David Anguish
To summarize the main idea of the previous articles in this series, we need to give attention to meeting people's needs in the manner we see embodied in Jesus. We should do this because it is right, not out of any ulterior motive. Where injustice and hurt exist, those who seek to imitate God should be first in line to try to change things for the right, to do what he would do.
At the same time, we must avoid the temptation to think that we have completely imitated Jesus by helping the sick and hurting, feeding the hungry, and clothing the needy. The essence of what is often called the "social gospel" is bound up in this out-of-balance position, which really amounts to a sort of religious materialism. It is again the example of Jesus which demonstrates the balance we must seek. No passage better illustrates this point than John 6.
First, we should notice that the people followed Jesus precisely because he had met their physical needs: "A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick" (v 2, NASB). Though, as the chapter later makes plain, Jesus understood their motivation, he did not hesitate to perform yet another sign to meet the need on this occasion, namely their hunger. The people became even more enthralled, so "that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king" (v 14).
Jesus resisted their attempt (v 15), and departed the area. Sending his disciples ahead, he caught up to them by walking on the Sea of Galilee, and then accompanied them to Capernaum. The crowds pursued him, wondering at yet another sign: how he had gotten there ahead of them when he had not left with the disciples. It is at this point that Jesus begins to confront them with spiritual concerns. Not only does he try to shift their focus from the temporal to the eternal, he also challenges their motive for following him. "Jesus answered them and said, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, ...'" (John 6:26-27).
When the crowds don't get his point (v 30), he tries again, pointing out that the real lesson of the manna was not about physical sustenance, but about spiritual life, a principle he himself fulfilled (vv 32-35). So unaware of this point does Jesus perceive the crowds to be that he accuses them of disbelief - "but I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe" (v 36). This attitude characterized them despite the signs and their obvious pursuit of him. They had seen their needs met, but had missed Jesus. In fact, verse 41 tells us that they grumbled "because He said, 'I am the bread that came down out of heaven.'"
The matter comes to a head in verses 60-66. Having repeated his claim to be "the living bread that came down out of heaven" (v 51), Jesus drives home his spiritual point. Some could take no more. "Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, 'This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it'" (v 60)? Jesus responded that the issue was one of the Spirit, not the flesh (v 63). "As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore" (v 66).
It is significant, especially for our study, that John specifies that it was "disciples" who abandoned Jesus at this point. The very people who had followed him so ardently had now turned their backs on him. Why? Because their focus had not been on the spiritual at all. Though Jesus' attention to their physical needs was genuinely motivated, that physical concern was all that had attracted them. When they discovered there was more to discipleship than full bellies and healed limbs, they turned away. The lessons we need to learn from this fact are vital to true church growth. We will take them up in Part 4.