Jesus had many interactions with large crowds, but there’s a very interesting interaction between Jesus and the crowds of people who didn’t know him in John 6.

Vs 2 – a large crowd followed him because they saw the signs he was doing as He healed the sick.

Vs 4 – Large crowd coming to Jesus and He asked Philip (His disciple) about feeding them.

Vv. 11-13:  Jesus took a few loaves of bread and fish and fed the large crowd.

Vv. 16-21:  Jesus and the disciples leave and go to another location.

Here’s the interesting interaction & what happened.

24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Most of us think, “the crowd” would follow because of the miracles Jesus did in their midst.  But Jesus said the crowd came (at least in this instance) – not because of the signs He did & not because they were looking for God, but basically because they got a free meal.

Jesus was straight up about WHY they came, but then used this as an opportunity to share with “the crowd” the truth about who He was and how to experience eternal life.