I write about Stuff

“But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” —John 6:27

John 6:22–71 — When Jesus Refuses to Be the Messiah We Invent, and Offers Us the Life We Truly Need

The morning after the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, the crowds woke up expecting more of the same. They had crossed the Sea of Galilee to follow Jesus, and now they were ready for the next instalment—another meal, another spectacle, another moment of wonder. But Jesus and His disciples were gone. So the people climbed into boats and rowed back across the water to Capernaum, driven by hunger, curiosity, and their own ideas of what Jesus should be.

They wanted a miracle‑working king. They wanted a leader who would overthrow Rome. They wanted someone who would meet their expectations and fit neatly into their plans.

But Jesus had come to do something far deeper.

When they found Him in the synagogue, the religious leaders from Jerusalem were already there, ready to interrogate Him. Jesus used the moment to expose the heart of the issue: the people were chasing Him for temporary fixes. They wanted miracles that filled their stomachs and stirred their imaginations, but they weren’t interested in the eternal life He offered. They were focused on the gift, not the Giver.

Jesus told them plainly that physical bread—even miraculous bread—only satisfies for a moment. But the spiritual nourishment He offered would satisfy forever. And He grounded His authority in the Father’s approval: “God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” In other words: You can trust Me. Heaven itself testifies to who I am.

Realising that Jesus wasn’t going to play by their rules, the crowd shifted tactics. “What must we do to perform God’s works?” they asked. It sounded spiritual, but their motive was the same: they wanted control. They wanted a formula that would guarantee God’s favour and bend Jesus toward their agenda.

Jesus’ answer was beautifully simple and profoundly challenging: “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” Or, as some translations put it: Trust.

Trusting Jesus is far harder than performing religious tasks. Works allow us to stay in charge. Trust requires surrender. It means releasing our agenda, loosening our grip, and allowing God to reshape our desires. It means asking not, “How can I get God to do what I want?” but, “What does God want to do in me?”

Still unwilling to surrender, the crowd tried one more strategy. They reminded Jesus of the manna God provided in the wilderness, hoping He would commit to feeding them daily. They wanted a Messiah who would fill their stomachs, not their souls.

Jesus responded with one of the most powerful declarations in the Gospel of John: “I am the bread of life.” Not I give bread, but I am bread. He Himself is the nourishment we need—God’s Word made flesh, the source of eternal life, the One who satisfies the deepest hunger of the human heart.

But this was not the Messiah they wanted. A miracle‑working king? Yes. A spiritual Saviour who demanded trust and offered eternal life? Too much. Too mysterious. Too costly. Too humbling.

And so many walked away.

Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked the question that still echoes through every generation: “Do you also want to leave?”

Peter, in one of his clearest moments of insight, spoke for them all: “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

Peter didn’t claim to understand everything. He didn’t pretend the teaching was easy. But he recognised the truth: there is nowhere else to go. No one else offers life. No one else satisfies. No one else speaks words that reach the very core of who we are.

Wise people don’t reshape truth to fit their preferences. They reshape their lives to fit the truth.

And the truth is this: Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the nourishment our souls were made for. He is the One who sustains us when everything else fades. He is the only source of eternal life.