Labour not for the meat which perisheth, 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.
This verse comes right after one of Jesus' most famous miracles — feeding a crowd of 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. The next day, many of those same people tracked Jesus down, and he saw what they were really after: more free food. He gently calls them out, then points them toward something much deeper. There is a kind of nourishment, he says, that goes beyond a full stomach — something that satisfies the deepest hunger of the human soul. 'Son of Man' was a title Jesus used for himself, drawn from ancient Jewish prophecy about a divine figure who would come. God's 'seal of approval' means God has fully authenticated and endorsed who Jesus is and what he offers.
Father, I confess I work hard for things that leave me empty again by morning. Shift my appetite. Help me hunger for what endures — the life and love that only you can give. I don't want to run myself into the ground chasing what spoils. Feed me with something real. Amen.
Most of us spend enormous amounts of energy chasing things that keep expiring. The promotion that was supposed to make work feel meaningful — and now you're just tired in a nicer office. The relationship you poured everything into that still left a hollow ache. The approval you finally got, and how quickly it stopped being enough. Jesus isn't naive about this pattern. He watched a crowd literally sprint around a lake to find him — not because they were spiritually hungry, but because breakfast had worn off. He doesn't shame them for wanting bread. He asks them to notice the cycle. What is it that you keep reaching for that keeps running out? Jesus is offering something genuinely different — not a feeling, not a temporary high, not a momentary satisfaction, but a kind of sustenance that goes to the bottom of your hunger and stays there. That's worth slowing down long enough to actually consider. What are you really working for?
What do you think Jesus means by 'food that spoils' versus 'food that endures'? What are some real, modern examples of each in your own life?
Think of two or three things you have worked hard for that didn't satisfy the way you thought they would — what pattern do you notice?
Is it possible to take this verse too far and dismiss legitimate physical and material needs as spiritually unimportant? How do you think Jesus would push back on that reading?
How does what you are ultimately working toward shape how you treat the people around you — especially those who can't help you get what you want?
What is one practical way you could reorient even a small portion of your effort this week toward something that will actually last?
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Matthew 11:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Philippians 2:12
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5:6
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:8
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:2
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Isaiah 55:2
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:54
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures [and leads] to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for God the Father has authorized Him and put His seal on Him."
AMP
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
ESV
'Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.'
NASB
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
NIV
Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
NKJV
But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
NLT
"Don't waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last."
MSG