LABOR IS LIFE
John 6:27
I. “Loafers,” those looking for a “free lunch”
(3 kinds of loafers)
A. Lazy “Loafers”
B. Loaves “Loafers”
C. Lotto “Loafers”
II. Laborers, those hoping to work for salvation
III. “Lifers,” those accepting the gift Jesus offers.
A. Eternal Life
B. Heavenly Life (verse 32)
C. Satisfying Life (verse 35)
D. Resurrection Life (verse 40)
“In 1956 a commemorative Labor Day stamp was issued with a picture of a strong man holding a sledge hammer, a pick, a hoe, and an ax over his shoulder. His wife was seated by his side with a book in her lap showing a small child how to read. In the lower left hand corner was a large block with words of Carlyle carved into it: “Labor is Life.” The meaning was clear and I think it is true: without industrious labor there will be no life—no means to feed, clothe, house, and educate a family or oneself.”
“But it is an amazing and discomforting thing how a true statement (like “Labor is Life”) can mislead us and devastate generations when it is isolated from other truths. If you look at your life solely in terms of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, machines, books, and toys, then the statement, “Labor is Life,” will mean that you should work mainly with a view to providing those things. But in spite of the fact that it seems so natural to work for such things Jesus said to the Jews in John 6:27, ‘Labour not for the meat which perisheth.’ And of course Jesus didn’t mean it is just food that’s ruled out, but clothes and homes and cars are okay. Anything that perishes, anything that wears out, anything of no eternal worth—all that is implied in “food that perishes.” And we are not to labor for food. Do not labor for house. Do not labor for clothes, car, appliances, books, sporting gear, etc.” —John Piper
22 ¶ The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;
23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)
24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
1. Loafers, 3 kinds of “loafers”
A. lazy loafers (they were looking for a free lunch)
B. living for loaves “loafers”
A. lazy loafers (they were looking for a free lunch)
Jesus sees through them and exposes their motives and rebukes them for their sins. All they want is a “meal ticket.”
I love the story of the old man in the Smoky Mountains. A number of years ago, some hogs escaped in a romote area of the mountains. Over a period of several generations, these hogs became wilder and wilder, until they were a menace to anyone who crossed their paths. A number of skilled hunters tried to locate and kill them, but the hogs were able to elude the efforts of the best hunters in the area.
One day an old man, leading a small donkey pulling a cart, came into the village closest to the habitat of these wild hogs. The cart was loaded with lumber and grain. The local citizens were curious about where the man was going and what he was going to do. He told them he had “come to catch them wild hogs.” They scoffed, because no one believed the old man could accomplish what the local hunters were unable to do. But, two months later, the old man returned to the village and told the citizens the hogs were trapped in a pen near the top of the mountain.
Then he explained how he caught them. “First thing I done was find the spot where the hogs came to eat. Then I baited me a trap by puttin a little grain right in the middle of the clearin. Them hogs was scared off at first but curiosity finally got to ‘em and the old boar that led them started sniffin’ around. When he took the first bite the others joined in and I knew right then I had ‘em. Next day I put some more grain out there and laid one plank a few feet away. That plank kinda spooked ‘em for awhile, but that “free lunch” was a powerful appeal so it wasn’t long fore they were back eatin. Them hogs didn’t know it but they was mine already. All I had to do was add acoupla boards each day by the grain they wanted until I had ever’thing I needed for my trap. Then I dug a hole and put up my first corner post. Ever’time I added something they’d stay away a spell but finally they’d come back to git “somethin for nothing.” When the pen was built and the trap door was ready, the habit of gittin’ what they wanted without working for it drove ‘em right into the pen and I sprung the trap. It was real easy after I got ‘em coming for the “free lunch.”
The story is true and its point quite simple. When you make an animal dependent upon man for his food, you take away his resourcefulness and he’s in trouble. The same is true of man. If you want to create a cripple, just give a man a pair of crutches for a few months—or give him a “free lunch” long enough for him to get in the habit of getting something for nothing. —Zig Ziglar
They witnessed the miracle but did not grasp the meaning, nor did they come to faith in Jesus as God’s Messiah. They have been given a free meal, and they want more of the same.
What do we want Christ for and what do we want out of life?
And we are only interested in God for the prosperity He offers.
B. Living for loaves “loafers”
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Barbara Hutton whose death on May 21, 1979, made the obituary column of Time magazine, died at the age of 66, a celebrity. She was the granddaughter of F. W. Woolworth, and at the age of twelve she inherited $25 million, a fabulous fortune in those days. But her money did not make her happy, nor did her marriages. She married seven husbands, among them a Laotian prince, a Lithuanian prince, a Russian prince, a Prussian count, and a Hollywood film star. She was plagued with sickness. Her illnesses ranged from kidney disease to cataracts. She died of a heart attack. The last years of her life found her a recluse, often bedridden, weighing only eighty pounds. The newspapers used to call her a “poor little rich girl.” Happiness is not to be found in marriage or in money. Something else is needed: True happiness cannot be divorced from God. Peace, harmony, and order have their center in God.
In 1975, six armed gunmen broke into the deposit boxes in a London bank and stole valuables worth more than $7 million. One lady, whose jewelry was appraised at $500,000, wailed, “Everything I had was in there. My whole life was in that box.” What a sad commentary on her values!
—Our Daily Bread
We live in a covetous society. We all want more which is really the meaning of the Greek word for covetous. When one interviewer asked a prominently wealthy man what it would take to make him happy, he received a quick answer— “Just a little bit more.”
C. Lotto “Loafers”
Those that think, “if only I had a million dollars,” are idol worshipers.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
I. Loafers
II. Laborers (They think that salvation is earned)
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 ¶ Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Jesus does not rebuke His audience for seeking “free bread,” but rather for working for bread that does not last. Jesus is offering to give them free bread forever, but it is a very different kind of “bread.”
As usual in the Gospel of John, our Lord’s words are not understood correctly. They think that Jesus is encouraging them to accomplish some work that will please God, and thus they can earn eternal life. So they ask, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?” (28)
Their question is a reflection of their distorted interpretation and application of the Old Testament law. They think the law spells out what God requires of them, so that through law-keeping they can earn His favor. They are wrong.
The famous English architect Sir Christopher Wren designed a large and unique church dome. Some of his colleagues, however, insisted that it would collapse. They made such a stir that the authorities directed Wren to add two huge supporting pillars. Wren strenuously objected, insisting that his structure was strong and that the new architectural design was a sound one. Nevertheless, opposition prevailed and the pillars were added.
Fifty years later the dome needed repainting. When work began, painters discovered that the two added pillars did not even touch the roof-they were short by two feet each! Wren had confidence in his design. The authorities had seen the pillars, assumed that they reached the roof and said nothing more.
Millions of people are trusting in pillars they have erected to support their righteousness. Baptism is one of the favorite pillars. But it is as useless to save as Wren’s fake columns.
A humble Moravian workman asked John Wesley before his conversion the searching question, “do you hope to be saved?” “Yes I do,” replied Wesley. “On what ground do you hope for salvation?” asked the Moravian. “Because of my endeavors to serve God,” said Wesley. The Moravian made no reply. He only shook his head and walked silently away. Wesley, in speaking of the incident later said, “I thought him very uncharitable, saying in my heart. ‘Would he rob me of my endeavors?” Later, Wesley saw the light — that salvation is solely of grace, “not by works of righteousness which we have done,” or can do. He saw what his brother, Charles, saw and expressed in these words:
Could my tears forever flow,
Could my zeal no languor know,
These for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone:
In my hand no price I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling. —W.B.K.
I. Loafers
II. Laborers
III. Lifers (Jesus wants to give eternal life)
John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
In solemn revelation (I tell you the truth; 26, 32, 47, 53) Jesus corrected their ideas in three ways:
The Father, not Moses, gave the manna.
The Father was still giving “manna” then, not merely in the past.
The true Bread from heaven is Jesus, not the manna.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
God is the Source of all life. The Son has life in Himself (1:4; 5:26) and He has come to give real and lasting life to people. Sin cuts them off from God, who is Life, and they die spiritually and physically. Christ has come down from heaven to give life to the world. Jesus is thus the genuine Bread of God.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
This corrects two more errors in their thinking:
The food of which He spoke refers to a Person not a commodity.
And once someone is in right relationship to Jesus, he finds satisfaction which is everlasting, not temporal.
This is also the first of the “I Am” revelations.
In giving this discourse, Christ described the life that He was to give. 11x’s “eternal life, everlasting life and life”
First, He referred to it repeatedly as eternal life. When Christ offers men life, He is not offering them created life but the uncreated life that belongs to God. (27, 40, 47)
Second, Christ described this life as heavenly life (verse 32). This speaks of its origin. It is life that comes down from the Father in heaven.
Third, this life is satisfying life (v. 35). The one who possesses this life will never hunger or thirst.
As Seneca, the Roman statesman once said: “Money has never yet made anyone rich.”
Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.
“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.
“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?’ the rich man asked.
“What would I do with them?”
“You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”
The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”
“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist.
“What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.
Our Daily Bread, May 18, 1994
Fourth, this life is resurrection life (v. 40). The life cannot be terminated by death but continues because of resurrection.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Eternal Security
Harry Ironside stated that salvation was like Noah inviting a pagan in his day to place his trust in God’s Word and come in to the ark. Some view salvation like Noah offering to put a peg on the outside of the ark. “If you just hang on through the storm, you’ll be saved.” Salvation is not dependent on our holding on to God, but on our being securely held by and in Christ.
—So Great Salvation, Charles Ryrie, Victor Books, 1989, pp. 137ff
One particular portion of Russell H. Conwell’s book “Acres of Diamonds,” It was the story, historically true, of Ali Hafed, who, hearing about diamonds for the first time, determined that he wanted a mine of diamonds.
He owned a very large farm, orchards, grain fields, gardens. He had many investments and was wealthy and contented. One day he was visited by an ancient Buddhist priest, a wise man of sorts. They sat by the fire and the priest recounted the detailed history of creation. He concluded by saying diamonds were the most rare and valuable gems created, ‘congealed drops of sunlight,’ and if Ali had diamonds he could get anything he wanted for himself and his family.
Ali Hafed began to dream about diamonds—about how much they were worth. He became a poor man. He had not lost anything, but he was poor because he was disconcerted and discontented because he feared he was poor. He said, ‘I want a mine of diamonds,’ and he lay awake nights.
One morning he decided to sell his farm and all he had and travel the world in search of diamonds. He collected his money, left his family in the care of a neighbor, and began his search. He traveled Palestine and Europe extensively and found nothing. At last, after his money was all spent and he was in rags, wretchedness, and poverty, he stood on the shore at Barcelona, Spain. A great tidal wave came rolling in, and the poor, discouraged, suffering, dying man could not resist the awful temptation to cast himself into that incoming tide. He sank, never to rise again.
The man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm led his camel to his garden brook to drink one day. As the camel put its nose into the shallow water, this new owner noticed a curious flash of light from a stone in the white sands of the stream. As he stirred up the sands with his fingers he found scores of the most beautiful gems: diamonds. This was the discovery of the most magnificent diamond mine in the history of mankind—the Golconda. The largest crown jewel diamonds in the world have come from that mine.” The Myth of the Greener Grass, p. 173
The Pole of Power Is Greasy
The Roman emperor Charlemagne knew that. An interesting story surrounds the burial of this famous king. Legend has it that he asked to be entombed sitting upright in his throne. He asked that he crown be placed on his head and his scepter in his hand. He requested that the royal cape be draped around his shoulders and an open book be placed in his lap.
That was A.D. 814. Nearly two hundred years later, Emperor Othello determined to see if the burial request had been carried out. He allegedly sent a team of men to open the tomb and make report. They found the body just as Charlemagne had requested. Only now, nearly two centuries later, the scene was gruesome. The crown was tilted, the mantle moth-eaten, the body disfigured, But open on the skeletal thighs was the book Charlemagne had requested - the Bible. One bony finger pointed to Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” You can answer that one.
—The Applause of Heaven (Ch.15) by Max Lucado
