From the desk of Pastor Ben.
The People Demand a Sign

“So they said to Him, ‘What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”
                        (John 6:30-31)

The crowd’s foolish and brazen demand that Jesus prove His credentials by more miraculous works revealed the people’s selfish curiosity. It also revealed their spiritual blindness, as Matthew 12:39 tells us: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign.”

The Lord had urgently pointed the people toward saving faith (John 6:29), but they merely asked for another sign (John 2:18). They wanted Him to repeat the miraculous feeding they had just experienced. Rather than worshiping Jesus as Lord and Savior, these skeptics wanted Jesus to constantly provide “them bread out of heaven to eat” with their mouths rather than their hearts. They recalled what occurred in Moses’ day when God gave Israel “manna in the wilderness”  for 40 years (Exodus 16:4, 15; Psalm 78:24). The people therefore challenged Jesus to prove His messiahship by giving them an endless food supply.

Stubborn unbelief will not change, no matter how much evidence for truth and Christ’s deity God gives. Hardened unbelievers “will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31; Mark 15:32). Even when Jesus did rise from the dead — a much greater miracle than feeding the crowds — most Jews still refused to believe in Him (Matthew 28:11-15; Acts 4:1-3). No miraculous sign is adequate for some doubters.

Ask Yourself:
Understanding that no miracle would ever be enough to satisfy the unbelieving curious, is it any wonder that God, in His wisdom, also chooses not to satisfy every prayerful whim of His believing children? We are welcome to ask, but always wise to do so according to His will.