I Already Ate-Jn 6:26-35

Bread from Heaven: The Life Jesus Offers

Bible Passage: Jn 6:26–35

I believe at the heart of American culture, is the constant need to be satisfied by our own personal wants and desires. When you look at our mainstream media today, messages of constant self gratification are being pushed on our young women and men.

We have become a society of consumers. Everyday we consume all kinds of junk on television, on CNN, constantly consuming the negative propaganda of news channels that don’t have anything except bad news to report on. We consume our timelines and our social media pages that are filled with all kinds of foolishness. We consume the negative words of our group chats and friend circles that have nothing but gossip and he say she say drama, hardly ever uplifting anyone else but themselves.

We have become consumers of what Jesus calls “the meat that perisheth.” There is a reason you’re not able to focus in worship and sleep at night and it’s because of your diet. The constant desire to eat the wrong thing is slowly ushering us into a space of spiritual death.

I like what the Apostle Paul says 1 Corinthians 6:19 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” We can’t spend so much time consuming the food that is killing us that we neglect to eat the bread that will give us life.

In this passage, Jesus teaches the crowd about the true bread from heaven, contrasting physical sustenance with the everlasting life He offers through faith in Him, underscoring the importance of spiritual nourishment.

Our text takes place in the book of the Apostle John. John who is regarded as one of the three in Jesus’ inner circle. He is the beloved disciple who always stayed close. In fact it was John who Jesus spoke to on the cross when He said in John 19:26 woman behold thy son, son behold thy mother. Through reading we discover that John Gospel is different from the other synoptic Gospels.

Matthew focused on Jesus’ right to the throne of David. Mark focused on the miracles of Jesus. Luke was about reaching the gentile. But John wanted everyone to know that Jesus is one with God. John’s Gospel wanted everyone to know Jesus is the I am and in our text today we find Jesus speaking to the Jewish believers trying to get them to understand that thought.

In John 6:1-14 We find Jesus after He has just healed a man with an infirmity for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. This event stirred the frustrations of the Jewish Sanhedrin and this led to Jesus teaching a lesson to them and those surrounding about their inconsistent honor toward the law of Moses.

After this teaching the bible records in John that there was a multitude that followed after Jesus and when they were numbered it was about 5000 men not counting women and children.

Jesus then asks where can we get some food for these people. Andrew the brother of Peter responds, Lord there is a lad here with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. So Jesus takes the lunch of a young boy and feeds 5000 men which along with women and children historians record could have been almost 15,000 people as a whole.

In this story we the heart of Jesus to never turn those who would follow after Him away hungry.

I’m so glad that every time I come to the house of God, God never lets me leave without a word. Aren’t you glad that no matter what you went through this week, no matter how much hell you had to deal with, that God still had a word for you?

So many times we take for granted the opportunity to be in the house of the Lord gathered with His saints. That’s what makes our worship experiences so grand and so great. We live in the post pandemic church that doesn’t find the value in coming to in person worship and I know you can eat a meal at home all by yourself but it’s nothing like the fellowship of sharing a meal with your brother and sister.

That’s why we ought to be glad when we enter the house of the Lord, some of us may not get this chance again but while we are here you ought not come here and sit in a corner by yourself but you oughta join in on the praise, join in on the worship, open up your mouth and praise the Lord with everything you’ve got.

That’s why I couldn’t sit by somebody that’s not a praiser, I can’t sit next to somebody that don’t want to mess up their clothes and look cute. After all I’ve been through I’ve got a right and reason to praise. For when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he’s done for me I’ve got a hallelujah stirring up in my belly I’ve got a thank you Jesus on my lips, I’ve got a dance in my feet, if that’s you why don’t you take a moment and give God the best praise that you got.

So after this the bible records in John 6:15 “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

Jesus goes into a mountain by himself perhaps not only to escape the people but to rest and recharge after performing such a magnificent miracle. When the evening came his disciples crossed over to the other side of the sea of Galilee in a ship.

And the bible records that while they crossing over in the middle of the night here comes Jesus walking on the water and when He met them He tells them be not afraid and gets on the boat and John’s gospel records that immediately they arrived at their destination.

*take a moment to express the hilarity in the text. Can you imagine?*

In the darkness of night, when it seems like you’re out on the water all by yourself Jesus is right there for you. I don’t know what you’ve been up against and what type of night you’re going through but just keep holding on, don’t allow the darkness to deter but keep going. Keep sailing, Jesus is right there with you.

So now Jesus arrives in Capernaum with his disciples and the people that were following them from the night before have now caught up with them and they are perplexed.

They said to Jesus, we saw the boat with your disciples leave and cross the sea and you weren’t with them and now you’re here but we only see one boat. How did you get here?

They were perplexed and confused and if I had time to deal with that I would but Jesus responds to them in John 6:26–29 “Jesus answered them and said, 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. 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: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

This brings me to my first point.

1. Prioritize Spiritual Sustenance

John 6:26-29 What Jesus is saying here to those that follow him is that they are only following Him because of what He was able to do. They were chasing miracles. They were chasing His hand.

(V. 26) Can I inform you that God is not interested in having people around Him that only want to seek His hand. God is not interested in folks who only want to come around for what He can do for them.

*expound on your point. drive it home.*

(V.27) So Jesus not only tells them that they shouldn’t just follow after Him for what He can do but then he says in verse 27 to labor not for the meat that perishes.

Jesus was a master teacher who knew how to use something that they were already thinking about which was food, to convey a thought process to them that they could relate to. So Jesus makes this analogy about the consumption of food that perishes to portray a message about their spirituality.

The word of the Lord for you today is check your priorities. Stop consuming so much stuff that will not sustain you. The time is now where we prioritize God’s presence in our lives over God’s provision. He’s already promised to be a provider but I don’t just want to have his provision and not have His presence.

His presence is what satisfies in the end greater than anything that could be obtained through physical means.

The difference between a follower and a disciple

Luke 9:23 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

God is calling for true worshippers that will worship Him for who He is and not just what He can do.

Psalm 27:8 “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

2. Pursue Eternal Satisfaction John 6:30–35 “They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 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.”

Karen Whiting talks of The significance of bread in her writings: When God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, he said that Adam would work and sweat for bread. That pointed to the necessity of growing grain for food to survive. We need bread for sustenance. Our hunger also reminds us we depend on God who created food.

Secondly, bread draws us together in fellowship. Abraham used bread for hospitality when he shared bread with his three visitors [Genesis 18] and enjoyed bread serve to him by Melchizedek Genesis 14:17-24]. Jewish tradition includes breaking bread at the beginning of a meal with the words “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth.”Jesus gave thanks and broke bread several times in the New Testament and the disciples carried on the breaking of bread in communion.

The third and most significant meaning of bread in the Bible is covenant relationship with God. The grain offerings and the bread on the altar in the Old Testament were part of the covenant symbols between God and the Israelites. Jesus, when he broke bread and shared wine at the Last Supper, said, “This is the new covenant...” (Luke 22:20). In the Bible, faith, bread, and relationship are all connected.

Whenever you go to a restaurant the first thing that they serve you is bread. Bread signifies fellowship and it is a sign of a welcome into one’s house.

Jesus said again in John 6:35 “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

Matthew 11:28–29 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

I want to let you know today, that everything you need is in Jesus. Outside of Jesus there is only temporary satisfaction. But in Him is life everlasting.

Jesus was trying to move the people away from thinking about physical sustenance into a mindset of spirituality. Look at somebody and tell them you’ve got to be spiritual.

1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

There’s an old saying that says, I can see farther down the road than you can look out the window. What it means is I can discern something before it happens and that’s what I want to convey to you today. If you would put off your natural eyes and turn on your spiritual eyes, you must understand what God is trying to tell you today.

He wants you to know that if you would only believe in Him, you don’t have to worry about where your physical needs are coming from. But all you’ve got to do is just look to the hills from whence cometh your help, for all of your help comes from the Lord.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Look at somebody and tell them don’t faint, don’t give up, don’t throw in the towel because Jesus is fighting your battles. Jesus is supplying your every need and if you would just wait on the Lord and be of good courage.

Make a decision to serve Him today with your whole heart and He will direct your paths and He will give you eternal life.

Close:

Exodus 16:1–2 “And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:”

Exodus 16:3 “And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Exodus 16:4 “Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”

Exodus 16:13 “And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.”

Exodus 16:14 “And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.”

Exodus 16:15 “And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.”

And so it was that in the wilderness of sin God provided bread from heaven.

And I’m so glad today that in my wilderness, in my dry place, in my hungry place, God didn’t send me away hungry but He sent me bread from Heaven and His name is Jesus.

He sent Jesus to die for my sins so that I could have eternal life. And I heard Jesus say in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

He provided for me bread that would sustain me and I’m so glad that Jesus is that bread, and now every time I spend time with Him I get full. Every time I call on His name He answers.