John 6:22-34 Bread and The Gospel

 

John 6:22-34

Bread and The Gospel

I love bread! Who’s with me? Typically after a trip to the grocery store I arrive home with various types of bread. Loaf bread, biscuits, English muffins, flour to make bread, Bisquik to make pancakes which is essentially bread with syrup on it. The average American will consume around 53 pounds of bread in a year. Bread is a staple food around the world and one of the world’s oldest foods. You can see this in the various religions that have incorporate bread into their scriptures and religious ceremonies.

Also, never eat the last roll the first you go to dinner at your new girlfriend’s house because she’ll break up with you shortly after that. That did not happen to me but a friend of mine. People take their bread seriously!

Tonight, we are going to talk about the importance of Bread and the Gospel.

²² On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except ^[d]that one ^[e]which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— ²³ however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— ²⁴ when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

Earlier in the chapter Jesus had fed the multitudes and then ducked out when they tried to make Him king. Then He sent the disciples out in a boat while He had some quiet time with the Father. The disciples ended up in a storm that may have cost them their lives if not for Jesus coming to them in the middle of the night. They get safely to the other side.

Now it is the next day and the same people that were fed, the same that wanted to make Jesus King have not given up. The crowd has been looking all over for Him. Where they ate bread, Tiberias, Capernaum and they finally find him! Distance covered from Tiberias to Capernaum was a little over 6 miles. Our equivalent for us is from church to Bojangles. Keep in mind most of this was on foot or slowly by boat. It took time and effort to find Jesus.

Now that they have found him, they try what I call buttery small talk. This is small talk with the purpose of buttering someone up. When I was 19 years old, I loved Bojangles. However, I didn’t have enough money to purchase Bojangles as frequently as I would like. What to do? In between classes at PCC I would go visit my loving father at work.  I would walk in, around lunch time, and go “Dad! How are you? How’s it going?” being the loving son that I was. Dad would look at me and go “You want some money for Bojangles don’t you?” He always saw right through me!

Jesus sees right through the crowd. He knows how long they have been looking for Him. He knows what they want. He knows what is in their heart. This is why we tell you just to be respectfully honest to Jesus in prayer. He already knows what you want and what you need. He sees right through to the core of our hearts.  

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

Jesus, as He always does, gets right to the heart of the matter.   He knows that they are not their because they want to follow him. They are there because they are following their stomachs. They are more interested in what He can do rather than who He is. When we seek Jesus merely as a source of earthly blessings then we will ultimately be disappointed. People who preach Jesus as merely a source of earthly blessings are not preaching the Gospel. It’s a guaranteed path to disappointment, pain and in many cases Atheism.

Jesus warns against this. He says you are chasing the temporary but right in front of you is the eternal! I will give you the food that leads to eternal life. I have the seal of God the father!

This year we have discovered a newfound appreciation of seals. When you get takeout or delivery, which I know most of us have this year, that seal is a mark, a guarantee of the contents. This was a time in which you communicated at a distance by letter. A letter was sealed with a wax seal to show authenticity of the contents. Christ is the seal of the Father! He speaks with full proxy power and authority of God the Father. This is how He can offer eternal life to us all!

²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

The crowd doesn’t get it. Jesus just said, “Don’t labor” and then they ask “How do we labor?” What can we do so that we can get some bread? They tried flattery, now they are bargaining. We try to bargain with God all the time. God if you’ll do X then I’ll do Y . 1) Never ever do that. 2) When you ignore rule #1, make sure you keep your end of the bargain. It is better not to make the vow, than to make the vow and not pay.

²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

He repeats Himself. Believe in Me. Jesus teaches things that are easy in concept and difficult in application. Believe in Me. Love God, Love your neighbor as yourself.

³⁰ Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³² Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

They can’t see this. They can’t get this. They can’t do this. They are so focused on their bellies that nothing else matters. They want to eat for free again. They have tried buttering him up, bargaining, they ask for another sign as if they all did not just get miraculously fed. They know about the miracles that brought them to Him in the first place. To paraphrase David they are streaming from the Y-O-U app.

In verse 34 they say “Yes, give us this bread always!” There’s a scene in the original Ghostbusters movie where Winston Zeddmore is applying for a job as a Ghostbuster. The receptionist asks him if he believes in all these supernatural theories and he says “If there’s a steady paycheck in it. I’ll believe anything you say.”

Jesus offers us eternal life yet we are satisfied with and seek out the most temporary trivial things. We can buy food at the store but only Christ can meet our deepest need, that of a Savior who provides us with purpose, guidance and love.