I Am the Bread of Life

So where we're at in the story of Jesus, Jesus is talking to a crowd of people.

And as we said last Sunday, according to Jesus, they seem more interested in the signs he is doing,

like the feeding of the 5,000, than in the realities that the sign points to.

The signs point to a great and wonderful reality that Jesus has been sent into the world by God the Father

and that he is the Son of God, the Messiah, the glorious Son of Man that the prophets foretold.

The signs that Jesus is doing, things like the feeding of the 5,000 and healings,

they give evidence that he really can give eternal life to those who believe in him.

But the crowd seems more interested in seeing a spectacular show.

They seem more interested in being wowed.

We're entertained.

And so Jesus told them, we heard last week, not to seek after food that doesn't last,

but instead to seek after the food that lasts forever and gives them eternal life.

He tells them that he will give them this food, this lasting food.

But what they must first do in order to receive this gift is believe in him.

Let's remember what the crowd last said to Jesus.

John 6, verse 28.

John 6:28

They asked him,

What must we do to do the works God requires?

And Jesus answered,

The work of God or the work that God requires is this,

to believe in the one he has sent.

You want to know what God wants you to do?

He wants you to believe in the one he has sent,

which of course is Jesus.

Let's continue on with the conversation in verse 30.

So they asked him,

What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you?

What will you do?

Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness.

As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat.

So the people of the crowd are asking Jesus to do yet another sign.

Let's remember for a second that the people asking this question

are the very same people who were there on the other side of the lake,

some of them,

and had ate the loaves that Jesus made

and had their fill at the feeding of the 5,000.

So this is kind of surprising.

Like you guys saw a spectacular miracle,

a sign that Jesus did.

I mean, that wasn't insignificant.

He made bread and fish multiply from just a boy's lunch,

enough to feed over 5,000 people out in the middle of nowhere.

And you ate as much as you wanted.

And now you're asking for a sign?

A reason to believe?

At this point, it's becoming obvious that the people do not really believe in Jesus.

Their question kind of gives that away.

Give us a sign.

Prove it.

Prove that what you're saying is true.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

by bringing this up.

But do you remember how that story went?

Back in Exodus, we read that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt,

and they were terribly treated.

And God set them free,

and he led them out of Egypt through Moses.

Within days of crossing the Red Sea on dry land,

the people began to grumble and complain and accuse Moses

and even the Lord himself

of bringing them all the way out here into the wilderness

so that they would die of starvation.

And God, in his mercy,

and because he made a promise,

in his grace, he gave them food to eat.

Out in the middle of nowhere, he gave them bread from heaven.

Manna appeared on the ground in the morning,

and God fed the Israelites, the whole nation,

with this manna for 40 years while they wandered.

That in itself is truly amazing.

I mean, can you imagine that?

An entire nation of people,

men, women, and children,

kept alive for 40 years,

out in the middle of nowhere

as they move here and there

by a bread-like substance

that appears on the ground

six days a week.

But why does the crowd bring this up?

It was a truly miraculous thing,

but are they telling Jesus

that this is the kind of miracle

that they expect him to do

before they will believe him?

Or perhaps are they saying

that feeding 5,000 people one meal,

well, that's nothing compared to

feeding a whole nation for 40 years.

Let's see that.

Are they suggesting that the bread that Jesus made

was somehow inferior, earthly bread,

compared to this bread from heaven

that God gave the Israelites long ago?

Are they making a comparison

between Moses and Jesus?

Like, we know that Moses was sent from God

because look at the amazing sign,

the miracle of bread from heaven

that God did to prove it.

Whatever the crowd is thinking,

to be honest, I'm not exactly sure,

Jesus makes it crystal clear

that it wasn't Moses

who gave the Israelites the bread from heaven.

Jesus said to them,

very truly I tell you,

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.

Whether the people were mistaken

or perhaps it just had too much focus on Moses,

Jesus sets them straight.

He makes it clear.

Moses didn't do that great work.

of providing for the people

with bread from heaven.

It's God who deserves the credit.

In fact, Jesus is even more specific than that.

He says,

it was my Father.

Again, he uses that language.

The Lord,

the one who did that great miracle

in the wilderness long ago,

is my Father.

He says,

it's my Father.

It's my Father.

It's my Father.

It's my Father.

And Jesus goes on to say even more.

He doesn't say a lot of words

in this statement,

but there's so much said here.

Notice the shift in time.

He says that it's not Moses

who has given you the bread from heaven,

but my Father.

My Father,

my Father,

back in the past,

was the one who gave you the bread from heaven,

the manna.

But he also shifts things to the present.

It is my Father who gives.

Present tense,

right now.

My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

That word true says a lot.

It says that the bread that the Israelites had

back in the wilderness

was not the fullest way

that God has chosen to provide for his people.

There's a greater bread from heaven.

A true bread from heaven.

If you were here last Sunday,

you'll remember Jesus has already been talking

in terms of food that spoils.

And food that lasts.

And we should keep that in mind here.

Do you remember how things worked with the manna

back in the Old Testament story?

How long did the manna last for?

One day.

Not very long.

Some people tried to keep it overnight.

And they found that in the morning

it was full of maggots and it smelled.

Except on Saturdays

when God miraculously made it last

for an extra day

so they didn't have to go out

and do work on the Sabbath.

It's like Jesus is saying

that bread that they received in the wilderness

it was bread from heaven.

It was bread provided by God,

my Father.

But now,

just as he gave you that perishable bread long ago,

he is now giving you the true bread

from heaven.

Bread which never spoils

and lasts forever.

He goes on in verse 33,

for the bread of God

is the bread that comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.

There is a special bread of God.

A true bread which comes down from heaven

and Jesus says,

gives life to the world.

And so the crowd says this,

Sir,

they said,

always give us this bread.

They outright ask Jesus

to give them the bread.

But even as they do it,

it seems that they don't really understand

what Jesus is talking about.

They seem to get that Jesus is talking about

better bread than they ate

on the other side of the lake.

They even seem to get that

Jesus is talking about

better bread than the Israelites had

the manna long ago in the wilderness.

So, of course,

whatever this bread is,

it sounds good.

We want it.

Give us this bread.

But it seems as though

they're still thinking of literal bread.

Actual bread.

Notice the word always.

Always give us this bread.

If there's better bread,

which comes from heaven,

then give us this bread

from now on.

Always.

We want to receive this bread

from you,

not just once,

but again and again,

repeatedly.

From now on.

And I'm not sure exactly

what some of them were thinking,

but, you know,

almost the sense we get,

maybe,

is that they're asking Jesus

to make the feeding

of the 5,000

a daily thing,

but with this true

and better bread

and not with that ordinary stuff

that we had yesterday

on the other side of the lake.

Finally,

Jesus looks them in the eye

and he makes it crystal clear.

No.

No.

No.

You misunderstand.

I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me

will never hunger

and whoever believes in me

will never thirst.

I,

myself,

am the bread

of life.

The bread I'm talking about

is not like the manna

in the wilderness.

It's not like the loaves

that I made yesterday

across the lake.

It's not the kind of bread

that you eat

and then get hungry

and then you eat some more

and then you get hungry again

and then you have to eat

some more of.

I, myself,

am the bread of life.

Death, says Jesus.

And whoever comes to me

will never hunger.

And whoever believes in me

will never thirst.

In the original language,

there's a,

Jesus,

you can't see it in English.

Will never thirst,

ever.

Just going to throw that in.

Permanent.

I'm the one.

I am the true provision

of God from heaven

and have come down

from heaven

so that,

in a sense,

you might not perish

in the wilderness

as you deserve to,

but so that you might live,

so that you might receive

life,

not just for a few more days

like you get

when you had the bread

I made yesterday,

but so that you might

receive life forever.

a permanent end

to your hunger,

never hunger again

and to your thirst.

This is not a promise

to meet the needs

of our stomach

and to keep us

so well fed

that we never feel

our stomachs growl again.

This is a promise

to meet the deepest needs

of our soul

and to provide us

with eternal life

and forgiveness

instead of the death

and punishment

we deserve

for the sins

we've committed

against God.

So what do we do

to eat this bread

that God has provided?

The bread is a person.

You can't eat a person

or you shouldn't.

What do we need to do

to receive

this good gift of God?

Jesus drops the metaphor

for a moment

and he just says

very plainly

what we need to do

to receive him

as our bread of life.

He says

whoever comes to me

will never go hungry

and whoever believes in me

will never be thirsty.

It's nothing new.

It's nothing spectacular.

It's very simple.

Come to me

he says.

Believe in me.

You want God's

special provision

from heaven

like they had

back in the wilderness

long ago?

I'm here.

Come to me.

Believe the words

that I'm saying

and you'll see

that what your soul

truly needs

will be provided for

forever.

forever.

Jesus has much more

to say to the crowd

but we're going to look

at what he continues

to say next Sunday.

For this morning

we simply want to focus

on these precious

words of Jesus.

I am the bread of life.

In a few minutes

we're going to partake

together of the

Lord's table

and as we move

towards this table

this thing that Jesus

said

I am the bread of life

it gives special meaning

to what we're about

to do.

It's no coincidence

that Jesus chose

on the night of his

betrayal

to break bread

and hand it out.

he said that night

to his disciples

this is my body

given for you

take and eat.

In a similar manner

he took a cup

and he said

this is my blood

of the covenant

which is poured out

for many

for the forgiveness

of sins.

the meal

was deeply

symbolic.

The bread

and the cup

represented how

the very next day

Jesus would give

himself

as a sacrifice

for the life

of the world.

His body

would come to hang

on that Roman cross

and his blood

would be poured out

from the scourging

and from the nails.

and all of this

a gift of love

to save us

from death

from everlasting

punishment

that we all deserve

because of our many

sins against

God.

And so eating

from this table

as we're going to do

in a few minutes

here is no small

thing.

Eating from it

is deeply

symbolic.

Eating that bread

means that we receive

the sacrifice

of Jesus.

It means that we

believe that he

is our

bread of life.

The one God

has provided

so that we might

have life

and not die.

It means that we

believe he died

on the cross

for us.

In the same way

drinking from the

cup means that

that we

we take

the forgiveness

of God

which his blood

secured.

We take it

unto ourselves.

We receive it.

It's a very

outward

and tangible

thing we do

with the bread

and the cup

in our hands

and yet when we

eat and drink it

it represents

something that

we have done

on the inside.

That we have

come to Jesus

and that we

really do

believe

in him.

That he is

that special

provision of God

that we need

for life.

So in just a

couple of minutes

we're going to

serve the bread

and the cup

and if you

have come to

Jesus

and if you

believe in him

I want to

invite you to

join and

partake

with us

as we celebrate

our bread of life.

broken for us.

I just want to

give a couple

words of

instruction.

In just a minute

we're going to

have a few

minutes in

which we can

quietly reflect

and pray.

There will be

some soft music

playing in the

background.

It's a chance

for you to

confess your sins

to God

quietly.

It's a chance

for you to

talk to him

about the one

that he has

provided for you.

and when the

music is

finished

Charles is

going to

come

and

serve us

the bread.

When he

comes with

the bread

please hold

your hands

open like

this

if you wish

to participate

and he's

going to

drop it

into your

hands.

Next he'll

serve the

cup

and when he

comes with

the cup

you'll notice

that the

cups have

been spaced

apart in

the tray

and just

ask that you

take care to

touch only

the cup

that you

are taking.

Once we've

all received

the bread

and the cup

just ask that

you would hold

on to both

of those

until everyone

has been

served

and then

I'm going to

lead us in a

prayer of

thanks

and we'll

eat and

drink together

and remember

the death

of our

Lord.

being

the

человек

and

also

having

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.