I AM Part 2-Bread

Recap

We started this new series last week called “I AM” Last week we looked at the narrative in Exodus chapter 3 that had Moses talking to a burning bush. The key phrase that we talked about was what God told Moses to say to those who he was going up against. God told him to say “I AM has sent me.”

We also talked about how Jesus made some claim in the book of John that sounded bizarre and are bizarre. They all started with the phrase “I AM” and regardless of what followed, Jesus was referring back to this moment and was making the claim that we was the Messiah.

And if I could put a theme on the book of John it would be that John was writing in order to show people that Jesus is God in the flesh. He is the Messiah. He is the one who came to set the captives free and change the world forever.

You see this from the very beginning where the author calls Jesus the Word and says the Word was God and was with God during creation. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us in order to save us.

You see this in the miracles that Jesus performed that John recorded in his gospel.

You see this in the purpose statement written in chapter 20 where John says these things are recorded to show that Jesus is the Christ.

And you certainly see this in the “I AM” statements that Christ made. So I’m excited to begin digging in to these claims and statements over the next several weeks with you.

The Real/The Rub

Can you think of the hungriest you’ve ever been? When I was a teenage there was a movement called the 30 hour famine where you got your group together and you got people to pledge money for this organization that feeds hungry children. You would fast for 30 hours. Nothing but water to drink for 30 hours. We did this as a youth group and when it was done we had plans to go to the buffet and eat.

But when the 30 hours was up I was starving so I went to the church kitchen to find anything at all to eat and the only thing i could come up with was microwave popcorn. I made a bag and ate the whole thing. made another bag and at the whole thing.

You would think after eating two bags of popcorn I would be stuffed. You would think that I wouldn’t be able to eat anything afterwards. But we went to the buffet and I at there also.

The thing with popcorn is that it gives an illusion of filling you up because you eat so much of it, but its the snack that never feels you up and even after you eat two bags worth you are left wanting something and searching.

The Read

Jesus dealt with people who were searching for something to fill their bellies in .

(ESV)

(ESV)

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.

What would cause Jesus to say such a strange thing? I mean that’s just a weird thing to say right?

If we want to try and make sense of it we need to look back at what happened before this.

It’s like those movies or tv shows that the beginning shows a scene that doesn’t make sense and then it says “2 months earlier” on the screen and the story starts to unfold.

I couldn’t get into The Walking Dead but the first episode, and the only one I watched, started like this. Rick Grimes rolls into what looks like a battle sight to get some gas in his car and then shoots a zombie in the forehead. Then it goes back and the story about why starts to unfold.

So if we want to unfold what’s happening here and why Jesus would have said this weird statement, then we need put a title slide on the movie that says “lunch time the day before.”

Probably a story that most of you are familiar with is found at the beginning of . Jesus has been gaining some steam with his message that the Kingdom of God is at hand and he’s been gaining a lot of popularity because of the miracles that people have seen him perform.

A lot of people have followed Jesus to a hillside and are waiting in anticipation to see what Jesus will do or say next. So most of you are familiar with the story where Jesus takes a little boys small lunch of five bread loaves and two fish and feeds this crown of 5,000 men and their families.

All theological aspects aside, this is stinkin’ cool. I’d love it if someone went in my pantry and multiplied what I had so that I wouldn’t have to go spend money at the store for a while.

But it was also a model of ministry that Jesus used on a regular basis. He would meet some sort of need that the people had, in this instance their need for lunch, so that he could eventually share the message of hope. And in this instance what you’ll find is that Jesus turned this miracle into an object lesson.

Jesus leaves this moment and then you see another familiar story and miracle of Jesus walking on the Water.

This is where we find ourselves as we pick up in the scripture.

(ESV)

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.

The crowd that Jesus had fed the day before came back for more. They had seen the disciples go in one boat and they had seen that Jesus wasn’t in that boat so they assumed that he’d still be on this side of the sea and went back to find him. But when the say that he was no where to be found they god in their own boats and went to find him.

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.”

There are some people who look at this story and this moment from this story and say that Jesus

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.”

These people’s mind were on physical bread. The kind with yeast that you put butter on. But Jesus was trying to shift the conversation to something far more important. He began telling them about the bread that will cause them to never hunger again.

The people looked back to their Israelite ancestors who were provided Manna for their hunger. Jesus made the statement that Moses didn’t provide that but rather God did and that God would provide bread that never ceases and always satisfies. Jesus was talking about something different that dinner rolls. He was talking about a spiritual need. He was offering up eternal life that would never cease and always fulfill.

But the crowd didn’t get. They were pumped because they though they won’t get hungry again and the were eager. They said “Sir give us this bread always.” But they still didn’t get what Jesus was saying.

Jesus was talking about something different that dinner rolls. He was talking about a spiritual need. He was offering up eternal life that would

So Jesus made it clear for them.

(ESV)

(ESV)

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. They were aking for a sign and Jesus was like, what more sign do you need? 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.”

Jesus said, “You want what will never go away? You want what will fill your desires from now until eternity? You want fulfillment like you’ve never seen and won’t ever lose? I AM the bread of life.”

With that Jesus gave a promise. If we come to him, we’ll never hunger. If we believe in him, we’ll never thirst.

We all have a spiritual hunger. I don’t care is someone is a faithful Christian or an atheist. We all have a spiritual hunger. We are all seeking fulfillment. We all want something that will comfort us during life’s most difficult times. We all want something that’s bigger than us to live for. Call it a purpose or anything you want. Jesus said we could find what we’re looking for in him and that we’d never be unfulfilled again.

There’s some really neat and fascinating references about bread in the Jewish culture that help tie this story together and help this statement to make more sense to the crowd he was talking to and to help it make more sense to us.

There’s some really neat and fascianting references about bread in the Jewish culture that help tie this story together and help this statement to make more sense to the crowd he was talking to and to help it make more sense to us.

These people knew about the process of making bread. Bread making was an all day event. The first thing they would do is wake up and grind the wheat into flower that they would use for bread and then they would spend the entire day preparing the bread. When Jesus was saying that he was the bread he was saying that they need him first thing in the morning and that they needed him all day.

They knew where Jesus was born. We know where he was born also from the Christmas story. Joseph and Mary had to return to Bethlehem for the census and Jesus was born while they were there. Do you know what the word Bethlehem means? It means “House of bread.” Jesus was born in the house of bread and then he made this reference that he was the bread of life. How cool!

These people knew that the “I AM” of the old Testament created everything and created life where there was no life.

What Jesus was saying here with his “I AM” claim was that he was the giver of a new kind of life. This was more than physical life, it was spiritual life. And it wasn’t just a spiritual experience that was here now and gone tomorrow. This was a new eternal, spiritual life that would never go away.

The Ready

Jesus is the only thing that can fulfill us eternity. But often we trade that for some temporary pleasure in the here and now.

I mean just think about your daily lives. You want to be accepted so you say that thing you shouldn’t say. You make fun of that person you shouldn’t make fun of.

You want to be popular so you go to that party you shouldn’t go to.

You want physical pleasure so you fill your life with pornography and lust of the flesh.

You want men to desire you so you’ll do whatever you think that will generate the response you’re looking for.

You want to fulfillment of things so you bury yourself in your work and buy as many things as you can think of.

Maybe you even fill your lives with good things, like family and friends because you’re hoping they bring you fulfillment.

There are so many things that we try to do to give us our fill and they’re always temporary. They’re always what we can see right in front of us.

But they always go away and leave us hungering and thirsting for something more. They always come up short for what we’re trying to accomplish.

The Response

But Jesus never comes up short. His promise is true that he’ll always fulfill us and always sustain us. This isn’t a promise that we’ll never face trouble in this life. But it is a promise that even during times to trial he’s there and he’s not letting go of us. And the reward is great. Eternity in Heaven with him.

Maybe you’ve been seeking fulfillment in all the wrong things and all the wrong people. I’d invite you to follow Jesus. The scripture said that when we come to him and believe in him we’ll be fulfilled forever.

So I’d invite you to trust Jesus with your life and with your eternity tonight. If God’s been dealing with you and you’d like to know how to follow him please talk to your small group leader or come and find me so we can talk about it together. We will not shame you because you’ve never followed or embarrass you. But will gladly walk you through that decision and walk with you in the days ahead.