7.12.26 – Sermon Notes – I AM for the World – Bread of Life
John 6
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[c]”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty…..
47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Astounding Claim by Jesus
The Context
The Significance of Jesus saying, “I AM”
Previously in John 6: “Miracle of Loave and Fishes” and “Walking on the Water”
Old Testament Story of Manna in the Wilderness
Exodus 16 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
Deuteronomy 8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Expectations?
“This section of the discourse is to be understood against the background of a Jewish expectation that when the Messiah came, He would renew the miracle of the manna. Comfortably filled with the loves Jesus had provided, the multitude challenged him to give them a permanent supply of bread. Jesus turns their attention to the true bread. Their thoughts are hopelessly earthbound. He seeks to raise them to heaven and to that eternal life which is inextricably linked with Himself.” – Leon Morris
Why is Jesus revealing himself as “Bread of Life”?
What fear, need, longing in humanity is He responding to?
Humanity shares a “Soul Hunger – Soul Thirst” that only the God who created us can fill.
How is your soul?
How do you know when your soul is hungry/thirsty …. Suffering malnutrition, starving?
Jesus saves from the inside out!
When He dwells (is received–eaten) in the center of a person the whole being has New (eternal) Life!
We are designed for the constant presence of God in the center of our being…. Heart/Soul.
“Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition. When infinite joy is offered us. Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis – “The Weight of Glory”
How do we “eat the Bread of Life”?
We come and keep on coming, believe and keep on believing His Presence and Word?
Daily Diet of Word and Prayer
Daily Pause
Pray100
“one minute pause” App Morning and Evening Prayer
“Experience Jesus Really” 20-day program
Lectio365 App
Homework – Memorize the “I AM’s”
I AM the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never go hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:35