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The Desire of Ages
hours of fruitless rowing against adverse winds, the appearance of
Christ walking upon the water, the fears thus aroused, His reassuring
words, the adventure of Peter and its result, with the sudden stilling of
the tempest and landing of the boat, were all faithfully recounted to
the wondering crowd. Not content with this, however, many gathered
about Jesus, questioning, “Rabbi, when camest Thou hither?” They
hoped to receive from His own lips a further account of the miracle.
Jesus did not gratify their curiosity. He sadly said, “Ye seek Me,
not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves,
and were filled.” They did not seek Him from any worthy motive;
but as they had been fed with the loaves, they hoped still to receive
temporal benefit by attaching themselves to Him. The Saviour bade
them, “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which
endureth unto everlasting life.” Seek not merely for material benefit.
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Let it not be the chief effort to provide for the life that now is, but seek
for spiritual food, even that wisdom which will endure unto everlasting
life. This the Son of God alone can give; “for Him hath God the Father
sealed.”
For the moment the interest of the hearers was awakened. They
exclaimed, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?”
They had been performing many and burdensome works in order to
recommend themselves to God; and they were ready to hear of any new
observance by which they could secure greater merit. Their question
meant, What shall we do that we may deserve heaven? What is the
price we are required to pay in order to obtain the life to come?
“Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that
ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” The price of heaven is Jesus.
The way to heaven is through faith in “the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world.”
John 1:29
.
But the people did not choose to receive this statement of divine
truth. Jesus had done the very work which prophecy had foretold
that the Messiah would do; but they had not witnessed what their
selfish hopes had pictured as His work. Christ had indeed once fed the
multitude with barley loaves; but in the days of Moses Israel had been
fed with manna forty years, and far greater blessings were expected
from the Messiah. Their dissatisfied hearts queried why, if Jesus
could perform so many wondrous works as they had witnessed, could
He not give health, strength, and riches to all His people, free them