Jesus is the Bread of Life..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. 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. The 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 a boat 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. 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.

Then they said to Him, What must we do to be doing the work 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 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. But 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. And 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. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. Amen. This is the inerrant, infallible, God-breathed word. The passage before us, brothers and sisters and friends, From verse 22 all the way through to the end of the chapter, and we only read to verse 40, is the teaching of our Lord called the Bread of Life Discourse. A unified body of teaching from the lips of our Lord to these Galileans in the North.

The chapter is nearly 71 verses, but I submit to you that there is incredible unity in this chapter. However, we've had to section up the text into bite-sized portions, this discourse, so that we can slowly work our way through the text. That's simply because the words of our Lord is so profound and so rich and so foundational to our Christian faith that I am literally unable to teach it as a whole. The same can be said of the text that we'll be meditating upon this evening, because section 30 through 40, I see as being a unified section within the body of this book. But this evening, we will only address from 30 to 35.

A section focused on the glorious offer of salvation that solely comes through the bread of life, Jesus Christ, to a people who will ultimately reject the offer and ultimately reject this life also. But our Lord's success in saving a people unto himself is not predicated upon man's choice. or man's ability, because as we will see next week when we consider together verses 36 through 40, the guaranteed success of our Lord Jesus Christ in accomplishing the work of redemption, in fulfilling the will of the Father in the incarnation, is not, as I said, predicated upon man, but it is a work of God from beginning to end. And if the all-powerful, all-knowing God wills to save a people, then beloved, no one will stand in His way. We began the Bread of Life discourse last week, and we ended in verse 29.

You remember. It's the morning after the miracle of our Savior, when He fed the 5,000 men, more like 15, maybe 20,000 people on the eastern shores of Galilee. And what had happened is the next morning, the sun had risen and Jesus was nowhere to be found. And the people who had camped on the eastern side, who were there to be with the Savior, had quickly recognized He's no longer there. And so they quickly pack themselves up, and they make the journey back to the West.

Some in boats, and some obviously went around the seashore. But their purpose was to find Christ. And find Him, they did. They found Him in Capernaum, and according to verse 59, He was in the synagogue teaching. There, when they find our Lord, our Lord sees straight through them, and He reveals their true intentions.

He reveals that their endeavors, their work is carnal, it's physical, it's temporal. All their efforts and all their toiling, traveling over land and sea to find this Jesus, for what? Because in their minds, they're only seeking after a miracle worker. They're only seeking after one who can satisfy the hunger of their bellies, fill their stomachs. They don't see Jesus as any more than someone who can satisfy their physical needs.

Beloved, little did they know that Jesus is indeed the savior of the world that their soul desperately needs. He's the one alone who's able to forgive their sins, bring their dead lives into life, their deadness into life, and satisfy the desperate longings of the soul. They don't see that. So our Lord reproves them for their work. He rebukes them for pursuing the food that perishes.

Instead, He says, you ought to use your energies and your pursuits to go after the food or to work after or towards food that doesn't perish. Your minds ought to be fixed on the eternal, not the temporal, because your soul exists for eternity. Why would you be more concerned with the here and now? The here and now which is a life that is only but a vapor rather than the state of your soul that will never cease to exist. And that imperishable food that Jesus speaks about, food that endures to eternal life, he says, is exclusively found in the Son of Man who himself is the only one qualified to give it.

He alone has the seal of the Father, verse 27. He alone is approved, authenticated, and he alone is certified by God as the sole source of eternal life. And that life, beloved, he gives freely. But the natural man is blind to see these realities. They're blind to see this glorious truth, that the natural man is stuck, as I said earlier, in the temporal, in the material, those things that will give him the immediate, physical, instant gratification.

That's what consumes his mind. That's what consumes his passion. The works of his hands. And Jesus' audience are no different. So when Jesus mentions everlasting life, more life, the eyes light up, and these legalistic Galileans quickly say to Jesus, what must we do?

What can we do to earn this? What must we do to be able to say that we do the work that God approves? What must we do, in essence, to earn this eternal life, Jesus, that you speak of? And so the passage that we meditated and considered last week ends on that note. It ends with the response of our Lord to that question of the Galileans when they're asking, what shall we do?

What is the work that God approves of? What is the work that we must do? And then Jesus answers profoundly. Because these men are looking for works to do. Their minds think for a Jew and for these Galileans who were raised under Torah, they think that it is the works of their hands that pleases God.

Think that it is the things they do, their obedience to the law, their obedience to the religious establishment of the day. Surely God is pleased by this. Jesus, tell us what we should do in order that we will do it and we'll earn this life that you speak of. But Jesus, Jesus says, you want something to do? Is that what you're looking for?

You want works to do? Well, I'll give you the work that you need to do. Stop working and believe in the one he sent. Believe in me and receive eternal life from the only one who is able to give it. It seems clear enough.

Well, maybe not, because their response is found in the text that we'll begin meditating on together this evening. So let's put our eyes down to verse 30. So they said to him, then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Jesus, if you've given us something to do, we would have done it.

And we're pretty confident in the things that we can do. But you want us to put our trust in you. That's what Jesus said in verse 29. Believe in the one who he has sent, the one that the Father has sent. You want us to believe in your words, Jesus.

You want us to believe that you are indeed the one who was sent by the Father. You want us to place our faith, our trust in you, okay? And you need to prove yourself, Jesus. Show us that you're worthy of our trust. Prove you are who you claim to be.

That's pretty audacious. What sort of request is that anyway? And if you're reading these texts for the first time, you're probably thinking, were these people in a coma yesterday when Jesus did the sign that he did? Were they not there? Of course they were there.

It is the same people that followed him over to the other side of the sea. They're there precisely because they were astonished at Him feeding the thousands miraculously by multiplying the loaves and fish that would have fit in His two hands. Was that not enough of a sign? Well, it's the grandest one yet in the book of John. But not only did these people witness what Jesus had done, beloved, they also partook in what Jesus had done.

They were able to verify that this was not a cheap magical act. This was not an illusion. This was not a sleight of hand. This was the real deal. They ate the bread that Jesus multiplied.

They filled their bellies. They were completely satisfied. Jesus is the real deal. But that wasn't enough. What sign do you do, Jesus?

What work do you perform? Okay. Now, they obviously want more than that. But beloved, if we'd been reading carefully, we would know they'd already seen a lot more than that. Because if we run our eyes back over to the beginning of the chapter in verse two, we're told why they were over there in the first place.

Why did these people go to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee? We're told, and a large crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. They made the 20-odd kilometer journey over to where Jesus and his disciples were precisely because they witnessed what he had already been doing on the western side of Galilee. They'd seen the various diseases that Jesus had healed. They'd seen the miraculous works, the wonders, the signs, and that astounded them.

That caused them to walk over to the other side. And now after experiencing all they have seen, all that they've experienced Christ doing, They have the boldness to say, Jesus, we've seen all that, but we need you to prove yourself. Show us a sign. Jesus, if you want our trust, you're going to have to do a bit more than what you've done already. You might have to try a little harder.

Beloved, I know I know it's a bit premature because the point I'm about to make comes later on in the chapter, but I have to make it. If we've learned anything, anything so far in the fourth gospel, in particular pertaining to the signs and the wonders and the miracles that Jesus has already done, I hope it's this, that they do not produce faith. They do authenticate the messianic ministry of our Lord, yes. And they may stimulate awe and wonder, absolutely. They may stop people in their tracks to ask the question, who is this Jesus?

Or to listen to what he's teaching. But in and of themselves, signs don't produce faith. Because the problem with these Galileans is the same problem with every son and daughter of Adam. It's the same problem. It's a spiritual problem.

We're all born with cold, lifeless, unbelieving hearts. Me signs and wonders will never produce saving faith. Never. If these people are hoping that Jesus, or by Jesus obliging to their demands, somehow that they would be persuaded to believe in Him, they're sorely mistaken. The remedy for an unbelieving heart is not more signs, no matter how amazing, and no matter how compelling the signs are.

The remedy is grace. Grace. Because man is hopeless in and of himself to save himself. What is required is a work from the sole hand of God and God alone. Apart from God's supernatural regenerating work, no one, beloved, no one can be saved.

And to think otherwise is to... well, it's just wicked presumption. Seeing the sign in and of itself will only feed the desires of the flesh. It will excite their senses, yes, it will do that, but it will not produce saving faith. You see, that's why Jesus rebukes the Pharisees over in Matthew chapter 19.

You remember when he says, it's an evil and adulterous generation that seeks for a sign. You see, the vast majority of these first century people that witnessed the ministry of our Lord in the Incarnation, Those who saw and followed Christ and seen the miracles that He performed, the signs, the wonders, the supernatural. Most of these people saw with their eyes and they heard with their ears, but they still did not believe. His message was clear and the evidence was compelling. So much so that many would plot to kill Him rather than believe.

Such is the power of the delusion of an unbelieving heart. No wonder the disciples cry out to our Lord again in Matthew 19. Then who can be saved? Who can be saved? And our Lord's reply is profound.

But that's the essence of next week's sermon. But I'll give you a sneak preview. Because what our Lord replies is incredible. This is what he says. With man, this is impossible.

But with God, all things are possible. Who will be saved? Will some be saved? Absolutely. By their own effort?

No way. It is a work of God. Beloved, if you genuinely want to see your loved ones saved, your lost loved ones, whether they're family members, friends, colleagues, or whoever. If you want to see them saved and they're demanding signs or proofs or evidences, you must believe that you cannot give them signs or proofs or evidence that will persuade them. If you really want to see them saved, preach faithfully the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because salvation is of the Lord and God is a gracious God and He's good. He's faithful. So preach the gospel faithfully. Do it in love. Do it with gentleness.

Do it with compassion. And then get on your knees and pray to the One and only One who is able to save sinners like us. Now, not only are these people under the delusion to think that more signs or a greater sign may produce faith, they're even bold enough to look to Christ and say, we'll even give you the type of sign we're looking for. That's what they're doing. That's what they're doing here.

And the fact that they quote Scripture doesn't make it OK. Because, beloved, I know someone else who quoted Scripture. He quoted to our Lord in the wilderness after his baptism, and I'm pretty sure that his motives weren't righteous. What do they say? Verse 31.

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven to eat. You see, if you remember, one day earlier on the other side of the sea, we're told that the people In verse 14, after experiencing what Jesus had already done with the multiplication of the food, the fish and the loaves, you remember that people confess something. They profess something. They say, indeed, this is the prophet.

And we looked at this probably a month or a month and a half ago when we considered that passage. And we said back then that they're referring to the prophet like Moses found in Deuteronomy chapter 18. Okay. So what are they thinking here? The Jews, or the Galileans at least here, we know they are Jews, the Galileans in front of Christ are thinking, well, if he is the prophet like Moses, then we need to, or he needs to prove himself to be the prophet like Moses.

If He is the prophet like Moses, then we know what Moses has done. We have the Torah, and in it we know the works of Moses amongst the Israelites, our fathers. So let's bring that up, and let's see if Christ is indeed a prophet like Moses. What they're doing, basically, is they're bringing Moses to the table. They're bringing Moses to the table.

Now they're comparing Christ to the great prophet in their minds. You can almost hear their thoughts. Okay, Jesus, what you did yesterday, it was impressive. No doubt, you fed 15, maybe even 20,000 people. That's notable, Jesus.

But Moses, well, Moses fed around 2 million in the wilderness. Okay. Jesus, you had five loaves of bread and two fish and you multiplied them to feed these people. That's noteworthy. But Moses didn't have anything in his hands and manna rained from heaven.

Jesus, we were there and we ate of the food of the bread and the fish. And don't get us wrong, we're grateful because we had our fill and it was good food. But today's another day and we're hungry. Moses, on the other hand, he fed our fathers every day for 40 years. Jesus, how are you going to top that?

We're happy to place our trust in you. We're happy to believe in you. If you produce a sign or perform a work that will knock our socks off, Jesus, what are you going to do? What are you going to do to prove that you are worthy of our trust? You see, Jesus is not going to play that game, nor should he.

He knows He knows where saving faith comes from. And He knows all too well that mere signs, no matter how great and compelling they are, will not produce faith or trust in a person apart from the divine hand of God. So Jesus won't play that game. He knows that salvation is a work of God and he will make them aware of this reality in only a few verses where he says, no one can come to me unless the father who sent him or who sent me and no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. Verse 44.

But beloved, even though Jesus knows all these things, he's still concerned that these people know truth. Even though he knows also that they'll end up rejecting him. You know, that's an object lesson for us, in that Jesus is the one who knows all. He doesn't need someone to tell him what's in man, John chapter 2, for he knows what is in man, yet he continues to preach the gospel indiscriminately. Brothers and sisters, we ought to preach the gospel indiscriminately.

We don't know who the Father will or will not save. That's not up to us to know. That's up to Him to know. But may it be that He presses our hearts and gives us a desire to share that gospel with all the people we come across. But now, our Lord begins.

He begins by correcting fundamental flaws in these people's understanding of Scripture. I want you to see it. It seems like the Galileans had a similar problem as the Jews in Jerusalem back in chapter 5. You remember that. You remember when they came and Jesus rebuked the Jews back then in chapter 5 because of their superficial understanding of Scripture.

You know, they diligently searched the Scripture. They were meticulous in their memorizing. They taught the Scripture. They quoted Scripture. They were very meticulous in their study of the Word of God.

They even knew that eternal life is found in the Word of God. They knew that. The problem is, the problem is that even though that Scripture they studied was the clearest witness to Jesus Christ who stands before them, They were unable to see Jesus. They were unable to recognize who He is, even though the vast majority of Scripture points to Him. They couldn't see it.

They couldn't recognize Him. Why? Well, a few verses earlier in that passage, Jesus had already diagnosed their problem. He'd already diagnosed their issue. That is, that the Word of God was in their minds.

No one can doubt that. They could quote it off the top of their head. But it did not abide in their hearts. The spiritual reality and the substance of Scripture, a book, it's a spiritual book, can only be discerned spiritually. And if you're devoid of the Spirit, then you can read the words.

You can have a superficial understanding, but you cannot understand why God has given his word and what he intends for his people. So that was spiritually dead. And these Galileans, I believe, are no different. So our Lord gives them an object lesson in hermeneutics, the principles of interpretation, now that the Savior has come into the world. And in particular, He's going to teach them about the manna and the fathers, what they ate.

The manna the fathers ate in the wilderness some 1,500 years ago. So let's put our eyes on verse 32 and read what it says. 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. But I want us to see two things in this profound statement. Firstly, Jesus is bringing a proper perspective on Moses.

See, our Lord never denies the ministry of Moses. In fact, in the previous chapter, He even supports it. He affirms the ministry and the writings of Moses in chapter 5. But the problems the Jews had was they venerated Moses to unhealthy heights. In fact, some Jewish literature would suggest that many of the Jews believe that Moses continued his mediatory role even after his death.

Now we can't say this is what the people were thinking, no evidence of that, but I'm saying that the Jews at the very least venerated Moses to unhealthy heights, and it seems that we're emphasizing Moses too much and God too little. Christ sees this, and so Christ corrects this. Beloved, in the previous chapter, in chapter 5, Jesus says that Moses would stand and condemn those who don't understand Scripture and those who refuse Christ. I believe even now that if Moses was to see these Galileans and their treatment of the Savior, he would stand in outrage also. But Jesus corrects this error.

How? By making it clear that the manna from heaven, the bread from heaven, the manna that fed the wilderness generation for some 40 years was not from the hands of Moses. Ultimately, it wasn't the power of Moses. It was from the hands and the power of God. The Father, Jesus says, it is the Father who is the ultimate provider of his people.

He's the one who provides all good things for his people. Jesus wants to get that straight, and he does. But there's something else I want us to realize. The tense has changed. Did you get it?

If you put your eyes down again, truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave, that is the past tense, you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives, that's in the present, you the true bread from heaven. I believe Jesus is doing two things. The first, we already said, He's educating them on Moses, on not diminishing God in order to elevate Moses. The glory ought to all be given to God and God alone for His gracious provision of the people in the wilderness for some four decades. But rather the true bread also that is from heaven is what the Father now gives.

Now this is glorious news. Now if these people understood what Jesus was saying here, they would know this tops anything Moses had done. But they don't. They don't understand that even if Jesus was to oblige and give them what Moses had given the people in the wilderness, their fathers in the wilderness. Even if Jesus was to provide them with manna from heaven to feed them every single day of their lives, they'd never have to work again.

Even if that's the case, what good would that be to them? Jesus has already told them, do not work for that which perishes. He's already brought that to their mind. He's already brought the fact that you ought to fix your eyes on eternity, not the here and the now. They should know through their study of scripture When the people collected the manna and they brought it back any other day other than the Sabbath, when they collected and kept for the next day, what happened?

It bred worms and it stank. It perished. Furthermore, brothers and sisters, what happened to their fathers who ate that manna every single day? What was their fate? Many, sadly, many perished, so to speak, in their sins.

The manna, just like the sign Jesus performed only a day earlier, was not the ends in itself. It was a teaching tool. It was a teaching tool pointing to an ultimate purpose a purpose which is greater than itself. It served as a type, as a shadow of a reality to come. Sure, any type and any shadow has also, it does have a historical purpose.

That's no doubt. It fed graciously. God used the manna to feed his people in the wilderness for 40 years. That's grace from God. They fed, if it wasn't for that manna, they would have perished in the wilderness.

So of course it had a purpose. And even in the miracle of our Savior, the day before, he fed the bellies of all these people. And that's a gracious act. from the hands of our Lord. But it's pointing to something greater.

That manna is pointing to the true bread from heaven. That's what Jesus is saying here. But then he gets clearer because Christ will go on to explain further in verse 33. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I want us to see that the bread of God here in verse 33 is synonymous with the true bread of heaven in verse 32.

Let's not think of that as different bread. It is the same bread. It's like the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven in Matthew. They're the same. They're synonymous.

Some might argue they're not, but they're the same. So here the kingdom, I'm sorry, the bread of God and the bread, the true bread from heaven, are the same thing. But I want us to see four profound things in our Lord's response to these Galileans. Four things. And the first is this.

Did you realize that Jesus is no longer speaking about an object or a thing? He's no longer speaking about some Mediterranean bread, because listen to what he says. He says, for the bread of God is He. It's a person. He, or the One, who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

You see, previously in verse 27, our Lord has already told these people of this bread, and He called it food back then. He said, it's food that endures to eternal life. Back then He made them aware that He is the One, or at least the Son of Man is the One who gives that food. But now it's becoming clearer. Now He's building, and I want us to see this, Jesus is actually building His argument, He's building the information He's giving to these people until He gets to the climax, I believe, which is found in verse 35.

It's becoming clearer for them. Jesus is now saying implicitly, not so much explicitly, they'll come I am the bread itself. Now I want us to keep that in mind, because the eating and the consuming overtones in this passage, they don't have a piece of bread in mind, but a person. The bread he fed them with a day earlier, beloved, was to set the stage for what he's about to teach them. He's about to teach them as you consume that bread, on the eastern shores of Galilee, supernaturally great bread, probably the best bread they've eaten, I would think.

He wants them to think, that's me. That's a picture of me. That will become more explicit as time goes on. And the second thing I want us to see is the eternality of Christ. For the bread of God is He, or the One, who comes down from heaven.

What's Jesus claiming here? He's claiming before He ever was a man, He was in heaven with the Father. He came down from heaven. He thought as though He was created on the earth. He always existed in the presence of the Father in heaven.

It speaks to His eternality. In verse 46, He'll go on to say that only He has seen the Father. These people knew, they knew the Torah, and they knew that no one has ever seen God. What's this Jesus speaking about? And that's why they get upset a little bit later on.

But the man who stands before them is saying, I have, I've seen Yahweh. I was with Him from eternity past, and I'm here to testify of Him. You see, he'd already made this declaration to Nicodemus back in chapter 3, where he says, no one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And that's the same title he's given himself here when he spoke to the Galileans in verse 27, the Son of Man. Beloved, does this not make our Lord the only one qualified to tell these Galileans what heaven's like?

Is this not make Jesus the only one qualified to tell them and to tell you and to tell me who the Father is and what he's like? Who else was in heaven from eternity past? Beloved, who else knows the way back? So what does this all mean to the Galileans? Well, you're looking for a prophet like Moses.

I tell you, one far greater than Moses stands before you. And what Moses gave the fathers or your fathers in the wilderness cannot even begin to compare to the gift that I offer for free, freely given. Will they believe? No. Verse 42 makes that clear.

They don't believe that Jesus was indeed with the Father, because in verse 42, they bring up the point, don't we know your father, Joseph? And don't we know your mother? We know who you are, Jesus. How could you claim that you are or you were with the Father? It just goes over their heads.

But I want us to see something else in the reply of Christ. And this is the third thing I want us to see in verse 33. It is the bread of God that gives life. Now, let's not confuse the meaning here, because there's three words in the original that is translated into English as life. There's three words.

But the one used here, zoen, or zoe, in the Greek, and this is being used some 23 times in the book of John and Beloved, every single time, without any exception, it means spiritual life, eternal life. What's in question here is eternal life. The life that the true bread of heaven gives, the gift He bestows is eternal life. It's everlasting life. The words of our Lord in the previous verse should be making more sense to these people because He spoke to them about the perishable and the imperishable.

Don't pursue that which perishes, but pursue the food that endures into eternal life. So it should be making sense. He's saying don't pursue the world and the things of this world. Exert your energies and your pursuits to the things of eternity. That's what he said back then, but the things of eternity is now Christ.

So what he's saying is, set your eyes on me. He's building this up to 35. The bread is a person, he's no mere man. The bread of life, the bread of God has come down from heaven. So he was always eternally with the Father.

He is the giver of life. And now the fourth thing I want us to see is who the recipients of this life are. It's the world. So we've been comparing the manna in the wilderness as the bread from heaven. And that's what the Galileans have told Christ, the beloved, who ate the manna in the wilderness.

It was only the people of Israel, Moses and the people of Israel. It was those under the Mosaic Covenant. What Jesus is saying here is that life that is on offer is not restricted to a people group. It's not restricted to ethnicity or a racial group. It is now open to all men and women of every ethnicity all over the world.

There is no distinction. to where you come from, because this life is given to the world. I'm not sure they understood this. I think their minds are low because they don't really respond to it, but surely this would have been a bit of a shock to them. Beloved, this truth is glorious because I think, if I can say correctly, most of us are Gentiles.

This is glorious news that salvation is of the Jews in the sense that the saviour of the world was a Jew. but his salvation reaches to all parts of the world with no distinction. Praise be to God. and beloved that the epistles and the apostles and the new testament are replete in supporting and affirming that fact that he's both jew and gentile that are found in christ jesus but even when we look at the gospel according to john even in the few chapters that we've examined already as a congregation we already have seen this come up surely we may be able to remember one or two or three occasions like back in john chapter one the confession of john the baptist who remembered what that is This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin. the world.

What about in chapter 3 when the Lord our Lord from his own mouth, speaking to Nicodemus, he says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. How about in chapter 4 when Jesus goes and visits the city of Sychar in Samaria. Do you remember after he visits what the people of that silly city declared of our Lord? They said, truly indeed this is the Savior of the world. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

So how did the Galileans respond to that reply of our Lord? How did they respond to all that? Well, we have their response before us in verse 34. Let's read it. They said to Him, Sir, give us this bread always.

Give us this bread always. Now, at face value, looking at this, we may actually think, well, It seems like an acceptance. Maybe they finally got it. Maybe it's finally clicked for them. Maybe they finally understand that this Jesus is indeed the all-satisfying bread from heaven.

But it's clear from what Jesus says of them in verse 36. And we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but what he says there makes us believe that they remain in unbelief. So their response to our Saviour in 34, which comes before 36 of course, so give us the bread always must be understood to be a reply from a people who remain in unbelief. We'll look a little bit further in 36 or verse 36 next week, by the grace of God. But based on what that verse tells us and their response in 34, it's clear that they still misunderstand what Jesus is saying.

They want something he's giving. Sir, give us this bread always. So there's a continuum. They keep giving us this bread. Do you think maybe they're thinking that they're thinking maybe the bread or the manna in the wilderness.

It was given always. Jesus was saying this is he gives life and maybe they're thinking there's more life in the bread. I don't know. They want more of it. Whatever it is they're thinking, they want that.

But whatever it is they're thinking that Jesus has to offer is not what Jesus has to offer. Because the right response to what Jesus is offering is belief. The right response to what Jesus is offering is to trust in Him. It's to have faith in Him. And anything short of that is a response that is rooted in carnality.

It's a response that is rooted in the lustfulness or the passions of the flesh. It's what appeases the flesh. So yes, they want something that they think Jesus is giving, but it's not what Jesus is offering at all. Beloved, that's why the translators of our ESV Bibles have indeed got it right, because the word translated, the word used there is kuria or kurios, it's translated the vast majority of the time Lord or Master, but here they got it right when they said they've translated it with the less common Sir. Clearly Jesus had not become their Lord.

Clearly, they were hung up on the material bread still. Bread that would satisfy their physical hunger. The bread from heaven in their minds that would be as perpetual, a continual supply of food to sustain their material bodies. That's what they want from Jesus. Give us this bread always, Jesus.

Give us this bread always. Now we're talking. Give us our daily bread like Moses gave that manna to the people in the wilderness. You do that, Christ, and we may approve of you. Jesus is not concerned to satisfy their carnality or their fleshly desires.

He's not interested in giving them their daily fill. He's interested in them knowing the truth. Their souls are in danger. And the eternal life he gives is the alternative to eternal death. This is a serious thing.

So now, in verse 35, Jesus makes what was implicit before, explicit now. Now in what he says there are no misconceptions possible with the words of our Lord. Jesus says to them, 35, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. This is the first of the seven Ego-I-Me statements.

Ego-I-Me statements with a predicate. That is a I-Me, which is I am statement with a metaphor attached to it. Now we know when the I am is used, and we know what I am, the I am is the name of Yahweh given to the people of Israel through Moses back in Exodus chapter 3. And we know that in the New Testament, particularly here in John, when I am is used without a predicate, without a metaphor attached to it, this is Jesus saying, I am God, I am deity. And one of the examples to this is found in John chapter 8, where Jesus says, before Abraham was, I am.

You think the Jews understood? Well, by their reaction, they instantly, immediately get up stones, pick up stones to stone Christ. Why? Because this man who stands before us is declaring himself to be God. But when there is a predicate in front of it, when there is a metaphor in front of it, like on seven occasions in the book here or in the gospel according to John, it may be a claim to deity that is a possibility Or it may be that Jesus is simply trying to communicate an essential truth about himself.

An essential truth of who he is. Yes, he is divine. No one of us, I don't believe, would deny that at all. But I believe that in these I Am, the seven I Am statements, there's more than that that Jesus wishes to convey to his people. And there's seven of them.

in this gospel according to John. And this is the first. And I pray and I hope that the Lord will give us opportunity in the coming months and maybe years to explore them all. I am the light of the world. I am the door or the gate.

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 the seventh, which is the first, is the one that is before us.

I am the bread of life. They are glorious words, beloved. I am the bread of life. Until now, in this conversation with the Galileans, our Lord has alluded and hinted to this reality. But now, all the allusions aside, he speaks plainly to these people, and he says, I am the bread of life.

The food that I want you to pursue that doesn't perish, the food that endures to eternal life, that's me. That bread from heaven, that's me. That bread from God, that's me. That's what Jesus is saying. I am the bread of life.

Now, why would He use that metaphor? Why would He use bread? Well, bread is a staple food for life, is it not? People in these days knew that. And there's many references to the Old Testament that taught that exact fact.

Adam in the garden was the first you remember first time this is used was in in Genesis chapter 3 after the fall of Adam and he was being cursed and if you remember the curse that came upon Adam was by the sweat of thy brow you shall eat bread shall eat bread Adam died spiritually in the garden we know that God God in his grace allowed him to continue physically, but his death, sin, the curse reigns through the loins of Adam as the federal head that affected and infected all of us. But from that point on, Adam, his physical nourishment, the food that he eats, the food to sustain his life would come through heavy toil. The food that is essential to his physical life is summarized as bread. Of course, we've already considered the bread from heaven in the wilderness generation. Beloved, if it wasn't for that bread from heaven, what would have happened to the Israelites?

They would have perished. Bread is very much spoken of as an essential to physical life. And if we bring it forward to the New Testament, we know that when the disciples asked, Lord, teach us to pray, you remember what Jesus said? He said, give us today our daily bread. Now most of us in this room, I would hope, our diets consist of more than just bread.

But the bread that is spoken of is food. It's a summary of the food that we need for our physical life, for our physical body. So what is Jesus saying here when he says, I am the bread of life? Well, this is what he's saying. All that bread is for you physically, I am for you spiritually.

As the body cannot survive, as the body cannot live without food, so too your soul cannot have spiritual life without me. I am the bread of life. It's important to understand how this metaphor goes actually beyond the physical. Because if you remember, Adam, we said that he died spiritually. But the bread he ate, by the toil of his...

by the sweat of his brow and the toil of his hand, he was able to eat bread. But that was to sustain him physically. But beloved, we need more than just sustenance. Because as I said earlier, all of us, every son and daughter in Adam, every one of us, is born spiritually dead. Born spiritually dead.

Jesus makes that point Himself, even in the previous chapter, in chapter 5. If you remember, He was speaking, and He said, there will be a day where I speak, where He speaks the words of life, or life-speaking, life-giving words, life-giving, His voice is a life-giving voice. And when He said He speaks, He'll bring some to life from Death. What about the rest? The default position for humanity is that we are dead spiritually.

So therefore, this means that the bread of life not only sustains life, as bread does to our physical bodies, but there needs to be life to start with, right? What does he do? Well, the bread of life imparts spiritual life and then sustains spiritual life. He's the absolute complete package. That is to say that those who eat this bread That is to believe.

We'll see that later on. But to eat the bread is to believe in this Jesus. Their sins are forgiven. They receive salvation for their soul. They get reconciled to God.

And then He continually nourishes and nurtures our lives, satisfying every need of our soul. Brothers and sisters, there is no life imparted or life sustained apart from Jesus Christ. There is none. No other food for the soul apart from the bread from heaven, the bread of life. He is the source and he is the substance of life.

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. You see, these statements are very much parallel. To come to Christ is to believe on Him. And never to hunger is also never to thirst.

They're parallel statements. Because what he's saying here is that the famished soul is fed by Christ. The thirsty spirit is given water from the fountain of life that wells up into eternal life. That was what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman back in chapter 4. Beloved, He is all we need.

Our spiritual hunger is completely satisfied in Him, and our thirst is completely quenched by Him. Is Jesus now suggesting that we come and feed on Him once and we never come back because we never go hungry again? Is that what Jesus is saying? No! No, no, of course not.

We continue to feed on Him. His life, His Word sustains us every moment of every day. We continue to come back. So what does He mean? Now that Christians, as Christians, we know our experiences, our hunger, and our thirst for Him is insatiable.

You cannot quench your thirst for Christ. What does Jesus mean here? That whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall not thirst. Well, what's meant here is this. In Christ, He brings an end to the emptiness, the void of our souls.

that led us previously to pursue happiness, joy, satisfaction and pleasure in the world. A world that proved to be utterly unsatisfying. The soul is famished and it's starving for life and the world and all its pleasures cannot give that life. He brings an end to that emptiness. He brings an end to that void.

So as creatures created for worship, as creatures created for fellowship with God, the soul remains void and hungry and thirsty for more. But in our sin, in our transgression, in our trespasses against God, because we are dead spiritually, we never seek for more. We indulge in the pleasures of this world apart from Christ, but in Christ. But in Christ, true life is imparted, and full satisfaction is found. Now alive, we have eyes to see.

As Christians, we realize that there's nothing that our soul desires that is not found, or that does not find its complete and all-satisfying in Christ Jesus. That He is all-satisfying Bread of Life. Beloved, our Lord does not hold back. He provides all we need. We ought to look to no one else.

If you are in Christ, if you've eaten of Him, if you've tasted and seen that indeed He is good, then you would know that He is all you need. Feed on Him. Beloved, it's like the story of a man who was compelled to make a trip over the Pacific Ocean. So he worked hard and he saved up some money and with that money he bought a ticket. And the trip would take him several weeks.

And with the little money that he had left over, that little money, what he did is he bought some supplies, some food, some bread. some fruit and some vegetables for the trip. He figured if he deals with that ration sparingly, that it'll be okay. It'll get him through the several weeks journey to his destination. But there's one fatal flaw that he made.

He didn't account for the increased humidity in the ocean. So about a week into his trip, the food began to rot and mold. And it was fit only to be thrown away. So, he's on this ship and... He used all his money to pay for the fare and he has no food.

So he deals with it for a day and then a two and three and about the fourth day this man was famished. He was hungry. His mouth was dry and he just needed to eat. He was without energy. So what he did is he put his hand in his pocket and collected the few coins that he had left and he conjured up the courage to walk down into the ship's restaurant and he went to the counter and he went to the waitress and he put those coins on the on the counter and he said to the waitress, could you please give me whatever little food that this little money can purchase.

And the waitress looked at him and put her hand on those coins and dragged those coins back in front of the man. And she said, looking intently in his eyes, sir, all meals are included with the price of the ticket. Brothers and sisters, Christ paid for your ticket with His blood if you believe upon Him and all meals are included. Why stay hungry? Come to Him and feed upon Him.

He has all your soul needs. 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? Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me, hear that your soul may live. Isaiah 55 1-3. Jesus said, I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Let's pray.