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Why Do You Seek Jesus?
Preached May 12, 2010 at a Mission in Downtown Birmingham, AL by Jake Hanson. Click here for audio of the sermon.
Why do you seek Jesus?
When I was a child, I had a friend named Brian who lived up the street from me. Brian was a kid who got everything. And the thing that he had that I was really interested in was his video games. He got the best new video games. But the thing is, he was not really that interested in video games. He would have rather spent his time drawing airplanes than playing video games. But when I went to Brian’s house, all I wanted was to play his new video games. Sometimes I would call him up just to see if I could come over and play video games with him.
I remember hearing him say to me several times: “Jake, you are using me for my video games!” “Stop using me!” Brian caught me red-handed. Truth-be-told, I don’t think I really liked Brian that much. I just wanted him for his video games. I did not really want Brian for who he was, and what he cared about. And as you might expect, after a while Brian stopped inviting me over to his house. He knew that I was not interested in him. I used to seek out Brian because of what he had.
Why do you seek Jesus?
As we turn to John 6 tonight, we will see that Jesus wants us to seek Him, not for the good things that He has to offer—not for His benefits—but to seek Him for who He is. And who He is, is more than sufficient to supply our every longing and need.
“After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?" 6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. 7 Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little." 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. 12 When they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost." 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”
The Feeding of the Five Thousand. We have just read about a wonderful miracle of the Lord Jesus to provide for hungry people. But we will see that this miracle of feeding has meaning beyond the feeding of the hungry, beyond sharing, and even beyond showing the miraculous powers of Jesus Christ, God made flesh—though it has important things to say about each of these, and more. But this miracle goes to the very heart of how and why we search after God.
We see this right at the beginning of our passage. Look at verse 2. “A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.” The text tells us that this crowd of people was following Jesus because of His miraculous deeds. I imagine that there were people there for many different reasons—different motivations, both good and bad. Perhaps some had friends or family who were healed by Jesus and they wanted to see more lives changed. Perhaps some were sick, and wanted Jesus’ healing touch. Perhaps some just wanted to be spectators of miracles. Perhaps some wanted to see a good entertaining show. And perhaps there were those who came to be around and receive the benefits of Jesus who they thought would make a great worldly king.
Just like we see today, in this passage we find people seeking after Jesus for many different reasons and motivations—some good and some bad.
So I have to ask. Why do you seek Jesus?
This great crowd had gathered around Jesus because He was healing people, but in this text we find another group of people who are seeking after Jesus—His disciples. I like to think of myself as a Disciple of Jesus Christ. One who has given my life to follow Jesus, whatever the cost. These Disciples who gathered around Jesus gave up everything in order to follow Jesus. And we would expect that these most sincere followers would have no troubles or doubts. We would expect to see men and women who never wavered in their confidence in Jesus and His ability to handle any situation or crisis. But if this is what we found in the Disciples who followed Jesus, we would not see ourselves. For you and I, even at our best, waver in our confidence in Christ. We need not, but we do.
And so we see ourselves in these imperfect, frail, weak, prideful, doubtful and fearful Disciples. And the Lord tenderly reminds us of the weakness of our faith—not so that He can see it, for He already knows what is in our hearts, but so that we can see it, and cast our doubts and fears upon Him.
And so we read in verse 5 that Jesus tests His disciple Phillip. “Philip. Where are we to buy bread that this crowd of 5,000 plus might eat?” It was as if He was asking in effect, “Phillip. What brilliant idea or worldly method do we have to solve this enormous problem?” Isn’t this the same questions He asks us every day? “How, Jake” He seems to ask, “are you going to pay all your bills? And fix all your problems?” The answer is, “I can’t!” And Phillip answers the same way. Phillip tells Jesus, “We could spend lots and lots of money, and still not feed all these people. We can’t do this on our own!”
And then another one of the Disciples, Andrew, makes almost a passing comment. Even a dismissive comment. Maybe it was even a joke. There were five thousand hungry people around Jesus, and Andrew even had the audacity to speak up and say that there was a small, insignificant boy who had five small biscuits—not the big great loafs we see in children’s pictures—and two small, tiny fish, something like sardines—not the giant sea bass or marlins we envision. Small, insignificant.
Do you see yourself in this boy? The boy remains nameless. He is so little. He has so little. He has so little to offer. But offer it he does. I like to see myself in this boy. So little I have to offer. So little money. So little resources to give. Such meager gifts, from such insignificant hands. But even the small and insignificant things offered to God, become like putty in the hands of our great God to do great and wondrous things. And He will use you and your insignificant offering to do great things which you do not now know.
So Jesus took this bread and fish from the small boy, and He thanked His Father for it, and He passed it out to His Disciples to give to the people. And He gave of the bread and the fish, and He gave, and He gave, and He gave, and He gave, and He gave. And He kept on giving. It was a miracle. There is no natural explanation for it. It was no magic trick, or slight-of-hand. It’s just the Creator of the Universe doing what He does—making something out of nothing. Making the impossible, possible.
And just to be sure we get the point, John adds a few more details. This crowd of five thousand had as much as they wanted, and they were all filled. There were not any who went to the food counter and were turned away. There was no one who was told, “There is no bread for you.” All of this great crowd was filled.
And just to be sure we get the point that the Lord Jesus lavishes His gifts richly, He has His Disciples pick up the left-overs. And when they do, they find that there are more throw-away scraps than what they started with. Five biscuits of bread, two small fish, five thousand full stomachs, and twelve left-over baskets is just not good math.
So what do we make of this miracle? What did these people make of this miracle?
The Disciples and the crowd quickly begin to recognize that a boy’s lunch does not equal five thousand filled tummys plus left-overs. And then it really begins to dawn on them as they consider their history. In the greatest moment of their history some 1500 years earlier, the Jewish people were delivered from Egypt under Moses’ leadership, they crossed the Red Sea, and then wandered for 40 years in the wilderness—the desert—as they awaited their entrance into the Promised Land—a land flowing with milk and honey. But while they were in the wilderness, the Lord miraculously provided food for them, raining down manna from heaven to feed them for forty years.
There were rumors in Jesus’ day that there would be a coming prophet—a coming Messiah, as the Scriptures promise. There were some Bible scholars of the day who taught that this Messiah would rain an endless supply of bread from heaven and feed all the people forever and ever. This Messiah, some were teaching, would deliver the people from oppressors like the Romans, and He would heal all their sick.
Could this Jesus be the One they hoped for? Could He be the One they were seeking for to fulfill their every wish and dream?
And they got to thinking. Wouldn’t Jesus make a great king? I mean, He would be a king who could heal the sick, and feed the hungry. What king or president, even today, would not long for those powers?
But Jesus was already the King—but a king of a different kind. You see, the people wanted a king of their own making. One who would give them all the benefits and blessings they wanted. But Jesus was looking for a Kingdom of a different kind, and He wanted (and wants) people who are committed, not to His benefits, but to Himself. So the text tells us in verse 15 that Jesus went by Himself, to escape their plans to make Him king.
Just like my friend, Brian who stopped inviting me over because I was using him for his video games, Jesus withdrew from those who wanted Him simply for His benefits—simply to get what they want out of Him.
Why do you seek Jesus?
John 6 tells us that after Jesus goes by Himself, His Disciples get into a boat to cross the sea, and Jesus walks on water across the sea—a miracle we don’t have time to discuss. But when He gets to the other side, He runs into some people who were there for His miracle of feeding, and He challenges them with these words in verse 26. “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” Jesus is pointing out, just like my friend did, that these people were trying to use Jesus to get to His benefits. They were not interested in Him. They were interested in what they could get out of Him.
But we find in Jesus’ words in the following verses an interpretation of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand that opens our eyes to the reality of the miracle. And the reality is this: Jesus did not feed these five thousand simply to give them a meal. He was about to teach them—and us—that it is He who is the all-sufficient One who will satisfy our souls, forever and ever. Jesus is saying, “You are looking for bread to come out of heaven to fill your stomachs. But the reality is that I AM the bread which has come down from heaven. And if you feed on Me, you will be completely satisfied.” Jesus says in verse 35, “I am the bread of life; he who come to Me will not hunger and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
Jesus Himself is that bread—seemingly so small, and insignificant, like those five barley loaves, who just keeps giving and giving and giving until we all have as much as we want and are filled, with more left over. If we seek after Him, and eat of this bread of heaven, our souls will be satisfied. He will give of Himself, and He will give and He will give. He is the bread that keeps on giving. He is not stingy or cheap with Himself. He is no miser who withholds His grace from you.
But still, why do you seek Jesus?
Many in the crowds were seeking Jesus, not for who He was, but for what He could offer them—healing, bread, and they hoped He would save them from the Roman armies. When they found out that Jesus was not going to fulfill their wish, many left Him.
Today, we seek Jesus for many different reasons—some good, and some very selfish reasons. We seek salvation, healing, peace, love, joy, provisions, healed relationships, friendships, fellowship. Sometimes people seek fame, respect, money, networks with powerful people, exciting experiences or other less-than-pure goals. The problem is not that we desire this salvation, healing, love, joy and peace, but that we often do not seek the One who offers it. We often seek for the benefits of the Lord, but do not seek the Lord Himself. But we will find that if we seek merely the benefits of the Lord, even good benefits, and not the Lord Himself, we will get neither the Lord, nor His benefits. If it is our desire to use Jesus for what good He can do for us, rather than to seek Jesus for who He is, and what we might do for Him, we will be sadly disappointed, just like some in the crowd that we read about tonight.
But if we cling to Jesus, and to Him alone, we will find that He is indeed the bread of life—the One who will satisfy our souls. He is the One who will give us life—not just eternal life, but life right now—life filled with peace and love and joy. A life that can face up to every difficulty and challenge. A life that can hope even in the midst of trials and tribulation.
I began tonight by telling you about how I used my friend, Brian for his video games. We stopped being friends because he knew I was not interested in him, but in his video games. I have lost touch with Brian, but I hear about him occasionally. He had always been interested in drawing, and now he works as an animator and contributes to Hollywood movies. But I do not get to be a part of that, or a part of his life, because I was interested in what he had to offer me, and was not interested in who he was.
We often do the same with God. We want Him for what He has to offer us, but when we don’t get what we want, we leave Him. But if we stick with Him, and feast on Him, we will find that we will be completely satisfied—and the benefits which He gives are greater than what we would have hoped for, or imagined. We will find, that we were seeking out a boxed lunch with food that perishes, but what we find in Jesus, is the bread of life which will fill and satisfy our souls forever.
Let me close with a poem.
Once it was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His Word;
Once His gift I wanted,
Now, the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone.
All in all forever,
Jesus will I sing;
Everything in Jesus,
And Jesus everything.