There's Your Sign (pt.4-5)

If you would, please open up your Bibles this morning to John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

This is the chapter that R.C. Sproul calls the most important chapter in the Gospel of John.

I'm not sure that I could make a claim like that,

but I'm confident that as we spend the next several weeks walking through this chapter together,

we will see just how rich and how beautiful and how full it is of the glory of Christ,

how it presents our need for Him and the ways that He has provided for us.

So let's turn there now, John chapter 6, and we'll read verses 1 through 35.

John 6 · chapter mention

Follow along with me as I read.

After this, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

And a large crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick.

Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

Lifting up His eyes then and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him,

Jesus said to Philip,

Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?

He said this to test Him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

Philip answered Him,

Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get just a little.

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him,

There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?

Jesus said,

Have the people sit down.

Now there was much grass in the place,

so the men sat down, about five thousand in number.

However, Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks,

He distributed them to those who were seated,

so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples,

Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments

from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said,

This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king,

Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.

And when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,

got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.

It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.

When they had rowed about three or four miles,

they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,

and they were frightened.

But He said to them,

It is I. Do not be afraid.

Then they were glad to take Him into the boat,

and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

On the next day, the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea

saw that there had only been one boat there,

and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples,

but that His disciples had gone away alone.

And other boats from Tiberias came near the place

where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples,

they themselves got into the boat and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

When they found Him on the other side of the sea,

they said to Him,

Rabbi, when did you come here?

Jesus answered them,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

you are seeking Me, not because you saw the signs,

but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Do not work for the food that perishes,

but for the food that endures to eternal life,

which the Son of Man will give to you.

For on Him God the Father has set His seal.

Then they said to Him,

What must we do to be doing the works of God?

Jesus answered them,

This is the work of God,

that you believe in Him whom He has sent.

So they said to Him,

Then what sign do you do that we may see you and believe you?

What work do you perform?

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,

as it is written,

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Jesus then said to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven,

but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.

They said to Him,

Sir, give us this bread always.

Jesus said to them,

I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to Me shall not hunger,

and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.

This is the Word of God.

Let's bow once more and pray.

Father,

this is a picture of Your glorious provision for our need.

In Christ.

So we pray now as we open up this Word

and discuss it in this brief time,

Lord, would You do eternal work in us

as we open up Your Word and seek You in it.

We pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

Two weeks in a row,

now we have quoted C.S. Lewis,

and if you thought there's no way

he's going to do it three weeks in a row,

you were wrong.

We're going for three.

This one is from his book,

The Weight of Glory.

He says this.

He says,

It would seem that our Lord finds our desires

not too strong but too weak.

We are half-hearted creatures,

fooling about with drink and sex and ambition

when infinite joy is offered us.

Like an ignorant child

who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum

because he cannot imagine

what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea,

we are far too easily pleased.

I wonder this morning as we read this passage

if that describes you.

You and I,

we were made for eternal,

infinite joy in Christ,

and anything less than that is too small.

But far too often,

I think we are earthly-minded.

We have tunnel vision

for our physical, immediate needs,

and we ignore the greatness

of our inheritance in Christ.

We seek temporary satisfaction,

and we ignore the eternal joy

that's offered to us in the gospel.

In other words,

we make a really big deal

out of really small things,

and a really small deal

out of really big things.

I want our passage this morning

to help correct that in us.

What we see here in John chapter 6

John 6 · chapter mention

is two more signs that Jesus performs.

We've seen already,

Jesus came performing signs and miracles.

He came performing these physical signs,

meeting physical needs.

But the whole point

was to demonstrate a greater,

truer, more lasting promise

that our greatest needs

and our greatest desires

are met ultimately and only in Christ.

We're going to see this

in three ways this morning.

This will be our outline this morning

if you're taking notes,

following along.

We're going to see three ways

Christ meets our deepest needs.

Three ways Christ meets our deepest needs.

First, we see that Jesus

is a God of great provision.

Jesus is a God of great provision.

Look there with me

to the beginning of chapter 6.

Here we see this extraordinary miracle,

the feeding of the 5,000.

This is the only miracle

except for the resurrection.

This is the only miracle

that shows up in all four gospels.

And it shows us that our God

is a need-meeting God.

He is a God of great provision.

Look there to verse 1.

John tells us that

after the encounter with the Pharisees

that we discussed last week,

Jesus went away to the other side

of the Sea of Galilee

and it seems like a large crowd

was following Him there.

Jesus' popularity was growing.

Mark 6 in a parallel account

and Mark tells us that

when the people recognized Jesus

and His disciples

and saw where they were headed,

people from all of the neighboring towns

ran there ahead of Him

to meet Him there,

to get there in advance of Him.

But John clues us in here

to their motive.

And just like we've already seen already,

they were seeking Christ

not for Him,

but for what they might get from Him.

They were seeking Christ

not for Christ,

but for what Christ might do

for them.

As these crowds gathered around,

Jesus looked up,

He saw them,

He saw all the people coming to Him,

and He saw an opportunity

for a lesson.

So He asks Philip,

His disciple,

where are we going to buy bread

so that all of these people

may eat?

John tells us plainly there

in verse 6

that Jesus said this

to test Him

for He Himself

for He Himself knew

what He was going to do.

This was a test.

Would Philip

see with spiritual trust,

with the eyes of faith

in Christ,

would he see

that Christ is able

to provide all the needs

of anyone who know Him,

or would he see

with natural,

physical sight?

Well, how did Philip respond?

He responded

like how most men would.

Philip,

he began to calculate the tab.

How much is this going to cost?

Some of you men

have raised daughters

who got engaged

and got married,

and you've had the experience

of calculating the tab

of a wedding bill.

How much is this going to cost

to feed this many people?

Maybe you felt like

what Philip was feeling here.

Philip,

he was thinking rationally here,

thinking logistically.

How in the world

are we possibly

going to feed

this many people?

What we see here

is a picture,

is an image

of great need.

We call this

the feeding of the 5,000,

but everyone agrees

that the number

was actually far,

far greater

than 5,000.

In verse 10,

it says,

just the men

added up to 5,000.

Are you considering

that this was

the time of the Passover,

the busy time,

where many more people

were there in the town,

considering that women

and children

were also there with them?

The number,

actual number,

likely was much closer

to 20,000 individuals

there on the hill.

And Peter says,

even eight months' wages,

200 denarii,

eight months' wages,

wouldn't even begin

to cover it.

Now, this was a tremendous need.

It's almost comical

what happens next.

Look there to verse 8.

Andrew,

Simon Peter's brother,

he steps up to the task

and says,

well, there is a boy here

who has five barley loaves

and two fish.

Well, what are they

for so many?

You know, it's interesting.

This account shows up

in all four Gospels.

John's is the only account

that gives us this detail

that these were barley loaves.

I'm not sure about you,

but when I read this story,

when I think,

the image in my mind,

I'm thinking something

more like a French baguette,

a large loaf of bread.

That's not what this was.

These were barley loaves.

This was poor people bread.

This was the cheapest possible bread

that you could buy.

It was something more like crackers,

just enough for the little boy to eat.

And the fish,

it wasn't redfish

or largemouth bass

that would feed several people.

These were more kind of like sardines,

something that would just

give a little bit of flavor

to the crackers.

You see Andrew's dilemma here.

He's looking at this meager provision

and saying,

this is barely enough

to feed this little boy.

How in the world

will this feed the multitude?

The gap between what they needed

and what they had

was great.

It was an impossible situation.

What we see,

this is not impossible with God.

Verse 10,

it says,

Jesus had the people sit down.

This is the first miracle.

The 20,000 people sat down

and listened to what he had to say.

And he took these loaves

and when he had given thanks,

he began to pass them out.

And in the same way,

he began to distribute the fish.

And according to verse 11,

look at this.

It says,

they all had as much as they wanted.

Could you just imagine

being there in that crowd?

I'm not sure if I would rather

be the first person in line

or the last that day.

To be the first person in line

and to receive the provision

to take exactly what you needed

and then to see the basket pass

and see enough for the next family

and the next family

and the next family

to see those baskets

work their way

all through the crowd

and realize there's enough

for everyone here?

Or to be the last person in line

and to know there's just no way

there's going to be enough for me.

There's no way

I'm going to eat my fill

and to see that doubt

just grow weaker and weaker

and our hope increase stronger

and stronger and stronger

until you realize

there's enough even for me.

Of course,

there was more than enough.

In fact,

verse 12 says that

when they had eaten their fill,

they gathered up leftovers.

The 12 baskets

with fragments

from the five barley loaves.

This tremendous need

was overcome

by a miraculous

and tremendous provision.

I wonder if you've ever experienced

the provision of God.

Amanda and I,

there's been times

in our marriage

where Amanda and I

have had a very clear need,

more than a few times

in our marriage.

And I can think back

on a few of those times

and praise God

specifically for the ways

that He has provided

exactly what we needed.

There's one time

when I was in seminary

and we were just dirt poor

and our money was drying up quickly

and we sat down

and we talked about

what we needed

just to make ends meet,

where the gap was

in our budget

and we discussed

an exact dollar amount.

We didn't share this

with anybody else.

And within a week,

Amanda got a phone call

from a friend

who said that she needed her

to come

and to watch her little girl.

Would she be willing?

She couldn't pay much.

But what she offered to pay

was exactly

what we needed.

You hear story

after story

after story

about God doing this.

He's a need-meeting God.

Our God loves

to provide

for the needs

of His people.

Our God knows

our needs

better than we know

them ourselves

and it delights Him

when we receive

from His hand

good provision

and when we return

back to Him

thanksgiving

for all that He's provided.

But

we need to realize

that we have

no promise

of this type of provision

on this side

of eternity.

this miracle

here

and the feeding

of the 5,000

is not a promise

of physical provision

here and now

but a pointer

to eternal provision.

It is a pointer

to true

and lasting

satisfaction

in Christ.

That is what we need

more than anything else.

That's our greatest need.

More than food

on the table.

More than money

in our bank account

more than a roof

over our head.

We need our sins

forgiven

in the presence

of Christ

with us.

We need our souls

to be satisfied

in Him.

Our greatest need

is Christ Himself

and the good news

of the gospel

is that He is

here

to give us

as much

as we want

of Him.

this is what

He tells us

in verse 35.

He says

the point

of this sign

the point

of this provision

is that

I am

the bread

of life.

I am

the bread

of life.

Come to me

not just to have

your bellies filled

but that you might

find true

and lasting

satisfaction

for your souls.

Church

we need

to think

bigger

not less

of our needs

and we need

to think

bigger

not less

of God's

provision.

Is this

what we seek

after?

Is this

what we

hunger for?

Is this

what we

desire

more than

anything?

Let your

temporary

need

teach you

of your

eternal

need

and let

God's

temporary

provision

teach you

point you

to his

eternal

provision

of

himself

in

Christ.

Second

we see

that Jesus

is a

God

of great

protection.

Jesus

is a

God

of

great

protection.

Just like

all of us

want

provision

I think

it's safe

to say

all of us

want

protection.

All of us

want to

be safe.

We want

protection

from danger.

We want

security

from our

enemies.

We want

to feel

safe.

That's

what the

Jews

wanted

as well.

Look

there to

verse 14.

It says

when they

saw this

sign they

praised

him.

This is

the prophet

who is

to come

into the

world.

And not

only that

verse 15

says they

were about

to come

and take

him by

force

to make

him

king.

Now we

have to

understand

that the

Passover

season for

the Jews

was just

bursting

with

national

pride

and

patriotism.

This was

like the

4th of

July on

steroids.

They were

just zealous

and excited.

They were

supercharged

with pride

for the

Jewish

nation.

And so

it makes

sense,

doesn't it,

that at

this time

of the

year more

than any

they would

be thinking

and seeking

and looking

for and

hoping for

a king.

Someone who

would rule

over their

people.

Someone who

would triumph

over the

Romans.

Someone who

would lead

them and

protect them.

And who

better than

this guy

who just

gave us

all a

free lunch?

Right?

We all

want this,

don't we?

We all

share a

desire and

a need

for good

leadership.

And that

desire,

we need to

see this,

the desire

was not

wrong,

but the

timing was.

Jesus was

not there

to rule

and to

reign.

Not yet.

He was

not there

to be

their king.

Not yet.

He still

has work

to do.

And the

kingdom that

he was

coming to

establish

was much

bigger,

much better,

much greater

than what

they could

ever imagine.

The protection

that he was

coming to

provide for

his people

was much

better,

much more

lasting than

they could

have ever

imagined.

I feel

like I

need to

make this

application

here,

especially

with election

season coming

up.

We'll probably

need to talk

about this

a few more

times before

then.

Our desire

for good

leadership is

not a bad

one.

It is

good and

it is right

for us to

desire godly

leadership,

to pray for

our leaders,

to cast a vote

for those who

we feel might

lead us in

the will

of God,

to desire

godly

leadership,

to pray that

God would

send us

political

leaders who

would lead

and serve

in ways

that are

pleasing to

him and

are a blessing

to the

people.

But we

have to

realize that

this desire

for God

fearing

leadership,

for us to

be a God

fearing

people,

it will

not be

totally

realized on

this side

of eternity.

It is not

fully realized

in the

Republican

Party,

it is not

fully realized

in the

Democratic

Party,

it is not

going to be

fully realized

in America

or in any

other nation

of the

earth.

That desire

will be

fully realized

when Christ

returns,

when Christ

establishes

his kingdom

on the

earth.

Jesus knew

that his

time to

reign was

not yet

here.

So verse

15 says,

when Jesus

saw that

they were

wanting to

make him

king,

he didn't

remain,

he didn't

stick around,

he withdrew

again to

the mountain

by himself.

Apparently,

his disciples

didn't wait

around for

Jesus.

They went

on without

him because

it says,

when evening

came,

they went

down to

the sea,

got into

a boat,

and started

across the

sea to

Capernaum.

And it

was dark.

Now for me,

that's strike

number one.

I don't

think I've

ever been

out to

sea,

out on

a boat

in the

ocean when

it's pitch

black,

maybe some

of you

have.

But I

imagine that

that is

not the

best time

for them

to be

out at

sea,

especially

they didn't

have the

modern

conveniences

that we

have of

GPS

navigation

or even

boat

lights to

see where

they're

going.

Everything

is just

dark and

eerily lit

up by

the moon.

And to

make things

worse,

strike number

two,

the waves

begin to

get rough.

The water

starts to

get choppy

because verse

18 says a

strong wind

was blowing

there throughout

the area.

Now I have

been on a

boat when

things got

choppy and

I liked it

for a little

bit.

It was kind

of fun until

it wasn't.

You feel out

of control

and dangerous

and apparently

the Sea of

Galilee is

about 600

feet below

sea level

and so some

combination of

cool and

warm air that

I don't quite

understand,

it comes in

and it

just mixes

up the

water and

the water

begins to

just suddenly

get violently

rough and

it happens

quickly.

The water

becomes tumultuous.

One minute the

water is calm

and the next

minute you're

tossing and

turning,

holding on to

the boat,

you're at the

mercy of the

ebb and the

flow of the

waves.

This is a

dangerous place

to be and

you can imagine

the fear in the

minds of the

disciples.

Then comes

strike number

three.

You're panicking

in the midst

of the storm,

things are dark,

things are spooky

and you look out

at the water

and there's

someone walking

on top of the

waves.

Verse 19

says when they

had rowed about

three or four

miles,

they saw Jesus

walking on the

sea and coming

near the boat.

This is

terrifying.

Matthew's account

says that they

thought they saw

a ghost and

they cried out

in fear.

But then Jesus

says something.

here that I

want us to see

this.

He says

something that

puts them at

ease.

Look at what

he said.

Verse 20,

but he said

to them,

it is I

do not be

afraid.

And then

something changed.

All of a sudden

they were glad

to take him

into the boat

and immediately

the boat was

at the land

to which they

were going.

I want you

to answer

this question

in your mind.

So what

happened to

change the

disciples'

fear into

gladness?

The storm

was still

raging.

The storm

didn't go

away.

The water

was still

choppy.

It's still

dark.

It's still

spooky.

This figure

is still

coming to

them.

What caused

the change

from fear

to gladness?

It was the

realization

temptation

that although

they were

in the

presence

of danger,

they were

in the

presence

of God.

And he

was coming

to them

not to

do them

harm,

but for

good.

These two

parts here

of Jesus'

response,

just four

words in

the Greek,

this ought

to give

us comfort

and confidence

for any

earthly

danger

that we

face.

Look what

he says.

He says,

it is I.

Just two

words here

in the

Greek,

ego,

a me.

If you

translate this

literally,

do you know

what it

says?

It says,

I am.

I am.

You may

have heard

before that

John's

gospel has

seven I

am

statements

of Jesus.

We see

another one

here in

this passage,

I am

the bread

of life.

In the

weeks to

come,

Lord willing,

we'll see

some more.

We'll hear

him say,

I am

the way,

the truth,

the life.

No one

comes to

the Father

but by

me.

I am

the door.

Before

Abraham

was,

I am.

Seven

sayings of

I am.

For some

reason,

this one

gets overlooked

in the

count.

But here

I stand,

this one

belongs.

It's no

less an I

am statement

than any

of the

others.

It's the

same two

words.

It's the

same divine

revelation of

Jesus.

Ego

a me.

It is

I,

I am,

I am.

And if you

know your

Bible,

especially the

book of

Exodus,

you know

that when

the Lord

revealed his

name to

Moses,

what did

he say?

I am

who I

am.

Tell them

I am

has sent

them to

you.

Jesus

knows

exactly

what he's

saying

here.

This is

a direct

claim to

divinity.

Jesus is

revealing

himself

as God.

But it's

the second

part of

this phrase

here that

puts them

at ease,

isn't it?

I am,

do not

be afraid.

For those

who don't

know the

Lord,

his presence

is their

greatest

danger.

More than

waves

chopping,

more than

dangerous

weather,

the presence

of God

is the

greatest

danger

for any

sinner.

But for

those who

know him,

we can

claim this

comfort,

we can

claim this

protection

from any

danger we

face.

I am,

I am,

do not

be afraid.

Christian,

we need to

know that

there is

no danger

here in

this life

no amount

of chaos,

no turmoil,

no disaster,

no earthly

threat,

no earthly

loss that

can overcome

the presence

of Christ

in you.

No matter

what dangers

you face,

if you belong

to Christ,

you are safe

in the hands

of God.

No one can

take that

from you.

I am,

do not

be afraid.

This doesn't

mean that we'll

never face

danger.

quite the

opposite,

in fact,

but what it

means is

that we

now face

any danger

with confidence.

The confidence

of Paul in

Romans,

he says,

I am sure

that neither

death,

nor life,

nor angels,

nor rulers,

nor things

present,

nor things

to come,

nor powers,

nor height,

nor depth,

nor anything

else in all

creation will

be able to

separate us

from the love

of God in

Christ Jesus

our Lord.

Lord.

If nothing

can separate

us from

that,

then what

do we have

to fear?

This is the

confidence that

Christians have

in the face

of any

earthly danger.

fear.

You may

know that

Tim Keller

passed away

last week,

you may know

that name,

after a

nearly

three-year

battle with

pancreatic

cancer.

That is the

very scenario

that men

and women

fear almost

more than

anything.

A terminal

condition,

it's one of the

nastiest,

cruelest dangers

that we face.

You talk about

being afraid,

you talk about

being in danger,

you talk about

needing protection.

I would imagine

when you hear

those words,

that diagnosis

from the doctor,

that is when

you want protection

more than any

other time.

You know what

he said in his

last days to

his family?

Just before he

passed,

he said,

there is no

downside in

me leaving.

Not in the

slightest.

No downside.

Why?

Because he

knew that

despite this

danger that

would kill

him,

he was

protected.

He was

safe in

the hands

of God.

He could

face it

with confidence.

Because the

Lord is with

me,

I will not

fear even

death itself.

The Lord

will protect

me.

This may

kill me,

but all

he can do

is bring me

to him.

This light

heart and

momentary

affliction

is preparing

for us an

eternal weight

of glory

beyond all

comparison.

Is this how

we view

danger,

Christian?

Is this how

we measure

risk in our

life?

Is this how

we view

safety?

We tend

to view

safety and

risk with

earthly eyes,

but Christ,

he's purchased

for us

true,

eternal

protection.

If you

want to be

safe,

truly safe,

seek shelter

in the

presence of

Christ.

And when we

reach the

shore of

eternity,

all the

chaos of

this present

life with

all its

dangers,

all its

toils and

snares,

it will feel

like it was

over in

just one

fleeting

moment.

This type

of confidence

and security

in the face

of danger,

it baffles

the world.

They don't

have this

type of

assurance.

They can't

make sense

of it.

What is the

basis of

the Christian's

confidence?

What is the

secret to

infinite joy

that lifts us

up out of

our present

circumstances?

I'll tell

you what it

is.

It is

faith in

the promises

of God.

It is

trust in

the rock

solid

promises

of God.

This is

our third

and final

point this

morning.

Third,

we see

that Jesus

is a

God of

great

promise.

Look there

to verse

25.

It says,

When the

people found

him on the

other side

of the sea,

they said

to him,

Rabbi,

when did

you come

here?

And

Jesus,

knowing

everything,

knowing that

they were

seeing with

only earthly

sight,

he went

straight to

the heart.

It says,

Truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

you are

seeking

me,

not because

you saw

the signs,

but because

you ate

your fill

of the

loaves.

Now,

listen to

this.

He says,

Do not

work for

the food

that perishes,

but for

the food

that endures

to eternal

life,

which the

Son of

man will

give to

you,

for on

him the

Father has

set his

seal.

Do not

work for

the food

that perishes.

You know,

this is all

most people

know how

to do.

This is all

that we

know how

to do.

We spend

our energy,

we work

hard,

we wear

ourselves

out so

that we

can put

food on

the table,

then we

eat the

food,

the food

runs out,

and now

we've got

to go

work some

more.

We

work to

earn enough

money,

the money

runs out,

so now

we've got

to go

work some

more.

We hope

that we'll

just work

long enough

to earn

as much

as we

can,

to earn

enough so

that we

have enough

money to

put enough

food on

the table

for the

rest of

our lives,

but at

some point

the money

will expire,

the food

will expire,

or guess

what?

We will

expire.

It's all

so empty,

but Jesus

says there

is another

way.

seek the

food that

endures to

eternal life,

which the

Son of

Man will

give to

you.

You may

remember

walking through

Isaiah 55

together late

last year,

and this

wonderful

invitation,

come everyone

who thirsts,

come to the

waters,

and he who

has no money,

come buy and

eat,

come buy wine

and milk

without money,

without price.

Why do you

spend your

money for

that which

is not

bread,

and your

labor for

that which

does not

satisfy?

Listen

diligently to

me and

eat what

is good,

and delight

yourselves in

rich food,

incline your

ear and come

to me here

that your

soul may

live.

this is the

invitation that

Christ is

making to

these Pharisees,

and it's the

invitation that

he's making

to us.

He's holding

out this

incredible offer,

a never-ending

buffet,

eternal

satisfaction,

free of

price,

eternal

provision for

our hunger,

for our thirst,

but how did

they respond?

With physical

sight.

What must

we be doing

to do the

works of God?

Do you see

that?

You see how

works-minded,

how physical-minded,

how earthly-minded

they are?

I've been working

for this bread,

it perishes,

it perishes,

it perishes,

it runs out,

you're offering

me eternal bread,

what do I have

to do?

How do I have

to work to

get that bread?

Jesus says,

this is the

work of God,

that you

believe in

him whom

he has sent.

This is the

message of the

gospel,

church.

Eternal

satisfaction

is given,

not earned,

is given

through faith

in Christ.

That is so

different from

the way that

we're wired.

We want to

work, we want

to earn what

we're given,

that's the

American way,

you work hard,

you earn a

paycheck,

you get up,

you do it

again.

That is not

the way it

works with

Christ.

And that is

not the

message of

the Bible.

One of my

favorite insights

from Tim Keller,

he said,

Buddha's final

words before

he died,

you know what

they were?

Strive without

ceasing.

Jesus'

final words on

the cross,

it is finished.

The gospel

is not a

message of

go do,

it's a

message of

this is what

Christ has

done.

Would you

receive it?

Would you

believe it?

Would you

stop working

to earn it?

Would you

receive it

by faith?

Christianity

is not

another job

where we

earn our

bread,

we receive

the bread

of life

by believing

in him.

The way

that they

responded,

I don't

think gives

us much

hope that

they got

it.

they said,

what sign

do you

do that

we may

see and

believe you?

What work

do you

perform?

Our fathers,

they ate the

manna in the

wilderness as

it is written,

he gave them

bread from

heaven to

eat.

So what

can you

do for

us,

Jesus?

What can

we see

you do

that we

might see

and believe?

And of