“The Bread of Life”
The I AM statement of Jesus
August 5, 2007
Text: John 6
Introduction: This morning we are beginning a new sermon series, The I AM statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John. Jesus made an incredible statement to the Jews in response to a discussion about the greatness of Abraham. This is what Jesus said:
John 8:58 (NIV) "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" Wow. What a claim. Jesus pre-existed before Abraham! At that point the Scriptures says that the Jews began to pick up stones to stone Jesus. They knew that He was claiming to be God and that was blasphemy to them. It reminded me of a time in the OT when God gave His name to Moses at the burning bush:
Exodus 3:13-15 (NIV) Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ’The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ’What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ’I am has sent me to you.’ " God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, ’The Lord, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
Throughout the book of John, Jesus makes claims about Himself. There are seven I AM statements that we will be looking at these next few weeks…
• I AM the Bread of Life
• I AM the light of the world
• I AM the door
• I AM the good shepherd
• I AM the resurrection and the life
• I AM the way, the truth, and the life
• I AM the true vine
So this morning, we will look at Jesus’ I AM statement about Himself. John 6:48 (NIV)
I am the bread of life. Bread is an interesting metaphor for Jesus. If you do just a quick search of the Gospels, you will find ‘bread’ referenced often. For example:
• In Matthew 4:4 (NIV) Jesus was responding to the devil in the wilderness when He said, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" So Jesus indicates early on that there is more to this life than just physical bread.
• In the Lord’s Prayer, which can be found in Matthew 6:11 and Luke 11: 3 Jesus says to pray like this: Give us today our daily bread. We are encouraged to pray for bread which represents our basic daily needs. This is also probably a reference to the daily Manna that the children of Israel received in the wilderness.
• Right before His death, Jesus broke break and shared a cup with His disciples as a reminder of His sacrifice. Luke 22:19 (NIV) And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Bread is a powerful metaphor for what we need to survive in this life and in the next. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in, Matthew 5:6 (NIV) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. So we are told that if we hunger for the right things we will be satisfied…if we hunger for the wrong things, we never be satisfied.
The key question this morning is: What are you hungry for?
1. Are you hungry for His provision or His person? (v.25-40, 52-59) It seems that most people are hungry for God’s provision. Today’s message comes right on the heels of Jesus feeding 5000 men and their families. Jesus met their physical need in a powerful way and they followed Him across the Lake. He told them that they were following Him, because He satisfied them physically, but there was so much more that Jesus wanted to offer.
John 6:26-27 (NIV) Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
Jesus was saying that we hunger and work for food that perishes, but we should hunger and work for food that lasts forever. And that food comes from Jesus Himself. Then not only did they follow Him for His provision, but they also wanted to Him to display His power. They wanted a sign.
John 6:30-33 (NIV) So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ’He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’" Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
Jesus recounts the way God provided for Israel in the wilderness…He sent Manna from heaven. In the same way, God sent Jesus the true bread from heaven, who give life to the world.
John 6:34-36 (NIV) "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. The Jews saw the bread of life standing right before them, but they didn’t believe. Later in the passage, Jesus lets them know that they have to take into their selves, not just the provision of Jesus, but the person of Jesus.
Look at John 6:51-53 (NIV) I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
There are denominations that misinterpret this scripture to mean that at Communion the bread miraculously turns into the flesh of Jesus…after all, Jesus says we have to eat His flesh right? No. Let’s not miss what Jesus means. For eternal life, you have to take the person of Jesus into your life. He satisfies.
So today I ask you, “Do you hunger after God’s provision or His person?” Secondly, I believe Jesus asks:
2. Are you hungry for the temporary or the eternal? (v. 43-51) This is a valid question, especially in today’s culture. We chase the temporary…fame, fortune, hobbies…when we get money, we want more…when we find love, we are satisfied…with our leisure we take more and more time to make ourselves happy… only to find out that we aren’t happy. We are never content and the grass is always greener somewhere else. Listen to what Jesus says…
John 6:43-44 (NIV) "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. He told the Jewish leaders that they were to quit arguing about what He was teaching about the bread come down from heaven…they couldn’t understand it unless the Father revealed it to them and drew them to Himself.
John 6:47-50 (NIV) I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.
Jesus draws from their ancestors’ experience in the desert. They ate manna daily and yet they died. In other words—the manna from heaven the children of Israel received was temporary and had a temporary effect. They received daily provision, but would be hungry the next day…and eventually would die. Jesus is saying that the bread from heaven, Jesus, is who we are to take hold of. In doing so we will never die! True satisfaction and true everlasting life is found in focusing on the eternal, not the temporary.
So this morning I ask you, “Are you hungry for the temporary or the eternal?” Lastly…
3. Are you hungry for the flesh or the spirit? (v. 60-70) Another way to ask the question is to ask are you hungry for the things that satisfy you…or are you hungry for the things that satisfy God? Are you sowing to self or are you sowing to the spirit. Many folks who follow the provision and power of Jesus, struggle with His demands to sacrifice the flesh to benefit the spirit. Look at verse 60.
John 6:60-62 (NIV) On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! What really offended the Jewish leadership was that the son of Joseph was claiming to come straight from heaven…In fact Jesus, wondered out loud if they would believe He was who if He would ascend back to heaven…well truth is…He did! Several days after the resurrection, He ascended to the right hand of the Father…they still didn’t believe.
John 6:63-64 (NIV) The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.
The flesh—that which satisfies our selves—counts for nothing for eternity. It doesn’t last and it even disappoints in this life. The spirit—that which satisfies God-lasts for all eternity and even satisfies in this life… “The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy…but I come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”
John 6:66-67 (NIV) From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Wow. You have to give the Jewish leaders some credit. They understood the demands of Jesus and no longer followed Him. It’s not about His provision or power. It’s not about temporary things that bring us satisfaction. Eternal life is about accepting Jesus, the bread of life from heaven.
John 6:29 (NIV) Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
Conclusion:
