John 6:27

Work not for the food which perisheth, but for the food which abideth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him the Father, even God, hath sealed.

Work not for the food which perisheth ... The great passion of men should not be for material, secular, and earthly things; but these should be subordinated to the far greater goal of procuring food that gives eternal life. This does not mean, "Do not work for your daily bread." The very opposite is commanded. Even in Paradise, Adam was commanded to labor; and toil was ordained as man's occupation after the fall. No man need be ashamed to work; our Lord himself spent the greater part of his earthly sojourn in a carpenter's shop; Paul the apostle sustained himself as a tentmaker; and the admonition here does not forbid work as the normal employment of a Christian's time. The injunction here is an order to keep first things first and secondary things secondary. The church in general, at this juncture in time, needs this instruction no less than the unspiritual crowd that gathered around the Lord in Capernaum.

CHRIST AND THE SOCIAL GOSPEL

Two kinds of food are under consideration here: that which perishes, and that which abides unto eternal life; and the problem of keeping these separate and distinct needs in the proper focus is one of the great challenges confronting Christianity today.

The great concern of true religion is in the realm of the moral and spiritual; and the consideration overriding all others is that of the final attainment unto eternal life. To that glorious goal of Christian faith absolutely everything else must be subordinated. It was this very thing that came into focus in the Saviour's wilderness temptation when Satan proposed making bread out of stones (Matthew 4:4). And why not? Such would have solved the economic problem absolutely. From the miracle here recorded, it is clear that Christ could have done it. He could have made enough bread for all who ever lived or ever would live on earth. Why didn't he do it? Jesus would have done it if miraculous bread had been the correct answer, either for Jesus' own personal need, or for the needs of all human beings. In rejecting Satan's proposal for himself, Jesus also rejected it for all people. Bitter as the truth might appear in some circumstances, there are other things more important than bread. It is the failure of people to receive this truth, and in some instances, the failure of the church itself to receive it, that requires attention.

Organized Christianity in our day has been swept far out to sea in the inordinate stress of material and social improvements, while neglecting to love and preach that sacred body of truth which can alone endow the church with any true meaning. W. F. Howard wrote:

That is a caution much required when what many call their Christianity is not easily differentiated from mere humanism, and not a few are preaching social reform instead of the salvation of men's souls. Dostoevski was of the opinion that humanitarianism is the form of atheism most to be dreaded, the greatest anti-religious force in Europe; so he confidently laid it down.[8]

In this connection, Maurice Maeterlinck warned:

Let us beware lest we act as he did in the fable, who stood watch in a lighthouse, and gave to the poor in their cabins about him the oil for the mighty lanterns that serve to illuminate the sea.[9]

What vexes Christ the most in the economic situation is not that material things are so badly distributed, but rather that they are so grossly overvalued. In his standard of measurement, they rank very low indeed. And he looks in amazement at a world pressing and jostling like swine around their feeding troughs, paying life away for what to him are trifles at the best.[10]

This does not deny some importance to fleshly and material needs, nor the binding obligation of Christians to alleviate to the fullest extent of their abilities such needs of their fellow beings, and especially of their fellow disciples. But let people slow down in their mad pursuit of secular and material values and more adequately concern themselves with the ultimate needs of the soul. After all, the latter are eternal needs, the former only temporary needs.

But work for the food which abideth unto eternal life ... And how, indeed, may men work for such food as that? Let them study the Scriptures as lost men in a wilderness might study a map, searching them daily, as did the Bereans; let them seek and attend the corporate worship services, bringing their whole hearts into the public assemblies, and truly worshipping God in spirit and in truth; let them meditate upon the word of God day and night, honor its precepts, heed its warnings, observe its prohibitions, receive its promises, and trust it as God's word absolutely. Such verbs in the New Testament as study, strive, work, walk, sing, worship, pray, bear, love; give, keep, ask, seek, knock, and run - such verbs denote the type of spiritual activity included in the Saviour's command to "work for the food that perishes not."

Which the Son of man shall give unto you ... Christ did not here reveal the shocking truth which he would later stress that he himself was the true bread from heaven; here he identified himself only as the giver of it.

For him the Father, even God, hath sealed ... Ryle noted regarding this:

The expression applied to our Lord in this place stands alone, but there is no doubt of its meaning. It signifies that in the eternal counsels of God the Father, he has sealed, commissioned, and designated the Son of man, the incarnate Word, to be the giver of everlasting life to man. It is an office for which Christ has been solemnly set apart by the Father.[11]

From the most ancient times, documents sealed by kings were considered to carry the utmost in power and authority (Esther 8:8). John's use of "sealed" therefore appears as an assurance of the absolutely sufficient power of God to provide salvation through Jesus Christ.

[8] W. F. Howard, The Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1952). Vol. VIII, p. 554.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] J. C. Ryle, op. cit., p. 356.