Bread that Satisfies part 1

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This is a sermon that was given as a communion sermon and it is based on John 6:22-27.

Bread that Satisfies

Introduction:

This morning we are going to be sharing the emblems of the Lord’s Supper in communion.

I want to speak to you concerning the passage in John 6 that was read earlier in the service. It is a passage that I had personally read some time ago and made a note to share it sometime in a sermon.

Bread is a common staple food that is part of the diet of most people around the world.

In some cultures it is very common for people to go each morning to purchase their day’s supply of bread from a local bakery made fresh daily. (No preservatives)

My wife has told me about her foreign study in Colombia, South America while she was in college when she would go buy fresh bread each morning.

Nearly everywhere in the world, bread of some kind is a regular part of the diet.

Listen to these brief excerpts taken from an internet blog written by By Debbra Mikaelsen.

On a brisk, blue-skied day, I hug a loaf of peasant bread to my heart, feeling its fresh-from-the-oven warmth radiate through the paper bag wrapping. I feel good about this bread; I have met the baker whose hands formed it, and I have seen the odd little wood-burning oven that baked it.

All food is a miracle, but few things amaze me as much as this transformation of flour, yeast, salt and water into a gift with a crispy crust and a soft, chewy interior….

I have not always had such a healthy respect for good bread. When I was very young, my family’s daily bread came from one of those bakeries that all small towns used to have, sweet-smelling places that sell wedding cakes, jelly donuts, and loaf after loaf of white sandwich bread….

Making bread is something that humankind should be skilled at; we’ve been doing it for a very long time. The ancient Egyptians are thought to have been the first bakers, and, in one form or another, bread has been a basic staple of many cultures…. And humans are good at making bread—much better than the factories whose loaves fill supermarket shelves.

This is perhaps the most versatile of all foods: appropriate for every meal, and a vehicle for both sweet and savoury toppings. Chunks of fresh bread make excellent plate cleaners when you’ve had something saucy or smothered in gravy. Pair bread with a good soup or salad and it becomes a satisfying, nutritious and economical meal. Day-old bread can be reincarnated as sweet or savoury puddings, garlicky croutons, or an herby, crumbly topping for out-of-this-world macaroni and cheese.  (http://www.ediblecommunities.com/vancouver/Recent-Articles/bread-a-love-story.htm)

Have I made you hungry yet? This vivid description of bread reminds us of its value to us.

When Jesus instituted the “Lord’s Supper,” he used the bread and the wine of the Passover meal to represent his own body and blood.

Today I want to take a look at this passage in John chapter 6, not because it speaks about the Lord’s Supper or Communion, but because of the message it conveys with the analogy of bread as life-giving nourishment.

In this text there are three questions that were raised by the people who were following Jesus. I don’t know if we have time to examine all three of them today, but I want to focus on these questions, as well as the responses that He gave them after each one.

Set the Scene

Before we get into the questions, let’s just review a little background information to set the scene.

·          Miracle of the loaves and fishes.

·          Disciples got in a boat and left the area without Jesus.

·          Jesus is no longer around.

·          People get in boats and go to Capernaum. There they find Jesus. (They don’t know what we know… Jesus walked on the water during the night storm and joined the disciples in the boat.)

·          Once they find Him, they begin to ask Him some questions.

#1 – “When did you come here?”

Based on the preceding details in the story that I’ve already highlighted, these people are amazed that Jesus is in Capernaum when they specifically saw the disciples leave without Him.

You might expect that Jesus would thoroughly explain to them when, how, and why He came to Capernaum, but He does not.

It is intriguing to notice that Jesus doesn’t even attempt to answer the question they asked, but rather, He reveals the reason behind the question.

v. 26 – “You do not seek for me because of the miraculous signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled up [satisfied].”

Their question implied that they had been seeking Him for awhile.

A. His answer provided an insight regarding their motives.

Jesus exposes the deepest feelings and thoughts of these people, which turns out to be not that different from many people today.

They weren’t seeking Jesus because His miracles had convinced them of His divine identity, or because the miracles had even validated His divine mission.

No, they apparently were seeking Him because they were satisfied with how He had provided for one of their basic physical needs.

There are still people in the world today that find themselves attracted to God because of what He has done for them already or what He can offer them.

• Better job (improved economic status)
• Better health (healing from some dreaded disease.)
• Improved relationships (get rid of conflicts)
• Escape from hell

They say, “Isn’t it wonderful what God did / is doing for me?!”

But deep down inside, they still lack a genuine desire to intimately know God and become more like Him in character. As long as God keeps “coming through” with the blessings they ask for, then they’ll “go along for the ride.”

When we come to the Lord with our questions about everyday circumstances or even crises we face, we are likely to discover that He doesn’t answer our direct question, but rather, His Spirit may probe our hearts to reveal our deep-seated motives and show us that we still have some spiritual issues that need to be settled in our hearts.

(Now, regarding this story, I should mention the point that even though Jesus knew the people would completely miss the connection between the physical food they received and the spiritual food He could provide, He still fed them anyway.

Why? I think it was (1) because He truly loved people and cared about their physical needs, and (2) because He knew it would bring up the opportunity later to point out their misplaced priorities.)

Following His initial insight regarding their motives,

B. Jesus admonishes them about what’s important.

v. 27 – “Don’t labor for the food (meat) that perishes (i.e. must constantly be replenished), but labor for the food that endures into everlasting life.”

Jesus is trying to get these people to re-orient their priorities. He is trying to help them see the major distinction between the temporal and the eternal.

We know by balancing this passage with the rest of Scripture that Jesus wasn’t saying that it’s wrong to work and earn wages in order to buy daily food and nourishment.

He was simply letting them know that eternal (i.e. spiritual) food was so much more important than temporal (i.e. physical) food.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Dear friends, let me first of all affirm and acknowledge that God does do many wonderful things for us. He provides many wonderful blessings; daily, physical blessings and we certainly appreciate them and thank Him for them.

But, let me remind us that the Bible is very clear about the fact that God desires to have intimate, spiritual fellowship with us and He created us for the same desire.

But God knows and we know that sin stands in the way of that intimacy we need and He intended.

Our focus is off base, our desires are sensual, and our motives are self-centered.

There is only one solution for that problem.

It is the saving, cleansing power of the blood of Jesus!

But we aren’t even going to be seeking that solution unless we can get our attention above the satisfaction of our fleshly desires and get our passion and focus on seeking God alone, just for Who HE IS.

Conclusion:

I can see that we’re not going to have the time to deal with the other two questions raised by these people in the text.

Let me close the message today by bringing these thoughts into the context of Communion.

In all probability, Jesus’ discussion here about bread was not intended to have any direct connection to the emblems of Communion.

However, as I have pointed out, the Lord’s emphasis was regarding our need to have a deeper spiritual awareness in order to fully understand which things truly have eternal value.

I believe there is a sense in which the institution of the Lord’s Supper and the emblems Jesus used can help us refocus and remember the deeper spiritual significance that is represented by simple things like bread and wine.

Every time we partake of the bread and the wine (or grape juice) we have been instructed to interpret: “Body and blood.”

They are physical elements, but they represent deeply important spiritual facts, i.e. His body was beaten, scarred and broken. His life’s blood was spilled and His life was surrendered, so we could have redemption.

Hallelujah!

Before we begin the Communion Service, let’s sing a couple verses of the hymn listed in your bulletins.

Blessed Redeemer       # 326