I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

Series: What’s in a name?

Scripture: John 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 

John 6:25-70

Prayer: “Father, we are hungry today. We come here keenly aware of our physical needs and human desires. Make us aware of our deeper, more important hunger, and feed us today with the Bread of Life.”

Big Idea: Shortly after feeding five thousand people with one boy’s lunch, Jesus identifies himself as “the bread of life.” He says this in response to a request to repeat the miracle a second time. Jesus offers a kind of nourishment that goes beyond physical, bodily needs… He is the object of our deep hunger and only after being reconciled through Him are we eternally satisfied.

Introduction

Let’s think about bread for a minute. It’s something used to hold the main part of a sandwich together. It’s a side item to go along with the main meal. It’s something some people tear the crust from before eating. Bread in modern Western culture is really not a necessity. One could function quite easily without bread. Many low-carb diet plans encourage us to avoid it altogether. There’s a lot of other healthier stuff to eat.

At the end of the day, bread is an ordinary option against a backdrop of endless dietary choices.

Not so in Bible times. At the very center of life during the times of Jesus and earlier, stood the stalks of grain that sustained life from day to day. Without bread, there was no life.

Bread also speaks of covenant. The expression “There is bread and salt between us,” conveys the idea that the parties were one in a solemn agreement. A vow invoking these terms spoke of the highest kind of commitment. This is what happened when Abraham was greeted by the priest Melchizedek in the Book of Genesis. We also see it in Psalm 41 when David wrote, “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” They didn’t just have a good meal together. They made a sacred covenant, and the breaking of bread was to be a seal and reminder of their commitment to one another.

This is what Jesus was referring to at the Lord’s supper. Jesus was making a sacred oath, a vow, a covenant, a legal contract. He was expressing a sacred oath with his disciples. He did not bring in a lawyer and a notary when He did this.

According to the ancient tradition, he broke bread with them. And what is our part of this covenant? Eat, remember, and receive the full provision of Christ who dwells in you richly!

Main Teaching

Now, let us look at John, chapter six. Jesus has just fed the 5,000 with the miraculous multiplication of five loaves and two fish. Now he has withdrawn to the other side of the lake to get away from the crowds. But they follow him to the other side. From his conversation with them we learn three things about human nature:

First: We’re always hungry for the wrong things.

V. 26 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.” 

V. 27 – “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you:”

This could be a reference to Isa. 55:2 – “Why do you spend your money for what is not bread, and your labor for what does not satisfy?”

It also brings to mind Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:31-33; Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 

32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 

33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

Ask yourself this question every day: What do I really want? What am I really hungry for? Not just the superficial needs of food, clothing, and shelter; but the deeper spiritual needs that distinguish humans from all other creatures. And learn to measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money.

Second point about human nature: We expect God to provide us with those (wrong) things.

These people were running after Jesus hoping he would perform another miracle of multiplication, just so they could have their stomachs filled. And Jesus called them out on it. He knew they were not seeking God, but rather the things they hoped God would do for them.

How about you? Check your prayer life. What do you ask for most often? Do you want God more than anything else, like a deer panting for streams of water—his presence, his life flowing within you? Or do you just want the same stuff everybody else wants, and you hope God will give it to you?

Third point about humane nature: We’re always demanding that God prove himself to us.

v. 30 – “What miraculous sign will you give that we may see it and believe?” (Remember, the day before they were part of the crowd of 5,000 people that had been fed with five loaves and two fish.)

And then they offer a suggestion, still thinking about their stomachs, apparently:

v. 31 – “Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert. [Moses] gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

Then Jesus identifies himself as the Bread of Life.

First, indirectly, in the third person. V. 33 – “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world..”

Their response: “Sir, from now on give us this bread.” They still don’t know what he’s talking about. They’re still thinking physically, materially. (like the woman at the well of Samaria with water) And, they’re comparing it to Moses and the Manna in the wilderness.

So, he gets more direct. V. 35 – “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

Then this challenge: v. 36 “But you have seen me and still you do not believe…”

Everyone here this morning has “seen” Jesus. That is, we understand his claims to some degree: Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the World.

And yet so many today still don’t believe it. How do I know? We’re still spending our money on what doesn’t satisfy… We’re still demanding that God prove himself to us.

The Aftermath. (6:52-59) What follows is one of the most difficult sections in scripture; there’s just no sugarcoating it.

Vs. 53 Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 

54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 

55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 

56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 

In v. 60 – Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 

In the Greek it literally reads like this: “What?!! What are you talking about?!!”

But Jesus explains himself in v. 63 “ It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Jesus is saying, “I’m talking about spiritual realities, not physical flesh and blood!”

But it was still too much for some: v. 66 “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

The line in the sand: Vs.67  “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? “

John 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Conclusion

This is our dilemma. Jesus is not who we want him to be. He’s not a genie in a bottle.

He will not always meet your expectations of what you want God to do for you.

But he is the bread of life; the sustenance, the source, the nourishment.

And there is no place else to go for real life. You know that’s true. And God will show you that the pain, the failure, the disappointment, the stumbling are all a necessary part of the mystery. Because the walk of faith may begin with a stumble, as we realize that only Jesus can provide the bread that feeds our deepest hunger.