Sermon: Sunday, 1st February, 2026
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: John 6:22-29
Imagine you come to the church and the car park is full. People are queuing up to get in. It’s a Meal with a Message event. The lasagne (both beef and vegetarian) is enjoyed by all. Some people even have seconds. The church is packed and there’s a real buzz about the place. Before the sticky toffee pudding, a speaker has been asked to give her testimony. How has Jesus transformed her life and how might he transform our lives today? Just as she is about to speak, four people head out for a cigarette. Several others are scrolling on their phones, and a few people are quietly chatting away as she speaks. Most people seem to be listening, but if you could read their thoughts, you would know that many are not listening at all. They are looking forward to their dessert and wondering what they are going to do tomorrow. A few people are really engaged in what is being said, and wonder if Jesus could change their lives too. Why are most people there? Is it to discover more about God or for the food? You can come to a Meal with a Message and receive a lovely meal. But you will get hungry the very next day. However, if you come and place your trust in Jesus, you will be satisfied with him forever.
That’s the kind of thing going on in John chapter 6. Jesus has just fed 5000 men and, if you factor in the women and children present, the crowd might even have been nearer 20,000. It truly was an astonishing miracle, as Jesus multiplies 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed thousands. We read, ‘Once the crowd realised that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.’ (John 5:24) At first, this seems to be so encouraging. There is a large crowd of people searching for Jesus. There is now a surge of interest in Jesus. He is hugely popular. We even read (verse 5) that the crowd want to make Jesus their king. These are people who are willing to follow Jesus and even fight for him. But is this an encouraging scene?
1. Motives matter
To determine whether or not this is an encouraging scene, we need to ask the question, why are the crowd following Jesus. This is crucial. And we are not left to guess the answer. In verse 25, the crowd find Jesus again and ask him how he got to the other side of the lake. They do not know that he supernaturally walked on the water. Notice that Jesus does not answer their question. Instead, he exposes their wrong motives for following him: ‘Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.’ (John 6:26) The words, ‘Truly, truly’ indicate that Jesus is about to say something very important. It matters a great deal why we follow Jesus.
The crowd are following Jesus because they enjoyed a free meal. And they have hopes that Jesus might be able to lead a rebellion against the Romans and give the people their land back. Perhaps he will give them more food, or other material benefits. In other words, they are more interested in what Jesus can give them than they are in getting to know Jesus himself. It’s all about what’s in it for them. They are pursuing Jesus for their own agenda, and not for Jesus’ agenda, even though he is the Son of God! The crowd only saw the bread in the miraculous sign, but not the sign in the bread.
Why did Jesus feed the 5000? What did the sign really mean? What did it signify? It meant that Jesus was none other than God come to earth. He is the Lord of all creation and able to supernaturally create more and more bread and fish. It was also a sign of why God in Jesus had come to earth. He had come in order to satisfy our deepest spiritual needs, giving us what we need not just for this life but for the whole of eternity. In fact, Jesus himself is the bread of life, as he will go on to say. It is only as we receive him, and have a relationship with him, that we can have eternal life. Tragically, the crowd are not considering the deeper significance of what is going on but only see the surface level. They are not real disciples. They do not really understand who Jesus is or why he came. In fact, they are materialists, living only for the ‘here and now’ just as so many people do today.
Imagine treating our spouse as many treat God. We get married, not because we want to spend time with and get to know and love our spouse, but only for the things we get out of it: meals made and shirts ironed and the chance of children. We know that would be an ugly and selfish marriage. We would be using someone. The same goes for God. We do not follow Christ just because we want material things for ourselves. We ought to follow him as he is the wonderful King who loves us more than anyone else. He alone can forgive us, restore us and make us what he always intended us to be- loving people, who love God and love our neighbours.
2. Don’t waste time on things which don’t last
Live in the light of eternity: Some people like to give us advice and some people are more qualified that others to give it. You might receive advice about how to save money or improve your health or how to be successful at school or work. But here Jesus is giving you solemn advice: ‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’ (John 5:27)
Jesus is solemnly advising you today not to be preoccupied and not to live for things that do not ultimately matter. Material things like cars and shares and clothes and holidays. These things have very limited value. Instead, the main thing you should concentrate on is getting right with God. Concentrate on your relationship with God. Who is giving this advice? Jesus. No one is more qualified to give you this strong advice. After all, Jesus created us and he did so with body and soul. We are more than just physical bodies like animals. We also have eternal souls. There is an eternity beyond the ‘here and now’ and we need to be ready for it.
When my uncle was dying, I asked him if he was ready to die. He thought I was asking him if he had put his affairs in order and sorted out his will and his wishes for the funeral and so on. I told him that I really mean are you ready to meet God? Did he know Jesus as his Saviour and King? Only then could he be ready to die. It didn’t matter all that much who got what from his worldly possessions. He would never see them again. But he would leave this world and enter into eternity. And that is a solemn and serious thought.
Think of the compassion and love of Jesus here. He knows the hearts of the crowd and that many are following him for material gain only. And yet he pleads with them not to waste their lives chasing after things which will not ultimately satisfy and will not last. It reminds me of Jesus famous saying in Mark’s gospel: ‘What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?’ (Mark 8:36) What does this mean? It means that as soon as we die and enter eternity and have to face God, our possessions and savings and property will have no value whatsoever. What will matter at the point is whether or not we have placed our trust in Jesus the only Saviour.
Let me put it another way. The most important thing we can do in this life is to get ready for the next life.
John Calvin: ‘The present life is but a passage to the kingdom of heaven.’
That’s not to say that money and possessions are bad or unimportant. God gives us many good gifts to enjoy in this life and to share with others. But it means that if these things receive our primary focus, and we neglect God, then we will be full of regret in the life to come.
Imagine spending your life stockpiling bananas. They look fine for a while… and then suddenly they don’t. Jesus is asking us a simple question: Why spend your life collecting what will rot?
The missionary Jim Eliot risked his life and ultimately gave his life in order to share the good news of Jesus with others. He became a martyr. Was he crazy to do that? He said: ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’ Think of Jim Eliot now. Would he have been wiser spending his life becoming one of America’s top businessmen but then dying not trusting in Jesus. Do you think he will be richer or poorer in eternity having invested in things of spiritual value?
‘Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)
3. Invest your time in things which shall last
Jesus says (that we are to work: ‘…for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.’ (John 6:27) This seems to be common sense. Don’t treasure the things which end up broken and useless. Rather, live for that which has eternal value. Focus on the most precious things. Focus on what God wants from you.
This begs the question, what does God want from us? Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’ (John 6:28-29)
The most valuable thing we can ever have is eternal life. The thing is, we cannot earn it. Please notice the middle of verse 27 – eternal life is a free gift which only Jesus can give us. This is ironic. We can spend our whole lives working and working for things which do not last, and all the while Jesus is offering us himself, his perfect life of obedience and his death on the cross, and it is a free gift. All we need is the empty hand of faith to come to him and receive him as Saviour and King.
Sir Alan Sugar prides himself as being a self-made man. He worked his way from the bottom up in business and is now a multi-millionaire. There are no self-made men or women in Heaven. Those in Heaven are not better than anyone else. Why are they there? Because they have believed in Jesus.
Verse 29 is a verse you must memorise. It tells you what God wants from you: ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’ (John 6:29) God wants you to believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. God wants you to believe that he alone is the Saviour. There is something so simple about it. Remember Paul and Silas’ exchange with the Philippian jailor; ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.’ (Acts 16:30-31)
What must a beggar do to receive bread? He must hold out and empty hand. How can we receive the spiritual bread of God, which is Christ himself? Just hold out your hand and receive him even now.
John Calvin: ‘Faith brings nothing of ours to God but receives from Him what we lack.’
The gospel is simple. We contribute nothing but our need.
Imagine that a ship is sinking. A lifeboat pulls alongside it. The cry to those in the water is not, ‘Swim harder!’ It’s not, ‘First prove you can float.’ It’s not, ‘Grab an oar and help us row.’ The call is simply, ‘Get in.’ Some passengers refuse. One says, ‘I’ll try to stay afloat on my own.’ Another says, ‘Surely there must be something I have to do.’ But the tragedy is this: the only work that saves is getting into the boat – and even that is not a work of merit, but an act of trust.
‘This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.’ (John 6:29)