The Bread of LIfe (05/06/2012)

May 6, 2012 Background Scripture: John 6 Lesson Passage: John 6:22 – 35 In today’s lesson, we have a multitude looking for Jesus. They have gone to great length to find him. In fact, they entered boats and crossed the Sea of Galilee in search of him. When they found him—a day after the search began—they questioned him as to how and when did he arrive on that side of the sea. Rather than explain to them that he walked most of the distance on top of the water the previous night, Jesus instead rebuked them for going through all that trouble for the wrong reason. He ignored their question because he clearly understood their motive for seeking him. Jesus told the multitude that the only reason they were seeking him was because he had given them food the day before. They were not coming to him just to be in his company nor to hear more of his teaching. They had an altogether different motive which was quite selfish. They only wanted some free food. So Jesus told them quite plainly, Stop putting out so much effort for the wrong things in life. They had gone to great length just to try to get another meal out of him. But just like yesterday’s free meal, if he fed them again they would again get hungry and seek for another meal from him. Their priority was to take care of their physical needs. Put another way, they spent a lot of time to make sure their physical bodies received the nourishment it craved. Unfortunately, they were ignoring the needs of their spiritual person. Their spiritual persons were malnourished while their physical bodies were merely hungry. Therefore, Jesus told them that they should strive to receive spiritual food that would be satisfying to them more so than the physical. To this they wondered how they could accomplish such a feat. They wondered what it would take for them to do the work that God required. Jesus told them that all that God required was for them to believe in His son. This piqued their curiosity but they wanted Jesus to show them a sign to prove his authenticity. After all, the fish and bread were yesterday’s news so they requested another sign. They even gave Jesus a hint as to what would work. They referred to God making provisions for their fore parents by providing manna in the wilderness for them to eat. (Perhaps this was their way of trying to get another meal from Jesus.) Jesus explained that the manna in the wilderness was not the true food from heaven but only a temporary provision for their day to day physical nourishment. Jesus was offering them something much better. The spiritual food Jesus offered would not need to be replenished on a daily basis. One meal of the true food from heaven was all that was necessary. This heavenly-sent food will satisfy your spiritual hunger forever. This is the food that Jesus called the true bread from heaven. This is the life-giving bread that he was offering them so that they could change their priorities and line up with God’s will for them. Jesus declared that he was in fact that true bread that had come down from heaven. Jesus is the bread of life. Robert C. Hudson April 25, 2012