Jesus Said

“I AM the Bread of Life”Adapted from “I Am” seriesby K. Edward "Ed" Skidmore

http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?SermonID=74669

John 6:35 ESV 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. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives

me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my

own will but the will of him who sent me.

39 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. 40 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." 41 So the Jews grumbled

about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

42 They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we

know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus

answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last

day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.'

Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not

that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the

Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it

and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the

bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying,

"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of

the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on

my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the

last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in

him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down

from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on

this bread will live forever."

Jesus’ I AM statements are found in John’s gospel.

1. I am the bread of Life which came down from heaven (6:35,41,51)

2. I am the light of the world (8:12; 9:5)3. I am the door of the sheep (10:7,9)4. I am the good shepherd (10:11,14)

5. I am the son of God (10:36)6. I am the resurrection and the life

(11:25)7. I am the way, the truth, and the life

(14:6)8. I am the (true) vine (15:1,5)

Each one of the I AM’s represents a particular relationship of Jesus to our spiritual NEEDS. Jesus is the Light in the darkness, the Gate to security, and

the Shepherd that guides. He is the way, the truth and the life.

Jesus had just fed over 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread by the

Sea of Galilee.

John 6:14 ESV When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" 15 Perceiving then that they

were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew

again to the mountain by himself. 16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.

It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to

them, "It is I; do not be afraid."

21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

The next day while searching for Jesus, the crowd commandeered boats and went across the sea to Capernaum

where they found Jesus.

Continuing to teach the crowd, 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. John 6:35 ESV John chapter 6 tells us they grumbled,

they mumbled, they argued, they whined, and ultimately they left --- in

droves.

The text gives us some clues as to the kind of people that left Jesus behind when he preached the “bread of life”

sermon. For one thing, the MATERIALISTIC folks just couldn’t stomach it when Jesus shifted from

physical food to spiritual talk.

The Materialist

Many of the people who followed Jesus at this point were hoping for a political savior. They wanted political solutions,

free handouts, and material goodies. For them Jesus was the latest and greatest gravy train. These people had watched

Rome have limited success by instituting a sort of welfare program that

they called “Bread and Circuses.”

There were many hungry, jobless, homeless people in Rome. So the government tried to avoid riots by

buying them off with goodies. The plan backfired, because the demands of the

crowd simply grew and grew. Well, Jesus knew that he faced a similar problem the day after he fed the masses with barley cakes and fish. In fact, when

the crowd arrived, look at how he greeted them.

John 6:26 ESV 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.

I remember visiting Washington DC & trying to eat at a picnic table. There were signs, “Don’t Feed the Pigeons!” They

would swarm you knowing you had something to eat. My dad would feed them pieces of bread & laugh. I said

people like him are the reason we can’t eat in peace.

A Deacon at a church I served some years ago was in Africa during WWII. He said you had to guard your plate of food because buzzards would swoop down &

grab whatever they could.Do you see what Jesus is saying? Just like these birds, the people chased after Him because He fed them. Don’t get this wrong. Jesus wants you to be well fed,

here are His conditions.

Matthew 6:31 ESV Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Missionaries in third-world countries often talk about “Rice Christians.” These

are people who will quickly convert to Christianity in exchange for food or

some other physical benefit. The problem with Rice Christians is that when goodies are gone, so are they.

American Christians are not so different. Too many people use church for

business contacts or community status. Rice Christians can be found all over the world. These people look to God only for what they can get. They are quick to turn their back on God the first time he fails

to deliver.

Jesus told the crowd: Do not labor 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." John

6:27 ESVThe MATERIALISTS turned away from his message. Others would eventually

turn away also. They were the LEGALISTS.

The LegalistThen they said to him, "What must we

do, to be doing the works of God?" John 6:28 ESV

If these people couldn’t get a free lunch, they at least wanted a list of rules they could hang on to. I never cease to be

amazed that religion, by its very nature, draws some people who are actually looking for a dominating, charismatic leader to call the shots and take over

their lives.

There is a new cult group on every corner these days led by a control freak who turns his followers into some sort

of “Stepford Christians.”Throughout Christian history, the church

has often fallen into the sin of LEGALISM. The problem is, it’s easier to make rules than to build relationships.

Jesus wants to live in the heart of every believer.

He has sent his Spirit to write His Law on our hearts. He calls every one of us

to study His word for ourselves and learn from Him. When we do that, the

church enjoys an amazing unity in morals and principles. That’s why you

won’t find our congregation publishing a list of Lindley Christian Church Do’s and

Don’ts. Instead, we want to teach the scripture and to encourage everyone to

seek a relationship with the Lord.

But some people simply don’t want a deep relationship with God. They’d

rather find a strong leader and memorize a set of rules. Jesus had no interest in these kind of followers. Jesus came to

build relationships, not rules.

When the crowd demanded a list of works, Jesus gave this surprising

answer:

John 6:29 ESV Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

As amazing as it sounds, Jesus wants a genuine love relationship with every one of us. That kind of relationship can’t be

bought with goodies, and it can’t be built on rules. The MATERIALISTS wanted the

goodies more than they wanted God.

The LEGALISTS wanted the LAW but not the GIVER of that law. They rejected Jesus as a replacement for the rule-keeping religion of that day. And one more group walked out on Jesus that

day. They were the SENSATIONALISTS.

The Sensationalist

These people asked Jesus this absurd question:

John 6:30 ESV So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He

gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

32 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.

Think about it. Jesus had just fed over 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of

bread. The very next day, they are asking him for a SIGN! Obviously the miracle of

feeding the 5,000 gave them enough faith to climb in boats and row all the way across the sea to find Jesus. But

yesterday’s miracle was not enough to last until the next morning.

We have plenty of these kind of churchgoers in America today. We could

call these kind of folks “pep rally believers.” Keep them “wowed” and

you’ll keep them around; bore them and they are gone. These people crave

spiritual excitement. They love spectacular entertainment.

They want new experiences all the time. They want Jesus to take them from one mountaintop experience to the next with

no valleys in between. They want all kinds of rewards but no responsibility.

It reminds me of a quote attributed to Ronald Reagan. When the nation

mourned his death, the news was full of stories about his life. One commentator remembered something he said about

babies.

Ronald Reagan was talking about the Alimentary canal of a baby. (That’s the digestive system.) He said: A baby’s

Alimentary canal is a lot like the American public: Insatiable appetite at one end and total lack of responsibility

at the other end.

Churches today are filled with these kind of people. Insatiable appetite for spiritual

excitement, but total lack of responsibility toward the Lord Himself. The sad truth is that many believers are very fickle. That’s why so many people hop from church, to church, to church

always looking for the newest style, the latest seminar, the most electrifying

concert, and the most exciting presentation.

The American church scene is clogged full with,

“Forty days of this…fifty day adventure to that…

seven habits of successful whatever…21 irrefutable laws of yadda yadda

yadda…”It never ends! Now, I’m not saying these

things are bad.

We need to focus on special emphasis now and then, and some of these

programs are helpful. But it’s way too easy for church-going folk to start chasing after the latest fad in the

religious world. Jesus did not come to give us endless spiritual highs. He came to give us a

chance to know Him. Look at the message Jesus gave to the

MATERIALISTS, the LEGALISTS, and the SENSATIONALISTS that day:

John 6:33 ESV For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 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. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not

believe.

The response of the crowd tells us a lot about the difference between what

people WANT and what people NEED. So often the very thing people need the

most is the last thing they are looking for. Look at the sad response of the

crowd:

John 6:41 ESV So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the

bread that came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of

Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have

come down from heaven'?"

When you think about it, the people who walked out on Jesus wanted what he could give to them in the same way a

customer might demand service for pay. They wanted to do business with Jesus the soup kitchen, Jesus the cult leader,

Jesus the miracle-worker. Jesus, the Bread of Life didn’t resonate with them.

It didn’t play well in Peoria. So they walked away.

It turns out that even some of His closest disciples wanted Jesus only for

what they could get out of Him. They had no real interest in a relationship with

God. Verse 66 gives this sad indictment: John 6:66 ESV After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer

walked with him.

That led to what I think is one of the most poignant moments in the Bible. Jesus, who was totally God, was also totally human. He felt what any of us

would feel. He experienced the pain of rejection, especially the rejection of

those he had considered close friends. Jesus turned to his apostles with a

question that must have been hard to ask: John 6:67 ESV So Jesus said to the

Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?"

Thankfully, good old Peter came through for Jesus.

68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed,

and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

Peter understood what the crowds had missed. The Apostles weren’t there for fish sandwiches, or to start a Jewish

revolt against Rome, or to find a new list of rules to keep, or to get in on a Jesus

pep rally, or to hold a big miracle crusade. They were there because they believed and knew that Jesus was the

Holy One of God, the Messiah, the Bread of Life. All they needed was what they

already had, Jesus himself.

Is He all you need? Is he YOUR Bread of Life? If you had been there the day Jesus preached the Bread of Life

sermon would you have walked away, or would you have echoed Peter’s words, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that

you are the Holy One of God."