The Bread of Life
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea knew there had been only one boat. They also knew that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone off alone.
Some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
Jesus answered, “I assure 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 we may see and believe You?” they asked. “What are You going to perform?
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real 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 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 may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Therefore the Jews started complaining 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 complaining 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.
“I assure you: Anyone who believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers 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, “I assure you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves.
Anyone 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 real food and My blood is real drink.
The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives 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 fathers ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
of the miracle/message cycle.
of the miracle/message cycle.
The Message of the miracle/message cycle.
The Message of the miracle/message cycle.
I am the Bread of Life. Simple sermon Jesus preached here. Eat and drink what I have and you’ll never hunger or thirst again.
We do crave. We crave affirmation. Love. Comfort. Security.
Some of what we crave is necessary for life. Some of it is from the darker side of humanity. We’ll talk about how Jesus satisfies all our desires shortly.
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.
signs- not because you saw the revelation of who I am, but because of the food. Jesus was trying to get them to see past the miracle and see what the miracle showed them: That He was the One sent by God.
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.”
signs- not because you saw the revelation of who I am, but because of the food. Jesus was trying to get them to see past the miracle and see what the miracle showed them: That He was the one sent by God.
work- dont labor for food that perishes, but for eternal… Jesus alone is the source. Jesus alone can fulfill our desires. (which we were created to have - man in the garden)
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
John
In the Hebrew, they asking about working works.
work- dont labor for food that perishes, but for eternal…
“Come, everyone who is thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you without money,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
Why do you spend money on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.
Did you know that this word
pistis (faith)
does not occur in the book of John?
Instead he uses this word
pisteuein (believe)
and equates it with the idea of ‘obey’.
When Work Gets in the Way
When Work Gets in the Way
A few weeks ago we made the observation that work is important to every generation, and one generation often judges another by their willingness or ability to work. Jesus is challenging a long-standing mindset that work is what pleases God. They took and heard the ‘buy’, ‘spend’ and ‘wages’ but missed the ‘without money’ and without cost’. They missed ‘listen carefully’ so they missed that it was a GIFT OF GOD.
We made
In chapter 2 Jesus showed them two temples and in chapter 3, two births. In chapter 4 it was two waters and now He presents them 2 breads.
Manna means ‘what is it?’
Manna- what is it?
They asked about manna ‘Moses provided’. But they set up Jesus’ response by how they asked what work He was doing. Its almost as if they asked “What is it you do?”
So often we define ourselves by what we do. But we cant apply that to right standing with God. See how Jesus answered the question:
Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the One He has sent.”
Regarding salvation there is work to do, if you consider believe to be work. John does use the work in parallel with obey so that it conveys action. But its the same idea as receiving manna.
Original “Wonder Bread”- kept over night and worms. unless before sabbath.
There COULD have been some who looked out on the ground and said “I dont want this slightly sweetened, crispy deliciousness! I’ll make my own bread.” And, in fact, they did grumble to Moses claiming to have nothing to eat, we hate this loathesome bread.
There will be some who say “I dont want the Bread of Life. I’ll make my own way to heaven”.
There will be some who say “I dont want the Bread of Life. I’ll make my own way to heaven”.
Jesus is the Bread of Life
Jesus is the Bread of Life
Comparing Himself to manna
sent from heaven, but greater
for the sustaining of life, for the giving of life
they would die without it, ...
The Jewish leaders had been taught there would be a final Passover at the coming of the Messiah and heavenly bread would be given then. Jesus is explaining that HE IS that heavenly bread. Both Gift and Giver.
there would be a final Passover at the coming of the Messiah and heavenly bread would be given then. Jesus is explaining that HE IS that heavenly bread. Both Gift and Giver.
there would be a final Passover at the coming of the Messiah and heavenly bread would be given then. Jesus is explaining that HE IS that heavenly bread. Both Gift and Giver.
They asked Him for this bread, He offered Himself.
They missed what we HAVE to get: We need Jesus!
Because He is all-satisfying. When Christ is our satisfaction, He will transform our life. He overcomes our desire for sin by the power of His satisfaction!
He says “When you come to Me you wont hunger and when you believe in Me you wont thirst”.
Paul tells us in Galatians: Those who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. The cravings of the dark side of our human condition have been crucified with Christ!
You might say “you dont know the sin I struggle with”. Maybe you dont know the ability of Jesus to satisfy that which He created!
You might say “I cant imagine being satisfied by something/someone I cant see”. Ella at Long John Silver’s.