John 6 Verses 16-21 

John 6:16 “And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, 17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. 18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. 19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. 20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. 21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.” 

In Matthew 14:22 we read where Jesus had contrained the disciples to go in a ship to the other side.  Thus, the disciples were doing what the Lord had told them to do, they were going to the other side of the sea unto Capernaum.  They had not gone very far until a great wind blew against the ship.  Sometimes when we are doing what we are told to do, we meet great opposition and we make very little progress.  I suppose that to sailors on a sail boat, the wind on the sea is the greatest danger that they fear the most and here we are told that a great wind had blown against the ship.  What are we to do, when we are doing what we believe the Lord has directed us to do and face great opposition to our directed task?  We are to do as the disciples did, we are to continue rowing until the Lord comes unto us.   

The Lord relieved the fears of the disciples when he said unto them “It is I: be not afraid.”  Both the fears of the wind and the fears of the Lord coming to them in a way that they did not recognize him were immediately calmed and the disciples received into the ship.  Likewise, when we receive the Lord as he comes to us to deliver us as we toil in the task before us with great opposition, will calm our fears as well. 

“Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.”  Notice that as soon as the Lord was received into the ship they were at their destination!

John 6 Verses 22-27 

John 6:22 “The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” 

From the above we gather that the people that had eaten of the loaves and fishes had gone to a very large effort to seek the Lord.  They no longer were seeking the Lord for the miracles they had witnessed, but they were seeking the Lord because of the blessing of having their appetite satisfied, when it appeared they would go hungry.  This is born out as the reason they were seeking the Lord when the Lord said, “Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.”   

In the Lord’s next statement we find that he told them that was not the proper motive for seeking him: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”  The farmer who seeks the Lord because the Lord blessed him with an abundant crop may find that the next year there is a famine or a pest infestation and he gathers little.  The blessings of natural things to satisfy our natural needs are good reasons for us to thank the Lord, but it is not the reason for us to seek the Lord.  If we seek him because of the natural blessings, what will we do when the natural blessings cease?  The proper motive here is to seek the Lord for the spiritual blessings: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

John 6 Verses 28-29 

John 6:28 “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”  

This passage is a stumbling block to those who profess that they do not believe that eternal salvation is by their works, yet, says that a person must believe on the Lord in order to be born again and be saved from sins.  They maintain that faith is not a work.   

Those who had sought the Lord asked him a question about what shall they do that they might work the works of God.  The Lord’s answer was “this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”  Thus the Lord affirmed that believing on Christ is the work of God.  Now there is two possible ways that this statement of the Lord’s may be interpreted, but either way denies the premise that those profess who say that they do not believe that eternal salvation is by their works, yet, say that a person must believe on the Lord in order to be born again and be saved from their sins.   

The first way that the Lord’s statement may be interpreted is that it is the Lord’s work in the new birth that enables us to believe on him whom he hath sent.  Obviously this denies the premise of those who maintain that the new birth and salvation from sins is by the belief of the sinner. 

The second way that the Lord’s statement may be interpreted is that God has given them a work to do which is to believe on him whom he hath sent.  Again, this is a problem for those who believe that salvation from sins and the new birth is not of works, but of faith: The reason being that the Lord called believing a work.   

The fact is that faith is both a work that God has performed upon us in the new birth as faith is a fruit of the Spirit.  Faith is also a work to be done by us in bearing the fruit of the Spirit.