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Serious Satisfaction John
6:22-40
A man walks into a doctor’s office. He has a
sausage coming out of his ear, a waffle coming out of his nose, and
bacon coming out of his other ear. He says with great anxiety, “Doc,
what’s wrong with me?!?”
The doctor replies, “This is easy. You’re not eating properly.”
Ok now that you are awake. Do you ever have a problem with food? I must
make a confession this morning. I have an eating problem. I eat too
much! But a friend of mine sent this to me and I thought that I should
share it with those who suffer from my plight.
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than
the British or Americans.
2. On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer
heart attacks than the British or Americans.
3. The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart
attacks than the British or Americans.
4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer
fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
5. Conclusion: Eat and drink what you like. It’s speaking English that
kills you.
Now that is a helpful conclusion!
In our text today, Jesus talks about bread. In the culture of that day,
bread was the food item meals were built around. In fact, every culture
seems to base their diet on some kind of starch, because it is filling
and satisfying. But when Jesus talked about bread, He has a whole lot
more in mind than His listeners.
We return today to the gospel of John. You may remember a few weeks ago,
we studied an event that is known as “The Feeding of the 5,000.” It was
truly a tremendous event, the people were amazed when Jesus had fed so
many with so little.
As a result, people became even more interested in following Jesus. Here
is a man that does miracles. He really cares about people. He heals you
and forgives you. Not only that, He feeds you too!
It is at this point, though, Jesus was looking for a larger context. He
truly did want to feed His people, but it was so much more than a
physical matter. It was much larger than what they thought they needed.
This morning, we are going to explore the nature of this satisfaction.
And we will find in John 6:22-40 four lessons that must be learned to
find satisfaction in following Jesus.
Verses 22-27
[22] 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. [23] Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where
they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. [24] So when
the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they
themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. [25]
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you come here?” [26] Jesus answered them, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but
because you ate your fill of the loaves. [27] Do not labor for the food
that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his
seal.”
I hope that you remember from last week that Jesus sent the disciples
away on a boat while He went to pray. While they were on the boat, a
storm came up. Then, in the midst of the storm, Jesus came to them,
walking on the water. At first, they thought He was a ghost, but after
He identified Himself, He got into the boat and they were safe ashore.
However, those who had been fed by Jesus’ miracle, were unaware of these
events. Though Jesus had not left with the disciples, they figured that
He had somehow eluded them. So they head for the other side of the sea.
Why do you think that they were they in such a determined pursuit?
Apparently, it was a popular Jewish belief that when the Messiah came,
the flow of manna would begin again. So when they do catch up with
Jesus, He reveals their real motivation, they were thinking with their
stomachs.
He needs to correct their thinking. Jesus didn’t come to be the Chairman
of the Lunch Committee.
Now, I want you to realize that He did not handle this situation like I
would have. You see, I probably would have gone for the public relations
campaign, “Hey guys! I walked on water!” I would have gone for the
praise and acclimation, but not Jesus. Instead, He exposes their motives
and rebukes them for their sin.
We need to nourish our empty souls.
We so often concentrate on the physical, but when we do, we unknowingly
neglect the spiritual. But Jesus wants them to see the reality. They
were starving spiritually.
In an essay written by George Orwell, he describes a wasp that (as he
puts it) “was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half. He paid no
attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam
trickled out of his severed esophagus. Only when he tried to fly away
did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him.”
The wasp and people without Jesus have much in common. Severed from
their souls, but greedy and unaware, people continue to consume life’s
sweetness. Only when it’s time to fly away will they grasp their
dreadful condition.
Jesus encourages to seek after something better. We are not be consumed
by that which the world is consumed by. We are to seek that which God
has authenticated. We are to seek after that which will truly endure. We
are to be motivated by what God has for us and what He has approved.
Verses 28-29
[28] Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of
God?” [29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you
believe in him whom he has sent.”
We are always looking for something to do. This is so much of our human
nature. We are full of works-orientation. We sometimes believe that we
can prove our worthiness to God. We think we can obey our way to God. Or
we think we can humble our way with sincerity. Or we can take the way of
the ascetic and serious our way to Him.
This is what was on the mind of the crowd as they responded to Jesus.
“What must we do?”
There was once a man who wore a button on his lapel inscribed, “BAIK.”
Asked what those letters stood for, he replied, “Boy, am I confused.”
When he was reminded that “confused” is spelled with a “c,” not a “k,”
he said, “You don’t know how confused I am!”
The same is true here. These people are confused There is no work we can
do. But Jesus lets us know that there is a work of God that is worth
possessing.
The one “work” we can do, is no work at all. It is simply this:
“Believe!”
The only “work” I can do is to believe that I can do no work at all to
get to God. My “work” is to believe in and trust in the work of God. It
is to believe in Jesus.
Verses 30-33
[30] So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and
believe you? What work do you perform? [31] Our fathers ate the manna in
the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to
eat.’” [32] Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was
not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you
the true bread from heaven. [33] For the bread of God is he who comes
down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
I wonder how much evidence is needed for someone to believe?
The reaction to Jesus is somewhat puzzling. We might think that there
has been plenty of evidence that Jesus should be taken at His word. But
there are always cynics, aren’t there?
HL Mencken said:
“A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a
coffin.”
This seems to be the type of people these have become. There response
is, “Why should we believe?” “Sure you made more bread and fish, but
they come from earth. Manna, though, that comes from heaven!”
“Can you top that?” They want just one more proof. They want the
evidence that Jesus is better than Moses. When the evidence is in, then
they will believe. If He can bring bread from heaven, then that would be
something that is worthy of their faith.
Jesus immediately issues a correction. It was God that gave the manna,
not Moses. And if they would listen carefully and perceive with their
hearts, they would discover that manna had only been a symbol of a
greater reality to come in the Messiah. That manna from heaven had come
again.
Jesus is the real manna. Yes, they wanted bread. And here it stood
before them. Jesus was very much like the first manna.
For it came at night. In the same way, Jesus came to a dark world.
The first manna was misunderstood and thus its name. Manna means “What
is it?” In the same way, Jesus is also misunderstood and His own will
not receive Him.
The first manna was a free gift from God. It was not earned. In the same
way, so is Jesus.
So, if they really want heavenly bread, they do not have to look far.
Here is Jesus. He is the manna of life. He is the bread of life.
Verses 34-40
[34] They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” [35] Jesus said
to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger,
and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. [36] But I said to you
that you have seen me and yet do not believe. [37] All that the Father
gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never 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 I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up
on the last day. [40] For this is the will of my Father, 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.”
Jesus’ words are unmistakable at this point. He says “I am the bread of
life.” In the Greek, the emphasis of this statement is on the subject.
It literally says, “I I am.”
And this Hebrew audience is going to catch the significance of the
statement, for He is making a claim of deity. This is the very name that
God uses to reveal Himself to Moses at the burning bush. It was “I am”
that sent Moses. Now “I am” is claiming to be before them. And here
Jesus reveals that He is the ultimate and only source of life.
In Himself, Jesus was providing for all mankind, not just 5,000. He is
the eternal bread. And these people expected the Messiah to better.
What Jesus offers is far more enduring and valuable than anything the
world offers. Jesus offers an everlasting security. For those that
believe will never be cast away. We are not going to be forgotten.
For He doesn’t save us to lose us. And it doesn’t matter where we have
been. It doesn’t matter what our record is or what we have done. It does
not matter how proud, arrogant or self-sufficient we have been. When we
come we will be welcomed. We will not be cast out for there is no
confessed sin that Jesus cannot forgive.
So come. And you will forever be safe.
So, let me ask you…
What are you working for?
Jesus reveals to us here that our faith is so often based on the wrong
things. Like it or not, our faith (even as Christians) is too often
based on our physical and material blessings. We have so much.
And look at the things we so often pray for.
We pray for better living conditions.
We pray for a nice home and good health.
We pray to be comfortable.
But do we really pray for the spiritual things that God wants to do in
us?
Do we pray for a passion for God?
Do we pray for God’s blessing on our life, specifically in the way He
wants to bless us?
Do we pray that we will be agents for kingdom work?
Do we pray that sin and evil will not get a hold of us?
Do we pray for a renewed comprehension of the holiness of God and a
dedication to unity, love, truth and Christlikeness?
This is our reminder today, no matter who we are, or where we are in our
relationship with Jesus, we must know that there is no spiritual life
without Jesus.
Without Him as the basis for our lives and without Him as Lord, we are
empty. We are restless. We are without satisfaction, no matter how
comfortable we are.
In Greek mythology, King Tantalus was punished in the underworld by
being chained in a lake. Its waters reached to his chin but receded
whenever he bent down to satisfy his burning thirst. Over his head were
branches laden with choice fruit, but they immediately withdrew whenever
he reached upward to satisfy his hunger. A symbol of utter frustration,
his name is immortalized in the English word “tantalize.”
And this is what the world is like. The world tantalizes us, but it can
never satisfy the longings of the human soul. It will always come up
short. In the same way, seeking to know God, or attempting to satisfy
the human soul apart from Christ is utterly futile.
There is serious satisfaction when we trust Jesus.
When we believe the good news of who He is, we find satisfaction and a
blessing that never runs dry.
We have good news. He is with us, right here, at this very moment. Jesus
is alive and is available to us where we are, where we work, and
whatever we are doing. He is here to satisfy our souls forever.
We need to simply trust and believe.
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