At this point in John’s Gospel, we have discovered that John the Baptizer had been slain, and Jesus had fed a great multitude of folks in Bethsaida, the other side of the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum. Jesus had been conducting his ministry by sending his disciples out two by two, preaching the Gospel and healing the sick throughout the cities of Galilee. Herod had heard of what Jesus had been doing in his realm and wanted to see him. However, presently, his interest in Jesus was merely one of curiosity. Nevertheless, the great multitude, composed of about 5000 men, was made up largely of John’s disciples, and they wanted Jesus to avenge John’s death and punish Herod. In other words, they accepted the idea that Jesus was the Messiah. After all, John had pointed to Jesus, identifying him as such, but now they wanted Jesus to behave like their savior by avenging John’s death. The problem facing Jesus at this point was many folks were willing to believe he was the Messiah, but for the wrong reasons. They expected the Messiah to do things Jesus had no intention of doing.
Jesus was now between the proverbial rock and a hard place. How should he react to these folks who were ignorant of the spiritual purpose of his mission and at the same time keep his mission from becoming political? Jesus had been unveiling the love of God for mankind, but, if left unaddressed, these folks could hijack the Gospel and make it into something it was never intended to be. The false prophets sought to do the same with Jesus’ disciples’ mission after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. In our present context, Jesus kept leaving the gathering crowds in order to place himself and his disciples in a less volatile atmosphere. He did this, first, by leaving Capernaum for Bethsaida and did so again by going back to Capernaum, leaving the crowd at Bethsaida. However, each time Jesus left the community of would-be followers, they interpreted his miraculous activity as proof he was the Messiah. Nevertheless, they gathered themselves before him for the wrong reasons, expecting him to act in a manner in which he had no intention of doing. Moreover, if Jesus didn’t address the problem correctly, onlookers, like Herod, could interpret Jesus’ Gospel as a political threat rather than as God’s love for mankind?
When Jesus finally did address the growing crowd of would-be disciples, telling them they interpreted his miracles in a manner opposed to God’s purpose, they asked him: “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28). Jesus then told them, if they wanted to do the will of God, they needed to simply believe him (Jesus), trust him to be their Messiah. Instead of telling him what to do, let him be the Messiah God sent him to be (John 6:29).
This seems simple enough to understand. If a person is appointed or elected to an office, let him perform his duties as he understands the authority granted him by that office. If, instead, he performs those duties as other folks interpret his authority, he and his office become unnecessary. Instead, he would become a puppet with someone else pulling the strings. Nevertheless, the people, vis-à-vis Jesus’ would-be disciples, weren’t ready to simply stop seeking to crown Jesus as their puppet. Now they wanted him to perform a sign that would prove he was a better interpreter of his office than they were (John 6:30). As they saw it, the miracle of feeding 5000 strong with only a few loaves and fish, and Jesus’ traveling from Bethsaida to Capernaum, presumably miraculously, only proved they interpreted the scriptures correctly. If Jesus expected them to change their worldview, they wanted the assurance of more miracles. Moses was their prophet sent by God, and he gave them food from heaven, what would Jesus do (John 6:31)?
Jesus told these men the true bread from heaven was that which the Father gives, not what Moses gave (John 6:32). In other words, their ancestors ate the manna Moses gave and died (John 6:49), but the true bread, which comes out of heaven from God, gives life to the world (John 6:32-33). However, these folks took Jesus’ words literally (John 6:34). In other words, they believed they were able to see (John 9:40-41), but without their spirits being made alive, they were unable to perceive the spiritual meaning of Jesus’ words about the Kingdom of God (John 3:3; cp. 6:52).
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