Do you believe in HIM

Do you believe in HIM

John 6:22-34

October 15, 2023

READ THE TEXT 22-34

INTRODUCTION:

Image: This is for the kids, raise your hands and tell me what you had for breakfast today. Okay, now how about yesterday? Now, let’s make this hard, raise your hand and tell me what you had for breakfast last Monday.

Food is an amazing thing and something that we all enjoy. One of the challenges we have in our house, and something that we argue about almost every night, is the menu. You see, my wife is an amazing cook but when it comes to deciding the menu, it gets a little sketchy. We will argue and debate the menu at great lengths. It usually sounds like this. “what do you want for dinner…I don’t care you pick it…Okay how about spaghetti…Really spaghetti?, Okay, let’s do tacos, um…I’m tired of tacos” I won’t tell you who says what but, it can get downright combative.

Eventually we come to a truce, and we settle on an item. The problem is that it never lasts, and we always start the battle the next night. The problem with a lot of us is that we are so preoccupied with what to make, and what is temporal and quickly forget what is the MOST important.

I’ll talk to us dads. Ever wonder, “Is this it? Is this all that there is? I work all day to put food on the table only to see that I have to do it all over again tomorrow?” Moms? I can’t pretend to climb in your heads, but have you ever wondered, is this all that life is? I do this only to do it again tomorrow.

Before I go any further. I recognize that we as parents and soon to be parents, that we are required to earn an income, provide for our families and do the right thing. I understand that. Effort put in=wages earned and food bought.

Here is the problem though, we are so preoccupied entering a tunnel vision approach to life. Even as Christians we neglect the eternal (prayer, reading, church, communion). We miss that God has provided an answer to something more important than the next menu item. We (meaning all of us) need to get our heads right when it comes to eternal things. There is not a single person in here who would say, “I pray enough, I read enough of the WORD, I love others and value others too much.”

Today Jesus confronts all of us by recognizing HIM for who He is, the God Man.

INTRODUCTION:

Before we get too far into the text, we need to do some review:

John makes his desire very clear and so, when he writes of these accounts, he is specifically capturing the heart of the actions over making a historical record. Matthew, Mark and Luke are “synoptic gospels” where they concentrate on historical accounts. John is the theologian and concerned about introducing Christ to us as He is. Of this conversation we just read, we need to review a couple of key points:

i. John chapter 6 is one HUGE point that goes for over 71 verses. The apostle uses the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6:1-15, then walking on water John 6:16-21 to start to set the stage for this critical conversation with the crowd. John demonstrates who He is!

ii. Today we are jumping right in the middle of John’s attempt to show us the major principal Jesus teaches next week; “I am the bread of life”.

iii. He is writing this to a Jewish audience in response to a Jewish audience, but it is 100% applicable to all of us even today.

iv. Verses 24-25 of today’s readings start our conversation off. The crowd chased Him down because they were “about to come and take him by force to make Him king” (15). They did the math with the boats and knew that the disciples were going to Capernaum so they followed. They asked “When did you come” but in reality, they asked, “how did you get here”.

V. He did NOT answer the question. He went directly to the heart of the issues. A great example was when Nic flattered Jesus and tried to align with Jesus, but Christ just cut to the heart walking past the question and getting to the point.

Now we have that background, let’s get into the Word.

BODY:

1. Earthly food is earned.

When we are preoccupied with our own desires it clouds our ability to see what is really going on. Earthly food is a wage earned from effort given. I go to work, I get paid and I get food. And better yet, FREE FOOD! Why not input no effort and get the free food.

The crowd thought that they had an understanding of Jesus that was not right. The crowd that followed Him was the same that He fed, they just moved down the beach about 4 miles. They were looking for three things that were completely wrong:

i. More food: There were no doubt some in the crowd that wanted more food. But, they were actually asking a different question than what we would assume by reading the text. When we read this, we scratch our heads saying, “How in the world could you ask for a sign of more food when you JUST SAW HIM DO IT??”

ii. The prophet: Look back at verse 14 “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world”.

iii. A king: Look back at verse 15: “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew”. They wanted to make Him by force to be king. This was NOT the plan of Jesus and He was patiently going to make them see this.

And in my opinion, this is the only way to get our minds around what John is saying in our passage today. I always asked, why in the world would they talk about mana, Moses, and signs when they just saw an exact sign that they asked for! It frustrated me to read it! But, before we come down too hard on them, the answer is found in verse 14 where they say “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

They thought that they understood but did not. Look at Deut 18:15-19

Deut 18:15-19

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen…18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. [1]

The crowd did something right! That “prophet” is in fact, Jesus. But, they had the idea that “the Prophet” would be an earthly king who looked and acted like Moses. They were looking for another Moses and were missing the words that God was to tell Him to speak. Remember, these are Jews. John is writing to Jews and Gentiles, but they were looking for the works that Moses did to prove that Jesus was actually the “prophet”.

The problem is that the hardest ones to convince are the ones closest to it. The jew had the Word, prophecies and struggled to see who He really is. Due to the depravity, they are truly blinded.

Look at verse 19: “And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.”

They liked the first part of that promise but totally missed verse 19! Let’s be very clear, when we are in sin (totally depraved or radically corrupted), we either dismiss or just plain miss the eternal points that Jesus is teaching. One of the consequences or repercussions of sin is spiritual blindness.

Deut 28:29 “…and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.”

Or

Ezekiel 12:2 2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house

Sin makes us blind. It makes us assume according to our sin nature. It is no wonder that the crowd misread the signs and misread Jesus’s mission. But, it doesn’t end there. Lets look at verse 28: (NASB) says:

“Therefore they said to Him, what are we to do ,to accomplish the works of God”

Moses was the one who “told” the Jews what to DO, and in their minds, Moses got them food from heaven. In their minds, Jesus was supposed to do that. To the Jewish mind, they had a pre-built idea of what Jesus was supposed to be and do. The sad truth is that we ALL have an idea of what and who He is supposed to be. “No one will argue what the text reads, everyone argues what the text means.” (Pat). “Who do you say that I am” (Jesus’s most asked question).

Of all the words that are in this text that scares me the most, it is the word “DO”.

It is a word that is as popular then as it is now. “Pastor, just tell me what I got to do and let me hit Monday to chase that next meal.” Look church, we are no different than this crowd, just different clothes.

The word “do” or “work” is not a bad word! The issue is that there are two polarizing extremes to this word. There is the “antinomian” view of the word “do” and “work” that will say, I don’t have to do or work at all spiritually speaking. Matter of fact, I am free from what the Bible says. It really doesn't really apply to me. The fancy word= licentiousness. Hyper grace… Me and Jesus, we are all good, I said the prayer, go to church 2 Sunday’s a month and throw some money in the box. I’m good.

Then there are the “works” or “do” based religions that will say you have to “do” your way into heaven. If I don’t “work” and “do” all the religious stereotypes, I must not be a Christian (look a certain way, act a certain way, outward appearance). Both extremes are totally and completely false and miss represent who Christ is! Both are damable.

What John is talking about here is not in reference to the act of salvation. John is making the case that the crowd was spiritually blind and that CHrist is exposing their sin. Jesus is making the case that we need to be about eternal acts versus earthly acts.

John 6:27

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life…” There are verbs there! “WORK”. Meaning WORK for food that endures. These “works” are the result of Spiritual rebirth. Let’s be clear, we are saved by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone. It is a faith that is not alone ie. works are a result of these truths.

So, where do we get this eternal food?

2. Eternal food is given.

Vs 27: 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”[2]

Notice, the giver is GOD. It is from God, and it lasts forever! And we need to see that Jesus again uses the title “Son of Man”. He is reminding us that he is Son of Man meaning, fully man and fully God.

God has put His seal on Christ, not anyone else. The power of the seal is authoritative to one “Son of Man”. The word seal is “sphragizo” meaning GOD has put His complete authority in and on the Son of Man. His Son for the salvation of the lost.

Rom 11:36 “36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

All things means ALL! This is the doxology of who Christ is, what Christ is, and His office! It is the perfect close to any message and any message. It is Paul’s “magna oputs”.

Think about that level of endorsement. That seal means that God has exclusively said, the Son is my plan for your salvation. This is GOD’s ordained will on display that originated from eternity past to eternity future and is fully represented in human form in front of us on these pages.

But look what happens next:

Vs 28: Then they said to him, “what must we do to be doing the works of God?”

We read this and quickly discount it. We say “how could they miss that the point that Jesus just made”. But, do you realize that we walk out the door after studying this text and fall right back into the “check the box” Christianity? We quickly default to our sin nature over placing our faith and trust in Christ. We would rather put our trust and faith in our efforts to chase the next meal than to concentrate on what is said through His Word. We are just as fickle as the crowd.

Has anyone been watching the news lately? I have had several conversations with people who are seriously being paralyzed with fear as to what is going on in the world. It has changed and captivated their hearts. Their panic is real and understandable. I get asked, Pastor, is this the time of Christ? What should we be doing? I’ll tell you what Jesus says:

Vs 29: This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Like I said, our work is to “believe in Him.” We are to trust and believe in HIM even when the world around us is on fire. Count on Him to direct our steps, guide our tongues and lead our families. The only thing that will save this world, heal the land, make these people lay down their weapons is the Gospel of Christ. The answer to hatred that has covered thousands of years is the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of Love. The Gospel of peace. It is the only thing that will work.

If we are followers of Christ, world affairs should only embolden us to follow His calling. To preach the Gospel to the ends of the world. If we are truly in the end times, we must be about our Lord’s work and trust Him no matter the state of the world.

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love but perfect loves casts our fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

Is it scary times? Yes! But, fear is NOT a fruit of the Spirit of the eternal food that Christ offers. Instead, the fruit in us should be recognizable.

Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;”.

Do you demonstrate these fruits in unexplainable ways and times? Look, it’s impossible to love like the Spirit does. Have joy (especially in the shadow of the news), peace (when it seems like the entire world has lost it’s mind) and patience (for people far from God) like the Spirit does. Look I am telling you; you can see these results on display when the Spirit of God is IN the heart and mind of the believer. You can see that His work in our lives is nothing short of a miracle.

I just gave you the tangible “SO WHAT” for this point. You want the application, it is there. In the wake of the time that we live, we can be a representation of eternal food on display to the lost. We also are an encouragement to other brothers and sisters. First to the brother, then to the lost. The lost will see this love we have to others, then the testimony of grace will be on display and they will want it.

The answer to “how can you be so calm…How can you pray for Hamas…How can you pray for Israel…How can you spend so much time in the Bible…How can you have joy when everything is so dark…” It is because we are commanded to!

Vs 32: “Truly Truly, I say to you it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”

Church, I touched on this last week when Jesus said, “Take heart it is I” on the water. What Jesus said in the storm is what He is referring to here! He is saying, “Moses didn’t give you bread in the wilderness! And he surely isn’t doing that now! It is the “I am” that is giving you the bread of life and that is who I am!

3. Believe in Him who was sent.

Do you see this? Do you see that in His grace, in His mercy, God provided the mana in the wilderness and the mana for us today. He is providing Christ as the “living bread”. The eternal bread that is able to save. This is all provided by God in heaven. God, in His mercy, is offering the way, THROUGH His son.

Romans 5:8 “…but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Please see “While we were still a sinner”. Further proof that God makes us new (regenerates first), then we, by God’s Grace act on faith unto salvation. He is the one who acts while we are in sin! If that mercy does not cause us to believe in Him, I am not sure there is anything else I could ever say. And worse, there is nothing else that God can do. He gave it ALL. There is nothing left to give. This is why that seal on Christ is so important.

He knows we can’t do it on our own, He knows that we are so broken that only through His son we can be saved.

We cannot lose the intent of the writer of John. The apostle makes his intent very clear. The apostle is writing to us with a specific intent. He shows his cards clearly in John 20:30,31

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

I know it is a statement that is in almost every sermon I have given but how quickly we forget its importance. Just like the people who just watched the biggest numerical miracle ever recorded in human history, we witness huge events and quickly forget that they came from the hand of the God of the universe.

What miracle you may ask? I want each of you to know, you are witnesses. You may not admit it or know it, but you are witnesses to the greatest miracles and they are all sitting in this room. Let me explain.

In this very room, there are men, women, and children who recognize that Christ is the Son of God. There are people who believe, and recognize that even when they were sinners, Christ died for them. They also know that Christ is the way the truth, and the life. To me, short of Christ conquering death, that is the most powerful amazing miracle known to man. How can a person's heart, identity, and personhood change? No other way than a miracle.

When I close out this section of the text I see a crowd of people who actually interacted with, spoke to, and witnessed the Son of God do an awesome miracle and still miss the point. I see them, spiritually speaking, remain in darkness and left in their sin of unbelief. Only a true miracle of God will get them out of the darkness and into the light. I am telling all of us, BELIEVE IN HIM! Believe in Him who God sent to save you and me.

THE UNBELIEVERS ASIDE:

What sign would God have to do to convince you that He is who He says He is? Even if He showed up and did that sign, I would argue it would not be enough. It is never enough. You could have been one of the 5,000 and still would have missed the point.

The most amazing sign is the tug on your heart, the conviction of your soul and the revelation of what God is doing on a sinner. The greatest miracle is when a human soul is changed to want the things of God. If you ignore this, then you are like the people who are never satisfied and always looking for the next meal. You are groping in the darkness. You are actually spiritually blinded and without knowledge of what saves.

My ask for you unbeliever, believe in the only one who is able to save. Christ came searching for the lost. Searching for the sinner like you. He came to pay the penalty of your sin and shame. He came so that you may have life, not just the earthly life, but the eternal life. He went to the cross willingly for sinners to pay the penalty of sin whereas we could not. Now, believe in the LORD and you will be saved.

CONCLUSION: