Dear Christian friends:

Many people today are looking for Jesus and want Him. You also are looking for Jesus. I hope that is why you came to church this morning. Why do you want Jesus? Why did you come to church today? In our text which is the Gospel Lesson for this Sunday, Peter says to Jesus, "Everyone is looking for You." Why was everyone looking for Jesus? Why did they want to see Him? Why do you want Jesus?

Many people seek Jesus for the wrong reasons. The people in our text, most of them, wanted Jesus only to heal their sick bodies. Jesus' fame as a Healer had spread all over Galilee because He healed the man with a evil spirit and also He had healed Peter's mother-in-law. By evening many people had come to Peter's house. Yes, the whole city had gathered before Peter's house. (verse 33) They came either to be healed or to watch Jesus do these various miracles. And Jesus healed all these people with various illnesses. Now it was the next morning. When Jesus awoke from sleep, before dawn, He went out to a lonely place to pray. Then Simon Peter and some of his friends came looking for Jesus and when they found Him they said unto Him, "Everyone is looking for You." (verse 37) Yes, everyone was looking for Jesus because they wanted Him to heal their sicknesses. That's all they wanted from Jesus.

Today many people still want Jesus. Some want Him only to heal their bodily sicknesses. On T.V. we see huge crowds gather where the faith healers such as Oral Roberts have their meetings. They want to see miracles.

Other people today want Jesus because they think He will bless them in their work or family life and they will become successful and rich. For them Jesus is a "Bread King." (Many people wanted to make Jesus their king after He multiplied the five loaves of bread and the two small fishes to feed the five thousand people.) John 6:6-15 One time a_deaf man who was successful at bringing other deaf to join our church told me that he won the deaf friends by telling them that if they joined the church they would have a successful, happy life. But I told him that he should not promise that to the deaf because it is not true. I explained to him that when we join with Jesus we often have to suffer much for Jesus' sake. We should not want Jesus so that we can have an easy, comfortable life.

Now, how about you? Why do you seek Jesus? Why do you want Jesus? Do you want Jesus only to heal your sicknesses? Do you want Jesus so that you can have a comfortable life and good times? Are you like many people who seek Jesus for the wrong reasons?

Well, what is the right reason in wanting Jesus? What is our greatest need for Jesus? We must know our greatest need. Our greatest need is not a comfortable easy life. Our greatest need is to have forgiveness of sins and all the precious spiritual blessings that we receive because of the forgiveness of sins. Without forgiveness of sins we are spiritually dead and have no real life. "Whoever believest in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on Him." (John 3:36) Peter had told Jesus that everyone was looking for Him to come and heal their sick people. But Jesus answered, "We must go to the other cities around here." (verse 36) Jesus means that God chose Him and sent Him to preach the Gospel. (Isaiah 61:1) Jesus preached, "The kingdom of God is here! Repent and believe the Gospel." (verse 15) So we should see Jesus and want Jesus because He is the Savior God sent, the one who died on the cross for our sins, in our place, that we might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in His name.

When you seek Jesus and want Him for this reason, then you know how to evaluate and appreciate healing and other miracles. You realize that Jesus healed the sick and did other miracles chiefly to prove and show that He is the Son of God, the Savior God promised and sent. True, Jesus felt sorry for the sick and those who had evil spirits. That was one reason why he healed so many of them, but His chief reason was to show that He is the Savior for sinners.

Well, is it wrong to seek Jesus to heal our bodies? Is it wrong to seek Jesus to bless our food and drink? Does not Jesus command us to pray for food and good health and success? Yes! Does not Jesus command us to pray when we are sick? Yes! We should seek Jesus to bless our food and give us good health and success, but at the same time we must remember that all these earthly blessings will pass away, and we should not desire these things only or chiefly, but use them in_serving our dear Lord and Savior. Also we should seek Jesus in time of sickness to heal our bodies, if it be His will. But we must know that while Jesus heals this sickness or that sickness, our bodies are growing older and weaker and at last we must die anyway. The sick people whom Jesus healed later on got sick again and finally died. Even the dead whom Jesus raised from death later on died again and are dead now. Yes, we can and should pray for healing when we are sick, but at the same time remember it is only for a short time. Through faith in Him we receive forgiveness of sins and eternal health and eternal life.

When we have eternal health and life we do not worry so much about the sicknesses and problems of this life on earth. We know it is only for a very short time here on the earth. We_know that Jesus has conquered death, and that we shall not really die, but sleep in our graves. We know that Jesus will awaken us on the Last Day. We, know that Jesus will change our weak, dying bodies and make them well, eternal and beautiful like His. We have forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus. Therefore sickness and death are destroyed and we shall live forever with Him in glory.

Are you seeking Jesus so that you may have eternal life in heaven? Or are you only seeking Him that you may have health and success on earth? Jesus is your Savior for heaven, not just for earth.

Amen.