I Am the Bread of Life

READ: John 6:22-26

John 6:22–26 ESV

“On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”

PRAY

We Live in a World Full of Seekers

In our text…the crowds continued to follow Jesus

Why?

Jesus gives us a hint in John 6:26 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”

Some things we know about this crowd:

They were harassed

Life was difficult under Roman occupation

Rome’s laws

Rome’s taxes

Rome’s enforcement

You could say life was even more difficult under the religious system of the day

Which heaped up heavy expectations on God’s people

God gave the Law and the Commandments

But, Jewish religious leaders expanded on those laws

Surely this was an early effort to add guardrails to keep Israel from sinning against God

BUT, somewhere along the line…these manmade laws were elevated as if they came from God

Which reduced one’s faith journey to a list of do’s and don’ts

Turned a faith based relationship into more of a religious business transaction

God will accept me…IF…and the if’s were many

The problem…we have all sinned…and are already found guilty

I cannot be good enough to be right with God

So…this crowd was pressured both from the outside…and inside of their own people

They were hungry

Hungry for food

Finding one’s food was a daily pursuit

Hungry for physical healing

They saw Jesus as one who could fix their ailments

We all have ailments

We all would like healing

We all pray for healing

And hungry for deliverance

I think this was the bigger reason they follow Jesus

They hoped Jesus was Messiah

BUT…not in spiritual terms…physical

They believed Messiah would come and physically deliver them from their oppressors and reestablish the kingdom of David

They were seeking…HELP…specifically….physical help

We see here…a picture of our world…still today

So many people seeking and searching

They are seeking and searching for the same physical things:

Life’s provisions

Life’s answers

They are seeking for help

BUT…being pointed in every wrong direction

Even within Christian circles…so often we seek the physical above the spiritual

Jesus would call them out on it…and I believe through His word…calls us out as well

Do we seek the hand of God, or the person of God?

Do we hunger and thirst for Jesus…or what Jesus can give?

Here’s the thing…when you get the person of God, you get His hand

Our faith walk is more than simply seeking what Jesus can give us on the daily

And that’s what Jesus is teaching in the passage

John 6:27–40 “27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.””

Three truths Jesus is teaching here:

As the Bread of Life…

1. Jesus Alone Satisfies Our Deepest Need

Jesus is telling us…there is a deeper need of the soul

Vs. 27…you work for food that perished

Work = to toil or labor for

They were striving for the temporary

BUT…the physical food perishes

It only satisfies for a moment

Your hunger and need will return

If there was no greater purpose of life…the constant striving for sustenance would be vain

Here to survive

BUT…Jesus is telling us…there is more to life

He speaks of the food that endures to eternal life

WHICH…the Son of Man (Jesus Himself) gives

God seal was upon him = God authenticated Jesus’ claim to be from God…and ultimately God Himself

Think…signs and miracles…the account of John the Baptist

The people still couldn’t embrace this truth

The works of God that lead to eternal life = belief in God’s Son, Jesus Christ

They wanted further proof

They pointed to when God provided manna from heaven to Israel

Jesus corrects them…

Moses didn’t give anything….it was from God

And it pointed to the living bread that would come into this world

Manna sustained physical life

But would perish

Was given daily

Could not fix the deepest need

Jesus spoke of the bread of God which could fully satisfy and give life to the world

Notice the crowd responds to Jesus like the Samaritan woman at the well

“Give us this bread….always”

John 6:35–40 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.””

Notice:

“I AM the Bread of Life”

Jesus is saying…I myself…am the Bread of Heaven sent to mankind

BREAD = life giving sustenance

A basic staple of ANE diet

BUT used here broadly of physical food

Neccessary for life

The Big Point Here…as the Bread of Life…Jesus alone satisfies our deepest need

But see this…as the Bread of Life…

2. Jesus Invites Us to Receive Himself and Be Filled

Jesus is teaching us that Salvation Cannot Be Earned…it Must be Recieved…

Who gets this bread of life?

“whoever comes and believes”

Jesus is saying…you’re working so hard

But what you really need is to yield in faith

Come to Jesus —> repentance…turning from Jesus

Believing in Jesus —> genuine faith…yielding to Jesus

The promise of Jesus…

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

What is Jesus saying here?

First, He’s speaking of the work of God in our salvation

We will never come to Jesus outside a work of God to draw us

The Jews would grumble about Jesus’ claim to come from God

They didn’t have faith to believe

Why? Because their hearts were not opened

Jesus continues…

John 6:44 “44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

This is the great mystery of God’s hand in our salvation

I believe a couple of things:

That God must draw us to be saved

That we must decide on Jesus in faith

That God already knows the decision you will make

And see this…as the Bread of Life…

3. Jesus is Enough

No amount of WORK can bridge the gap between us and God

That’s why God sent Jesus

Jesus alone can save

And…His grace is enough!

And when you come to Him in saving faith…His grace remains enough

Vs. 37…Whoever comes to me I will never cast out

Vs. 44…And I will raise him up on the last day

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.””

Jesus is speaking of your eternal security

Friend…IF you belong to Jesus…nothing can change that

You are held securely in His hands

You belong to Him

Jesus is enough!

Why do some struggle with this?

Because we try to marry works and grace

We fall for the lie of the enemy, that God’s grace is dependant on my worthiness

Listen, if it were up to our worthiness…we’re all in trouble

BUT Jesus is worthy!

And when we come to Him in saving faith

We are covered in His blood and righteousness

We call this substitutionary atonement

Jesus became sin, that we might become the righteousness of God

Our works…our the result of His powerful working within us

Jesus is enough

The Question…What will you do with Jesus?

READ: John 6:52–66 “The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. 60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”

Jesus intentionally spoke with heavy and hard words

In the flesh…those hardened in sin did not understand

They were quick to take offense

They misinterpretted Jesus’ words…did not understand

Some took eating His flesh and drinking His blood literal

How grotesque they thought

BUT…we believe Jesus was speaking metaphorically

The bread —> Speaks of Jesus body which was broken…His life giving sustanance

The blood —> Speaks of His blood which was shed to establish the covenant of grace

To eat and drink means to accept and receive in faith

By which were are united with Jesus by grace through faith

The saying was too hard for some…and they left

Turning to His disciples Jesus asks, John 6:67–71 “67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.”

As we close…

How have you responded to Jesus?

Have you truly trusted Him in faith?

Or are you like many who have gone before us…are you trusting in your own works?

Only Jesus can save…trust in Him now

How do you continue to respond to Jesus?

Know this friends…

Jesus is the gift of God for every day of your life

Keep believing…keep coming to Him in faith

Keep being fed…walk with Jesus

How do you need to respond to Jesus tonight?

I’m going to give you a minute to pray and then we’ll close