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John 6:25-40
“The Bread is a somebody”
“The giver of the bread is himself the bread.”
Sunday Morning Sermon
11.04.07
Intro: (Advance)
The fellowship of the community of believers is a time for celebration, and love. It should be a time of self-examination, conviction and closeness with God, a renewal of a relationship should happen. This morning we have gathered together – to celebrate. I have before us the reason of celebration – BREAD. It’s warm (thank you Lori). It’s fresh – and it smells good. But, it’s just bread – how do we get excited about bread? We don’t have songs about bread; we don’t see bread as an offering. It’s hard to get excited about or want to celebrate bread. There is a good chance later this month you will gather your family around a table, stocked with more food than you can eat, but the main item on the table – won’t be bread.
There is a long Jewish tradition that I want us to do this morning – we aren’t Jews and I’m not a rabbi, but this neat – The head of the house would take the loaf from the table in front of him and pronounced this blessing – I need your help – give me a hearty “AMEN” afterwards. (Advance)
“Blessed be the Lord, our God, the King of the universe, who has caused bread to spring out of the earth.” Congregation says: AMEN. The Rabbi would then share the bread with the people. The gospels record Jesus feeding the multitudes – Jesus probably gave this blessing. At the last supper – again he probably gave this same blessing.
Discussion:
I want to focus this morning on bread – but not the bread you just ate. I gave you bread, but I am not the bread – that’s pretty deep. This morning, the giver of the bread of life, and the bread are the same. It’s a different kind of bread from a different kind of source. I love the way one commentary said it, “The bread is a somebody.” Physically, we can be hungry – God supplies all our needs when it comes to physical hunger. He is also the supplier of our needs when it comes to our spiritual hunger – when you are searching for truth, and life and have a desire to understand the meaning of life, and the purpose of this life – it is the giver of spiritual life that will draw you to himself.
Turn with me if you have your Bibles to John 6:25-40 (Read) (Advance)
I want to suggest something this morning – The bread of life for you spiritually is not only the hope of eternal life (which Jesus is the supplier of) – but also the clarity we need in this life. Jesus told the Jews around him who believed: (Advance)
John 8:31-32 (NIV) – 31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "*If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Truth = Freedom; because there is clarity in understanding direction, there is hope in understanding purpose. Later in John’s gospel Jesus says that he is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the bread of life that we seek – he is the clarity that we need in life, he is the hope of eternal salvation that we long for. Someone said it this way, “He is the certified, authorized, “franchised” distributor of the bread of life.”
Life is a whirlwind sometimes. If you need clarity in your life – if you need purpose in your life – if you want direction in your life – if you need some hope in your life – all of those needs are found in the person of Jesus – because he is the giver of the bread of life.
Our story this morning takes us to a few events – all of these are connected. In John 6 – Jesus feeds the 5,000 –Jesus then withdraws from the crowd, because he didn’t want to become their king – so he leaves. The disciples get into a boat that night and Jesus walks out to them on the water. The crowds find Jesus on the other side of the lake – that’s where our text picks up this morning.
I see 5 different things this morning –
(Advance)
1. He is clear with his intentions (26-27)
The problem is – the crowds following Jesus were not clear with their intentions. They have very mixed motives.
a. They see Jesus
i. Not as the son of God – the bread of life
ii. But as a free meal ticket – catfish dinners and a roll on the side (I’ll take two).
b. They have a deeper need – a spiritual need
They actually go to him and tell him to show a sign and they would believe. That’s very self-serving – but they also expected him to give them a task to please God – Their understanding of God was very works based.
c. Jesus tells them
i. Not to work for food that spoils – but food that endures to eternal life – which comes from the Son of Man (Jesus)
It’s close to what Jesus tells the crowds from the mountainside: (Advance)
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV) – "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
As Christians – we should be working for and working towards, the witness in life that does not pass away.
d. Jesus gives them a challenge
i. Work for something that will last
Work for something that is off limits to the moth and rust, and thieves. Work for something that endures long after you are gone. If you have the opportunity to work with young people – do it to the best of your ability – because they will remember. If you have the chance to visit the sick, or make a difference in the life of someone – do it for the glory and honor of God. If my desire to reach out and serve is not about my desire to gain something for me – then it’s about GOD, it’s about the person being served. Remember what James says: (Advance)
James 1:27 (NIV) – Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Your light, your desire to serve, your ability to get beyond yourself and see families in need and people who are hurting and inviting them to walk with you in your Christian life – might be the only light that they see. Your love might be the only chance for them to see a follower of Christ be what they claim. That’s so important in our world – that we are who we claim to be. Jesus was very clear with his intentions – clarity is a piece of the bread of life. (Advance)
2. He is clear with his instructions (28-31)
a. They ask Jesus a question (vs. 28)
“What must we do to do the work God requires?” Understand for them God is in heaven wanting them to jump through hoops to please him. For them it is very much about the work that he requires. Here’s what Jesus says in response (vs. 29) – “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” Jesus is saying, “work by believing!” You want to do the work God requires – BELIEVE! I think it’s strange that some consider baptism a work, but the Bible never says it is. Those same people don’t consider belief a work, but the bible clearly says that believing is a work.
b. Start with the basics and believe
i. For them – Jesus is the Son of Man – deep reference to the OT in godliness, and authority.
ii. For them – Understanding that Jesus is the fulfillment of scripture – the holy one sent from God
iii. For them – seeing the unified purpose of Jesus and God
Jesus is NOT setting up a theology class and teaching the deep things of GOD, and all the mysteries of the universe. It’s simply – believe in the one he has sent. It’s not complicated, but it’s not shallow either.
c. If you truly believe –
i. It changes your life
ii. It changes who you are – how you react to people
Sometimes we buy in to the idea that we can believe something without it changing who we are. If you truly believe – it changes who you are, because it has no other choice.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus already believing – because of the signs Jesus had done. The crowd anticipated a miracle when they saw Jesus because they asked him – “When did you get here?” Some of them probably had tasted the catfish and rolls. They wanted more, so they ask him in verse 30 – “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” Have you ever been double dog dared to do something? This is why I am not Jesus – because if they had said this to me, and I had the power and authority that Jesus had – they would be growing elephant ears. Here’s the truth – they had no intention of believing in Jesus and if he had done something else to gain their belief – it would just require more. They justify their desire to see Jesus do something. Church, don’t believe in God because of what he can do for you. Believe in God because of what he’s done – which is brought you from death to life and made the way of salvation through Jesus Christ – Paul tells the church in Corinth twice – “you have been bought with a price.” If you are a believer in Jesus – “You have been bought with a price, the perfect Lamb of God who gave himself as the sacrifice for your sins, so that you could have fellowship and a relationship with God. The sin that was a barrier between you and God was laid on Christ, so that he could build a bridge, and tear down that wall of division, guilt and shame. (Advance)
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) – Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
How does sinful man approach a holy God – Only through the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s what God has done – But sometimes we want more – and they did too. They give him a reason for doing something else.
d. Our forefathers – Moses, David, Noah, Joshua -- specifically Moses
i. They had manna in the desert – Remember, they traveled the desert for 40 years –
They even quote scripture – “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
What they don’t realize is – they are looking straight at the fulfillment of the scripture. They don’t realize it – so: (Advance)
3. He is clear with his Identity (32-35)
Listen to his response – vs. 32- (Advance) “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.”
a. Moses got the credit
i. But he wasn’t the source
Most of the problems with the Israelites is that they gave credit to and honored those to whom no credit was due and they honored the unworthy. They ate for 40 years in the desert without passing down the true source of the bread they were eating. We do the same thing in our lives. We often times don’t see the real source of our blessing. Jesus sets them straight – because he understands who he is.
b. It was not Moses
i. Who gave bread from heaven – it was God
Only he didn’t stop with manna in the desert – he has given you (speaking to them and us) true (everlasting) bread from heaven.
(Vs. 33) – For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
c. They are thinking physical – Jesus is talking spiritual
This happens all the time in the book of John – Jesus on one level the crowds on another – Jesus on one level the disciples on another.
i. This bread gives life to the world – pointing to Jesus
Make no mistake about it – the giver of life to the world is Jesus. If you stand for life – you are standing with Jesus. All life is sacred, because it comes from God. We’ve confused the idea that life is sacred – we call it choice, it’s really selfishness. Pro-this; Anti-That – God is the giver of life. Listen clearly – we cannot stand with Christ and be against the life that he gives – it’s impossible.
d. They want eternal bread – that way they don’t have to wait on the wife to cook it. They say this in verse 34 -- “From now on give us this bread.” Here’s where the identity of Christ becomes very clear. (Advance)
(Vs. 35) – 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.”
Are you hungry for something real this morning? Is your life dry and chapped? All of us – at some level become hungry and thirsty – sometimes it’s even after we’ve walked down that aisle, sometimes it’s even after we’ve confessed and repented. Listen church – life can make the giver of life difficult to embrace sometimes – situations you didn’t ask for, troubles you didn’t sign up for – they aren’t your fault – but you have to deal with them anyway. Those situations can pile up in front of your relationship with God, until the Bible study stops, the prayer time stops, church attendance stops, service begins to be something you used to do, not something you are involved in. I’ve been there in my own life – crying out to God – WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? Listen – God doesn’t yell back, and he doesn’t drop a list from heaven – he whispers. When you hear that voice – Jay, I am the bread of life – if you would stop the passions you follow and the junk in your life, and the attitudes and come to me with EVERYTHING – You won’t need anything, because I will be your everything. Clarity came into my life, and his calling became real again, his desire became real again. The next Sunday morning at church – I was running to the front. So much so, that I remember Amanda joined me, asking me what I’d done. It wasn’t about what I had done, but what we weren’t doing. I think the devil has many ways that good Christian people would never sign up for – so he doesn’t attack that way – he gets you distracted – he puts something in front of you, that sounds good, might not even be bad – but it’s not your purpose. (Advance)
4. He is clear with his purpose (36-38)
Their unbelief was real in spite of them seeing the bread of life – the fulfillment of the manna that God had given their forefathers through Moses. He understood their unbelief was real – so he wasn’t focused on them.
a. God would give him some
i. Jesus will not drive them away
Jesus has the ability to hang out with the higher class of religious people. He can teach in a way that they are amazed. He has full knowledge of their scriptures; so much that it frustrates them.
b. Who does God send to Jesus?
i. The outcast
ii. The crippled
iii. The blind
iv. The demon possessed
v. The beggar
vi. The tax collector
vii. The weary
viii. Those in need of rest
ix. The woman at the well
x. You and me
The list goes on and on – why does God do that to Jesus? Why does Jesus assemble for himself the disciples he does? A young man in the time of Jesus was either going to follow a rabbi or go to work. The disciples weren’t following anyone, because they had been rejected – they were working. They didn’t look good on a resume. One or two of them might have been one fry short of a happy meal.
c. They were teachable – they were willing to follow.
The bigger picture – Jesus wasn’t after his own will, but the will of the one who sent him. So God didn’t gather the elite around Jesus, he worked through the fishermen, and the tax collectors. Jesus spent his time with the crowds and with sinners – because that’s who God called.
Even today – God calls us – to reach out our hands to those we might find different, or unworthy – God calls us to reach out and be who Jesus was. Because it’s not about us – it wasn’t even about Jesus – it was and still is about God’s will – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
If the life of Christ were governed by the will of Christ – would you have the perfect sacrifice? Would you have a man without sin? That’s a tough question – submission to the will of God was what perfected Jesus. Submission to that will, made his desire and the desire of God, one. Otherwise he would have said – “Hey, I do my own will, good enough.” In fact he says – I’m not doing my own will, but God’s will. He’s not suggesting there is a difference. There was no conflict between God’s will and the will of Jesus, because of the submission Jesus had to his heavenly father. Jesus knew his purpose with clarity. (Advance)
5. He is clear with his love (39-40)
a. Jesus is the giver of eternal life – if you believe.
Jesus came to earth, in a plan that was developed before time began, willing to live and suffer and die – even death on a cross for you, and me. If mankind embraced sin – and we did – then the creation needed a savior. God gives his one and only son, so that we would be saved. Paul says that it’s a demonstration of God’s love for us – while we were still sinners – Christ died for us.
b. He won’t lose anyone
The Bible says it is God’s will that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth – Jesus Christ. How does he “not lose anyone?” That’s been answered in different ways by different people. Here’s a good understanding, about the way it applies to us. Once you are saved, and actually come to a knowledge of the truth, you understand what God has done for you, and understand the distance he has had to cross for you – You won’t leave the salvation he provides. It is the churches responsibility to make disciples, to baptize, and to teach obedience. It’s in the teaching part that we often drop the ball on disciples, leading them to the baptistery, but not doing much more. That’s why people leave – because they haven’t been taught, they haven’t been connected with a relationship. Our desire should match up with the will of Jesus and the will of God – that we wouldn’t lose anyone. Belief is the goal of our salvation.
Conclusion:
Our lives can go a hundred different directions. Cars that won’t start. People we depend on run late. Kids are cranky or the husband is a mess. Computers get stolen. You can blame it on whatever you want – a lack of planning, a lack of effort, ignorance of the situation. We live such busy lives filled with everything we can fill it with, plus whatever life brings our way. What I’m suggesting this morning is that stuff can make life, and the giver of life blurry. You allow enough junk to get between you and God and he will become distant. Here’s the thing – he’s not the one who moved. God doesn’t change, we do. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. James says the shifting shadows change, but God does not change. The good conclusion this morning – the bread of life is the somebody who brings clarity in our lives – and that somebody is Jesus. You alone know if your relationship is what it should be – you alone know if it needs to be better.
Let’s pray.
If you need a relationship with Jesus this morning – we invite you to come. Perhaps you’ve been a Christian for a while and that relationship which was once very clear – needs some clarity – come this morning as we stand and sing.
