The Bread of Life, John 6,1-71

9th Sunday after Pentecost

Shiloh Lutheran Church, State College PA

One of the people who helped me early in my Christian life was Francis Schaeffer, the founder of L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland; he ministered to young people who were struggling with their faith, and people I've talked to who knew him said he had a gift for compassionate listening and was able to help people who'd become disillusioned and given up hope on the Church. I never met him, but I heard him speak at a conference and read all of his books; they were exactly what I needed at that point in my life. In one of his printed sermons, Schaeffer said "We all tend to live ‘ash heap lives;' we spend most of our time and money on things that will end up in the city dump." Our lives are consumed with the things of this world. Most of our time and attention is focused on things that are one day going to be destroyed. Schaeffer describes, in that sermon, the excitement he felt at buying a new car, the first new car he had ever owned. He says he couldn't keep his eyes off it, and he wanted to keep it looking shiny and new. He was obsessed with it, initially. Have you ever had that experience? There's a sense of exhilaration that goes with buying something new, but that exhilaration quickly fades. So we find ourselves wanting to buy something else. And the process goes on and on. He was thrilled with his new car, but after a couple of days someone bumped into it and made a fairly large scratch on the side. He said that scratch completely changed his attitude about the car. He suddenly realized how fragile and unstable it was; it wasn't going to last. Someday it was going to end up in the junk yard, as scrap metal. This fallen world has been "subjected to frustration, and decay" as Paul says in Romans 8. Treasures here on earth are uncertain and unstable: "moth and rust destroy, and... thieves break in and steal." Earthly treasures aren't reliable.

We're constantly tempted, in this fallen world, to become completely engrossed in the things of this life. I've heard people say, "I don't have time to sit in church; I've got work to do;" or "Sunday is the only day I have to sleep late." Jesus, in the Parable of the Sower, talks about the seed that fell among weeds. It sprouted and started to grow, but it was eventually choked out by the weeds. This represents those who hear God's Word and believe it, but then the Word becomes choked by the cares and pleasures of this life. "Ash heap lives," lives that are totally consumed with things that are going to end up in the city dump, are lives that are being choked by the cares and pleasures of this world.

John is concerned, in this gospel, to tell us how to have eternal life. He's not trying to satisfy our curiosity about Jesus; his purpose is to preach the gospel, to tell us about the saving work God accomplished in sending His Son. He says that explicitly in chapter twenty: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (20:30-31). John's purpose is evangelistic. His intention in writing is to lead us to faith, so that by believing we might have eternal life.

Everything he records in his gospel has this purpose: to lead us to eternal life by believing the truth of the gospel. He gives us pictures of Jesus, descriptions from various angles and perspectives, all with the intention of leading us to eternal life. We see Jesus, earlier in this book, as the Word made flesh, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In the chapter we're studying today, Jesus is the Bread of Life, and there are other pictures later in the gospel. We experience eternal life by feeding on Jesus, the Bread that came down from heaven to give His flesh for the life of the world. Jesus describes eternal life in chapter 17: "and this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Eternal life is found in communion with God and with Jesus Christ the Son. This is how we escape the cycle of ash heap living. We experience eternal life by feeding on Jesus, the Bread that came down from heaven. This morning we're going to look at three things that keep us from experiencing eternal life in all its fulness.

The first thing that keeps us from experiencing this eternal life is a limited perspective, an outlook on life that is confined to the things of this visible world. Jesus tells the people, in chapter 6, that their perspective is all wrong, that their expectations are bound by the limitations of this world. The two miracles at the beginning of this chapter set the tone for what He's going to say about the Bread of Life. It's helpful to know that John is presenting Jesus here as the New Moses: the feeding of the five thousand corresponds to the provision of manna in the wilderness; and Jesus' walking on water corresponds to the crossing of the Red Sea. John wants us to see Jesus as the prophet promised by Moses: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him" (Deut. 18:15). The people realized the significance of the first miracle: "After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world" (v. 14). So Jesus withdrew into the mountain, because they were ready to make Him king by force. They understood the point of Jesus' miracle, but there was still something wrong.

The next day they sought Him out, but when they found Him Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life." They had experienced His miraculous provision, so they came to Him thinking He'd provide for them again. They believed in Him in a sense, but their faith was confined to the things He could do for them in this life. Several years ago, I heard a man speak about all the wonderful things that had happened to him since he became a Christian. He'd become a successful writer; he had a nice home in California, was involved in film making and had several celebrities who were personal friends. All because he had given his life to Jesus Christ. He was speaking to kids, and his was that if you follow Jesus He'll give you a successful and glamorous life. Apart from the fact that it usually doesn't work this way (it certainly didn't work that way for Jesus or any of the apostles), it's the wrong perspective. He wasn't asking for too much. He was asking for too many things that will come to nothing in the end. "Don't waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last" (The Message). Having our perspective limited in this way keeps us from experiencing the eternal life Jesus offers, because it leads us to be satisfied with something less. We become so preoccupied with the things of this life that we just don't look for anything else.

The second thing that prevents us from experiencing eternal life is wrong expectations. After Jesus confronted the people with their limited perspective, they immediately cried out: "What must we do to do the works God requires?" What great thing can we do to please God? They expect Him to give them something important to do. There's a story in 2 Kings about a man named Naaman. Naaman was an important man, a commander in the army of the king of Aram. The king valued him as an officer in his army, and he was highly respected in the nation. But he had leprosy, so he was sent to Elisha, a prophet in Israel, to be healed. He arrived at the prophet's door with great expectations. But Elisha didn't even come out to greet him. Elisha didn't recognize his importance, didn't make a fuss over him. He sent a messenger, instructing Naaman to wash himself seven times in the Jordan river. But that wasn't what he was looking for: "But Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.... So he turned and went off in a rage" (2 Kings 5:11-12). Elisha's instructions weren't dramatic enough. They were too simple.

The people who are talking to Jesus are like this. They want something that they can do "to do the work that God requires." But Jesus directs them to the simplicity of faith: "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." When Jesus tells them to eat the Bread of Life, He's calling them to faith. Verse 29: "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." Verse 35: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." Verse 40: "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Verse 47: "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." The people were asking Him for manna in the wilderness, like God provided through Moses, so Jesus takes their request and says "this isn't what you need. You need Me. If you come to Me in faith, you will have eternal life." So, throughout most of this chapter, eating the flesh of the Son of Man is equivalent to believing in Him, trusting in Him.

But in verses 53-59 He expands the image: "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." He's still talking about the union we have with Him through faith, but He's expanded the image in a way that points to Communion, or what has traditionally been called the Eucharist (which is from the Greek word for thanksgiving). The original hearers wouldn't have understood it in this way, but in John we often see Jesus saying things that will only be understood later. The Lord's Supper is a tangible way to unite ourselves with Christ in faith. We see the same thing with baptism in chapter 3: saving faith is not only something that happens within us; it takes concrete form in the things we do. Baptism is a tangible identification with Christ in His death and resurrection and a tangible break from our old way of life in this world. Baptism, and the calling to live a life that's consistent with our baptism, keeps us from a merely internalized faith. Communion is another one of those things that keeps us from a merely internalized faith; at the table of the Lord we are nourished by Jesus' body and blood.

When we find that our perspective is limited to external things, as we saw in the first point, the answer is not simply to retreat into our inner world. Jesus provides ways for us to find connections between physical and spiritual realities. As we, in the context of worship, take the bread and the cup, we are being nourished spiritually by the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Robert Webber, who was a college professor for many years, and just died a few years ago, has a good description of what this means: "When the elements of bread and wine are taken in faith, the transforming and nourishing power of Christ for the salvation and the healing of the person is made available.... Sometimes students or other persons struggling with a painful experience in their lives will come to me for counsel. I always say to them, ‘I'm not a counselor and I don't have the tools necessary to help you with this problem. But I can suggest one thing–flee to the Eucharist. Get to the Table of the Lord just as fast as you can, because it is there that God can and does touch his people in a healing way.' In all the years that I have been giving this advice, not a single person has come back and told me it is not true. On the contrary, many have affirmed that God through the Eucharist reached into their pain and touched them with his healing presence" (Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Faith, p. 111). That's why the early church celebrated communion so often. At the table of the Lord, when we come to Him in faith, we are nourished by Jesus' body and blood.

But there's one more thing that keeps us from experiencing eternal life: lack of ability and power. We're not able to believe on our own. These people had wanted something they could do to make themselves pleasing to God, and then Jesus had pointed them to faith. But then, as they began grumbling, He said: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise them up at the last day." We don't have the power, in ourselves, to come to Jesus, to enter into communion with Him. We're dead in sin and alienated from the life of God. Saving faith is more than intellectual agreement with what the Bible says about Jesus. It's not enough to simply agree that Jesus is sent from God. That's James' point when he says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder" (James 2:19). Saving faith, eating the flesh of the Son of Man, coming to Jesus, leads to a radical transformation. That's why Paul says "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!" We don't have the power to accomplish this ourselves. All we can do is bow before God and cry out to Him for help and for mercy. We're completely dependent upon God, even for the simple act of putting our faith in Jesus, the Bread of Life.

We experience eternal life, a life of fellowship with God that begins now and extends throughout eternity, by feeding on Jesus, the Bread of Life. We allow Him to broaden our perspective, so that we're living in the light of the reality of eternity, so that we're not any longer living as if this world were the only thing that matters. We humble ourselves before Him, believing that He is the "living bread that came down from heaven," and we cry out to Him for mercy and grace. And we come faithfully to the Lord's Table, to be nourished by his body and blood. As we do these things, we're beginning the life of eternity here on earth.

Jesus' words in chapter 6 lead to two responses on the part of those who claim to be His followers. At this point in Jesus' ministry, the opposition of the religious leaders is beginning to intensify, and some of those who've followed Him till now are beginning to have doubts. After this discussion, John says that many of Jesus' disciples become disillusioned: "Many among his disciples heard this and said, ‘This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.' Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, ‘Does this throw you completely? What would happen if you saw the Son of Man ascending to where he came from? The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don't make anything happen.... After this a lot of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him" (The Message). They had been enthusiastic at the beginning. They were impressed with all the miracles He was doing. But this is just too much for them, so they turn away. They don't want to be associated with Him any more. Their perspective is too restricted; they can't begin to accept what He's saying. Their expectations are wrong, and they're not willing to readjust. And they're not willing to humble themselves and confess their helplessness. So they turn away.

Then Jesus turns to the Twelve: "You do not want to leave too, do you?" The Twelve often seem clueless. They miss the point of what Jesus is doing half the time, they fight with each other about who is the greatest, and they have no idea what Jesus is talking about when He begins trying to prepare them for His death and resurrection. As we see them in the gospels they're not terribly impressive or inspiring. But they're open and attentive, they're willing to have their priorities rearranged, and they recognize their need of God's help. Their attitude is just the opposite of those who are turning away. So Peter answers for all of them: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." He alone has the words of eternal life. In Him, we can begin the life of heaven here on earth, a life of fellowship with God that begins now and extends into eternity. Where else would we go, but to Him. John Calvin said: "For how comes it that we are carried about with so many strange doctrines [or any of the other distractions that lead us away from Him], (Heb. 13:9), but because the excellence of Christ is not perceived by us? For Christ alone makes all other things suddenly vanish" (Commentary on Colossians). This is similar to the chorus: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." Christ frees us from all that is false, and causes all the good things in our lives to find their proper perspective in relation to Him. May God grant us grace to find our nourishment in Him, the Bread of Life.