Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? John 6:30
The
Jews had come looking for Jesus after they had eaten of the bread that
was multiplied, and when they found Him, He told them that they were not
looking for Him because they saw the sign of the bread that He
multiplied, but simply because of the bread that they ate. Now, to show
that they truly did not see the significance of the multiplied loaves,
they asked Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and
believe You?" Obviously they didn't get it. The bread that they ate was
the sign that they were looking for, yet they couldn't recognize it
because they were looking for something more earthly, like military
power and accomplishments. This was what they believed that the Messiah
would show them when He comes.
But
unknown to them, the Messiah would have to first offer up His life for
the people in His first coming to defeat their spiritual enemy before He
will come and deliver them from their physical enemies in His second
coming. So they demanded that He showed them a work to make them believe
Him. In the long conversation recorded in the sixth chapter of John,
Jesus told them that He was the true bread that came from heaven, and
that whosoever eats of this bread will not die. But they failed to
understand that He was calling on them to believe in Him. The sign they
were looking to see was Christ, the bread from heaven, but they were
occupied with a desire for bread which perishes with use.
Toni
