The Bread of Life
1. A Sermon Gone South
John, chapter 6 contains the story of Jesus feeding the multitude on the hillside. Five thousand people with 5 barley loaves and two fish. It was miraculous beyond our imaginations.
When the people realized the miracle they wanted to make him king, “by force”, the scripture says. Jesus avoids them and heads for the hills, verse 15.
The disciples cross the lake to Capernaum and get caught in a storm, Jesus walks on water, they reach the other side safely.
The crowd follows Jesus the following day. He questions their motives and challenges them to believe
At this point, Jesus challenges their motives for following him and " When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs 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. 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.”
And then they make the most incredible request. They ask for a miracle to validate his claims. They’ve just sat through one and missed it. It is possible for people to sit through miracles oblivious to what is happening. I believe that in churches, perhaps our own church, people can miss what God is doing in plain sight, right in front of them. Perhaps like some who sat through the feeding of the 5000 and missed it, we are blinded by the base nature of our own needs and wants.
Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow, and to love Him as they love their cow—for the milk and cheese and profit it brings them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God, when they love Him for their own advantage. Indeed, I tell you the truth, any object you have in your mind, however good, will be a barrier between you and the inmost Truth.
... Meister Eckhart (1260?-1327?)
We don’t want God so much as we want something from God. We want what He can do for us. So we miss the miracle. Or perhaps we are blinded by skepticism or sour attitudes, whatever.
And then Jesus talks to them about the “bread of life”
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, 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 he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:25-35, NIV) [1]
And the whole sermon went south from there. They began to object all over the place because they knew that Jesus agenda was not to satisfy their own. It went so far south that many turned away at that point.
" On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”" (John 6:60-69, NIV) [2]
There’s not a preacher alive who doesn’t know what this is like. You deliver something that you understand as being from God and people want to eat you alive over what you have to say. Jeremiah wrestled with the assignment of preaching God’s word. Look at his frustration expressed in the 20th chapter of his book:
"Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:8-9, NIV)[3]
The word of God is not palatable in a whole sale manner to people who have their own personal agenda for life, because my friend God has His own design for you. It will bring your more than you will gather for yourself but it requires that you surrender yourself and your plans into His hands and trust Him for the end result. That’s the hard part isn’t it
I remember one Christmas sermon conscious in particular of a man who sat in the for the first Christmas without his recently deceased wife. I preached words that I prayed over, trusting that God would bring comfort to his heart and a challenge in his wife’s memory to find joy in what Christmas is always about, not our losses or our gains but heaven’s greatest gift. He approached me the week following. I anticipated that he would have expressed somehow that God ministered to his spirit. Instead, he told me that he felt that I was insensitive. I swallowed real hard and real deep, choking back the hurt of my own failure to meet his need and the surprise that he was offended at what was meant to heal. Our relationship was never the same from that day forward. The hard truth is that it doesn’t always work. It didn’t for Jesus.
Did you get the reference on the verse that records the desertion of a large majority of Christ’s followers?
"From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." (John 6:66, NIV) [4]
I never noticed before the process of putting this sermon together. John 6:66? Beastly. The sin of rebellion, the one unforgivable sin, final and ultimate rejection of Christ.
Anyway, they were there because they wanted a free lunch. They had received it on the other side of the lake hours earlier and they were hungry again so they wanted Jesus. Funny how the acute nature of our need accentuates our sense of need for Jesus. But it’s not really for Jesus, is it? It’s just simply that we want what we want and when we don’t get it, watch out. When the spiritual implications of the gospel become clear to us that’s when we have to make a choice and it has little to do with what we want and a lot to do with what God wants. It has little to do with what we think we need and a lot to do with what God knows that we need.
2. A Sacrament Gone to Seed
The same problem persisted in the fledgling church. The Corinthian flock was particularly concerning to Paul. The verses that precede the familiar passage that we read for chapter 11, beginning at verse 17 read like this:
" In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!" (1 Corinthians 11:17-22, NIV) [5]
It’s frightening how easily we substitute our own agendas for God’s. Like a slip cover that disguises the furniture beneath. There is such incredible damage done to the Body of Christ when this happens. When people substitute their own agenda for God’s. That’s when people are driven in shame from the house of God – some never to return.
From John 6, Jesus the bread of life, to the early days of the Corinthian church. They had messed it up. They had taken the concept of the Lord’s supper and it had become convoluted to the point that Paul said:
" In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.”
The memories of the Last Supper, Jesus sharing a meal with the disciples, washing their feet and breaking bread, had become a drunken, gluttonous feast. Unbelievable.
I would say for me that there are mixed emotions when we come together as a church to observe this sacrament. I struggle with the frequency of it. Ritual can contain great blessing if our hearts and minds remain fresh. If not then it quickly becomes meaningless, just form. I don’t believe that there is anything from which God derives pleasure when we go through meaningless, heartless rote. As a matter of fact, it is mind and soul-numbing. I think that the constant recitation of acts, words, observances, when our hearts are disconnected or when we are in a state of rebellion against the will of God for our lives, produces more damage than good. People come and go through the “forms” of religion, thinking that they have done something that pleases God and the opposite is true. God is appalled rather than worshipped. A cold heart is less offensive to God than a lukewarm one. I think to a degree that a person is better off, forsaking the church and pursuing their own agenda, than they are trying to live a spiritual “half-life”.
I wrestle with communion at times because our own traditions have cause people to fixate on the manners and methods of observance rather than the Bread of Life himself. I’ve had people irate about the fact that we move this table. It is, after all is said and done – just a piece of wood. The cloth that we cover the trays with was not Jesus idea. It found it’s inception in churches where they wanted to keep dead flies from falling into the communion elements. For some people, the act of covering and uncovering has some spiritual significance but it’s nothing more than what I have just said.
I think that Communion is best celebrated in small groups of people who have a degree of intimacy in their relationship. It was done in homes by the average believer when the church was at it’s zenith. Let me see if I can elaborate a bit here and then finish with a story.
3. Simplicity Gone to Rocket Science
I think that when Jesus stood and broke bread with His disciples at the Last Supper, that they all had certain memories that were gaining a degree of clarity. You see these men distributed the loaves and fishes on the hillside in John chapter 6 and they collected the 12 baskets full that remained. They saw the miracle first hand, they were a part of it.
And they heard that sermon too. They saw the crowds dissipate and I am sure they wondered why. They had no more understanding than those that left.
"“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”" (John 6:67-69, NIV) [6]
They made a choice when others walked away that there were no options for life apart from Christ. He was the sole source of eternal wisdom.
So when Jesus stood in the upper room and nearly repeated words that he said on that hillside in John 6, there was something extra that they heard.
“This which is broken for you is my body – take and eat . . .”
“This cup is the New Covenant, in my blood which is shed for you. Drink”
There was rich deep meaning for them and none of it had to do with the particular ritual. It had to do with the history of relationship that they shared with Christ. I think personally that the history of relationship, the ways that you have seen Christ work in your life should bring deepening significance to the sacrament of Communion, the Lord’s Supper.
And that’s really what it’s about, regardless of the way that we do it. It’s holding something in your hands and remembering someone who loves you supremely and someone who has provided something for you. It’s as simple as that really. But we want to make it into rocket science. There are volumes of books that have been written about the greatest book of all time. There are reams of material that attempt to provide a theological explanation of this simple relational observance. They bring little to no clarity because they are so diverse in their perspectives. The bottom line? It’s about Jesus.
The more we make church about Jesus the more that we will discover the blessing of God. He’s the Bread of Life today. Are you hungry for HiM?
The Beggar and The Bread
A beggar came and sat before me. "I want bread," he said.
"How wise you are," I assured him. "Bread is what you need. And you have come to the right bakery." So I pulled my cookbook down from the shelf and began to tell him all I knew about bread.
I spoke of flour and wheat, of grain and barley. My knowledge impressed even me as I cited the measurements and recipe. When I looked up I was surprised to see he wasn't smiling. "I just want bread," he said.
"How wise you are." I applauded his choice. "Follow me and I will show you our bakery." Down the hallowed halls I guided him, pausing to point out the rooms where the dough is prepared and the ovens where the bread is baked.
"No one has such facilities. We have bread for every need. But here is the best part," I proclaimed as I pushed open two swinging doors. "This is our room of inspiration." I knew he was moved as we stepped into the auditorium full of stained-glass windows.
The beggar didn't speak. I understood his silence. With my arm around his shoulder, I whispered, "It overwhelms me as well." I then leaped to the podium and struck my favorite pose behind the lectern. "People come from miles to hear me speak. Once a week my workers gather and I read to them the recipe from the cookbook of life."
By now the beggar had taken a seat on the front row. I knew what he wanted. "Would you like to hear me?"
"No," he said, "but I would like some bread."
"How wise you are," I replied. And I led him to the front door of the bakery. "What I have to say next is very important," I told him as we stood outside. "Up and down this street you will find many bakeries. But take heed; they don't serve the true bread. I know of one who adds two spoons of salt rather than one. I know of another whose oven is 3 degrees too hot. They may call it bread," I warne, "but it's not according to the book."
The beggar turned and began walking away. "Don't you want bread?" I asked him.
He stopped, looked back at me and shrugged, "I guess I lost my appetite."
I shook my head and returned to my office. "What a shame," I said to myself. "The world just isn't hungry for true bread anymore."
Christians have fallen into the habit of accepting the noisiest and most notorious among them as the best and the greatest. They too have learned to equate popularity with excellence, and in open defiance of the Sermon on the Mount they have given their approval, not to the meek, but to the self-assertive; not to the mourner, but to the self-assured; not to the pure in heart who see God, but to the publicity hunter who seeks headlines.
A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)
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[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[3] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[4] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[5] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[6] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
