I came down from heaven

In the expectation of further material benefits a miracle-hungry multitude pursued the Lord Jesus to the other side of Galilee. There the Lord exposed their carnal motivation, ‘Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled’, v. 26. His comment makes the paradoxical point that it was possible to witness a miracle without truly seeing it. The Jewish throng had not only beheld His supernatural ability to multiply food but also had actually eaten it and felt pleasantly satiated, for what the Lord Jesus provides is always of the best. But what they overlooked was that the Lord’s miracles were far more than acts of benevolence; they were designed to draw attention to and foster confidence in His Person. It is no accident that John consistently refers to the Saviour’s displays of power as ‘signs’. They pointed to Israel’s Messiah, God manifest in the flesh.

Although the crowd were thinking merely in earthly terms, the Saviour ratcheted up the discourse to the highest level when He announced, ‘I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me’, v. 38.

Of course, God spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, but no prophet in Israel’s distinguished history would ever have dared to talk like this. Judges, kings, and prophets were raised up, Judg. 2. 16; 2 Sam. 23. 1; Amos 2. 11, but the Son uniquely came down. Elsewhere, speaking alone to the disciples, He would say, ‘I came out from God’, and ‘I came forth from the Father’, John 16. 27, 28. Such language, simple yet authoritative, signalled the presence on earth of a divine Person. He ‘came’ because He acted voluntarily; He was ‘sent’ because, as the unfailing executor of God’s will, He was the only one who could by His obedience bring the Father unalloyed delight. Just as the burnt offering was wholly for God, so was the Lord Jesus. His perfection highlights man’s failure, while magnifying His grace, for by His atoning death He has redeemed a people for Himself. He came down that He might lift sinners up! Of each individual believer the Son promises, ‘I will raise him up at the last day’, 6. 54.