Interpretation of the Gospel
Rabbi! when did you come here? In this question, another is heard:
How did You come here? They guessed that He could not have reached Capernaum by ordinary means of transportation; they challenged Jesus to be frank with this question, but He left their question unanswered.
Understanding perfectly well the mood of the crowd seeking Him, Jesus said: "
You seek me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you have eaten bread and are satisfied. I have done many miracles among you; But why were you struck only by the latter? Is it not because you think only about earthly things, about the blessings of this short-lived life?
You seek Me now only to be satisfied again. Strive not for this perishable food, which nourishes only the body, but for that which nourishes the soul and leads into eternal life. And this food will be given to you by the Son of Man, and that he will indeed give it is confirmed to you by his Father, God, who has revealed himself to you in him and in his works."
Distracted by these words from the thought of perishable food, the Jews asked Jesus: "What then shall we do, that we may do the works of God and have eternal life?"
Believe
in Him Whom He sent — this is what is required first of all for entering the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life.
Faith in Jesus as a Prerequisite for Entry into the Kingdom of Heaven
Yes, this is the first step on the path to salvation. Before the coming of Christ, the Jews, although they believed in God, often departed from Him and worshipped idols, and then, under the influence of their teachers, they forgot how to understand the Scriptures and came to a false idea of God and the purpose of man. People of other nations, although they were aware that there was a Supreme Being who ruled the world, that is, God, but their understanding of God did not extend beyond the limits that were expressed in the inscription over one of the altars in Athens: