Do You See?
Armando examines what the Jews were missing in John 6.
Almost every day, I ask my youngest daughter, Karis, to pick up something or grab something for me. She looks in one spot and then says, "I can't find it." I can see it or know where the object is, and I tell her to look again. As she's walking around, she's half paying attention to what she'd rather be doing, glancing back at me, and she starts to feel like she is doomed never to find it. Then she walks by a spot she passed five or more times to find the object she was looking for. I tell her it was there the whole time, you just were not paying attention.
Everyone who has kids or has worked with kids has probably experienced this scenario. Worse, we have all been like this in our lives. Maybe not with a toy that needs to be picked up or a book that is asked to be retrieved, but we all have in our spiritual lives. We have all had eyes without seeing.
In John 6, we find a large group of people who have eyes but cannot see. They seek bread to fill their stomachs, but cannot see the Bread that can fill their souls.
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.
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 to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
28 Therefore, they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do you perform?
31 “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
John 6:26–34, NASB95
The crowds had their fill of bread when Jesus performed the miracle of multiplying the bread and fish. They wanted more. They sought another meal. They understood that there was something wonderfully miraculous about the satisfaction they felt after that meal. They wanted it again. Yet, Jesus understood that they saw the sign without seeing where it pointed. They saw Jesus as a new Moses. One who could give them manna every morning as Moses did in the wilderness. Yet, Jesus proclaimed that Moses was not the source; God was. Moses was merely a conduit through which the provision of God was proclaimed. God rained manna down every morning in the wilderness.
Jesus explained that there is a bread that comes from Heaven that will give eternal life. Again, they say, give us this bread always. They wanted a bread that they could eat every day and live forever. Yet Jesus was the bread. God the Father was the source of this bread, and He sent it down from Heaven so that all who eat of it may live forever! They wanted this bread, and they understood God was the source, yet they lacked understanding. They did not see that Jesus was the substance they longed for. The object of their longing was a bread that could fill their stomachs, a new Moses who could lead and provide for them, yet they missed something better. Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus is a greater Moses. And all who see Him as life and eat of His bread will live forever.
We spend our lives longing to be satisfied. Longing to be filled with happiness from our jobs, our families, and our possessions. Yet, none of those things will ultimately fill us. We will always need more, always want more. We even come to Jesus for these things. We ask Him to change our spouse, our kids, fix our finances, and every part of our lives. We know He can do this, and then we think we will have all we need. Yet, Jesus is the thing we need most and only. We should consider all things as loss compared to knowing Christ Jesus our Lord (Philippians 3:8). He is the treasure that we need more than the earthly treasures that will fade away. He is the bread that will satisfy us for all of eternity. We walk around telling Jesus the things we need that will satisfy us when the only thing that ever will is right there. We pass by Him day after day, and wonder why we are not satisfied. Yet, Jesus is there telling us to come, buy without money the food that will satisfy you (Isaiah 55). Don't miss the only thing that can bring you everlasting life and joy. Look to Jesus and see, truly see.