DAILY TEXT, Thursday, May 7, 2026. You are not looking for me because you saw miracles, but because you ate the loaves until you were satisfied (John 6:26).

Let us examine the Scriptures every day 2026

Thursday, May 7, 2026

You are not looking for me because you saw miracles, but because you ate the loaves until you were satisfied (John 6:26).

The crowd that Jesus fed was most interested in satisfying their physical needs and desires. It is true that the next day, when they saw that Jesus and his apostles had left, they got into other boats that had come from Tiberias and headed toward Capernaum to look for Jesus (John 6:22-24). But did they do this primarily to hear him speak more about the Kingdom? Clearly not. Their main interest was satisfying their need for bread. How do we know this?

Let us consider what happened when the crowd met Jesus near Capernaum. Jesus clearly told them that their priority was satisfying their physical needs. He indicated that they “ate their fill of the loaves” with “food that spoils.” Rather, he encouraged them to work for “the food that endures and leads to everlasting life.” (John 6:26, 27) He also told them that it would be his Father who would provide that food. w24.12 5 pars. 8, 9

What “work of God” did people have to perform to gain eternal life?

It appears that those Jews believed they had to perform some kind of work to receive that food. They may have been thinking of the “works” of the Mosaic Law. However, Jesus told them: “This is the work of God: that you demonstrate faith in the one he sent” (John 6:28, 29). To have “eternal life,” it is necessary to demonstrate faith in God’s representative. In fact, Jesus had already spoken about this earlier (John 3:16-18, 36). And later he would speak again about what we must do to have eternal life (John 17:3).

How did the Jews demonstrate that they were still thinking of being satisfied with literal bread? (Psalm 78:24, 25)

Those Jews did not accept what Jesus taught them about this new “work of God.” So they asked him: “What miracle are you going to perform so that we may see it and believe you?” (John 6:30). Then they mentioned that their forefathers in the days of Moses had received manna, which could be likened to bread (Neh. 9:15; read Psalm 78:24, 25). Clearly, they were still focused on being satisfied with literal bread. Hence, they did not ask Jesus for an explanation when he immediately afterward spoke to them about “the true bread from heaven,” which was like life-giving manna from heaven (John 6:32). They were so focused on their physical needs that they missed the spiritual truths Jesus was trying to teach them. What can we learn from this account?

12. How did Jesus make it clear what is most important?

An important lesson we find in John chapter 6 is this: our primary focus should be on spiritual needs. Jesus had already emphasized this point when he rejected one of Satan’s temptations (Matt. 4:3, 4). And in the Sermon on the Mount, he also stressed that we must recognize our spiritual needs (Matt. 5:3). Therefore, let us ask ourselves: “Does my way of life show that I am more concerned with my spiritual needs than with my physical desires?”

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