Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Remember talking about how stupid sheep are?

```

I HATE this feeling

I found lots of videos that show how stupid sheep can be, but I think this one applies best to what we’re going to talk about tonight!

I get this all the time having a truck

This sheep had NO IDEA it had a bag over its own head, yet it walked around as if it was normal and running into everything

someone calls out of the blue - “Hey man, how’s it going?

Long time no talk!

Hope you’re doing well!...... Heyyyyyy, are you busy this afternoon?...... Could I borrow your truck?”

It quite literally wasn’t seeing things as they really were… it had a bag over its head!

And it probably had no idea either that things were different

No joke - Doug Browning - asked me over to his house to catch up and hang out, only to use me and my truck to help him move

Maybe you have felt like this before - a friend who took advantage of you, or a sibling - someone who led you to think one thing, only to find out they had something else in mind at your expense

The story today AGAIN is an example of how the people Jesus interacted with can be, well, stupid, like sheep are

How does this feel?

What does something like this communicate?

The people in this story didn’t have a literal bag over their head, but they COMPLETELY MISUNDERSTOOD what God was doing through Jesus - they COMPLETELY MISSED Jesus’ purpose so much that the wrong ideas they believed were really no different than a bag over the sheep’s head - keeping them from seeing things as they really were

To me, this is a sucky feeling

This story again shows how Jesus lovingly tries to take this bag off their head so that they can truly see what He’s up to

makes me feel like I am not actually wanted

How does He do this?

I am only wanted because of what I can offer, not for who I am

The relationship is not relational , it is transactional .

If I know you, if I know you care about me, then this is different - I am happy to share what I have - but I have a much harder time with this when someone I don’t know acts like they know me to get something they want from me.

It all comes down to motives.

Into the Text

Our story is going to take place in

I Am the Bread of Life

22 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.

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.

22 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?”

Pause - Let’s stop to take a look at what’s going on

it is SO IMPORTANT when studying the Bible to notice these things, because they help give us more insight into the passage

CONTEXT

What else is going on around this passage?

(Specifically before)

(Jesus feeding the 5 thousand)

Keep this in mind as we read this next passage starting in v.22

22 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.

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.”

Once they realized Jesus had left, they decided to go seeking after Him v.24

Why do you think they did this?

(Keep context in mind!)

What is Jesus’ response to them? (vv.

26-27)

The crowds who were following Jesus saw Him as their meal ticket for the next day, Jesus knew this and called them out on it!

They COMPLETELY MISSED what Jesus came to do

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life”

Jesus is saying “you may think having food - bread and water and whatever else you eat to nourish your body - is the most important work you can do, but there is a different kind of food you should be seeking because it nourishes your broken soul in a way that nothing else could ever come close to doing”

Okay, Let’s Keep going -

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.”

“What does it mean to do the works of God?”

Jesus’ answer is so simple and so beautiful - “This is the work of God, that you BELIEVE in Him whom He has sent.”

This would have been so radical for them to hear - because their faith before was totally built upon works

you hear it in the question: “What does it mean to do the works of God?”

Jesus just says: “Believe in ME.”

What the crowd does next is hilarious to me - either they are SO STUPID - they still have the bag over their head - and unaware of what is really going on around them, or they were trying to “use” Jesus, tricking him into performing another miracle v. 30 “what sign do you do, that we may believe you?”

“Oh yeah?

what have you done that should make us believe you?”

Then they try to bring Moses into the picture - "Hey Jesus, remember Moses and the people in the desert?

When they were, you know, hungry and all, bread would come down from heaven for them to eat.

That was pretty cool.

Heyyyy, speaking of bread, didn’t you do something like that one time?

If you wanted to give us a sign to really believe what you say, I don’t know, doing something like that could be pretty cool again...”

Does this seem relational?

Or is this transactional?

This is where they are missing the point!

The point is not for the people to get what Jesus gives them through the miracles, it’s for the miracles to point to WHO JESUS REALLY IS, THAT HE IS GOD

Moses in the desert, God providing manna daily from heaven

Hey Jesus, I’m following You because of who you say you are

this is what the people were expecting - If Jesus is who He says He is, then

or Hey Jesus, I’m following You because of what I think I can get from you

The crowd cared more about the food than the fact that Jesus actually performed the IMPOSSIBLE miracle itself.

Jesus is saying “you may think having food - bread and water and whatever else you eat to nourish your body - is the most important work you can do, but there is a different kind of food you should be seeking because it nourishes your broken soul in a way that nothing else could ever come close to doing”

Can you imagine that??

If you were there and witnessed a person feed THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of people with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish, and being more fascinated by the bread - “wow, that was some DANG GOOD bread...”(I mean, I’m sure that is was really good bread!) than the one who did the miracle in the first place???

Can you imagine that??

If you were there and witnessed a person feed THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of people with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish, and being more fascinated by the bread - “wow, that was some DANG GOOD bread...”(I mean, I’m sure that is was really good bread!) than the one who did the miracle in the first place???

The people thought that Jesus was talking about Moses in the desert - God providing food for HIS people by sending manna from heaven

How backwards is this?!