Satisfaction

The Bread That Gives & Endures To Eternal Life

8.8.21 [John 6:24-35] River of Life (11th Sunday after Pentecost)

Maybe he’s just having a bad day. It happens, right? There’s a whole industry—the paparazzi—dedicated to catching famous people having a bad day. So maybe he’s just having a bad day.

He was under a lot of stress. His cousin and friend, John, had just been beheaded by Herod (Mk. 6:27-29). When Jesus heard this news, he intended to spend some time (Mt. 14:13) in a solitary place with his disciples. He wanted to get away from the towns and the crowds. But they (Mt. 14:13) followed him on foot from the towns, (Jn. 6:2) because they had seen the many signs he had performed by healing the sick. In that remote place, he (Mk. 6:34) taught them many things; (Mt. 14:14) he healed their sick. As evening approached, he miraculously fed that mass of humanity. 5,000 men, plus whatever women and children were there too, were fed by (Jn. 6:9) five small barley loaves and two small fish. They ate (Jn. 6:11) as much as they wanted. There were even leftovers! (Jn. 6:13) Jesus’ disciples filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread. Then he sent his disciples away, because he knew that this crowd was intending (Jn. 6:15) to make him a king by force, while Jesus spent the majority of the rest of the evening (Mk. 6:46) in prayer on a mountainside.

So if we’re seeking a recipe for a bad day, we’ve got a lot of the key ingredients. Jesus was grief-stricken, tired, & stressed. H It would make sense, from our point of view, that maybe, just maybe Jesus was just having a bad day. And maybe, that would justify his curtness.

John tells us that the crowd was so eager to see Jesus asked a rather simple, even innocent sounding question. (Jn. 6:25) Rabbi, when did you get here? It seems, based on what John tells us, that they really wanted to figure out how he got to Capernaum without getting into the disciples’ boat.

But Jesus wasn’t interested in having that conversation. And he makes that clear in how he responds. (Jn. 6:26) 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. Anytime Jesus begins with those two words, we should listen carefully. All of Jesus’ words are important and life-giving, but he only uses this phrase very truly, or [Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν] 26 times in John’s Gospel. Think of this phrase (Jn. 6:26,32) very truly like those little “sign here” stickers on a contract. It’s not that you can or even should ignore the rest, but you should slow down when you see it, because Jesus is asking his listeners for their utmost attention and care.

So what is Jesus highlighting first? (Jn. 6:26)You are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Then he offers a warning: (Jn. 6:27) Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.

This should grab our attention, too. Here are some earnest people, people who have spent their whole day searching for Jesus, and Jesus says pretty plainly: You’re coming to me for the wrong reason and if you do that, when we part company, all you’re going to have to show for it is food that spoils.

Perhaps we think that is just their problem. That you and I would never be so foolish as to search out Jesus only for “food that spoils”. But before we so hastily dismiss Jesus’ very truly words of warning—maybe we should look at how each of has a tendency to do this in other arenas of life.

Remember when you were young? There was that one kid that had all the best toys, the clothes, the house, the life that you sort of envied? Maybe your envy caused you to distance yourself. Or perhaps you became friends—not because you really liked them—but because you liked the stuff they brought to the table. Either way your relationship was based on material things.

As you got a little older, their stuff became less & less appealing. But that mindset didn’t disappear. As you started dating, didn’t it affect you? As a teenager, you were attracted to certain kinds of people. They were cute or cool, funny or financially well off. After a little while, and maybe longer than you’d like to admit, you realized that that stuff—on its own—isn’t enough to sustain a real, deep, and meaningful relationship. Unless there was something more there, something deeper, almost impossible to see—that relationship was doomed.

Maybe, now—with the benefit of hindsight—you can see your own selfishness. You’re probably a little bit ashamed of that behavior. But for a moment, I want you to look at it from the other side. I want you to imagine you were the kid with the toys. You were the boy with the car, the girl with the good looks. And maybe you were that. How much would it hurt to know that your friends only hung out with you because of your stuff? How much would it pain you to be told that someone dated you only because they thought being seen with you would make them more popular?

That is what Jesus is driving at as he addresses this crowd. He tells them you’re only looking for me for my stuff. You want to see more miracles. You want more free food. You just want more stuff from me, but you aren’t really interested in me, at all.

If we can be guilty of that kind of behavior when we’re young, when we’re dating, can we really be so certain that we don’t do the same now with God? If only that kind of single-minded selfishness was left in the rearview mirror of our lives.

Almost twenty years ago, church attendance all across the country boomed. For a few weeks after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, church attendance increased by 25%. Some mega-churches even saw their attendance increase by over 40%. But after a few weeks, or in some cases a few months, things began to return to normal. Why? Because people were coming for the wrong reason. They came to church because they were nervous, anxious, or scared. They wanted to find peace. But the worship services they attended couldn’t deliver the kind of peace these people were looking for.

Sometimes, we’re not much better. When life gets tough and scary, we almost instinctively start attending worship more or praying harder. If we weren’t going to Bible study, maybe we start doing that. Thumbing through our Bibles becomes a little more of the habit. Why? Because we’re craving a quick fix—food that spoils. And we’re willing to put in a little more work to get it. When we’re struggling to make ends meet, we’re willing to get on our knees and ask for God’s help. When we’re sick, we’ll ask for some more prayers. When our marriage is crumbling, we’ll seek out some counseling. God cares. He is willing and eager to supply all our needs. But we can tell there is something wrong with us once he’s given us what we were seeking. Once we have the financial stability, once we have the healing, once things seem to be straightening out in our relationships, we begin to drift away. Prayers become infrequent. Worship on Sunday is no longer the priority. Time in God’s Word becomes burdensome.

But our self-seeking isn’t just something we do under duress. Sometimes, we come to Jesus to make ourselves look or feel better. We learn the Bible, not because it’s the words of eternal life, but because it has authority—and we kind of like being able to speak with authority. So we search the Scriptures in an effort to secure respect from others. We want them to know how much we know. We study the Bible because we want to prove that our political opinions are right. All this is nothing more than food that spoils.

There are other times, we seek Jesus looking for something different. It’s neither fear nor pride that prompts us to seek him. Maybe we come to church looking to hear or learn something new. Perhaps we want guidance on how to live a life of purpose. All of that is food that spoils in some sense. You can be very learned and still not see who Jesus is. You can give your children the finest moral compasses and still not have faith like a little child. You can find deep wisdom, guidance, and purpose for your life and still not be headed in the right direction. Like the children of Israel in the wilderness, you can follow the light and eat from the blessed hand of your Lord and still waste away to nothing.

That’s the point Jesus drives home to these people—and to us. The Son of God longs to give the people (Jn. 6:27) food that endures to eternal life but they were content to seek food that spoils. Jesus told them, what you need isn’t another meal, or some other temporal blessing, but the one on whom (Jn. 6:27) God the Father has placed his seal of approval. But they didn’t get it. They asked (Jn. 6:28) What do we need to do? What does God demand? And Jesus told them, you don’t need to do anything but open your eyes, listen carefully, and believe I am (Jn. 6:29) the one he has sent.

Look at how they responded. (Jn 6:30-31) Show us some more signs, Jesus. Yes, you fed us for one night, but Moses fed our ancestors every single day for decades. And while you may find that response repulsive, it should sound familiar. How many times haven’t we demanded God prove his love, his power, his authority, or the wisdom of his plan to us yet again? Or just one more time?

Thankfully God the Father did not send his Son into the world to meet the demands of the world. He gave his one and only Son to meet the demands of the law. Jesus did not come into this world to give us a comfortable life, but he came into this world to give himself for us and for our sins so that we might have eternal life.

God knows the deceitfulness of our hearts. More times than not, God is an afterthought. But even when we seek him out, we do so for the wrong reasons. By nature each of us are just like the people of this crowd. We are hearing, but never understanding. We see, but we do not perceive. Our hearts have become calloused by our sinfulness and we don’t even realize what we need Jesus for.

But our God will not be content to watch us perish, fat and temporally happy. He is good and his generous, as we focused on last week, because he wants us to see, that despite everything we have been and done, he loves us. What is seen is temporary. What fills up the stomach will eventually pass through. And we pass on. And it doesn’t matter how much stuff we had, it doesn’t matter how many experiences we enjoyed, it doesn’t matter if everyone else says we lived a rich and full life—if we don’t have Jesus all we have is food that spoils. No temporal blessings can satisfy a soul that doesn’t have a Savior.

But Jesus has come down from heaven that you and I might have (Jn. 6:27) food that endures to eternal life. To give us that food, he had to secure that food. To earn that food, he had to live differently than any of us do. Jesus did not (Mt. 4:4) live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Though he was human in every way, he was never fixated on the things that dominate our lives. Jesus never chased after material success or a life of comfort. (Mt 8:20) Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man who made them both had no place to lay his head.

But Jesus did not live a life of poverty to gain our pity. Rather his life had a different purpose. He came to be the living breathing word of God in thought, words, and actions. Everything he did divulged the heart and will of God. When he spent time with the sinners, it was never to live it up a little bit, but because he wanted to heal the sick and rescue the lost. When he taught, it wasn’t to win the attention or the respect of the crowds, but it was to identify mankind’s sinfulness and to proclaim God’s promise of salvation.

That promise defined his whole life. Everything that the Scriptures said he would be and do, he made a point of being and doing so that we would recognize him as the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Messiah. All the signs were always pointing to him and only him.

Everything that he suffered was as our substitute. He died, not because he deserved to die, but because of our wretched sins. He was treated as an abominable rebel because we rebelled against God’s righteous laws. He was plunged into the depths of hell because that was what sinners like us deserved to face. Think about how insulted and angry you would be to find out someone only liked you because you gave them stuff. What would you do to them? You’d cut them off from it all. That is a small slice of what hell is—being totally cut off from the blessings and love God has shown us. That is what Jesus endured, so that we might have eternal life.

Look at his beautiful promises. Listen well, when he says (Jn. 6:35) I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Considering all he has done for us, considering all he has suffered for us, this statement is remarkable. The Son of God is offering you, himself. And there is nothing better than that.

Because when you have Jesus, you begin to see that life is not about what you can see or touch or eat. Life isn’t even about experiences or acquiring knowledge, power, or respect. Life, true life, lasting life, eternal life is knowing that you are loved by the most powerful, the most wise, the most important One in the history of the world. God loves you. You believe that because you know what Jesus has done for you. You know that God loves you That’s why he’s given you all those blessings. God loves you. That’s why he’s given you his Son. God loves you.

That’s what he wants you to know and believe. That’s why he shows you his power, his faithfulness, and his love through the Holy Scriptures. Again and again, we see a familiar pattern. Sinful people only love God for his stuff. When they have enough stuff they forget about God. When they have enough struggles, they come running back to him again. And yet each and every time, God keeps his promises. He loves us enough to be honest with us. Firm in his discipline. Faithful to his promises. Loving to his children. This is why we study the Scriptures because they reveal the condition of our hearts and the quality of our God’s. God has come to give us his best.

That’s why we can smile and rejoice—even on the bad days. That’s what the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:15-18. People who believe in Jesus, who have the food that endures to eternal life will have bad days, but they do not lose heart. Though outwardly we may be wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Our momentary troubles are temporary. The glory that awaits us far outweighs it all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. What is seen is always and only temporary. What is unseen is eternal. One day, we will see that with our own eyes. (Job 19:26-27) In my flesh, I will see God. I myself will see him with my own eyes. How my heart yearns within me!