The
Bread Of Life
John 6:22 “The day following, when the
people which stood on the other side of the sea saw
that there was none other boat there, save that one
whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus
went not with his disciples into the boat, but that
his disciples were gone away alone;
23 (Howbeit there came other boats
from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat
bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)
24 When the people therefore saw
that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples,
they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum,
seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other
side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when
camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye
saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the
loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which
perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto
everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give
unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What
shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto
them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on
him whom he hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him,
What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and
believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert;
as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to
eat.
32 Then
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but
my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the
world.
34
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this
bread.
35
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he
that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that
believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye
also have seen me, and believe not.”
1. Seeking For The Wrong Reason.
Verse twenty-four: “When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.”
You would almost have thought by reading this that Jesus was POPULAR!
On the surface of the thing, it appeared that THE PEOPLE wanted to be around Jesus Christ because they saw the miracles that he did. They were willing to pay for “shipping” in order to seek for Jesus for some reason. What was the reason? Here is my observation.
Many times we are willing go out of our way for less than pure motives. We often have some hidden agenda that we want to orchestrate, all in an effort to promote SELF. It’s human nature!
Getting ahead of others becomes too often the all consuming goal.
The bottom line is this. The nature that we inherited from Adam almost six thousand years ago will always lead us down hill. [But it gets worse than this.]
2. Whose God Is Their Belly.
The proof is in the pudding!
Verse twenty-six: “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.”
There we have it! Jesus Christ sees [supernaturally] right through them, and sees the true reason why they [the people] are seeking him. No wonder … Jesus Christ is JEHOVAH! “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” [Hebrews 4:13] Amen!
Those who seek earthly things are people marked for destruction. To put it bluntly, they are the people whose God is their belly. Now, do you think I am being too hard on the human kind? Well, do you think so? Then search the Scriptures! Read your Bible.
Turn to Philippians 3:19.
Now READ it!
“Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.”
They [the people] are what they seem not. They love earthly things. They seem good yet they are not good. They [the people seeking Jesus in our text] are the very same people willing to use good words framed for the purpose of fooling the unaware as like a fox among the chickens.
“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” [Romans 16:18]
The archaic Elizabethan of the King James Bible nails it down this way in total precision unlike any other book in the world.
a. We are what we seem not.
b. We love earthly things.
c.
We can play good but are not good.
d. We use good words to snare others for gain.
What people were like when Jesus Christ was on this earth two thousand years ago is what people are like today. Nothing has changed! We are the people!!!!
3. The Temporal Versus The Eternal.
Verse twenty-eight: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”
There are people who have got to have it all now rather than wait for it. This reminds me of two characters in John Bunyan’s book The Pilgrim’s Progress.
The name of the one was called Passion, and the name of the other was called Patience.
Passion had to have all its good things now, and Patience was willing to wait for its good things in a time to come.
This illustration in The Pilgrim’s Progress is based on what happened in the lives of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke sixteen.
[What is recorded in Luke chapter sixteen is not a PARABLE but rather is FACTUAL.]
Abraham is shown here in this chapter to be [in Paradise] answering the rich man, who is across a great gulf, in Hell after he died. Passion in Bunyan’s book is likened to the rich man, and Patience is likened to Lazarus.
Read verse twenty-five: “But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.”
The rich man had everything he wanted in this life and Lazarus was willing to wait to receive his reward in the next life.
• Passion wants it all now!
• Patience is willing to
wait.
The rich man in his passion had put all his eggs in the basket of the temporal, which he would lose at the end of his life. Lazarus had put all his eggs into the basket of the eternal, which he will have to keep for all eternity.
• Lazarus had WISDOM.
• The rich man was a
FOOL.
Which are you, my friends?
What choice will you make … The TEMPORAL things or the ETERNAL things?
4. The True Bread
Verse thirty-two: “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.”
What is this TRUE BREAD?
I will tell you what it is not. It is not the bread [MANNA] that God fed them [ISRAEL] in the dessert. And it is not the bread he fed them with … earlier in this chapter [John 6:1-13].
Bottom-line: the bread we all eat to fill our bellies will only satisfy for a while, and then, we will need more.
No, the bread that is the TRUE BREAD is the [BODY] of Jesus Christ. Search the SCRIPTURE!!!
Turn to: Hebrews chapter ten, verse five: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.”
Then, come on down the page to verse ten: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” That’s it! This is the TRUE BREAD! This is the only BREAD that will give eternal life.
Verse thirty-three: “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”
Then, what should our response be to Jesus Christ?
Believe on HIM.
Read verse thirty-four and five: “Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Do not mock him concerning this offer to you. Do not mock God like they did.
Verse thirty-six: “But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.”
What Is The Sum Of This?
1. Do not seek Jesus Christ for the wrong
reasons. Be pure in your motives. Desire the true
salvation found only in THE BIBLE.
2. Do not let your
BELLY be your god.
3. Do not trade the
ETERNAL [THE PERMANENT]
away to gain the TEMPORAL [THE
MOMENTARY] .
4. Go for THE TRUE
BREAD!
Become an adopted son of God. Receive Jesus Christ as your SAVIOR and your LORD.
[John 1:12] “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”