For the last few weeks we have sort of gotten off course in our Sunday evening services, but tonight I want us to again look to the book of John. We have been asking the question, “Who is Jesus?” It’s a question that can be answered from several different approaches. We can study the attributes that characterize God the Father and apply them to the Son. We can take a look at how Jesus lived. Or, as we have been doing, we can listen when Jesus says the words, “I am…” Several times throughout the book of John Jesus tells us who He is. We’ve looked at a couple of those “I am” statements. We’ve seen that Jesus is the Light of the world. We’ve heard Him say, “I am the Door.” Other times He has said, “I am the Good Shepherd,” or “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Tonight I want us to quickly look at what Jesus says in John 6:22-35…
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; (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 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. Labor 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. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 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. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 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.
If you will look earlier in this chapter you will find that this passage directly follows one of our favorite miracles. Jesus has just fed the five thousand, which, by the way, was only the number of men in that crowd. With a little boy’s five loaves of bread and two fishes Jesus fed a multitude of people and had twelve baskets to spare when it was all said and done. It’s an amazing story.
There have been some that have tried to explain away this miracle of Jesus. One preacher surmised that perhaps once the people saw the sacrifice of this young boy, they too pulled out their own lunches that they had carried along, and when they shared their lunches with each other there enough for everyone. Others have speculated that a cache of food left by Roman soldiers was uncovered and divided among the people. Why can’t we just believe in the power of Jesus? Why can’t we just believe the Jesus was able to take five loaves and two fishes and bless them and supernaturally break enough bread and fish for all those people? This was just an extraordinary act of God. You can’t explain it away.
You know, several times Jesus was able to see a need and meet it supernaturally. He saw a need for more wine at the wedding of Cana, so He turned water into wine. He saw the need of His disciples’ safety so He calmed the storm. He saw the widow’s need for her son so he raised him back from the dead. Many times Jesus saw a need and met it. But many of His miracles were not performed simply on the basis of need or the effect that they would have. His miracles also served as object lessons or parables. They were teaching devices.
This is true of the feeding of the five thousand. For, as we have just read, on the day following this miracle many of those who had been fed were searching for Jesus. And when they found Him He questioned their motives. Basically, He saw their heart and realized that they were not searching for Him because they necessarily believed in Him, but they were seeking Him out because He had fed them.
I have read about people in China that were labeled “rice Christians.” Why were they called this? Because it times of famine there were those to whom the missionaries would minister who would claim to embrace Christianity mainly so they would have a better chance for a full rice bowl. Today, while it isn’t always manifested in the same way, there are those who are no different than that. They have heard the gospel of health and wealth preached and come to Jesus asking, “What is in this for me?” They want physical satisfaction.
These men that approached Jesus were that way. And to them Jesus says, “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” Later He says, “I am the Bread of Life.” What does He mean when He calls Himself the Bread of Life? Well, I think we can draw upon what physical bread is and apply that to this statement. And I think this statement says at least three things to us. Let’s look at them quickly this evening.
I. He Is The Source Of Life
First of all, I believe when Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life it means that He is the Source of life. John chapter 1, verses 1-3…In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Everything that exists today can be traced back to either the earth or to mankind, both of which God created.
It’s kind of like the poem that says, “Back of the loaf is the snowy flour, back of the flour, the mill; back of the mill are the wheat and the shower and the sun and the Father’s will.” God, Jesus, is the ultimate Source of everything in existence.
Look at what Jesus says in verse 32 of our text… Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. In the Old Testament we read an awesome story of the provision of God. The Israelites have been delivered from the Egyptians, but they are now traveling through the wilderness. And as they did time after time, the children of Israel began complaining because of something. They said they wished they had died back in the land of Egypt because at least there they had good food to eat. But now they were out in this wilderness where Moses has led them to let them die of hunger. But God rained down manna from heaven every day to provide for the physical needs of the Israelites.
These men that came to Jesus believed that it was Moses who was ultimately responsible for that provision of manna. They were under the impression that Moses was the source for their ancestors. But Jesus was saying, “No, it wasn’t Moses that supplied your source of life, it was God, my Father that rained that manna down from heaven. He was the Source of life.”
All too often we are like those men. We forget that God is the ultimate source of everything. We think that we have obtained what we have gotten on our own. We believe that the progress that man has made has been done on his own. We believe that anything that we will accomplish in the future will be because of our own abilities and strengths. We basically give credit to everyone but God for what we have.
But the truth is everything that we have, everything that we’ve accomplished, and everything that we will ever be stems from the ultimate Source, Jesus Christ. He alone is the Creator of the universe. He alone is the Creator of life. Without Him was not anything made that was made. Without Him will be nothing that will be made. He is the Source of life.
II. He Is The Sustenance Of Life
Moving on, not only is Jesus the Source of life, but He is also the Sustenance of life. Col. 1:16-17 says… For by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
He didn’t just create us and bring us to where we are, but He also is essential for our continued existence. Just as we depend upon food, upon bread, we depend upon God for life to go on. He is the Great Sustainer.
Time for science class. Let’s consider some of the basic requirements for the universe to be able to sustain life. First of all, there must be a correct balance between neutrons and protons. The fundamental building block of everything in the universe is the atom. The atom is made up of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, and electrons outside the nucleus acting as a strong force to keep the atom together. Think about this… if a neutron were even 99.8% of it’s actual size free protons would decay into neutrons. And since the nucleus of the hydrogen atom is just one free proton, hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, could not exist in turn making it impossible for water, H2O, to exist. Just because of the smallest deviation in the mass of a neutron.
Let’s consider the balance between electrons and protons. Scientists have been able to measure and compare the relative proton and electron charge within atoms, and have established that these charges can only differ by less than one in one quadrillion, a 1 with 15 0’s after it. Therefore, since the charge of the electron is of equal magnitude to the charge of the proton, atoms tend to maintain a neutral charge. However, if one of these charged particles differed by only one in one billion, then an atom would no longer be electrically neutral. If the proton charge were greater, atoms would be electrically positive. If the electron charge were greater, then atoms would become electrically negative. In such cases, atoms would no longer be neutral, but would possess a definite charge—positive or negative. Since like charges repel, in such a case there would be repulsion between atoms of elements—and solid matter could not exist!
Now, I am in no way a scientist, so I don’t expect that any of you have learned much from my little science lesson that I found online. But let it suffice to say that the slightest change in the way the universe is held together would result in the impossibility for life to exist within the universe, if not the total destruction of the universe all-together. Is that something that just happens? Is that something that scientists have control over? Absolutely not. It takes the power of an infinite God to sustain the intricacies of our universe. It takes a God who alone has the power to sustain life.
III. He Is The Satisfaction Of Life
Lastly, this evening, not only is Jesus the Source and Sustainer of life, but He is the Satisfaction of life. He is the One who created us. Everything that exists was made by Him and for Him. He is the One who sustains us. Only He has the power to hold everything together, both in the universe and in our own lives. And He alone is the One who is able to satisfy.
We can try all sorts of other things, but only the Bread of Life will satisfy. We can do anything we want, but there will still remain an emptiness inside of us. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon tells us how many things he has tried only to find out that they are full of vanity, or emptiness/meaninglessness. Listen to a few of those verses… 1: 3, “What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” 1:14, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.” 1:18, “In much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” 2:1, “I said in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with gladness, therefore enjoy much pleasure’; but surely, this also was vanity.”
Time after time Solomon found that there was nothing that could be gained, nothing that could be done, nothing that could be experienced that would satisfy the yearning of his heart. He learned the reality of what Augustine later said, “There’s a God-shaped vacuum inside of us.”
Augustine was a man who learned that by experience. After being freed from the restraints of his Christian mother when he was sent off to school, he joined several of his classmates in indulging his passions by taking a concubine. He was the father of an illegitimate son. He began searching for truth and became entangled in false doctrines that promoted irresponsibility. He became a very good teacher of grammar and rhetoric. But none of these things ever satisfied him. There was still an emptiness. There was still a hunger. And that hunger was only filled when he found the true Bread of Life and was converted. Later he prayed, “Thou madest us for thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in thee.” “God, You made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”
Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger.” In another place He said, “I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Only when Jesus is the Bread we are partaking of can we say along with David, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” He alone can satisfy. He alone can quench the yearning of our souls. We can look for satisfaction in pleasure or riches or religion, but we will never find it until we taste of the Bread of Life.
This evening, we can eat all we want of this great food that was prepared. But tomorrow morning we’ll wake up and we’ll be hungry again. Some of us will probably be hungry again by the time we get home tonight. But it’s good to know that if we find the Bread of Life, we will never hunger again. There’s nothing else that I need if I have Jesus. He is the Source, the Sustainer, and the Satisfaction of life.
