Sermon Tone Analysis

declared, “I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Bread means something different to us today than it did for the people of Israel in the time of Jesus.

Maybe you think of bread as that rather tasteless sliced loaf that holds a sandwich together.

Or it is something used to make toast only functioning as a vehicle for some kind of topping like jam or peanut butter.

wasn’t just about the bread that people ate every day.

But manna in particular was bread that was especially given as a gift from God.  Manna held a special reminder thatspare in order to provide for all God’s people.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.

For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you?

What will you do?

Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Bread means something different to us today than it did for the people of Israel in the time of Jesus.

Maybe you think of bread as that rather tasteless sliced loaf that holds a sandwich together.

Or it is something used to make toast only functioning as a vehicle for some kind of topping like jam or peanut butter.

Maybe bread is more about that first choice you have to make at the Subway counter when ordering your six-inch or footlong favorite.

Maybe bread is the thing that accompanies a meal as some kind of dinner roll or baguette.

We use breads to accompany our menus in all sorts of ways.

But it’s probably pretty safe to say that your typical daily menu includes more than just bread.

For those among us with gluten allergies, the menu contains very little or no bread at all.

But people in Israel who heard these words of Jesus had a different version of bread than we do.

Bread was a very regular part of their daily eating.

It wasn’t just a vehicle to hold jam or to keep a sandwich together.

Bread was often the main course.

It was the meal.

That’s hard for us to wrap our minds around.