The Bread Of Life Series

Message

John 6:35

I Am The Bread Of Life

When Jesus describes Himself with a phrase beginning with “I am” He is identifying an aspect of his character and ministry.

Today we are looking at Jesus who is the Bread of life.

In the context Jesus, the day before, had fed 5000 men – a crowd of at least 15,000 – with 5 loaves of bread and two fish.

The whole crowd ate as much as they wanted.

When the clean-up happened there were twelve baskets of left-over fish and bread.

Nobody paid a single denarius.

Actually, the family of the boy who brought the five loaves and two fish, they would have paid a denarius.

But no one else paid.

That has a huge impact on the crowd.

In the evening, after feeding the crowd, the disciples and Jesus move away from the crowd. The disciples take a boat, and Jesus walks on the water.

We take up the story from there.

Read John 6:22-40

Everyone is looking for Jesus who seems to have vanished.

They know that Jesus uses Capernaum as His home base so a flotilla of boats make their way to the town.

Isn’t it great that everyone is searching for Jesus.

We should celebrate. That is what we want isn’t it … for people to search for Jesus?

We do … want them to search … but we want them to search for the right reasons. Most people in the crowd are not searching for the right reasons.

It is hard for us to appreciate the significance of what is happening here because

… well frankly we are spoilt.

When we go to Woolworths and we want to buy bread, there are 40? … 50? different types of bread. And the bread section is just one part of many sections that make up the whole shop.

If you don’t like bread you can buy plenty of alternatives.

In fact you can have a diet that doesn’t include bread.

That is our experience. Let’s go back to that day in Capernaum.

Most of the people in the crowd who have fervently-searched-for-and-now-found-Jesus … most of them live what is called a subsistence life.

Today I earn money to get the provisions I need for this day. And after that I won’t have much left. Tomorrow I will do the same.

That is a subsistence life.

And a key ingredient of the food provisions in Judah is bread. Not the processed white rubbish bread which is only good for vegemite toast. The loaves are heavy, and healthy, and organic and full of nourishment. They satisfied your hunger.

Yesterday a crowd of 15,000 people plus ate as much of this bread as they wanted – with fish. They didn’t have to make the money to buy the bread. They didn’t have to go to the lake and catch the fish. Groceries for the day were fully sorted with no effort.

Imagine, never having to go grocery shopping. And also not having to put in the work effort required to go grocery shopping. Now you start to get a sense of what is going on in the minds of the crowds as they put their efforts into searching for Jesus.

… efforts that should have been put into going to work to make the denarius to get the provisions.

… they put in this effort because people really want to stop putting in all the effort needed to have a subsistence life.

That is the motive which drives the search. Following Jesus because of the physical provisions He will give.

It is the wrong motive.

It is not that Jesus won’t provide for physical needs. There are plenty of passages which speak into that area of our relationship with Jesus.

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:24

Clearly Jesus cares about, and provides for, our physical needs.

Why we don’t always get what we want.

Why there are many Christians who have very little.

Well that is a topic for another sermon.

The point Jesus is making here is that searching for Jesus because we want our physical provision met – that is not the right motive to search for Him. The reason being is that such a search does not lead to true belief. Let’s follow Jesus’ teaching on this in John 6:25-34