Untitled Sermon (4)

If you are just joining us, we have been walking through the gospel of John this year. The “theme” that we have repeatedly seen throughout the gospel of John can be summed up by the word of , “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

I want to briefly explain this sign to you because I only have a short amount of time to tell you what is going on here. I do not want us to make the mistake of missing the forest for the trees. Yes, the tress are important because without tress you have no forest. However, in the Apostle John has given us a beautiful and green forest that I want us to marvel at this morning.

In verses 1-14 Jesus does something truly out of this world. A large crowd had been following him and there was a problem. No one remembered to bring lunch. I often get so busy that I forget to eat. However, I cannot imagine how preoccupied my mind would be if I was in the presence of Christ himself. If you have not seen this theme throughout the book of John let me tell you, Jesus is really good at noticing problems. So, what is Jesus’ solution? Does he send the people home for lunch? No. Does he let them starve? Not at all. Jesus looks to Phillip first and then to Andrew for a solution. This is strange… he didn’t consult his disciples last week when he healed the lame man. He didn’t ask for advice when he turned the water in to wine at Canna. So, why now? I do not want to spend to much time here but there is something I want to highlight.. both men trusted in natural solutions to this great problem. They didn’t have enough money and they didn’t have enough food. Neither men said, “Jesus this is a big problem! You are the only solution!”

Jesus proves that he transcends natural answers to big problem by taking 5 loaves and five small fish and feeds upwards of 20,000 people with it. This sign was meant to illuminate who Jesus is! John Piper describes a sign as a light beam and as you behold the sign your eyes follow the beam up to its source. “Your eyes should behold the landing of the beam and your eyes should run up the beam to the glory!”

I am somewhat of an introvert. I love being around people but big crowds for too long tend to wear me out. With that being said, I cannot imagine how tired Jesus must have been here in . “After this” does not necessarily means “immediately following” but it does give us some sequence of events. If you remember last week, Pastor Chris took us through where Jesus heals the man at the pools of Bethesda and according to verse 2, that is why this crowd is following Jesus. “Because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.” Let’s be honest, if you were able to make an invalid walk again you would probably be the most popular guy in the room as well. Things like that tend to not go unnoticed.

The crowd begins to get closer and closer to Jesus. Looking out at the crowd Jesus knew that him and his disciples were going to be there for a while but there was just one problem. There was no food for the people. So, Jesus looks to Phillip and says, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people my eat?” You might be thinking, “Jesus, why are you asking Phillip?” Was Jesus stumped by this problem? Did he really need Phillip’s help? Jesus wasn’t stumped and he asked Phillip for a reason. What would Phillip trust to be the solution to this problem? Well, Phillip could only think in natural way “Two hundred denari worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” Unsatisfied with Phillip’s answer Jesus then turns to Andrew, “Andrew, what is you solution?” “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” These are not the answers that you would expect from two men who just experiences Jesus make a lame man walk! But, are these not the answers that we often give when face with insurmountable problems. There’s not enough money in the budget, the community is changing, Jesus, we only have so much time in the week.

Now, this was an important occasion in the life of a Jew at the time and its something that we have to keep in mind as we walk through this passage. The Passover feast of the Jews was at hand. The Passover was to the Jews what the fourth of July is to Americans. You will recall that the Passover is a day of celebration of the Jews exodus from slavery in Egypt. It is wort

Jesus then instructs them to have the people sit. John records 5,000 men not including women and children. So, it is safe to say that this crowd was perhaps in the upwards of 20,000 people and after distributing the fish and the bread it says in verse 11 that they had “As much as they wanted.” They didn’t ration the meal to make sure there was enough. Jesus was behind the miracle, there was not only more than enough but there were let overs. This was more than a days wage worth of food, this was more than a side dish, and we will soon find that this was more than manna.

The bread not the Bread

“When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him. Rabbi, when did you come here? 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.”

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“When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him. Rabbi, when did you come here? 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.”

The next day the crowd found Jesus on the other side of the sea. But, notice…Jesus never answers their question. “When did you come here” Answer? That is the wrong question. Jesus does not answer their question but questions their motives. Can you imagine that? Jesus is questioning a crowd following him. This rubs our proverbial wood against the grain. The audacity of Christ to question people when they follow him. At least they are coming! Yet, it is obvious here that Jesus care about our motives. They were not interested in Jesus they were interested in what Jesus could give them! They were interested in security, food, influence, and power. In other words, they were concerned with prosperity.

I am sure you are familiar with preachers who have a great following because they teach that it is Jesus’ mission to give you your best life now. One preacher said, “If you want to follow Jesus because he will give you a better life, that’s idolatry. Follow Christ for the sake of Christ! He is worthy!” There are four reasons why I think the prosperity gospel, and by that I mean the gospel is only good in so far as what it offers you, is so dangerous to you faith and to the mission of the church.

Jesus is saying, you are not following me because you truly understood what I did. You are following me because of what I did. But

The emphasis of the prosperity gospel is on the gift and not the giver.

It conceals the mission of the church that is characterized by suffering with Christ.

It injures the goodness of God in sending Christ to us.

God is not glorified in the church if the church is not satisfied in him.

Finally, things don’t last.

Perishable goods

But, this is the king that they saw Jesus to be. One that can do stuff for them. The Jesus they saw was a genie that would grant them an infinite amount of wishes. If this Jesus could do that with a few loaves of bread and fish I wonder what else he can do! It makes perfect sense now why they wanted to make him king in verse 15! But Jesus is saying you have missed the point!

Our culture is

“Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life. Which the son of man will give to you.”

This is why the prosperity gospel is so dangerous because a Christian whose main pursuit in life is prosperity will never risk ANYTHING for Christ. Christ says it, “Do not work for food that perishes.” In other words, the supreme ambition of a Christian should not be material. You cannot spend your entire life working for perishable goods and expect to not perish with them. This is why Paul said in , “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” He counts what as loss?

“Circumsized on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin” His earthly heritage

“A Hebrew of Hebrews: As to the law” His performance

“A Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church” His social status one could add his material possessions

And what does Paul say? I count it ALL as rubbish! Why? In order that he may gain Christ!

So, church do not make

The word “work” is mentioned twice in verse 27. Once it is said and the second time it is implied. “Do not work for food that perishes but work for food that endures to eternal life.” All that these individuals heard was “work”. It was as if they were saying, “If you tell us what to do we can do them. How can we earn this bread.” Does this sound familiar? This is a similar question to what the Rich Young Ruler asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good deed must I I do to have eternal life?” If prosperity gospel is dangerous to the church then legalism is in the same family. But, does Jesus say “You cannot perform a work that will grant you this bread.” No, he doesn’t. He does give a work that must be performed but it’s not a work that these individuals expected.

“This is the work of God, that you believe in him who he has sent.” They were okay with believing but they were not convinced. They needed more, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What works do your perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

What sign? Are you kidding? They just witnessed Jesus feed the crowd and they were willing to make him king. It seems that when the rubber met the road the opinion of these individuals changed. Their stomachs were not full anymore. They needed more. Jesus had already proven himself to have great power but now he had to prove himself to be greater than Moses. Jesus responds, “Truly, truly, i say to you it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven but my father gives you true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Jesus shows himself to be great than Moses in two way. 1) It was not Moses that gave the bread. It was God. 2) That bread was not the true bread of God but was meant to point to something greater. 3) This bread give life not to a few but to many.

There is something we must understand about this bread.

“I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will not hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall not thirst.”

Still, they did not understand. “Give us this bread always.” In other words, give us this bread again and again. Don’t let us go hungry another day. If this bread is like yesterdays bread than we will need new bread every day. Finally, Jesus reveals that this bread is not found in loaves but is himself. Those who eat of this bread will never hunger or thirst again. There’s no need for new bread because Christ has come to be THE bread. This reveals a great need to us church. It is not material things that will fill you us. Christ is what you soul thirsts and hungers for. Think of how patient he has been with this crowd and he is patient with you. To show you that he is to be the true satisfaction of your life. This does not mean there is no need for continual dependence on him, or a life time of feeding on Christ. This means that when you come to Jesus your hunger and thirst is satisfied in him. The manna of the world will come and go but Christ is always satisfying. You cannot reach the bottom of the spring that is Christ Jesus. You cannot eat to the end of the loaf.

So they ask, how do we get this bread? Jesus lists two ways. 1) You come. 2) you believe

Church, this is God’s will for your life. That you will be satisfied in His Son! Saving faith is faith that is satisfied Christ for Christ.

“But i said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe”

Yet, I still have not answered how it is that you get this bread. Jesus give us two ways we get this bread. 1) We come to him 2) We believe in him. But, then we come to verse 36, “But, I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.”

This a very similar to John words in 1:11, “He came to his own and his own people did not receive him.” In other words, Jesus is accusing the Jews of refusing their Messiah. Some might suggest that the mission of Christ was a failure. These were men who knew the prophecies about the Messiah and yet here he is and they do not believe him. However, the success of Jesus’ mission does not depend on the response of those listening to him.

“All that the father gives to me will come to me, and who ever 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, that i should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 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.”

Does the fact that some hear the gospel, are offered salvation and given the opportunity to believe in some sense mean that the works of Christ and the mission of the church is a failure?