The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. 23 Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal. 28 So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
These verses form a transition from the feeding of the five thousand to the Bread of Life discourse. The crowd followed Jesus and the disciples to Capernaum which was Jesus’ base for his ministry in Galilee. it was still Passover. When the crowd found Jesus, he remarked that they followed him looking to be fed again. He then started his discourse about the Messianic gift the “Son of Man (v. 27)” brought. He admonished the crowd to work for food that leads to eternal life. The Son of Man has the authority from God to give them such food, but they must believe in him. God set his seal (v. 27) upon His incarnate Son who in turn will set his seal upon all who believe in him.
Almighty God, help us to live the teachings of Christ so that we may become receptacles of grace that can be shared with others. This we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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