The Bread of Life Part 1
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
Welcome
Please open your bibles again to the Gospel of John 6 ,
title The Bread of Life
We will we starting in V22 and looking like we will
try and get all the way to V41 this morning
as we will begin Jesus’ discourse on
the bread of life
as we have learned through this journey
thus far through the book of John
once the miracles started,
Jesus used each miracle to set up
a discourse or a sermon
or a message
and over the last 2 weeks we have seen 2 very
substantial miracles with the feeding of the 5k
and the walking on the water
both of those events played right
into Gods divine plan
for Jesus to deliver this amazing message
now, this message this discourse is quite long
Chapter 6 itself is 71 verses
and it is one long dialogue
so we will break it up into 3 sections
and cover a little more ground than we are used to
this week 22-40
next week 41-59
then finally we will conclude chapter 6 that 3 week
so let us begin
22 The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat. They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone. 23 Some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.”
28 “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.
29 Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.”
30 “What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
32 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.
Let us Pray
Illustration
Illustration
Id like to do a little pop quiz
if you will let me
Knowing that we are starting
a mini series if you will in
the book of John
talking about bread this morning
Let see if you recognize
these next few sayings..
When I say…
Its finger licking Good..
what do you think of
KFC?
How about
Leggo my Eggo
waffles
right
and
Love that chicken from ?
popeyes
And melts in your mouth
not in your…
hand…
Nice, good work
Ok, one more
I am the bread..
of Life..
Amen
See whats interesting about the first 4
examples vs the last one
is the fact that we all know these brands
we all know what they offer
they offer food
right some sort of
nourishment
some sort of food that will sustain us
that will fill us
that will quench our hunger
but part of the reason they are so good
at advertising
and imprinting these sayings and images
into your head
is because they know that
you will get hungry again
they know that you will have to
come back for more
that is the nature of hunger
and what they bank on
see we feed ourselves food
some healthier than others
but we all have to eat
we all get physically hungry
in fact, hunger is one of the worst
feelings that a human can experience
when your hungry what happens
you get mood swings..
anyone in here get hangry
where your hunger makes you not exactly the favorite person in the room
right…
and after a few days you lose your ability
think strait
you cant concentrate
you lose the ability to sleep
you cant rest
which means you cant get a break from it there
then after even longer
your muscles start
to break down
then your immune system begins to fail
then eventually your body starts to fail as well
and unless you receive nourishment
then death is imminent
well, the same is true spiritually
we we all hunger for something
and now I am not speaking physically
I mean we all hunger
when I say spiritual hunger
I mean we hunger for answers in life
we hunger for acceptance
we hunger for love
we hunger to know
what am I here for?
what is the purpose of all this
there must be more to this right..
what is the meaning of life?
all of these are examples of some of
life’s biggest questions
which
feed into our spiritual hunger
see God placed in all of us a longing for something
a desire for something
a burning down deep inside of us
that is just longing to be filled
and what we fill that longing up with
is what determines so much for us
see we can fill that longing up with
money,
fame,
cloths
cars
food
etc
but we know those things only
last so long
And we know those things only lead to spiritual death
or we could fill it with
the one that ensures that we never
long for anything else again
and we all know that
was the 5th example in our pop quiz this morning
That as Jesus says he is the bread of life
A person can survive a long time on only bread and water.
see Bread is such a basic food item that it becomes synonymous for food in general.
We even use the phrase “breaking bread together” to indicate the sharing of a meal with someone.
Bread plays an integral part of the Jewish Passover meal.
which is why when Jesus says he is the bread of life
this is substantial
The Jews were to eat unleavened bread during the Passover feast and then for seven days following as a celebration of the exodus from Egypt.
and just as the Jews were to celebrate their freedom from slavery in Egypt
we are able to celebrate our freedom from sin
through Christ
Because when the Jews were wandering in the desert for 40 years, God rained down “bread from heaven” to sustain the nation (Exodus 16:4).
that is what we read earlier
and we know now that Jesus came down from heaven
to sustain all who believe in him
see bread was known as a staple
bread is eaten everyday
and He is our bread
he sustains us
he nourishes us
and he ensures us
that those of us that trust in him
will never hunger or thirst again
Our points this morning as we unpack this are
The Great Hunger 22-29
The Nourishment 30-33
The Bread of Life 34-35
The Great Hunger (22-29)
The Great Hunger (22-29)
John 6:22–25 “22 The next day,
Now here is our famous time marker
fresh off of getting their bellies
filled and trying to make Jesus King
we have the crowd waking up the next day
and when they wake up
after a good night sleep
under the stars in the spring grass
they start wandering around
I figure the dads are probably up first as usual
maybe they are mulling around looking for the coffee maker
making sure they dont wake the kids up
any earlier than they have to
because we all know momma needs to sleep in
but as the camp is waking up
the sun is coming up over the mountains
and over the lake
the crowd is starting to come alive
and not only is the crowd beginning to come alive
but they are probably starting to feel
a little hungry again
no doubt the great meal from the evening prior
had worn off
and now they were ready for some breakfast
so, they start looking around
Mr Johnson probably asked Mr Smith
Hey, have you seen that Jesus guy?
he fed us last night
And we are hungry again
so as they are looking around
we pick up with the rest of verse 22
the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat. They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone.
So the crowd last night thought that Jesus was still there
with them
that he was still among them
maybe he was mixed in with the crowd
maybe he was still of praying
but for good reason the crowd thought
Jesus was still there
so, they slept like babies
remember, they knew
nothing of the storm
or of Jesus walking on the water
that was only witnessed by the disciples
So now that everyone is awake
and they cant find Jesus
they are start trying to figure things out
they are getting hungry right
and they are looking for the one
that could meet their needs
so…
V23 says
23 Some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
now its possible that the people on the shore
heard from the people on the boats
that Jesus was on the other side
in Caperneum
so they got on the boats
at least probably as many as could fit
and the rest took off
by foot
back around the way that they had come
they were desperate for some
food they were desperate due to their
hunger
that is why of all things they could have asked him
when they find him
they ask
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?””
when did you get here?
thats what they asked
they even addressed him as rabbi..
there was no spiritual resolve in their question
there was no yearning or the spiritual
only a question of wanting
what I love about this story is how
the physical so easily mirrors
the spiritual
they just couldn’t see the connection
After all they had a hunger
they had a longing
and they recognized that
just like our first step to salvation
is recognizing that we have a need for a savior
then they recognized
that Jesus was the only one that could
fulfull that need
that could fulfil that hunger
Just like once we recognize our need for a savior
we must recognize that Jesus is that savior
then they even sought him out
they searched for him
and they found him
just like we are to do
only they were still looking for the wrong reasons
much like so many today do as well
see they followed him to this side of the lake
only looking for what they could get
not what he could give
and just like Jesus did with
Nicodemus and
the woman at the well
he doesn’t answer the question they asked
he instead said this
John 6:26–27 “26 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you,
(remember, when he says truly I say, or verily verily)
he means business
he’s saying listen listen
so he says truly I tell you
you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
See he got to the heart of the matter
they weren’t looking for him
in order to feed their spiritual hunger
that deep hunger we all have
they were searching due to their physical hunger
due to their materialistic
and selfish view
their motive was corrupt
see so many seek Jesus for the wrong reasons
and we have talked about this almost every week since
we started John
That so many seek Jesus for the wrong reasons
or they just want him to stand on the sidelines
and not interfere with their lives
then they question him when he is absent
thats why we so often hear things like
why is Jesus so far away?
this world is so messed up,
If Jesus was really
the messiah
if he was really the savior
why doesn’t he just appear and show everyone
then everything would be better
do we see how this attitude breeds
the fact that they
only want the things of Jesus
not Jesus himself
they will say things like
why is the world in so much trouble
why is there so much suffering
if he were there
why wouldn’t he just fix everything!!
well.. for one He has already appeared to the world
and it crucified him
and for another,
that is exactly what this passage is all about
we are so worried about our physical needs
and about the physical suffering
that we don’t realize that
the answer to those things
the solution to those things
aren’t in the physical
they are in the spiritual
we cant fix those things
we live in a fallen corrupt world
and we ourselves are fallen
corrupt people
and we are at war with an enemy
that we cannot see
Ephesians 6:12 “12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.”
that is why the answer and the need to the hunger
and suffering of this world is not in the physical
it is not in the things of this world
for the things of this world perish
as Jesus continues
27 Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.””
see
We work so hard for self salvation
and this is obviously displayed
in the materialism of our lives
and the greedy attitudes
of most people obsessed with the world
that at the end of the day
we just end up tired
and off target
and Jesus knew the Jews and crowd did the same
thing
their entire religion was being taken out of context from
when God first established it
they had instead
made it a system that
was put in place to confirm
their idea of God
and how they wanted to
make God fit
into their traditions
they wanted God on the sidelines
they didn’t want him to interfere with their lives
they just wanted him there to approve of what they were already doing
See so many want God and Jesus to just fit in their lives
because they don’t want to conform to his
But the one in which God had placed his
seal of approval upon
***Mention what a seal of approval was***
was standing right in front of them
offering them the answer to their
true hunger
offering them eternal life!
but they were so misunderstood
of God’s plan
Which is easily explained in their next question
John 6:28 “28 “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.”
See, based upon their religion
based upon their culture
they could only think in terms of works
see they thought that by doing good
works they would win the approval of God
that following a strict set of rules
or if they did enough good and lived a life
that was moral and just,
that God would save them
and give them the food that
satisfied
the food they sought
the food that was abundant
and the food that was eternal
and that goes hand in hand with
what so many do today
to attend church to check a box
so that you can get a get our of hell free card
but Jesus will soon correct that
as he says in V29
John 6:29 “29 Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.””
but Jesus corrected their thoughts of
this works based salvation
see they
and we,
cannot secure the favor of God
we cannot be adopted into
the family of God
based on “good works”
sure good works become
the fruit of our conversion
good works become the fruit of our obedience
but good works wasn’t the catalyst
faith was,
belief was,
grace was
and there is nothing we can do to
earn to earn those things
So here, Jesus is telling them exactly what he
told the opposition in V24 of chapter 5:24
he is telling them that the only thing that needs to be done in order
to get this eternal life
that will never perish
is to believe in Him
rather than being
interested in what
they stand to gain
they should believe
that God sent the savior
rather than attempt to make him king by force
they should believe and trust that God will do what is right and best
rather than seeking glory for themselves
they should glorify
for the one that was sent
and the one was sent
the one that is the answer to their Great Hunger
is Jesus Christ
which is our second point of the morning
The Bread of Life
The Bread of Life
John 6:30–31 ““What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform?
You ever hear of the story of the man
Who’s house was flooding
and a truck came and said
we are evacuating you need to come with us
the man said no,
God will provide a way out
then the boats came
and said, you need to come with us
the man said no,
God will provide a way out
the when he was on top of his roof
a helicopter came and said
the waters are still rising
get in with us
and he said no
God will provide a way out
then when he drowned and went to
heaven he asked God
why didn’t you provide a way out!
and God answered
I did,
I sent a truck, a boat, and a helicopter
This is exactly like
that
The son of man
the living God
the bread of life that
can fulfil all of our
spiritual needs
is standing right in front of them
and they don’t see that it is from God
instead they ask for more signs
or even bigger signs
they go on to say
Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.””
because well
Moses provided food for 40 years
and Jesus, well you have done some cool things
but really you only fed us once
I mean Moses had it falling from the sky
and you only multiplied a few loafs
John 6:32–33 “Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.””
Jesus is contrasting what
Moses did
with what He does
See God provided the manna
and he is now providing Jesus
See they held this manna from Moses to such high accords
but it only left them to get hungry again
but God has sent the one that is the true bread
just as that manna came down from heaven
so did Jesus
and he will fulfill
our gnawing hunger that there is more to this world
he will fulfill our restlessness
our emptiness
this vacuum we feel we are in
he will fulfill our loneliness
he will give us purpose
meaning, significance
The purpose of bread is to give life
and the Bread of God gives us life
and the bread of life is found in Jesus Christ
which brings us to our final point this morning
The Bread of Life
The Bread of Life
after hearing all that Jesus said about
the father giving them the true bread
and that the true bread came down from heaven
after telling him all of these things
they say
John 6:34 “Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always.””
which is a wonderful response right
if they had meant it spiritually
see the spiritual bread that the lord provides is necessary for life
its suited for everyone
and it must be eaten every day
that is why in the
Lord prayer he taught us
to pray daily for our daily bread
“give us each day our daily bread”
and that is exactly who Jesus is
as he claims in our last verse of the morning
John 6:35 ““I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.”
This is the first of our 7 I am statement’s by Jesus
and each of these I am statements is significant
and each has its own meaning
together each of these I am statements
fill out the significance of just who Jesus is
as God
as well as define the person
and mission of Jesus
This saying
I am the bread of life
presents Jesus as
the only food that provide eternal life
he is essentially saying,
I the Lord God am here to provide you with
everything you need for your spiritual life
Brothers and sisters
they were seeking bread that will only sustain them for a little while
but Jesus
He is the bread that will sustain us forever
however, that is only available to those that
come and believe!
these 2 simple verbs within this last verse
define
our part in salvation
see to come to Christ means that
we are to forsake our old life
of sin and rebellion
and submit to Him and Him alone
and to believe in him is
to trust
him completely as the messiah
and the son of God
to acknowledge that
salvation comes through him alone
though the repentance of our sins
Then, and only then,
does the grace and mercy he so freely
gives rains down upon us
just as that manna did for them in the desert
So I ask you this morning
are you still
hungry for the things of this world
or are are you ready to
put all of that aside
and welcome into your life
the one that provides it all
Lets Pray