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.” John 6:27
Every day I work for food that perishes. Every. Day.
Every day, I do the very thing Jesus says not to do.
What is Jesus calling me to? How should it be different?
1. Jesus Triumphs Over Finite Resources
Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd [large enough to fill a professional sports arena] was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test Philip, for Jesus himself knew what he was intending to do.
Philip answered him, “Two hundred denari [a year of wages] worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a lad here with five barely loves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” …
He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. … So they gathered … up … twelve baskets with fragments … left over … . John 6:5-13
I fret over limited resources. Time. Money. People. Jesus doesn’t.
The task and need are enormous. How am I to do the work of God when the need is so vast and what I have to offer is so small? Where am I to buy bread? And if there was a place, a year of wages will not make a dent. What are these meager resources I have on hand for so many people with such great needs.
Jesus tested Philip. He tests me.
When we are employed in Jesus’ task, the result is always such abundance that there are leftovers, and even the leftovers are abundant.
The work Jesus calls me to is not limited by resources I see. The work Jesus calls me to is to obey His word to do whatever is my small part, and to entrust the results to Him.
2. Jesus Triumphs Over Threats, Obstacles and Challenges
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. John 6:16-21
The wind, the waves and the tide are all against me. I cannot make forward progress, at least not without fatiguing labor. Even then, progress is tedious and incremental. Rowing three or four miles.
Because it is dark. And Jesus has not yet come.
Jesus arrives. His presence is so unnatural, so supernatural, that it is terrifying. My fear of Jesus and how He will change things outweighs the distress of my dire circumstances.
I am on the horns of a dilemma. Am I willing to receive Jesus into my boat? Into my work? Will He judge me? Change me or circumstances in ways I don’t like?
The unfamiliar can be fearsome. But this is Jesus we are talking about. He came to save, not judge.
Laborious work was part of the curse. Work, as it was intended and to which Jesus now transforms it, is joy filled and Spirit powered.
I need to get over my fear of the unfamiliar and the power Jesus will bring.
I need to let Jesus into my boat. Into my work.
3. Jesus Transforms Work from Perishable to Eternal
“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.” John 6:27
“Will work for food.” Jesus says don’t bother. That food will not last, anyway. It is perishable. It will become moldy. Even if it is eaten while fresh, I will become hungry again. It is transitory, at best.
Jesus offers different food, food which endures to eternal life.
Jesus introduces a paradox. I am to “work” for this food which He “gives” me. I do not work for gifts. Jesus calls me to change my thinking from working for food, or a result, to working for Him. The food He knows I need He will give as a gift. And His gift will not become stale, moldy, or insufficient. The food He gives will endure to eternal life. Because the food He gives is Himself.
4. Jesus Transforms Work from Labor to Faith
“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 he has sent.” … John 6:28-29
This is the perennial question. What shall I do? What career path shall I choose? What field, skill or industry? Having settled on a career, will I work for myself or an employer, and if so, which one?
Even for God, what would he have me do?
There is a comfort about such thinking. It keeps me in control. What am I to do? If someone will just tell me, then I can control the outcome. Control is the name of the game.
Jesus’ answer: change doing to believing. Change the object from my feeble effort to control the result and outcome, to trusting Him. Trust does not seem like work to me. But trusting, believing, is exactly the “work” that is the work of God.
Being precedes doing. Believing is the doing, the work, that is the work of God.
5. Jesus Is Not Merely the Source of Life, He Is Life Itself
30 “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.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. …
“LORD! To whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” John 6:30-35, 68
This final transformation is for Jesus to upend the goal, the object of my work. Jesus does not change just how I work (trusting in His unlimited resources, receiving His supernatural victory over obstacles, converting temporal work to eternal, trusting rather than laboring), He changes the goal, the object, the sought for result.
I focus on the outcome. Jesus wants me to focus on Him.
Jesus does not just offer better bread. He Himself is the Bread. This is why I can never work hard enough or skillfully enough to earn it, to earn Him.
Work, both the verb and the noun, are transformed. How I am to work is transformed. And the nature of my work is transformed.
Work I must. But in a wholly different way; a holy different way. And for a completely different purpose. Not for a result. But for a Person.
SUMMARY
Work. Transformed.
- When I face limited resources -I will obey my instructions and leave the result to Jesus.
- When I face threats and obstacles -I will accept Jesus into the “boat” of my circumstances and challenges.
- When I find myself working for “perishable food” -I will work for Jesus, and trust Him to provide for my needs as a gift.
- When I find myself trying to control the outcome by my own efforts -I will believe in Him whom God has sent.
- When I find myself working for the purpose of bread, for provision, or for a result -I will seek Jesus Himself.