The Bread of Life

Introduction

Good morning,

Last week was so special, seeing young people accept the Lord and then take the next step in Baptism never gets old. I hope that you take your commitment to pray for them seriously. As a church that is what we are called to do.

Last week we saw 2 miracles in one day in the life of Christ. The feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on Water. Both of these miracles work to accomplish something different. The feeding shows the heart of Christ while walking on the water shows His Power.

This morning we continue in the 6th Chapter as we see what happens the very next day. We are in a sequential part of John where we are seeing the events of multiple days in a row. So place yourself in the seat of the disciples as you experienced the feeding and the walking on water, and the very next day, what we are about to read takes place. Jesus is going to address the crown, correct them, and then lay down some very important theological foundations for them to grasp. My prayer is that as we read through this and examine the text this morning, that we will grasp these truths as well.

John 6:22–40 NIV

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Examination

John 6:22–24 NIV

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Here we see the common connecting term “The next day,” this is common for John and helps us to connect the events of the prior day to those of today. We see their realization that Christ is not there and their immediate response is to head to Capernaum to find Him.

John 6:25–27 NIV

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

While we can understand their desire to search for Christ, and probably would have had the same reaction given the miracle from the day before, we see here that Jesus sees to their heart and knows that they are only there because He fed them, not because of what He has done as a whole or who he truly is. One interesting point here is how they address Jesus, they address Him as Rabbi, or teacher. If you think back to last week, their desire was to make him “king by force” now their attitudes have changed and they view Him as a teacher. So how does Jesus respond to their question? He, as usual, goes straight to their heart, and almost ignores their question entirely. Any time we see Christ use the phrases “Truly, Truly or Very Truly” we know that crucial information is coming. So I invite you, each time you see these phrases, to mark them. He tells them that the only reason they are even searching for him is because he fed them. The term signs here does not simply refer to the miracles Jesus was performing, clearly they knew of them and they experienced one themselves. Instead, the focus is on the sign behind the miracles, all pointing to who Christ is. Then he begins a new introduction to one of His many titles, the Bread of Life. He tells them to not spend their time working for food that spoils, but for eternal rewards.

John 6:28–29 NIV

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Again, we are dealing with a alrgley Jewish audience, and there is a lot of works tied into the Jewish lifestyle. When asking what do they do, they are asking for physical works. Jesus turns it on it’s head and responds, the only work you are to do is to beleive in me. WOW!

John 6:30–33 NIV

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Again they launch into more questions, and Jesus responds with more about who He is. We know this is a Jewish audience, not only by location, but through their questions. They are calling back to Mosaic times, referenicng the manna given in the wilderness. Again, their focus being on physical nourishment. Almost a “They did this for us, What are you gonna do?” type of a situation. Jesus speaks to correct their focus, the manna did not come from their ancestors, the manna came from God. We see another “Very Truly” statement, and may it serve as a warning for us to handle scripture carefully. The crowd was quoting a biblical event, quoting scripture, if you will. But they missed the plot, the manna was not about Moses, it was about the Lord.

John 6:34–40 NIV

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Jesus enters the final portion of this teaching by stating difinitively that He is the bread of life, in reference to their request for the eternal bread of God. He is the bread of God, the Bread that gives life to all. He explains that the supply never runs out, and the He himself has come from heaven to do the Will of the Father, which is that everyone would believe in Him. Through that belief they will forever be his and will be raised up, always remaining spiritually fed.

Application

Do not seek Jesus to be SPOILED!

The men wanted more food, Jesus had other ideas

A life devoted to Christ is not about getting your belly fully

I think we all fall into this, and the church today, in areas, has contributed to a false view of what we should be “seeking”

Often we are seeking what we want, and we want to be spoiled, we want excess.

Jesus’ focus is on our heart

Do the work that God REQUIRES!

God requires us to believe

Do you?

He does not require us to grip, complain, be lazy, or be spoiled

Our church does a good job at this

Mission serve sent 19.

Kenya sent 6 from our church, 14 overall.

We go because we believe, our service is a sign of our salvation

The men talking to Christ only saw what He did, they experienced phyical nourshment and thats what they diluted Christ to. He wants us to know that the most important thing is knowing who He is and believing in Him

Never go Hungry AGAIN!

I like to eat, I get hungry, sometimes hangry

Can you imagine never feeling that hunger pain

It’s important to understand the purpose of Christ, who he is, and what He promises.

I think we confuse Jesus providing for us, with us getting a handout, not having to do anything, it just showing up on our door.

It all starts with belief

We should not tie our belief to the meeting of a physical need that we desire.

We know that Jesus does provide, but if our entire belief is based on that then what do we say to the family who is struggling, the person depressed, the one who has lost everything.

Luke 12:22–30 NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.

e. Let’s focus on the real work, believing and then acting.

f. Jesus promises for those of us who accept Him, that He will raise us up, that we will be spiritually nourished. That he will provide.

Conclusion

Where are you at this morning? Are you hungry? Are you waiting on Christ to deliver something he hasnt promised that He will, or are you truly doing the work of God and believing in Him. This group missed the plot, they got the blessing, saw the miracle, and were solely focused on “MORE.” Jesus is more than enough, but do we believe enough, or are we sitting here with our hand help out, wanting more bread and fish to fill our stomach, when our Lord and Savior is sitting here offering us something that is eternal. Share the bread of life this week, or maybe, take and eat for the very first time.