When the folks who were of the multitude that remained at the site near Bethsaida awoke the next day, they realized Jesus wasn’t there any longer, and neither were his disciples, but Jesus didn’t go with them (John 6:22). What happened? Consider what has been going on up to this point. First of all, John’s disciples came to Jesus to tell him Herod had killed John, expecting Jesus to do something about this injustice, since he was supposed to be the Messiah (Matthew 14:10-12). Instead of acting as expected, he left Herod’s territory by boat and arrived at a deserted place near Bethsaida, where his disciples could take their needed rest (Matthew 14:13; Luke 9:10). However, the ever-increasing crowd followed him there, so Jesus had compassion on them and through a miracle, through which he multiplied their food on hand and fed 5000 people, beside women and children (Matthew 14:14-21; John 6:5-13).
Seeing this the multitude wanted to crown him king (Messiah) then and there, but Jesus left them alone once more (John 6:14-15). Most folks would get the hint by now, but these people were determined to force Jesus into a confrontation with Herod. So, they went looking for him once again at Capernaum, and found him there (John 6:22-25). Twice Jesus defused the volatile assembly, but what would he do next?
After they found Jesus, they asked him when (pote – G4219) he arrived there. Unless this is an important question, why would John include it in his record? On the face, it is unnecessary. However, according to some scholars[1] the Greek is difficult to translate. The when includes the how. In other words, they were asking not only when he arrived in Capernaum, but, since they had already concluded, through their search for him, that he couldn’t have arrived by boat, they, therefore, wanted to know how he arrived in Capernaum, because, even if he had walked around the lake’s northern border, he couldn’t have arrived in Capernaum before them, who had come by boat. Therefore, they expected he had done another miracle. Moses, Joshua and Elijah had parted the waters. Was this what Jesus did?
Nevertheless, Jesus wasn’t interested in satisfying their curiosity, and he told them that they didn’t seek him, because he had done a miracle. In other words, they weren’t interested in the fact that he had been sent by God, for the miracles could be done only through the power of God. No, they sought him because he fed them, and they were satisfied (John 6:26). They believed this was one of the signs of his office as Messiah, and they had come seeking him, not because God was working through him, but because they wanted him to act like the messiah they looked for and avenge John’s death.[2]
In other words, Jesus told them they were looking for him for the wrong reasons. They sought a savior who would do their bidding, supply their needs and defeat their enemies. However, these things expire with their use. A full stomach will hunger again, and a defeated foe won’t guarantee another enemy wouldn’t arise. What they needed to do was seek for those needs that, once satisfied, continue to endure and be enjoyed (John 6:27).
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[1] See The Pulpit Commentary; The Cambridge Commentary for Schools and Colleges; The Expository Notes of Dr. Constable; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown.
[2] Years later, when Herod Antipas had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hand of Aretas, king of Arabia (cir. 36-37 AD), “some of the Jews the destruction of Herod’s army came from God and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, who was called the Baptist…” [Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews; 18.5.2 (116)]. Therefore, the history of the Jews’ contempt for what Herod had done to John, implies they expected Jesus to immediately avenge John’s death and do to Herod what Aretas did nearly 10 years later. The fact that they still held a grudge over this alludes to their feelings for John and wanted Herod to suffer for what he had done.
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