Promised Treasures: Bread of Life John 6:32–37

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the bread of life.

Our message is, “Bread of Life”, based on John 6:32-37, especially verse 35, 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. 

John 6 begins with Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5000, from five small loaves of bread, and two fish. 

After that the people wanted to make Jesus their king, so He left by himself and went into the hills to escape them, and likely to pray and commune with His Father. 

Meanwhile the disciples got into a boat and headed to the other side of the lake. 

Jesus probably told them to go ahead without Him, because He had yet another miracle to show them, so that they would know He is truly the Son of God.

As they were rowing, a squall came up, and they were going against the wind and the waves, and making hard, slow progress across the lake. 

All of a sudden they saw Jesus coming toward them, and they were terrified, because He wasn’t rowing in a boat, He was walking on the water.

He told them not to be afraid, and He got in the boat with them, and just like that, they reached the other shore. 

So it was two miracles, first, walking on water, and then, the boat, which was in the middle of the lake, being instantly at shore.

Meanwhile, the people Jesus had miraculously fed on the other side of the lake, figured out that He wasn’t there anymore. 

They got into their boats, and headed to Capernaum, Jesus’ adopted hometown, where they thought He might be, and they found Him, probably still wanting to make Him their king.

What a great king to have, they thought: a king who can do all kinds of miracles to overcome your enemies and keep you safe, and miracles to provide for you and improve your standard of living – free food miraculously given every day, without having to labor and toil for it. 

That’s the kind of cushy life they wanted Jesus to provide for them. We all might all be tempted by that. 

But Jesus said to them, I know why you’re here.

“You’re looking for me… because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work 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 placed His seal of approval.

When Jesus was baptized, and the Spirit descended on Him as a dove, the Father put His seal of approval on Jesus, saying, “This is my Son whom I love, and with whom I am very pleased.”    

In response to Jesus’ words about food that endures to eternal life, the people responded, “So what must we do to do the works God requires?”

They were thinking that eternal life must be earned by the good we do.

Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He sent.” To believe in Me, the Messiah. 

Jesus was saying, it’s by faith in Me, that you’ll be saved. The good you do isn’t good enough to save you, but the good I do, is.

They said, Okay, if we’re going to believe in You, we need a sign. “What will you do? Our ancestor’s ate bread in the wilderness”. 

Moses spoke with God and He rained down manna for them to eat every day. Will you miraculously give us fresh bread and plenty of food to eat every day? If you do that, we’ll believe.

Jesus answered, … it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 

Jesus was speaking of Himself. Sent from His Father in Heaven, He came to earth, to win eternal life for us, and to give us food for the soul.

Probably still thinking that Jesus meant bread for the body, 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.

I think of our Gospel Reading a couple Sundays ago, when Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. 

And He said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water every day.”

She thought that Jesus intended to give her daily water for the body, just as the people in this story thought Jesus would give them daily bread for the body. 

Later, the Samaritan woman seems to have realized that Jesus was the Messiah, who would win salvation, and give living water, faith for the soul.

The people in our text, who had seen the miracle of Jesus feeding them, still didn’t quite understand what He was saying and doing.     

 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.

Believe and I will receive you and welcome you into heart and my eternal home.

Last Sunday, as we looked at Jesus’ miracle of healing the man born blind, we said that, the eyes of the heart, seeing by faith, matter more than the eyes of the body.

In the same way, bread for the soul matters more than bread for the body.

This is why in the wilderness, after Jesus had fasted 40 days, and was terribly hungry, and the devil came to Him and tempted Him to turn the stones into loaves of bread… Jesus, not deceived, responded with Scripture, the words Moses in Deuteronomy 8:3, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.  

God’s Word is the food that feeds the eternal soul. 

Jesus cares about both, body and soul, and gives food for both… which is why He taught His followers to pray: Give us this day our daily bread… and why He gives us what we need to sustain our body and life.

But right after teaching us to pray for our daily bread, He teaches us to pray for our eternal soul, for the forgiveness and protection of our soul: and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Lord, feed and guard my body; even more, feed and guard my soul.

Be the bread of my life, the true source of my life and my blessings forever…

Feed my mind with Your Word… 

Feed my soul with Your body and blood for my forgiveness…

Feed my heart with Your love, so that I may share with others, food for the body, but even more, that I may share Your Gospel, food for every soul.

And with our souls well fed with God’s Word, and our hearts nourished with His love, His peace, which passes understanding, will guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, who is our life and joy everlasting. Amen.