“I Am The Bread of Life”

The Appomattox Court House Presbyterian Church Pulpit
The Lord's Day, November 6, 2005
Deuteronomy 8:1-10
John 6:22-35
Rev. Cameron S. Smith

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:48). With those words, Jesus begins to disclose the content of his earthly mission. This self-designation, "I am the bread of life," begins to answer an important question about his ministry: What does the coming of Jesus Christ mean for the Church?

To say that Jesus is "the bread of life" simply means that he is our spiritual food. In the Old Testament reading today from Deuteronomy 8, Moses touched on this prophetically when he reminded Israel that, "Man (and woman!) does not live by bread alone, but…lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (8:3). Indeed, Moses looked for the coming of "the true bread from heaven." Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). Jesus is our spiritual diet for eternal life!

In addition to the "bread of life" saying, there are seven such sayings positioned strategically throughout the Gospel of John. I use the words "positioned" and "strategically" quite intentionally. You should note well as a Bible reader that each one of the sayings is closely connected with either one of the miracles found in John - and there are seven of them as well -- or an extended teaching section, called a discourse. John was very purposeful when he wrote his Gospel.

In John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." This is the second saying and it's tucked neatly between the story of the woman caught in adultery and the miracle of the blind man's sight being restored. With the woman, the story ends with the pivotal words from Jesus, "'Woman…has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more'" (Jn 8:10-11). Moral sight must be recovered. Making this point even clearer comes with the placement of the blind man's miraculous healing. This serves as an exclamation point that Jesus has come to restore sight to a world that has lost it's way morally and spiritually. In Jesus Christ, "the light of the world", the darkness is banished.

The third saying comes in chapter ten. Jesus says, "I am the door" (John 10:9), demonstrating that he alone opens the way back to God. When we think about the exclusive claims of Jesus, usually John 14:6 is quoted: "I am the way, the truth and the life." However, Jesus' claim to be "the door" is a much stronger statement! Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber" (John 10:1). These are sobering words from Jesus on the way of salvation.

The fourth "I am" saying comes in chapter ten as well: "I am the Good Shepherd" (John 10:11). We are the sheep who enter the sheepfold by the door, and we find a Shepherd who doesn't desert the flock in the perils of life: "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [But,] I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11-14). This saying has much to say about living the Christian life, in good times and bad.

The fifth saying occurs in what I would call a teaching moment leading up to the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). Because Jesus is indeed God; and he himself has tasted and defeated death, we are reminded that our own death will be overcome as well; just like Lazarus!

The final two "I am" sayings come in the context of a long discourse to his disciples on the eve of his betrayal, trial and crucifixion. This extended teaching begins in John 13 and finishes in chapter 17. In 14:6, as we have already mentioned, Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Similarly, in John 15:1, he says, "I am the true vine." In both of these sayings, Jesus is teaching his disciples that they must remain connected to him to enjoy fellowship with God, and likewise, to bear fruit for the kingdom.

The seven-fold structure found with the "I am" sayings is foundational to John's primary aim in his Gospel: "That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31)! In the coming weeks, we'll be studying each "I am" saying. I don't mean this as hype, but they're crucial to understanding and appreciating the Gospel of John.

At the beginning of this sermon, I implied that these sayings, collectively, answer the question: What does the coming of Christ mean for his people, the Church? In the broadest of terms, it means that God is with us in the person of Jesus Christ. The emphasis here is on the first two words, "I am…." This is a clear witness to the deity of Jesus. To see this in the words of Jesus, we need to go back to the time when Moses was in front of the burning bush on the slopes of Sinai. It was there that God revealed his name in Exodus 3. God said to Moses, "Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt" (Ex 3:10). When Moses is finally convinced that he can do what God is asking of him, he says, "If…they ask me, 'what is [your name] name?' What shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I Am Who I Am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I Am has sent me to you'" (Ex 3:13-14).

This is how God chose to identify himself. He exists: no beginning, no end; he just is. Without getting too technical, I'll tell you that the Hebrew word for "I am" (ha-ya) is embedded in the divine name Yahweh. This self-designation of "I am" became God's holy name. You can then understand how the Jewish religious leaders got pretty upset with Jesus when he claimed that name for himself! Jesus told them, "'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.' So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple" (John 8:56-59).

And so, in the broad, general sense, the coming of Christ means that we have encountered the living God in Jesus. These "I am" sayings now have a sense of urgency about them because God is revealing his grace to us through these self-designations.

And now, we move from the general "I am"; to the particular, "the bread of life." Let me start by saying that "I am the bread of life" is the revelation of a particular grace found in Jesus Christ. By grace, I mean that it is his unmerited, undeserved gift of spiritual life. You'll remember that I told you at the outset that each one of these saying was connected to either a defining miracle or interpretive discourse. This saying happens to be connected to both of these elements. The miracle is found at the beginning of chapter 6, the feeding of the five thousand:

"After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?' …One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 'There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?' …Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. [Incidentally, this wasn't a "miracle of sharing" as some have insisted!] And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, 'Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.' So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten" (John 6:1-5; 8-9;11-13).

Fast forwarding to the aftermath of the miracle of the feeding, we find the people tracking Jesus down on the other side of the sea in Galilee: "When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?' 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'" (Jn 6:25-26). Translation, you were only thinking about your stomach, your heart's not in the right place! "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" (Jn 6:27).

Turns out the people weren't very impressed by the miracle. Sure, they got their bellies filled, but I guess they weren't impressed by the spiritual food that Jesus had to offer. This is spiritual food that takes many long, sometimes difficult years to produce maturity. It requires obedience to God's will. It requires that you deny yourself, which Jesus elsewhere calls "taking up your cross" and following him. The people wanted instant gratification; impressive fireworks military might, etc. They wanted entertainment, if you'll allow me to put it crassly:

"So they said to him, 'Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 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. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world'" (John 6:30-33).

I find it interesting that in response to the feeding of the 5000, the people brought up the manna that fell from heaven during the wilderness wanderings. Now Jesus, that was a real sign! Feeding a million people in the desert every day for forty years. First of all, we know from the book of Numbers that the people got sick of the same, boring manna day after day, and they started to complain: "Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at" (Numbers 11:4-6). They desired bondage in Egypt over God's miraculous provision!

The second thing that strikes me strange at the mention of the feeding is that they were so blind as to not see that the sole reason for God's provision of manna in the wilderness was to point to the greater spiritual feeding in Christ!

This morning, we have an opportunity to eat some spiritual food, manna from heaven as we approach the Communion Table. Let me offer one cautionary note as we come to this Table. Paul, when writing to the Corinthian church, reminded them that the experiences of Israel in the wilderness wanderings was there for our example. "Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did….Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come" (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11). Sometimes, when we come to the Table, we get impatient - "Let's get this thing over with, I want to get out of here!" Or, we think this is just the same ole, same ole. "Pass the biscuit and the juice." Sometimes we're like Israel with the manna: Why do we always do the same thing, say the same words, etc. This isn't exciting. Perhaps we even go through the motions, but our minds are far, far away.

Friends, God has provided something better than manna, which, though sustaining life, could not impart eternal life. We are about to partake of the living bread that comes down from heaven.

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (John 6:51).

I invite you to eat and drink to your spiritual health. Amen