Note 2 at Jn. 6:26: Just as in John 2:23-25, Jesus knew the hearts of all men and therefore, He did not commit Himself to this crowd. Just the day before, these same people had tried to take Him by force and make Him their king (see note 1 at Jn. 6:15, p. 177), but He withdrew and spent the night in prayer. Jesus was never moved by flattery and He said that those who were could not operate in God's kind of faith (Jn. 5:44).

This crowd looked like they were seeking Jesus, but they were actually trying to use Jesus to seek their own welfare. It is true that there are many personal benefits to be reaped through serving the Lord but the benefits are never to become our object. In all things, Christ must have the preeminence (Col. 1:18).

Jesus exposed the true intent of these people's hearts by preaching a strong message of commitment. Those who were self-centered were offended and left (Jn. 6:66) while those who were willing to lay down their lives so that they could experience God's abundant life (Lk. 9:24; Jn. 10:10) remained (Jn. 6:68). Commitment to God Himself (not what He can produce) is what always separates the true worshippers of God (Jn. 4:23) from the false.

These people had no true commitment to God but wanted Jesus as their king for their own selfish reasons. They had mistakenly interpreted the miracle that Jesus performed in feeding the five thousand to mean that Jesus would supply all their lusts (Jas. 4:3). On the surface, it may have looked like they were seeking Jesus, but they were actually seeking their own interests. Jesus didn't come to do His own will (Jn. 6:38) or our will, but the will of the Father.

In these verses, we see Jesus doing something that very few ministers of the gospel will do today. He preached a hard message of commitment, knowing that many of these people would follow Him no more. Many times, we see Christians today compromise the message in an effort to win more people. Regardless of how well someone can argue this point and justify his actions, this is not the way that Jesus ministered. Jesus was always more interested in quality than quantity. We would do well to follow His example.