Bread of Life
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Introduction to Lenten season
Our understanding of Lent is likely limited to knowing people who give up something for the season or don’t eat meat on Fridays.
Season of preparation for Easter - the resurrection
A time to reflect on Christ and His sacrifice so that when we come to Good Friday and Easter, we are better prepared. Easter weekend is more than just a family time, eggs, candy and going to church.
From about 300 A.D. on, a season of the church.
ancient purpose to prepare/teach people in order to be baptized and brought into the church.
Also a time for those who had left the church to rejoin.
The whole community was called to prepare with them.
Method of preparation: Everyday objects to help us focus and reflect.
Bread, crosses, coins, shoes, oil, coats, thorns, stones
Don’t worry, it will all make sense as we go along.
We begin with some basics: What fills you up?
Bread. It’s literally a staple of most folks’ diet.
The metaphor of bread helps us to prepare for the Resurrection and new life we have in Christ.
Jesus often speaks of bread, grain, preparation of bread as ways to describe spiritual truths.
In Jn 6, he explicitly describes what a full life is like.
Context:
Ch. 5, Jesus feeds 5,000 with loaves and fish.
11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.
That got the peoples’ attention!
The next day, they follow Jesus across the lake to find out when he was serving lunch.
25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus starts “telling them the truth.” The first of four interlocking, intensifying levels of the truth about what will truly fill our greatest needs.
Truth: Figure Out What Truly Fills You Up
Truth: Figure Out What Truly Fills You Up
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.”
What “feeds” your life? We tend to follow after anyone or anything that we think will fill us up.
The way to figure out what those things are is to ask ourselves, what am I concerned about right now?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
The crowd thought that sounded just fine. An upgrade in food would be great! Now, how do we make that happen?
Truth: Get the Right Source
Truth: Get the Right Source
28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
Jesus raises the intensity on the crowd by pointing them away from the “grocery store.” It’s full of perishable, limited resources.
Instead, he points them to believe in Messiah.
The crowd is still back on literal bread, but they’re making a connection between Moses and manna and what they had received from Jesus.
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.’”
Now, they’re seeing Jesus as their local baker. In their minds, they just come sit down every day and get delicious food for free!
So the natural response is, “gimme some of that bread!”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
Not at all the same as Jesus taught us to pray for “daily bread.”
Truth: Be Filled With the Right Relationship
Truth: Be Filled With the Right Relationship
Jesus becomes more explicit: He is the bread under discussion.
He can absolutely fill every need. Anyone who wants this kind of fulfillment only has to believe that He can, and will, provide.
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. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
Jesus also begins to connect who we trust with this life with our eternal life.
Crowd reaction: Wait a minute! We KNOW this guy.
41 Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”
Crowd reaction: Yuck! How can he feed us from his own body?
52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
Truth: Eat This Bread, Drink This Cup. And Truly Live
Truth: Eat This Bread, Drink This Cup. And Truly Live
53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.
Wrap Up:
As World War II was drawing to a close, the Allied armies gathered up many hungry orphans. They were placed in camps where they were well-fed. Despite excellent care, they slept poorly. They seemed nervous and afraid. Finally, a psychologist came up with the solution. Each child was given a piece of bread to hold after he or she was put to bed. This particular piece of bread was just to be held—not eaten. The piece of bread produced wonderful results. The children went to bed knowing instinctively they would have food to eat the next day. That guarantee gave the children a restful and contented sleep.