The Bread of Life
In His Own Words
10/19/08 PM
Text: John 6:26-58
INTRODUCTION:
With this lesson, we begin a new sermon series, “In His Own Words,” the seven I AM statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John. 7 times in John’s Gospel Jesus reveals something important about His divine nature, His character, or His mission by declaring “I Am” something. Jesus says in John 6:35 He says “I am the bread of life.” In John 8:12 “I am the light of the world.” In John 10:14 He proclaims “I am the good shepherd.” In John 11:25 Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life.” In John 15:1 He declares “I am the true vine.” In John 14:6 the Savior says “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Each statement speaks to a particular relationship of Jesus to the spiritual needs of men and women. Jesus is the Light in the darkness, the Gate to security, and the Shepherd that guides. He is the way, the truth and the life. In every one of these we see that Jesus wants us to receive him, not for the gifts he can give us, but for what he can be to us.
It is my intention that this sermon series will deepen our knowledge and appreciation of our matchless savior. In this lesson we will look at Jesus’ I AM statement about Himself. John 6:26-58
I.I Am the bread of life
A.Bread is an interesting metaphor for Jesus.
1.If you do just a quick search of the Gospels, you will find ‘bread’ referenced often. For example:
a.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.
b.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.
c.In the time just before His betrayal, Jesus broke bread with His disciples as a reminder of His sacrifice.
Luke 22:19 (NASB) And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
2.Bread is a powerful metaphor for all the things we need to survive in this life and in the next.
a.In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in,
Matthew 5:6 (NASB) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
b.The meaning in this verse is that if we hunger for the right things we will be satisfied… if we hunger for the wrong things, we never will be satisfied.
B.The key question is: For what do you hunger?
1.Are you hungry for His provision or His person?
Read John 6:22-25
a.What we see here is people are hungry for God’s provision. This passage comes right on the heels of Jesus feeding 5000 men and their families.
b.This crowd is following Jesus now not because they want to hear the words of eternal life, but because they think they’ve found in Him a never-ending supply of bread.
c.The same phenomenon occurs, you recall, when Jesus reveals Himself to be living water to the woman at the well in chapter 4. She replies, “Great! Give me some of this water so I don’t have to keep coming to Jacob’s Well for water.”
d.Jesus met their physical need in a powerful way and they followed Him across the Lake.
e.He told them that they were following Him, because He satisfied them physically, but there was so much more that Jesus wanted to offer.
f.John 6:26 - 27 (NASB) Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
g.This crowd is looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place. They want literal bread to satisfy their physical hunger but Jesus is spiritual bread, to give and sustain spiritual life; He is that bread, in His person and work.
2.In response to the words of Jesus the crowd seeks His provision by prodding Him with the example of the miraculous feeding of the children of Isreal.
a.John 6:30 - 33 (NASB) So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
1)The crowd is still after physical bread and Jesus is trying to get them to see that He the true bread from heaven..
b.John 6:34 - 37 (NASB) Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
3.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.
a.John 6:47 - 50 (NASB) “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
1)Jesus draws from their ancestors’ experience in the desert. The manna from heaven the children of Israel received was temporary and had a temporary effect.
2)They received daily physical provision, but would be hungry the next day and eventually would physically die.
3)The bread from heaven, Jesus, is what we are to take hold of spiritually. In doing so we will never die!
[We must hunger not only after God’s provision but His person!]
C.Is your hunger for the temporal or the eternal?
1.This is a valid question, especially in today’s culture.
a.We chase the temporary: fame, fortune, hobbies, and careers. The world tells us these are the things of importance.
b.But these things do not last, they cannot satisfy. We are never content and the grass is always greener somewhere else.
1)Money can buy you a house, but not a home; money can buy you an education, but not wisdom; money can buy you a bed, but not restful sleep; money can buy you influence, but not respect; it can buy you medicine, but not health; a spouse, but not love; quiet, but not tranquility.
c.John 6:48 - 54 (NASB) “I am the bread of life. “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
d.Jesus informs the crowd that His flesh is truly food and His blood is truly drink, and that whoever consumes these two commodities will have everlasting life. There is of course an echo of a reference to the Lord’s Supper, where He admonishes His disciples to eat His body and drink His blood. But it is only a faint echo. The primary meaning of this revelation about Jesus’ flesh and blood being food and drink, expressed metaphorically, is that to have everlasting life one must receive Jesus, all of Jesus—His teaching, His redemptive work, His commandments—into the innermost core of his being. We say even now that one is what one eats. Jesus is speaking here about total assimilation of, a complete identification with, Himself, His teaching, His passion, cross and resurrection, and His commands. We must receive Him and submit to Him on His terms and not on ours.
e.Let’s not miss what Jesus means. He is using metaphors for the sacrifice He would be making for all mankind. For spiritual life, you must take the person of Jesus into your life. Only by this can our spiritually needs be satisfied.
[We must hunger for the eternal!” Lastly…]
D.Is your hunger of the flesh or the spirit?
1.In other words, do you hunger for the things that satisfy you or the things that satisfy God?
a.It becomes apparent that they still don’t quite grasp the import of the Lord’s revelation that He is Himself the Bread of Life. He doesn’t give it. He is it. And to have it, one must have Him.
2.John 6:60 - 62 (NASB) Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
a.These followers of Jesus could not separate the physical from the spiritual. In fact Jesus, wondered out loud if they would believe if He would ascend back to heaven… well truth is… He did!
3.John 6:63 (NASB) “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
a.The flesh - that which satisfies our selves - counts for nothing for eternity. It doesn’t last and it even disappoints in this life.
b.The spirit - that which satisfies God - lasts for all eternity and even satisfies in this life…
John 10:10 (NASB) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
[Our primary concern needs to be on what satisfies God, not what satisfies self.]
Conclusion:
John 6:66 - 69 (NASB) As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
