“I AM The Bread of Life”
This morning we begin a new series that will take us into the celebration of Easter. We want to focus our thoughts on the words of Jesus as he set his face towards the cross. To do this we are going to study six of the seven “I AM” statements Jesus made in the gospel of John. These emphatic statements were not just confident assertions or quaint illustrations; Jesus was saying something very important about himself.
John says, “But these were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). And so we begin with Jesus saying, “I AM the bread of life.”
Bread is common to every person throughout the world. Whether you bake bread over a fire in a third World country or in your bread-maker in your well-equipped kitchen, bread is a staple of life. For some of us it is all too common.
Think of your favorite restaurant. I would pick the Keg or Tony Roma’s. Now imagine the steak you plan to order or the rack of ribs with ranch beans and rice (drool). You place your order and wait. The waitress brings you a basket which holds hot bread concealed in a cloth napkin. Whipped butter waits for your expert hands to slather its salty, creamy, yellow essence all over that bread. What do you do? I resist! I resist because I ordered steak or ribs and that is what I am paying for. The bread fills you up too much. You won’t be able to eat your main meal. Bread takes up precious space.
But if you didn’t have meat what would you eat? Bread. If you come home and eat in a hurry, what do you eat? Bread with peanut butter. If you were hungry and starving, really starving, what would be best for satisfying your hunger? Bread. For the hungry person, bread is what satisfies.
Jesus is the bread of life. He is what satisfies the hungry soul. But what do we mean by that? Is it a simple matter of eating when we talk this way? What is Jesus really saying when he says “I am the bread of life”? We are going to look at most of John 6 to find out. Let me share with you what I have found.
1. Chasing after Bread
Let’s go back to the miracle in the beginning of the chapter. Here Jesus feeds the 5000 who were gathered on the shore of Galilee. Often we hear that it was 5000 men plus their women and children making the number more like 15000. Nevertheless, Jesus instructs his disciples to feed all these people.
They can’t. It’s impossible. All the disciples could find was one boy who planned ahead and brought a lunch of five loaves and two fishes. But Jesus sits everybody down, says grace, breaks the bread and gives it to the people.
We have heard this story too many times. The drama and the power are lost on us. Jesus fed all those people from five loaves and two fishes. Do we understand the word “miracle”?
There is more to this event than being amazed. Jesus was presenting a picture of himself. Even as he was feeding the people he was teaching them about who he was. Not that he was a great magician who could conjure up food out of nothing. But that he cared for them, provided for them and could satisfy them in their deepest need. Jesus is all-sufficient. Note in v. 11 that each person took as much as they wanted. Then in vv. 12-13 we read that after everyone had their fill – they were full – there was still an abundance left over. This is who Jesus is.
There are a couple of reactions to this miracle that reveal a misunderstanding among the people. Their focus was on the bread. On the survival scale of life people who are in desperate straights will think first of all of food. So the first thing they think is “Let’s make Jesus our King so he can always feed us” (15). And the second thing was “Let’s find Jesus and see if he has anymore bread.” This brings us to vv. 22-24 where the people get into boats and begin to search for Jesus.
The world is hungry. Many people may or may not know it, but they are spiritually hungry. They are looking for what will satisfy the ache in their souls. There is something missing in each person. It feels like hunger, but food won’t satisfy wealth and success won’t satisfy; all the pleasures of the world last only a moment and do not satisfy. Some search for it in the confines of religion and come close; but ritual and ceremony alone will not satisfy. Some of those people are here today. You are looking for something – that’s why you are here – you may have been looking a long time. That emptiness hurts.
We are all chasing after bread. Will you recognize the bread when you get it? What will you do with it?
2. Searching for the Baker
The people who ate the loaves and the fishes did not understand what they had. And today people still do not understand what Jesus offers them. Jesus is an attractive personality; people are drawn to him. That he died for us is a wonderful expression of love that anyone would find compelling. Jesus on the cross is not too offensive to people today. Take him off the cross and look a little closer and people shy away.
If you search for the Baker do you know what you will find? In our passage there were three kinds of people looking for Jesus.
a) The Materialist - “When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ Jesus could see right through them and 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” (25-26).
At first they followed their eyes when they saw all the signs Jesus did, now they were following their stomachs. Spiritual lessons were tossed aside to chase after temporary physical desires. We all do this; we put time and energy into things that are going to pass away.
I was struck by this last Sunday when I visited my parent’s house that they have lived in for 39 years. My childhood home was looking rough around the edges. Paint on the outside was chipping away; inside the linoleum was curling up and a patch of ceiling was in horrible condition. They are moving now but it’s hard because they worked all their lives to own this place – now they have to give it up. Yet it’s more than they can handle right now. It’s a reminder that this is not our home; all this stuff is temporary.
Jesus said in response, “Do not work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (27). In other words, “You guys either sailed here or ran here…just to see if you could get another free meal from me. You are hungry again because you eat food that perishes – it’s digested and eliminated. You need food that lasts forever.”
b) The Legalists – Failing to understand again, they thought that there was something they needed to do. “Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (28). There must be a formula to please God, they think. If we had some new laws that would tell us what to do. Legalists sit in guilt always thinking they haven’t done enough to please God. These people will serve and work and do and expire and still feel empty wondering “How do I satisfy God?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (29). Notice the difference: they say “works”; Jesus says “work.” There is one work God requires: believe in Jesus. In this one work we put our whole effort into having faith in Jesus. It is being completely committed to him in every area of our lives. Not just in church, not just when our Christian friends are around, but fully, utterly, completely committed in every aspect of our work, home or relationships. Everything, because that’s what believing means. Do you want proof? So did they…
c) The Sensationalists – “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’” (30-31).
Now they are chasing bread again. They wanted Jesus to give them another miracle. What will it take to help you believe in Jesus? A sign? A miracle? We all are tempted to say, “If so-and-so could just see a miracle they would give themselves to Christ.” But faith based on miracles is never satisfied. They will always need more miracles. Paul told the Corinthians, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7).
Beth Moore answered the sensationalists with scripture: to Sensationalists (People who seek miracles and signs without seeking the One who gives the miracles) “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!” (Mt 12:39). Remember that Israel had the Red Sea, they had the pillar of fire, they had manna, and they still rebelled against God.
3. Finding True Bread
The crowd that ate the bread was looking for more bread. Could Jesus provide what they were looking for, they wondered? They knew that he was something special but would he fulfill their perceived needs? If he could provide manna like Moses did in the wilderness for the children of Israel, then maybe…
Jesus replies to this question saying, “…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…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” (32-35).
Funny that they mention “manna” because when the Israelites saw it they said “what is it?” which is what manna means. Now they have the bread of life and they still say “what is it?” They still don’t get it.
Jesus is giving them a picture of himself. The Lord provided manna, bread from heaven, in the wilderness for Israel when they had no food. They woke up each morning to find something on the ground that was white and wafer-like tasting like honey. It was said to look like coriander seeds. Now Jesus says that he is the true bread from heaven. Note the comparison:
a) God sent bread from heaven – The children of Israel in Exodus 16 were wandering in the desert following their daring Red Sea escape from the Egyptians. To help them survive God sent bread from heaven, manna.
Everyone in the world today is in the same situation. They are wandering in a wilderness of sin, doomed to die because the wages of sin is death. God intervenes and sends Jesus. He is exactly what we need to live.
b) The bread had to be gathered – When the manna appeared on the ground the Israelites had to gather what they needed in jars. It didn’t just find itself in their tents. Each person had to gather enough for his or her family – if you didn’t you died.
Jesus is available to everyone too. Anyone who wants him must take and eat. In other words, to gather Jesus in we must believe and follow him. We are called to be his disciples. Anyone can do this but an effort must be made to “gather” him.
c) Bringing bread into the home – If the people were faithful in bringing manna into the home then everyone in the family benefited.
If you faithfully “gather” Jesus into your home then everyone in your home can also partake of him. Your children may refuse to eat of him but without you gathering him in they have no opportunity at all. When Peter went to see Cornelius and share the gospel with him, the whole family believed and were baptized. If one family member brings Jesus home the whole family has the opportunity to believe.
d) Bread had to be gathered daily – The Israelites could not hoard or store the manna. They couldn’t put it in their cupboards for the next day – it would rot. Manna had to be gathered every day.
The Bread of Life must be gathered everyday too. You can’t say “I’ve heard a sermon today, so I’m good for the week.” You can’t say “I did my devotions on Tuesday…” You must seek out Christ new each day. He is not an idea to be thought about. He is not a subject to be discussed. He is a person who wants a relationship with you every day.
e) Bread had to be gathered in the morning – If the Israelites waited till afternoon the manna would melt in the afternoon sun. It had to be gathered early.
We must seek him at the start of our day. If we wait until the day is in full roar then we will forget him in the midst of the many things we have to do. David said, “Morning by morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; morning by morning I lay out my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Ps 5:3).
We can only find spiritual fulfillment in the person of Jesus. He is what satisfies the longing in our hearts. He is to our spirits what bread is to our stomachs. When Jesus said “I am the bread of life…” he put a double emphasis on “I” so that he said in Greek “I, I am…” This was done on purpose so that those listening would think of the name God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai, “I am who I am.” This is the name we know as Yahweh. This name leaves a lot to be pondered. I AM…the bread of life. I AM…the fulfillment, the all-sufficient one. I am what you need. Those listening knew Jesus was saying he is Yahweh.
Jesus is who you long for…
4. Will you eat this bread?
How do we eat this bread? When Jesus told the crowd that they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood, you can imagine the reaction. But he said to them, “Unless you eat this flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (53). The only way to have real life is to eat this bread.
There were two reactions recorded here that we need to consider. In v. 60 many of the disciples said “…this is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” And later John records that “…many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (66). This tells us that a simple statement like “I am the bread of life”, a statement we all know very well, is not as simple as it sounds. What does it mean to eat of Jesus?
First of all, it means that when we eat we are answering a hunger in our souls. If we are truly hungry for Jesus we will not grumble and complain; we simply eat. When the Holy Spirit creates a hunger in us we gladly gather in the bread of heaven and eat. If we don’t, we die.
Secondly, eating is essential to receiving the bread that is offered to us. Unless I eat the bread will not nourish me. I may examine it, study it, smell it, read up on it, but it is useless unless I eat it. I will not be nourished unless I eat it. All the knowledge in the world about Jesus Christ will avail me nothing until I “eat” Him. Knowing the truth about Him, speculating and arguing about it, talking about it will do you and me no good until we believe on Christ.
Third, eating means making him a part of us. When they say you are what you eat, it shows in our physical make-up. The same is true spiritually. I have to make him mine, to take him into my life to receive the spiritual strength that comes from this spiritual food.
Partaking of the bread of life is not simple nibbling. It is a life-changing experience. Will you eat this bread?
AMEN
