we have that specific faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we do this willingly. And then He does all the work for us. This is a rest. As the Jews, and I've talked about this verse before, as the Jews would read this, there's no doubt in my mind that they would say, wait a minute, this is Shabbat? This is the Sabbath? This is rest? Work? This isn't work. There's irony here. This is a great rest. Come to me, all. to a weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Resting is the work of God. This is the work of God that you believe in Him and He has done it. One last thing that I want to close with that may be the most significant point of this We're to believe in Him. This is what God requires. I want to make something very clear. I've asked this many times. I'm amazed how, I know here we've talked about it, so we know the answer, but I'm amazed at how many Christians don't know this. What saves? What saves? In one word, what saves us? Grace. Faith does not save us, period. It's the grace of God. Grace saves, we are saved by grace, through faith. Faith in what? The Lord Jesus Christ. But it's the grace that enables us to have faith. But what is so important that we know, that most Christians, and I would venture to say most Christians do not realize, every Christian out there, every true Christian will say grace is a gift. There's no doubt in that. Faith is good. Faith is not something that we, when we are dead in our trespasses and sins, in accordance with our own free will, one day just decide to exercise an act of faith. And we say, I'm going to have faith, and then I'm saved. Even our very faith is a gift. And not only is it just given to us, it is infused in us. It's given to us, in that sense. Many people believe that salvation is this gift and it's paid for in full. All we have to do is exercise faith and accept it. It makes the salvation a gift and the faith something that's less than it. On the cross of Calvary when Jesus Christ died for our sins and three days later rose again from the dead, he purchased not only our salvation, but everything that has to do with our salvation. He purchased our repentance. He purchased our faith. He purchased our justification. He purchased our sanctification. He purchased our glorification. Everything involved with salvation was done on the cross. Because if it were our faith that we just needed to exercise, we could boast in the faith. Jesus Christ is saying, this is the work that is required by God, that you believe, that you exercise faith. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2. I was going to say this is one of my favorite verses in Scripture, but I realize I say that a lot, so... Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2. Fixing our eyes on What does your Bible say? Jesus. Fixing our eyes on God? On some esoteric higher being? No. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. What is he, first and foremost? He's the author of our faith. The creator of it. In the same sense, when we are justified, do we receive a righteousness of our own? No, it's a foreign righteousness. It's given to us. It's imputed to us. In the same way that faith is imputed. It's not our faith. Whose faith is it? Whose faith was it originally? Jesus. He's the one. He's the one who created the faith, and He imputed it to us when we were saved by grace. Yes, we exercise that faith, but only because why? It was already given to us. This is why I said that Jesus' statement pulled the rug right out from under the crowd. Because they get to a point where they listen in it. There's nothing, this isn't fair, this isn't right, there's nothing that we can do. Well, that doesn't make sense. Give me something to do. Just give me something to do. I know every analogy falls short, but I want to share one with you. Today is Mother's Day, and my wife is the mother of two lovely children. And I knew that if I did not get her something from them, she would be upset. I know this from past experience. And what did I do? Well, I went out and got each one a gift. You know what's interesting is Elijah who's 18, no he's 21 now. Elijah has no clue what's going on. No clue what's going on. He has no idea it's Mother's Day. He doesn't know it's Sunday. He doesn't know, he doesn't really know, all he knows is when his next meal is going to be, or he hopes for his next meal. He knows where the Wiggles DVD is. That's about it. Elijah doesn't know anything about it, has no idea. So what did I do? I went out and bought them a gift. And I gave the gift to them. I said, go give this to Mom. And what did they do? They picked that gift and were they proud? Yeah, they were proud. I picked it. And when they gave it to Kimberly, and when I gave it to Kimberly, she started crying. I thought, She said, it's so wonderful to have the gift. Well, does Kimberly think that a lot Isabella, who's two and a half, got into the car, got her piggy bank and... No. She knows. Who did it? Who did everything? Who did absolutely... Did they do anything? No. And what did she tell them when they gave her the gift? And she said to me, thank you. And that was their gift to her. But he did everything. Am I upset about it? No, it gave me great joy. I'm doing this to pat myself on the back, absolutely not. And I know every analogy falls short, so on your way home tonight, don't try to pick the analogy. Well, technically, I think, I know every analogy falls short.