John Calvin Commentary John 6:26

"Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled." — John 6:26 (ASV)

Jesus answered them. Christ does not reply to the question asked him, which would have been suited to show them his power in having come there by a miracle. Instead, he chides them for their thoughtless pursuit, because they did not understand the true and proper reason for his actions, as they sought in Christ something other than Christ himself.

The fault he complains of in them is that they seek Christ for the sake of their belly and not for the miracles. And yet, it cannot be denied that they looked to the miracle; indeed, the Evangelist has already told us that they were motivated by the miracles to follow Christ.

But because they misused the miracles for an improper purpose, he rightly reproaches them for paying more attention to their belly than to the miracles. His meaning was that they did not benefit from God's works as they should have. For the true way of benefiting would have been to acknowledge Christ as the Messiah by surrendering themselves to be taught and governed by him and, under his guidance, to aspire to the heavenly kingdom of God.

Instead, they expect nothing more from him than to live comfortably and at ease in this world. This is to rob Christ of his chief power. For he was given by the Father and revealed himself to humanity so that he might reshape them into God's image by giving them his Holy Spirit, and lead them to eternal life by clothing them with his righteousness.

It is therefore of great importance what perspective we maintain regarding Christ's miracles. For whoever does not aspire to the kingdom of God, but is content with the comforts of this present life, seeks nothing more than to fill his belly.

Similarly, there are many people today who would gladly embrace the gospel if it were free from the bitterness of the cross and if it brought nothing but carnal pleasures. Indeed, we see many who profess to be Christians so that they may live more frivolously and with fewer restrictions. Some profess to be disciples of Christ expecting personal gain, others out of fear, and still others to please people.

In seeking Christ, therefore, the most important thing is to despise the world and seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

Moreover, since people very often deceive themselves and convince themselves that they are seeking Christ in the best way, even while they degrade the fullness of his power, Christ, for this reason and in his usual manner, doubles the word verily, as if by this solemn affirmation he intended to expose the vice hidden beneath our hypocrisy.