Have you ever been to Westminster Abbey? It’s that magnificent old church in London where over a dozen British kings and queens are buried. But it’s not just royalty who are entombed here. Westminster Abbey is also the resting place for notables like George Fredrick Handel, Isaac Newton, and Charles Dickens. It’s also where Thomas Paar is buried. Say who? Yeah, I didn’t know who Old Tom Parr was until last week. His claim to fame is that he lived to be 152 years old. His life spanned the rein of ten monarchs from 1483 to 1635! King Charles I was so impressed with Parr’s advanced age that when the old man died, the king ordered that he be buried in Westminster Abbey. Of course it could have been that King Charles also felt responsible for Parr’s death. You see, the old man died only a few weeks after coming to see the king. Charles had received him warmly and insisted Parr eat the royal food – food, as it turns out, that was too rich for Old Tom Parr. At least that’s what the doctors back then concluded after an autopsy.
We of course don’t need the story of Tom Parr’s demise to know that what you eat has a bearing on your health. Too much candy and not enough cauliflower will make it difficult for your body to fight disease. But even if you are a vegetarian and don’t indulge in sweets, you’re still going to end up like Tom Parr: dead. Today our sermon text teaches that if we want to outlive this life and this world, then we’ll want to dine on what endures: Jesus, the Bread of Life.
You know of course how Jesus called himself the bread of life, but do you remember when he said this? What famous miracle had he just performed? That’s right. He had just fed the 5,000 from fives loaves of bread and two fish. After the crowd experienced this miracle they wanted to make Jesus their king. Jesus knew this and so he sent his disciples away from the crowds back across the Sea of Galilee lest they be influenced by them. Jesus himself withdrew to a mountain. Meanwhile the crowd bedded down for the night right there in the wilderness expecting to see Jesus in the morning. But when they woke, no doubt eager for Jesus to provide them breakfast, they couldn’t find him or his disciples. During the night Jesus had walked across the Sea of Galilee and rejoined the disciples in their boat on the way to Capernaum. When the crowd couldn’t find Jesus, they didn’t just give up and go home, they hunted him down. They too got into boats and sailed back across the Sea of Galilee.
This crowd had its deficiencies, which we will talk about in a minute, but dogged determination to hang out with Jesus was not one of them! Are we as determined to follow Jesus? So determined that we don’t let a late night get in the way of our Sunday morning here with Jesus? So determined that when we’re on holidays we still carve out time to listen to his Word? So determined that even though our to-do list covers both sides of the paper, we know that first spending time with Jesus in prayer is most important? Or do we treat Jesus like that friend we’ll hang out with only if there is no one else around? Sadly, we often think there are more important things to do than spend time with Jesus. The purpose of this sermon to explain why hanging out with Jesus is most important. So let’s get back to our text to find out the reason.
When the crowd finally tracked down Jesus you might have expected him to commend the crowd for their tenacity. He didn’t however. Instead Jesus revealed the real reason they were chasing him. According to the Message translation Jesus said: “You’ve come looking for me not because you saw God in my actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs—and for free” (John 6:26). In his characteristically blunt way of speaking, Martin Luther commented that this crowd sought Jesus the way lice seek a scalp. Those tiny bugs love your head and hair because it’s a warm place to lay their eggs. They seek you just to use you.
That was also this crowd’s relationship with Jesus. They wanted more free food from Jesus. If someone were to analyze our prayers, would they conclude that this is also what we want from Jesus? We want him to move us into a nicer house, or to pour cash into our bank account so we can buy a decent car and book a winter holiday. We want him to make us prettier, smarter, and slimmer. In general we want Jesus to make our lives easier, and that’s what we spend most of our time seeking from Jesus.
But here’s the irony. Jesus doesn’t chastise the crowd for using him. He chastises them because they weren’t using him to get the one thing they really needed. Jesus said, “Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last” (John 6:27).
Jesus wants us to use him to obtain the forgiveness of sins, for this will connect us to everlasting life. Everything else we work for in life is food that will spoil – it doesn’t last. Even if it does last like a diamond ring, you can’t take it with you. Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul?
The crowd around Jesus, however, was short-sighted. They were eager only for that which made this life easier right now. That’s why they had been willing to chase Jesus all around Galilee. They wanted more free food. Like the crowd we too eagerly work for food that spoils. Just think of the effort we put into researching a new guitar or computer for purchase. Think of how carefully we’ll think about what school to attend and what classes to take. We’ll even agonize over what kind of eyeglasses to purchase. But do we put that kind of effort into thinking about our spiritual wellbeing?
But why should we? I mean didn’t Jesus go on to say, “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” (John 6:35)? Like the manna that rained down from heaven in Old Testament times, Jesus, the Son of God, came from heaven to give himself to pay for our sins. We devour Jesus, the Bread of Life, by trusting that he and only he has dealt with our problem of sin. Salvation is so simple: believe in Jesus. Why do we need to keep “working” for this food? Because our adversary, the devil, is busy trying to get us to despise this food and treat it as unimportant. He wants us to treat it like the free bread you get at the Olive Garden and Eastside Mario restaurants. Sure, when you first get to those restaurants you can’t get enough of the bread because you’re starving and the bread is so warm and delicious. You keep asking for more until your main entrée arrives. Then the free bread is all but forgotten, shoved aside for something that now seems more delicious.
Think back to your baptism or to your confirmation. At that time you really meant what you said about putting Jesus and his Word first in all circumstances. You couldn’t think of ever falling away from Jesus because you were so clear about what Jesus had done for you. You were even moved to tears when you thought of him being beaten, spat upon, and then hanging on the cross, undergoing that humiliation and rejection so we would never have to. But over time has that appreciation for Jesus grown cold? Has Satan been successful in getting us to think that since we’re not in heaven yet, we might as well join the world in trying to fill up our lives with pleasurable experiences? But at what price? Are we now more eagerly working for food that spoils than working to hang on to and continuing to appreciate the Bread of Life?
Dine on what endures. That’s Jesus message to you this morning. And how do you do that? By being here in church for worship, yes, but also by staying for Bible study when it’s offered. Sure, that’s an extra hour, but wouldn’t that be an easy way to “work” for food that doesn’t spoil? I mean you’re here already. Might as well stay so you don’t just have the opportunity to listen to the Word, but to put it into practice at an interactive Bible class. You can also work for this lasting food by making use of the church library to deepen your understanding of God’s Word. A good place to start would be with one of the People’s Bibles. Grab the one on the Gospel of John, and learn more about Jesus’ discussion with this clueless crowd so that you don’t end up joining them!
I started this sermon by telling you about Old Tom Parr. It seems that if he would have just stayed put in his home town and continued to eat his regular food, he might have lived a few more years. Instead he changed his diet and ate what the rich and famous were eating. It cost him his life.
Today God wants us to check our diet. Are we dining on what endures, or have we become addicted to junk that threatens to derail us from our intended destination of heaven? Don’t be shortsighted like the crowd. Sure, they eagerly sought Jesus, but for all the wrong reasons. And when Jesus tried to put them on the right track they were offended. They wanted to know who Jesus thought he was that he could tell them what to think and believe. Who is Jesus? He’s the Bread of Life! He provides for you daily by giving food and so much more. But even more importantly he gave himself for you so that you would have eternal life. Don’t shove Jesus aside – not even for a little while as you busy yourself trying to close your fists around paycheck and university degree. Keep dining on Jesus through careful study of his Word so that you may endure for eternity. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
The crowd in our sermon text had its deficiencies. What, however, was one thing they did well? How could you better emulate them?
Explain: The crowd loved Jesus the way lice love your scalp.
What did Jesus mean when he said that we shouldn’t work for food that spoils? What should we do instead, and how do we do that?
