Have you ever asked a question and not gotten the answer you were looking for? I think we all have. Many times we will even ask a question with an answer already in our heads that we are looking for. Sometimes, we will even frame the question in such a way that even the way we ask it is designed to get the answer we want. The fact is, that just because a person is asking a question, doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re looking for an answer. Especially if the answer goes against what they were looking for. That’s what happened in the passage we’re looking at this morning. A group of people asked Jesus a series of questions. But they didn’t ask them because they were honestly seeking answers. They were looking for the answers they already had in their heads. The problem was, the answers they already had in their heads were wrong. And Jesus let them know it. Remember what has led up to this point. Jesus had just finished feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish. They were stuffed and happy to have been fed for free. And because of that, they saw Jesus as their meal ticket. They wanted Him to feed them forever for free. They could have all of their needs provided for and never have to work another day in their lives. That’s what they thought, so they wanted to take Jesus by force and make Him their king. But Jesus wouldn’t have anything to do with that. Because that’s not the kind of King He came to be. So, He ran them all off. Then He sent the disciples off in a boat to Capernaum by themselves and He went up on the mountain to pray. Then the storm and the walking on water that we talked about last week happened. But that was kind of behind the scenes. The crowd of people who had been fed didn’t know anything about that. All they knew was that they had witnessed a sign. And they wanted more. Word travelled fast, and people from all over the area heard what had happened. So, by the time the next day came around, people came from all over the area to see Jesus. But, of course, when they got to the place where Jesus fed the 5000, He was nowhere to be found. All of that happened on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee the day before. By now, Jesus and the disciples were in the area of Capernaum on the northwestern shore. The people quickly figured it all out when they saw that a boat was gone, so they headed that way. Look with me at verses 22-24:
JOHN 6:22-24
Notice what it says there in verse 24. What was this massive crowd of people doing? They were seeking Jesus. But once again, we find that they were seeking Jesus for all the wrong reasons. They were seeking Jesus for what He could do for them. They saw that He could make food for them. They liked having their bellies filled for free. So they sought Jesus so that He could be their meal ticket. Don’t think that these were people who were seeking Jesus to save them from their sins. They weren’t seeking Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life. They weren’t seeking Jesus as their Lord and Master and Savior. No, they were seeking Jesus only for the things He could do for them. And throughout the rest of this passage, we see how Jesus responded to them. Throughout history, this passage has come to be known as the Bread of Life Discourse. You will notice that it follows a particular theme. Jesus had just finished feeding the people a seemingly endless supply of bread the day before. And as soon as they got hungry again, the people came back to Jesus looking for bread again. They came looking for physical bread, but this time Jesus didn’t give them any. Instead, this time, Jesus turned the discussion away from physical bread to spiritual bread. The people wanted to talk about food, and even went so far as to bring up the manna in the wilderness. But Jesus kept turning them back to Himself. That’s the theme of the passage. The pattern of the passage is very interesting, too. The people came to Jesus asking questions. As a matter of fact, they ask Him six questions. But their questions weren’t honest, seeking questions. The people already had the answer that they wanted in their mind. And Jesus didn’t give them the answers that they were looking for. And with each answer that Jesus gave, the people became more and more irritated. Instead of bending their wills toward Jesus, they stiffened their resistance toward Him. Sadly, that’s the same thing that happens today. Many times, people are looking for a Jesus who will do things for them. But then as they seek Him for those things, He shows Himself for who He is. And as Jesus shows Himself for who He is, many times people don’t like it and resist Him. To this day, people come to Jesus looking for the food that perishes. But what Jesus gives is the food that endures. As we look at this passage, we’re going to see six questions that the people asked from the perspective of food that perishes. And then we’ll see how Jesus answered them from the perspective of food which endures. The first question they asked is in verse 25 and Jesus’ answer is in 26-27. Look there with me.
JOHN 6:25-27
That seems like a pretty straightforward question, doesn’t it? Jesus, when did you get here? But Jesus knew better. Jesus is God, and as God, He not only knows the words we speak, He knows the motives of our hearts. And He knew the motives of the people’s hearts who were asking Him this question. That’s why Jesus never really answered their direct question. He knew that they didn’t really care what time He got there. He knew that their motive was not curiosity. Their motive wasn’t friendly conversation. Their motive wasn’t even that they were honestly seeking Jesus. Their motive was that they wanted to have more of their physical needs fulfilled. After all, they were hungry again. Have you ever noticed that no matter how full you are at dinnertime, the next morning you need to eat again? That’s the way these people were. They had been stuffed at dinnertime. But now it was the next day and their stomachs were growling again. Plus, several more people had come who hadn’t eaten the night before. Their motive for asking the question they did wasn’t an honest motive. Their motive was that they had physical needs that they wanted Jesus to fulfill. Their motives were purely selfish. Jesus saw right through their question—right through to their motives. And He said, “I know that you came to me to have your physical needs met. But I didn’t come here to fulfill your physical desires. I came here to take care of your spiritual needs.” Physical needs come and go. Jesus had just filled their physical needs to overflowing less than 24 hours before. And it didn’t last. Jesus came to fill a much deeper need than that. He came to fill spiritual need. The need to be cleansed of our sin. The need to be given righteousness that we can never earn. The need to be reconciled with our creator. The need to have peace and contentment and fulfillment, no matter what our physical circumstances. That is the food that doesn’t parish. That is the food which endures unto everlasting life. That is the food that Jesus gives. If you come to Jesus looking for anything else, your motives will be exposed. He calls us to seek Him for everlasting fulfillment—even if it costs us temporary fulfillment. Not the other way around. But that wasn’t what the people were looking for. So they asked Jesus another question. Look with me at their second question in verse 28 and Jesus’ answer in 29:
JOHN 6:28-29
Once again, a pretty straightforward question. But this time it’s a whole lot bolder. It’s like they knew that their motives had been exposed, so they didn’t have to beat around the bush anymore. Jesus, how can we do miracles like you do? That’s bold isn’t it? Jesus, I’ve seen you do miracles. I want to know how you do them, so I can do the same thing. And do you know what Jesus did? Once again, He didn’t answer their question directly. Once again, He immediately dug beneath the surface to expose the real issue behind their question. And this time, He exposed their unbelief. Did they believe that Jesus could do miracles? Of course they did—they had seen it with their own eyes. And remember that Jesus fed the people in the first place because they followed Him to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And why did they follow Him there in the first place? John 6:2 tells us that, “a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased.” They saw Jesus do miracles. They knew He could do miracles. But if the Gospel of John is teaching us anything, it’s teaching us that seeing is not always believing, is it? Because it takes absolutely no faith to see a miracle. What takes faith is believing in the One who can perform miracles if He so chooses. And what takes even more faith is believing in the One who might choose not to perform a miracle. Jesus knew that the people did not believe in Him for who He is. They only saw that He could do really neat stuff. And they wanted Him to tell them how He did it, so they could do really neat stuff. But Jesus exposed their unbelief. And when He exposed their unbelief, He told them that it’s not about working miracles… it’s about believing in the greatest miracle of all. It’s not about performing wondrous works. It’s about seeing the wondrous work of God and believing in His Son whom He sent. If you come to Jesus looking for power for yourself, He will expose your unbelief. Jesus calls us to believe on Him. Look to Him in faith believing for the miracle of salvation… not for some sort of other miracle working power. But that wasn’t what the people were looking for. And they asked Jesus another question. Look with me at their third question in verses 30-31 and Jesus’ answer in 32-33:
JOHN 6:30-33
Now things are getting a little more confrontational. Things are heating up a bit. Now, they asked Jesus to show them another sign. “Jesus, I know that we’ve seen you heal lots of people.” “I know that just yesterday, we saw you feed 15-20000 people with five barley biscuits and two sardines.” “But that wasn’t enough—let’s see something else.” “Do another trick for us and we’ll believe you.” Then they bought up Moses. They loved to bring up Moses. They basically said, “Moses gave us manna to eat every day. Why don’t you do the same thing?” It was almost like they were taunting Jesus. “You think you’re special—if you were really special, you’d do what Moses did.” Once again, that points out their horrible unbelief. But Jesus had already exposed that. Now it was time to expose their false religion. And Jesus told them that it was not about what Moses gave them. He told them it was about the life that God has offered them in His Son. And when Jesus did that, He stuck right at the heart of their religion. They thought that they could achieve their own righteousness through the law of Moses. But the law of Moses is just like the manna of Moses. It quickly perishes. In 2 Corinthians 3:6, Paul writes that the letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life. In other words, the only thing that the Law can do is show us how far we fall short of God’s perfect righteousness. Galatians 3:24 says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The Law is our schoolmaster to show us how far we fall short of God’s perfect righteousness. And when we look into that mirror and see our sin, the only thing it can point us to is our need for a Savior. The only thing that will save us from the eternal death that the Law shows us we deserve, is the bread of God which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The Law can’t save you. Being a good person can’t save you. Living right can’t save you. The only thing that can save you is Jesus. And the people in our passage were unwilling to accept that. So they asked another question. Look at their question in verse 34 and Jesus’ answer in 35-40:
JOHN 6:34-40
This one isn’t even phrased in the form of a question. As a matter of fact, this one is more like a demand. They basically demanded, “Give us this bread.” Now, we might have the tendency to think they were starting to see Jesus for who He is and speaking to Him on the same level that He was speaking to them. But they weren’t. And we know that they weren’t because of the way that Jesus answered them. But we also know because of how they phrased what they said. First, they called Jesus Lord—at least that’s what it’s translated as. The original word is Adonai. Many times it is used the same way we would use Lord. But many times it’s also used the same way we would use the word, “Sir.” It was just a term of general respect that didn’t have anything to do with seeing Jesus as God. And that’s the way it’s used here. Once again, we can tell because of Jesus’ response to them. He knew that they weren’t recognizing Him as their Lord and Master and Savior. They were only addressing Him as a respected teacher and miracle worker. But notice that they also used the word “evermore.” In other words, they were telling Jesus, “We want you to give us a continual supply of this bread.” Now, by asking for a continual supply, they were asking for the kind of bread they ate the night before or for the manna that they were just talking about. They weren’t asking for the everlasting bread that Jesus was talking about. All they were looking for was a perpetual source of bread that they could physically eat. They ignored everything Jesus had taught them so far and went back to thinking only about their stomachs. And when Jesus answered them, He exposed their false pretense. He told them, “you keep wanting to know what I can do for you.” “you keep asking for the stuff that I can give you.” “but you need to know that it’s not about coming to me for what I can give you—it’s about coming to me because of who I am.” These people are wanting a lifetime supply of food… and Jesus explains to them a beautiful aspect of salvation. When Jesus saves you, it means that God the Father is giving you as a gift to His Son. The Holy Spirit convicts you of sin and draws you. The Father gives you as a gift as you willingly come to Jesus. And when you willingly come to Jesus, He will never cast you out. The Father’s will is that everyone who comes to Jesus will be saved—never to be lost again. And the guarantee is that when you come to Jesus, you will be raised up in a new glorified body again at the last day. It is a blood bought guarantee. Everyone who sees Jesus for who He is and believes on Him has everlasting life and WILL be raised again. The people were demanding to be given perpetual food. The will of God is that we would instead be perpetually given to Jesus. But, once again, that wasn’t what they were looking for. So they asked two more questions. Look at verses 41-59:
JOHN 6:41-59
I put both of these questions together, because the tone of the people has changed. They have gone from asking Jesus questions directly to asking questions among themselves. They were completely shutting Jesus off in their unbelief. First, they tried to discredit Jesus. Then they tried to discredit His Word. This Jesus—He’s just a man. As a matter of fact, He’s not even a very special man. We know His momma and daddy. He didn’t come from heaven. And all of this stuff about eating His flesh and drinking His blood… how in the world can He do that? And as they became more bold in rejecting Jesus, Jesus became more vague in the way He talked to them. Don’t get confused and think that Jesus is talking to them about communion. This passage has nothing to do with that. He’s talking about what it means to truly believe in Him. Believing in Jesus is more than just wanting Him to do good things for you. It’s more than just believing a set of facts about Him. No, believing Jesus is feasting on Him. Believing Jesus is dwelling in Him. Just as you take in food and drink to keep you alive, if you’re a believer, you have to continually feed on Jesus to keep you alive. As you hunger and thirst for food, your spirit will hunger and thirst for Jesus. Jesus is giving a very graphic picture of what it means to have a relationship with Him. A relationship with Jesus is intimate. It is life sustaining. It is continual. It is living and it is life-giving. And if you have that relationship with Jesus, it is forever. You will live forever—feeding on the Bread of Life forever.
Is that the kind of relationship you have with Jesus? Is that how you believe in Him? If you don’t, He will expose your selfish motives. He will expose your unbelief. He will expose your false religion. And He will expose your false pretense. Jesus wants to give you everlasting fulfillment. He wants to give you the miracle of salvation. He wants to give you lifegiving grace. All it takes is for you to believe on Him. Verse 37 says, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” You have seen the Son this morning. Believe on Him today.
