Cheryl Schatz

Mark,
I would like to add some comments to your exegesis of John 6:26-30 because you missed some things.

John 6:25–26 (NASB)
25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
26 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.

When the crowd finally found Jesus and they ask Him when he arrived, Jesus focuses in on the fact that they are indeed seeking Him. Jesus uses the term “Truly, truly” which means “Amen, amen”. It is used with “I say” to give a very strong affirmation of what is stated. The Analytical lexicon defines it this way:

2) used with lego (say) to emphasize that what is being said is a solemn declaration of what is true
Vol. 4: Analytical lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Baker’s Greek New Testament library (46).

So Jesus is giving a solemn declaration that we are to pay attention to. He is saying that the crowd was indeed seeking Him but not because of the signs or miracles. The term for “seek” means to devote serious effort to realize one’s desire or objective, strive for, aim (at), try to obtain.

The crowd’s seeking Jesus was actually a desire to seek to obtain the free bread. Next Jesus tells them what they are to work for.

John 6:27 (NASB) “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

Jesus makes a link between the serious effort that they went to in seeking Him (Jesus calls it “work” as they had come a long way across the sea to get into the free food line). He tells them instead to “work” or put in the effort for the food which is everlasting which He will give to them. They were commanded to make an effort. The term for “work” means to engage in activity that involves effort, work. (Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed.) (389)

This was not a new command but something that Jesus had said before in Luke 13:24

Luke 13:24 (NASB) “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

To strive means to fight, struggle, labor. Thus Jesus means to fight and struggle to enter through the narrow door…and struggling for this eternal food that I will give you is worth your effort.

Next Jesus said in John 6:27 that the Father had set “His seal” upon Jesus. Setting a seal upon something is providing a seal as a security measure. It is the ultimate power given to the Son of imparting eternal life that will never perish.

When Jesus told the crowd that they must diligently strive for the eternal food that He will give them, they were compelled to ask what it is that they must do to diligently strive for the works of God.

John 6:28 (NASB)
28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”

The crowd is thinking that there are many works (plural) that they would have to do to obtain eternal life. But Jesus give them one effort as it is just one work that is necessary.

John 6:29 (NASB) Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

The activity that they were to strive for was to “believe” in Jesus whom God had sent. As you said, Mark, the crowd did not just believe Jesus by the works He had already performed, they asked for a sign that they could see and believe. They asked Jesus for a “work”.

Next comment will be going on to the next verses.