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The Gospel of John, The Period of Controversy, The Claims of Jesus Christ, Jesus as the Bread of Life, Part XI, John 6:30-38, Lesson 41
Read Verses John 6:30-40
Verse 6:30,31, 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.
You have shown us some signs, Jesus, but can you do a greater work than this?
Moses gave our fathers bread from heaven for forty years.
Can you match that?
Are you greater than Moses?
Are you that prophet?
Yes, Jesus, you have given us bread and fishes one time.
You have given us earthly food, but Moses gave us heavenly food for forty years.
Are you greater than Moses that we should believe?
Show us and we will believe.
Feed us in a more lasting way.
Can you feed us more than 40 years with heavenly food?
Can you outdo Moses?
Show us Jesus!
Isn't seeing believing?
Here is a weak and adulterous generation because they seek after a sign and seeking a sign indicates lack of faith and whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Unbelief.
They looked for that which they could see.
Temporal things, things that perish even if they lasted 40 years.
The signs that Jesus gave were given so that his deity would be evident and that he was worthy of all belief.
Seeking signs shows the Jews unbelief and evil hearts.
Jesus confronts them with their error and with their unbelief as we read in:
Verse 6:32 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.
Again Jesus uses the strong words: of a truth, of a truth.
This is so important.
Listen with all your heart.
Pay attention he is telling his listeners.
As is the usual case Jesus draws them to think beyond the material to the spiritual, beyond the temporal to the eternal.
He corrects their error.
Moses did not give you that bread from heaven.
The manna did not come from the hand of Moses.
Think! Use your head.
Who told you Moses did that?
Search the scriptures for yourself.
You can read, you can listen.
Why do you accept such things?
Moses was simply an instrument in the hand of my Father and Moses would be the first to admit that.
He would not exalt himself as you exalt him!
Don't look at the instrument that God uses and marvel at the instrument!
Don't look at God's creation and stop there.
Marvel at God, the creator and not the creation.
He corrects error here.
He does not let error go uncorrected.
That manna, that came in Moses day by the hand of God, was simply a type of Christ, the Christ who now stood before them.
The true bread.
But the lesson here is that the same Father, who had in Moses day, provided the manna, is now providing the true bread, the spiritual bread, the heavenly bread, the eternal bread.
Manna came down from heaven and Jesus also came down from heaven.
But unlike the manna which perished and the people that ate it that perished, Jesus is the eternal bread, the bread that lasts, the bread that satisfies eternally and the bread that gives life.
Manna was meant for Israel only but this bread that comes from above, gives life not only to Israel but to the world.
All those that eat of this bread will never die.
He wants them to get past the bread and the fishes that they so desire and realize that the ultimate end of life must be spiritual, not material possession.
Jesus wanted them to know that the seal of God's approval was on him and that they could trust him as the nourishment of their souls.
Verse 6:34, Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Remember the Samaritan woman who said, "Sir, give me this water."
She continued to dwell on the material, the physical.
Here in this instance the same thing occurs.
They only can think about that which they see.
No spiritual discernment.
They want this magic bread.
This would be a marvelous thing.
Bread that would give them eternal life.
A literal fountain of youth.
So Jesus plainly says in:
Verse 6:35, 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.
Jesus is himself the gift of which he is the giver.
He has come to give himself that men and women, boys and girls, may live by him.
He tells us in plain language, in terms that are familiar to anyone who eats, that he is the bread of life.
Simple uncomplicated language.
He is that which men long for in their own way, which men have hoped for in their own way, he is that which men have sought for in their own way, he is the giver of eternal life but it is only given in his own way, by receiving the gift by believing on him.
To partake of the bread of life they must come to him, they must believe on him.
In this passage Jesus reminds them that they hunger and that they thirst.
This is the condition of man. Hungering and thirsting.
There is a continual hungering and thirsting in the heart of man.
God has made us this way so that the only satisfaction for our hunger and our thirst will be Jesus Christ.
He is the true bread and he is the living water.
Those two elements essential to life which will satisfy our real hunger and our real thirst.
Our real needs are always spiritual needs.
Physical needs come second.
By the way this is the first of the "I Am" assertions of John's gospel.
We see that Jesus declared:
I am the bread of life - food I am light of the world - Understanding I am the door of the sheep - entrance I am the good shepherd - Guide I am the way, the truth and the life -Way, truth, life I am the true vine - provider of fruit
Verse 6:36,37,38, But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
The bread was set before them.
They would not eat.
A hungry person can sit down at a table, turn up his nose at what is set before him, push back from the table, and leave as hungry as he came.
Not until a person eats does the food do him any good.
He can look at the food, he can smell the food, he can pick up the food and examine it in detail, he can talk about the food, he can critique the appearance of the food, but until he eats the food it does him no good.
Jesus says to them, you have seen me, yet you do not eat.
By this he tells them that a personal response to the bread of life is required.
No one can eat the bread of life for you.
You cannot sustain the life of another person by eating for them.
Each person has to eat his or her own bread.
Each person has to eat the bread of life if eternal life is to be imparted to that person.
In spite of the unbelief of these Galilean Jews, Jesus assures them that some will come to him in belief.
Their unbelief will not frustrate the plan of the Father.
He tells them that the Father will give him those who will eat the bread of life.
And those who come will find a secure place in Jesus Christ.
He assures them that he takes full responsibility for their full and final salvation.
He does not turn them away when they come, nor does he at any time disown them.
The Father gives the believers to the Son and the Son receives and guards those who come to him because he is totally devoted to his Father's will.
The doing of the Father's will is the purpose of his coming and his very sustenance, as we remember when Jesus said, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me. |