Jonah Albrecht

Advent 2

12/8/2024

John 6:35

I AM the Bread of Life

To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever, Amen.

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.

INJ Who came down from heaven in order to give life to the world through His own blood, DFR:

In his best selling book called, “Into Thin Air,” Jon Krakauer relates the hazards that plagued some climbers as they attempted to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Andy Harris, one of the expedition leaders stayed at the peak too long and on his descent, he became in dire need of oxygen.

Harris radioed the base camp and told them about his predicament. He mentioned that he had come across a cache of oxygen canisters left by the other climbers but they were all empty. The climbers who already passed the canisters on their own descent knew they were not empty, but full. They pleaded with him on the radio to make use of them but it was to no avail. Harris was starved for oxygen but he continued to argue that the canisters were empty.

The problem was that the lack of what he needed had so disoriented his mind that though he was surrounded by something that would give him life, he continued to complain of its absence. Someone suggested that the very thing he held in his hand was absent in his brain. The lack of oxygen had ravaged his capacity to recognize what was right in front of him. What oxygen is to the body, the Bread of Life is to the soul. Many of us are suffocating and starving and we don’t even know it. We think we have Jesus figured out but we might be way off. Jesus is offering life to us while we run around trying to appease our appetites. We need I AM, I AM our bread of life.

We need to go back a few verses in John to see why Jesus is in this conversation to begin with. Earlier in John 6, Jesus had fed the 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Though it was one of Jesus’ more impressive miracles, it ended up being twisted by the people He had helped. Jesus could see into their hearts and He knew that they didn’t desire Him because He was the Son of God, the promised Messiah. They wanted Him because He performed a great miracle and He could bring an end to their suffering. So, Jesus sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee and met them on the other side. However, the crowd pursued Him and what followed immediately follows our text this morning:

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 work 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.” 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.” 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.'”  (Jn. 6:26-31 ESV)

Did you catch it? Right there in verse 30. Souls deprived of oxygen, sought after what they thought they needed rather than what they needed most standing right in front of them. They wanted a sign as proof of Jesus being sent from God rather than taking Jesus at His Word. This need for a sign stems back to the days of Moses. The people could identify whether or not a prophet was from God by the signs he did. Moses could turn his staff into a snake, make his hand leprous, and turning water into blood.

Now, you might be thinking, “Didn’t they just witness the feeding of the 5000? What more could they want?” Yes, you’re right, they did just witness that sign from God. The problem lies in the fact that their hearts were closed to the Gospel. They were blinded by their desire for the supernatural that they could not see the Bread of Life was standing right before them.

What does Jesus do? He patiently instructs them to see beyond what they want in order to find what they need.

Manna, you’ll remember, was dew-like in its appearing and it tasted like wafer and honey. This Manna was a gift from God. The Children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years, and it is called a desert for a reason. Sure, you might find enough food to sustain a few people, but well over 2 million? You have a better chance at winning the lottery twice. God, in His abundant mercy, sends Manna down from heaven to be a source of life-sustaining food for the people. It wasn’t glamorous, but it didn’t need to be. It was enough for what the people needed for life during their journey.

The point Jesus hooks onto in bringing up Manna is that it was “FROM GOD.” It wasn’t a sign given to Moses to prove he was God’s prophet; it was a means of physical salvation for His people. As the Manna was sent from heaven to earth in order to give life to the Children of Israel; so also, is the Bread of Life, the Son of Man, sent from heaven to earth in order to give spiritual life to the world.

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.

Jesus is offering the people something far greater than Manna. Every day they had to go collect Manna because every day they were hungry. They always needed more. The bread of life is different. It is filling and complete. You do not need to seek after anything else, or anything more. All you need for eternal life and salvation is found in Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

The problem is, we can fall into the same state of mind as the people Jesus is addressing, can’t we? Have you lost focus on what Jesus is for you, seeking something more; something else to satisfy a need or desire that you presume is there? It is part of our nature to do so. By nature, we are like Andy Harris who thought the oxygen cannisters were empty when they were really full. He was convinced his solution, his salvation rested somewhere else. Think about how many different religions there are in the world. Possibly around 10,000! And yet, there is only one religion that has salvation as the work of God to man rather than the other way around. Every other religion is based on what you do to earn your spot in glory, or nirvana, or wherever else it might be.

Mathematically, it seems like Christianity is too simple. There has to be more, right? I have to do something to earn what God is giving me; I can’t just waltz right into heaven right? This is Satan and your sinful flesh taking your eyes and your faith off of the bread of life and onto yourself. Satan doesn’t just come at you with the temptation that you are not worthy of God’s grace. He does that often enough. But he also attacks you with the thought that Jesus didn’t finish the job, and the rest is up to you. It is a blasphemous attack, but one that all too well appeals to our pride; leading us down the mountain away from our Savior.

Instead of giving a seat to the lies of our flesh, let us root ourselves in the Words of our Savior. Jesus’ words reassure us that His life on this earth was fulfilled to God’s satisfaction. It was Jesus of whom God said, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Jesus’ words assure us that His death on the cross was payment in full for the sins of the whole world. It was Jesus who cried out, “It is finished” so that all may know His work of redeeming His people was fulfilled, complete, done. Jesus’ words assure us that His resurrection from the dead is our guarantee that there is nothing more for us to do, He did it all. Paul writes that Jesus was delivered up to death for our sins, but raised from the dead for our justification.

In the first place, then, when Jesus says “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst; He means that in Him, salvation is complete. There is nothing more that you need to find, do, or say. But purely by the undeserved love and mercy of God, you have a seat in eternal glory because of His Son.

In the second place, when Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst; He means that He is sufficient for your life as a Christian. How many times have you eaten a really good meal and never wanted to have it again? I think I am safe in guessing that has never happened, nor will it. When we find something we like, we absolutely want to have it again and again and again. Well, the same is true when it comes to the Bread of Life.

Jesus offers us the forgiveness of sins through His death on the cross. This comes to us in multiple ways.

Through the waters of Holy Baptism. In Baptism, God washed you of your sins and placed His seal on your heart and soul that you are His and He is yours forever. For many of you, it happened at the beginning of your lives. But for those of you who were baptized later in life, it marked the beginning of a new life in Christ Jesus your Savior.
Another way that Jesus brings us the forgiveness of sins is through the Sacrament of the Altar. In this precious meal, we are united with the Savior and each other through His very body and blood that we receive in, with, and under the bread and wine. It is a mystery to us how it can be, and yet faith takes the words of Jesus to heart, “This is my body given for you;” and “This is my blood shed for the forgiveness of all your sins.”

3, Finally, Jesus brings us the forgiveness of sins through His Word. The Word of God that is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The Word of God that tells us about Creation, Judgment, Promise, Fulfillment, Salvation, Eternal Life, and so much more. But from Genesis to Revelation, the Word of God has its focus on one thing, or rather one Person: Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.

By each of these means, God offers us the Bread of Life to consume for life-saving and life-preserving food for our souls. When we consume God’s means of grace, we will not hunger or thirst for anything more because we will see with the eyes of faith that there is nothing more than can satisfy our hearts. The Word of Truth, and specifically the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the oxygen we need for our souls. Without it, we wander aimlessly seeking after things that can never satisfy our own hearts, let alone the perfection expected by God. But when we consume the Bread of Life, the truth of Jesus as the Savior from our sin, God preserves our spiritual lives and will never let us go hungry. Amen.