I am the Bread of Life

This sermon is preached from John 6:22-59 for the morning service of September 28, 2014.




In order to understand this passage one must remember the events that happened just the previous day. Jesus tried to get some rest and relaxation with His disciples in a deserted area outside of Bethsaida on the sea of Galilee. However, the Galileans spotted Jesus and a crowd that had 5,000 men grew. Later in the day, Jesus performed a miracle by feeding the entire crowd so that they were full by only using five barley loaves and two small fishes. When the crowd saw that Jesus was able to provide food they wanted to make Jesus king. This in turn caused Jesus to send away the disciples into a boat and then He went away privately for a while.

The disciples have a sleepless night trying to get the sea of Galilee due to a wind blowing the opposite direction. Jesus walks on the water and meets them in the middle of the sea.

Search for Jesus (6:22-25)

A portion of the crowd must have stayed in the area. This was the next day and these people are still probably wanting to make Jesus become their king. They eventually figure out that Jesus is not in the area even though they did not see Him get into a boat. The group decides to enter into boats that have come recently and to go look for Jesus elsewhere. They then find Jesus in Capernaum. They must have heard Jesus tell His disciples to go there. When they find Jesus again, they only ask when He got to Capernaum rather than asking how He got there.

Works and Signs (6:26-31)

26. There is no record that Jesus answered or discussed how or when He got to Capernaum. Instead Jesus begins the poor reason as to why they decided to seek Him out. They decided to look for Jesus not because they believed in what He was teaching or even because He was able to perform a miracle, but because Jesus provided them with full bellies. John has always been critical of how the Galileans were following Jesus because of His signs. Now they have sunk even lower than that. They are following Jesus so they can get a meal. What a bunch of bums!

27. Jesus see how much they are making an effort to get a meal so He tells them to use their energy to find real meat. Find meat that does not perish. This meat will instead give you eternal life. However, this meat can only come from the Son of Man because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him (This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased).

28-29. Because Jesus tells them to labor for meat that gives eternal life, they in turn ask what that would look like. What is it they must do to receive this meat?

Jesus’ answer is that them believing on Jesus, Him who was sent, is a work of God. We are never able to believe in the message of salvation on our own accord. We cannot create our own faith. God creates faith for us. God makes it so we can believe on Him. God is doing the action not man. They thought they needed to do something in order to earn this.

Believing on Jesus is repeated numerous times in this passage (vv. 36, 40, 47).

30-31. These men then turn the tables back upon Jesus. They ask Jesus to perform a sign (1 Cor. 1:22). This request is ridiculous. These men participated in a sign yesterday when He gave them food. Not only that He healed multiple people before they had the meal (Luke 9:11). These men should have been satisfied with what they had already saw. Jesus already pointed out that they do not even seek Him because of the signs He was doing.

These men point out to Jesus that Moses gave manna every day in the wilderness. This is probably a quotation from Psalm 78:24. From this point forward there is a contrast that is being shown between the manna and the bread of life. They are saying that what Jesus did yesterday was nothing in comparison to what Moses did. He made manna, bread from heaven, fall from the sky six days a week for 40 years and it was enough to feed the entire nation of Israel which would have numbered around 2.5 million people.

God Sent Better Bread (6:32-36)

32-33. Jesus give two objections. The first is that it was not Moses that gave Israel mann for forty years. God gave them the manna. The second objection is that God is now giving a better bread from heaven than what Israel had. For the bread of God is He which comes from heaven. Jesus has tried multiple times explain that He has come from heaven and that God the Father has sent Him. That is why John started with eternality of God. Jesus is this bread that is better. Jesus will give eternal life.

34. These men are just as oblivious as the Samaritan woman at the well. She wanted the water of eternal life so she would never have to drink again to stay alive. These men want food that will give eternal life so they will not have to worry about death. They are oblivious to the fact that Jesus is talking about Himself.

35. Jesus tries to make it Himself more clear with these men. He simply states “I am the bread of life.” This is one of the famous “I am,” statements of John. The statement carries overtones of deity because it recalls God speaking to Moses when He said, “I am that I am” (Exod. 3:14). The name emphasizes eternality and sole independence. Jesus is eternal. Jesus was sent from heaven like the manna but Jesus will give eternal life. If you believe on Jesus then you never have to fear death.

36. These men have seen Jesus perform man signs already but they are not considering the implications of these signs. Therefore, they fail to understand what Jesus means when He says, “I am the bread of life.” The theological reason as to why they believe will be explained in the following verses.

The Will of the Father (6:37-40)

37. Jesus took the time to explain the relationship that He had with the Father when He was making claims to deity before the Jews in Jerusalem. Now He is explaining the coordination that happens between Himself and the Father in salvation. The act of the Father giving people to the Son is most likely a reference to God electing individuals before the creation of the earth. The point is that all are elect will come to the Son and believe. The Son will receive them. The Son will forgive them. The Son will redeem them.

38. Jesus states that the whole reason why He came down to earth from heaven was to do the will of the Father. Jesus wants to see God glorified in everything He does. There is no vanity in Jesus. He glorifies God because there is none greater than God (cf. John 5:30).

39-40. Jesus then goes on to explain what is the will of the Father. He states it and then repeats it so we do not miss it. The will of the Father is that everyone who believes on the Son will have eternal life. None who believe will be lost. All who believe will be raised by Jesus Christ on the last day. These are absolute statements. There is no room for a margin of error in these verses. All the elect will believe on the Son. All who believe will be raised the last day. That is the reason why it is an everlasting life that Jesus offers. Jesus offers life that extends beyond the grave.

Murmuring (6:41-42)

The people that are there listening to Jesus begin to murmur/grumble/complain. There is a bit of an ironic parallel going on between the old nation of Israel that was in the wilderness and these men before Jesus. It never took long before the people of Israel were murmuring about something that had caused them to be dissatisfied. These men are not being satisfied with the fact that Jesus is calling Himself the bread of life.

Their chief complaint is that they are comfortable with the fact that Jesus claims to have come from heaven. Individuals in the crowd must have known Mary and Joseph. They remember that Jesus was raised their household. They must have been ignorant of Jesus’ virgin birth. However, Jesus makes this very clear with the numerous repetitions (John 6:32, 33, 38, 39, 40, 44, 51, 57, 58).

Repetition (6:43-51)

Jesus makes a repetition of what He just said from verses 32-40 with a few small modification and in reverse order.

44. In order to come to the Son a person must be drawn by God. Yet, in John 14:6 Jesus said, “No man can come to the Father, but by Me.” These seem to contradict one another. However, they compliment each other. The Father elects and draws individuals unto the Son. Then the Son redeems and sanctifies the individual unto the Father. It will be the Son that will raise the believer unto eternal life at the last day.

45. Jesus may not be referencing a single passage here. He may be pointing out the main thrust of the prophets message from the Old Testament. There a couple of passages that make this statement, “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; And great shall be the peace of thy children” (Isa. 54:13) and the promise from the New Covenant.

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, And write it in their hearts; And will be their God, And they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For they shall all know me, From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: For I will forgive their iniquity, And I will remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:33-34).

Jesus then goes on to explain that every man that is taught the things of God will come to Him. The understanding of what Jesus is implying here is that these men before Jesus do not fit that description. They were never taught the things of God. They were never drawn by the Father. Therefore, they are not going to come to the Son.

46. The only person that has seen the Father is Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:18).

47. This is a repetition as to why Jesus is having this discussion in the first place. He wants them to believe on Him. The only way to have eternal life is to have faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation. This is simple. Believe and live forever.

48. This is a repetition from verse 35.

49-51. Jesus then goes on to explain again that the Father has sent better bread from heaven now than what was given to Israel in the wilderness. Israel ate manna and they died. Yet if you consume the bread that is here before you, you will never die.

Jesus explains that the bread is His flesh. This is a reference to His sacrificial death that He will soon suffer. His death will bring life for those who believe because Jesus bore our death upon Himself. Jesus was our vicar. He died so we would not die. This will not just be for the Jews but for all the races and nations. Anyone who believes will have life.

Flesh to Eat? (6:52-59)

52. The Jews are mystified by that last statement of Jesus. It seems downright weird that someone would offer His own body as food for another person. They are still not understanding that Jesus is using earthly analogies to talk spiritual truths just like He did with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman.

53-54. Jesus makes the third “Verily, verily” statement. He wants them to understand to pay attention to this very important point. If you never eat the flesh offered by the Son of Man you will never have life. But if you do eat the flesh of Jesus Christ, then you will have eternal life. You will not need to fear death because God will raise you up the last day unto life.

55-58. Jesus explains that a union occurs when a person places his faith upon Him. Later on we will see Jesus send the Holy Spirit to dwell in every person that believes on the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation.

This union causes life to come to the believer because both the Father and the Son are eternal Persons. They will always live.

Again, for the last time, Jesus states that He is better bread than what the nation of Israel ate. They may have eaten bread that fell from the sky but they still died. If you eat the flesh of the Son of Man you will have eternal life.

59. This whole seen must have taken place in a synagogue in Capernaum. It is not uncommon for Jesus to be found teaching in such a place.