10252020 I AM the bread of life John 6.26-40

Getting to Know Someone...

There are many ways to obtain information about a person. We can interview family and friends. If the person is famous enough, we can read the books that have been printed about him or her - maybe that person has written an autobiography - first hand information about that person - listen carefully to what that person has to say about himself/herself. Our Bibles were originally written by somewhere between 35 - 40 individuals, but when it gets right down to it there is one author and one subject.

2 Peter 1:20–21 NASB9520 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

This is how we are going to proceed on our discovery of Jesus. We are going to learn about Jesus by what he says about himself.Here in the Gospel of John we hear Jesus making several statements about himself that both proclaim his divinity and describe his relationship with us. Jesus using that key phrase in these statements, “ Ἐγώ εἰμι” or “I AM,” to announce that he is God. The phrase “I am,” is the name God gives to Moses, when Moses asks, “Whom shall I say sent me?” “I AM has sent you.”

Jesus then attaches a specific, concrete concept by using word pictures - metaphors - to reveal the shape and dynamics of his relationship with us.

1. I am the bread of Life which came down from heaven (6:35,41,51)

2. I am the light of the world (8:12; 9:5)

3. I am the door of the sheep (10:7,9)

4. I am the good shepherd (10:11,14)

5. I am the resurrection and the life (11:25)

6. I am the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)

7. I am the (true) vine (15:1,5)

This morning we are going to the first of those statements found in the book of John

John 6:26–40 NASB95

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so 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 out of heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not 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 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

The Materialist

Many of the people who followed Jesus at this point were hoping for a political savior. They wanted political solutions, free handouts, and material goodies. For them Jesus was the latest greatest solution to their social problems.

These people had watched Rome have limited success by instituting a sort of welfare program that they called a “Bread for Peace”. There were many hungry, jobless, homeless people in Rome. So the government tried to avoid riots by buying them off with goodies. The plan backfired, because the demands of the crowd simply grew and grew.

Jesus faced a similar problem the day after he fed the masses with barley cakes and salt-dried fish. In fact, when the crowd arrived, look at how he greeted them.

He said:

John 6:26 NASB95

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

On a very minor scale, I can see how Jesus felt.

Example: Bird feeders at the back of the manse.

When we looked out the window we had a menagerie in the back yard. Squirrels were hanging upside down, gorging on sunflower seed. Birds were all over the ground and the deck, and even ramming into the windows.

But did they appreciate us? Did they have any sense of loyalty in return for our generosity? If I forget about filling the feeders back up when they empty the birds and the animals disappear...

Missionaries in third-world countries often talk about “Rice Christians.” These are people who will quickly convert to Christianity in exchange for food or some other physical benefit. The problem with “Rice Christians” is that when the goodies are gone, so are they.

American Christians are not so different. Too many people use church for business contacts or community status. “Rice Christians” can be found all over the world. These people look to God only for what they can get.

They are quick to turn their back on God the first time He fails to deliver.

Jesus told the crowd:

John 6:27 NASB95

27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

The MATERIALISTS turned away from his message.

Others would eventually turn away also.

Consider the...

The Legalist

They asked him,

John 6:28 NASB95

28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”

If these people couldn’t get a free lunch, they at least wanted a list of rules they could hang on to. I never cease to be amazed that religion, by its very nature, draws some people who are actually looking for a dominating, charismatic leader to call the shots and simply tell their followers what they are to do.

Throughout Christian history, the church has often fallen into the sin of LEGALISM.

This was the problem of the Pharisees during the first century - over 613 laws - things to do and things not to do - (Matthew 23:4)

Matthew 23:4 NASB95

4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

The problem is, it’s easier to make rules and hide behind those rules than to build relationships. Jesus has sent his Spirit to write His Law on our hearts. He came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it for us. So we study it. Learn it so it becomes our default as we live out our lives before God and before people.

When we do that, the church enjoys an amazing unity in morals and principles. That’s why you won’t find the Session here publishing a list of Do’s and Don’ts. Instead, we want to teach the scripture and to encourage everyone to seek a personal relationship with the Lord.

They’d rather find a strong leader and memorize a set of rules. Jesus had no interest in these kind of followers. Jesus came to build relationships, not rules.

When the crowd demanded a list of works, Jesus gave this surprising answer:

John 6:29 NASB95

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

That kind of relationship can’t be bought with goodies, and it can’t be built on rules. The MATERIALISTS wanted the goodies more than they wanted God.

The LEGALISTS wanted the LAW but not the LAW GIVER.

They rejected Jesus as a replacement for the rule-keeping religion of that day.

And one more group walked out on Jesus that day.

The Sensationalist

These people asked Jesus this absurd question:

John 6:30–31 NASB95

30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so 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 out of heaven to eat.’ ”

Think about it. Jesus had just fed over 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. The very next day, they are asking him for a SIGN! Obviously the miracle of feeding the 5,000 gave them enough faith to climb in boats and row all the way across the lake to find Jesus. But yesterday’s miracle was not enough to last until the next morning.

Remember the story – the people begin to grumble against Moses that they have no food and God provides manna for them. The manna fell each day and each day they had food for all their needs that day. If they tried to gather more than they needed, or stored it over night, then it went putrid but the amazing thing was that on the eve of the Sabbath they could gather double and it did not putrefy.

Each person, irrespective of age, status or effort, was provided with an omer (1 cup = 8 fl. oz - 9.3 cups = about 3/4 of a gallon) of manna each day.

For 40 years God graciously provided for them in the wilderness. The people refer to this provision and mistakenly credit its provision to Moses. They challenge Christ to provide such ‘manna’ for them now.

Christ corrects them and states that it was God the Father who had provided the ‘manna’ and who has now provided another ‘bread from heaven’ (verses 32-33).

We have plenty of these kind of churchgoers in America today. I like to call these kind of folks “pep rally believers.” Keep them “wowed” and you’ll keep them around; bore them and they are gone. These people crave spiritual excitement. They love spectacular entertainment. They want new experiences all they time. They want Jesus to take them from one mountaintop experience to the next with no valleys in between. They want all kinds of rewards but no responsibility.

Churches today are filled with these kind of people. Insatiable appetite for spiritual excitement, but total lack of responsibility toward the Lord Himself. The sad truth is that many believers are very fickle. That’s why so many people hop from church, to church, to church --- always looking for the newest style, the latest seminar, the most electrifying concert, and the most exciting presentation.

The American church scene is clogged full with “Forty days of this… fifty day adventure to that… seven habits of successful whatever… 21 irrefutable laws of yadda yadda yadda…” It never ends!

Now, I’m not saying these things are bad. We need to focus on special emphasis now and then, and some of these programs are helpful. But it’s way too easy for church-going folk to start chasing after the latest fad in the religious world.

Jesus did not come to give us endless spiritual highs. He came so we might know Him.

Look at the message Jesus gave to the MATERIALISTS, the LEGALISTS, and the SENSATIONALISTS that day:

John 6:33–36 NASB95

33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.

“I am the Bread of Life…” it seems a simple enough statement and yet to those listening this was shocking. Shocking because Jesus dared to utter the name of God (‘I AM’). Shocking because he applied it to himself. Shocking because he then adds to it by claiming to be ‘the bread of life.’

The Crowd’s Response...

John 6:34 NASB95

34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

The response of the crowd tells us a lot about the difference between what people WANT and what people NEED. So often the very thing people need the most is the last thing they are looking for. \

The Jews Response...

John 6:41–42 NASB95

41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”

When you think about it, the people who walked out on Jesus wanted what he could give to them in the same way a customer might demand service for pay. They wanted to do business with Jesus the soup kitchen, Jesus the cult leader, Jesus the miracle-worker. Jesus, the Bread of Life didn’t resonate with them.

It turns out that even some of His closest disciples wanted Jesus only for what they could get out of Him. They had no real interest in a relationship with God.

John 6:66 NASB95

66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

Jesus, who was perfectly human and perfectly divine experienced the disappointment of rejection - even rejection by those he had considered close friends … especially the rejection of those he had considered close friends. Jesus turned to his apostles with a question that must have been hard to ask:

The Disciples’ Response...

John 6:67 NASB95

67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”

Thankfully, good old Peter came through for Jesus. He spoke for the group: 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 “Walk on Water” Peter understood what the crowds had missed. The Apostles weren’t there for fish sandwiches, or to start a Jewish revolt against Rome, or to find a new list of rules to keep, or to get in on a Jesus pep rally, or to hold a big miracle crusade.

They were there because they believed and knew that Jesus was the Holy One of God --- the Messiah --- the Bread of Life. All they needed was what they already had --- Jesus himself.

I AM the BREAD of LIFE

What did he mean?

In the time of Christ ‘bread’ was fundamental and foundational to daily life. In every village the sound of the millstone grinding would have been heard. For there to be no sound of grinding meant there would be no bread and that would be a sign of disaster for them.

Bread was foundational to daily life. Most of them only ever ate bread. Anything else was a luxury. Bread was the staple part of their diet.

So Christ claiming to be ‘the bread of life’ was saying that he was essential to daily life.

You know it is interesting that Christ was born in Bethlehem and the two parts of that name ‘Beth’ ( house) and ‘lehem’ (bread) when put together means ‘House of Bread.’ Christ Jesus ‘the bread of life’ was born in the ‘House of Bread.’

He was saying to these people that he was the sustenance of life and that he was all they needed for life - as can be seen by the second part of verse 35.

Physical hunger would returns no matter how much bread is eaten. Christ claimed that he alone could satisfy the hunger and the thirst of their lives. Is He all you need?

Is he YOUR Bread of Life? If you had been there the day Jesus preached the Bread of Life sermon would you have walked away, or would you have echoed Peter’s words,

“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 4:34 NASB95

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.