I AM the Bread of Life

John 6:22-41

John 6:22-41 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.

Introduction

Many of the people who were following Jesus were due to the miracles that He and His disciples were doing. The latest of these miracles was the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-14).

Jesus sends the disciples to the other side of the sea and told that hew would be following. That night a great storm was upon the face of the waters and Jesus came walking on the water to them.

This is where we pick up todays study.

Searching for Miracles instead of the Messiah

John 6:22-25 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

“On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.” What an odd statement from those searching for Jesus. One boat left, the disciples had gone ahead, and Jesus wasn’t around. We know why Jesus didn’t need the boat, He simply walked across the Sea of Galilee. They thought that Jesus must still be around because His boat was had not left its mooring.

Word got out that the young Rabbi from Capernaum had feed a multitude of men, 5,000, women and children. The masses were searching for Jesus. They were following Jesus the restaurateur.

What glory it must have been to have been in the great crowd of people following Jesus to eat of the bread and fishes. They wanted more. They wanted the “free lunch.”

The filling of their bellies was far more important than the message of Christ being received.

Searching for the Law in the Time of Grace

John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

Truly, truly – the KJV uses “verily, verily”. Both are derived from the Hebrew “amen.” Amen means “sure”, expressing absolute trust and confidence in what is being said.

I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. – In truth, they were focused on their bellies being full, rather than eternal provision.

John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Quickly, Jesus moves from the natural world to the Spiritual. They longed for physical food, neglecting the spiritual aspect of the teaching of Jesus.

Existence in the land of Palestine is associated with the most common of foods, bread. Without bread, survival becomes more dangerous.

Jesus informs the audience that the food that they are seeking will not endure. However, there is a food, which the Son of Man is capable of freely giving to those which seek it.

No one in Palestine could survive for very long without bread, the most basic of all food.

Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem which literally means “house of bread.”

Son of Man – Jesus most often used this title for Himself (29 times in the Gospel of Matthew; Dan 7:13). Jesus acknowledges His humanity.

For on him God the Father has set his seal – the seal confirms or authenticates that something is true. God has set His approval on the “Son of Man”, Jesus the Christ.

John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Doing the works – represents the same word that is translated “labor” in v. 27 (Gk. ergazomai). Jesus tells them to work “for the food that endures to eternal life” (v. 27), but the people misunderstand Jesus’ statement and ask about the works required by God.^[1]

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Jesus responds to their question that the work of God requires belief in the Messiah.

John 6:30-31 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

They are confusing the sign of the manna as a sign of Moses. Typically, they want to see a miracle or a sign that Jesus is telling them the truth. To verify His words, they feel a sign should accompany His words.

John 6:32-33 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Jesus says, “You have it all wrong. It wasn’t a miracle of Moses, but “my Father.” Those words spoken by any other man would be blasphemous. But Jesus’ father is God.

Now the Lord is supplying “bread from heaven…giving life to the world.”

The “life” Jesus is speaking about here is the “food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.”

John 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

They still wanted food that would never run out, but last “always.”

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

This is the first of the “I AM” statements chronicled by the Apostle John.

I AM the “bread of life.” The bread that they search for is standing right before them.

and whoever believes in me shall never thirst -Jesus covers the miracles of Moses by including the water as well as the manna that lasted an entire generation in the wilderness.

John 6:36-38 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

The problem with the crowd that day is one of unbelief. They were not understanding the Truth, standing right in front of them. Jesus is the Son of the Father. The Father is the God of the Hebrews. The God who led the Children of Israel out of the wilderness has sent his Son to give the Bread of eternal life.

John 6:39-40 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The purpose of Jesus visit to the earth is to:

“That everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Conclusion

Don’t miss the importance of the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus proclamation that He is the Bread of Life

Jesus is more than a restaurateur

Christians should be focused on the eternal provision offered by Christ instead of their daily sustenance.

Notice that Jesus identifies Himself in this passage:

Son of Man
God has set His seal on Him
God has sent Him
God is His Father
He is the Bread of God and Life
He is the supplier of water of life
He came down to the earth from heaven.

^[1] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2034.