I so glad you joined we are starting our second week of our I am series, all about Discovering who Jesus says that He is. In the Book of John, there are 7 I am statements that Jesus uses throughout the book to help us understand that different aspects of his nature and who He is. All of these statements start out with the emphatic Greek phrase: ??? ??µ?: Translated I, I am.
Last week, we discovered that this phrase: e?? e?µ? was used in the Greek translation of the old testament, the Septuagint, often when we read the Exodus 3 story with God explaining that he is the great I am: I am who I am. This phrase becomes synonymous, within the Jewish culture, with the name of the Lord. So often the Hebrew phrase ni hu is used in replacement with ni Yahweh because of the way that God introduces himself to Moses. Furthermore, this phrase also indicates the timelessness of Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Last week we looked at 3 different times Jesus said the ??? ??µ? phrase to indicate his divinity.
This week we look at the first of the ??? ??µ? phrases found in John 6. Please turn there while I give you a little background to this passage. At the beginning of John 6 Jesus feeds the 5,000 on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. After this miracle in verse 15, Jesus perceives that the crowd wishes to make him their king—even by force in needed. So, Jesus leaves them and goes by himself into the mountains. He sends his disciples across the lake to Capernaum. About 3 AM he decides to walk out to them and join them in the middle of a storm. When he reaches the disciples in the middle of the lake, he gets in the boat and immediately they find themselves on the shores of Capernaum. Many of the people came looking for Jesus when they realized He had left Bethsaida and came to Capernaum.
Vs 26 Read 26-35
1. The Bread of Life does not spoil nor feed the physical Body
Not much has changed in 2,000 years, people are still looking for the quick fix to all their needs. The people have come looking for Jesus not because they wanted to know him, or have him as their messiah, but because He fed their physical bodies. He took care of their needs. Everyday, people get up, go to work, go home, sleep and do it all over again. We do this so that we can provide for our families. Put a roof over their heads, put food on the table, and if we have extra then we buy things and have fun. We are working for our daily bread…the same as the people of galilee did 2,000 years ago, but look at verse 27 Jesus said “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Quickly it becomes clear that Jesus is not referring to earthly work and toil, he is referring to a spiritual work…work for the food that endures to everlasting life.
The Jews had become obsessed with the observation of the law…they took everything completely literal. They were convinced that by following the law faultlessly they could gain favor in the Lord. But misunderstood a few things about the Law,
Leave a finger in John, we will come back, Look with me at Romans 3:19-23:
First, the Purpose of the Law is to give knowledge of sin. The law is impossible to complete. All fall short of God’s glorious standard. Jump to Romans 7:12-14
Second the Law is Spiritual, but I am Carnal…of the flesh
The Jews were working with the law in the flesh, thinking that their actions in the flesh led to greater spirituality…they were laboring for bread that would perish, for everything we do simply in the flesh will die for the flesh can do nothing else than die because of the curse of Sin on this world…sin brings death! Period the end, but Jesus brings everlasting life, so he tells them to search for food that leads to everlasting life…he is telling them to search for Him, but they do not understand!
They continue to ask him for a sign…for a miracle…the day before…literally, Jesus just took 5 loaves and 2 fish and fed a crowd of 5,000 men (they didn’t even count the women and children) and they have followed him and they want to see another miracle, they want Him to prove himself AGAIN, they do not comprehend who is it that they have in front of them.
2. To receive the Bread of life, you have to Come and Believe.
The Bread of life comes from Heaven, from the Father, just as the Manna in the wilderness came from Heaven, from the Father and not from Moses. Jesus is the Bread of Life, vs 35: And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. Jesus is the Bread which gives and sustains “life” the Life of the Kingdome of God. He commands us to Come to him and Believe in Him. Jesus is making a clear parallelism here between those who come, will never hunger and those who believe will never thirst. Jesus is talking about a new, everlasting covenant that we who would come and believe would be apart of him, and never hunger or thirst again. Look with me at Isaiah 55:1-4
Isaiah 55 explains an everlasting covenant that when you listen and come to God your soul shall live. This is what Jesus is talking about, those that come to him and believe in him will never hunger or thirst for their souls shall live forever, they shall eat of him—that what is good and they shall work for everlasting life—following in him—having relationship with him.
Jewish teachers often taught that the Law was the Bread as they correlate the Manna in the dessert as the Bread…the Law from Moses for Moses Gave the Law—the Bread which will perish—but grace and truth come from Jesus.
Read 47-51
3. You must eat of the Bread of life in order that you may live
The children of Israel had to eat the manna during their time in the desert. If they did not eat manna for 40 years, they would have died. Jesus is the bread the comes down from heaven…He is the Incarnate One. The bread is his flesh, he doesn’t use the word Body here, this draws a comparison to John 1:14: And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus, the Son of Man as he is often referred to in the Book of John, Jesus is the incarnate Lord…The Lord made flesh…100% God and 100% man. He is the Lord Who was and is and is to come. By coming down from heaven he is talking of his own self, who was there in the beginning. John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
In order for us to be saved, he had to give himself up for the world. The bread of life is given to the world so that we may live. In order to live…in order to be saved….to have life you must partake in Jesus…eat the bread. This may seem like a common thing for us to hear but think about what is was like for these Jews to hear it. It would have sounded completely absurd! In fact, look at the next verse: Read vs 52
They are completely flabbergasted at the concept of eating his flesh, but they are not understanding who He is or what he is really saying. They are just thinking of the carnal, the flesh, not the spiritual aspect. This has been their folly since the very beginning…they toil in the flesh with the law after a bread that will perish…even though the Law was intended to be spiritual not carnal. Eating of God was a concept they were used to…David wrote in Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Read 53-59
Jesus adds the concept of drinking his blood to eating his flesh. Blood is indicative of a covenant…a promise. Read Hebrews 9:11-22
Blood is used to seal a covenant and is necessary for the remission of sins—the complete release from the bondage power of sin. By partaking in His flesh and blood we can have everlasting life. The drinking of the covenant blood of Christ is the means of being joined to God and receiving the benefits of his life. Christ is the covenant sacrifice and is God’s provision for our sustenance. When we feed on Him through faith, we become partakers of the divine nature 2 Peter 1:4: by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Through the Holy Spirit’s work, we receive His life and partake of His promises.
4. When you eat the Bread of Life, He will Live in you and you in Him.
Jesus telling us that if we eat his flesh and drink his blood then he will abide…make a dwelling and live within us and we with him. This is significant because it is a sharing in his death. In Galatians 2:19-20 Paul Writes: 19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Eating and drinking is a personal act…eating and drinking spiritual is a personal act of Faith designed to bring you into a personal relationship with Jesus and when that happens the Old self dies and we join in his death as we join in life…Christ lives in me and I live in Christ by faith in Jesus who loves us and died for us. Jesus shows himself here in John as the Revealer of the Father and the Redeemer, giving life where death once reigned. Jesus’ statements proved to be too much…. not only for the Jewish opponents but also for many of disciples.
Read 60-71
(Next Slide)
The Truth is he did scare and offend many of them. Many of them thought it was impossible because they were thinking of only the flesh and He was talking of the Spirit. Jesus had to die in the flesh, but we must join him and die in the Spirit so that we can live in the flesh by Faith in him. We must come and believe in Him as the savior of the world. (NEXT)
Jesus sees many of those that have traveled with him leave and part of him seems sorry to see them leave—even though he knew who did not truly believe, but only followed him to see miracles…Signs and wonders. Jesus seems almost defeated and desperate as he turns to the twelve saying “Do you also want to go away?” But Peter understands what Jesus has been saying….Jesus had said you must come and believe and Peter responds to him in verse 69 We have Come To Believe and KNOW that You are the Christ the Son of the living God…in the Greek: a???? t?? Te??: the Holy One of God…they understand what it means that He Is the bread of life.
That which is a????—Holy belongs to God. Jesus embodies the Holiness of God whom Israel confessed as the Holy one of Israel. To confess that Jesus is the Holy one of God accordingly is to give faith’s responses to the utterance of Jesus in verse 20 ??? e?µ? I am. After all that they had seen and heard they now know that Jesus is God. In the context of the Gospel as a whole, the Holy One of God, who has been consecrated by the father and send into the world brings his mission to Its God-ordained culmination in consecrating himself as a sacrifice of the World.
5. He is the Holy Redeemer—the Bread of Life
How do we respond to Him? Do we accept him or reject him? Do we follow him-even when things seem difficult or only when it is easy? Are we here simply because we felt the peace of God when we walked into this place, or are we here because we are hungry for more of him in our life? I want to encourage you to think about that today as we close. Push in, go after all that He has for you…partake in the flesh and blood of the Bread of life!
Sing Altar Song
Next week we will continue with the second of Jesus’ I am Statements: I am the light of the world. I look forward to seeing you then. Have a great week.
