JESUS? MIRACLES ENDURE
JOHN 6:24-35 AUGUST 11, 2002
JOHN 6:24-35
24Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
26Jesus 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. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
28Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
30So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’"
32Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, 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. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."
35Then Jesus declared, "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.
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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
Once again we consider that miracle of Jesus in the feeding of the five thousand. What is interesting is that some people have tried to explain away many of Jesus? miracles because they just don?t make sense. How could He do such things? One of these is the miracle of the feeding of five thousand. They try to say ?Well, with all those people there, certainly everyone just opened up their baskets and shared their food, and there was plenty to eat.? Or they say ?There probably weren?t that many people there to begin with.? When it comes right down to it, it makes no difference even though mankind might try to diminish the miracles of Jesus, they still are miracles. Thankfully you and I look at them and understand them by faith, God?s gift of grace to us, given that we might see that Jesus? miracles endure. After all, what is a miracle? A miracle that Jesus does or that God does is really a sign of God?s love for His people. And so it is today that we are reminded that even though mankind might try to change His miracles, we can?t do that because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Even though we live in a world that changes, there is a constant. There is Christ, our Savior, who does not change. He provides for us then with His miracles as we see today.
Last week we had in the first lesson from Isaiah writing about sharing in the joy of the feast that is
without cost. He says: "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare"(ISAIAH 55:2).
Once again today, we?re fed with the Word of God. We delight in the richest of fare as we recall for ourselves that Jesus? miracles do endure. They endure in just more than daily bread; they endure because Jesus gives us eternal life.
Today we consider: Jesus? miracles do endure
I. More than earthly bread
II. Jesus gives eternal life
I. More than earthly bread:
You and I have the picture of the crowd and we heard in our gospel lesson of how Jesus went across the lake. The crowd realized they were gone, so our text begins by saying: ?Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.? They weren?t going to let Jesus go. After all, as they sat around on the mountainside, He had fed them with loaves of bread and fish. They had plenty to eat. They knew that they would get hungry again, so they were going to follow Him. As we heard in our gospel lesson, they went across the lake; Jesus walked on the water?a miracle! A miracle that even these people weren?t anxious to admit to. When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him: "Rabbi, when did you get here?" They were curious because they had seen the disciples leave earlier in the boat. We had heard how Jesus dismissed the crowd and went up to pray on a mountain. The crowd left afterwards and yet Jesus beat them over there. He was there ahead of the disciples. Rather than realize that He had walked on water (performing another miracle), they just asked Him, ?When did you get here? How did you do that? Deep down in their hearts, some of them knew. Some of them knew that this Jesus was the very Son of God and He could do a miracle such as the feeding of five thousand or walking on the water, or anything else He wanted to do. Jesus knew that.
He knew their thoughts. Our text tells us: ?Jesus 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.?? They were well fed, so they were content. At the feeding of the five thousand there were twelve basketfuls of crumbs left over?that?s after everyone had enough to eat. Just like us! When we?re well fed, everything seems right with the world. We?re not hungry. And so it was with them, even though they wouldn?t open their eyes to the miracles that Jesus had performed.
Jesus said, ?Look at the signs. See what they are.? He was going to put them to the test. Listen to what they say to Jesus. ?So they asked him, ?What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do??? Jesus talked about miraculous signs and the crowd said, ?All right, Jesus, what are you going to do? What is that sign? Can you do something that we can see and believe in?? Then they even give Him an example as the ?test point? that they want Him to do.
Our text continue: ?Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’" The crowd reminds Jesus, ?Look at our forefathers. They survived forty years of wandering in the wilderness with manna everyday. Can you beat that?? Moses led them for forty years and brought them to the Promised Land. ?Can you do better than Moses?? Of course they thought Jesus could not. Then He reminds them, ?Was it really Moses that did all these things? Was it not someone greater than Moses?? Jesus answered them and said to them: "I tell you the truth, 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.?
He had to remind them of a couple of things. First of all, it wasn?t Moses who provided the manna. It was the Father from heaven who provided the manna day by day. Moses was just a servant of God, a leader of God?s people. After all, the bread they received in the wilderness was only perishable bread, it was only daily bread. There was yet the true bread to come from heaven, and that again would come from God. Jesus is going to tell them about that in a bit, but we?re going to look at this daily bread that the Lord provides.
Certainly it is a miracle in itself that the Lord would provide daily bread for anyone. He doesn?t just do it for anyone; He does it for everyone and everything. In the psalm it tells us ?He opens His hand to satisfy the desire of every living thing.? It tells us ?He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.? Daily bread is provided for all creatures, great and small. You and I know that sometimes we struggle in this idea of daily bread and providing for ourselves. We have a hard time figuring out when we have enough or when we don?t have enough. We forget that sometimes God really takes care of us so that our struggles for daily bread need not be struggles at all. We look at the world around us. We compare ourselves to see if we have enough or not. Sometimes it seems as if we have plenty, but then we look at our fellow man and say ?He has a little more than I do. Maybe I need to have more.? Sometimes we?re influenced by the world and we watch the programs that hold up as idols(people to follow)?the wealthy people, the ones who have so many things. We think to ourselves if we work hard like them, we too can be as prosperous as they. That reminds us that concentrating on this daily bread too much can lead us astray. A farmer came in one time, and Jesus spoke with him and said ?What are you going to do next?? He said, ?It was a good crop. I?ll build bigger barns and store up more things.? Jesus told him ?But tonight your life will be demanded from you.? Then he asked the question and He says to us too: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"(MARK 8:36,37).
We realize that we can give nothing in exchange for our own soul. You and I certainly realize that if we get trapped in the things of this world, we would forfeit our soul. It?s not worth it. There are better things in store for each and every one of us. There are times that we find ourselves caught up in the things that we can see, feel and touch. Watching the news or weather, they get people to watch by sensationalizing everything. They give people things to worry about?worry about the economy, worry about the stock market, worry about the weather, worry about our health. We get caught up in that sometimes. We wonder what is going to happen next.
Today is 8-11. When we say those numbers, right away we think of 9-11. I dread this next month where the media will dredge up all these things that happened a year ago. For some, there is going to be worry. They will worry what will happen next? They will worry that they aren?t in control that something terrible might happen to them, that they will be without comfort and hope. What does the Lord tell us? "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own"(MATTHEW 6:34). You and I realize that by God?s grace again, He is in control. We understand our worries: for when we worry about things in the future, they always seem real, but once they?re gone, we realize that all that worry didn?t change a thing. Instead, He reminds us this morning, that as Jesus? miracles endure, that as His righteousness endures, His grace endures, so that you and I are provided for.
He reminds us then to find satisfaction in this life. That?s a hard thing?when we have enough or don?t have enough. The Lord tells us in Timothy: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that"(1 TIMOTHY 6:6-8). The key is in the first verse?if we seek godliness, if we pursue that, we?re going to find contentment. That contentment in our life is going to be great gain. God makes life simple for us doesn?t He? He says having food and clothing, we ought to be content with that. If we get back to the basics, it makes life very simple, especially when we realize that God provides us with those basic needs like food and clothing so we can be content with that. When we are content with that, we have found great gain?great gain being godly. In other words, we?re finding God?s godliness.
Jesus? miracles endure--the acts of His love?so that you and I can learn to enjoy them and appreciate them because He provides for our daily needs, day in and day out. More importantly, He gives us eternal life.
II. Jesus gives eternal life
That was the point here with the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. The point was that Jesus tried to focus their attention not so much on their things, not so much on the bread and fish, but on the eternal things. Jesus says that to them. They came to Him wanting to get fed again. They said, ?we want more food. We want to be fed again. You did it once, you can do it again.? Jesus says to them, ?Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.? He says there?s more to life than just living. There?s more to life than just eating and drinking. There is eternity to be considered.
Jesus reminds them about the bread of life. He says, ?and this Bread of Life will come to you, which the Spirit then will give you. On Him, God the Father has placed His seal of approval. Think of Jesus? baptism where God the Father spoke from heaven ?this is my Son whom I love. With Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.? This was His seal of approval. In talking here, Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, because that?s what the crowd thinks he was?the son of man. It didn?t bring with it the majesty and the titles of God. Then He tells them about this bread of life that was more than manna in the wilderness.
This bread of life is the true bread that comes from heaven, and that?s Christ, Himself. He says to them:?For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." We want to look at the comparison of the manna and the bread of life. The manna fell every day except the Sabbath day for forty years. Then it stopped. The true bread from heaven, which is Christ, lasts forever. The bread from heaven fed the whole world. Manna just fed the children of Israel. There are more comparisons there too. He says ?I am the one who came down from heaven. I am the true bread of life.? And at this time some of the crowd began to understand. God opened up their eyes of faith. "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." In the original version it says, ?Give us as much of this bread as we can have.? And He would. Then Jesus declared, "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.? This Jesus was the Bread of Life so they would never be hungry. In the middle of our text too when Jesus talks about miracles He had performed?when he talked about faith?they asked, ?What must we do to do works of God?? They wanted to work out their own salvation. Jesus reminded them, ?This is the work of God--to believe in Him, the one who was sent.? It wasn?t work they were going to do; it was work God was going to do for them, to cause them to believe. God?s grace changed their lives, and now they did believe. He opened their eyes and they saw Jesus, not as an earthly bread king, but as the true Bread of Life come down from heaven and one who would provide them with eternal life.
We come back to ourselves, and like the crowd, we look to Jesus and ask Him for things in this life, for things in the here and now. The Lord wants us to expand our horizons and open up our vision to see that there is more to this life than just this life?to look beyond the horizons that we see on this earth and see heaven itself, to look and find that God is our Savior, and He?s just that. Most certainly, He?s concerned about our earthly lives and provides for us those ?mundane? things. He?s more concerned with our eternal life. The apostle Paul reminds us: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal"(2 CORINTHIANS 4:18). We know all those temporary things that sometimes we become attached to and how quickly they can be broken or destroyed. And yet those things that are unseen, that are eternal, are much more precious to us. Of course the first one is heaven itself. We can?t see it yet, but it?s there. There is a place reserved for each one of us. There are also many more unseen things that God gives us?hope, comfort, joy and peace?and He gives them all to us because of the forgiveness of sins. This too, is unseen but is eternal. The Lord says, ?Let us fix our eyes on those things. They last forever.? They cannot be taken away from us.
The gospel of John, a very interesting book, easy to read, offers many comparisons. Here we?ve been looking at Jesus as the Bread of Life, water of life, He?s called ?the way, the truth and the life?, He?s called the ?gate for the sheep?, The Good Shepherd. Later in John we have the picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd also. The Good Shepherd came to give his life for the sheep. You and I, just like sheep, wander off anywhere we want, following the ways of the world, following our own wicked ways, following our sins, until the Lord Jesus comes as the Good Shepherd. He shepherds us back into His flock and then even goes to the point of offering Himself on the cross for us. He tells us again: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full"(JOHN 10:10). We have life and have it to the full. He?s not talking about life here on earth, but about eternal life, isn?t he? That is a full life?to enjoy life forever with God?s Son.
And because of that, our lives are changed. We look at our lives in a much different way than many other people. We look at our lives, realizing that yes; there is sadness and sorrow. Now we hear there is terror in this world, but does that leave us hopeless, helpless? Does that leave us without comfort? No! We realize even more so how much God is important to us, how much eternity means to us. In the early church the apostles preached: "You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence"(ACTS 2:28). Yes, Jesus has shown us the day-to-day walk, and now He has shown us the path of life that leads to heaven itself.
Someday each one of us will enjoy eternal life and joy in His presence all because Jesus? miracles endure. His love endures. Yes, there are those in this world who try to diminish the power that Jesus had. They would try to put down all the miracles that He performed. Yet you and I realize and are thankful that God has shown us that His word endures forever, that His miracles are really a statement of His love for the world and for us as believers. In this miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, we are reminded that Jesus? miracles endure?from when He did it, to now, to the end of time. It reminds us that He provides us with daily bread and even more with the other bread?eternal life.
One last thing from Ecclesiastes: "I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him"(ECCLESIASTES 3:14). God?s Word lasts forever, His love lasts forever, Jesus? miracles last forever?God does this so that we would revere Him and honor and praise Him with this life. So we honor and praise the Lord with our lives when we give God thanksgiving for our daily bread and even more?God?s gift of eternal life. Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer
