The Bread of Life John 6:25-40

Just yesterday, I went out for lunch. When I got to Forest Park, there’s usually a homeless man or two standing there, and there was this terribly disheveled man standing there with his sign, “I’m homeless.” And of course, he was going by the cars, and nobody looked at him. He got to my car, and I rolled down the window, and I said, “I don’t have any money with me, but my wife is going to take me to the airport in about an hour and a half, and I’ll have something for you then. And do you know what he said to me? He said, “Thank you for looking at me.” Didn’t say a word about money. He said, “Thank you for looking at me.”

-Ed Salmon

Jesus sees hungry people and He offers us the Bread of Life!

-Jesus will sustain everyone who comes to Him by faith

Jesus issues three invitations to us

I. Seek the Bread of Life vv. 25-27

When we pick up John’s Gospel, the crowd has crossed the Sea of Galilee and are surprised to find Jesus there:

This shouldn’t be a surprise, because they were looking for Him and found Him

However, they know that He didn’t get in the boat and, the truth, that He had walked across the water would have come as a shock!

Jesus receives them, but He also identifies the condition of their hearts:

They do not come to Jesus out of an understanding of the sign that He did

They do it because of the produce of the sign

Jesus is going to invite them to a deeper understanding of the sign that took place

They saw a man who was able to provide them with bread

However, they did not understand the identity of the provider

Their aim, as it regards Jesus was not too high, but too low

They thought they had found a miracle-worker who could provide for their needs

They did not understand that He is much more than a provider; He is the provision

Jesus is offering each of us much more than we could possibly imagine:

He does not just give us bread, He is the bread and His provision in our lives endures forever: it gives eternal life!

He is the Son of God who is the provision for the needs of us all

Today, the great need of your life is not to aim lower with your faith in Jesus, but to aim much higher!

Matthew 6:33

[33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

-CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory

II. Believe in the Bread of Life vv. 28-35

The crowd still doesn’t quite understand, but they are eager: vv. 28-29

If there is bread that they need to be pursuing that leads to eternal life, they are ready, but they don’t know how

The answer is shockingly simple; the work is not a deed, but a step of faith, believing in the one that God sent

For the record, Jesus is not shy here. The whole point of all of these signs has been so that they would believe that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God

The crowd is a little troubled by this, so they ask for proof vv. 30-31

This demand for a sign is a little troubling. They have already seen a pretty incredible sign, in the feeding of the 5,000. Now they want more

In fact, they spiritualize this by turning back to the Old Testament Law and consider the provision of manna in the wilderness

Jesus has to correct their understanding here: vv. 32-34

Moses did not give the bread, God the Father gave the bread

God has given the bread again, but this time, Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven

What do you get when you believe in Jesus? vv. 35-36

He offers you a kind of satisfaction that only He is able to supply

He offers you a life that transcends this one; it is connected to God and endures for eternity

However, you cannot have it if you do not believe in Him!

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott No One Will Give Bread and Butter

In January 1963, Mr. Khrushchev visited East Germany. He is reported as having said at the Congress of the East German Communist Party: “Neither God, nor the Kaiser, nor the devil will give you your bread and butter if you do not make it with your own hands”—an interesting trinity!

[But he was] quite right: Bread and butter [are] human products.

Khruschev had it wrong! The best bread is not the kind that we work for with our own hands; it is a gift that was given for us!

John 6:51

[51] I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (ESV)

III. Receive the Bread of Life vv. 36-40

Jesus closes out this section of His teaching with a powerful promise: All who come to Him in belief will receive eternal life!

What is taking place when you believe in Jesus and you receive eternal life?

A beautiful saving work of God is happening!

It is a work that happens by the will of God the Father: It is His intention to save us

It is a work that happens through the redemptive work of God the Son: He came, lived, died, and lives again so that we can have this eternal life

It is a work that happens with the direction of God the Spirit: He convicts us of sin, directs us to Christ, gives us a new life in Him, grows us in grace, gifts us for ministry, dwells in us completely, and seals us for eternity as the people of God

However, we have a responsibility: We must believe

Will you believe the testimony of Jesus, through the Spirit, the Word, and the Church?

Will you receive the eternal life that God has provided through Jesus?

Are you living in pursuit of that eternal life?

Mark 1:14–15

[14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, [15] and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (ESV)