Day 27

Signs are just pointers to something else.

‘Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.’ (JOHN 6:26)

A sign is a pointer to something else. If you were driving to a remote town and weren’t quite sure where to go, you would look for a sign. The sign is not the destination; it points you in the right direction.

The danger Jesus pointed out to the crowd who followed Him after the feeding of the five thousand, was that they wanted to set up camp at the ‘sign.’ ‘You are looking for me,’ said Jesus, ‘not because you saw the sign, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill!’ The miracle had become an end in itself, but the point had been missed.

Jesus had to spell out to those who had eaten the food and followed Him around the lake, ‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life…For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…Then Jesus declared, ‘“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”’(John 6:27-35). That is what the sign was pointing to.

We can read the story, we can admire the story, yet we can miss the message, the sign.