The Bread of Life - John 6:22-36

John 6:22-36

©Copyright January 24, 2021 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

What are you yearning for in life? What is that “something” that you believe if you could find it, would make your life full and rich? Would it be a certain amount of money, a relationship, a promotion, retirement, a particular possession, a luxury home? Don’t think too hard on this because the first thing that pops into your head is probably not far from the truth, no matter how shallow it seems to be on reflection.

This morning Jesus is going to address this very issue in John 6:22-36.

Last week Rick looked at the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on the water. Those two stories provide the backdrop to the instruction in this passage. If you remember, Jesus fed over 5000 men with just five barley loaves and two fish. Then He sent the disciples on ahead across the lake while he prayed. A storm hit and the disciples were straining even with all their experience on the sea. Suddenly they saw a form walking toward them and if they hadn’t cried out, this form would have walked right on by them! The form of course, was Jesus. He got into the boat and we are told they were immediately at their destination!

We pick the story up the next day.

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

A Short-Sighted Crowd

The next morning people started looking for Jesus and could not find Him. They knew the boat had gone and Jesus wasn’t with the disciples. From the way it sounds, other boats started arriving . . . perhaps as a result of those who had told people about the miraculous provision of food. People flocked to see what Jesus might do next. No one could find him and apparently they decided he must have gone to meet the disciples in Capernaum. So, they got in their boats and went to Capernaum.

When they arrived, they asked Jesus how he got there? I imagine they may have asked the disciples first. I suspect the answer they received was, “You would not believe me if I told you.” Jesus does not answer their question. Instead, he rebuked them. He said their motivation to find Him was materialistic rather than pure. They were looking for Him for what they hoped to get from Him rather than because they were hungry for the truth of God.

Don’t miss this! The Lord is not impressed with crowds. He is not looking for numbers. He is looking for those who seek Him for the right reasons. This is a rebuke to our modern society. How many times have we determined right and wrong not from the Word of God but from what a majority of people desired? How many times have churches appealed to people on the basis of what they could give them,

· Upbeat music

· A celebrity Pastor

· Lots of people their same age

· A great children’s program

· The in place to be

Jesus would say, “You haven’t come seeking me, you have come hoping to get something for yourself.”

This has been the way of human nature for a long time. One of the examples from Scripture is the story of Hezekiah. He was one of the better Kings of Israel. Isaiah tells the story about Hezekiah welcoming envoys from Babylon. He showed them everything in his treasury. When Isaiah learned what he had done, he came to the King and told him this would just entice the Babylonians to return and ransack Israel (which they eventually did). But listen to this account of Isaiah’s words,

6 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.” (Isaiah 39:6-8)

Do you see it? Hezekiah is not concerned about the consequences of his actions on others, or whether or not what He did was good. He rejoiced that there would be peace while HE was alive! That is short-sighted thinking.

Jesus told these people,

But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

They were living for the moment at the cost of their eternity! All these temporary things . . . all those things we may have listed that would “make us happy” will perish and in the end will be worth nothing.

This short-sightedness is seen all over

· Deficit spending

· Environmental pollution

· Making decisions on what will bring present power rather than long-term good

· Shady business practices that leave a company vulnerable

· Burning with a desire for revenge

· Tearing apart a church in order to “win” (But . . . they were wrong!)

· Not planning for retirement

· Eating too much junk food

· Going for the thrill of the moment rather than remaining faithful to your marriage

· Using Bible Study times to talk about your problems rather than to seeking the Lord through the Scriptures.

And most of all . . .

· Living for the present rather than respond to the One who came to save us.

One author writes,

If we are living in a weak age of the church, the reason is found here. Christians are feeding on the world instead of on the Word. Biblical doctrine is considered irrelevant. Surveys show that a majority of evangelical Christians cannot list the Ten Commandments. Detailed knowledge of the Psalms, the Sermon on the Mount, the “I ams” of Christ, and the so-called Romans Road were staples of earlier generations that won their world for the gospel. If we find that the influence of our lives is weak, that our witness is weak, and that our collective impact on society is weak, it can only be because we are weak through neglecting the bread of God’s Word.[1]

Jesus says they (we) should seek the food that endures to the end

The Wrong Question

28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

This sounds like a good question but it’s not! They were still trying to figure out how they could get something for nothing. In other words, they wanted to learn how to make food out of virtually nothing. They were looking for the secret for impressing others. Jesus kept turning them back to where they needed to be. He said, If you want to do God’s work, then believe in Christ . . . not as the miracle worker, but as God become man. Believe in the Jesus who alone can change your lives forever.

This is the message that needs to be coming out of churches. The job of the church is not to give people formulas for how to be more successful Americans! Our job is not to find a formula that will get God to give us what we want. The job of the church is to say, “The only answer to what you are looking for is a transforming relationship with Christ.” It may sound trite to some people, but it is the truth! As long as we try to live our lives apart from Him, we are on a dead-end street. The temporary gratification you might find is fleeting, it does not satisfy because it cannot satisfy!

But the people don’t want to hear this.

30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

The people were hung up on the signs, miracles, temporal blessings. They even tried to make it sound Biblical! They argued that Moses provided bread for the people in the wilderness. And the implication is, “you should be more like Moses if you want us to follow you!”

The Source of Satisfaction

32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me.

A Clarification. Jesus pointed out to the people that Moses did not give the people anything. God provided the bread. On our own we are unable to do anything! In John 15 Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” We cannot obtain God’s favor by our good works because our best efforts cannot undo our persistent sin.

A Direction. Jesus pointed the people in the right direction. He said God has already provided true bread from Heaven in the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Jesus is talking about Himself. He says He is the one who has come from Heaven to save us, to make us new, to transform our lives from lost to redeemed.

Unfortunately, the people are so focused on the material that they miss the point entirely. They are still thinking about handouts and Jesus is talking about something much deeper. It is the same problem we face in the world we live in. People want to know how Jesus is going to solve the present problems and can’t see that there is an underlying problem that must be dealt with first. Most people don’t want redemption, they don’t want a relationship with God, what they really want is an easy, problem free life. They want to enjoy things without any hassles or intrusions. They simply want God to fix things and then get out of the way so they can do their own thing.

An Invitation. Jesus will not give up on the people. He said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Of course, He is not talking about bread and water; He is talking about the essence of life. He wants these people to see that there is so much more than what they see. There is a life that lasts for eternity. We were made for something more than what we are seeking. The things of this life can only satisfy for a few moments. No matter what it is that we crave, once we possess it, we find we are hungry again. We continue to yearn for something more than this life has to offer. We can only find that “something” through Christ.

There is something significant about what Jesus says here.

In Greek, one may say “I am” with one of two words: ego (the pronoun for I) or eimi (the verb I am). But Jesus makes a point of using both of them, which is a redundant way of speaking. He says not ego or eimi, but ego eimi, or “I, I am.”

Ego eimi deliberately restates the words given to Moses at the burning bush. It was an answer to the question, “When they ask who sent me? What should I say?”[2]

Once again John records a specific time that Jesus claimed to be God. God Himself wants to give us true bread! He wants to fill us in a way nothing earthly can do. We are made with a God-shaped hole in our soul. We cannot be whole or satisfied until that hole is filled. We try to fill it with all kinds of things only to find the hole still there.

Unfortunately, for most of these people, the answer to their yearning for something more was right in front of them but they wouldn’t believe and trust in Him.

Conclusions

We can feel sorry for these people and shake our head in sadness because they turned away from Jesus, but we would be better off looking at our own hearts to see if we have done exactly the same thing.

It is easy to turn our desires to the things of this world and miss the real answer to our problems. Let’s go back to that first question I asked, “What do you think you need to be satisfied and fulfilled in life?” If the answer is anything other than a deep, personal, and life altering relationship with Christ then we are looking in the wrong direction. We may be temporarily distracted, but that hole in your soul is not actually filled . . . and I would bet, if you really think about it, you know that to be true.

Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and the other things will be given to you.” When we lay the proper foundation, life can be something rich and beautiful. But things must be done in the right order! The “other things” that are added by the Lord is not necessarily material prosperity or guaranteed health. Instead it is contentment, satisfaction, and the wholeness we long for in life.

I believe this was the lesson God was teaching Abraham back in Genesis 22 when He asked him to sacrifice the son he had waited 100 years to enjoy. Isaac was the fulfillment of the promise God had given to Abraham. Now He asked Abraham to sacrifice this son. Think of the anguish Abraham must have felt. Yet, he tied up his son and picked up the knife to kill him and God stopped him.

Why did God ask Abraham to do such a thing? I believe it was because Abraham’s world revolved around Isaac. Perhaps Abraham felt he could now be satisfied. He may have seen Isaac as the fulfillment of all he had hoped for in life. God wanted Abraham to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it wasn’t Isaac that would truly satisfy him, it was obedience in honoring and exalting the Lord. It wasn’t a test for God to find out what was in Abraham’s heart . . . it was a test for ABRAHAM to see what was in his heart and to drive that lesson home in a way he would never forget.

We live in a world where the prevailing thought is: “What’s in it for me?” We tend to make decisions based on what we think will “make us happy.” Unfortunately, like these people in John 6, we tend to try to use God to get us what we think will really make us happy. This is why so many people flock to churches that proclaim, “God wants you to be rich and happy.” They come not to find their delight in the Lord, they come because they believe they will be able to find the way to get God to give them what they want.

We sometimes are guilty of going to church, reading the Bible, and even doing good things in the hope that these things will get God on our side to help us get what we need (something other than Him!) The lesson we must learn from this account in John 6 is this: Our satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, and even our delight can only be found in the Lord. It is only by seeking Him, honoring Him, serving Him, that anything else in life will ever be fulfilling. Until we are ready to sacrifice everything else to our pursuit of Him, we will never find what we are looking for.

So, look at your life. Take a good hard look. What is occupying first place in your life? Where are you looking for security and happiness? Is your faith merely a stepping-stone to getting what you want, or is the LORD what you are really seeking? This is a question we must ask ourselves again and again and again. Any time our priorities our wrong we need to confess these things and ask God to draw us to Himself that we might find what we have been looking for all our lives . . . Him.

[1] Richard D. Phillips, John, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, 1st ed., vol. 1, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2014), 391.

[2] Ibid p.385.