What do you want from Jesus? After He had filled 5000 families with one boy’s lunch, the crowd knew what they wanted – they wanted Jesus to be their king so he would keep that gravy train rolling. And so they followed Jesus back across the lake and badgered Him to repeat the miracle, to continue blessing them in exclusively worldly ways.

What do you want from Jesus? His disciples had come to understand that He was the Holy One of God, the long-awaited Messiah. But, along with the rest of their countrymen, they expected Him to assume royal authority and expel the hated Romans from their midst, restoring the independence, the peace, and the prosperity their ancestors had known in the days of David and Solomon.

And maybe you want the same sorts of things from Jesus. Maybe you want your health or the health of your loved ones to be restored. Maybe you just want to be able to make ends meet, taking care of your family. Maybe you want your favorite candidates to win election next month so that the government will give you the kind of justice you think you deserve.

But Jesus didn’t come to fulfill such fleeting expectations. After all, He reminded the crowd that we all get hungry again, even after the richest of meals (John 6:27). That’s why Jesus came to give us the true, lasting bread from Heaven. In the same way, Jesus didn’t come just to demonstrate political mastery over worldly kingdoms. No, as He walked on the waves, He shows us that all authority in Heaven and on Earth is in His hands forever (John 6:18-19).

And the good news is that Jesus continues to welcome even self-centered people like the crowd and the disciples, And when we come to Him, He promises us something much better than a big meal or a big political victory – for what Jesus offers is nothing less than union with Himself, a union that leads to eternal life (John 6:51).

So, if you’re still wanting worldly stuff from Jesus, you’ll probably end up being as disappointed as the crowd and even many of His own disciples were (John 6:66). But if you are hungry and thirsty for Jesus, for His forgiveness and for His righteousness, then you can come to Him with confidence. For Jesus promises us that “the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37).

John 6:32-40 (NASB)

32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
34 They said therefore to Him, “Lord, evermore give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
36 “But I said to you, that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
37 “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”