I AM the Bread of Life (Part 1) - John 6:22-35

 

I AM the Bread of Life (Part 1)

John 6:22-6:35

Introduction: Did you have breakfast this morning? There are many hungry people in the world, including the United States. Think of this: according to one source, every day, worldwide, 25,000 people, including more than 10,000 children, die from hunger and related causes.  People need food. It is necessary to sustain life, at least for a while. But because of the Fall, it is appointed unto men once to die, and then comes the judgement. Human sin brought death. God in His mercy provided the Way to life, but many have never heard the Gospel, and many who have heard refuse to believe. One estimate is that more than 60 people die every minute without Christ. More than one a second.  3600 people, 60 seconds times 60 minutes during the next hour, enter eternity without Jesus. It is true that “hungry bellies have no ears.” If someone is hungry, we need to feed them, yes. But we dare not stop there, their deepest need is Jesus, He is the Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life, the Bread that will never leave them hungry.

       Jesus had fed the multitude at the beginning of this chapter. He was teaching his disciples in the process. The people knew that a great sign had been done, but they didn’t recognize his deity, they wanted to make him king by force. Jesus withdrew to a mountain alone, sending his disciples ahead, teaching them more about who he as he comes to them walking on the stormy sea. Mark’s gospel tells us that even Jesus’ own disciples had not yet grasped the full significance of the miracle of the loaves. Again, in this discourse the emphasis is on faith as evidence that we belong to Jesus. Those the Father has given Him hear His voice and follow Him. The call is to believe. If anyone hears and is ultimately lost, he has no one to blame but himself. We are responsible. Yet those who hear and receive Jesus have no reason to boast, it is only because of God’s enabling grace that they believe. The call to believe in Jesus is extended to all. Only those who respond, by His grace, have everlasting life.

The Big Idea: Many are searching for more in life, but only through faith in Jesus will our deepest need be satisfied. We’ll look at that in this passage in four steps, 1) The setting reveals the people searching for more from this One who had fed them (22-25); 2) Well see their seeking was superficial, seeking the gifts rather than the giver (26-27); 3) We’ll see the invitation to See the Son, the One to whom the signs point (28-33); and finally we see that 4) Salvation and ultimate satisfaction is found only in Jesus, the Bread of Life (34-35).

I. The Setting: Searching for more from the Miracle-Worker (22-25). The crowd sought Jesus, but they didn’t understand the revelation God had given. We have the setting described in 6:22…

²² On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.

       Our last study in John focused on the encounter the disciples had with Jesus, in the dark, on the stormy lake. The Great I AM came to them, they received Him into the boat, and immediately arrived at their destination, across the lake. That “private lesson” revealed His glory, but only to the disciples. In the preceding scene, after the miraculous feeding of the multitude, the people wanted to make Him King. Jesus knew their plans, and their hearts, and so he withdrew to the mountain alone. 

       The next morning, the crowd realized that the disciples had left without Him, but that Jesus was nowhere to be found. The wording is a little difficult to follow, but the point is clear enough. The One that had fed them, the One they wanted to make King, was gone, and it was known He didn’t leave with the disciples. Meanwhile, John 6:23-25 reports that other boats from Tiberias had arrived…

²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.  ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"

Where did the boats come from? Were they blown in that direction by the storm? Or did they come because they thought Jesus was still in the area? We are not told. How ever they got there, some people went by boat across the lake in the direction of Capernaum in search of Jesus. I wonder if breakfast time had come and gone and they were getting hungry? Moses prayed, and God sent manna every morning, what did this mean? They went looking for Jesus, but were really searching for what they wanted him to do for them. They didn’t grasp the Big Idea: *Many are searching for more, but only by faith in Jesus will our deepest need be satisfied, only in Him will we find true life.

II. Superficial Seeking Exposed: You seek the gifts, you need the Giver! Believe in Jesus, God’s gift to the world ( 26-27).

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" ²⁶ Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.  ²⁷ Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal."  

       In 6:25, those who crossed the lake in pursuing Jesus found Him in Capernaum. They address Him with some respect, using the term “rabbi,” teacher. Yet considering the miracle they had seen that was inadequate and telling. The crowds came to him, but as their motivation wanting to make him king, their understanding of who He is and what He came to do was inadequate, and their motives were all wrong.  They came “because they ate the loaves and were filled.”  Their motives were temporal, carnal.

       God gave “signs” through Jesus’ ministry to evoke faith in Him as Son of God, Messiah, Savior. John says later that “…these were written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing have life in His name” (John 20:31). They saw the miracle of the loaves, but they didn’t discern what the miracle revealed about Jesus. They didn’t see him as the one who could satisfy a need that ran much deeper. Jesus doesn’t answer their question about how He got there. He basically says, “You haven’t understood the signs I did or the need you have!”   He knows the hearts of men. We have seen that truth repeatedly in John. God said through Isaiah,

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  ² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. ³ Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live… (55:1-3a).

*Many are searching for more in life, but only through faith in Jesus will our deepest need be satisfied.

III. See the Son! Pray for eyes to see the One to whom the signs point, the True Bread who gives life to the world (v.28-33).

²⁸ Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?"  ²⁹ Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."  ³⁰ So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, 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 from heaven to eat.'"

       What work should we do (v.28)?  They are still far from grasping the doctrine of Grace.  They are thinking of spiritual devotion as something measured by rigor and human effort, “working” and “doing.”  This is the nature of “religion.” Virtually every man-made religion in the world focuses in some way on human effort. What work can we do to prove we are good? What work can we do to earn forgiveness?  What work can we do to secure our place in Heaven? The Law should have pointed them to the need for grace, clearly all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… there is none righteous, no, not one. Sometimes people think, “I’m not perfect, but I am pretty good, maybe even better than most.” But according to Scripture, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10). By birth and by choice we are sinners. The only righteousness any of us can have, is the righteousness of Christ. Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to His cross I cling.

       This is it. This is your responsibility. This is how you should respond. “Believe in Him who He has sent” (v.29). It is not by obedience or rituals or law keeping or even acts of charity. It is by faith—recognizing who Jesus is, and trusting in his work on our behalf. Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. But again we see the verse from the Prologue being lived out, “He came unto His own, but His own people did not receive Him” (Jn 1:11). Believe in the One that God has sent, take Him at His word.

       Another theme of this gospel comes out in their response, “Then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you?” OK, most of those present did not see Jesus walk on the water to His disciples. That was revelation for them. But contextually it seems many here at the synagogue in Capernaum were from the crowd that was miraculously fed across the lake. They saw that miracle, and wanted to make Him King. But they did not discern what the sign revealed about Jesus. So, they essentially ask, “Why should we believe you? What have you done for us lately” (v.30-31)? Aren’t you going to keep feeding us? Moses gave us manna in the desert for 40 years, what are you going to do?  In asking for a sign and then referring to Moses it seems pretty obvious that the crowds are still focused on the loaves. Didn’t he feed the people for 40 years? What sign will you show us (v.30)?  They are thinking, if you are the Messiah, if you are the prophet like Moses, doesn’t that mean you’ll do even more? Jesus replies in Jn 6:32-33…

³² Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  ³³ For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

       First Jesus addresses their wrong thinking in v.32, Moses didn’t feed the people, God did. He then says that God is offering them the true Bread from Heaven, “…the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven…” (32-33). He has to correct their understanding of Scripture, and turn them toward seeing their deepest need. Moses was so venerated in the Jewish tradition that some had actually lost sight of the fact that he was a mere man, chosen by God, and, as reluctant as he was, God used him to be a channel of blessing to the nation. God did the miracles, God brought water from the rock and God sent manna from heaven to feed the people.  And now God had sent Jesus, the eternal Son, the Bread of Life, to give life to those who receive Him by faith.

        The True Bread, the Bread of God, is the One sent from Heaven to give life (33). Jesus is affirming his preexistence, but for the moment is still speaking in the third person, “…the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven…”  He is speaking of His incarnation, as it was alluded to in John 1:14, “…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” The eternal Son took a human nature and came to take the penalty for our sin, so that through faith in Him we could be saved. The call to believe in Jesus is extended to all. Only those who have eyes to see, who respond by his grace, have everlasting life. The Big Idea here is that *many are searching for more in life, but only through faith in Jesus will our deepest need be satisfied.

IV. Salvation and ultimate satisfaction is found only in Jesus, the Bread of Life (34-35).

³⁴ They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."  ³⁵ Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

       The people misunderstand, “Give us this bread always.”  That sounds a lot like the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:15, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” It’s another example of the theme of not understanding the meaning of what Jesus is saying and doing. The woman was at first focused on physical water. The people who sought out Jesus here in John 6 are focused on physical bread (34).

       In v.35 he states the truth of who He is, which we’ll see in the context is an invitation to believe in Him as the One who alone can satisfy their deepest need. He says, “I AM the Bread of Life,” He is the One who can satisfy your deepest need (v.35).  We’ll pick up with v.35 next week, but touch on it here. This is the first time John quotes Jesus using “I AM” with an expressed predicate. As he spoke to the woman at the well, and as he revealed himself to his disciples in the stormy lake, the context invited us to understand more than simply, “It is me.”  I AM in John is a reference to the God of the Covenant, the great I AM who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. It is clearly, in this Gospel, a claim of deity, I AM the Lord, I AM God the Son, present and working in your midst. Jesus says later, He who has seen me has seen the Father. The previous two uses of the phrase were revelation, but this is the first of several statements made by Jesus in which he reveals something about his person, about who he is and what he came to do.

       “I am the Bread of Life.”  I don’t know about you, but I like bread. Its filling. Its satisfying. And if it is made with whole grain it is even nutritious.  This week Mary Ann made a Brazilian fish stew called Moqueca. To go with it, we had some Brazilian cheese bread, pao de queixo. Oh yeah! If I’m eating chili I like corn bread. If I’m eating Italian I like garlic bread, if I’m making toast in the morning I like Dave’s Killer Bread with 21 grains and seeds. In Maine I used to like a multigrain bread from a bakery called Borealis Bread, they called it, “The Van Gogh of Dough”! It’s all good! For much of the world, bread, in some form, is a dietary basic, it’s the staff of life, the primary source of nourishment. Remember again Isaiah 55:2-3, was Jesus alluding to it in this discourse? 

“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.  ³ Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live…”

       In our passage Jesus is saying to those who have ears to hear, “I AM” God. He is saying, “and as God, I can satisfy your deepest hunger, I alone can give the life you long for, life with meaning, eternal life, abundant life.” We’ll pick up with this verse next week. Here we see that despite the signs, most of the eyewitnesses did not believe (v.36). Jesus confronts them with that fact. His signs haven’t for the most part been done in a corner, they’ve been public demonstrations of power that should have left no question in their minds as to who he is. The evidence is clear and compelling and left them without excuse. Even so, as we’ll see in this gospel as it unfolds, most did not respond to the evidence. The call to believe in Jesus is extended to all. Only those who respond, by his grace, have everlasting life. The people from across the Lake did cross over to Capernaum in search of Jesus, but the context here makes it clear they were looking for what He could give them, and did not see that He was what they needed.

What is God saying to me in this passage? Many are searching for more in life, but only through faith in Jesus will our deepest need be satisfied.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

1) Do you believe in Jesus? Trust him, He will meet your deepest need. None of us knows how much time we have, but you have today, you have heard the truth, will you believe? Call on the Name of the Lord and be saved!

2) Let’s look for an opportunity to point those around us to the One who alone is the Way to Life. We were reminded last week that if you know Jesus, you have a part in His mission, right where you are. You don’t have to cross an ocean to be a missionary, you can be one right where God has you, in your family, your neighborhood, your work.

3) This chapter is not directly referring to Communion, but they are connected in that they both point to Jesus as the way to life. Jesus gave communion to the church as a visual reminder of the Gospel, He gave His life so that we could have life. He is the Bread of Heaven, given by the Father, so that whoever believes can have eternal life.  AMEN.