Scripture Introduction
“I am the bread of life.”
“I am the light of the world.”
“I am the gate.”
“I am the good shepherd.”
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
“I am the way and the truth and the life.”
“I am the true vine.”
Each of these seven statements by Jesus, known as the “I AM sayings,” describes something of his ministry and tells us much about our relationship to God through faith in him. Today we are studying what is called, “The Bread of Life Discourse.” What begins as an interaction between Jesus and a crowd of hungry followers turns into a lecture on how true faith is like eating bread—it requires taking the life of God into you and having it become the very nourishment and life of your soul. I will be reading in John 6, verses 22 through 36.
Introduction
The picture (on the handout) is of a commemorative stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in 1956, in honor of Labor Day. There is a slogan on the block in the lower, left-hand corner, a quotation Dwight D. Eisenhower referenced in his speech at the issuance of this stamp. It is from Thomas Carlyle: “Labor is Life.” (Illustration from a sermon by John Piper, in. loc.)
In sense that is true. We must work to survive. In fact, the early church had some problems with freeloaders taking advantage of the kindness and generosity of sincere Christians. So the Apostle Paul taught pointedly on this subject.
2Thessalonians 3.10-12: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”
Later Paul would write to Timothy, a young pastor whom Paul was training for ministry, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Strong words because work is valued by God and is critical to faithful obedience. But is labor the meaning and purpose of life, as Carlyle implies? Jesus says otherwise: “Do not labor for the food that perishes.”
What then shall we labor for? Something more deeply satisfying, more real and substantial than earthly pleasure. We are to labor to have our souls satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus Christ. To get there, notice, first…
1. Because Jesus is the Bread of Life, We Must Not Labor For Other Bread (John 6.22-27)
On the farm where I grew up, we raised Black Angus cattle. In order to corral them for tagging or medicines, dad would drive the truck through the fields and I would sit on the tailgate. As we approached a group of cattle, I would rattle a bag and pour a small amount of the contents onto the ground near the animals. But this was no ordinary food; it was, “sweet feed,” a pellet shaped feed (like dog food), covered in molasses. After tasting, they wanted more. They hear the bag rattle and smell dessert. Soon they leave the green grass and follow the truck all the way to the barn. They are controlled by a desire for that treat.
Even though we have a saying, “The quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” few of us have experience with real hunger. Because it is uncommon in our generation and in America, we may not (at first) recognize ourselves in the people who chase down Jesus for another meal. So let’s consider some of the details and see if we might apply it to ourselves.
Every day is a struggle for food enough to survive. Many nights you and your children fall asleep hungry. A few, wealthy officials eat lavishly (mostly those who are in the employ of the despised government); you and your friends (on the other hand) worry whether tomorrow will provide anything.
Then a rabbi appears. Unlike others, he speaks with authority. Rumors rise and are everywhere repeated—the lame walk, the sick recover, the blind see. Then he is in your town. Thousands flock to hear; you are swept out also. And at the end of the day, from nowhere, bread and fish appear, enough for all.
People begin to talk. A prophet like Moses was promised. Moses went up the mountain; Jesus taught from the mountain. Moses fed the people bread from heaven; Jesus makes bread appear. Your cousin heard that he changed water into wine. And some are saying that he is the Messiah who will overthrow Rome and restore Israel.
But where did he go? There was one boat and he did not get in it, yet someone said he is across the sea. Weird, huh? Who is this? Hey, let’s go see if he is serving food again this morning.
But in John 6.26 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.”
What do we need to see?
First, do not imagine that Jesus condemns work or promotes idleness. “Do not labor for the food that perishes,” does not mean “quit your job”; it means quit viewing your job (and what you get from it) as all that life is about.
God in human flesh stands before these women and men; Jesus performs a miracle of astronomical proportion; and they…want…breakfast. There is no thought for souls and eternal destiny. Jesus does not condemn working so that you can live; he is warning of living only for your work.
Second, understand how easy it is to misplace your labor. These folks go to great trouble to seek Jesus, rowing across the sea to find him. I expected Jesus to commend their effort, to congratulate their determination. But what does he say? “You seek me because you want more food; you did not see the sign.”
What does he mean? Simply this: the purpose of the miracle is not to feed people; it is to prove that God provides, in Jesus, what is needed for true life.
It’s like the story of Hansel and Gretel. As the wicked stepmother takes them into the forest, they drop bread crumbs as signs to lead them back out. But birds eat the bread. The bread Jesus gave also was a sign—it said God has provided life through faith in Jesus; but the people ate the bread and could think only of another meal.
How do we apply this to ourselves? Having enough bread to eat is not a common problem for us; what might we rely on for “life” rather than faith in Jesus?
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal said that college students are cleaning up their Facebook and MySpace web sites before starting interviews, because potential employers check them for revealing and embarrassing pictures. The students find it necessary to remove pictures of their drunken revelry. So what is the allure of alcohol that leads many college kids drink to excess?
Alcohol offers boldness, courage, good feelings, joy, warmth, a loss of fear and inhibitions. People drink so as to feel confident: "life without doubt"; to feel brave: "life without fear"; strong: "life without uncertainty." Alcohol promises a radical life, a fullness to life, a way of living that is truly alive. That is why the slogan is: “Miller High Life,” and the commercial shows a man catching a swordfish, parachuting, snowboarding, then packing it all into his briefcase. Drink this and you will have the good life.
But Ephesians says that drunkenness is actually dissipation, a draining away of life, losing of hope. Some translate the Greek word, “exhaustion,” almost an anti-life. What it promises, it actually takes away.
The same is true of money: “Get enough and your life will sure and secure. You will be stable and solid, come what may.” But you never have enough. And those who set their hope on riches find they are uncertain and unsure. A radically real and full life is promised; but what is given is thin and insipid.
C. S. Lewis, commenting on this fact, said, “I cannot find a cup of tea which is big enough or a book that is long enough.”
When I first bought a Palm Pilot, I thought technology had finally arrived; now it corrodes in the garbage dump. Go ahead and purchase the iPhone; next year something else will be hot. What do you fantasize will finally allow you to sit back, take your ease, and say, “Now this is the life!”?
Whatever “that” is which fuels your heart’s dream of contentment and joy, that is the bread which you labor for. Jesus says, “Do not labor for that.” It will leave you empty and exhausted. You will always need more to feel the high. It cannot satisfy. These are breads of “anti-life”; Jesus is the bread of life, therefore, we must not labor for other bread.
2. Because Jesus is the Bread of Life, We Must Not Labor (John 6.28-29)
When Jesus said (verse 27): “Do not labor for food which perishes,” his meaning was not simply that our labor is misdirected. Our problem is not only that we labor for wrong things; we also imagine that we can labor for right things.
We see this in the response of these hungry folk: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” It never enters their minds that their best efforts might offend a God who gives good gifts. Like the imaginary guest who offers you fifty dollars after you invite them over for Christmas dinner with your family, the problem is not primarily the amount of cash offered; it is the offer of cash. How can we offer to pay when invited to someone’s home? But such is the universal disposition of the sinful heart.
Jesus met this problem in the woman at the well: “You do not know the gift of God.” The same was true of the rich ruler: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Peter heard it when he began to preach: “What shall we do?” Paul was asked the same by the Philippian Jailer: “Sir, what must I do to be saved?”
Their conscience has been pricked; they know they have a great need. But note well the natural falling back to a religion of good works. “I know I must do something, Jesus; tell me what and I will do what pleases God.”
This was the essence of the problem with the Old Covenant. God offered to Israel a direct relationship with him—they would obey and he would accept them. But they could not keep their promise.
Hebrews 8.8-9: “For he finds fault with them when he says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.”
But now Jesus has come and has made a new covenant. He has obeyed the old, setting it aside, and offering life to all who believe.
So now it is by grace that you are saved, not by works, so that no one can boast. To the one who works, his wages are not a gift but his due. But to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
The one thing you must do is quit imagining that you can do anything. The only way to earn the bread of heaven is to see that you cannot earn bread from heaven. The one work you must do is no longer work. "Lay your deadly doing down, down at Jesus’ feet; stand in him and him alone, gloriously complete." The work of God is not to work, but to trust. Because Jesus is the bread of life, we must not labor.
3. Because Jesus is the Bread of Life, We Must Labor To Be Satisfied with All that God is for Us in Jesus (John 6.30-36)
What does Jesus mean, “I am the bread of life”? Why does he chose this metaphor?
First, bread is necessary for life; in fact, it used to be called, “The Staff of Life.” In the old USDA Food Pyramid, Breads and Grains were the largest piece, the bottom or foundation of the pyramid. 6-11 servings a day were recommended, because bread forms the basis for a normal diet. Jesus is saying the same about himself. Without feeding on his word and spiritual vitality, you will die, both in this life and the life to come.
Second, bread is the most universal food. Every culture and every people recognizes bread as a mainstay of the diet. Rich and poor, slave and free, male and female—all have eaten bread. In the same way Christ Jesus is the universal answer to life; there is no other, he is the one source for all. Not one of you can know fullness of life apart from faith in Jesus.
Third, bread is a satisfying food. Sweets are great for a treat, but they do not hold you when you are hungry and working. Bread fills and comforts. So it is with those who know Jesus. His word and way is not always the sweetest taste, but it is the lasting treasure.
One other: fourth, bread must be digested before it nourishes. Faith in Jesus is not simply an intellectual game in which you say you are a Christian. Later in this chapter Jesus will say that we must “feed on his flesh.” This is not some gross ritual of cannibalism; it is a metaphor for true faith. Are you taking Christ’s word and spirit into you, meditating on his promises and power, speaking to him in prayer and depending on him for daily help? Are you feeding on Christ?
4. Conclusion
Somerset Maugham was the most famous living author in the world in the 1930s. By 1965, he was fabulously wealthy from royalties. His nephew visited him at his villa on the Mediterranean before he died. The nephew wrote this: “I looked round the drawing room at the immensely valuable furniture and pictures and objects that Willie’s success had enabled him to acquire…. Willie had 11 servants, including his cook, Annette, who was the envy of all the millionaires on the Riviera…. He said: “I’ve been reading the Bible you gave me and I’ve come across the quotation: ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’… Oh, Robin, I’m so tired…. I’ve been a failure the whole way through my life. I’ve made mistake after mistake. I’ve made a hash of everything. Everyone who’s got to know me well has ended up by hating me…. My whole life has been a failure…. And now it’s too late to change….” Willie looked up, and his grip tightened on my hands. He was staring at the floor. His face was contorted with fear; and he was trembling violently. Suddenly, he began to shriek: “Go away! I’m not ready. I’m not dead yet; I’m not dead yet, I tell you.” His high-pitched terror-struck voice echoed from wall to wall. I looked around but the room was empty. “There is no one there, Willie,” I said. He began to gasp hysterically.
What a contrast with Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In 1944, when he was transferred to the Gestapo prison (a step on the way to his execution), he calmly said good-bye to his friends. Later, in one of his last messages, he wrote this poem:
Should it be ours to drain the cup of grieving
even to the dregs of pain, at Thy command,
we will not falter, thankfully receiving
all that is given by Thy loving hand.
Somerset Maugham labored for food that perishes; when the end came he was starving and miserable. Bonhoeffer labored to satisfy his soul with all that God is for us in Christ; when the end came he was not hungry. You think about that.
