Sudden Impact
Thesis: When Jesus called himself “I Am” in the Gospel of John it created a sudden impact upon the listeners of that day and especially to the religious leaders of the day. Whenever Jesus said “I Am’ it became a sudden impact moment for all who heard it.
Texts:
John 6:35:
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.”
John 6:25-60:
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. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Exodus 3:11-15:
11But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
13Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
Introduction:
“I Am” and “Yahweh” come from the same root word but have different tense references. “I Am” is 1st person were “Yahweh” is 3rd person.
The covenant name for the God of Israel in the Old Testament is Yahweh. This name was so sacred to the Jews that by the second century they refused to pronounce it. Even today Orthodox Jews will not pronounce this name. In the past when ancient Jewish scholars came across the name Yahweh they would pronounce it differently and say “Adonai” which means “My Lord.” They did this so they would not use the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
The Hebrew at the time had no vowels in its language so “Yahweh” was written “YHVH” which is called the forbidden four letter word. The truth is since it was kept so hush - hush know one really knows if it is even pronounced correctly today. When the Masoretic scholars added the consonants to “YHVH” from the word “Adonai” the name turned out to be “YaHoVaH.” However this is the hybrid word used today and many translations have dropped “Jehovah” in favor of “Yahweh.”
When Jesus enters the scene of this world as he did in John’s Gospel we discover that whenever he referred to himself as the great “I Am” it created a sudden impact moment on the crowd of the day. Mostly because of the reverence that was given to the name of the Lord and the fact that Jesus said he was the “I AM.” This sent the crowds and the Jewish leaders into a frantic frenzy.
So it becomes important to observe in the Gospel of John whenever Jesus uses this pivotal statement ‘I Am.” Remember the name “I Am” is Jesus claim to deity and it points us and the original hearers to that fact that He is Jehovah (Yahweh). When He say’s “I Am” He is using the first person tense and declaring, “I Am Jehovah” the same God that spoke to Moses from the burning bush.
T.S. - To better understand this pivotal title Jesus gave himself lets look at and explore the meaning of “I Am” from the Exodus account in the Old Testament.
Video Illustration:
This clip is taken from the movie the 10 Commandments. The scene is were Moses sees and approaches the burning bush and God speaks to Him from the burning bush – this definitely is a sudden impact moment for Moses.
I. The first sudden impact scenario of God calling Himself “I Am” is found in Exodus 3:14.
a. The scenario is definitely a sudden impact moment for Moses.
i. This moment changed his focus and sent him back to Egypt to lead the people of Israel out of the bondage and into the Promised Land.
ii. Read Chapter 3 and highlight sudden impact moments.
b. God’s claim to “I Am” was intended to make a sudden impact upon Moses heart and the people of Israel.
i. “I Am” is the name of God given by God to Moses so Moses could verify to the people that he was sent by God to deliver them.
1. When Moses asked God for credentials that would convince the children of Israel that God had indeed spoke to him and authorized Moses to lead them out he gave Moses this title.
2. Moses could give account of how he received this name of God and he could testify to how he received it. It came to Him from a voice speaking to him out of the burning bush that was not consumed
a. The implication of the burning bush and it not consuming the bush paints a picture to us that what spoke to Moses was eternal and that it was constant in that it did not consume the bush because it’s fuel system or energy source was not burned up.
3. The response of God to Moses about Him knowing the Patriarchs and also seeing the suffering of his people reveals that “I Am’ is Omnipresent and Omnipotent.
a. Thus the name “I Am” or “I Am that I Am” designates He was in the past “I Am’ tense 1st person and the “I Am” presently 1st person and “I Am” in the future as well see Revelation Chapter 1.
b. God identifies with His people and it will be a relationship for eternity. He chooses to be recognized as the God of Abraham, Of Isaac and of Jacob – “I AM.”
i. Exodus 3:15 “…my name forever and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
4. Moses is receiving the message from the great “I AM” that He is the same God of Israel’s forefathers and He is there personal God.
a. Tenney notes this:
i. God’s name is significant in that, In the past he was with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. What was needed was not a name which disclosed that God was what He was, but that He is and will be in the future what He admittedly was in the past. The God of their fathers and, therefore, the God of their children, the children of Israel, who therefore should accept Moses’ claim that God called him to deliver them out of Egypt” (pg. 238).
b. Tenney also states the following:
i. The most distinctive name by which God was known in Israel is Yahweh (Jehovah), which comes from the same root as “I AM”…(238)
ii. “I Am’s” significant meaning here in Exodus is that Moses credentials for being the one to lead Egypt out of bondage are found in him using the name “I AM.” He is the One giving permission to Moses to use His name to deliver the Israelites. This will be done by God’s mighty power which will work through Moses.
T.S.- We see the significance of “I Am” in the Exodus account but now lets look at the fist account in the New Testament of “I AM’s “ sudden impact moment with the people of Israel.
II. The first appearance of the phrase “I Am” surfaces in the New Testament with Jesus himself and points to who He is.
a. John’s Gospel has the most extensive series of “I Am” statements made by Jesus Christ.
i. The theological themes in John begin with the revelation that Jesus is the Logos (The revelatory Word of God) to the people of Israel and the world beyond.
ii. John 1:1, 2 and Exodus 3 all lay claim to the fact that Christ always “WAS”
1. He is the same God who has been involved in the lives of individuals from the beginning of time.
2. John wanted to start out in his Gospel by establishing the truth that Jesus was 100% divine and 100% human in nature.
3. John uses the “I AM” statements of Jesus to emphasize and prove that Jesus was Christ-The Messiah- the Promised One - who would deliver the people of the world from the bondage of sin.
b. The “I Am’ statements in John are sudden impact statements made by Jesus to define who he was and is. They all use the first person terminology and clearly claim that He is the Great “I AM” of the Old Testament.
i. Each one of Jesus’ seven impact statements declare the truth about Jesus’ person and ministry. They also point to His credentials. In other words, were he gets the authority to do what he is doing in the life of the nation of Israel.
1. “I am the bread of life!”– John 6:35, 48 and John 6:41, 51
2. “I am the Light of the World!”– John 8:12
3. “I am the door!” – John 10:7, 9
4. “I am the Good Shepherd!” – John 10:11, 14
5. “I am the resurrection and the life!” – John 11:25
6. “I am the way the truth and the life!” – John 14:6
7. “I am the true vine!” – John 15:1, 5
ii. In addition to the above “I Am’ statements there are other “I Am” statements which are not followed by a title or a claim to deity.
1. These still make a sudden impact upon the hearers of his claim to be the “Great I Am” and point to the statement “I AM – Yahweh of the Old Testament!”
a. John 4:25,26
b. John 8:24, 28, 58
c. John 13:19
i. You can compare these sudden impact statements with the following references.
1. John 6:20
2. John 7:34, 36
3. John 14:3
4. John 17:24
5. Exodus 3:14
c. The main meaning of the “I Am” statements spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of John are always traced back to the first appearance of the name for God as “I Am” in Exodus 3.
i. The sad fact is though the nation of Israel as a whole rejected Jesus as their long awaited “Messiah” and refused to allow Him to lead them out of their current condition of bondage to sin.
1. They choose instead to stay enslaved to sin by rejecting the sacrifice that Christ paid on the cross.
a. Jesus used His sudden impact statements to the Jewish people to prove to them who He was yet still many rejected Him.
b. Jesus even said at one point this sudden impact statement in John 8:58 “…before Abraham was, I AM!”
T.S. - The seven “I am” declarations of Jesus from John’s Gospel were intended by the Lord to make a sudden impact moment that would impact the lives of the hearers of the day. So let us now look at the first “I Am” statement Jesus makes in John 6.
III. Jesus made a sudden impact upon the crowd when He said, “I am the bread of life!”
a. John 6:35, 48 – John 6:41, 51 A sudden impact statement by Jesus!
i. In this passage of the Gospel of John we see and hear Jesus saying that he is the one that will give life sustaining food to the people so that they may live forever.
b. To better understand why Jesus made this statement at this present time frame lets look at the historical context of the day. The Context of John chapter 6
i. Jesus had fed the 5,000 John 6:1-15
1. The Jewish writings of the day spoke of the Messiah who would come and at Passover repeat the Old Testament miracle of manna in the wilderness.
a. He would do this at Passover time and reveal that He was the Messiah. One way he would do this would be by feeding a multitude like God did through Moses in the wilderness.
b. The Rabbis also noted, that the latter Redeemer (that is the Messiah) shall be revealed and he will lead them into the wilderness of Judah were he will feed them.
c. Others were more specific and said he would feed the multitude in the desert of Og in Batanea or Bashan.
i. The day Jesus fed this multitude was around the Passover and he miraculously did it in the desert of Og.
c. Jesus fulfilled many of the Talmud and Hebraic writings from the Jewish leaders about the coming Messiah.
i. Note John 6:14, 15: 14After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
1. The Jews were looking for The Prophet according to Deut. 18:44-22:14The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so. 15The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” 17The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.” 21You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” 22If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
a. It’s important to take note what had happened prior to Jesus fist sudden impact statement “I Am”.
i. The multitude had been fed miraculously in the desert of Og, the multitude came and sought Jesus out because they were looking for the Prophet of God some even looking for the Messiah.
ii. They came seeking a miraculous sign from Jesus looking for him to perform the miracle of manna done through Moses in the wilderness.
iii. He did it!
d. John 6:25-29: He does the miracle but then turns their attention away from physical food to eternal spiritual food.
i. 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.”
1. Jesus reminds the Jewish people that what really matters is their spiritual diet more so then there earthly diet and they need to work for the food that will bring eternal life.
2. This is the most important labor they could ever do in their lives.
3. They needed to believe on Him and feed on His Word!
e. As we progress through John chapter 6 we come across verses 30-34:
i. 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.”
ii. Jesus had already done this but they were spiritually blind and did not even see the miracle.
iii. It amazes me the Jews here are still asking for a sign. It really baffles me they just witnessed a miraculous sign were Jesus just fed them all but that was not enough. They had seen and heard how he fulfilled all these prophetic words about the Messiah yet they still wanted more signs.
1. The truth is many become spiritually blind to the signs God gives them.
2. The other problem I see with people who demand miracle after miracle is that one miracle is never enough nor 2 or 3 they just keep wanting more. They are never satisfied they are just like spoiled children always wanting more but never appreciating what’s been given them.
iv. The crowd who were just fed miraculously said “You need to repeat the miracle of the manna that Moses performed.” Their thoughts do not even realize they just participated in that same type of miracle. Jesus of course reminds them that Moses did not perform the miracle – God did!
1. I believe this is the reminder that needs to occur in some Christian circles today. We need to remember individuals do not perform the miracles of healing, of provision, or deliverance it’s done by God not them!
f. Now Jesus hits them with the sudden impact statement “I Am the bread of life!” in John 6:35-40.
i. 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. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
ii. Jesus makes his claim to deity and tells the crowd he is the Great I Am!
1. There is a solemn quiet across the crowd then something called disbelief takes over.
2. John 6:41, 42: 41At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
a. How quickly the miracles are forgotten.
b. How quickly did they forget he fulfilled OT Prophecy
c. He fulfilled their own Jewish Prophetic writings especially those found in the Talmud.
d. It’s important to know that the Jewish tradition of the Talmud revealed that the phrases Jesus was using about “Eating the Messiah” was spoken about in their own teachings. The metaphorical use of eating and drinking was not that rare.
i. In the Talmud on Ecclesiastics all the references to eating and drinking are understood in the parable style of speaking about the law.
ii. Bread is frequently used in Jewish writings when they speak of spiritual food.
iii. Rabbi Hillel talks about “Eating the Messiah” yet the Jewish leaders had no quarrel with his phraseology.
iv. But Jesus’ statement sent them into anger.
v. They missed His message and they missed the blessing of feeding on Him for eternity.
Conclusion:
How do we make an application to our own lives in regards to Jesus Statement, “I Am the bread of life!”
1. Jesus told the crowd that day and us that the type of manna that matters most is spiritual manna- spiritual food. He tells them and us that we need to eat of the bread that came down from heaven which is what teaches us about God and His ways and is what keeps us alive for eternity.
a. We also need to feed on the words of life He is giving out in the New Testament and through the Bible because this is more important than physical food.
b. In essence we need to spiritually eat of the life of Jesus and feed on what his body and blood provided for us:
i. John 6: 48 “I am the bread of life!”, 51-60:
1. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
2. Today we understand more clearly what Jesus was talking about. It has to do with Communion- Celebrating the Lord’s Supper and remembering that he paid the price for us on Calvary with His body and blood.
a. His willingness to die for us provided us deliverance from the bondage of sin that desires to keeps us locked up and enslaved.
ii. The truth is the Bread of Life is the energy source that nourishes spiritual life in every one of us and without that nourishment we would not have spiritual life.
iii. It is only Jesus who can give us spiritual life. There is not other source on the face of the earth that can produce spiritual life.
2. Really the truth of Jesus’ impact statement is all about: “How to attain Spiritual life?”
a. It is found through feeding on the life and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ spiritually.
b. WHY? So that you might live forever.
3. The point of our message and Jesus message is this: “We must come! We must believe! We must feed on Him continually to live forever!
a. But --We must remember that our life and energy source for spiritual life must be eaten daily or we will starve to death.
4. It Parallels Communion – The Lord’s Supper – A Sudden Impact moment!
a. Jesus declared to us:
i. That He is the Bread of God – that was sent to feed a starving world
ii. That His flesh and blood would be the energy source that would provide nourishment and spiritual food for man to live forever.
iii. That his death would open the door for life and as long as we feed on His sacrifice then we would never starve but go on to live forever.
PARTAKE OF COMMUNION!
