I AM the Bread of Life
Jesus, God in the Flesh | A Study through the Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 10 viewsWhat is the will of God? The will of God is to accept the One whom He has sent.
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Introduction |
Focus Passage | John 6:34-40
34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty. 36 But I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe. 37 Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Outline |
As we come to our text, Jesus begins his Bread of Life discourse. The five thousand men, not counting women and children, had been fed on the side of the hill. Jesus had sent his disciples across the sea of Galilee, calmed the storm, and went to the other side. The people followed him, found him, and asked the surface question, Rabbi, when did you get here (Jn 6:25), and was superficial at best. Jesus knew this, and addressed the core question at hand, and that question had nothing to do with when/how he made it to the other side of the sea, but addressed man’s most important need, salvation. As Jesus replied, Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled (Jn 6:26). They were more concerned with the physical than they were the spiritual. Jesus follows this statement up with, Therefore they said to Him, What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God (Jn 6:28).
What was the response of the people? They ask Jesus for a sign? They want more evidence to believe. They bring Moses and the mana from heaven in the wilderness as a sign. Jesus informs them that it was not Moses, rather God that gave them mana while in the wilderness (cf. Jn 6:30-32). Which brings us to the introduction of our text before us…
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
Right Request, Wrong Motive (v. 34)
The request was the right request - ‘…Lord, always give us this bread…’
The motive behind the question was the wrong motive
Once again, the heart behind the request of the people is about physical nourishment and satisfaction. Jesus up to this point had addressed their materialistic and selfish views. Within His response and leading up to our text, He reminds the people to seek Him and not the things of the world.
Seek First the Bread of Life (vv. 35)
Seven times the Lord Jesus Christ uses the phrase “I AM,” within the Gospel of John. This is not by accident and it intentional. For the Jew, this phrase it reserved for Jehovah alone. It goes back to when Moses asked God who he was to say sent him to lead the Jews out of Egyptian bondage. God’s response was simple, I AM that I AM. When Jesus states “I AM” seven times throughout the Gospel of John, He claiming to be Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, in the flesh. He is claiming unity and sameness. We read within v.35…
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.
As we look at this verse we see four specifics truths brought about before us…
4 Truths about the Bread of Life
The source of the Bread of Life - ‘…I am the bread of life…’
The stipulation for the Bread of Life - ‘…the one who comes to Me…the one who believes in Me…’
The satisfaction of the Bread of Life - ‘…will not be hungry…will never be thirsty…’
Matthew chapter 6 addresses the anxieties of life (hunger, housing, thirst, etc.). Jesus is the answer to all of this. This is why Matthew writes that we are to seek God and His kingdom first.
33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.
As Jesus states, those who come to Him, will no longer be hungry or thirst. Why do we find so much anxiety, grief, and depression within our world? Because so many are not searching for the Lord, the only source of the Bread of Life, they are searching after the things of this world. As Jesus tells the people…
36 But I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe.
Without believing, without faith, we cannot come to the Father and we cannot please the Father according to Hebrews. However, we find that for those that accept Christ, they are saved, secured, and promised to see the resurrection unto life by the sovereign will of God.
Divine Will and Free Will (v. 37-40)
37 Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Divine will and Free will
As we come to our text, we find that there is a tension between the divine will of God and the free will of man that is always working and living with one another at the same time. Often, when addressing salvation, one looks at from one of two angles. They will either emphasize the choosing of the saint, Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me (v. 37), or they emphasize the free will of man, you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe (v. 36). Yet, as we look at our text, they are not either/or but yes and yes. They go hand-and-hand.
Tenney expresses it like this:
How can one be sure that the Father has really given him to Christ? Will he come only to be rebuffed? Jesus made plain that human salvation is no surprise to God. He summons men to himself by his Word and by his Spirit. They can come only at his invitation. The invitation, however, is not restricted to any particular time or place, nor is it exclusively for any one nation, race, or culture. No man needs to fear that he will come in vain, for Jesus said emphatically that he would not refuse anyone. Man does not make his opportunity for salvation; he accepts its free offer. A superficial attachment to God is not enough, for if the desire for salvation is not inspired by God, true salvation will not result (Tenney, EBC, p. 76).
Kenneth O. Gangel, John, vol. 4, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 124.
Salvation, the will and gift of God
We look at our text and other passages within the cannon of Scripture and realize that salvation is not a humanistic act, but a divine act. We are told that the will of God, which Jesus came to do, For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (v. 38), was to afford salvation to all that will believe.
40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Salvation is a divine act of God wherein He chooses and draws men unto Himself
37 Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out.
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
Salvation is a divine gift from God wherein He chooses to extend that gift to those who believe
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Salvation brings about assurance and security
In genuine salvation, one finds assurance of acceptance - ‘…I will certainly not cast out…’
In genuine salvation, one finds security of eternal life - ‘…I will lose nothing, but will raise it up the last day…will raise him up on the last day…’
Salvation is a divine act, but man is still responsible to believe through through working of the Holy Spirit
The crowds had seen Jesus, but didn’t believe (v. 36). This is a reminder that He, Jesus, had came unto His own and they rejected Him (Jn 1). Seeing was not enough. They had to believe. They had to call upon Him. As the Spirit of God convicted them of their sin, drew them in through the Spirit, and gave them the ability and will to call upon Jesus, they needed to call upon His name. They needed to truly believe, For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day (v. 40).
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”
13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Conclusion |
Do you believe? Have you called upon His name? If so, know that you are secure in Him, but if not, know that without Him there is no future but a fiery judgement and indignation that awaits.
