“Hunger Pangs.”
John 6:22-40
We spend a lot of our time eating. When we wake up our stomachs are usually hungry, so we eat breakfast. It may not be a healthy breakfast, but typically we eat something to satiate our hunger in the morning. By the time noon comes, our stomachs are aching once again. If we don’t eat something, it is considered unhealthy and can have damaging effects on our brain functions and our energy levels. Hours later, it is time to eat supper. Eating is important. Our bodies require food to function properly. Hunger is the warning system that reminds us that food is required. God designed us so that we are sustained by food. It is quite amazing.
In John 6:1-15, Jesus met this basic need for over five thousand people. This massive crowd was listening to Jesus’ teaching, and they stayed long enough that it was time for supper. Jesus fed them through the miraculous multiplication of five loaves and two small fish. The crowd wanted to force Jesus to be king! The miracle helped them understand Jesus was a prophet. But they failed to see Jesus as the Messiah. It was nearsightedness. They saw the miracle of the bread but missed the deeper significance.
In verse 22, the people go looking for Jesus and when they find Him in Capernaum, they want to know how He got there. Jesus doesn’t answer them. Instead, He tells them plainly that they are there for selfish reasons. They didn’t understand the miracle, they were after Jesus because He fed them. Verse 15 tells us that this crowd was going to force Jesus to be their king. They clearly wanted Jesus to serve their needs and bend to their will. As readers of this narrative, we know that Jesus is the Messiah. We know more than the crowd knew at the time. We know it is foolish to attempt to bend Jesus to our wills and desires. But honestly, our prayers can sometimes float toward wish-fulfillment.
The people wanted Jesus to fulfill their every desire and give them whatever they wanted. They were thinking too small. They were earthly minded. We can be guilty of this as well. Sometimes our prayers tend to treat Jesus like a genie instead of our King and Savior. “Jesus, if you would let me win the power ball jackpot, I could do a lot of good. After I buy a bunch of cool stuff, I promise to give some to charity.” Maybe that has never been a prayer that you have said, but we try to bargain with Jesus a lot.
Why do we do this? It is because we are hungry. The crowd was chasing “food that perishes” (v. 27) and so do we. There is a deep spiritual hunger in all of us. When we watch the news and see reports of violence, tragedy, floods, and famine, and other things that harm us and our neighbors, it awakens a hunger in us. We long for an end to these things. We hunger for a world where no child is left to starve, people are forced to flee bombs falling on their homes, and a world where greed and selfish ambition don’t rule. We long for more than what we see this world has to offer. And yet, so much of our energy is spent chasing things that are perishable. So much of our energy is spent chasing reputation, power, money, sexual gratification, authority, and the recognition we have convinced ourselves that we deserve.
Jesus didn’t come to give us perishable food that will not last. Jesus told the crowd to stop chasing those things because they will not ever truly satisfy the deepest longing of our hearts. They are incapable of filling us. Only Jesus can satisfy and save. Therefore, He told the crowd, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Jesus provides true life to those who believe in Him. How? “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”
Jesus’ death on the cross is how Jesus’ provides life to His people. Our spiritual hunger should drive us to Christ. Eating and drinking are metaphors for believing in Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus, who understand by faith that He died to save us from our sins, will have eternal life. When you are hungry, unsatisfied by the world around you, where do you turn? Do you turn to physical belongings? Do you turn to relationships to satisfy you? Do you strive toward money, status, or influence to fill your hunger? None of those things will save you or satisfy you in the way that Christ can. They are not necessarily bad things, but they are perishable and will not last. Go to Christ and take hold of Him by faith. Jesus is the living bread, go to Him and find life.
