Wednesday, March 25, 2009

John 6:22-40 Wonder Bread

22.03.09 John 6:22-40 (NASB)

Audio Sermon Files: John 6:22-40

Going Deeper: Study Guide

The following is from a web page entitled BAN BREAD, which offers us some food for thought… (http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/st-bread.html). These are some compelling reasons for banning bread…..

- More than 98% of convicted felons are bread users.

- Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average Canadian eats more bread than that in one month.

- Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat, begged for bread in as little as two days.

- Here is something important to know for our new parents - Newborn babies can choke on bread.

- Bread is baked in temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.

- Bread has proven to absorb water. Since the human body is 90% water, it follows that eating bread could lead your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey, bread pudding person.

-Most Canadian bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact, and meaningless statistical babble from a web page. KINDA MAKES YOU… WONDER… DOESN’T IT?

On a more serious note - our passage opens with the words The next day, triggering our minds back to what had just took place in chapter 6. Chapter 6 began with the miraculous ‘feeding of the 5000’ with bread and fish. At the conclusion of this miracle Jesus sends His disciples back to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee without Him. As the disciples make their way across the waters they are faced with a storm. In the midst of the storm, and in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, the disciples were fearful for their lives. This is when Jesus comes to the disciples - walking on the water - another powerful demonstration of who Jesus is - that He is the Messiah and Son of God. With the feeding of the 5000 Jesus demonstrates His creative power - that He can create at will. With Jesus walking on the water and stopping the storm, He demonstrates His Deity through His sovereign control over His creation.

As we move through our text we can divide our verses into 4 key sections. These divisions will reveal to us the human condition - helping us to see characteristics of hard heartedness in people towards the things of God. May this lead you to discover that Jesus is - The Bread of Life. That only Jesus can cleanse you from sinful human attitudes and grant you eternal life.

Our passage Jesus unravels 4 mindsets that the people harboured in their hearts which caused spiritual blindness and seperation from God….these are: #1 MATERIALISM - #2 SELF SUFFICIENCY - # 3 SKEPTICISM - # 4 UNBELIEF.

Surveying verses 22-40 we are going to see the progression of the passage. The people search for Jesus, giving us point:

1. MISSING THE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL BREAD (v.22-27)

Jesus then reveals our second point:

2. YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO EARN THIS BREAD (v.28-29)

The hardhearted people make a request, but Jesus reveals:

3. SATISFACTION COMES FROM THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.30-35)

Finally Jesus reveals THE ETERNAL WONDER OF THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.36-40)

1. MATERIALISM - MISSING THE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL BREAD (v.22-27)

22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but [that] His disciples had gone away alone. 23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You get here?" 26 Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal."

v.22-24 So now we are at the next day, and the rest of the chapter focuses on one main theme - that Jesus is the Bread of life. It is apparent that some of the crowd that were a part of the miraculous feeding were still on the north-eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. The people wanted to find Jesus, knowing that He did not leave with the disciples the previous evening, on their little boat. In the course of this search, other boats came from Tiberias with more people seeking out Jesus at the location where the miraculous feeding took place. In the midst of the search they all realized that Jesus was not there. These people did not know that in the middle of the night Jesus walked out on the Sea to meet the disciples - only the disciples witnessed that miracle. Since Jesus was not there, nor His disciples were anywhere in sight, they figured that He must have left the scene. They didn’t know how Jesus traveled, but they knew that He wasn’t there anymore. So they get back into their boats and they head over to the north western shores to Capernaum.

v.25 The people search for Jesus and now find Him. Even though the people were searching for Jesus they were surprised to find Him there - because they ask Jesus this question - Rabbi, when did You get here? The people were still puzzled as to how Jesus got across the lake without a boat, but Jesus doesn’t answer their direct question, but takes the opportunity to teach.

v.26 Jesus replies - Truly, truly, I say to you… do remember this phrase? ….something very important is going to be said by Jesus…"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Jesus targets the thoughts of the people and addresses their concern for materialism. The people were searching out Jesus for blessing - in terms of goods. These people were the direct recipients of food for their hungry stomachs in the miraculous feeding of the large crowd at the beginning of this chapter. And now we still see that their minds were focused on material… earthly… stuff. Jesus is not denouncing the necessity of material goods - yes we all need them, but His point is that the people’s material necessities of everyday living blinded them to what was utterly more important. Jesus was telling them that they weren’t looking for Him because they were interested about the spiritual side of life. In fact the people totally missed the significance of the miracle…the signs which point to who Jesus is. Instead they came to get more handouts…another free meal…they craved for more of that wonderbread.

v.27 But this is Jesus’ challenge to the crowd …a deep response to a shallow people - Jesus says, "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you … Jesus isn’t telling the people to stop working to make money to buy the food that they need….and by the way a food that spoils.

All food has a shelf life - an expiry date - and likewise so does our earthly life….our earthly existence is limited and lets face it …..one day we are going to expire - die. When we are young we think that we are invincible - death rarely crosses our minds. When we are young we do things that our parents wouldn’t do. Have you noticed, the age of those who are involved with extreme sports? We perhaps have recently, casually read about another gang member who got targeted and killed - and of the innocent that have died in the cross fire - and we think that it will never happen to me, and we go on with life - without thought of the life beyond. When we get older death becomes more real - we can’t help but notice it increasingly creeping closer - but we still think in terms of the here and now.

When my grandmother was still alive - in the last years of here old age she would often say in Cantonese - ‘dung say’ - waiting to die. What a sad statement - you live a whole life, chasing after stuff - a better job, a better car, a better figure, a lager house, more personal recognition, bigger toys, a grand retirement….. - materialism….. - but we all will die. But what about the life to come? Whether your a Christian or not - most people do not seriously consider the things to come beyond this earthly life. I’m going to ask all of you to do this one thing this week - take an inventory of everything that pre-occupies you Sunday to Sunday - if you do this - it will become obvious where your focus is….whether on physical earthly stuff or on the eternal spiritual realities of life. Are you living for yourself or are you living for Jesus?

In this section of our passage, Jesus is leading the people to think not in terms of food for their stomachs, but of food for their souls. What Jesus is driving at is that they should be pursuing something which is infinitely more important…. the food which endures to eternal life. The food that Jesus is talking about is a food that never perishes…which is everlasting….eternal….and can be found only in Jesus Christ. In light of our eventual death - God, has set His seal His seal of approval on Jesus - meaning that Jesus is the only one who is certified, marked out, or sealed to be the genuine dispenser of eternal life. Jesus moves from addressing materialism to the people’s….

2. SELF SUFFICIENCY- YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO EARN THIS BREAD (v.28-29)

28 Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

v.28 The people respond to Jesus’ interaction with them and they ask - What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? In the people’s reply was a sense of both zeal and self sufficiency. The zeal was that these people seemed to think that they had the capacity, and could do the works of God which He requires. Don’t forget these people had gone to Capernaum to search for blessing from Jesus with a material / earthly mindset - instead of a spiritual one. In their minds, pleasing God and obtaining eternal life was some kind of performance related formula - a system of works in an attempt to merit some kind of favour from God. So these people thought that they were self sufficient in pleasing God and in achieving eternal life. In other words they believed that they in their own strength were good enough to work their way to heaven. These Jews believed that by keeping the Law they would be saved unto eternal life. Eternal life to them consisted of following a bunch of rules and regulations, but they missed the whole point of the Law of God. The point of the Law of God was to show people how unrighteous, how un-holy, how much of a sinner they were before a Holy, righteous, just, and perfect God….and realizing this….they would get the message of how much they were insufficient in their self-sufficiency…therefore they desperately needed to turn to their Creator, God, to save them from their sins.

And this is the same with people today, even Christians to some extent. They think that going to church or following Jesus, is a bunch of rules and regulations in the Bible. Yet they miss the whole point. The average person on the street thinks that they have sufficiently done just enough goods things, with out doing too many bad things - that when they die and come before God… the result will be eternal life. …that God will be more than happy to let him into heaven…maybe even obliged to let them in. The people misinterpreted what Jesus was saying about work when He said - Do not work for…etc., back in verse 27.

v.29 But what does Jesus say about this? Instead Jesus says….this is the work of God …. that you believe in Him whom He has sent. Jesus defines the work not in terms of human effort and accomplishments, but in terms of abiding belief….in terms of faith. To have eternal life comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the One whom God has sent for the very purpose of granting eternal life. The answer to those who seek salvation from the weight of guilt and shame in this life de to their sin stained life …is this ….For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8-9). Belief….belief that God grants to the sinner - solely by God’s work of grace - to believe in the very nature, character, and mission of the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus lays it all out - that the food that people should seek, that - which endures to eternal life (v.27) is found in a Person - Jesus Himself. Jesus points out that - you can’t work for this bread of life.

Jesus quoted in Matthew, Hosea 6:6 - which really illustrates the point here in our passage - For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. God doesn’t want outward signs of religion from a heart which is far from Him - but He wants a relationship with His creature. It is not what you do, but who you know. And who you know will dictate what you do. One commentator sums the reality of eternal life in Christ, with this statement - "Acceptability with God is a relationship God gives" (Borchert).

As we move into our third section…Jesus has made it quite clear that the people needed eternal life through Him. Yet we will soon realize that the message is not sinking in…and the response is:
3. SKEPTICISM - YET SATISFACTION COMES FROM THE BREAD OF LIFE (v30-35)

30 So they said to Him, "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.' " 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

v.30 The response from the people is almost unbelievable. The people are saying to Jesus - "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? In other words they are saying hey, what are you going to do for us? They ask for a miraculous sign from Jesus so that they can believe. It is incredible that these people are asking for a miracle right now, since they had the previous day….only hours before, witnessed and benefited from a spectacular miracle (feeding of 5000). These people had been on the other side of the Sea of Galilee being fed bread and fish, yet they totally write off this sign from Jesus. This underscores the reality that it is God who opens people’s eyes to spiritual realities. People can witness all the miracles they want, but in the end if God doesn’t replace our hearts of stone with a heart of flesh, then you will never respond to the gift of eternal life in Jesus.

v.31-32 The people continue and they bring up the past. They look to their fore-fathers at the time of Moses, and they start comparing Jesus’ ministry with his. Moses provided the people with manna in the wilderness - bread out of heaven to eat. So the people were in effect saying that Jesus’ miraculous sign really was piddley - compared with Moses’. So what was is implied in our passage is that the people are kind of saying - now Moses miracle… that was a real miracle….that was really big, he fed the whole nation of Israel….and you Jesus just fed a few thousand people. Jesus…Moses fed them for forty years….and you Jesus - only a single meal. Moses bread came from heaven….Jesus, your bread from some earthly loaves - so Jesus show us something really big. Once again the people are blind to spiritual realities.

This is how Jesus responds…look down at verses 32…there are those words again… "Truly, truly, I say to you …. it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. Jesus frankly explains to those before Him, that Moses was not the one who gave the Israelites bread to eat from heaven, but it was the God the Father. In other words the point that Jesus makes is that - Moses is not greater than Jesus.
God is the One who gives them true spiritual bread. The word true in verse 32 means ‘genuine’ or ‘original.’ So Jesus is saying that the manna gave only physical nourishment which was only able to nourish a person for a while - but God is the only One who can give genuine spiritual life forever - God gives a true bread which gives eternal spiritual nourishment.

v.33 Now when we move into verse 33 it is really important for us to see the apologetic Jesus builds up. This is what he continues to say - "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." Did you catch that? Jesus smoothly transitions from - God gives spiritual life sustaining bread; - to - the bread of God is a Person. Think back to the beginning of this gospel in chapter 1:14 - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is the only One, God in human flesh, who comes down out of heaven. Jesus is the only One who can give each one of us eternal life - who are living in the world - because He is the Creator. Once again back to the prologue of this gospel - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

If we put what Jesus is saying here in our passage of chapter 6 - put it into an equation, this is what Jesus was expressing:

Physical bread = physical life;
Spiritual bread = spiritual life.

v.34 The crowd was getting excited - just like the woman at the well, back in chapter 4 - thinking that she could get some special source of water - this crowd was thinking they were going to get some free bread. They were still thinking in an earthly perspective - great another free meal like last night. The Jews were thinking - Yah…all right….that would be fantastic…. Jesus will - always give us this bread. So they were thinking that they were going to get an endless supply of bread. They were imagining - only if we could get an endless source of bread….no more baking….no more stores….so they urgently pressed Jesus for the goods….JUST SHOW ME MORE BREAD.

v.35 The people are so focused on the physical - on their stomachs - that they miss the big picture. Therefore Jesus declared openly in no uncertain terms His identity - I am the bread of life. This is the first in a series of self declarative, I AM statements Jesus makes in this gospel to the people. The people come for more bread and fish, but Jesus offers them more, much more….He offers Himself.

Jesus states - "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. He offers to people a personal relationship with Him, with the God of all creation (including themselves who due to sin have fallen short of the glory of God and are alienated from God). Anyone coming to Jesus for spiritual food will not go hungry. Anyone who believes in Jesus will not be spiritually thirsty….EVER! There is a guarantee imbedded here in the original text. The words will not is the strongest way to say no in Greek. Placing your faith in the person of Jesus Christ for all that He claims to be - the Son of God - and in Him is the only way to be reconciled to God, and believing that what Jesus has accomplished for sinners on the cross - that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,(1 Cor.15:3-4) - you will never - never, ever be spiritually hungry or thirsty again. By coming to Jesus Christ we find eternal spiritual refreshment and satisfaction for a sin weary soul. This reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 - Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me , for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

The people’s earthly focus and skepticism now explodes in attitude #….

4. UNBELIEF - yet in the midst of rejection, Jesus still offers THE ETERNAL WONDER OF THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.36-40)

36 "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."

v.36 Jesus offers the people eternal life, but in strong contrast, the response of the people is rejection - and yet do not believe. They have seen Jesus doing all the miracles but they still do not believe.

v.37 There is a tension, a seeming contradiction, yet there is a parallel truth in verse 37. It is the correlating truth between Divine Sovereignty and human responsibility. On the one hand these people do not believe because the Father does not give Jesus their lives - and so they respond with UNBELIEF. Then on the other hand is human response. If God determines to change our hearts to accept Him, then He will receive us as His children through faith in Jesus Christ. It says in this verse that Jesus will receive those the Father gives. And to those who are received, Jesus will certainly not cast out. This the human response which God calls us to - those who truly come in humble confession of their sins before a Holy and righteous God….coming acknowledging that they cannot save themselves from their sins…but that Jesus can…and He has paved the way through His perfect life and then His voluntary and sacrificial death on the cross as our sin bearer….you will never be cast out from His presence. This is a promise, a guarantee. We as Christians can look at a passage like ours today, and know that God has done a wonderful work in our lives. We can know that Jesus is sufficient to keep us faithful to the end. Hebrews 12:1-3 encourages us with these words - 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

v.38-39 Jesus has come down to earth to do what God has sent Him here to do. It reminds us once again of John 1:14. What is God’s will? Jesus explains to the people - that God desires that of all the people that He has given to Christ, that Jesus will lose nothing (v.39). Now you may ask - lose what? The answer is that none shall lose eternal life. In other words no one who is found in Christ will perish, but instead they have eternal security in Christ. When all is said and done…when all is completed in our life…when it is time to return to our Creator at our earthly death…the one who has abiding faith in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour - will have no fear of God’s wrath, but you will be welcomed into your heavenly home.

On the last day we then will receive our resurrected bodies. This day is the time at the end of the Tribulation and before the Millenium of Christ’s reign on earth, where God will raise His saints from the beginning of human history to this last day. This is known as the ‘resurrection of the just’ and it is when we as believers in Christ will receive our heavenly bodies - bodies suited for a perfect place - bodies that will not break down - a body that will be glorious and eternal.
v.40 If there is anything that we should remember from our Bible passasge, is this - God calls everyone of us to respond to Him. This is the will of [the] Father. If you do not personally know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour in your life, this is the challenge, that you must [behold] the Son. You must look to Him for salvation for the complete forgiveness of your sins. Over the course of our sermon series and even today we have presented Jesus for who He is. Jesus is God the Son and he lovingly commands all to come to Him for rest from sin, and a restored relationship with God.

The words beholds the Son, suggests that you need to contemplate on who this Jesus is. And then if you are drawn by God through Christ…..you are called to respond in saving belief in Jesus Christ alone, by repenting of your sins. Jesus is the Bread of Life and those who trust their life to Him will not go away spiritually hungry and thirsty, but shall be raised to eternal life in Him - on the last day we then will receive our resurrected bodies, which will be perfect and perfectly suited to dwell in heaven with Christ in heaven for eternity.

(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)