In today's episode of The Takeaway, Pastor Harry Burns turns to John 6, verses 22 to 34, where a crowd goes searching for Jesus, but for reasons far different than true faith. They pursue him not because they've seen who he is, but because they've tasted what he can give. In this passage, Jesus confronts a pattern that still runs through the human heart, the impulse to seek God's provision while resisting God's call to surrender. Here, Jesus draws a sharp line between the life we try to build in our own strength and the life he alone can give. He exposes motives, corrects misunderstandings, and redirects the crowd toward a deeper hunger, one that can only be satisfied through him. In this message, Pastor Harry invites us to consider what kind of life we are truly seeking and whether we are willing to follow Christ into the kind of faith that cannot be manufactured, only received. Here's Pastor Harry Barens with today's teaching.

Now, before we step into our passage today, we need to remember where the last two episodes have brought us. At the beginning of John 6, a massive crowd followed Jesus out into the wilderness, not because they wanted him, but because they wanted what he could do. He multiplied bread in the hands of his disciples. And although the crowd experienced the miracle, they never truly saw it. The disciples were the ones who understood what little they had and what Jesus himself had produced. Then, in our last episode, Jesus sent his disciples onto the sea while he remained behind, leaving the crowd on what I called the shore of unbelief. As the disciples struggled against the wind and waves, Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and he completed the very command he had given them. He told them to get go to the other side, and he himself ensured they made it there. The crowd remained behind, still confused, still unbelieving. But the disciples experienced Jesus' faithfulness firsthand. All of this sets the stage for the confrontation in today's text because the real issue is not the crowd's circumstances, it is their hearts. And it's the same issue we face today. We often want a Jesus who serves our needs more than a Jesus we are willing to follow. We want the power, but not the person. We want the life, but not the death. And so Jesus in this passage brings us to a razor's edge, a place where he calls us to something that we, if we are honest, cannot do in our own strength. So let's begin reading in John 6, verses 22 to 24. It says, On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberius came near the place where they had eaten 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 boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus. Now the crowd realizes something unusual happened during the night here. The disciples had taken the only boat, yet Jesus was gone. They see the effects, but not the revelation. They sense something happened, but they cannot read it spiritually. This is exactly what John told us back in John chapter 2, verses 23 to 25. Says, Many believed because of signs, but Jesus did not entrust himself to them. They believed externally, but remained blind internally. They chased Jesus again, not for him, but for the benefits. This is always the danger of the human heart. We often desire what Jesus gives more than Jesus Himself. Think about the difference between the crowd and the disciples. The disciples got into the boat because Jesus commanded them to. They were exhausted, pushed by the wind and waves. Yet their faith, though weak, still clung to Jesus. Peter could say, Lord, if it is you, command me to come. Even in fear, he still desired obedience. The crowd had no such desire. They sought satisfaction, not surrender. This is the same spiritual pattern Paul names in 1 Corinthians 2.14. He says, The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit. That distinction matters. Information alone cannot produce faith. Only revelation produces transformation. Now verses 25 to 26 say, when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? And Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. So their question reveals their misunderstanding. How did you get here? They said. In other words, how did you do this? Show us more. But Jesus doesn't answer how he got there. He answers why they came. He says, You're seeking me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate your fill. They didn't see the miracle as a revelation of his identity. They saw it as a resource for their survival. Now Jesus is exposing the real issue. Unbelief always turns miracles into merchandise. It turns God's gifts into tools for self-preservation. Paul describes this perfectly in Philippians 3.19, where he says, their God is their belly, their minds set on earthly things. The appetite had become their theology. Their physical desires govern their spiritual decisions. And we do the same. Meet my needs, then I'll commit. Make my life work, then I'll obey. The crowd wanted Jesus to support the life they already had, but he came to end that life and give them a new one. That brings us to where Jesus is leading this entire conversation. We want life from him without dying with him. But Jesus refuses to build disciples who still cling to self. In verse 27, it says, Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal. Jesus is not forbidding effort, he is forbidding self-salvation. The crowd is exhausting themselves, chasing physical outcomes with spiritual energy. They want Jesus to extend the life they already have, and he wants to give them a life they can't produce. The bread perishes, human strength perishes, self-effort perishes. He is talking about the condition of the human heart here. John 3 6 says, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. In other words, the flesh can only multiply what is already dead. Our best efforts only generate more self-reliance. We don't wake up one day and say, Today I choose righteousness and suddenly produce righteousness. The flesh cannot manufacture life. Romans 8 6 says, To set the mind on the flesh is death. The dependence on self always ends in decay. This is what the crowd cannot see. Their hunger reveals their theology. Their desires show that they re what they really believe about Jesus. They want him to sustain their current life, not replace it. But Jesus came not to upgrade the old life. Jesus is teaching them the death of self-dependence, the same death Paul describes in Romans 6. He says, We were buried with him that we might walk in newness of life. You don't walk in resurrection life by improving the flesh. You walk in resurrection life by be by burying it. This is where grace begins. Not where striving succeeds, but where striving ends. Many people misunderstand grace. They think grace is the good side of Christianity, the blessing, the favor, the comfort, the part where we avoid suffering. But biblically, grace is what makes death possible. Grace empowers your surrender. Grace gives you the strength to die so that you may live. The disciples and the martyrs understood this. They didn't avoid death. They walked into it because they believed the promise of resurrection. This is the shift Jesus is making in verse 27. He is redirecting their hunger away from the flesh and toward himself. If life comes through him, then death to self is unavoidable. If the Father has set his seal on him, then he alone is the source of eternal life. Jesus is not teaching them how to live better. Now looking at verses 28 and 29, we read, Then they said to him, What must we do to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. This is the heart of the human problem right here. As soon as Jesus exposes their motives, they reach for the same response Israel reached for in the wilderness. Tell us what to do, give us the method, give us the steps, give us the technique. They want control, not surrender. They want the water, but not the rock. They want the bread, but not the baker. They want the life, but not the death. This question, what must we do, is the oldest religious impulse in the world. It feels humble, but it isn't. It is unbelief. Why? Because whenever the flesh asks, What must I do? the flesh always expects an answer it thinks it can perform. Paul describes this in Colossians 2 20 to 23. The human heart wants commands that look wise, touch not, taste not, handle not, instructions we think we can obey, methods we think we can master. But Jesus refuses to build a self-help religion. He answers with something that kills self-reliance. He says, This is the work of God, not the work God wants from you, the work God performs in you. This is God's work that you believe. Belief itself is a miracle of grace. Faith is not what you do for God. Faith is what God does in you. And belief is not self-improvement, it is self-collapse. It is the moment you stop rowing and start receiving. It is the moment you stop asking for instructions and surrender to a Savior. This is why later in the chapter, Jesus will say, All that the Father gives me will come to me. And no one can come unless the Father draws him. And no one can come unless it is granted by the Father. He is laying that foundation right here in verse 29. Your decision to follow Christ is real because God revealed himself to you, opened your eyes, awakened your desire, and enabled your belief. Before that revelation, you did not want him. You could not want him. You cannot come to the one you do not see. Jesus is telling the crowd, you're asking for a list of works. There is no list. God must create the faith you cannot produce. Belief begins where self-effort dies. This is why the how-to question completely fails. Jesus is not calling them to do anything, He is calling them to receive someone. And now everything turns on how the crowd responds to this revelation. Looking at verses 30 to 31, we read, so they said to him, Then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What works do you perform? Our fathers ate the man in the wilderness, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Now their response proves they understand Jesus perfectly. He has just said, Faith is the work of God. So they twist his words back on him. They say, If God, if God must create belief, then show us God at work through you, Jesus. They heard him, but they just refused the implication. This is the nature of unbelief. It does not misunderstand Jesus, it resists him. They demanded control, not surrender, by saying, Show us a sign, perform something for us, meet our expectations. They don't want revelation, they want leverage, they want a God they can test, a messiah they can manage, a savior who fits their terms. So they appeal to Moses because they want proof, not repentance. They said, Our fathers ate the manna. In other words, Moses gave daily bread. If you want us to believe you, do something at least equal to that. But here's the tragedy. They had already received the miracle. They ate multiplied bread the day before, but they never truly saw the one who multiplied it. Unbelief always misses the miracle standing in front of it. They trusted the gift, but not the gift giver. This is exactly the pattern Paul identifies in 1 Corinthians 1 22. He says, The Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom. The Jews want the spectacular, the Greeks want the logical. Both want something they can control. But the gospel offers neither of that. We preach Christ crucified, Paul says. We say, God, if you do this, then I'll trust you. Fix this problem and I'll follow you. Give me a sign and I'll obey you. We want a Savior on our terms. But Jesus is leading them and us to the opposite truth. You cannot receive the bread of life on your own terms. You must receive him on his terms. And his terms always begin with the death of self-reliance. Verses 32 to 34, Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. So the crowd appeals to Moses, and Jesus immediately corrects them. Moses never gave them bread. God did. This is Jesus' first correction. Stop looking to Moses. Stop treating manna as something you can use against me. Your fathers received bread because my father gave it to them. This destroys their entire argument. If God gave them manna, then God controls the bread, not Moses, not the people, and certainly not the crowd demanding signs. They cannot manipulate this bread, they cannot demand it on their terms. The father is giving the true bread right now. And that's past tense. Moses did not give you bread. Present tense is my father gives you the true bread. The manna was never the point. It only pointed to the point. The true bread is not a product, it is a person. Jesus says, the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven, not it. He. The bread of God is Christ Himself, the one the Father sent to give life to the world. But there's a build-in cost. The bread must be broken. A grain must die. A sacrifice must be offered. Jesus is preparing them and us for two deaths, his death and ours. And they respond like the Samaritan woman did at first. Sir, give us this bread always. This sounds spiritual, but it isn't. They want the benefits without the person. They want the outcome without the surrender, and they want the life without the death. Just like the woman at the well, sir, give me this water. She wanted the convenience of miracle water before she wanted the Christ who offered it. The crowd is doing the exact same thing here. They're saying, give us this bread, give us the blessing, give us the provision, give us the life, but not give us you. They still can't see it. Jesus is leading them to the unavoidable truth. No one receives the bread of life while clinging to the life they already have without Him. Life in Christ requires death with Christ. Those who want the gift without surrendering the old life cannot receive it. This is why verse 34 is so tragic. They want Jesus to maintain the life they already have. But Jesus will not take their request and confront and instead he confronts them with reality. To eat this bread is to die. To live, you must let the old self be broken. Jesus has been leading this crowd step by step to a truth they do not want to face. You cannot receive the life of Christ without dying with Christ. They want him to improve the old life. And this is where the razor's edge of his message cuts into our own hearts. We want a Savior who fixes our problems, not one who ends the life we cling to apart from him. We want resurrection without crucifixion. But Jesus will not build disciples on those terms. Death is not the enemy of the Christian life. It is the doorway. Let me say that again. Death is not the enemy of the Christian life. It is the doorway. We often think God's grace keeps us from death. The truth is far deeper. God's grace enables us to die, to die to self, die to our sin, to die to the life we keep trying to build without Him. And for many of us, God must bring us to the end of ourselves financially, emotionally, spiritually, physically, not to destroy us, but to resurrect something new. You can picture it like standing on the edge of a cliff. God calls you to step off in faith. We expect Him to catch us mid-air, but often He lets us fall. We panic, we flap wings we don't have, we see the ground rushing toward us, and then we hit bottom. And God says, Now you're finally where resurrection begins. Grace did not prevent the fall, it sustained you through it, and it brought you to the end of your strength so that his strength alone could raise you. This is the pattern of the Christian life. Die daily, rise daily, not in your strength, but in his. This is why Jesus presses us so deeply in John 6. God is not interested in making you feel better for your sake. He is interested in bringing you to the end of yourself so that when he raises what died in you, your worship becomes real. This is what he told the woman at the well. He says, the Father is seeking those who will worship him in truth and spirit. And true worship comes from a resurrected life, from someone who knows I was dead and he made me alive. This is his work, not mine. We were created to be image bearers, to reflect his glory. Jesus did this perfectly, and he died to give that life to us. If we are to reflect his glory, then death to self will always be part of that process. Here's the hope. He has made you alive in the spirit so that you can die to the flesh daily and rise again daily. Disease, sickness, loss, hardship, none of these things are obstacles to God. Whether here or in eternity, he will heal, he will raise, he will complete the work he began. Death cannot stop him. It only reveals him. So yes, we walk toward the cross, not in fear, but in faith. Because the God who calls us into death is the same God who raises the dead. You can surrender your life to him today. You can step off the cliff. You can stop striving. You can allow grace to destroy what must die, so that grace may resurrect what God has designed to live. This is the life Jesus is offering in John 6. Not better circumstances, but a new creation. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word and for showing us again that true life comes only through your Son. Teach us to stop striving in our own strength and to trust the work you're doing within us. Give us the courage to surrender what must die and the faith to receive the life you alone can give. Draw us closer to Christ and help us walk in the newness of his resurrection each and every day. In Jesus' name. Amen. Now, as always, I want to thank you for joining us today. And I hope this episode has helped you take a step closer in your relationship with Jesus and that you now have a deeper understanding of just how much God loves you and wants you to know him. And in our next episode, we're going to continue through John 6, as Jesus makes one of the most foundational declarations in all of Scripture. He says, I am the bread of life. The crowd asks for bread, but Jesus offers himself. And the meaning of that statement will confront us in ways we often overlook. So I hope you'll join us as we explore what it truly means to find life in Him alone. Now it's our desire that this ministry be a tool to reach the lost and equip the saints for a life that brings glory to God. God bless, and we'll see you next time on the takeaway.