The Bread of Life part 2

John 6:41-58
Length: 20:13

This is a message given on August 16, 2009 at the Bowdertown United Methodist Church.

We continue our look at the Sermon on the Bread of Life this morning. Last time we left off with Jesus telling the crowd about the Bread of Life. Of course the crowd wants this bread and Jesus tells them that He is the Bread of Life.

Our scripture can be divided into three distinct sections this morning. First, we see the reaction of the crowd. Second, we hear Jesus’ response. And lastly, Jesus reiterates the message.

Let’s start with the crowds reaction. The New American Standard Bible says, “the Jews were grumbling.” Did you know that grumbling is an offense to God? It shows a lack of trust in God. Think back to the time Israel spent in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:2 says, “The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” They were faced with scarce resources out in the wilderness and desired those things they had while they were back in Egypt.

They were grumbling, not trusting in God, even though God had just provided them with water. Now they didn’t have food, so rather than ask God, they grumbled. Of course, as we know, God provided them with manna.

A short while after this, they were tired of the manna and wanted some meat, so they started grumbling again. See, the Jews had a negative attitude in general and expressed it toward Moses and Aaron, who were obeying God’s commands. They weren’t trusting their lives to God.

Unfortunately, this is a common practice for many of us today as well. We don’t say we are grumbling against God. Rather, we are grumbling against, the teacher, our boss, the doctor, even the preacher, but not God.

But as this scripture tells us, when we grumble about God’s representatives, God takes it personally. If we reject the godly people in our lives we are rejecting God.

As we move back to the Gospel of John, we see the Jews doing the same thing. They are rejecting the authority God has sent. Not only that, they are truly rejecting God by rejecting Jesus.

They reject Jesus because He equated Himself with God. The crowd said, “but don’t we know your father and mother”, meaning Mary and Joseph? Many people today reject Jesus too. Now we see Jesus rebuke to the crowd.

Verse 44 tells us that we cannot come to Jesus unless God draws us. Well great, how does that happen? Verse 45, which is a paraphrase of Isaiah 54:13, tells us, “And they shall be taught of God, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”

God draws us to Him through teaching, through what we learn about Him. This has really been the goal of my ministry, is to simply teach others what the Bible says and what God wants you to do. That is why so often my sermons sound like lectures!

We need to have the knowledge of the Bible. We need to know what is says. If we learn what God says in His book, it will lead us to Him. Now this isn’t just an intellectual knowledge about the Bible. There are many “scholars” that know this book better than all of us put together, but they don’t believe it.

Our hearts and minds must be open to receive the Word of God. We must plant the Word of God in our hearts. As we learn God’s Word, we will want to obey it. Live out His Word and His will for our lives. As we do this, we will learn to live a godly life in this difficult world.

Many times, people think God draws or calls those to Him that He wants and that is all who will come and be saved. This usually leads into a discussion about predestination. I always think back to what Jesus said in Matthew 22:14, he says, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”

Who are called? Many. Who are chose? Few. Why, because the few who were chosen, responded. To respond to God’s call, we must believe in Him, study His Word, and obey His Word. No one has ever been saved without submitting to the will of God.

Jesus finished His teaching by reiterating what He had just stated. These words are shocking to the Jews. Eating flesh and drinking blood. No doubt, the crowd is in an uproar and starts arguing again. As we have seen, the crowd takes Jesus’ words literally.

Obviously, we know that Jesus was not talking about cannibalism and drinking actual blood. Instead, He was referring to His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus voluntarily laid his life down for the sins of the world.

When we come up to participate in the Lord’s Supper and communion together, we are to remember what Christ did for us on the cross.

We are to trust in Jesus with our lives and live like Him and for Him. Our lives show how much we trust in God. Do we walk with Jesus and talk with Him? Do we live our lives like we love Him as He loves us? Do we work for Jesus while knowing that we can also rest with Jesus?

Those are some things to think about this week. If you find yourself grumbling this week, just remember that you are grumbling against God and the things He has provided for you. Don’t be like the crowd, don’t be like the Israelites, don’t be like the world.

Instead, be like Jesus and feed on the Bread of Life.





Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You this morning for Your Word. It is filled with so many important truths that we cannot begin to even comprehend it all. We pray, that Your Spirit will teach us. Help us to trust You with our lives and not grumble about the situations we are in.

We pray this morning for those to whom Your Spirit speaks, those who are being drawn by the Father. God, if some heart here is being drawn, may this be the day that they in faith say, "Christ, I come, I want You, take my life, forgive my sin." May this be that day. This we pray in Christ's name. Amen.