The
Glory
in
a Loaf of Bread
A
Study in the Gospel of John
Preached
Dr.
Larry Thorson
First
Presbyterian Church,
This sermon was prepared to be part of a six week
Lenten small group series course at the First Presbyterian Church of
Pastor Larry Thorson
951/658-7153
Small Group Format
Begin with the “Get to Know Each Other Questions” – 15 minutes
Opening Prayer – sample provided or
use your own
“Almighty God, thank you for your Word and Your
presence. May we grow together in this
time and come to a greater understanding of your Word and each other. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Read the Included Scripture Passage in
the Group – (silently or out loud) – 5 minutes
Use the “Dig in the Word” Questions –
10 minutes
Use the “Application Questions – 10
minutes
Share “Joys and Concerns” with one
another as you are comfortable starting with something like “Does anyone have a
joy they’re grateful for today or a concern that we can pray about?”
Closing Prayer – Pray for each other
if you are comfortable doing so. You
might want to close with the Lord’s Prayer below:
Scripture: John 6:31-35, 51-58
Today’s New International Version Copyright © 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
26 Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
30 So they asked him, "What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
32 Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34 "Sir," they said, "always give us this bread."
35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All whom the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 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 them up at the last day."
41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
43 "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which people may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53 Jesus said to them, "Very
truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh
and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in
me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me
and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because
of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live
forever." 59 He said this while teaching in the
synagogue in
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them."
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."
70 Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
Introduction to Bread
Today’s story is about something most of us buy
every week unless you’re on the
As toast for breakfast. As a sandwich for lunch. As a roll for dinner. One Thanksgiving my wife prepared the most
beautiful turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
We invited a homesick foreign student from Russian to dinner. After everything was passed to him, he looked
at my wife with disgust and asked “where’s the bread?” The dinner went downhill after that.
I really enjoy bread and when I don’t have a
lot to eat, I’m always so glad to have bread because it’s full of carbs and gives
me energy. I like to eat bread before I
have a long run. On the morning when I
ran the
The
Role of Bread in the Bible
Bread plays a major
role in the Bible. When the Jews were
escaping from Pharaoh in
When the people were
settled in the Promised Land, one form of worship was a “wave offering” in
which a sheaf of grain was waved before the altar to show gratitude and
acknowledgement that God is the giver of bread which is called the “staff of
life.” Each week we pray the Lord’s Prayer and in it
Jesus taught us to pray “Give us this day
our daily bread.”
In Jesus’ day when he
attracted a large crowd one of his earliest miracles was to turn five small
barley loaves of bread along with a few fish into enough to feed five thousand
men plus the women and children who were also there with bread left over. We might think this miracle revealed the
glory of God in the loaves of bread…and it did…but that was just the
beginning.
Five
Thousand Hungry People
So it shouldn’t come
as a surprise that the next revealing of God’s glory in John’s Gospel would
involve a loaf of bread. It all started the
morning after Jesus miraculously fed the five thousand with fish and
bread. The people he fed initially came to
hear him speak, primarily because they had heard of the miracles he had
done. It had gotten late and Jesus
didn’t want to send them away hungry so he did a miracle and multiplied the
food to feed them. While they were
eating he took off for the other side of the lake. But these people were hungry and you know
what happens when you feed a hungry person, they want more. Soon they’ll tell their friends about the
free meal and pretty soon a crowd of hungry people will follow you.
That’s what Jesus had that morning after his
big miracle; maybe five thousand hungry people looking for breakfast. When they
found him, immediately he said to them in v.26 “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 which the Son of Man will give you.”
So they asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” In other words, they’d do anything to get
that free food. Jesus responded: “The work of God is this: to believe in the
one he has sent.”
But when you’re physically hungry it’s hard to
get your mind around that. So again the
disciples had a question of Jesus in verse 30 “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” Then they gave an example of how God had given
their ancestors a sign in the past. “Our ancestors ate the manna in the
wilderness; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
Looking
for a Sign from God
I’m very similar to these people: always hungry
and always looking for signs. I get
really nervous when I’m not certain where I’m going and the signs aren’t very
clear. I also look for spiritual signs
when I’m leading the church. In my last
church we had an unwritten policy that staff would start ministries only when volunteers
stepped forward to do that ministry. This
would be a sign that God was moving in that direction. It was also a way to make sure that a staff
member wasn’t doing all the work for just a handful of people who didn’t really
want the program anyway but just felt obligated to help the staff person.
Then Jesus made a point of clarity for these
followers: 32 Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who
has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true
bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from
heaven and gives life to the world."
The people responded in v.34 "Sir," they said, "always give us this bread." They
were hungry.
That sounds just like
the Samaritan woman in John 4 who thought Jesus was offering her water that
would quench her thirst forever. Drink
it one time and be forever hydrated.
These folks wanted an endless bread
buffet. There’s a restaurant chain in
These folks with Jesus were still thinking
physical bread, maybe hoping that physical bread would fall down from the sky. Now that would be a miracle and put Jesus in
the category with Moses. But Jesus is
greater than Moses, and he didn’t want people to take his words in limited
literal ways. I wonder what a loaf of
sour dough bread falling from the sky would do to my car. I wonder what would be left of the loaf after
it hit my car.
Determined to get his
point across Jesus declared in v.35 "I
am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever
believes in me will never be thirsty.” Skipping down to verse 40 he said “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.”
That was the limit for
these followers. The food the night
before was good but claiming to be equivalent to bread well that was just going
too far. You just can’t eat a man. In v41 we read “At this the Jews began to
grumble about him because he said, “I am
the bread that came down from heaven.” They
couldn’t or wouldn’t believe that Jesus had come down from heaven because they
knew his parents. They couldn’t see God’s
glory in him.
To the people, if they
saw that Jesus could consistently perform miracles, it would prove his
spiritual competency. Just as we have to
prove that we are competent to drive a car, before anyone other than our
parents would be willing to ride with us.
The people were saying to Jesus, prove that you’re competent before
we’ll go with you spiritually. Jesus said
essentially, I’ve already proven my competence…trust me…come to me not for what
you can get but for who I am!
In verse 51 Jesus said “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this
bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life
of the world."
Now Jesus is getting
even more graphic. It’s one thing to say
that you’re like bread. It’s another
thing to say this bread is your flesh. Leviticus 17:10-14 talks about literal blood,
says that whoever drinks blood will be cut off from God’s people. The idea is just gross. It’s revolting. Jesus pushes the concept hoping to break them
out of their literalness. Verses 53-57
records “Jesus
said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise
them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as
the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who
feeds on me will live because of me.”
Five times Jesus repeats the phrases…pushing and pushing
the concept over and over. Unless the
people could break out of their literalness, they could not break into the
spiritual life he was offering.
When we are young and learning to do
math, we count on our fingers, and count blocks, but as we do it over and over,
we begin to get the concept. The numbers
become ideas and we can move into higher levels. When we first start to borrow and carry, we
have to cross out the number and write in what we carry…but gradually we get so
we can do it in our heads.
Jesus wanted the people to get
beyond hearing physical flesh and start to her “flesh and blood” – which means
a real person, a human being, a person.
He was calling them to have a close personal relationship. Many couldn’t hear it.
What Do
You See?
As a result of this
teaching, v.60 says “On hearing it, many
of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” In v.66 we read “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer
followed him.” So Jesus turned to
his disciples and asked “You do not want
to leave too, do you?” Simon Peter
answered him, “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.”
Later on at his last
meal with his disciples, Jesus took a loaf of bread off the table and broke it,
saying “this is my body which is for you,
do this in remembrance of me.” God’s glory in a loaf of bread. What do you see at the table?
When Ben Franklin arrived in
Franklin held a Deistic view of religion … a
belief in God based on reason rather than revelation … a view that God has set
the universe in motion but does not interfere with how it runs. Beliefs and
religious dogma were an abomination to Franklin, who thought preachers should
urge good deeds and praise the heroes in daily life instead of spending their
time damning heretics.
It’s been recorded that
As the preacher grew old, he hired a driver who
would take him around in a small carriage to the churches. One day his
uneducated driver said, “Doctor, I’ve heard your sermon so often I bet I could
give it.” The minister accepted his
challenge. In the next church meeting the preacher sat in the back row, watched
his driver, clad in the preacher’s robes, delivering convincingly the torments
of the damned.
After it was over, a man rose to ask a
question. “Rev. Dr., could you, for us please, just explain divine grace?”
From the pulpit came the reply, “Why, that question is so foolishly
simple that even my uneducated driver can answer it.”
Divine Grace cannot be explained, but it can be experienced.
Divine Grace cannot be explained, but it can be celebrated.
Divine Grace is a gift given to us when we worship God and
particularly when we celebrate the Sacraments.
Conclusion
Jesus said in John 3
that if you want to see God’s glory you must be born again. We’re born again spiritually when we open our
spiritual heart and receive Jesus Christ as our
Savior and master of our life. We
do that by praying a little prayer, something to the affect of this…
“Lord Jesus, I am a sinner, I do bad things but I want to stop doing
those
things and start living for you.
I ask your forgiveness and open my heart to receive you. Come in and be my Savior and my master. Thank you.
Amen.”
If you sincerely pray
a prayer like that Jesus will come into your life and you will be born
again. Then get a Bible and start
reading the Word of God everyday. The Word is like food for us. I would suggest you start in the Gospel of
John. If you’re not part of a church, or
have never been baptized contact your church or the nearest church and arrange
to do this. Then join a small group of
like minded born again believers in Jesus Christ. You need the weekly support of like minded
people to pray for you and to encourage you to stay in God’s Word.
As the bread is broken
at the table of our Lord in worship the glory of God will be revealed.
Small
Group Bible Study
Get to Know Each Other
Questions -15
minutes
1.
(If
this is your first group session) Invite small group members to share their
name, hometown and what their hometown is most famous for.
2. What memories do you have of bread being made
in your
presence?
What is your favorite kind of bread?
Opening Prayer
“Almighty God, thank you for your Word
and Your presence. May we grow together
in this time and come to a greater understanding of your Word and each
other. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Read the Scripture
Passage (silently
or out loud) – 5 minutes
Dig in the Word
Questions – 10
minutes
Why are the crowds still searching for Jesus (vs 24-26)?
How does Jesus’ response to their question show the difference between
his interests and theirs?
What does the crowd ask Jesus to do in order that they can believe him?
What is their real interest?
What are the similarities and differences between manna in Exodus 16:4-6;
17-20 and the “bread of life?”
What claims does Jesus make in vs 35-40?
What part is played by God and by the people in the process of coming
to know Jesus?
Application Questions – 10 minutes
You read about the main reason people followed Jesus in his day (free
food). What is the main reason you
follow Jesus?
Has your familiarity with Jesus ever kept you from seeing who he really
is? What can remove the blinders?
How would you describe your daily spiritual diet: Junk food? Frozen
food? Baby food? TV microwave food? Leftovers?
Meat and potatoes?
If someone asked, “How do you hunger and thirst after God,” what
counsel could you offer?
Joys and Concerns – 15 minutes
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among
themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53 Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life
in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I
will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood
is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and
I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the
Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the
bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but
whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."
For Roman Catholics that bread becomes the
actual body of Jesus. The wine, the
actual blood. It’s sacred. It’s holy.
It’s glorious. Every day in
nearly every Roman Catholic Church mass is offered. Mass is the distribution of the body and
blood of Jesus Christ.
When I was young my mom and her twin sister would get together and make
bread at my aunt’s house. It was one of
the happiest days of the year. I
remember how hard they used to beat the doubt, kneeding it they said. I didn’t know what that meant but I sure
enjoyed helping them beat that dough.
Before WE can be bread, there is a period of crushing the wheat so that
flour
becomes the main ingredient. Before WE can be wine, the main
ingredient, grapes,
must be squeezed. So in the midst of our celebrating God’s Divine Grace
we must
surrender to God’s crushing and squeezing, so that we will BECOME in a
more FULL
and CELEBRATIVE way, the men and women God would have us to be.
That’s what we’re called to do this morning. Come to this Table so that
we can
be made into the bread that God would have us be so that we might give
His love,
which we have received, to others. Come to this Table so that we might
become the
wine of new life, so that we might pour out our lives, just as Christ
has poured out His
for us.