HUNGER GAMES — John 6:29

John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

AUTHOR:
The author is the apostle John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

He was prominent in the early church but is not mentioned by name in this Gospel — which would be natural if he wrote it, but hard to explain otherwise. The author knew Jewish life well, as seen from references to popular Messianic speculations to the hostility between Jews and Samaritans and to Jewish customs, such as the duty of circumcision on the eighth day taking precedence over the prohibition of working on the Sabbath. He knew the geography of the Holy Land, locating Bethany about two miles from Jerusalem and mentioning Cana, a village not referred to in any earlier writing known to us. The Gospel of John has many touches that appear to reflect the recollections of an eyewitness — such as the house at Bethany being filled with the fragrance of the broken perfume jar. Early writers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian say that John wrote this Gospel, and other evidence agrees.

AUDIENCE:
Primarily Gentile believers and seeking unbelievers.

APPROACH:
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Alrighty Fam! I am looking forward to this because of the title and how ironically this passage of scripture pertains to it. Now before you get carried away and think that it’s the HUNGER GAMES that we’re all aware of, slow your roll right now, because it’s not, lol. Although I will admit that I do love the HUNGER GAMES series and have to admit a little secret…I have a big crush on Jennifer Lawrence. Oooh! What will people say?!

Jennifer Lawrence in HUNGER GAMES

I’m also looking forward to this one because I believe this will be the first time that we have had a VOTD that comes from one of the four gospels of the New Testament. That would be the Gospel of John.

I love how the site Zondervan Academic describes the Gospels;
When people talk about “the gospel,” there’s only one thing they mean: the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the four books of the Bible that record almost everything we know about Jesus. If we want to learn about the things Jesus said and did, we have to turn to these ancient texts, believed to have been written by eyewitnesses or people who spoke with them during the first century.

Each of the four gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — paints a unique portrait of Jesus. They show us the same Jesus but portray him from different perspectives.

What are these four unique portraits?

1. Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of Old Testament hopes.
2. Mark portrays him as the suffering Son of God, who offers himself as a sacrifice for sins.
3. Luke’s Jesus is the Savior for all people, who brings salvation to all nations and people groups.
4. In John, Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the self-revelation of God the Father.

Having four gospels gives us a deeper, more profound understanding of who Jesus is and what he did.

So let’s move on and get to unpacking this VOTD titled — HUNGER GAMES!
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

The apostle John starts off chapter 6 with explaining and letting us know about a pretty big miracle that Jesus performed. It was the feeding of the five thousand. Let’s go there and see and read how John describes this event to us.

John 6:1–15
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),

2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.

3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.

4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,

9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).

11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”

13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

So there you have the apostle John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand. But unfortunately, I still have to bring another set of scriptures into play to fully understand the VOTD. Let’s now move to these passage of scriptures.

John 6:22–28
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.

23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

And once again, let me re-introduce our VOTD:
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Whew! That was a lot of scriptures to have to unfold just for us to get to one little bitty verse of scripture, huh? God’s Word is one that takes a lot of digging into. It really isn’t face value. If you ever treat God’s Word as face value, I guarantee you that you will fall flat on your face. This is how Johnny Treviño likes to say it.
“Treat God’s Word as face value,
Then value to fall flat on your face.”

So let’s move on before I really get started on that whole face, flat, value, fall stuff.

What we have take place is literally Jesus was moving and shaking. One minute Jesus moves to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus goes up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. Then Jesus looks up and sees a great crowd coming toward him again. All this takes place within the first five verses of chapter 6. You can say that Jesus was being followed everywhere He went.

So Jesus goes on to performing the miracle of feeding the five thousand. Then after doing so, evening comes and there is another miracle that Jesus is part of that I didn’t detail earlier. It is John’s account of Jesus walking on water. I didn’t mention this because it is literally a small blip that the apostle John wanted to share with us. Nevertheless, it happens and then we move on to Jesus and his disciples reaching the shore where they were heading.

Movements of Jesus

So the next day comes along and here we go again with the crowds. That same crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus did not jump into the boat with his disciples. So the crowd knows that Jesus is not with his disciples and is wondering where in the world is Jesus. While wondering and pondering, some boats come in from Tiberias (btw, cool name) also looking for Jesus because they had heard of the miracle he performed of the feeding of the five thousand. So once the crowd realizes that neither Jesus or his disciples were not there, they all get into the boats and go to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Great visual of surrounding cities around the Sea Of Galilee

So now we’re getting to the heart of the Verse Of The Day (VOTD). Look below and see how it ties in all together to HUNGER GAMES.

John 6:25–29
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Our VOTD:
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

John 6:30
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

So there you have it fam! When they found Jesus, they started small talking Him first by way of asking, “Rabbi, when did you get here.” I truly believe they wanted to know in their minds, “how in the heck did you get over here?” But if you notice Jesus’ response, He immediately knew in their hearts why they were asking such a question. Let’s take a look.

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

BAM! He literally called them out because they truly were not looking for Him — for Him only. They were looking for Him to once again satisfy their bellies with more food. Satisfy their own personal selfish desires. This is why I titled this VOTD, HUNGER GAMES, because they are literally searching and looking for Jesus only for what Jesus can do for them in the physical realm and not the spiritual realm. And because of this, He goes on to tell them even further instructions. Watch this!

27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Jesus is informing them and instructing them to quit with the works of their hands, and simply trust and believe in the Son Of Man, which is Jesus Christ.

It is the gift of salvation that is being presented to them, literally right in their presence and they don’t even see it — JT

They once again ask Him and He once again tells them.

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Our VOTD:
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

There it is! The work of God is to believe in the one He has sent. I believe that one of the first steps in doing the work of God is to accept Jesus as God’s Son that came down to atone for our sins, that we may be reconciled back to God. Please keep in mind though, there are many other works to do once we become part of His kingdom but the first step is to receive the gift.

I’ve always said that there are four things that must take place for a gift to be a gift. And they are as follows:

1. An individual has to be thinking of you to even be mindful about giving you something.
2. An individual has to come up with an idea, and then put forth and effort to get that gift for you.
3. An individual has to present the gift to you and this is an important part of the process, the recipient MUST accept and receive the gift.
4. Lastly, the recipient must USE the gift.

Can you imagine giving someone a gift and never see them use it? Imagine giving someone a car and they never drive it. Imagine giving someone a home and they never live in it. Imagine giving someone a beautifully wrapped gift and they never open it. I think I can say that it would be a very discouraging moment for all of us. So imagine what God must feel like when others reject His gift.

There is one more part of this study that I would like to bring out because this something that really hits home even to this day. Watch this!

Our VOTD:
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

Here we are seeing our VOTD in action again but we also are seeing those very same people who were part of the feeding of the five thousand still challenging Jesus once again for Him to perform another sign. As if the feeding of the five thousand wasn’t enough to take in! I believe that the other reason for asking for another sign is to see if Jesus was going to be buying their lunch again, lol. Once again, they’re just looking at this from a carnal mindset. They’re trying to only satisfy their fleshly desires. Their bellies!

So with that being said, I wanted to bring out something that jumped out at me. Since the moment that those people landed and found Jesus, this was their Questions and Commandment to Jesus. Watch This!

Four Questions & One Commandment:

1. “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
2. “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
3. “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you?
4. “What will you do?”
5. “Sir, they said, always give us this bread.”

These five items above were so significant back then because at that time, those people were avoiding the inevitable point of salvation. And believe it or not, this still happens to this day. Let me break this down for you. See below my answers in bold & italics.

1. “Rabbi, when did you get here?” — Oh shoot! God’s presence is here! His salvation message has arrived. I didn’t expect it now. What do I do?!
2. “What must we do to do the works God requires?” — I will just work for it. God tell me what I need to do to work for it. Or, God I’ve done this and that, that and this, I’m in, right?!
3. “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? — God, I need you to move on this! I need a sign! Or, God if you do this, I will do that.
4. “What will you do?” — Hello God?! You still there?! Still waiting God…on that sign.
5. “Sir, they said, always give us this bread.” — Telling God to keep feeding you food that spoils and not fully understanding that the “true bread” that never spoils is the gift of Jesus Christ.

I want to go back to those Four Questions & One Commandment and let you see how it looked for them back in those days.

1. “Rabbi, when did you get here?” — They never fully understood that their Savior, Jesus Christ, was always with them no matter where He went.
2. “What must we do to do the works God requires?” — They were questioning Jesus yet again on what to do but not really wanting to do what actually needed to be done, which is to simply have believed in Him.
3. “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? — Jesus had already done so many signs and miracles in front of them and they still were not satisfied with believing that He was the Messiah, the Savior. Also, these people held a Jewish view of the Messiah’s kingship characterized by exerting power to overthrow Rome. They wanted him to be a powerful ruler and king. And that’s not how God intended it for it to be.
4. “What will you do?” — A very challenging and rhetorical question. I believe they got very good at this methodology of always challenging and diverting.
5. “Sir, they said, always give us this bread.” — This is their response to Jesus just telling them, “for the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They are actually not getting it and think that Jesus is referring to the same ‘bread’ — ‘manna’ that Moses gave their ancestors in the wilderness. Again, their idea of ‘bread’ is one that eventually spoils and is only sufficient for temporary purposes vs. eternally. One more irony on this subject of bread. Do you remember that Jesus just fed the five thousand with barley loaves and fish? Isn’t it ironic that this was to be a precursor of Jesus talking about being the ‘bread of life.’ That is amazing!

APPLICATION:
So there you have it Fam! That is the great HUNGER GAMES for you. Isn’t it amazing to see how one verse of scripture literally brings all of these things out. There is so much that goes into reading God’s Word and I would still remind you to do the following when reading the bible. Always ask the following about any verse of the bible to get even more understanding of what exactly you’re reading.

1. WHO
2. WHAT
3. WHERE
4. WHEN
5. WHY

So let’s get to the present moment APPLICATION of how to make this VOTD applicable in our lives. We should always be looking to do the work of God, but please, please, please understand this. There is no work that can be done by you, for God, until YOU first come to receive His gift of salvation. Which is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on an old wooden cross. A sacrifice that was intended to atone for all our sins and reconcile us back to our heavenly Father.

“…The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” — John 6:29

Next APPLICATION is this. Always remember to not just be looking for God in the same way that those individuals were looking for Jesus, with an external and selfish motive that only satisfies YOU! I love how Jesus said it to them, Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. — John 6:26

DON’T HAVE YOUR FILL!

Lastly, I want to re-introduce those questions and commandment that we saw earlier and want to challenge you to see them and act on them differently.

1. “Rabbi, when did you get here?” — Jesus, how exciting that you are here with me.
2. “What must we do to do the works God requires?” — Jesus, please use my ability and availability for the works of God.
3. “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? — Jesus, I don’t need to tempt you for a sign because I already know that you will work within me for others to see the signs and come to believe in you.
4. “What will you do?” — Jesus, let me know what I need to do.
5. “Sir, they said, always give us this bread.” — Jesus, I know that you are the ‘bread of life’ and I ask that you also give of that bread to others, through my life.

So that’s it Fam! Always remember these 3 things:

1. Believe in Him!
2. Don’t Work For Things That Spoil — Work For Things That Are Eternal!
3. Share The Bread Of Life!

Have a GREAT day today!!!
❤️