18th November, 2012
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
John 6:25-40
Main Idea: Jesus is the bread of life.
Objectives: a. To explain why Jesus is the bread of life.
b. To teach how to bring the bread of life to others.
A. Introduction
- Why there are soldiers killing civilians (and vice-versa) in Syria? Why there are robberies and gun shots here and there in Sarawak? Why people resort to blackmail and killing? Why there are broken marriages? Why there corruptions are so rampant in our country? Why depression is such a phenomenon in our society? Why don’t people keep to moral standard ? Why don’t people keep to our behavioural boundary? Why don’t people keep to work ethics?
- It is as if people are looking for something and yet they do not really get it. They resort to cheating, blackmail, lying, threatening, killing, they thought they had got what they wanted, but they did not. For some who are not doing harmful things, thought they have found the peace and happiness, but they do not.
- I believe you will agree with me the answer lies with the sin of humanity of mankind. We desperately need a moral standard to follow; need to keep this standard. How to stop people from killing, hatred, divorce, depression, and greed? If people were to look into the Bible, they will find that the answer lies with Jesus, who has given humanity all the answers to our sinful problem. It is exactly because of our sin, He came to us.
- He claimed to be the bread of life. He claimed He could satisfy our life. He declared in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” What does Jesus mean by, “I am the bread of life”?
B. I Am the Bread of Life
- To find out its meaning, we need to know the purposes of John writing this gospel and the context of the passage. One of his purposes is to challenge the Jewish and gentile readers to become disciples of Jesus; to follow Jesus. So, you will find that the writer wrote in such a way that Jesus challenged His audience to follow Him; come to Him; believe in Him.
- After Jesus and His disciples fed the 5,000, people even got into the boats and travel from Tiberias to Capernaum to search for Jesus (verse 24). Why do they search for Jesus? What was the purpose? In verse 25, we are told they asked Jesus when He arrived when they found Him.
- After feeding the 5,000, the crowd experienced a great miracle, in verses 14 and 15, we were told that they began to regard Him as the Prophet and Jesus sensed that they wanted to make Him king by force. So, they searched for Jesus with a wrong intention, or motive, which I preached to you in May this year. With this wrong intention, they asked Jesus in verse 25 when He arrived? He was very resourceful and He made full use of the wrong intention of the crowd to teach and challenge them and direct them to come to Him, the bread of life.
- Making full use of the wrong intention, from verses 26-27, Jesus pointed out that they looked for Him not because of the miraculous signs but because of the food. Since food has everything to do with the bread and butter issue of life; we need food for survival, Jesus used it to turn the whole thing around and direct people to what He had to offer and said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
- To Jesus’ offer, they misunderstood that they had to work in order to get the food, so they answered in verse 29, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus corrected their misunderstanding by telling them what to do in verse 29, “The work of God is this to believe in the one he has sent.”
- The Jewish crowd still failed to understand Jesus, they even requested Jesus for more miracles so that they could believe in Him and they even compared the bread that Jesus gave to the manna that their forefathers received in the exodus desert for 40 years (miracle of 40 years) through Moses (verses 30-31).
- Now, Jesus linked directly the bread from heaven to His Father in verse 32 and said directly and most clearly in verse 33, “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Notice the bread is for the world, the vision of Jesus and His Father. To this, Jesus had successful caused them to ask the bread, the bread that endures eternal life in verse 34.
- Next, Jesus grasped the moment, the most appropriate moment to declare His message, His intention (mission) of coming to the world, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (verse 35) The tangible image of bread of life is so crucial in bringing out a spiritual truth. Bread is something you need in life to survive as a person and Jesus used to it to say He is the bread of life. Jesus used an earthly image to say the divine person God, the God identity is now down on earth and become a human being. The divine identity is now joined with a earthly image. The audience now either takes it or leave it.
- Jesus really built on the idea of food that lasts, to the work of God, then to bread from heaven, and finally, He proclaimed, “I am the bread of life.” I am what you need to live towards eternal life. And from then on He challenged people, you and me and all people out there in the world to come to Him to believe Him, and not miss Him.
- And from verses 36-40, especially in verses 38-40, He promised people who come to Him He will never drive them away; when it comes to judgement in the last days He will resurrect them and grant them eternal life.
- Why Jesus promised that people who come to bread of life will never be hungry and thirsty? I believe it has to do with human needs of all kinds which can be met by Jesus. Hunger and thirst imagery has to do with food and drink that human need. But how can Jesus, God, make you full in your stomach; and how can make you not thirsty? I believe the food and drink here bring out human needs for a proper destiny and meaning of life on earth. Otherwise, you cannot explain why He says in verse 40, “…everyone who looks to the son, and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
- Today, this eternal destiny is offered to you, have you received it? Have you received Jesus into your life.
- But Jesus promises more than an eternal destiny because He says those who come to Him and believe in Him will never be hungry and thirsty. So, what needs do you have?
C. Bread of Life Applications
- Individually, you may be depressed about something, right? Being Christian, you still find life empty. Some of us still allow hurt, disappointment, sadness, pride, bad memory to rule you. You cannot change the reality, facts, something already happened, you still wish it should never happen; you still cannot go of the past, whether good or bad things, you want to be in control but you are not in control. I tell in the name of Jesus, this is the greatest reason why you are so depressed.
- A lot of people in the midst of struggles use alcohol, drug, cigarette, womanizing, karaoke, hang out late at night at pubs or somewhere, or watching countless videos, or spend much time at face book and websites, deliberately long hours or even watch pornography to search for a solution or some find meaning or solutions to our present life bad situation and issues. Issues of whatever kinds as long as you do not face the truth and deal with the truth, whatever you do otherwise, it will only make your situation worse.
- You need to come to Jesus, the truth, and seek Him and He will give the meanings and answers in life as He is the bread of life; He will make full and not thirsty.
- On the other hand, you are a disciple of Christ, how do you bring the bread of life to others, at your family, at your work place, to the government, the long houses, Tudan Ibans and indigenous people of Sarawak, the lost in Indonesia, Philippines, China, Africa or even in England as SCAC target these countries.
- Back home here in Miri and in your family, you need to live a life of testimony to prove that Jesus is your bread of life. When you meet with problems, you need to help them to find meanings in their struggles and problems. You need to help them to think in the positive light or better still in light of the word of God. You need to be empowered by Jesus’ resurrection power to do it.
D. Conclusion
- Jesus is the bread of life, what do you do with Him? Would you submit your life to Him and let Him rule you?
