When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”  Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.  Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.

John 6:25-27

As you approach Jesus, what do you seek?

Scripture records many different people approaching Jesus for a variety of reasons.  At times religious leaders approach Jesus searching for a weakness, as if approaching an enemy who threatens their way of life.  Crowds follow Him and while each person within the crowd bears individual motivation, some seek entertainment, others seek His words of wisdom, while others seek fulfillment of physical needs – Jesus says some follow Him only to get a free meal (see John 6:26).  Jesus offers the bread of life, the living water, the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and some merely seek a free meal.  But some genuinely seek Jesus and through their encounter they receive total transformation.  Ideally, the final category describes each of us.  

Let’s consider a few examples from Scripture.

In the first century Roman empire, tax collectors had earned a special status – they were rich and they were hated because many perceived that their wealth had come at the expense of their neighbors.  So we often see Scripture record tax collectors as a special class of sinner.  Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in Jericho.  He had heard about Jesus and he wanted to see Him, so as Jesus walked through Jericho, Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a tree so that he might catch a glimpse of Jesus as He passed by.  When Jesus made it to the tree He stopped, looked up at Zacchaeus, called him by name and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5).  The crowd grumbled because Jesus spent time with a sinner like Zacchaeus.  The story concludes with this:  

Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”  Luke 19:8-10

We do not know what Zacchaeus expected to find when He saw Jesus, but he sought Jesus, he encountered Jesus and because of the encounter, Zacchaeus repented and demonstrated evidence of a transformed life.

For twelve years a woman suffered with bleeding which led to shame and societal rejection.  She spent all her resources seeking healing from doctors, but she found no relief.  She had heard stories about Jesus and as He was passing by she entered the crowd, wove her way through people, came upon Jesus, touched the fringe of His robe and was instantly made whole.  The stories about Jesus filled her with hope that He was the One who could heal her, and she sought Him out, and through her encounter with Him her life was transformed.  Scripture says, 

She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.  Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.”  But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.”  When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”  Luke 8:44-48

She sought Jesus and through her encounter with Him her life was instantly transformed.  Her bleeding stopped, rendering her eligible to re-enter society.  Through Jesus, her life was transformed. 

We also see people encountering Jesus through the Apostles.  As one example, Paul and Luke spent a few days in Philippi.  On the Sabbath they went to the river where people gathered to pray, and they sat and talked with the women who were there.  Luke writes,

 A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.  When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.  Acts 16:14-15

God opened her heart to hear Paul’s message and she believed.  She was a worshipper of God praying with others by the river, and God opened her heart to hear and she heard, believed and acted in response to her belief.  Faith begins with God and faith comes by hearing the word of Christ Jesus (see Romans 10:17).  Lydia was worshiping God and as Paul spoke, God opened her ears to hear and she gained faith and believed and her life was transformed.

It is God who begins His holy transformation of our spirits by allowing us to hear; it is God continuing His holy transformation as we grow in faith; and it is God alone who is worthy of our praise and worship.

Jesus told a parable about two men praying in the synagogue.  One was a religious man who lifted himself up in prayer.  The other was a tax collector.  Jesus says,

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”  Luke 18:13-14

We are each a sinner.  We are each unworthy of God’s holy grace.  We each deserve God’s wrath but through God’s holy loving grace He offers us life through Christ Jesus.  We should spend time each day on our knees begging God for mercy and thanking Him for His loving grace.

As you approach Jesus, what do you seek?  How has Jesus changed your life?  What were you like before encountering Jesus?  How are you different now?  In what specific ways is your transformation evident to people around you?  If you struggle to answer the questions, please pray and ask God to reveal the depths of your heart to you as you consider which of the two people praying in the synagogue more closely resemble you.