Insincere Seekers of Truth
The mention in John 6:23 of Christ's giving thanks, recalls the vivid impression made by that solemn act, and the great importance which those who witnessed it attached to it. When the multitudes, disembarking on the other side of the Lake found Jesus there, though they knew that He had not accompanied His disciples in the one boat that left the farther shore on the previous night, His presence had the effect of an apparition. See John 6:25. Our Lord's answer to the question of the crowd deals with the motive that dictated it. He exposed the spurious and carnal impulses that actuated them, and contrasted the satisfaction of natural hunger, John 6:26, with that true and effectual seeking which leads to the nourishment of the spirit, John 6:27. What a difference between these people, with their gross aspirations and carnal desires, and the spiritual Israel, which could say with the psalmist, “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God!” All the labor described in John 6:27 is to maintain a pure heart and exercise an appropriating faith. God sealed Christ by His declaration at the water of baptism and the miracles which were wrought through the Father's power, John 14:10.