Jesus: The Bread of Life — A Feast for the Soul

I just want to speak about Brad's mum for a little while, Gwyneth, her name was,

is, went to be with the Lord on Friday and praise God, Brad and Matt,

their son was able to get there in time to see her and say their goodbyes,

but not sure if they're listening in at the moment.

There are a few people listening in at the moment that it's possible that they're

having a memorial service as we speak.

And Carolyn, although she's here, will be obviously listening in on that as

well and being a part of that.

So we bless them and we bless Gwyneth as she journeys home to be with her Savior. Amen.

It's good. All right. It was good that Ange was talking about fixing our eyes

on Jesus and what Elaine was talking about this morning. because Jesus says

in John 6.35, he says, Jesus replied, I am the bread of life.

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.

Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Have you ever noticed in our world that much of our life revolves around hunger?

And I'm not just talking about physical hunger either.

I'm talking about all of our wants. We're hungry for things.

In this world, aren't we?

Not just the kind that food can fill, but that deep aching of the soul,

seeking something, wanting something.

You can have all the money in the world, a smile on your face,

and still be empty on the inside. Who agrees with that? Amen? Yep.

You can have success and even applause, and yet your heart whispers,

there must be more to life than this.

We live in a world that's feasting on fast food for the soul.

Things like entertainment, things like pleasure, things like achievement and

distractions, but nothing satisfies in this world.

But what the human heart longs for, it can't actually be found in this world,

I'm telling you this morning. It can't be found.

It can only be found in one person, and that person is Jesus Christ, who is the bread of life.

Jesus Christ is the bread of life. When you come to him, Jesus fills every empty

place. Who can say amen to that?

Yeah. He breaks the chains of addiction, alcoholism. He can break those chains right there and then.

He heals wounds of rejection.

Jesus heals wounds of rejection. He silences the lies of the enemy and satisfies

the deepest hunger of your spirit. That's Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

The world offers crumbs.

Have you noticed? But Jesus offers a feast.

He doesn't just give you a little hope. He actually becomes your hope.

He doesn't give you just peace. He is your peace.

He doesn't just fill your stomach. He fills your soul. That's Jesus Christ. He is the bread of life.

Come to him today, not half-hearted, not hesitant, but come to him hungry and

he will feed your soul because hunger is the doorway to encounter.

And when you taste the living bread, you'll never, ever hunger again. He says that himself.

In John 6.35, Jesus makes one of the most profound statements in all of scripture.

Okay. What do you mean, Tim? Well, I mean this. He doesn't say,

I'll show you the bread of life.

He doesn't say that, or he doesn't say, I'll give you the bread of life.

He profoundly says, I am the bread of life.

I am, capital I, capital A, capital M. I am the bread of life.

He doesn't point to something else outside of himself. He points us to him.

He points to himself as the only source of true life, true satisfaction, and eternal hope.

This morning, we're going to explore what that means. If you are here or if

you're listening in, it's not

just for the people who heard him 2000 years ago, but it's for us today.

Jesus Christ is the bread of life. So let's look at the context of this statement

that Jesus made, where he said, I am the bread of life in John 6.35. Earlier in the chapter.

The crowd who he was speaking to had just witnessed one of Jesus' most famous

miracles, and that was the feeding of the 5,000.

And it can be found in John 6, 1 to 15.

Jesus had multiplied five loaves, five loaves of bread and two fish to feed

thousands of hungry people.

In fact, let's read about it, shall we? Let's read it.

John 6, verses 1 to 15, it says this, After this, Jesus crossed over to the

John 6:1–15

far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias.

A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went because they saw his miraculous

signs as he healed the sick.

Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him.

It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him.

Turning to Philip, he asked, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?

He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

Philip replied, even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them.

Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up.

There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish.

But what's good? But what good is that going to be?

What good is that with this huge crowd?

Tell everyone to sit down, Jesus said. So they sat down on the grassy slopes.

The men alone numbered about 5,000.

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people.

Afterward, he did the same with the fish. And then they all ate as much as they wanted.

After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, Now gather the leftovers

so that nothing is wasted.

So they picked up the pieces and filled 12 baskets with scraps left by the people

who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed,

surely he is the prophet we have been expecting.

When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king,

he slipped away into the hills by himself.

But if we read on a bit further we find out

and we read that those the next day those

same people the same people came looking for him not because they believed necessarily

in him but because they wanted more food they wanted more bread john 6 26 says

this jesus says you want to be with me because I fed you,

not because you understood the miraculous signs.

They were satisfied in their stomachs, but what they didn't know was that they

weren't satisfied in their souls.

They wanted another meal and not necessarily the Messiah.

Jesus confronts them with a truth that cuts across every generation.

Physical bread can only fill you for a moment, but the bread of life satisfies forever, forever.

Jesus isn't offering existence to those people and to us today.

He's offering us abundance, abundance.

Many today chase after temporary breads of this world, possessions,

achievements, popularity.

And still find themselves spiritually starving. The truth is your heart was

made for God and nothing else will fill it.

As Augustine said, you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are

restless until they rest in you. Until they rest in you.

Rest in Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

So this declaration, declaration I am

the bread of life I am the bread of

life when Jesus said I am the bread of life he wasn't being poetic or symbolic

he was actually making a divine declaration to the people and to us and to us

today in the Greek the phrase I am when he speaks of I am the bread of life

in the Greek, the phrase,

I am, is the very same name that God spoke to Moses from the burning bush.

In Exodus 3.14, when he said, God replied to Moses, I am who I am.

Say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you, has sent me to you.

In that moment, the veil was lifted.

Jesus wasn't just another teacher. He wasn't just another prophet or miracle worker.

He was announcing that the eternal self-existent God, Yahweh himself.

Had stepped into human flesh.

He was saying, I am the bread of life.

The great I am has come down, not to demand something from us,

but to give himself to people as the bread of life.

The great I am, the infinite, became the intimate.

The creator became the sustainer.

The one who spoke the universe into being now speaks or now offers himself as

the one who satisfies the hunger of our souls. Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

When you partake of him, when you truly receive Jesus, you're not just receiving

a blessing, a truth, or a feeling, you're receiving the very life of God himself when you receive him.

John 1.14 says, so the word became human and made his home among us.

He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.

Jesus wasn't distant.

He was present. Jesus isn't distant now either. He is present.

He is present in here with us.

And that's the heart of it. That's the heart of it. He came down as the bread of heaven just for us.

We receive Christ as the nourishment of our souls, religion says to us, do more.

But Jesus says, come and eat. Come and eat of me. I am the bread of life.

Imagine attending a banquet, okay? Georgia and Johnny going to another wedding

today, two in two weeks. That's two in one week.

Yeah, pretty well. So imagine attending a banquet table. Imagine going to this wedding.

You guys have got a fairly large wedding coming up soon in the third row back there.

Imagine attending a banquet with a table full of food, but never actually eating of it.

You can sit there, you can smell the aromas, you can admire how well it's presented

and still starve to death because you're not eating it.

That's how many people treat Jesus. That's how many people treat Jesus.

They attend church, they sing songs, they hear the message, but they never actually

feed on the bread of life.

They never partake of the bread of life. Jesus isn't offering us an idea to admire.

He's offering himself for us to receive.

So let's look at this promise. He says, I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Let's have a look at that statement.

He, whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.

I want you to see the phrase comes to me.

That phrase comes to me. You know what it implies to me? It implies a continuous

action, not just coming one-off, but coming again and again and again, a continuous action.

Whoever keeps coming will keep believing. Keep coming.

Faith is not a one-time event, is it? It's an ongoing relationship.

In Psalm 107 verse 9, it says, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Psalms 107:9

The psalmist understands at that point that only God could satisfy the hunger of the heart.

Jesus fulfills that longing perfectly in us.

Come to me. I am the bread of life.

When our souls find their satisfaction in Christ, You know what we're doing?

We're glorifying God. We're glorifying because we demonstrate to the world that God is enough.

Who watches The Chosen?

Who loves The Chosen? I think it's awesome. Who's actually watched,

I don't want to, you know, well, I was going to say, I don't want to ruin the

story. We know the story, don't we?

It's like watching the movie, The Titanic and being surprised that it sank, isn't it?

But in The Chosen, who's seen the Last Supper episodes? Yeah.

Angela and I have been watching it for the last few nights, and I've been really

touched by it because there's a, and for the life of me, I cannot remember what

it's called, but it's during the Last Supper, Jesus sits down with his disciples, the men,

but before that, he sat down with his disciples, the women, okay?

And what is that called, Angela? Where they make statements.

They make statements like, I'm going to look it up.

They make statements like, if only Jesus had have come, that would have been enough.

Or if only Jesus had have, I shouldn't have even started because I'm not doing it justice.

It's a Jewish terminology that they use during Passover.

And it's where basically they say that even if Jesus had have just come and

done nothing else, that would have been enough.

That would have been enough. Well, when our souls find their satisfaction in

Christ, because in doing that, we're demonstrating to the world that Jesus is enough.

He is enough. Even if he hadn't have performed all those miracles.

It would have been enough.

Yeah, that's right. The day, the day, the day, you know, I'm going to get more

information about this.

I think I might even preach about it next week, but yeah.

Watch the last supper of the chosen and you'll experience something that's really

emotional where they can, you know, and you know, it's a show,

but it shows what the, what the disciples did with Jesus.

They declared that you are more than enough. You are more than enough.

When you come to Jesus, he doesn't just give you something to live for.

He becomes the source of your life.

He fills the emptiness that no career, no relationship or possession can fill.

In Isaiah 55 verses 1 to 2, it says this.

Isaiah 55:1–2

It says, is anyone thirsty? Come and drink.

Even if you have no money, come take your choice of wine or milk. It's all free.

Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?

Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me and you will eat what is

good. You will enjoy the finest food.

God's invitation has always been to us to come, to come, not to buy,

not to earn, but to receive freely.

We come empty handed and that's exactly how Jesus wants us.

The proud can't receive grace, but the humble can receive that grace.

There's a story of a young orphan boy in post-war Europe after the second world war.

And this little boy, this young orphan boy was pressing his nose against the window of a bakery.

And inside, fresh bread was steaming on the shelves.

Now, a soldier saw this young boy pressing up against the glass,

looking at the loaves of bread.

And the soldier bought him a loaf and handed it to him.

And the boy looked up and said, Mr., are you God?

Are you God? Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

The boy recognized that, that he was being provided for.

That's what the bread of life does for us. He meets, Jesus meets the starving

with grace and he satisfies our deepest needs. He is the bread of life.

So later in John 6, Jesus actually explains what he means even more clearly.

In John 6 verses 47 to 51, it's where he explains that the bread given is for our salvation.

John 6:47–51

In John 6, 47 to 51, he says, I tell you the truth.

Isn't it ironic Jesus saying, I tell you the truth? You can't lie.

Even if Jesus tried to lie, it would become truth.

I tell you the truth Anyone who believes has eternal life Yes,

I am the bread of life Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness But they all

died Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however,

will never die I am the living bread that came down from heaven Anyone who eats

this bread will live forever And this bread which I offer so the world may live is my flesh,

Here Jesus points to the cross.

He would offer his own body as the bread of life, broken for the salvation of the world.

Now the bread of life was just not given. The bread of life was also broken.

The bread of life was broken. In 1 Corinthians 11, 23 and 24,

it says, The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,

and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body.

This is my body, which is given for you.

At the cross, at the cross, Jesus took the punishment our sins deserved. His body was broken.

The bread of life was broken there and then his blood poured out so that we

could be forgiven and made whole.

Charles Stanley said, at the cross, God treated Jesus as if he'd lived our lives.

So that he could treat you and I as if you had lived his life.

So God treats us as if we have lived the life of Jesus.

Isn't that amazing? The bread of life.

That's the gospel. That is the gospel. Substitutionary, sacrificial, saving grace.

To eat the bread of life means to believe. It means to believe,

to personally trust in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection as your only hope of salvation.

Bread must be received and consumed.

We receive and we consume to sustain life. So it is with Christ.

Knowing about him isn't good enough. We need to receive him by faith.

So Jesus' invitation is both simple and eternal.

His invitation is this, whoever comes to me, whoever comes to me,

that's an open door for everyone.

That's an open door for the weary.

It's an open door for the sinner. It's open door for the broken.

And it's an open door for the searching. Come to me, all of you who are weary

and carry heavy burdens, And

I will give you rest Sounds like a word for someone Dorothy Doesn't it?

Yes, that's Matthew 11, 28, by the way. Might write that one down this week.

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Salvation's not achieved, it's received. Salvation is received.

And that invitation is still open today for us.

At Calvary, Jesus took all of our sin, all of your sin, all of my sin. Yes, every bit of it.

Took it all upon himself and he died in our place.

He was buried and praise God on the third day, he rose again,

defeating death, defeating sin and hell forever.

That's Jesus, the bread of life. He's alive today. Amen.

Offering eternal life to all who repent and believe.

Romans 10 and verse 9 says this. It says, if you openly declare that Jesus is

Lord and believe your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

You will be saved. If you come to him today, if you come to him hungry,

if you come to him weary, if you come to him broken today, as you are,

he will not turn you away.

He will not turn you away. Come on up, Josh.

So a little bit of a call to action this morning, a little bit of a call to action.

For those of us who already know Christ, this verse calls us to live as people

who are satisfied in him, insatisfied in him.

Don't go back to the stale bread of the world.

Don't feed your soul on things that can't last.

Live in the fullness of his grace, live in the fullness of his word,

and live in the fullness of his spirit.

Let's be people who offer the bread of life to a starving world. Let's be those people.

Go, therefore, and make disciples, Jesus said. Go, therefore,

and make disciples. Why?

Because the world is hungry and we know the bread that can satisfy the world.

Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

Lord, we thank you for that. We thank you for Jesus.

We thank you, Lord, for the bread of life that we can receive and that we can partake.

We can partake in the bread of life.

We can feed on the bread of life. We can live for the bread of life.

And Lord, we choose to do that this morning.

We choose to receive Jesus as the bread of life, the all-sustaining,

all-powerful, all-conquering bread of life.

We choose to receive that into our lives. As we go this week,

Lord God, I pray, Lord, that we would hunger after you each and every day.

We would continue to go to you. Your instruction to us, Lord, is to come to me.

Lord, we choose right now to go to you continually, day after day,

hour after hour, minute after minute, Lord.

We will live our lives moving closer to you, coming closer to you,

Lord God, the bread of life.

And we thank you for that in Jesus' name.

So church, go this morning. Go this morning and never, ever hunger again.

Go and feed on Christ daily through his word. Go and feed on Christ.

Go and share the bread of life this morning with all those who are starving for truth.

And may you live as people who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

The Lord is good. And may your life proclaim the words, Jesus is enough.

He's all we need. So go and feast this week. Amen. Amen.