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Why Do You Seek Jesus?

(John 6:22-27)

I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
Last time,
We saw Jesus send His disciples across the sea to Capernaum,
While He went up the mountain to pray.
Among other things,
Jesus likely prayed that His Father
Would create a situation
In which the disciples would learn to trust Him
That He would send a storm
To keep them from reaching the shore
Until Jesus could come to them
Walking on the water.

Not only did this further confirm to them


That Jesus was the Messiah,
It also strengthened their belief
That He would come to them
When they needed Him most.

Thats why the Lord sends trial into our lives.


Being a Christian isnt easy

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Its the most difficult life that can be lived,
If it is lived for Gods glory.
But its end is the best.
The trials He sends are meant
To strengthen us in faith and in grace
That we might serve Him better here;
But theyre also meant to increase
Our blessedness throughout eternity
When we finally arrive in heaven.

B. Preview.
Now we see that when the crowds realized
That Jesus was no longer with them
They began looking for Him
Until they finally found Him at Capernaum.

This morning, we want to see that


Seeking Jesus is a good thing,
But not if were seeking Him for the wrong reasons.
Lets consider two things:
1. That we should continually seek Jesus.
2. But we must seek Him for the right reasons.
II. Sermon.
A. First, we should continually seek Jesus.
1. Thats what this crowd did.

John writes, The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea [i.e.,
that is from where Jesus and His disciple now were] saw that there was no
other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His
disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. There
came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate 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 small boats, and
came to Capernaum seeking Jesus (vv. 22-24).

After Jesus had fed the five thousand the day before,
He sent His disciples ahead of Him to the land of Gennesaret
Which is where Capernaum was located.
The crowds saw Him send them away.
They also saw Him withdraw to the mountain to pray;
But they didnt see Him go away on the water.
So when the next day came,
They began looking for Him:
They were still convinced He was the Messiah
The prophet Moses predicted,
The One who would lead them to victory over Rome
And so they still wanted to make Him King.

But Jesus was nowhere to be found


They had no idea where He was.
There had only been one boat
The one the disciples had taken
And He hadnt gone with them.

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If He had taken the land route to Capernaum,
He couldnt have gone very far,
Since that way was difficult.
So where was He?

After they had thoroughly searched the area,


They decided to look in Capernaum
Thats where Jesus lived,
That was His headquarters.
Thats also where He had sent His disciples,
And they knew Jesus wouldnt leave them on their own for very long.

In Gods Providence, some small boats from Tiberius


Happened to be sailing by.
Tiberius was on the other side of the sea,
Just South of Capernaum.
It was a city that had been built
By Herod in honor of Tiberius Caesar.
Apparently, they had business in that area
And didnt mind picking up additional passengers.
As I said before,
It was much faster to travel
To the cities situated around the sea
By boat than by foot.

And so the crowd,


Desiring to find Jesus
Came to Capernaum looking for Him,
That they might make Him King.
And verse 25 tells us they found Him.

2. This is a picture of what we should be doing: seeking Jesus.


a. First, because thats what He commands.
He says through Isaiah, Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon
Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous
man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have
compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon
(55:6-7).

The Father sent His Son into the world


So that all might seek Him
Not just Jews, but also the Gentiles.
That was made clear at the Jerusalem Council.
Luke writes, After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying,
Brethren, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first concerned
Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.
With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, AFTER
THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE
TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL
REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, SO THAT THE
REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE
GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, SAYS THE LORD,
WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO (Acts
15:13-18).
b. Second, because we need Him.
(i) If you dont know Him,

You should be seeking Him for His salvation.


You cant expect the Lord to save you
Unless you look for Him,
Unless you look to Him for that salvation,
Unless you put yourself in the way of His salvation,
That is, unless you put yourself
In that place where He is pleased to save:
Under the preaching of His Gospel
Thats what He makes powerful by His Spirit.
If youre not interested in eternal life,
Hes not interested in giving it to you.
He only gives it to those who look to Him for it.

Thats why the Lord sends His messengers with the Gospel
So that you will know this good news exists,
And knowing, that you would reach out to Him
That you might receive His Son
And with Him eternal life.

(ii) If you know Him, He still wants you to seek Him


For His grace, His strength, His love;
For the power to break free from the influences of this world,
That you might better serve Him,
And bring honor to His name.

You will never be able to do this


If your heart is captivated by the world,
And not by Him.

c. But you must seek Him diligently.


We have a great picture of this in our passage this morning.
The crowds looked all over for Jesus,
And when they didnt find Him where they were,
They were willing to travel across the sea.
They searched until they found Him.
If you want to find Him,
You must not only look,
But you must be willing
To put effort into it:
You must seek Him until you find Him.

You also need to look where He is most likely to be found.


As I said before,
You wont find Him in the world
Hes not in the bar,
Or at the concert,
Or at the sporting event

Where is He?

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If you dont know Him,
He can be found with His people when they gather for worship.
You can hear Him speak when His Word is read and preached.
His voice that raises the dead
Can particularly be heard when the Gospel is preached,
Or when it is shared by one of His children.
Thats where you need to look.

If you know Him,


Hes not far from you
You will find Him in these places
Ive already mentioned,
As well as in prayer
Which He has promised He will always hear
If you come to Him in faith.

The Lord is even willing to help you find Him.


Why were those small boats from Tiberius
Near to where the people were?
God sent them that they might find Jesus.
If you sincerely seek the Lord,
He will send the help you need to find Him.
But again, you must be willing to put effort into it.
Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone

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who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will
be opened (Matt. 7:7-8).
Jesus will be found, if you search diligently.

And He is worth finding.


If you dont believe that,
Youll never look for Him as you should.
Salvation from hell and eternal life is worth whatever
You must put out to receive it.
The same is true of the blessings He has promised
For you who belong to Him.
We should all seek Him.

B. But second, we must seek Him for the right reasons.


1. What they were doing was good,
But they were doing it with a wrong motive.
John continues, When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to
Him, Rabbi, when did You get here? Jesus answered them and said, Truly,
truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you
ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes,
but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give
to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal (vv. 24-27).
This crowd was zealous to find Jesus,
But not for what He offered.

They asked Him, Rabbi, when did You get here?


From verse 59 of this chapter,
Here appears to be in the synagogue.

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They knew Jesus would most likely be at Capernaum,


And at the synagogue,
Because of His desire to honor His Father.
If you want to find Jesus,
Youll find Him where He is worshiped.

Of course, their question wasnt really aimed


At when He got there, but how.
How did you get over here
When there was only one boat?

Notice, Jesus doesnt answer their question


Sometimes we ask the wrong questions
Instead, He tells them what they needed to hear
As He did with Nicodemus
Which is what He will always do with us
He said: Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs,
but because you ate of the loaves and were filled (v. 26).

Jesus is saying, Its good that you sought Me,


But your motive isnt good
Jesus not only knows what were doing,
He also knows why we do it
They werent seeking Jesus for His teaching
It wasnt because of the miracles/signs He did

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The very thing that proved to Nicodemus


That Jesus had been sent from God (3:2),
That proved that what He taught was from God
It wasnt because they wanted to hear
What God had to say
It was because they ate of the loaves and were filled.
Matthew Henry writes, It wasnt because He taught them, but because He fed
them.
Their interest, in other words,
Wasnt spiritual, but carnal.

And so Jesus redirects them: Do not work for the food which perishes, but for
the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you,
for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal (v. 27).
He points them to the same thing
That He earlier pointed the Samaritan woman
Only through a different image.
Dont labor for the water that will leave you thirsty for more,
But for what will forever quench your thirst.
Dont work for the food that perishes,
But for the food which endures to eternal life.

What is the food that perishes?


The water that leaves you thirsty?
Its the things of this world

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The things that only satisfy for a while,
But then leave you thirsty for more:
The money, the fame, and the fun.
The things you can never hold onto, if you would,
And shouldnt if you could.
Solomon writes, Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your
consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth
certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens
(Prov. 23:4-5).
Matthew Henry writes, Those that have the largest share of them are not sure to
have them while they live, but are sure to leave them and lose them when
they die (Henry).

If thats what this food is like, why work for it?


Why not work for the food which endures for eternal life?
For the happiness you can have in this world,
And the riches, honor and pleasure
That can be yours forever in heaven?
These are what Jesus will give you
If you will seek Him.

Hes the only One who can,


Because its on Him the Father
Has set His seal
He has shown us
That Jesus is the One
Through whom we can gain these blessings

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Through the signs He has given Him to do.

2. And so ask yourself this morning,


Are you seeking Jesus?
If you are, thats good.
But what do you want from Him?

Do you just want the loaves?


Thats what many in the church today want
They want money,
They want fame,
And what comes from these: pleasure.
Just look at the majority of mega churches
And so-called Christian ministries.

Some are seeking Jesus only to be healed.


Some seek Him to please their parents,
To win the affections of a young man or woman theyre interested in,
Or to please their friends.
Why are you seeking Him?

Jesus tells you why you should:


If you dont know Him, that you might be saved;
But if you do,
For His grace and strength to overcome your sins,

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For the power to break free from this world,


So that you might better serve and honor Him here,
And gain glory in the world to come.

Jesus says to you this morning,


Dont work for the food that perishes,
Dont drink from the well that will leave you thirsting for more:
Seek for the food and water that forever satisfies
That Jesus alone has to give. Amen.
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