Food That Endures

Heavenly Father, this Christmas Eve, we remember that it is you who sent your Son, Jesus Christ,

so that he was born, so that he may raise those who are dead to life.

And we now want to hear from your word about what your Son accomplished on our behalf.

So please speak to us and by your Spirit, give us understanding and inflame our affections for you.

So that this Christmas, we may truly remember the King that came and witness his glory.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Please be seated.

Please turn with me to John chapter 6, verses 22 to 35.

John 6:22–35

John chapter 6, verses 22 to 35.

John 6:22–35

You're using your Q Bible, that's in page 891 of your Q Bible.

And this passage follows on the heels of Jesus' feeding of the 5,000.

It says 5,000 men, and they customarily counted only the men in large crowds.

So it's likely there was probably, counting women and children, 20,000 people or so, that Jesus fed with this miracle,

multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish to feed this crowd.

And this was intended to show that Jesus was the new Moses, the Messiah, that was promised by God to come.

Just as Moses provided manna, bread from heaven to the Israelites,

Jesus was going to provide the new bread of life to give eternal life to people that he came to save.

And so that's this passage follows just after that.

Chapter 6, verses 22 to 35.

I will read it out loud for us.

Follow along with me in your Bibles.

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 got into 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 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 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, 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 the Lord.

Now, many of you,

probably all of you are familiar with the Christmas story,

and probably also with Aesop's fable about the grasshopper and the ant.

You guys know the fable that grasshopper spends his entire summer

singing away his time,

while the ant is working hard all over the summer,

preparing for the future,

the winter that is coming,

storing up food.

And when winter finally comes,

the grasshopper has no food to eat,

so he goes to the ant and asks for some food.

And the ant rebukes him for his idleness and says,

You should dance the winter away,

just as you did the summer.

And this fable is intended to extol the virtues

of industriousness, hard work,

and planning for the future.

And here in New England,

we like to think of ourselves as people who are industrious.

We like to think of ourselves as people who plan for the future.

So we work jobs that we like.

We work jobs we don't like.

We work day in and day out.

We provide for ourselves and for our families.

We save for our children's college.

We plan for our retirement.

Yet even with all of that,

we don't plan quite far enough.

We plan for this life,

but not for the life to come.

So in the scale,

the breadth of eternity,

then we are just like this grasshopper

who is so distracted and busy

with the preoccupations of the here and now

that we do not attend to the business of eternal life.

And that's what Jesus rebukes this crowd of

in verse 25.

He says to them,

in verse 26,

He says,

Well, truly, truly, I say to you,

you are seeking me not because you saw signs,

but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Jesus here accuses his admirers and followers

of using him to get what they want

but in seeking to get to know him

and following him as a son of God and Messiah

that he is.

And if you've,

I mean,

and I think all of you at every stage of life

have probably experienced this.

As a child,

you may remember that some,

and if you're still a kid,

you might remember that some of your peers,

some of your other friends' kids

who may not have any,

wanted anything to do with you,

didn't want to hang out with you,

all of a sudden want to be your friend

when you have the cool toy

or a game

that they didn't have, right?

Or if you're a teenager

in high school,

you might remember that all of a sudden

friends who didn't really,

the peers that didn't really care for you

want to hang out with you

when they find out that you got your driver's license

and you have a car, right?

Or if you're an adult,

you experience all the powerful adults,

people with influence

have people flocking to them,

wanting to score some points

and to be under their good graces,

flattering them.

That's exactly what these followers

are doing to Jesus.

They were not interested in getting to know him

and following him as who he claimed to be.

Rather, they wanted him to be a showman,

a magician to fill their stomachs,

not a savior to save their souls.

They wanted to take care of their body,

their here and now,

and not attend to their souls for eternity.

And that's what so many of us do, isn't it?

That's what we do often in this life.

We religiously care for our own bodies, right?

We, you know, exercise when we don't want to.

We eat healthy foods that don't taste good to us, right?

We take the vitamins faithfully.

We care for ourselves

and buy the organic foods

that are the most expensive

in the food aisles in the grocery store,

all in the hopes that we might be healthy

for a little longer,

live just a little longer, right?

We religiously tend to our careers.

We push aside family and friends

to climb relentlessly up the corporate ladder

and find greater recognition and esteem

and compensation.

We religiously pursue fleeting pleasures for ourselves,

feeding our addictions to TV shows,

video games, drugs, alcohol, or sex.

Or maybe we simply religiously pursue

the happy middle class life,

American life.

To have a nice spouse,

a nice pair of kids,

a nice house,

and a nice car,

and maybe a nice dog to boot, right?

But the tragedy of life

is that all of these pleasures

are futile and fleeting.

We think that in these things

we can find true satisfaction,

but we always come up empty.

We never quite have enough,

and we always need the next big thing

because these things

ultimately cannot satisfy

our true hunger and thirst.

And the reason for that

is that our ultimate longing,

our true hunger and thirst,

is not for these things,

but for God,

who created us.

As Augustine,

a 4th century Christian theologian,

says to God,

he prays to God,

you have made us for yourself,

O Lord,

and our heart is restless

until it finds its rest in you.

A more modern Christian theologian,

C.S. Lewis,

also writes about this.

And then he says in his book,

Mere Christianity,

creatures are not born with desires

unless satisfaction for those desires exists.

A baby feels hunger,

well,

there is such a thing as food.

A duckling wants to swim,

well,

there is such a thing as water.

Men feel sexual desire,

well,

there is such a thing as sex.

If I find in myself a desire

which no experience in this world

can satisfy,

the most probable explanation

is that I was made for another world.

If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it,

that does not prove that the universe is a fraud.

Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it,

but only to arouse it,

to suggest the real thing.

we need to recognize that

all the broken,

incomplete,

fleeting pleasures

that we experience in this life

are just glimpses

of the whole,

complete,

and enduring

perfections of God

and the joys that He offers

in eternal life.

So you might think,

perhaps,

of a really

mellifluous melody,

a music

that makes you feel

when you listen to it

that some things are right in this world.

Or maybe you think

of the hearty,

the blissful,

carefree laughter

of a baby in your arms.

Or maybe you think

of that synergistic blend

of savory and sweet

in your favorite food.

Or maybe you think

of that perfect spiral

thrown by Tom Brady

going into

a perfect rainbow arc

into that snug hands

of that white receiver.

Maybe you think

of the beautiful interplay

of colors and lines

in your favorite painting.

Or that sacrificial

and mutually supporting love

between a husband

and a wife.

All of these things

that we long for,

that we live for,

these are just glimpses.

Echoes,

shadows

of the perfections

of eternal life

with God.

And perhaps

we don't think much

about heaven,

we don't look forward

to these things

because we do not realize

how good it is.

So Jesus enjoins us

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.

So don't seek

the food that perishes

but the food

that endures

to eternal life.

These fleeting pleasures

that we have

are real pleasures

but they will not

ultimately fulfill us.

And the crowd

is intrigued by this

and so they ask

in verse 28,

what must we do

to be doing

the works of God?

This is a subtle

but dangerous question

that they're asking

because Jesus said

in verse 27,

the Son of Man

will give to you

the food

that endures

to eternal life.

And having heard that,

the appropriate response

should have been,

well then please

give us this food

that endures

to eternal life.

But rather than

relying on Jesus

who promised that

He will give

this bread,

the people are concerned

with earning

this bread.

So they want to know

what works

we must do.

But Jesus says

in verse 29,

He corrects them,

this is the work of God

that you believe in Him

whom He has sent.

An eternal life

that Christ offers

is a gift

and not a wage

so that the

quote unquote

work that He demands

is to believe in Him

whom He has sent.

It's like

at Christmas time

it's particularly appropriate

to think about gifts,

right?

When you receive

a Christmas present

you don't expect

to receive a bill

the following week,

right?

Saying,

well this is how much

it costs,

you have to pay me back.

That's not a gift.

That defies

the very definition

of a gift.

A gift is freely given.

Right?

In the same way

Jesus here says

the Son of Man

will give to you

the food that endures

to eternal life.

It's free.

It's free.

It's a gift.

And that's why He says

this is the work of God

that you believe in Him

whom He has sent.

And faith,

believing in Him

is not work.

Rather it's

an admission

of our helplessness.

In Romans 3.23.25

it says that

all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God

and are justified

by His grace

as a gift

through the redemption

that is in Christ Jesus

whom God put forward

as a propitiation

by His blood

to be received

by faith.

All of us

have sinned

against God

and by refusing

to channel

all of our thoughts

all of our

affections

and desires

all our speech

all our words

all of our actions

by failing

to channel

all of those things

all that we are

and all that we do

toward God's glory

we have sinned

against Him

because that's what

He created

us to be

that's what

He created

us to do

and as a result

we have experienced

spiritual death

and the only way

to regain this life

is to have

this bread of life

but this bread of life

is too costly

for us to afford

it's too difficult

for us to procure

but Jesus

He says

He freely offers it

gives it

to us

and all we have

to do

is in faith

simply say yes

holding out

our empty hands

now I don't want

you guys to think

that faith

is an easy thing

therefore it's

something you can do

lightheartedly

or halfheartedly

because the genuine

faith is not just

theoretical

but it's practical

so you might say

you believe in

modern medicine

right

but if you don't

vaccinate your kids

and you

when you are diagnosed

with cancer

instead of

going to an oncologist

you eat a lot of

blueberries

then you don't

believe in

modern medicine

you believe it

in theory

but you don't

believe it

in practice

in the same way

if you're to

believe in Jesus

you say you believe

in Jesus

but if He

doesn't affect

your priorities

your values

your entire life

then you don't

really believe

in Jesus

think about it

this way

1 John 4

20

this

describes

God's people

the church

as the family

of God

and it says

that if you don't

love your Christian

brother or sister

whom you have seen

you can't love

God whom you

have not seen

imagine if you

have a family

member

maybe a sister

or brother

or father

or mother

and you don't

interact with

that person

at all

throughout the

entire year

except for

a cursory

perfunctory

call

phone call

on Christmas

day

can you really

say that you

love that

family member

of course

not

in the same

way

then too

if

you do not

interact

with your

Christian

brother or

sister

at all

throughout

the year

except for

a perfunctory

visit

on Christmas

day

can you

really claim

to love

your Christian

brother or

sister

and if you

don't love

your Christian

brother or

sister

according to

the Bible

it says

you do

not

love

God

you see

faith is

far more

than just

the mental

ascent

it's not

just theoretical

it's

practice

oh yes

I believe

in God

we say

but even

the devil

believes

in God

what matters

is do we

obey him

do we

follow him

do we

harness

all of our

life

to live

for him

so yes

eternal life

is offered

to us

freely

by Jesus

but when

we possess

it

we also

become

possessed

by it

it defines

our life

it drives

our life

so then

the food

that endures

the eternal

life is

free

and it

is given

to us

by Jesus

but what

exactly

is this

food

and Jesus

gives the answer

in response

to the people's

demand for a sign

they ask in verses

30 to 31

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

so they want

a sign

they want to prove

that Jesus

indeed can give

them this bread

of life

and then Jesus

responds

in verses

32 to 33

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

and then

finally

after this

back and forth

between Jesus

and the crowd

the crowd

finally gives

the right

response

they say

okay well then

please give us

this bread

say sir give us

this bread

always

and then Jesus

comes back

with this mind

blowing truth

in verse 35

I am the bread

of life

whoever comes

to me shall

not hunger

and whoever

believes in me

shall never

thirst

before Jesus

said that he

will give

eternal life

and now he

reveals that he

himself is

the bread

of life

he's going

to offer

himself

because he's

the one

in whom

eternal life

resides

and this is

an unmistakable

reference to

his future

impending death

on the cross

and later in

verse 51

he makes this

clear

he says

the bread

that I will

give for the

life of the

world

is my

flesh

and you

might be

wondering

well this

is Christmas

it's about

Jesus'

birth

so why are

you talking

about Jesus'

death

well the

reason for

that is

because we

have something

to celebrate

in Christmas

but it's

not merely

that he

was the fact

that he

was born

that we

celebrate

but we

celebrate the

fact that he

was born

to die

because if he

didn't die

for our sins

then there would

be no good

news for us

to celebrate

there would be

nothing for us

to rejoice in

we would all

still be

spiritually dead

and not all

that would

await us

would be God's

judgment

and eternal

perdition

but on

Christmas

the only

God

became

a man

to save

us

on Christmas

the son

of God

became a

son of

man

God the

creator

and upholder

of the

universe

took on

flesh

and was

born as

a feeble

human

baby

in a

manger

and what's

remarkable

is he

came not

to enjoy

the luxurious

life of a

king

making

men

his

creatures

do his

bidding

rather he

says in

Mark 10

45

he came

to serve

and to

give his

life as

a ransom

for many

the Anglican

minister John

Stott summarizes

this good news

of Jesus Christ

this way he

says the

essence of

sin is we

human beings

substituting

ourselves for

God

while the

essence of

salvation is

God substituting

himself for

us

we put

ourselves

where only

God

deserves

to be

God

puts

himself

where

only

we

deserve

to be

and that's

what happened

on Christmas

day

that's what

happened

on the

cross

God the

creator

became a

man

the creature

because

man presumed

to be

like God

by living

without any

accountability

toward him

God the

holy one

died a

sinner's death

on the

cross

because man

the sinful

one

rebelled

against

God

and why

should we

believe that

this very

tale like

story is

true

because that's

the sign

that Jesus

offered

the sign

that Jesus

offered was

in giving

offering up

himself his

own body

and then

rising again

from the

dead

and I've

mentioned

this before

to our

church a

couple weeks

ago but

this is

that Christianity

is the most

falsifiable

religion in

the world

because if

you want to

start a

cult if you

want to

invent a

religion about

the worst

thing you can

say is well

I'm going to

die and then

in three days

rise again

because you're

going to die

and then you're

not going to

rise again

and that's

obvious

to everybody

and they could

observe that

and demonstrate

that and prove

that they could

verify for

themselves but

that's exactly

what Jesus

did he told

people after

in his public

ministry that

he would die

and rise again

to prove that

he is a son of

God who gives

eternal life to

us and people

believed in him

because he did

which this is

unlike any other

religion in the

history any

other religion you

look around

Hinduism Buddhism

Islam and

they all start

with this private

idea or a

private revelation

of God that

no one else can

challenge or

verify and that's

why they can

survive but

Christianity is a

religion that is

patently falsifiable

yet it survived

because it was

true because Jesus

did die and he

rose again from

the dead and his

disciples were

martyred for their

conviction that

Jesus was the son

of God who rose

from the dead

and you might

object that well

sure adherents of

other religions and

other faiths have

also died for their

faith and that is

true but while

people die for what

they are convinced

is true no one

dies for what they

know is false and

these disciples died

proclaiming that

Jesus rose from the

dead

Jesus offered himself

up as the bread of

life broken for us

so that we might eat

and have eternal

life but then how

do we eat this

bread and I've

already hinted at

this and the answer

is in verse 35

Jesus says I am the

bread of life

whoever comes to me

shall not hunger and

whoever believes in me

shall never thirst

here the metaphorical

language is revealed

because those who no

longer hunger are not

those who eat Jesus

but those who come to

Jesus and those who

will no longer thirst

are not those who

drink Jesus but those

who believe in him so

you eat the bread of

life by coming and

believing in Jesus so

I urge you then this

evening don't seek the

food that perishes but

the food that endures to

eternal life and as we

think about eternal life

I'm going to end with

this thought it's from a

book called heaven by

Christian author named

Randy Alcorn and he

writes this he says the

best of life on earth is

a glimpse of heaven the

worst of life is a

glimpse of hell for

Christians this present

life is the closest they

will come to hell for

unbelievers it is the

closest thing they will

come to heaven so I urge

you with all my heart this

evening anyone listening to

this message could come to

Jesus and believe in him

for that's the reason for

Christmas that's the

purpose of Christmas he

was born to die so we

might live so let's pray

together

Ralph

baking

me

you

me