24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 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, “I assure you: You are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. (Jn 6:24-26)
Throughout the Gospels people followed Jesus for the wrong reasons – some followed to see signs, others because they were curious, and others to trap Him. In our passage today, these people wanted to get something out of Him. During His ministry, Jesus had more false followers than real ones. Consider this, there are many scenes of huge crowds following and crushing around Him, Him feeding 5,000 men at a time, and a big crowd when He entered Jerusalem … yet in the beginning of Acts there were only about 200 true believers (Acts 1:15)!
Jesus attracted false followers then … and He still does now. Make sure you are following Jesus for the right reason.
Look at what Jesus asked His first Apostles in the book of John:
35 Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following Him, He asked them, “What are you looking for?” (Jn 1:37-38)
The scene is simple. A couple of people decided to stop following John the Baptist and follow Jesus instead. Jesus asked those new followers a simple question … “What are you looking for?”
Today, we don’t physically follow Jesus like the Apostles, but we do ‘follow’ Him in ways like going to church, reading the Bible, living in a right way, and praying. As we follow Him in those ways, you need to answer Jesus’ question – “What are you looking for?” In other words, what is your motive for ‘following’ Jesus?
Some people go to church because they are dragged there; others go to just be part of something. Some people pray to get something out of God. Some people ‘follow’ because they think it is a way to live right and earn their way into Heaven. People today ‘follow’ Jesus for many bad reasons. Why are you following Him?
Examine yourself:
Why did you first start ‘following’ Jesus? Did you start following Him because somebody important to you was? Did you start following Him to be part of a crowd and fit in?
Why are you ‘following’ Him now? Are you looking for Him to ‘perform’ for you? Are you constantly asking Him for things like He’s Santa?
Do you follow Him because you love Him and He’s the most important Person to you?
If Jesus turned and asked you, “What are you looking for by following Me?”, what would you say? But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (Jn 4:23-24)
BIBLE DEVOTIONS FOR LIVING 