Sermon Tone Analysis

The

Answer to Man’s Great Hunger

John 6:22-29

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Introduction:

man has a gnawing hunger within for both the physical and the spiritual.

Just as there is physical hunger that only physical food can satisfy, so there is a deeper, spiritual hunger in the pit of the human soul that only spiritual food can nourish.

Man hungers for both food and material things and for God and spiritual things, things such as love and joy and peace.

Therefore, most of man’s time and energy are spent in seeking to satisfy his hunger.

This passage deals with the answer to man’s great hunger.

1.

Answer 1: know that man has a great hunger, a great need (v.22-25).

2.

Answer 2: acknowledge that man’s motive is corrupt (v.26-27).

3.

Answer 3: labor for food that endures—that gives eternal life (v.27).

4.

Answer 4: do the work of God—believe (v.28-29).

1.       Recognize & Know that man has a great hunger, a great need (v.22-25)

/The people had been miraculously fed.

/It was a common belief that the Messiah would give manna from heaven even as Moses had done; in fact, it was thought that the Messiah would give more than Moses had given.

The people were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, so they wanted to lay hold of Him and make Him king (John 6:1-15).

Note four things.

/a)        //The People Acknowledged Their Need (v.22b)—/The people acknowledged their need for the Messiah.

They had need and they knew it.

Confessing their need was not a problem for them

q  Jesus said, “Those who are well /have no need /of a physician, but those who are sick.

I did not come to call /the/ righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17).

q  There are sinners who think they are righteous and refuse to repent & acknowledge their need.

This is why preaching to people to come to Jesus because “He has a wonderful plan for their life,”  will not appeal to someone who is, in their eyes, all right, that is not the gospel.

q  We need to recognize that we are sinners & turn from our sin

/b)        //The People Noted Jesus’ Absence (v.22b-23)—/There had been only one boat docked at shore, and the disciples had taken it to cross the lake.

However, Jesus had not accompanied them; He had stayed behind.

The people thought He was over in another section of the crowd or else off somewhere by Himself.

The fact that He was not close by did not dawn upon them until the next day.

/The Point Is Filled With Lessons/:

q  The people, knowing they had need, wanted their need met.

Jesus had proclaimed that He could meet their need, but He was gone; therefore, their need was going to go unmet unless they could find Him

/c)         //The People Sought Jesus (v.24)—/Believing that Jesus was the answer to their need, they did what they should have done: /they sought Him/.

Other boats had drawn up to shore during the night, probably seeking refuge from the storm.

Therefore, the people immediately took passage on these boats to cross over to Capernaum, hoping to find Jesus.

/Note How Diligent They Were In Seeking Him:/

1)        /Man Should Search Diligently To Find Christ/

(a)      He should seek and seek until the Lord is found—Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near (Is.55:6)

(b)      David instructed his Solomon to “know God… serve Him with a loyal heart & a willing mind… if you seek Him He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever (1Chron.28:9).

(c)      God said in Jeremiah 29:11-13—For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

And you will seek Me and find /Me,/ when you search for Me with all your heart.

2)        /Strive To Enter the Kingdom of God (Luke 13:22-30)/

(a)      /This Means There Is Conflict & You Need To Push Your Way Into The Gate/

1.

The Word strive here is agonizomai-we get agonize.

q  It is used in as an athlete agonizing to win a victory (1Corinthians 9:25)

q  Laboring fervently (Colossians 4:12)

q  Of fighting the good fight of faith (1Timothy 6:12)

q  Fervency, striving just to get in

2.         Many will seek to get in but will not enter, they find out the cost and they say forget it (v.24)

q  That’s why it is difficult, there is a conflict that goes on in the hearts of people when they are hearing the message.

q  You may say, “I need to get saved I do not want to end up in hell, but I like hanging around my friends, I want to party, I want to do all these other things in life, then I will give my life to the Lord.

q  You must submit your heart in humility & say “I’m a sinner, I need the grace of God, & I am willing to give up all my desires and want’s & achievements in life & live for Jesus Christ.

3)        /The Multitude Came To Be Healed Or To Watch The Healings/.

Many people today come to church to be entertained-to have their ears tickled (2Tim.4:3).

Few come for what Jesus could do for them spiritually.

Without faith /it is/ impossible to please /Him,/ for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and /that/ He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

4)        /These peoples faith was founded on miracles//—/and a faith that if founded on miracles is never pleasing to God.  Paul wrote in Romans 1:16-17 that the /just shall live by faith./

5)        /The faith that is pleasing to God is that which is founded on His Word alone (Rom.10:17/).

God’s Word should not require miracles to verify it

 

Asa Started Well In Seeking God, But Did Not Finish Well  (2Chron.14:1-11;

16:7-12)

 

/d)        //The People Questioned Jesus’ Absence (v.25)—/In their minds the Messiah was to give manna from heaven to meet the needs of the people just as Moses had done, only more so.

They could not understand why Jesus would leave them, especially if He was the true Messiah.

Thought 1.

This point is crucial, for men of every generation do wonder and question the fact:

q  If Jesus is really the Messiah, why does He so often seem absent and far away, especially in times of trouble (Sept.11th)?

q  /Another way to word the same thought is:/ If there is a God and if Christ really is the Son of God, why is the world in so much trouble and why are so many people suffering?

Why would Christ not place Himself right in the midst of the world and its problems?

Why would He not go ahead and solve the problems, meeting man’s needs immediately?

The answer, of course, is what this passage is all about.

2.

Acknowledge that man’s motive is corrupt (v.26-27a)

/a)        //The Motive For Seeking The Messiah Was For What They Could Get Out Of Him (v.26)/

1)        /Man Is Interested In Getting His Needs Met, Whether By Someone Human Or Divine—/ Man is interested in himself, not in acknowledging and honoring Jesus to be Lord, and not in serving Him and making Him known to a lost world.

The thoughts of the crowd were focused on how wonderful it was to be saved from hunger and to have their needs met.

Here was a Savior (Messiah) who could meet all their needs, who could satisfy and give them a complete and full life.

He could provide all things for them and deliver them from all their enslavements and enemies.

Every need could be filled and satisfied.

2)        /Man Should Be Interested In The Messiah For Who He Is And Not For What He Can Get Out Of Him/.

Very simply, as with any person, the Lord wants to be sought and loved for who He is and not for what He can do for a person.

1.

That is why it is so important to teach the work that Christ has done for us, it will give you are heart to love, worship and serve Him (2Cor.5:14)

2.         The Lord (Messiah) is not a tool to be used; He is a Person to be sought and loved.

The crowd should have seen that such a miracle could have been done /only by/ /the Son of God/ Himself.

Therefore, seeing and standing before the Son of God, they should have fallen down before Him in all humility.

They should have humbled themselves...

a.         to recognize and acknowledge Him to be the Son of God.

b.         to worship and praise Him for who He is.

c.         to offer their lives to Him, all they were and had.

d.         to see that all things belonged to Him and were due Him.

e.         to see that He was not the One who should be giving to them, but they were the ones who should be giving to Him.

He was the One who should be receiving, not them.

/b)        //Sought Food That Perished—Misplaced Labor (v.27a)/

1)        /The Dialogue Between Jesus And The Crowd Plays On The Term Labor (work)—/the people misinterpreted the word /labor /to mean they had to /work/ for salvation.

1.

Judaism stressed righteous works, but Jesus singles out one work: faith in him

2.         They were willing for Him to heal their bodies and fill their stomachs, but they did not want Him to cleanse their sins, recreate their hearts, and transform their lives.

They gladly came to Him for the “food which perishes,” but they had no appetite for “the food which endures to eternal life”

3.         Such self-seeking is foolish, for all things pass away, even man himself.

A day is not guaranteed, much less a year (James 4:13-17)

2)        /Jesus Pointed Out That There Are Two Kinds Of Food/—

1.         Food for the body, which is necessary but not the most important;