The Bread of Life

Introduction

Illustration: How many of you are familiar with the slang phrase, “get that bread”?

Now the meaning of that phrase is all about money, but is that all that life is? We’ve all heard the cliche that money can’t buy love, that money isn’t everything so on and so on. We’ve had the rich and famous around long enough to know that getting all the money in the world doesn’t make you happy. Yet so much of our lives still revolves around making money. Getting that bread so to speak.

When Jesus fed the 5000, they were very literally trying to “get that bread.” For them working hard for bread wasn’t a metaphor. So when they met a teacher who could miraculously multiply food they chased Him down looking for more. So what does Jesus have to say to this multitude when they find Him? Our passage today is John 6:26-58.

John 6:26–58 CSB

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. 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.” “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked. Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.” “What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” 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.” Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always.” “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. But as I told you, you’ve seen me, and yet you do not believe. Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to me—not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. “Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus knew the hearts of these people, and that they were looking for Him to provide them with earthly goods and earthly solutions. Jesus however, though not entirely unconcerned with their physical well-being, is more concerned with their Spiritual being. So He teaches them a few important things. First He points out to them the importance of not spending our lives on fleeting things like food and instead on seeking the Kingdom of God. Then He emphasizes the role of God in calling people to salvation and preserving them for the last day, the real goal of all living. Finally Jesus challenges them to eat His flesh and drink His blood, to accept His death for their sins and live daily by His strength instead of their own.

Food that Lasts

Illustration: The frustration of spoiled food

It’s very frustrating, especially in seasons like now when groceries are so expensive, to waste your time like that. Because at the end of the day, that’s what it boils down to, isn’t it? You use money to buy food, but money is just a representation of the time and effort you spent working. So when food spoils it’s like that time you spent is just gone and wasted. So even from an earthly perspective the time you spent working for food was time poorly spent if it goes to waste.

Well what about food that you do manage to eat before it goes bad? From an earthly perspective that’s a good and necessary thing to work for. Yet if we take a minute to zoom out a little and consider things from a heavenly perspective things change a little. Let’s listen in on what Jesus says to the crowds who followed Him. Remember that this is just after the time Jesus multiplied bread and fish to feed 5000 people. They followed Jesus to the other side of the sea because they wanted more bread from Him. This is John 6:26-35

John 6:26–35 CSB

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. 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.” “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked. Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.” “What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” 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.” Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always.” “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’s take a minute to talk about bread. What is bread? During the lifetime of Jesus when He gave this sermon, bread was what you would call a staple food. Sort of like potatoes in Ireland and New Brunswick, Corn in Iowa, Rice in Asia. The food everyone eats all the time sort of thing. So much so that in Greek the word for bread, αρτος, can also just mean food in general. In other words, though there was other words for food, you could legitimately say in Greek, “let’s have bread together” when what you mean is “let’s have a meal together.”

Knowing that sort of sheds a different light on a lot of the Bible verses about bread, doesn’t it? Give us this day our daily bread, the disciples breaking bread together, and here when Jesus calls Himself the Living Bread. These people have come to Jesus looking to get more of the literal bread that He had provided for them not long ago. They even reference God giving the manna to the Israelites in the wilderness in a passive aggressive “Jesus, can’t you do better than that?” way.

But here’s the thing: Jesus knows the bigger picture. We need to eat to live, but life only lasts so long. Our Spirit lives forever. So at the end of the day, how much time do we spend working hard to “get that bread” as the kids say? Though it’s necessary and important for now none of that time will mean anything when we’ve been in paradise for 1000 years, will it?

Now obviously Jesus isn’t saying that we shouldn’t work to put food on our tables. If only for practical reasons, you accomplish a lot less for the kingdom of God if you die of starvation instead of eating and living for years of serving the Kingdom of God. Like a lot of things that Jesus said it’s a matter of priorities. What rules your life more? Working for your own needs or working for the will of God?

And what is the work that we need to do for God? Believe in Jesus. Just in case we’re tempted to think that putting God’s Kingdom first is a matter of working hard to earn our eternal life, Jesus shuts that down here. The only work we need to do is believe in Him. This is that πιστευω word that John is so fond of. Put your faith in or trust in other words the one that the Father sent, which we know is Jesus.

So what does this have to say to us today? I think it has a lot to say about the way we set our priorities in life. Consider the fact that the people Jesus is talking to in the original context are significantly poorer than probably anyone listening to this sermon. They had to work every day to eat. Most of us don’t live like that. This is the group Jesus is saying needs to stop working for bread that perishes and start working for bread that lasts eternally. So I wonder if Jesus thinks that these folks are too preoccupied with material things what He might think of us today. To be clear I’m talking to myself here first. How much time do we spend not only on our material needs, but on our material wants? How much time do we spend on things that will last forever? So maybe we could all stand to work on moving the needle towards eternity.

Unless the Father Draws

Illustration: The rich and famous and their special “invite only” clubs.

Now I don’t know about you guys, but honestly I don’t really want to be a part of these exclusive invite only clubs. Mostly because I’m assuming that the type of people who make up these clubs are the type of people I don’t particularly enjoy hanging out with. No hate, but artsy millionaires and billionaires probably have a level of pretension that I would find it difficult to fit in with. So let’s try to imagine there was a perfect club out there for you. Something you knew would fill you with joy and was filled with people that got you and that you really wanted to hang out with. Then you found out it was invite only.

You fill with despair and sadness until you realize that you have already been invited. Wouldn’t that make you feel special? That’s the whole idea of these invite only clubs is to make the people invited to them seem set apart and special compared to the rest of the population. Maybe we don’t really want to be a part of those particular clubs, but don’t we want to feel special? Cared for? Set apart? Well my friends, if you are a disciple of Jesus than the Bible has very encouraging words for you in this regard. Let’s take a look at verses 36 to 42.

John 6:36–42 CSB

But as I told you, you’ve seen me, and yet you do not believe. Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

So the Bible tells us that if you are a follower of Jesus that means that the Father, God Himself chose you.

Now this brings up a debate that has been raging for centuries among Christians. The thing is the Bible clearly teaches that God draws us to Jesus. Jesus Himself just said “everyone the Father gives me will come to me.” Further down in verse 44 Jesus says “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” So we don’t choose God, He chooses us, right? But then Jesus also says in this same passage “everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life,” and elsewhere He says “anyone who believes has eternal life. Furthermore Peter says in 2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9 CSB

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

So the debate becomes this: Do we have a choice whether to accept Jesus or not? Some say that God chooses who is saved and they will be saved no matter what. The other side says that God invites everyone and that we then have a free choice whether to accept or reject that invitation. And in all of our debates we fight and argue and divide and miss the entire point all together.

I’m not saying that it’s not important to investigate thoroughly what the Bible says and to talk about the nature of salvation and God’s will, and I’m not even saying that it’s a bad thing when we debate things amongst ourselves as Christians. But I mourn for the unity of the church, and I see it as an utter tragedy when the members of God’s church divide over things that we shouldn’t divide over. Jesus prayed to the Father about His disciples in John 17:21

John 17:21 CSB

May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.

And then we take arguments like this and let them break us apart. And not only that, but these disagreements make us overreact and neglect important parts of Scripture. For those who emphasize the truth that God calls us and chooses us sometimes they neglect the amazing truth that salvation is offered freely to the whole world and that Jesus says anyone who believes in Him will be saved.

More to our particular point here, those who believe in the free will choice to accept or reject God’s invitation often devalue or skip the verses that talk about God choosing us and calling us to Jesus. But it’s all over the Bible, and to ignore those verses is to ignore the incredible encouragement they offer to us as disciples of Jesus. You are not an accident. You are not a sub par disciple who just happened to squeak their way into the Kingdom. You are Chosen. God wanted you specifically. How we square that with the reality of free will is secondary, maybe even tertiary. The all important fact is that if you are sitting here today a follower of Jesus than that means that God the Father Himself chose you and drew you to Jesus and Jesus will not lose you and will raise you up on the last day.

So then my friends, do you feel like a specially chosen and cherished child of God? Because if you are in Jesus, that is what you are. Isn’t that worth celebrating? Shouldn’t that make us stand taller, with our shoulders back and our back straight? Shouldn’t that make you want to go out and preach the kingdom with confidence because you know that Jesus is with you and will never forsake you?

Eating Jesus

Illustration: How many of my fellow 90’s kids watched the Magic School Bus growing up? Remember the episode where Arnold turns orange?

Interestingly enough, that episode is based off of a real life phenomena. It is possible to eat so much carrot that your skin turns orange. Of course in real life it isn’t nearly as noticeable and only shows up on your hands and feet in most cases, and you have to eat something like 10 carrots a day for multiple weeks for it to happen. Yet it does happen. That’s because the food that we eat gets ingested and broken down and the body uses it for nutrients, so overloading on that beta carotene that gives the carrots its orange hue will cause a build up of that nutrient in your skin. This is where the saying “you are what you eat” comes from. Because the body uses a lot of the stuff we ingest, the food we eat has a significant impact on our health and well being.

So for that reason those of us who value our bodies and our health should be careful what we put into our bodies. I’m probably not the only one who isn’t as careful as I should be. The question is, is there an equivalent concept when it comes to the Spirit? Because as disciples of Jesus we believe that we are not just flesh but Spirit, so what feeds our Spirit? What gives it what it needs and makes it what it is? Does the same “you are what you eat” concept apply to our spirits? Jesus seems to say that it does.

John 6:51–58 CSB

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Though some Christian movements might disagree, I am pretty confident in saying that Jesus is using a metaphor here. We don’t believe that we are literally eating the body and blood of Jesus when we take communion for example. So the question is, what does this metaphor represent? We’ve already talked about what the body does with the food that it eats. It breaks it down and uses it for nutrients. So what does it mean for us to eat the body and blood of Jesus? It means that we “ingest” Him. We let Him become a part of us and give our Spirit metaphorical nutrients.

This initial eating of Jesus’ flesh and blood comes from believing in Him and putting our active trust in Him in response to His death on the cross for our sake. This is why Jesus says “the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” His body was broken and His blood was shed on the cross, and by believing in Him we participate in His death and have our sins forgiven. We show our participation in His death by our baptism as Paul says in Colossians 2:12

Colossians 2:12 CSB

when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

But then we must continue to eat good spiritual food to maintain the health of our spirit. Just like with eating a lot of us aren’t careful with what we take into our spirit. There’s a lot of spiritual junk food out there. So what can we do to make sure that we are feasting on Jesus and not on sugary substitutes? The way to make sure we’re getting Jesus is by coming to Him in prayer and reading His word. There’s no substitute for the real presence of Jesus and the real Word of God. It can be tempting sometimes to substitute a daily devotional for our Bible reading. To read books about the Bible, instead of reading the Bible. But Jesus put it this way when Satan challenged Him to turn stones into bread,

Matthew 4:4 CSB

He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Not every word about the word that comes from the mouth of God, but every word that comes from the mouth of God. There’s nothing wrong with reading commentaries and devotionals of course, but let’s not let them become a barrier between us and our Bibles. Let us instead eat the flesh and blood of Jesus and gain nutrients for our eternal lives.

Conclusion

Let’s remind ourselves what Jesus is teaching His disciples in this passage. We see that Jesus emphasizes the importance of choosing food which lasts instead of food that perishes. In other words prioritizing the Kingdom over just working for ourselves. Jesus teaches the beautiful truth that as His followers we are all lovingly chosen by the Father and drawn to Him. That He chose us first. Finally we see that we have to participate in the death of Christ and study His word in order to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus and inherit eternal life.

Now remember how in that last point we talked about participating in Jesus death by first believing in Him and trusting in Him, and that we show our participation in His death by baptism? Well there’s also a way we show our participation in continuing to build our relationship with Jesus every day. We take communion every week not only to remember and proclaim the death of Jesus until He returns, but to also symbolically continue to feed on Jesus in our Spirits. So today we will see both of these symbols at work, as James Burke has decided to come to the waters of baptism this Sunday. We will baptize James and welcome Him to the church by participating with Him in communion afterwards.