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Labor not for the meat - That is, for that only, but also for the bread, etc. Our Lord wills every man to be active and diligent in that employment in which providence has placed him; but it is his will also that that employment, and all the concerns of life, should be subservient to the interest of his soul.
But for that meat, etc. - He who labors not, in the work of his salvation, is never likely to enter into the kingdom of God. Though our labor cannot purchase it, either in whole or in part, yet it is the way in which God chooses to give salvation; and he that will have heaven must strive for it. Every thing that can be possessed, except the salvation of God, is a perishing thing: this is its essential character: it can last to us no longer than the body lasts. But, when the earth and its produce are burnt up, this bread of Christ, his grace and salvation, will be found remaining unto eternal life. This is the portion after which an immortal spirit should seek.
Him hath God the Father sealed - By this expression, our Lord points out the commission which, as the Messiah, he received from the Father, to be prophet and priest to an ignorant, sinful world. As a person who wishes to communicate his mind to another who is at a distance writes a letter, seals it with his own seal, and sends it directed to the person for whom it was written, so Christ, who lay in the bosom of the Father, came to interpret the Divine will to man, bearing the image, superscription, and seal of God, in the immaculate holiness of his nature, unsullied truth of his doctrine, and in the astonishing evidence of his miracles. But he came also as a priest, to make an atonement for sin; and the bread which nourishes unto eternal life, he tells us, John 6:51, is his body, which he gives for the life of the world; and to this sacrifice of himself, the words, him hath God the Father sealed, seem especially to relate. It certainly was a custom, among nations contiguous to Judea, to set a seal upon the victim which was deemed proper for sacrifice. The following account of the method of providing white bulls among the Egyptians, for sacrifices to their god Apis, taken from Herodotus, Euterpe, b. ii. p. 117, casts much light upon this place. "They sacrifice white bulls to Apis; and for that reason make the following trial. If they find one black hair upon him, they consider him as unclean: that they may know this with certainty, the priest appointed for this purpose views every part of the animal, both standing and lying on the ground. After this, he draws out his tongue, to see if he be clean by certain signs: in the last place, he looks upon the hairs of his tail, that he may be sure they are as by nature they should be. If, after this search, the bull is found unblemished, he signifies it by tying a label to his horns; then, having applied wax, he seals it with his ring, and they lead him away: for it is death to sacrifice one of these animals, unless he have been marked with such a seal.
The Jews could not be unacquainted with the rites and ceremonies of the Egyptian worship; and it is possible that such precautions as these were in use among themselves, especially as they were so strictly enjoined to have their sacrifices without Spot, and without blemish. Infinite justice found Jesus Christ to be without spot or blemish, and therefore sealed, pointed out and accepted him, as a proper sacrifice and atonement for the sin of the whole world. Collate with this passage, Hebrews 7:26-28; Ephesians 5:27; 2 Peter 3:14; and especially Hebrews 9:13, Hebrews 9:14; : For if the blood of Bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth - how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself Without Spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works! The rabbins talk much of the seal of God, which they suppose to be אמת emeth, or truth; and that this is a representation of the unoriginated and endless perfections of God. This doctrine is just; but their method of proving it is not so satisfactory. Alephא , say they, is the first letter of the alphabet; memמ the middle; and tauת the last: these three letters make אמת emeth, Truth, because God is the first - there was none before him; he is the middle - none mingles with him; and he is the last - there can be none after him. Hieros. Sanhed. fol. 18. See also 1 Peter 1:18, 1 Peter 1:19.
Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible
Labour not - This does not mean that we are to make no effort for the supply of our wants (compare 1 Timothy 5:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:10), but that we are not to manifest anxiety, we are not to make this the main or supreme object of our desire. See the notes at Matthew 6:25.
The meat that perisheth - The food for the supply of your natural needs. It perishes. The strength you derive from it is soon exhausted, and your wasted powers need to be reinvigorated.
That meat which endureth - The supply of your spiritual wants; that which supports, and nourishes, and strengthens the soul; the doctrines of the gospel, that are to a weak and guilty soul what needful food is to the weary and decaying body.
To everlasting life - The strength derived from the doctrines of the gospel is not exhausted. It endures without wasting away. It nourishes the soul to everlasting life. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint,” Isaiah 40:31.
Him hath God the Father sealed - To seal is to confirm or approve as ours. This is done when we set our seal to a compact, or deed, or testament, by which we ratify it as our act. So God the Father, by the miracles which had been performed by Jesus, had shown that he had sent him, that he approved his doctrines, and ratified his works. The miracles were to his doctrine what a seal is to a written instrument. See the notes at John 3:33.
Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary
Instead of answering the inquiry how he came there, Jesus blamed their asking. The utmost earnestness should be employed in seeking salvation, in the use of appointed means; yet it is to be sought only as the gift of the Son of man. Him the Father has sealed, proved to be God. He declared the Son of man to be the Son of God with power.
SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7
27. Labour not. The labor that Jesus rebukes here is not that which is necessary in order to gain a livelihood. His rebuke is directed rather toward those who carry such labor to the extent of neglecting the nourishment of the soul. What Jesus here reproves is the common habit of laboring only for the things of time, and ignoring the things of eternity.
Meat.Gr.brÅÂsis, referring to something that is eaten, hence food in general.
Sealed. In ancient times the seal was employed much as a signature is used today; it was a sign of personal attestation or of ownership. In ch.3:33 this word is used in the first of these senses, and in the present instance it appears to be used similarly, indicating that the Father has testified that Jesus is His Son. All of Jesus’ miracles, worked by the power of the Father, were such testimonies; however, inasmuch as sealing is connected by Paul particularly with the reception of the Holy Spirit, which usually accompanied baptism (see Eph. 1:13; 4:30), it does not seem unreasonable to understand that Jesus’ specific reference here is to His own reception of the Spirit accompanied by His Father’s endorsement at the time of His baptism (see Matthew 3:16, 17).
Ellen G. White
Christ's Object Lessons, 140
Christ's disciples were much impressed by His prayers and by His habit of communion with God. One day after a short absence from their Lord, they found Him absorbed in supplication. Seeming unconscious of their presence, He continued praying aloud. The hearts of the disciples were deeply moved. As He ceased praying, they exclaimed, “Lord, teach us to pray.”COL 140.1
In answer, Christ repeated the Lord's prayer, as He had given it in the sermon on the mount. Then in a parable He illustrated the lesson He desired to teach them.COL 140.2
“Which of you,” He said, “shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed: I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.”COL 140.3
When Christ forbade the people to declare Him king, He knew that a turning point in His history was reached. Multitudes who desired to exalt Him to the throne today would turn from Him tomorrow. The disappointment of their selfish ambition would turn their love to hatred, and their praise to curses. Yet knowing this, He took no measures to avert the crisis. From the first He had held out to His followers no hope of earthly rewards. To one who came desiring to become His disciple He had said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” Matthew 8:20. If men could have had the world with Christ, multitudes would have proffered Him their allegiance; but such service He could not accept. Of those now connected with Him there were many who had been attracted by the hope of a worldly kingdom. These must be undeceived. The deep spiritual teaching in the miracle of the loaves had not been comprehended. This was to be made plain. And this new revelation would bring with it a closer test.DA 383.1
Ellen G. White
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 31
“Labor not for the meat which perisheth,” Christ admonished, “but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed.” John 6:27. When we obey these words, we shall rightly understand the teachings of the Scriptures, and esteem the truth as the most valuable treasure with which to store the mind. We shall have within us a wellspring of the water of life. We shall pray, as did the psalmist, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law;” and we shall find, as he did, that “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is Thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” Psalm 119:18; 19:9-11.CT 31.1
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It is only life that can beget life. He alone has life who is connected with the Source of life, and only such can be a channel of life. In order that the teacher may accomplish the object of his work, he should be a living embodiment of truth, a living channel through which wisdom and life may flow. A pure life, the result of sound principles and right habits, should therefore be regarded as his most essential qualification.CT 31.2
To follow Christ is not freedom from conflict. It is not child's play. It is not spiritual idleness. All the enjoyment in Christ's service means sacred obligations in meeting oft stern conflicts. To follow Christ means stern battles, active labor, warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our enjoyment is the victories gained for Christ in earnest, hard, warfare.... We are enlisted for labor, “not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life” (John 6:27)....HP 117.3
