Jesus Rebukes Unbelief

From the desk of Pastor Ben
“But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.”
                    (John 6:36)

After asserting that He was and is the Bread of Life, Jesus rebuked the people with this indictment for their unbelief. What specific past incident Jesus referred to is not clear, but it’s certain that the crowd’s unbelief emphasized His self-revelation. So, the people’s continued rejection was inexcusable.

There was a sharp contrast between the people’s response to Him and the one Jesus desired (Matthew 23:37). Although the crowd had seen Him and witnessed His miracles, they failed to grasp the significance of those signs, and missed the real implications of His teaching. Similar to the Israelites in the wilderness, “The word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard” (Hebrews 4:2).

The miracles Jesus’ countrymen saw only whetted their appetites for more signs. Jesus intrigued them by what he could do to ease the pain and difficulties of this present life, but they were unwilling to accept Him as their Messiah and Lord, or believe in Him as the Savior who could give eternal life. They needed to hear and believe the words the author of Hebrews later sent to his readers:
“Consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. Foe He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.” (Hebrews 3:1-3).

Ask Yourself:
Try naming some of the things you’ve seen God do in your own life, in your family’s life, in your church’s life, in your friend’s lives. We forget a lot of what we see. But even if He showed us nothing else, haven’t we seen enough already to be convinced that He is faithful and true?