John 6:24-35 Sermon

Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

“I Am… the Bread of Life”

John 6:24-35

24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.  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.’”  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. (NIV)

Apparently Da Vinci’s image wouldn’t grab as much attention.  Neither would William Shakespeare’s.  And, even as despised as he was, a picture of Hitler would not garner as much interest.  In fact, the second-most popular historical figure – Mohammed – had only about half as many searches as Jesus did in a recent list of most popular historical figures searched for on Google.  So, the chances are as good as any that if you happened to leave one of these business card invites with Jesus’ image on it on a table in a restaurant or coffee shop over the last couple of weeks, more than likely, the person who picked it up next probably at least took the time to flip it over and check out the other side.  Love him or hate him, people always have been, and always will be curious about Jesus.  No other individual will ever reach the same level of popularity. 

The sad irony, of course, is that while Jesus may get a lot of hits on Google, people in our society at least are not beating down the doors of churches to learn more about him.  The reality of our society today is a clear disconnect between Jesus and organized religion that we haven’t seen before in our lifetimes.  In other words, there’s interest in Jesus, sure enough; just not in the religious institutions that used to be closely associated with him and even respected because of it.

That leaves us in relatively unfamiliar territory.  It means that the days of the church, believers like you and me, being able to sit back and wait to welcome the curious visitors on a Sunday morning are fading fast.  It means that if we truly believe that Jesus has something to say, not only to us, but to all people, then we want to shift our game plan to a more offense-minded strategy.  Why?  Because I think we can all agree that Jesus has more than enough to say about the things that really matter.

The series we’re beginning this morning is a perfect example of that.  Today we begin a series in which Jesus will reveal himself to us each week as he builds on the foundation of the simple, yet powerful words, “I Am.”  What does Jesus mean when he says, “I Am?”  In a nutshell, everything.  Think about it.  I Am doesn’t demand further description.  I Am doesn’t have a beginning or an end.  I Am cannot be explained.  Most profound of all, perhaps, is the connection Jesus is making with the name for God given in the Old Testament: Yahweh.  I’ll give you one guess what Yahweh means.  Did you by any chance guess, “I Am?”  Then you’ve connected the dots in an eye-opening way to see that with his “I Am” statements, Jesus was claiming nothing short of the identity of God himself.  Each week, Jesus, the great I Am, God in the flesh, will reveal to us the unique characteristics and qualities of that name as he sheds light on his person and work.  This week let us listen to Jesus as he tells us, “I am the Bread of Life.”

Google is one thing, but the lengths to which the crowds of his day went in search of Jesus is another story.  John told us in the Gospel this morning, “Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus” (v.24).  A Google search takes seconds, and then a few minutes longer if you find anything worth reading.  But how long does it take to secure enough boats to enable a crowd to chase after Jesus by traversing a lake?  These were people who were committed to seeking out Jesus, which sounds very flattering… 

…until we see the true intent of their hearts revealed to us by Jesus.  After they finally stumbled upon Jesus, he pointed out to them, “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” (v.26).  Ah, the truth comes out.  Why was the crowd so passionately pursuing Jesus?  He had just shown that he was capable of miraculously feeding thousands upon thousands of people; he had just shown that he could provide food for their stomachs.  Yes, they had big things in mind for Jesus, as John informed earlier in his Gospel, right after Jesus had fed the 5,000+.  “After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (Jn. 6:14-15).

So Jesus was not taking issue with their chasing after him; rather, he was taking issue with their reason for chasing after them, which was, as Jesus put it, “work[ing] for food that spoils” (v.27).  He was trying to straighten them out and help them to see that focusing on the temporal blessings Jesus could provide meant missing out on the spiritual blessings he came to bring.

Instead of “work[ing] for food that spoils,” Jesus encouraged them to focus on working for “food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (v.27), but all they heard was the word “work.” So they asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (v.28), presuming there was something they could do to receive the gift Jesus was trying give.  It wasn’t about what they did or didn’t do, but about what Jesus came to give, which was something far and away more valuable than any temporal provision.  They, like all mankind by nature, were stuck on this ridiculous notion that compiling a sticker chart of enough good works and good intentions would merit something from God.  Inevitably, when man takes that approach, he ends up seeking God for all the wrong reasons.

That is important for us to remember too, isn’t it?  It wasn’t only those crowds at that time who looked for Jesus for the wrong reason; we’ve fallen into that habit as well from time to time.  Hasn’t each of us shown our self-serving pursuit of Jesus when our primary concern has been the moldy bread that we know Jesus can provide?  Jesus becomes my Wealth-builder, my Job-finder, my Spouse-fixer, my Addiction-breaker.  Yes, Jesus is certainly able to be all of those things, but if spiritual tunnel vision leads us to see only those things, then we, along with the crowd, are merely working for food that spoils.  What’s more, even though Jesus is certainly able to be all of those things, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll choose to be in our lives.  And, if we’re content with Jesus being in our lives only to provide the moldy bread of food that spoils, then we run the risk of eternally forfeiting the greatest of gifts he came to bring.

And what is that gift?  Jesus spelled it out as clear as day when he told them, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (v.29).  Did you notice something?  Remember how the crowd thought there was something required of them?  Look at how Jesus carefully pointed out how wrong their point of view was.  With his response Jesus squashed any semblance of work or effort required on their part.  Instead, Jesus pointed out that what is required is “to believe in the one he has sent.”  And he wasn’t done!  Notice whose work that is: God’s!  “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  It was such a foreign concept to the churchgoers of Jesus’ day.  The examples set by the religious leaders of the day were all about work – do this work, not that work; work on this day, not that one.  Religion was not about something that was given, but about working for something that could be earned.  So Jesus’ words, that religion and belief were God’s work, didn’t sit well with them.

That’s why they wanted proof that Jesus actually had the authority to speak such unconventional truths.  “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” (v. 30).  What sign will you give?  What will you do?  If only they knew then what Jesus would do to carry out the work of God.  What he would do was continue to walk blamelessly through life for them.  What he would do was knowingly allow a close friend to betray him and another to deny him.  What he would do was patiently endure a sham trial with a predetermined guilty verdict.  What he would do was put up with verbal, emotional, and physical abuse.  What he would do was be deserted by his Father to die on a cross.  What he would do was smash the shackles of sin and death by his glorious resurrection from the dead.  All of those things – they are what Jesus would do.

With that work on his mind, with that “doing,” Jesus made a claim with a significance that far-surpassed anything the crowd was looking for. When we give consideration to all the work of salvation which Jesus did, it gives the right understanding to his claim: “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’” (v.35).  Stomachs were just the start; Jesus came to fill souls with the bread of life, with a meal of forgiveness and salvation that always satisfies.  He came to bring something of substance, something that wouldn’t run out, but would last.  He came to give us a gift that we cannot find anywhere else in the world, but through him, the “I am.”

Come to Jesus, as the crowds did, looking to him for whatever it is you think he should be doing in your life.  But be willing to listen when he tells you that he came for something more.  When Jesus says “I am the bread of life,” know that his work was and is more important than granting us temporary physical blessings – spoiled moldy bread.  His work was carried out to give you something that would last beyond this life for eternity, yet would also touch you in such a way that it completely alters your life here on earth for the better as well.  If you don’t know Jesus, get to know him.  If you’ve known him for the wrong reasons, get to know him for the right one – get to know him as the bread of life, who alone sustains you through his work and his Word with all that you need for this life and the next. Amen.

                                                          

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)