August 5, 2012 at Calvary
Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA
“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me,
not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not
labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal
life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set
His seal.’”
Lack of food nearly brought the
Exodus People to ruin. The hungry Hebrews complained about their condition; grumbling
bellies led to grumbling mouths: “Would
that we had died by the hand of the Lord
in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full,
for you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly
with hunger.” The people thought that being killed by one of the plagues
that the Lord brought against
Egypt was better than having been led out of slavery. They were willing to be
victims of the Lord’s wrath
instead of recipients of His delivering work.
But the Lord did not direct Moses to lead the people out into the
desert to die. His goal for them was to be brought into Canaan, the land that
He had promised to their ancestor Abraham. So the Lord shows mercy on those whom He had brought up out of the
land of Egypt. Hunger, the most basic of earthly needs, would not cause them not
to receive the greater blessing that He desired to give them: “And the Lord
said to Moses, ‘I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to
them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled
with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord
your God.”’” Faith and trust in the Lord
would be restored among the people.
The provision of quail and manna
was not the major purpose of the Lord
for His people. Such provision was a means to an end: a way of sustaining the
Exodus People on their way to the Promised Land. Getting them to Canaan was the
Lord’s goal. His desire was to
have the people place their fear, love, and trust in Him—the faith that leads
to life everlasting. It would be of no true benefit for the Exodus People to
remain in the Sinai wilderness eating quail and manna all the days of their
life.
Similarly, the Feeding of the
5,000 by Jesus was not His major purpose for the people of Galilee. In the Gospel
Reading for this morning, you heard about the morning after Jesus’ Feeding
Miracle took place: “On the next day the
crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only
one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but
that His disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the
place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when
the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got
into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.”
The search for Jesus began that
next day. But why did these people go to where Jesus had performed the miracle
and then to Capernaum looking for Him? The Lord tells them why: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking
Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” The
people wanted more meals from Jesus. They wanted more days where their stomachs
were filled with what Jesus could miraculously provide. But this was not Jesus’
goal. Jesus had certainly not brought them out into the wilderness of Galilee
to die. But He didn’t take them there to provide a rustic setting for a grand
smorgasbord either. No, they were there to be given something much greater.
This is what Jesus points out in
His statement with those who sought Him to have bellies filled again: “Do not labor for the food that perishes,
but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give
to you. For on Him God the Father has set His seal.” Jesus points out that
the people were willing to work to get another meal from Him, even sailing
across the Sea of Galilee to do so. But He wants them to have a better bread,
something that leads to more than daily living. And when the people ask how to
work to get this, Jesus says: “This is
the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” Faith and trust
in Jesus are to be created in the people. That is what will bring them
everlasting life: “For the bread of God
is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
This is what you also are to
draw from these statements of Jesus. The providential nature of God brings
great blessing to you. From the Small
Catechism, you have learned a whole list of what He provides for your
benefit: “Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and
needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land,
animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout
workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace,
health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and so
on.” These are all provided for you. You even make the true statement: “God
certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil
people….” That is what His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy grants to you
and the world.
The Lord does want you to recognize His providence. He desires
you to know Him as the giver of daily bread. Gratitude for the Lord’s giving flows from that knowledge,
leading to the words that flow from His people’s mouths: “The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due
season. You open Your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing.” But
such provision is not His major purpose for you. The Lord does not want you to seek Him as solely or primarily a
provider of earthly benefits. No, He wants you to believe in His steadfast love
that brings more and greater things to you, eternal and everlasting things.
If the focus remains on just the
earthly provisions that God grants, then the greater gift is missed. You have
been called to receive “the food that
endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” You have been
called to be the Lord’s eternal
subjects: “[His] kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and [His] dominion endures throughout all generations.”
These greater gifts are yours, but only if you abide in the way that the Lord has established. They are yours, if
you receive them from the Son of Man on whom the Father has set His seal. Faith
and trust in what the Lord does in
His chosen ways brings the benefit of eternal life.
This is the point of the Lord’s words about the Exodus People.
Describing what He would do for the Exodus People, the Lord said: “Behold, I
am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and
gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk
in My Law or not.” When He gave the manna, the Lord said: “I have
heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you
shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you
shall know that I am the Lord your
God.’” The people would know that the Lord
desired what is good for them. But what is eternally good is given through the
other things that He would establish for them: the Covenant with its commands
about sacrifices for atonement and forgiveness. As they walked in that Law, the
people would receive such blessing from the Lord.
Jesus makes the same point to
the people at Capernaum: “This is the
work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent…. Truly, truly, I say to
you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, but My Father gives you
the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from
heaven and gives life to the world…. I am the bread of life; whoever comes to
Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.” These statements
point out that everlasting life is given through belief in Jesus as its source.
Those who believe this about Jesus are not brought to ruin, but are led to
receive the great blessing promised by the Lord.
“The food that endures to eternal life” is
given to those who walk in Jesus’ Law, the Covenant that He establishes with His
people: His baptism that works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the
devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this; His words of
absolution received from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but
firmly believing that by them our sins are forgiven before God in heaven; His
meal that grants forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation because of Jesus’
words spoken of it. This is what Jesus has instituted for the people who would
be made part of His kingdom, even you.
Participation in these
sacraments reveals your belief in Jesus as the Son of Man who gives the food
that endures to eternal life. It flows from your belief that He is the One on
whom God the Father has set His seal. You trust in Jesus’ words that you need
what He gives. You trust in Jesus’ works as being the source of your life
everlasting. You trust that the Father has given His Son Jesus as the heavenly
bread of life. So you come, not because you ate your fill of loaves; rather,
you come because you trust the witness about the signs which show that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may life in His name.
That is what you are to take
away from these events and the divine words spoken during them. As you do so, you
make the great confession that the Lord’s
identity is not just that He gives food in due season. Rather, it is this: “The Lord
is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to
all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He
also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord
preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.” The Lord answers your greatest need by doing
what is superlatively righteous and kind: He has sent you the true bread from
heaven—Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection gives life to the world and
to you. That is His true purpose accomplished for your benefit.
+ In the Name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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