John 6:28

John 6:28. They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? Our Lord's answer seems to have been but little comprehended by ‘the multitude.' They reply with an earnest inquiry, taking up all that they have understood, but missing the central point of His words. He had first bidden them work, His last word had spoken of the Divine authority He bore: their answer deals with ‘works of God,' but contains no reference to eternal life or to the promise of a free gift from the Son of man. The works of the law were to them a familiar thought, and they understood that God through His new prophet was commanding them to do some new work. Their question, ‘What must we do,' shows a teachable disposition, and a willingness to learn from Him what was the will of God. But what did they mean by ‘the works of God'? The expression is used in various senses in the Old Testament. The works of the Lord may be the works done by Him, or they may be the works which He commands and which are according to His mind. In this verse we cannot think of miracles, nor is it easy to believe that the people can have had in their thoughts the works which God produces in those who are His. In its connection here, the expression recalls such passages as Jeremiah 48:10; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Revelation 2:26. The whole phrase (with slight alteration) occurs in Numbers 8:11, in the Septuagint: ‘Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord... that they may work the works of the Lord.' As the meaning in these passages is the works which the Lord would have them do, as the works of the law are those which the law prescribes, so here the works of God signify those which He commands, and which therefore are pleasing to Him.