Jesus, the Bread of God

Let me pray for the meeting of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, we were in loss.

We were dead in our trespasses and sins.

But in your great love, you did not leave us to our own devices.

You sent your only Son, your precious Son, to save us.

And we want to remember him this morning as the bread of God.

The spiritual bread you sent from heaven to nourish us into eternal life.

So as we listen to your Word, please feed us from this bread.

Help us to believe in Him.

Hope in Him.

And in doing so, we become more and more like Jesus.

It's in His precious name we pray.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand as I read John 6.3.

Amen.

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 stake.

Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.

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

Lifting up his eyes, then 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 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 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.

Jesus then 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.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the Sea of 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 been only one boat there,

and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.

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 guided to the boats 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 signs, but because you ate your fill of balloons.

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 said is sealed.

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 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.

Then 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 God's holy and glorified word.

May be seen.

I looked up a cooking video this week on YouTube,

pray for Christmas,

and it was overwhelmed by the sheer number of food-related videos on YouTube.

There are millions and millions of videos,

like cooking hot-to videos,

and then these eating broadcast videos,

where you just watch other people eat stuff.

And then restaurant review videos,

all kinds of videos.

According to research from Miller Brown Digital,

foodie fan culture is on the rise.

Apparently from 2014 to 2015,

there was a 280% growth in food channel subscriptions.

Apparently, I didn't know this,

nearly half of adults watch food videos on YouTube.

That's half of us sitting here.

And it says millennials watch more than any other demographic group.

So there's an insatiable demand for food videos

for one simple reason.

There's always hungry people.

We always get hungry again.

So there's always a need for food.

We eat and digest and get hungry,

and so we eat again,

and we can't seem to get enough of these food videos.

Similar to our physical hunger,

there is a spiritual hunger within all of us.

There are people who try to deny this.

For example, a little big foyer back,

claimed that God is a human invention,

and that human progress would follow the rejection of all religion.

And Christianity in particular.

Karl Marx said that God is the opiate of the masses,

and predicted that the enlightened and prosperous society

would find no use for God.

Sigmund Freud asserted that God is an illusion.

Now, Sigmund imagined in our own minds

from the sake of restraining the violent impulses

of a primitive civilization.

And he predicted that God would be set aside

in the new age of reason and science.

Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared that God is dead.

These priests of atheism, so to speak,

boldly proposed a secularization hypothesis,

which predicted that as society progresses,

through modernization and rational thinking,

it will become increasingly e-religious.

However, the precise opposite has happened.

In 1900, the year Nietzsche died,

there were 8 million Christians in Africa.

Now there are 685 million Christians in Africa.

The Pew Research Center reported that in 2015,

there were 2.3 billion Christians in the world,

which at the time was 31.2% of the world population,

which is the biggest it's ever been,

and it's the largest religion in the world,

and it's still to this day.

The secularization hypothesis of the so-called far-seeing seers

turned out to be a myth

propounded by nearsighted lusts.

According to the Gallup World Poll,

which surveyed more than a million people

living in 163 nations,

this is 81% of people claim to belong

to an organized religion today.

And many who don't participate

in other kinds of folk religions.

Not only that,

even in parts of the world

that are reputedly most secular

and most atheist,

all kinds of unconventional

spiritual and mystical practices

are moving.

Like in Russia and France,

there are more occult healers

than medical doctors.

38% of the French believe in astrology.

35% of the Swiss agree

that some fortune tellers

really can foresee the future.

We feel physical hunger

because our bodies are trying to eat.

Likewise, we feel spiritual hunger

because we were created to worship God,

even though people in disguided ways

are seeking it in other things.

The 17th century French mathematician,

physicist, and philosopher,

Blaise Pascal,

puts it this way in his collection of essays,

and kind of says,

What else does this craving

and this helplessness proclaim

but that there was once in man

a true happiness,

of which all that now remains

is the empty print and trace?

This he tries in vain to fill

with everything around him,

seeking in things that are not there

the help he cannot find in those that are,

though none can help,

since this infinite abyss

can be filled only with an infinite

and immutable object,

in other words,

by God himself.

John 6 teaches us

that Jesus is

the bread of God

who satisfies our spiritual hunger.

He demonstrates this to us

by pointing to how Jesus fulfilled

Old Testament scriptures

in several ways.

First, how he was a prophet like Moses,

and secondly,

how he was the Lord of the sea,

and thirdly,

how he was the bread of God.

It says in verse 2

that a large crowd

was following Jesus

because they saw the signs

that he was doing

on the sick.

He was healing,

the recklessly.

The word sign

is a key word

that recurs throughout

the Gospel of John 17 times.

And throughout the book,

the people ask Jesus

to do signs,

and the signs are offered to them

as a proof

of Jesus' identity

as the Messiah.

And so it says in John 2, 23,

many believed in Jesus' name

when they saw the signs

that he was doing.

In fact,

the recounting of these signs

is one of the main purposes

of John's writing.

It says in John 20, 30 to 31,

that Jesus did many other signs

of the presence of the disciples

which are not written in this book.

But these are written

so that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ,

Son of God,

and that by believing

you may have life in his name.

That is John's express purpose

in writing this Gospel.

So that we might see the signs

that are recorded in the book

and believe in Jesus

as the sign.

So the signs serve

an apologetic purpose

to defend the claim

that Jesus is the Son of God.

So when the crowd

gathers around Jesus

and his disciples,

Jesus sees another opportunity

to do a sign.

And he asks Philip

in verse 5,

where are we to buy bread

so that these people may eat?

Now this is not because

he is actually intended

to buy bread

because he's trying

to test Philip.

And Philip answers

in the most predictable way.

He says,

200 denarii worth of bread

would not be enough

for each of them to get a bread.

One denarius

was worth a day's wage.

So 200 denarii

is 200 days wage,

so about 8 months of wage.

And our day and age

they would be about $30,000.

So that's a lot of money.

Some of you might have

$30,000 in your bank account,

but this is not some chunk change

that these itinerant disciples

are going to be carrying around

in their pockets.

And so Jesus' request

is a little bit unreasonable

from a human point of view.

And so not only is there

no place that would sell

not much bread,

even if there were

such a place,

they would not have

enough money to buy it.

And so at this point,

Andrew interjects,

and he says in verse 9,

well, there is a boy here

who has five barley loaves

and two fish.

And he can't help

but despair himself.

He says,

but what are they

for so many?

The boy is generously

sharing his food,

but that'd be enough

for Jesus and his disciples

maybe if they ate

any other portions,

but he would certainly

not be enough

in the crowd.

Jesus tells the crowd

to sit down in verse 10.

He says,

he tells the people

to sit down,

and he says that the men

who sat down

were 5,000 in number.

In these days,

it was common

to estimate a large crowd

by only counting the men,

and then you could multiply

by three or so

to get a sense

of how many men,

women, and children

there were.

So he says there were

5,000 men,

but in all likelihood,

there's probably 15,000

or so,

people there.

And so to feed them,

and that's a large number,

it's hard enough

to cook for like

100 wedding guests.

And so this is

a huge crowd.

Nevertheless,

Jesus,

I can just picture

the disciples shot.

Jesus proceeds

to give thanks,

praying for the meal,

and then he begins

to distribute it

to those present.

And you could just

see the panic

in the disciples' eyes.

What are you doing,

Jesus?

You're going to run

out of food,

and there are going

to be a lot of

very hungry and angry people.

And it's not like

Jesus is giving out

these little tiny morsels.

He says he gave them

as much as people wanted.

And as the Jesus'

disciples are looking on,

the shock,

the panic,

turns into disbelief

as the food continues

to be given out.

And then eventually

it turns into delight.

wonder,

awe.

Somewhere

in the distribution

process,

Jesus had performed

a miracle

so that the food

was not running out.

And he says

in verses 12 to 13,

when they had eaten

their fill,

they gathered up

and filled

12 baskets

with fragments

from the five barley

loaves left

by those waiting.

There was more food

left over

than what they had

at the beginning,

and it is

almost certainly

significant

that there were

12 baskets

filled left

because there are

12 tribes

of Israel.

It's showing

that Jesus

is sufficient

to provide

for all

of God's people.

Now,

this isn't the main

point of the passage.

I'm going to digress

for a little bit,

but bear with me.

It's a side point.

It's kind of interesting

to me.

First,

it's about eating,

how to eat,

and Jesus says

that he gives thanks

before he eats,

and that's something

that Christians do

without thanking.

We pray before

we give thanks to God,

but think about it

from a non-Christian's

perspective.

It's quite ridiculous,

right?

I mean,

why would you

thank God

for your food?

I earned the money

and I went to the

grocery store

and bought the ingredients

and I cooked it myself,

so why am I

thanking God?

That's the perspective

of a lot of believers.

But for a Christian,

when we pray to God

before a meal,

it's a simple gesture

by acknowledging

that ultimately

all of it came from God,

that he is the ultimate

provider,

and there's nothing

we could do without it.

And then secondly,

this is really amazing,

in verse 12,

after this miracle

and after the meal,

Jesus tells his disciples

to gather up

the leftover fragments

that nothing may be lost.

Isn't that remarkable?

Jesus just multiplied

five rolls of bread

and two fish

to feed 15,000 people.

He can do that

when he wants to.

But he's concerned

about the leftovers.

Gather it up

so that nothing

may be lost.

I think this is a lesson

on stewardship.

As Christians,

we have the perspective

that the things

that we have,

everything we have,

including food and money,

all our relationships,

all our health,

all our bodily abilities,

everything we have

is a gift from God.

We are not the ultimate

owners,

we are stewards.

And so just as a property

manager,

he can't decide to do

whatever he wants to do

with the property

because it's not his.

He needs to take care of it,

steward it.

Just as a financial advisor

can't do whatever he wants

with the money

that his client

has entrusted to him,

he needs to make sure

he gets a good return for it.

Likewise,

everything we have

belongs to God

and so we have to steward it.

We shouldn't waste things.

We should be,

we should have that mindset.

This would radically

transform the way we spend,

the way we eat.

And so that's not the main point,

but it's an interesting point

nonetheless.

Verse 14,

it says,

when the people saw the sign

that he had done,

they said,

this is indeed the prophet

who is to come to the room.

And this is the main point.

In Deuteronomy 18,

there was a prophecy

that the Messiah would come

and that he would be

a prophet like Moses.

Moses gave the Israelites

bread from heaven.

He made,

through with God's help,

made manna,

bread from heaven,

rained down

to feed the Israelites.

In a similar way,

Jesus is here providing

bread for God's people

and leaving 12 baskets full

to indicate a sufficient

seed for all of Israel.

And moreover,

Jesus is doing this

on Passover day,

which is again

hearkening back to Exodus

because Moses,

that was the final miracle

that God performed

through Moses

in Passover

before the Israelites

were allowed to leave Egypt

and they were no longer

slaves in Egypt.

And so by multiplying bread,

Jesus is proving

that he is the prophet

like Moses.

He is a promised Messiah,

the Christ,

who was to come.

And so people

correctly identified Jesus

as the prophet

who is to come.

And then they make

the deduction

that since Moses

let God's people

out of their slavery in Egypt,

that Jesus would then

lead God's people

out of slavery in Rome,

under the Roman Empire.

And so they tried

to force him

to become king

with this 15,000 strong

being maybe the militia.

But Jesus knows

that in his first coming

he came not to found

the physical kingdom

but a spiritual kingdom.

And so he says

in verse 15,

perceiving that

that they were out

about to come

and take him

by force making king,

Jesus withdrew again

to the mountain

by himself.

Jesus is the Messiah.

He's the prophet

like Moses.

But John still has more

to tell us about

Jesus' true identity

because he is also

far greater than Moses.

And we see that

in verses 16 to 21.

Follow along

with his idea.

When evening came,

his disciples went down

to the sea,

God, and to the boat

and started across

the sea of 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.

And they were glad

to take him into the boat

and immediately the boat

was at the land

where two basically

were going.

The Sea of Galilee

was prone to having

stormed and it seems

like they were,

they said there was a storm

here in verse 18.

And while they're

struggling at their oars,

the boat is being

tossed to and fro,

they see Jesus

walking on the sea

and coming near the boat.

And they're understandably

frightened

in the same way

you would be

if, you know,

someone just started

levitating all of a sudden

in the middle of this room.

Jesus is doing something

that human beings

are not supposed

to be able to do.

And so Jesus reassures

the frightened disciples

in verse 20

saying,

it is I.

Do not be afraid.

He's saying

on the surface level

it's me

so don't worry.

But to careful listeners

and readers

of this passage

John intends

a deeper theological meaning

because the clause

it is I

can be translated

more literally

as I am.

And that's a key expression

in the Gospel of John.

This is the first

of five references

in the book

when Jesus says

that he is

I am.

And it is

one of seven

occurrences

of modified

I am statements

when Jesus says

things like

I am

the life of the world.

I am

the door of the sheep.

I am

the good shepherd.

I am

the resurrection

and the life.

I am

the way

the truth

and the life.

I am

the true vine.

And so

this first

I am statement

I am

the bread

of life

is no accident.

when the Lord

God

Yahweh

revealed

his name

to God's people

in Exodus

he describes

his name

this way

in Exodus 3

I am

who I am.

Say this

to the people

of Israel

I am

has sent me

to you.

So by connecting

Jesus'

self-identification

with God's

self-revelation

in Exodus

John is declaring

that Jesus

is in fact

God

himself.

He is

Yahweh

the Lord

the I am.

And so

after Jesus

gets into the boat

miraculously

they immediately

arrive at their

landing destination

and this is

reminiscent of

Psalm 107

where he says

that God

raises the stormy sea

and when his people

cry out to him

in dismay

that he comes

to sea

makes the storm

be still

and waves

the sea

are hushed

and he brings

them to their

desired

behavior.

So this is

the fulfillment

of Psalm 107.

Frequently

in the Old Testament

water is described

as an agent

of chaos

and disorder

and only God

can tame it.

Only God

can control

the waters

and still

the storms.

And so

by showing

his mastery

over the storm

and walking

on the water

Jesus demonstrates

his identity

and the great

island.

So Jesus

is not

only a prophet

like Moses

who brought

Israel out of

Egypt

to the Passover.

He's also

the Lord

God himself

who brought

Israel out

through the

Red Sea

on dry ground.

So you can

see how we're

following the

Exodus

there

in here.

Passover

and then

the trip

through the

Red Sea

and then

now we

are at

the section

where we're

going through

the wilderness.

Israel

going through

the wilderness.

That's why

we come back

to the theme

of bread.

The bread

from heaven.

Manna for

the Israelites

in the wilderness.

In verse 25

the crowd

notices that

Jesus is

gone and

his disciples

have left

and so they

try to follow

Jesus and

they find

them,

track him

down and

they ask

him,

hey,

why did

you leave?

How long

have you

been here?

We've been

looking all

over for you.

And Jesus'

response is

surprisingly

sharp.

He says in

verse 26,

truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

you are

seeking me

not because

you saw

signs,

but because

you ate

your fill

of the

lobes.

On the

surface,

this seems

to be a

contradiction

of verse

2,

which said

earlier on,

a large

crowd was

following him

because they

saw the

signs that

he was

doing on

the sick.

But this

time Jesus

says,

no,

it's not

because of

the signs,

but because

you had

your fill

of the

lobes.

That's why

you're

following.

So what

is going

on here?

I mentioned

at the

beginning

that sign

is a

key term

in the

gospel of

John.

John makes

the point

that the

signs demonstrate

Jesus'

identity,

but he

also makes

the point

throughout the

gospel that

in spite of

the signs

that people

refused to

believe him.

John 12,

37,

Jesus had

got so

many signs

before that

they still

did not

believe in

him.

A sign,

think about

this for a

second,

a sign by

its very

nature signifies

something.

It points

to something

else.

The miracles

that Jesus

worked,

pointed to

Jesus'

identity,

who he

is.

To fixate

on the

sign and

not on

Jesus is

like being

too busy

staring at

the highway

sign that

you actually

missed your

exit.

It's like

a tourist

coming to

Massachusetts

only to

pose next

to the

welcome to

Massachusetts

sign,

take a

picture,

and then

to leave

without

enjoying

anything that

Massachusetts

has to

offer.

They were

focusing on

the sign

and not

on the

thing that

the sign

points to.

That's what

Jesus is

saying.

They were

following

Jesus

around for

the

spectacle,

not because

they were

actually

interested in

following

Jesus,

what the

signs said.

They came

because they

ate their

fill with

loaves,

like people

who go to

Costco to

sample the

free foods,

with zero

intention of

buying ancient

food,

they sample.

It's okay to

sample food,

you're not

going to buy,

but if you

go there with

only the

intention to

sample,

you're

missing the

point.

Jesus

continues in

verse 27,

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.

Jesus

is telling

these crowds,

stop following

me around

for the

signs.

Stop

following me

around for

food.

I am not

a cheap

proud pleaser,

I am not

a magician,

I am the

Son of God

who has

come to

save the

world.

I have

come to

offer you

so much

more,

food that

endures to

eternal life.

We have

a knack

for getting

caught up

in lesser

things and

losing sight

of the

most important

things.

We work so

hard,

don't we,

for food

that perishes,

only to find

that it

disappoints and

fails us.

We try to

find our

identity and

calling in

life in the

work that we

do by trying

to do as

much good as

possible in the

world,

forgetting that

only Jesus is

the bread of

God who

satisfies our

spiritual hunger.

No matter how

successful we are,

no matter how

much good we

do in the

world,

no matter the

difference we

make,

these things

cannot satisfy

our spiritual

hunger.

Because we

were not merely

created to do

good, but we

were created to

worship the

good God.

No other

God or religion

can fulfill our

longing for

eternity.

Because only

Jesus is the

bread of God

who satisfies

our spiritual

hunger.

We try to

dull our sense

of spiritual

hunger by

indulging in

other things,

whether that's

money and the

things that it

can buy,

sex,

eating,

drinking,

vacationing,

working,

binge watching,

TV shows.

These pleasures

can never fill

the infinite

abyss within

our hearts.

Everyone we

love will

die.

Everything we

love will

perish eventually.

And yet we

work only for

the food that

perishes when

there is food

that endures

to eternal

life.

Jesus offers

us everlasting

life.

He offers us

eternal life

and communion

with and

worship of

the triune

God.

That's what

we were

created for.

So then how

can we eat

this bread of

God, the

bread of life?

Having been

told to work

for the food

that endures

to eternal

life, people

ask Jesus a

natural follow-up

question in

verse 28.

what must

we do to

be doing

the works

of God?

And Jesus'

answer in

verse 29

is surprising.

He says,

this is the

work of

God.

Believe in

him who

he has

sent.

The people

are ready to

roll up their

sleeves and

maybe go

charge into

Rome, do

whatever he

tells them to

do because

they think

it's up to

them.

they want

to know how

they can

get to do

the work of

God.

And Jesus

says to

them in

verse 27,

the food

that endures

to eternal

life is

not something

that they

can earn

or produce

with their

work.

Rather,

it's something

that the

Son of

Man gives.

For on

him the

God the

Father has

set his

seal.

It is a

gift rather

than a

wage.

A seal is

what is used

to authenticate

or to

authorize

something or

someone.

So when a

king sends

a messenger

out, he

sends him

out with

a royal

seal so

that everything

that this

messenger says

has the

force and

authority of

a royal

event.

And so

the Father

says he

has set his

seal on

his son,

Jesus,

has the

God the

Father's

seal on

him.

And that

means only

Jesus has

the authority

to give the

food that

endures to

eternal life.

He's the

only person

authorized to

do it,

to give

it.

So then the

people's

question in

verse 28 is

mistaken on

two fronts.

They ask,

what must

we do?

They got the

subject and

the verb

both wrong.

The proper

subject is not

we, but

he, because

only Jesus

can give it.

He gave

eternal life.

And as for

our part, there

is no work,

strictly speaking,

that we must

do or

perform.

We simply

need to

believe in

him who

God the

Father has

sent.

The work

that we

must do is

simply to

believe, to

believe that

Jesus is the

Son of God

who saves us

from sin and

death, to

believe that

Jesus is the

bread of God

who nourishes

us of eternal

life.

That is what

is required of

us.

So then all

the actual

work is

God's.

Our one and

only contribution

to this

equation of

our salvation

is our sin.

Even faith

itself, believing

in Jesus, is

not something that

we contribute to

our salvation.

Faith is

simply the

bringing of

our sins to

God, trusting

that God can

do something

about it.

Bringing of

our hunger,

spiritual

depravity to

God, hoping

that God can

do something

about it.

You can think

about it this

way.

We are starving

beggars on the

street, pleading

for bread.

And a very

generous and

wealthy patron

sends a truck

full of food

that will be

sufficient for

the rest of

our lives.

and we

gratefully

receive the

food and

we eat it.

Will we

then turn

around and

pat ourselves

on the

back, give

ourselves a

credit and

then say,

what a wise

and humble

and gracious

beggar I am

to receive

this food.

No.

Of course

not.

We give all

the credit to

the generous

woman.

And we say,

I am alive

because of

him.

God the

father sent

his son,

Jesus,

the bread of

God, so

that we

might believe

in him and

be nourished

unto eternal

life.

So our

salvation is

all God's

doing.

What God

has done in

and through

Jesus is the

basis for our

salvation and

our believing,

our faith is

simply the

means by

which we

receive that

gift of

salvation.

Understanding that

gain eternal

life is not

about what

they must

do, but

about believing

in Jesus.

The people

turn their

attention back

to Jesus in

verse 30 to

31.

Then what

sign do you

do?

We may see

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.

So now

they're asking

the right

question,

what is

partly,

right?

If it's

not about

the work

we do,

then they

should be

asking,

what work

do you

do?

What are

you doing,

Jesus,

to give us

eternal life?

But then

they ask him

again for a

sign.

Now, so we're

back to square

one.

We started

with them

coming because

of the sign,

now they're

asking for

another sign.

There's no

end.

They're not

coming to

faith, they

just want

more signs.

Jesus just

performed a

sign.

He just

fed 15,000

people, 5,000

men with

bread, five

bones of

bread and

two fish.

And just

before that,

Jesus healed

an invalid

of 38

years.

Just before

that, he

healed the

dying son

of an

official.

And before

that, he

turned water

into wine.

In fact, the

whole book of

John is full

of the signs

that Jesus

is doing to

reveal who

he is.

And yet,

these people

again ask

for a sign.

Why?

Because they're

not here for

Jesus.

Because they're

here because

they haven't

filled their

lobes.

But Jesus

nonetheless

patiently and

graciously

responds to

them in

verse 30

to 33.

Truly,

truly, I

say to

you, it

was not

Moses who

gave you

the bread

from God,

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.

And when

the people

ask him

for this

bread,

Jesus

answers them

in verse

35,

I am

the bread

of life.

Whoever

comes to

me shall

not hunger

and whoever

believes in

me shall

never thirst.

Just as

God the

Father gave

the Israelites

a sign by

sending bread

from heaven

in the

wilderness to

feed them

and so

they can

be sustained

to their

promised land,

Jesus says

that now he

himself is

that sign.

He is the

bread of God

that God

has sent to

nourish us

onto our

promised land

to eternal

life to new

heavens and

the earth.

Just before

his death

on the

cross,

Jesus

instituted

the Lord's

Supper,

which we'll

celebrate

shortly,

and he

said this,

he took

bread and

after blessing

it he broke

it and gave

it to the

disciples and

said,

take,

eat,

this is

my body.

This is

the work

that Jesus

did.

A grain

of wheat

must be

buried in

the ground

in death

in order

for it to

produce wheat

and that

wheat must

then be

harvested

and turn

into bread

and that

bread that

must be

consumed,

broken,

so that

it can be

food for

us.

So Jesus

was the

grain of

wheat that

fell and

died.

Jesus was

the bread

that was

broken for

our nourishment.

Jesus died

on the cross

and this is

the work of

God that

Jesus did.

He died

on the cross

to pay the

penalty for

our sins.

He died

the debt that

we deserve

so that we

might have

eternal life

that only

he deserved.

The bread

that is

offered to

us is

not free.

It was

very,

very costly.

It cost

the life

of God's

only son.

It cost

the bread

of God,

the bread

from heaven.

It's free

to us

only because

someone else

has paid

the price,

because God

the Father

paid the

price.

And that's

why God

invites us

as we

read in our

cult

worship this

morning from

Isaiah 55,

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

and without

price.

Why do you

spend your

money for

that which

is not

bread and

your labor

for that

which does

not satisfy?

Once again,

stop working

for food

that perishes.

Jesus is

the bread

of God

who satisfies

the spirit

for hunger

and gives

us eternal

life.

Come and

eat by

believing in

him.

Buy and

eat without

money,

without price.

The Son of

God became

a son of

man on

Christmas

Day.

The bread

of heaven

came down

to earth

so that he

might be

broken for

us,

to feed

us,

to give

us eternal

life.

Let's pray.

Father,

it is

true.

Physically,

I still

get hungry

again and

again.

But Jesus'

promise is

true.

He said,

we eat

him,

by believing

in him,

the bread

of God,

that we

would never

hunger again,

we would

never thirst

again.

Father,

I've never

been hungry

again.

I've never

been thirsty

again.

Because you

have fed

us with

the everlasting

eternal

bread,

your Son

of Jesus

Christ.

Thank you

for sending

him.

We

remember

with gratitude

this Christmas

Day,

your great

sacrifice.

Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.