WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:15.419 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.640 ! Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at Christchurcheastbay.org. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:32.159 This is John chapter 6. Don't worry, we're not reading all 71 verses of this chapter. 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:34.460 Let's start in verse 25. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:40.079 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here? 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:47.799 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. 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:52.480 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:54.200 Which the Son of Man will give you. 00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:57.120 For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.820 Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires? 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:06.099 Jesus answered, The work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent. 00:01:06.819 --> 00:01:10.519 So they asked him, What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:11.900 What will you do? 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:17.000 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:25.840 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. 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:30.620 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:33.299 Sir, they said, always give us this bread. 00:01:34.240 --> 00:01:36.359 Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:40.359 Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:44.560 But as I told you, you have seen me, and still you do not believe. 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:45.859 Verse 41. 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:54.379 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him, because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. 00:01:54.939 --> 00:01:58.319 They said, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? 00:01:59.019 --> 00:02:01.200 How can he now say, I came down from heaven? 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:05.019 Stop grumbling among yourselves, Jesus answered. 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:06.659 Verse 46. 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:10.259 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God. 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:11.859 Only he has seen the Father. 00:02:12.419 --> 00:02:15.240 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:17.400 I am the bread of life. 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:20.620 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 00:02:21.219 --> 00:02:25.180 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 00:02:25.620 --> 00:02:27.680 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:29.699 Whoever eats this bread will live forever. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:33.519 This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:38.240 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? 00:02:39.040 --> 00:02:46.140 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. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:52.200 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 00:02:52.260 --> 00:02:55.300 For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. 00:02:56.060 --> 00:03:00.060 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 00:03:00.060 --> 00:03:06.740 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. 00:03:07.259 --> 00:03:09.300 This is the bread that came down from heaven. 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:14.460 Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. 00:03:17.300 --> 00:03:18.159 Verse 60. 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:22.460 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, This is a hard teaching. 00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:23.439 Who can accept it? 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:28.860 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, Does this offend you? 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:30.820 Verse 66. 00:03:31.820 --> 00:03:35.780 From this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:38.480 You do not want to leave too, do you? 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:39.900 Jesus asked the twelve. 00:03:40.940 --> 00:03:44.400 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:47.400 You have the words of eternal life. 00:03:48.140 --> 00:03:53.000 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:58.599 I think many of us, when we come to this passage about the bread of life, we think it's pretty straightforward. 00:03:58.979 --> 00:03:59.680 And it is. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:02.340 Jesus is like bread. 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:03.919 We need him to live. 00:04:04.020 --> 00:04:05.080 That's the Christian message. 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:08.379 We all know that if we've been in the church for a little bit even. 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:09.840 You're not wrong. 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:14.020 But what I hope to show you this morning is that there are levels to this. 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:14.560 All right? 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:22.339 And I wonder if the message we really need to hear this morning from Jesus is not simply, I am the bread of life. 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:25.600 But I wonder if it's a question he has to ask us. 00:04:26.899 --> 00:04:29.819 And the question is, what are you truly hungry for? 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:34.639 And are you really willing to eat my flesh and drink my blood? 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:38.979 So what I want us to consider this morning, what are you really hungry for? 00:04:39.459 --> 00:04:44.459 And are you really down to eat Jesus' flesh and to drink his blood? 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:48.479 So to walk through this text, I have five Ps, all right? 00:04:48.579 --> 00:04:49.779 Five points. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:51.519 Don't worry, kids. 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:53.680 Five Ps. 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:54.860 They're this, if you're taking notes. 00:04:55.519 --> 00:05:02.519 The principle, the problem, the provision, the predicament, and the person. 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:08.399 The principle, the problem, the provision, the predicament, and the person. 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:09.299 So first, the principle. 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:10.339 And the principle is this. 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:11.859 We all need bread. 00:05:12.779 --> 00:05:13.379 Hunger is real. 00:05:14.620 --> 00:05:18.519 So to appreciate what Jesus means here when he's saying, I am the bread of life, let me give you some context. 00:05:19.159 --> 00:05:24.919 If you look at the very beginning of our passage in verses 1 through 15, verse 4 says it's now the Jewish Passover. 00:05:25.219 --> 00:05:27.339 And yet instead of flocking to Jerusalem, what do we find? 00:05:27.339 --> 00:05:33.959 A bunch of people, a huge crowd, has gone out into the wilderness, into the mountainside, to a remote place to follow Jesus. 00:05:34.539 --> 00:05:41.419 And it says they followed him because he was healing people, like left and right, demonstrating amazing signs of the power of God. 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:46.959 And then out here in the wilderness, not only does he heal, but he feeds like 5,000 men, probably more. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:52.859 This is, you know, 5,000 households, probably, 10, 15, 20, 25,000 people out here. 00:05:53.019 --> 00:05:59.240 And he feeds them by distributing somehow and multiplying five loaves and two fish. 00:05:59.299 --> 00:06:00.139 We all know that story. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:03.240 It's the most, it's one of the most famous stories of Jesus, right? 00:06:03.299 --> 00:06:08.259 It's the one of the only, it's the only miracle that is in all four Gospels. 00:06:08.259 --> 00:06:12.620 And, you know, Jesus' resurrection had, what, 500 witnesses? 00:06:13.139 --> 00:06:22.339 But here we have 20, 25,000 witnesses, and we're still telling this story, right, about this Messiah who didn't just come to teach about how to save your soul, 00:06:22.459 --> 00:06:25.819 but who healed and nourished people's bodies too. 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:26.959 So this is the context. 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:34.159 Jesus has just fed the 5,000 with bread in abundance because he made these people and he knows the principle. 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:37.900 He created and established this principle that we all need bread. 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:38.939 He knows that. 00:06:39.500 --> 00:06:41.140 Our God knows that we all need bread. 00:06:41.840 --> 00:06:50.120 From the very beginning of God's story, we were created to consume, not to be consumeristic, but still to consume for our nourishment and for our life. 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:54.560 God gave us trees and fruit, and he set us up to explore and enjoy his creation. 00:06:55.140 --> 00:06:58.860 He designed our minds to creatively turn wheat into loaves, right? 00:06:59.080 --> 00:07:02.420 And our nostrils to inhale the aroma of fresh baked bread. 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:07.699 Our tongues to taste the tartness of Andy Brown's wonderful sourdough goodness, right? 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:14.300 Our jaws to appreciate the spongy, chewy character of his sourdough bread that we enjoy here at this table. 00:07:15.200 --> 00:07:23.500 See, from the beginning, we were created with natural hungers meant to be supernaturally satisfied by our maker and sustainer. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:28.240 Eating was one of the many ways we were meant to relate with God, our creator. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:32.500 So the problem was never hunger or our need for bread. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:34.280 But here's the second P. 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:40.019 The problem is that we sought and trusted bread that spoils. 00:07:40.019 --> 00:07:46.599 Even though we were made to hunger for food and made to enjoy daily bread from the hand of our maker and sustainer, 00:07:47.159 --> 00:07:52.060 when in our eating we chose rebellion against God instead of relationship with God, 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:56.000 when we hungered after that which we were never meant to consume, 00:07:56.799 --> 00:07:59.979 when we took our lives into our own hands and we took our lives out of God's, 00:08:00.599 --> 00:08:02.019 that's when everything went wrong. 00:08:02.500 --> 00:08:05.659 And our natural hunger became a nagging hunger. 00:08:05.660 --> 00:08:10.320 However, the principle remained we all need bread and we all need to eat, we all need to live. 00:08:10.380 --> 00:08:17.860 But what changed was that we put ourselves at odds with the divine supplier of our daily bread. 00:08:18.740 --> 00:08:21.480 Creation was cursed with thorns and thistles. 00:08:21.660 --> 00:08:24.240 Abundant supply devolved to abhorrent scarcity. 00:08:24.940 --> 00:08:27.040 Satiation got exchanged for starvation. 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:30.900 And all of a sudden, bread required sweat and toil. 00:08:30.899 --> 00:08:33.840 And even that bread, that wasn't the bread of life. 00:08:34.659 --> 00:08:37.519 That was bread that merely delayed death. 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:44.039 And this wasn't just food insecurity, but in all of life insecurity that entered into our world, 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:49.079 into our minds, our psyches, human life stopped being about loving God and enjoying Him forever. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:52.459 Stopped being about loving one another as ourselves. 00:08:52.699 --> 00:08:55.159 And it became a futile competition. 00:08:56.179 --> 00:08:58.039 Who can accumulate the most bread? 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:00.460 Who can delay death the longest? 00:09:00.460 --> 00:09:04.040 And not just bread, but who can accumulate the most stuff? 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:07.500 Ever since the fall, we've lived by the myth of more. 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:12.160 If I just had more, then I could live longer, better, stronger. 00:09:13.180 --> 00:09:17.320 But no matter how much we've accumulated, it's never been enough. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:20.960 Every few years, you know, I have to quote Rockefeller. 00:09:21.160 --> 00:09:23.820 He was, you know, the wealthiest man in modern history. 00:09:23.820 --> 00:09:26.879 Who, when he was asked, how much money is enough? 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:28.060 What did he say? 00:09:28.780 --> 00:09:30.700 Just a little bit more. 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:33.300 See, we are insatiable. 00:09:33.780 --> 00:09:35.260 We always need more. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:39.080 More money, more time, more control, more security, more approval, more accomplishment. 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:41.800 Take a survey of your own life. 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:44.879 What is the bread you are chasing right now? 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:51.279 What is the more that you're seeking that you believe will save you from the scarcity that most frightens you? 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:53.519 Or maybe I could ask it this way. 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:54.779 What are you most anxious about? 00:09:54.919 --> 00:09:57.879 See, our anxieties reveal the bread we seek. 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:05.259 Follow your worry, and it will almost always show you what your functional God, what your functional Savior is. 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:11.720 Losing or never having wealth, family, career, significant others, reputation. 00:10:12.539 --> 00:10:15.039 What is the more that we all seek? 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:19.879 And ask yourselves, if you did get it, would it satisfy? 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:27.840 That the myth of more is the devil's lie that having more will somehow save us, liberate us, unlock our everlasting joy. 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:33.419 And this is the world, this is the lie that Jesus came to speak truth into. 00:10:33.419 --> 00:10:42.719 All the tens of thousands that he fed here on this mountainside, they believed this lie that more bread, more fish, more healing would save them. 00:10:43.699 --> 00:10:48.019 And they wanted a Messiah who would give them more of the things that they thought would bring them life. 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:51.860 Verse 15 says they even attempted to force him into being their king. 00:10:51.939 --> 00:10:53.299 Isn't that such a contradiction, though? 00:10:53.339 --> 00:10:56.539 What kind of authority would a forced king even have? 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:00.259 Really, what they wanted was a genie, not an actual king. 00:11:00.259 --> 00:11:06.159 Jesus, in their eyes, was only a means to an end, a means to the bread they thought that they needed. 00:11:06.939 --> 00:11:09.600 And Jesus calls them out on this in verse 26. 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:39.580 He says, 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:40.000 Provision. 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:42.580 The provision is Jesus himself. 00:11:42.700 --> 00:11:43.620 Jesus is the bread of heaven. 00:11:43.680 --> 00:11:45.139 He says, I am the bread of life, right? 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:46.279 Verse 27. 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:54.600 Unless we read verse 27 with like Jesus, with an angry, frustrated, condescending face, let's try to read him with a compassionate, even like a pleading tone. 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:55.440 Verse 27. 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:58.840 Do not work for food that spoils. 00:11:58.840 --> 00:11:59.840 But for food that endures. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:04.700 But for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:09.320 For on him, God the Father has placed his seal of approval. 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:11.120 He's saying, guys, it's free. 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:15.120 I can give you better bread, better than FDA approved. 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:17.820 It's straight from heaven, approved by God himself. 00:12:18.040 --> 00:12:19.399 And it's free. 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:23.899 But when Jesus says, do not work for food that spoils. 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:27.179 Look, all they hear are the words work and food. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:28.259 Verse 28. 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:32.600 What must we do to do the works God requires? 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:34.100 That's their whole paradigm. 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:36.279 And it's ours too most of the time, isn't it? 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:38.600 No work, no food. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:39.959 No sweat, no bread. 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:41.360 No struggle, no supper. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:46.980 Food, sustenance, life itself, they must be earned, right? 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:50.899 They must be earned rather than graciously received. 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:56.200 But see, Jesus, he came to turn that notion completely upside down. 00:12:56.800 --> 00:12:57.399 Verse 29. 00:12:57.779 --> 00:12:58.100 No. 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:00.139 The work of God is this. 00:13:00.800 --> 00:13:01.620 To believe. 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:05.539 To believe in the one he has sent. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:07.560 Not to toil, but to trust. 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:13.759 Now, unfortunately, Jesus' simple invitation is met with skeptical inquiry. 00:13:14.199 --> 00:13:15.639 Why should we trust you? 00:13:15.739 --> 00:13:16.299 Verse 30. 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:19.959 What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:20.559 What will you do? 00:13:21.319 --> 00:13:23.339 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness. 00:13:23.939 --> 00:13:26.479 As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. 00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:30.759 So they're saying like, sure, you took a little boy's cheap barley loaves 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:34.519 and fed thousands, tens of thousands for an afternoon. 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:42.100 But Moses fed hundreds of thousands with bread from heaven for over 40 years. 00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:45.299 If we're going to trust you, you have to at least match that. 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:47.319 You have to outdo Moses, bro. 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:50.000 Verse 32. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:51.039 Jesus says to them, 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:53.600 Very truly, I tell you, 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.980 it's not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:00.899 but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:03.000 Jesus is saying, wait, hold up. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:07.460 You thought that Moses fed you in the wilderness? 00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:11.220 Bro, no, he says to them back, right? 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:16.340 The one who fed you in the wilderness is the same one who fed you out of the five loaves and two fish. 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:17.600 It's always been my Father. 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:19.379 It's always been God himself. 00:14:21.779 --> 00:14:22.620 And he sent me. 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:24.399 He sent me because, get this, 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:27.059 he wants to give you even better bread from heaven, 00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:29.960 something way better than that manna. 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:33.160 So they're like, okay, verse 34. 00:14:33.340 --> 00:14:35.340 Sir, always give us this bread. 00:14:35.800 --> 00:14:38.360 And Jesus says, verse 35, 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:41.780 I am the bread of life. 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:45.000 Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. 00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:46.379 Basically, he says here, 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:47.720 you want manna again? 00:14:47.920 --> 00:14:49.600 You want a new sign from heaven? 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:50.680 You want a greater miracle, 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:52.259 something to satisfy you? 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:53.480 I am that. 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:54.860 I am the bread of life. 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:56.039 I am straight from heaven. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:57.860 I am the miracle. 00:14:58.300 --> 00:15:03.320 I am the greatest possible proof of God's power and presence and love right in front of you. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.060 I am all of that. 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:08.600 And yet, just like Israel in the wilderness, 00:15:09.419 --> 00:15:10.820 even after receiving their manna, 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:11.940 here in verse 41, 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:13.340 they grumble. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:18.320 At this, the Jews there began to grumble about him 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:19.100 because he said, 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:21.620 I am the bread that came down from heaven. 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:23.200 And they grumble in unbelief. 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:25.220 We know where you came from, Jesus. 00:15:26.020 --> 00:15:27.220 We know your parents. 00:15:27.660 --> 00:15:31.100 You couldn't possibly have come from God in heaven. 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:34.560 And in response, Jesus doesn't try to convince them. 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:35.740 He doesn't. 00:15:36.340 --> 00:15:39.580 But basically tells them that they are blind and distant from God. 00:15:39.660 --> 00:15:40.240 Verse 44, 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:43.360 no one can come to me unless the Father draws them. 00:15:43.400 --> 00:15:44.360 And he just reiterates, 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:45.860 either believe me or don't. 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:46.580 Verse 47, 00:15:46.920 --> 00:15:48.160 very truly, I tell you, 00:15:48.259 --> 00:15:50.700 the one who believes has eternal life. 00:15:51.140 --> 00:15:52.980 I am the bread of life. 00:15:53.700 --> 00:15:55.440 And look, he doesn't try to prove it to them 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:57.320 according to their own standards, 00:15:57.500 --> 00:15:58.759 according to their own demands. 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:00.039 And by the way, 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:01.139 if you are a Christian 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:02.279 and you sometimes wonder, 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:04.320 how can I convince people about Jesus? 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:05.940 What is the best evidence, 00:16:06.060 --> 00:16:07.420 the best argument to prove 00:16:07.420 --> 00:16:08.759 that Christianity is true? 00:16:08.800 --> 00:16:09.399 If you're here today 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:11.320 and you're not convinced about Jesus 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:12.159 or about Christianity 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:15.080 because you're waiting for some airtight, 00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:17.440 watertight, bulletproof syllogism, 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:19.560 I want you to see here 00:16:19.560 --> 00:16:22.620 that while there are strong evidences and arguments, 00:16:22.820 --> 00:16:24.000 Jesus doesn't exist 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:27.920 to satisfy our rationalistic demands, no. 00:16:28.980 --> 00:16:30.160 But he does come 00:16:30.160 --> 00:16:32.520 to challenge our prior commitments. 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:35.820 There's this theologian and apologist, 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:37.420 his name is Cornelius Van Til. 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:40.720 He trained and influenced a lot of the professors 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:44.660 that me and Jonathan sat under in seminary, 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:47.019 even though Jonathan's a lot older than me, still. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.000 But he liked to talk about this method, Van Til, 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:55.419 this method that we see Jesus using here. 00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:57.379 And what he called it was 00:16:57.379 --> 00:17:00.860 pointing out the impossibility of the contrary. 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:04.079 He said, when you engage in apologetics, 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:06.200 you don't have to like stack 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.579 those building blocks of evidence. 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:09.799 Why don't you just point out 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:12.059 the impossibility of the contrary? 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:14.980 Like Jesus, again, he's not trying to 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:17.099 set up all these rational building blocks, 00:17:17.379 --> 00:17:19.019 trusting that people with darkened hearts 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:21.359 will eventually climb and put those blocks together 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:22.559 and see the light. 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:25.220 No, he goes straight after the darkness 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:26.339 that they're committed to. 00:17:26.399 --> 00:17:28.059 He goes straight after the foolish things 00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:30.740 that they trust as gods and saviors. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.240 So look at how he doesn't try to convince them 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:35.799 that he's the bread of life from heaven, 00:17:35.879 --> 00:17:37.079 but rather he tries to show them 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:39.799 the impossibility of their contrary bread. 00:17:39.879 --> 00:17:40.740 He sets up a contrast. 00:17:40.740 --> 00:17:43.500 Verse 49, your ancestors ate the manna 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:46.140 in the wilderness, yet they died. 00:17:47.259 --> 00:17:48.779 You still want that kind of bread? 00:17:48.859 --> 00:17:50.720 You still think Moses was so great? 00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:53.019 Verse 50, but here is the bread 00:17:53.019 --> 00:17:53.960 that comes down from heaven, 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:56.039 which anyone may eat and not die. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:58.440 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. 00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:01.059 Whoever eats this bread will live forever. 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:04.339 And with this, Jesus confronts all of us. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:05.779 He confronts the whole world. 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:07.319 He confronts us with the sad truth 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:10.139 that we are all people who work and toil 00:18:10.139 --> 00:18:13.399 and devote our lives to acquiring spoiling bread 00:18:13.399 --> 00:18:15.379 that can never keep us alive. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:19.539 Even manna, the most miraculous bread 00:18:19.539 --> 00:18:22.059 that Israel had ever seen straight from heaven, 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:24.679 even manna still led to the grave. 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:28.160 And how much more are modern bread, 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:29.460 whatever that is, your career, 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:31.519 your family, health, beauty, power, 00:18:31.820 --> 00:18:33.799 influence, reputation, relationships, 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:34.900 retirement plans, 00:18:35.299 --> 00:18:36.299 all good gifts, 00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:39.400 but all terrible gods. 00:18:39.840 --> 00:18:40.580 All of it. 00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:44.000 In the end, bread that spoils. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.000 And we all know it. 00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:50.339 And we're exhausted by our pursuits, 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:52.640 and yet we still go after that spoiling bread 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:54.380 by any means necessary. 00:18:54.619 --> 00:18:56.920 We battle for bread that rots. 00:18:57.460 --> 00:18:58.279 We cheat for it. 00:18:58.319 --> 00:18:59.519 We cut corners for it. 00:18:59.700 --> 00:19:00.940 We neglect people for it. 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:02.519 Worse, we shed blood for it. 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:05.740 We step on, we step over people for it. 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:07.359 Every Christ you see in the news, 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:09.400 is it not connected to greed 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:11.680 and a sense of scarcity and insecurity? 00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:13.460 Can it all be reduced? 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:14.460 It's the people trying to secure 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:16.039 their own bread and life 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:17.420 for as long as possible, 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:19.620 even at the expense of others 00:19:19.620 --> 00:19:22.500 and with zero regard for the glory of God. 00:19:23.940 --> 00:19:25.779 And don't you see how these pursuits 00:19:25.779 --> 00:19:27.539 after bread that spoils, 00:19:28.059 --> 00:19:29.779 how it makes us slaves 00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:32.799 and murderers and oppressors 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:35.220 and the worst versions of ourselves. 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:38.680 Even if you're succeeding in life, 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:40.620 so successful, 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:41.660 maybe you're at Davos, 00:19:41.660 --> 00:19:43.340 maybe you're speaking at the World Economic 00:19:43.339 --> 00:19:44.179 Economic Forum, 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:47.720 you may still be starving your soul 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:49.720 and the lives and souls 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:51.039 of your neighbors. 00:19:53.639 --> 00:19:54.339 So you see, Jesus, 00:19:54.459 --> 00:19:56.119 he came to disrupt that system, 00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:58.459 to turn the empires of this world 00:19:58.459 --> 00:19:59.359 upside down 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:01.679 and to establish his better kingdom, 00:20:01.679 --> 00:20:03.419 not based on our merit, 00:20:03.539 --> 00:20:04.779 but based on his merit 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:06.480 and on his mercy. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:09.099 You don't have to climb, 00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:09.700 he says. 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:12.319 I am the bread of life, 00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:13.880 come down from heaven, 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:15.240 given for you. 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:17.700 I am everything you need. 00:20:17.779 --> 00:20:18.779 I am God, 00:20:19.220 --> 00:20:21.900 and I am God with you, 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:22.519 he says. 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:24.519 You know, 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:25.460 if you turn back with me 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:27.000 to the beginning of John chapter 6, 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:28.000 I love the image here 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:29.440 of him feeding the 5,000. 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:31.019 It's not just Jesus, 00:20:31.140 --> 00:20:32.160 the true and better Moses, 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:33.720 feeding people in the wilderness, 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:34.299 but look, 00:20:34.339 --> 00:20:35.220 he's also Jesus, 00:20:35.940 --> 00:20:37.380 the true and better shepherd. 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:38.299 He's the good shepherd 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:39.860 and they shall not want. 00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:41.620 Look at how he makes them 00:20:41.620 --> 00:20:43.180 lie down in green pastures 00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:43.940 in verse 10. 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:45.900 Look at verse 11, 00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:46.819 how he gives thanks 00:20:46.819 --> 00:20:49.039 and prepares a table before them. 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:51.480 Look at verses 11, 12, and 13 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:52.319 and how their cups 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:54.059 and their baskets overflow, 00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:56.160 all for free. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:58.620 He turns scarcity into abundance, 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:00.180 five loaves and two fish 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:01.079 into a feast 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:02.600 for tens of thousands. 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:05.100 And what I love too about this 00:21:05.100 --> 00:21:06.079 is how he gives thanks. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:07.140 Like, picture him. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:10.680 There are 25,000 hungry 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:11.680 and hurting people 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:12.900 in front of him. 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:15.180 And all that they have 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:17.160 is five loaves 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:18.380 and two fish. 00:21:19.860 --> 00:21:20.539 And still, 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:23.299 he takes these five loaves 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:24.819 and two fish 00:21:24.819 --> 00:21:27.579 in front of 25,000 people 00:21:27.579 --> 00:21:31.100 and with gratitude, 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:32.819 he offers thanks to God. 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:34.660 in front of them. 00:21:35.900 --> 00:21:37.740 No complaint about the scarcity. 00:21:38.539 --> 00:21:39.740 No complaint about these 00:21:39.740 --> 00:21:41.680 measly little loaves and fish. 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:42.980 It's almost like a joke. 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:45.819 And that he is not at all 00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:47.299 fazed by the scarcity, 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:49.299 but he lifts them up 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:50.720 in thanks to his Father. 00:21:52.460 --> 00:21:54.160 And after he had blessed the bread 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:55.180 and given thanks, 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:56.240 he broke it 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:57.559 and somehow 00:21:57.559 --> 00:21:57.960 everyone 00:21:57.960 --> 00:21:58.880 everyone 00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.960 is satisfied. 00:22:00.460 --> 00:22:04.960 Do you realize 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.599 what a provider, 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:09.400 what a provision 00:22:09.400 --> 00:22:11.700 we have in this man, 00:22:12.339 --> 00:22:13.940 in this God? 00:22:16.019 --> 00:22:17.819 He is the bread of life. 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:19.960 He is everything 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:21.299 we need 00:22:21.299 --> 00:22:22.140 and more. 00:22:22.140 --> 00:22:25.940 He is our sustenance. 00:22:27.080 --> 00:22:28.620 He is our portion. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:31.560 And he doesn't ask 00:22:31.560 --> 00:22:32.640 anything of us 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:33.440 but faith, 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:34.420 belief, 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:35.420 trust, 00:22:35.840 --> 00:22:36.259 dependence. 00:22:36.820 --> 00:22:37.880 That's what it means 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:39.620 to feed on Christ. 00:22:40.360 --> 00:22:41.320 To trust him 00:22:41.320 --> 00:22:42.100 wholly 00:22:42.100 --> 00:22:43.259 and solely 00:22:43.259 --> 00:22:43.619 that 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:45.619 and that alone 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:47.420 is the work 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:49.019 that God requires of us 00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:49.960 and that's the gospel. 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:51.400 That we get to choose 00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:52.539 prayer over panic, 00:22:52.900 --> 00:22:54.359 surrender over striving. 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:57.140 But now this leads us 00:22:57.140 --> 00:22:58.339 to the fourth P, 00:22:58.440 --> 00:22:59.119 the predicament. 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:01.319 He is the provision. 00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:02.900 He is the bread from heaven. 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:04.559 He is the bread of life. 00:23:04.660 --> 00:23:05.500 But this bread is, 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:07.279 it's an offensive bread. 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:10.480 Sometimes it doesn't taste 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:11.119 that good. 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:13.659 Because Jesus doesn't 00:23:13.659 --> 00:23:14.379 just stop at 00:23:14.379 --> 00:23:15.079 depend on me 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:15.819 like I'm the bread 00:23:15.819 --> 00:23:16.399 you need from heaven. 00:23:16.479 --> 00:23:16.839 He gets, 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:18.639 he gets quite provocative here. 00:23:19.419 --> 00:23:20.439 Even offensive. 00:23:21.659 --> 00:23:22.259 Verse 51. 00:23:23.639 --> 00:23:25.099 This bread is my flesh 00:23:25.099 --> 00:23:26.699 which I will give 00:23:26.699 --> 00:23:27.519 for the life 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:28.139 of the world. 00:23:29.179 --> 00:23:29.439 Wait, 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:30.000 what? 00:23:31.139 --> 00:23:31.559 They ask, 00:23:31.699 --> 00:23:32.359 verse 52, 00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:33.679 how can this man 00:23:33.679 --> 00:23:35.279 give us his flesh 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:36.159 to eat? 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:38.299 And Jesus just doubles down. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:39.699 Very truly I tell you, 00:23:39.739 --> 00:23:40.500 unless you eat 00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:41.640 the flesh of the Son of Man 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:42.839 and drink his blood. 00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:44.299 You have no life in you. 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:45.799 Whoever eats my flesh 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:47.079 and drinks my blood 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:47.980 has eternal life 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:49.059 and I will raise them up 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:49.779 at the last day. 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:51.339 For my flesh is real food 00:23:51.339 --> 00:23:52.660 and my blood is real drink. 00:23:52.900 --> 00:23:54.079 Whoever eats my flesh 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:55.339 and drinks my blood 00:23:55.339 --> 00:23:56.359 remains in me 00:23:56.359 --> 00:23:57.079 and I in them. 00:23:57.339 --> 00:23:58.299 Just as the living Father 00:23:58.299 --> 00:23:58.819 sent me 00:23:58.819 --> 00:24:00.119 and I live because of the Father, 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:01.779 so the one who feeds on me 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:03.079 will live because of me. 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:04.099 This is the bread 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:05.259 that came down from heaven. 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:06.779 Your ancestors ate manna 00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:07.339 and died, 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:08.319 but whoever feeds 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:09.000 on this bread 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:10.240 will live forever. 00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:11.220 Wow. 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:13.339 Did he say it enough? 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:18.240 His flesh is our bread. 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:20.359 His blood is our drink. 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:21.740 Jesus refuses to back down. 00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:22.480 He doesn't soften 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:23.220 any of these blows. 00:24:23.299 --> 00:24:23.859 He doesn't even bother 00:24:23.859 --> 00:24:24.819 to explain himself 00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:26.599 like in more concrete terms. 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:27.440 This is what makes 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:28.160 the Gospel of John 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:28.880 really hard for me 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:29.420 as a preacher. 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:32.099 And while it's unclear 00:24:32.099 --> 00:24:33.400 exactly what his listeners 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:35.359 would have understood 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:36.140 him to be saying, 00:24:36.140 --> 00:24:37.860 and I doubt they thought 00:24:37.860 --> 00:24:39.020 he was literally calling them 00:24:39.020 --> 00:24:39.720 to be cannibals, 00:24:39.820 --> 00:24:39.960 all right? 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:40.400 I think they're, 00:24:40.820 --> 00:24:41.820 let's give them more credit 00:24:41.820 --> 00:24:42.259 than that. 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:44.420 But what is clear 00:24:44.420 --> 00:24:45.840 is that this guy 00:24:45.840 --> 00:24:47.040 is claiming to be from heaven. 00:24:47.620 --> 00:24:48.580 He's claiming to be 00:24:48.580 --> 00:24:49.400 the Son of God, 00:24:49.600 --> 00:24:50.660 perhaps even God Himself. 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:51.640 He's claiming that 00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:52.660 the only way to life 00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:54.020 is to depend on Him 00:24:54.020 --> 00:24:54.800 as the bread of life 00:24:54.800 --> 00:24:55.300 and in fact, 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:55.700 somehow, 00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:57.320 they must so depend on Him 00:24:57.320 --> 00:24:59.980 that they eat His flesh 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:01.500 and drink His blood. 00:25:02.180 --> 00:25:03.480 And so on a bunch of levels, 00:25:03.600 --> 00:25:05.100 this is incredibly provocative. 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:06.279 Like, first of all, 00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:07.079 it's just kind of confusing. 00:25:07.219 --> 00:25:08.159 What does this guy even mean? 00:25:08.219 --> 00:25:09.539 Why is he talking to us like this? 00:25:10.179 --> 00:25:10.500 Secondly, 00:25:10.679 --> 00:25:12.399 for those who do understand 00:25:12.399 --> 00:25:12.839 the basics, 00:25:13.139 --> 00:25:13.480 it's like, 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:14.299 trust in you, 00:25:14.919 --> 00:25:15.679 Jesus of Nazareth, 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:16.619 like you're God, 00:25:16.719 --> 00:25:17.919 like you're the only way 00:25:17.919 --> 00:25:18.919 to eternal life? 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:19.699 Come on, man. 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:21.240 We know your parents. 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:23.419 And you think 00:25:23.419 --> 00:25:24.099 you're actually better 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:24.639 than Moses, 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:25.500 our liberator, 00:25:25.939 --> 00:25:26.779 the great liberator 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:27.879 of our whole nation? 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:30.059 We don't want you 00:25:30.059 --> 00:25:30.879 as the bread of life. 00:25:30.919 --> 00:25:31.799 We want that manna 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:33.159 to come down again. 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:34.560 And now you're just talking 00:25:34.560 --> 00:25:35.700 crazy, dude, 00:25:35.840 --> 00:25:37.340 about us eating your flesh 00:25:37.340 --> 00:25:38.519 and drinking your blood. 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:40.400 I don't even want to stick around 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:41.620 to find out what you mean 00:25:41.620 --> 00:25:42.360 by that. 00:25:42.560 --> 00:25:43.000 I'm out. 00:25:44.560 --> 00:25:46.019 And many of His early adopters 00:25:46.019 --> 00:25:47.120 and the outer ring 00:25:47.120 --> 00:25:47.800 of His disciples, 00:25:48.060 --> 00:25:48.440 they leave. 00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:48.920 Verse 60, 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:49.540 On hearing it, 00:25:49.620 --> 00:25:50.640 many of His disciples said, 00:25:51.019 --> 00:25:51.960 this is a hard teaching. 00:25:52.080 --> 00:25:52.980 Who can accept it? 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:54.140 Again, more grumbling, 00:25:54.320 --> 00:25:55.259 aware that His disciples 00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:56.840 were grumbling about this. 00:25:56.940 --> 00:25:57.720 Jesus said to them, 00:25:58.160 --> 00:25:59.400 does this offend you? 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:02.100 Verse 66, 00:26:03.060 --> 00:26:03.920 From this time, 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:05.060 many of His disciples 00:26:05.060 --> 00:26:06.320 turned back 00:26:06.320 --> 00:26:08.240 and no longer followed Him. 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:10.100 It was just too much. 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:11.580 It was too hard, 00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:12.300 too confusing, 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:13.580 too offensive. 00:26:14.259 --> 00:26:14.920 And honestly, 00:26:15.100 --> 00:26:16.600 it was even more offensive 00:26:16.600 --> 00:26:18.180 than they even realized. 00:26:19.140 --> 00:26:20.400 When Jesus was saying, 00:26:20.540 --> 00:26:21.480 you must eat my flesh 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:22.360 and drink my blood, 00:26:23.560 --> 00:26:24.860 only the later readers 00:26:24.860 --> 00:26:25.660 of John's Gospel, 00:26:25.800 --> 00:26:26.640 only the early church 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:27.140 would know 00:26:27.140 --> 00:26:28.540 what Jesus meant. 00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:30.099 He wasn't giving them 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:30.619 a riddle, 00:26:30.879 --> 00:26:31.599 but a reality. 00:26:31.899 --> 00:26:32.940 The reality that we are 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:34.819 so broken and so starved 00:26:34.819 --> 00:26:35.879 and so sinful 00:26:35.879 --> 00:26:37.500 that a body had to be broken, 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:38.879 flesh had to be torn, 00:26:39.180 --> 00:26:40.200 blood had to be shed 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:42.000 in order to atone 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:42.940 for our sins. 00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:44.799 We took our lives 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:45.639 out of God's hands, 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:46.659 threw them away. 00:26:47.339 --> 00:26:48.519 So justice demanded 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:49.639 that God receive 00:26:49.639 --> 00:26:51.379 a pure life back. 00:26:52.099 --> 00:26:53.500 And the only one available 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:55.339 was the life of His Son, 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:57.259 who took on humanity. 00:26:57.259 --> 00:26:58.599 The I am became 00:26:58.599 --> 00:26:59.839 I am bread, 00:27:00.099 --> 00:27:01.299 bread sent from heaven 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:02.480 to be broken and torn 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:03.779 for the life of the world. 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:04.940 And really this, 00:27:05.480 --> 00:27:06.720 this is the offense 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:08.059 of Jesus' words here. 00:27:09.339 --> 00:27:11.980 The meaning that His deserters 00:27:11.980 --> 00:27:13.160 didn't even stick around 00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:13.740 to understand, 00:27:13.879 --> 00:27:14.839 this is the offense. 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:16.400 Not that Jesus is cryptic, 00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:17.700 but that Jesus is Lord, 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:19.819 which means that we are not. 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:21.039 I am not. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:21.920 You are not. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:22.660 And worse yet, 00:27:22.819 --> 00:27:24.000 that we are more sinful 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:25.359 than we could ever imagine. 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:27.419 So sinful that only the death 00:27:27.419 --> 00:27:28.479 of the Son of God 00:27:28.479 --> 00:27:30.719 could remedy our sins. 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:33.000 It's incredibly offensive. 00:27:33.679 --> 00:27:35.099 Like someone offering you 00:27:35.099 --> 00:27:36.279 like weight loss pills 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:37.419 and a gym membership, 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:38.039 alright? 00:27:38.459 --> 00:27:39.879 Think about how offensive 00:27:39.879 --> 00:27:40.959 that would be. 00:27:42.139 --> 00:27:42.659 But you know, 00:27:43.219 --> 00:27:43.839 that's what you need 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:44.500 to be healthy. 00:27:45.899 --> 00:27:46.959 Even if it means 00:27:46.959 --> 00:27:47.519 that you have to face 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:49.159 the truth of your obesity, 00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:50.479 shouldn't we be thankful 00:27:50.479 --> 00:27:51.199 and glad 00:27:51.199 --> 00:27:52.500 to receive such an offer? 00:27:52.500 --> 00:27:53.559 This is the message 00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:54.259 of Christianity. 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:56.220 That your main problem 00:27:56.220 --> 00:27:57.039 is sin. 00:27:57.859 --> 00:27:58.579 And you need 00:27:58.579 --> 00:27:59.440 a Savior. 00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:01.799 The thing is, 00:28:01.940 --> 00:28:02.980 many of us aren't convinced 00:28:02.980 --> 00:28:03.619 that we need 00:28:03.619 --> 00:28:04.380 a Savior. 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:05.079 We don't realize 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:06.359 how far short we fall 00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:07.279 and how heinous 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:08.119 it is 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:08.920 that we have not 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:09.940 loved the Lord our God 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:10.680 with all our heart, 00:28:10.819 --> 00:28:11.740 soul, mind, and strength 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:12.440 and that we have not 00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:13.200 loved our neighbors 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:14.259 as ourselves. 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:16.160 We might be willing 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:17.119 to admit need 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:17.819 for a helper, 00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:18.660 but not a Savior. 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:20.500 Maybe to have some 00:28:20.500 --> 00:28:21.700 minor home improvements, 00:28:21.700 --> 00:28:23.420 but not a full-blown, 00:28:23.539 --> 00:28:24.240 complete renovation. 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:26.220 We like the idea 00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:26.860 of free bread, 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:27.620 free healings, 00:28:27.819 --> 00:28:28.539 life enhancement, 00:28:28.819 --> 00:28:29.620 but we don't like 00:28:29.620 --> 00:28:30.420 the idea that we are 00:28:30.420 --> 00:28:31.120 prodigals who have 00:28:31.120 --> 00:28:31.920 squandered everything 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:33.039 and whose only hope now 00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:34.100 is a rescue mission 00:28:34.100 --> 00:28:35.160 that only God Himself 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:36.080 can accomplish. 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:39.340 See, Jesus, 00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:41.100 He refuses to be useful 00:28:41.100 --> 00:28:42.420 without also being 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:43.059 your Lord, 00:28:44.259 --> 00:28:44.900 your soul, 00:28:45.080 --> 00:28:46.160 one and only God 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:47.019 and Savior. 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:48.799 No one else 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:49.559 will do. 00:28:51.700 --> 00:28:54.580 So if you want 00:28:54.580 --> 00:28:55.299 a Jesus who never 00:28:55.299 --> 00:28:55.900 offends you, 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:57.720 never disagrees with you, 00:28:57.759 --> 00:28:58.220 if you want 00:28:58.220 --> 00:28:59.480 a Savior who only 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:00.740 and always affirms 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:01.799 and agrees with you, 00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:03.400 maybe you do just 00:29:03.400 --> 00:29:04.940 prefer being a slave, 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:06.279 striving for your own 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:07.920 self-salvation. 00:29:09.819 --> 00:29:10.480 Because see, 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:11.380 that's the only other 00:29:11.380 --> 00:29:12.740 alternative to Jesus. 00:29:12.900 --> 00:29:14.100 Either He saves us, 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:15.460 or we have to save 00:29:15.460 --> 00:29:15.920 ourselves, 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:17.259 or we have to find 00:29:17.259 --> 00:29:18.240 someone else who could 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:19.200 and would possibly 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:21.120 love us and be strong 00:29:21.120 --> 00:29:22.440 enough to do so. 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:24.539 And this brings me 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:25.380 to my final P, 00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:27.259 the preeminent person. 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:28.180 So Jesus turns 00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:29.140 from the crowds 00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:29.720 who have left, 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:31.259 and He looks right 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:31.980 into the eyes 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:33.039 of His remaining twelve, 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:34.539 one of whom He knows 00:29:34.539 --> 00:29:35.900 will betray Him. 00:29:37.080 --> 00:29:37.900 Verse 67, 00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:40.039 you do not want 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:40.740 to leave too, 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:41.539 do you? 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:44.640 Just sit in that moment. 00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:46.420 You do not want 00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:47.060 to leave too, 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:47.900 do you? 00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:50.120 After the crowd 00:29:50.120 --> 00:29:50.580 has shrunk 00:29:50.580 --> 00:29:51.660 from 25,000 00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:52.300 to a dozen, 00:29:52.620 --> 00:29:53.520 and after everything 00:29:53.520 --> 00:29:54.800 He said so provocative, 00:29:55.120 --> 00:29:55.960 so confusing, 00:29:56.140 --> 00:29:56.820 so offensive. 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:01.440 But notice Jesus' question. 00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:03.259 It's not, 00:30:03.940 --> 00:30:04.840 do you understand it all? 00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:05.520 It's not, 00:30:05.640 --> 00:30:06.400 do you have 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:07.680 all your questions answered? 00:30:07.880 --> 00:30:08.580 It's simpler, 00:30:08.700 --> 00:30:09.000 it's deeper, 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:09.340 it's, 00:30:10.460 --> 00:30:10.800 are you going 00:30:10.800 --> 00:30:11.520 to stay with me? 00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:14.359 And you know, 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:15.079 we like to roll 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:15.940 our eyes at Peter, 00:30:16.099 --> 00:30:17.379 but what he says 00:30:17.379 --> 00:30:18.039 might be the most 00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:18.660 profound thing 00:30:18.660 --> 00:30:19.259 any apostle 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:20.059 has ever said. 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:21.559 Lord, 00:30:22.379 --> 00:30:23.279 to whom else 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:24.019 shall we go? 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:27.720 That's the impossibility 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:28.579 of the contrary. 00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:31.319 Peter isn't claiming 00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:33.099 he's figured Jesus out, 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:34.019 he's not saying, 00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:34.859 yeah, Jesus, 00:30:34.980 --> 00:30:36.160 that flesh and blood thing, 00:30:36.299 --> 00:30:37.259 I'm so down. 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:38.779 No, 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:39.680 he's saying, 00:30:39.859 --> 00:30:40.420 even when I don't 00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:41.379 fully understand you, 00:30:42.339 --> 00:30:42.859 I also, 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:44.139 I can't deny you. 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:45.639 I don't have 00:30:45.639 --> 00:30:46.519 a flawless proof, 00:30:46.619 --> 00:30:47.539 but I think I've found 00:30:47.539 --> 00:30:48.900 a flawless person. 00:30:49.400 --> 00:30:50.039 You alone 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:51.000 have the words 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:52.059 of eternal life, 00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:52.980 and we have come 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:53.740 to believe 00:30:53.740 --> 00:30:54.539 and to know 00:30:54.539 --> 00:30:55.240 that you are 00:30:55.240 --> 00:30:56.119 the holy one 00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:57.119 of God. 00:30:57.720 --> 00:30:58.200 Holy, 00:30:58.619 --> 00:30:59.400 set apart, 00:30:59.539 --> 00:30:59.839 unique, 00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:00.619 one of a kind. 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:01.859 There is no one like you 00:31:01.859 --> 00:31:02.660 is what Peter's saying. 00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:04.279 But you know 00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:05.000 what's sobering? 00:31:06.279 --> 00:31:07.639 When Peter says that, 00:31:09.079 --> 00:31:10.039 Judas is standing 00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:11.359 right there too. 00:31:12.059 --> 00:31:12.720 Same crowd, 00:31:12.859 --> 00:31:13.359 same sermon, 00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:14.039 same miracle, 00:31:14.259 --> 00:31:14.940 same Jesus. 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:16.559 One disciple saying, 00:31:16.680 --> 00:31:17.200 where else could I 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:17.920 possibly go? 00:31:18.180 --> 00:31:18.900 Another disciple 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:19.720 is already beginning 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:20.160 to think, 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:21.759 where else could I go? 00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:23.799 One sees Jesus 00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:24.680 as the bread of life, 00:31:24.740 --> 00:31:25.539 the other sees Jesus 00:31:25.539 --> 00:31:26.819 as a means to an end. 00:31:26.879 --> 00:31:27.920 One clings to Jesus, 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:28.819 the other keeps 00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:29.980 a little bag of silver 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:31.639 nearby just in case 00:31:31.639 --> 00:31:32.400 a better offer 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:33.519 comes along. 00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:35.460 See, 00:31:35.539 --> 00:31:35.859 the difference 00:31:35.859 --> 00:31:36.400 between Peter 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:36.900 and Judas 00:31:36.900 --> 00:31:37.800 isn't exposure 00:31:37.800 --> 00:31:38.460 to Jesus. 00:31:39.380 --> 00:31:39.960 It's what they 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:41.000 ultimately want 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:41.560 from Jesus. 00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:42.800 Peter wants Jesus. 00:31:43.500 --> 00:31:44.120 Judas wants 00:31:44.120 --> 00:31:44.660 what Jesus 00:31:44.660 --> 00:31:45.540 can provide. 00:31:46.860 --> 00:31:47.640 And that question 00:31:47.640 --> 00:31:48.200 just quietly 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:49.120 hangs in the air 00:31:49.120 --> 00:31:50.160 for every single 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:50.660 one of us. 00:31:50.900 --> 00:31:51.620 Are we here 00:31:51.620 --> 00:31:52.400 because Jesus 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:53.040 is useful 00:31:53.040 --> 00:31:53.960 or because Jesus 00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:54.580 is Lord? 00:31:55.300 --> 00:31:56.460 Are we staying 00:31:56.460 --> 00:31:57.540 because He gives bread, 00:31:57.740 --> 00:31:58.860 because we get free lunch 00:31:58.860 --> 00:31:59.620 after service 00:31:59.620 --> 00:32:00.480 on first Sundays 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:02.660 or because He's Lord? 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:04.240 Are we staying 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:05.420 because He gives bread 00:32:05.420 --> 00:32:07.140 or because He is the bread? 00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:11.259 These are the only two options, 00:32:11.860 --> 00:32:12.519 the way of Peter, 00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:13.420 the way of Judas. 00:32:14.700 --> 00:32:16.019 And one gets to have breakfast 00:32:16.019 --> 00:32:17.099 with the risen Messiah 00:32:17.099 --> 00:32:18.140 filled with the Holy Spirit 00:32:18.140 --> 00:32:19.019 as a fruitful servant 00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:19.579 of the kingdom 00:32:19.579 --> 00:32:20.720 at the end of his story 00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:21.440 and another 00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:23.680 is simply holding a bag 00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:25.799 of 30 pieces of silver 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:27.259 that at the end 00:32:27.259 --> 00:32:28.559 He doesn't even want anymore 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:30.440 and He is hopeless 00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:32.200 and He realizes 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:32.900 how worthless 00:32:32.900 --> 00:32:34.380 that trade was 00:32:34.380 --> 00:32:36.660 and He cannot face Himself 00:32:36.660 --> 00:32:38.279 or the world anymore. 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:40.660 You know, 00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:41.380 I think Jesus 00:32:41.380 --> 00:32:41.940 is asking 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:43.600 some of us this morning 00:32:43.600 --> 00:32:45.820 not first of all 00:32:45.820 --> 00:32:47.140 like do you understand everything? 00:32:48.140 --> 00:32:49.279 What if He's just asking you 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:49.980 will you stay? 00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:51.799 Will you linger? 00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:53.600 Will you stick around? 00:32:55.220 --> 00:32:55.600 And like sure, 00:32:55.740 --> 00:32:56.759 you can walk away 00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:58.120 but please think carefully 00:32:58.120 --> 00:33:00.120 about where else you'll go 00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:02.699 because no one walks away 00:33:02.699 --> 00:33:04.179 to neutral ground. 00:33:04.959 --> 00:33:06.500 If Jesus is not your bread, 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:07.419 you'll still need bread. 00:33:08.159 --> 00:33:09.479 If Jesus is not your Savior, 00:33:09.619 --> 00:33:10.759 you still need a Savior. 00:33:11.539 --> 00:33:12.779 If Jesus is not your Lord, 00:33:13.079 --> 00:33:14.399 something else will be. 00:33:14.539 --> 00:33:14.919 So again, 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:16.579 to whom else shall we go? 00:33:17.259 --> 00:33:18.459 Who's your better option? 00:33:19.859 --> 00:33:21.859 There's this 19th century 00:33:21.859 --> 00:33:23.799 Scottish minister. 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:25.879 I love these words 00:33:25.879 --> 00:33:27.059 that he wrote about Jesus. 00:33:27.779 --> 00:33:28.940 His name was John Watson. 00:33:29.099 --> 00:33:29.740 He said, 00:33:29.740 --> 00:33:33.000 No one has yet discovered 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:34.319 the word Jesus 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:35.319 ought to have said. 00:33:36.099 --> 00:33:36.880 None suggested 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:37.620 the better word 00:33:37.620 --> 00:33:38.480 He might have said. 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:40.160 No action of His 00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:40.740 has shocked 00:33:40.740 --> 00:33:42.079 our moral sense. 00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:44.160 None has fallen short 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:44.920 of the ideal. 00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:46.940 He is full of surprises 00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:48.240 but they are all surprises 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:49.120 of perfection. 00:33:50.220 --> 00:33:51.359 You were never amazed 00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:52.579 one day by His greatness, 00:33:53.059 --> 00:33:54.279 the next by His littleness. 00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:56.220 You were quite amazed 00:33:56.220 --> 00:33:57.759 that He is incomparably better 00:33:57.759 --> 00:33:59.259 than you could have expected. 00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:01.339 He is tender 00:34:01.339 --> 00:34:02.599 without being weak, 00:34:03.420 --> 00:34:05.180 strong without being coarse, 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:07.879 lowly without being servile. 00:34:08.440 --> 00:34:09.420 He has conviction 00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:10.860 without intolerance, 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:13.739 enthusiasm without fanaticism, 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:16.340 holiness without pharisaism, 00:34:17.179 --> 00:34:18.400 passion without prejudice. 00:34:19.619 --> 00:34:20.539 This man alone 00:34:20.539 --> 00:34:22.260 never made a false step, 00:34:22.519 --> 00:34:24.320 never struck a jarring note. 00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:25.699 His life alone, 00:34:25.699 --> 00:34:28.519 it was life at its highest. 00:34:30.279 --> 00:34:31.159 Where else are you going 00:34:31.159 --> 00:34:32.359 to find something like this? 00:34:32.439 --> 00:34:33.299 Someone like this, 00:34:33.339 --> 00:34:34.699 a God who doesn't demand 00:34:34.699 --> 00:34:36.019 your blood but gives His own. 00:34:36.579 --> 00:34:38.000 The I Am who became bread, 00:34:38.500 --> 00:34:39.399 bread from heaven 00:34:39.399 --> 00:34:40.980 to be broken for you. 00:34:42.579 --> 00:34:43.319 See, this is where 00:34:43.319 --> 00:34:44.119 eat my flesh 00:34:44.119 --> 00:34:45.199 and drink my blood, 00:34:45.779 --> 00:34:46.960 those words are transformed 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:48.899 from gory to glory, right? 00:34:49.319 --> 00:34:51.000 This isn't about cannibalism, 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:51.899 it's about communion 00:34:51.899 --> 00:34:52.960 with the living God, 00:34:53.079 --> 00:34:54.939 crucified and risen for us 00:34:54.940 --> 00:34:55.599 in Christ. 00:34:56.280 --> 00:34:57.720 This isn't try harder, 00:34:57.900 --> 00:34:58.840 it's grace. 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:00.700 This isn't earn your bread, 00:35:00.780 --> 00:35:02.400 it's lie down in green pastures 00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:03.960 and receive the bread of life. 00:35:05.159 --> 00:35:05.380 And man, 00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:06.740 when people are actually fed, 00:35:07.420 --> 00:35:08.940 when they're actually satisfied 00:35:08.940 --> 00:35:09.760 in Christ, 00:35:09.860 --> 00:35:10.860 man, this changes everything. 00:35:10.940 --> 00:35:12.000 This changes the world. 00:35:13.179 --> 00:35:14.920 When we are satisfied in Christ, 00:35:15.260 --> 00:35:16.440 we stop clawing, 00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:18.440 we stop hoarding, 00:35:18.940 --> 00:35:20.400 we stop stepping on people 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:21.900 to secure their slice 00:35:21.900 --> 00:35:22.680 of the world. 00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:25.460 When you know you have 00:35:25.460 --> 00:35:26.320 the bread of life, 00:35:26.599 --> 00:35:27.559 you don't have to hoard, 00:35:27.680 --> 00:35:28.420 you can share. 00:35:29.119 --> 00:35:30.160 You don't have to dominate, 00:35:30.320 --> 00:35:31.119 you can serve. 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:32.400 You don't have to be anxious, 00:35:32.519 --> 00:35:33.240 you can be generous. 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:34.480 Scarcity is no longer 00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:35.180 your master. 00:35:35.539 --> 00:35:36.139 That's what people 00:35:36.139 --> 00:35:37.480 who feed on Christ 00:35:37.480 --> 00:35:38.220 are like. 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:39.360 That's the freedom 00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:40.200 that the early church 00:35:40.200 --> 00:35:40.760 lived out of 00:35:40.760 --> 00:35:41.740 in the medieval age 00:35:41.740 --> 00:35:43.480 when plagues hit the city 00:35:43.480 --> 00:35:44.840 and the people with means, 00:35:45.059 --> 00:35:45.900 even the doctors, 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:47.840 fled to their vacation estates. 00:35:47.840 --> 00:35:49.680 The church stayed. 00:35:50.780 --> 00:35:52.100 They tended to the sick. 00:35:52.860 --> 00:35:54.079 They fed the hungry. 00:35:54.740 --> 00:35:55.800 They took in orphans. 00:35:56.019 --> 00:35:56.980 They buried the dead. 00:35:57.220 --> 00:35:57.519 Why? 00:35:58.380 --> 00:35:59.559 Because when your life 00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:01.800 is hidden with Christ in God, 00:36:02.120 --> 00:36:03.260 when you already have 00:36:03.260 --> 00:36:04.519 eternal, abundant, 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:05.579 imperishable, 00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:06.980 resurrection life, 00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:09.940 you can move toward suffering 00:36:09.940 --> 00:36:11.400 instead of away from it. 00:36:11.880 --> 00:36:13.300 You can spend yourself 00:36:13.300 --> 00:36:14.680 because you're not losing yourself. 00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:16.420 You're communing 00:36:16.420 --> 00:36:17.460 with your risen Lord. 00:36:18.840 --> 00:36:19.740 So the question today 00:36:19.740 --> 00:36:20.280 is not first, 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:21.059 do you understand 00:36:21.059 --> 00:36:22.780 everything that Jesus says? 00:36:23.579 --> 00:36:24.100 It's this, 00:36:24.380 --> 00:36:25.360 will you stay with Him? 00:36:26.780 --> 00:36:27.660 Will you stay with Him? 00:36:28.940 --> 00:36:29.760 Will you come to Him 00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:31.740 again and again and again 00:36:31.740 --> 00:36:32.720 at this table 00:36:32.720 --> 00:36:34.360 with joy and thanksgiving? 00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:36.960 And will you feed on Him 00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:39.539 by faith, hope, and love? 00:36:40.900 --> 00:36:42.200 For to whom else, 00:36:42.539 --> 00:36:43.780 whom else shall we go? 00:36:45.200 --> 00:36:46.579 Our Lord has prepared 00:36:46.579 --> 00:36:47.820 a table before 00:36:47.820 --> 00:36:48.260 for us. 00:36:48.740 --> 00:36:50.160 It's already been paid for. 00:36:50.840 --> 00:36:51.500 Supper's ready. 00:36:52.160 --> 00:36:53.420 Come and eat. 00:36:54.260 --> 00:36:55.460 Not because you're worthy, 00:36:55.580 --> 00:36:56.519 but because He is. 00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:58.100 And He saved a seat 00:36:58.100 --> 00:36:59.480 for you at the family table. 00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:02.120 So let's taste and see 00:37:02.120 --> 00:37:03.780 that the Lord is good. 00:37:05.039 --> 00:37:05.720 Blessed are those 00:37:05.720 --> 00:37:07.120 who do not take offense 00:37:07.120 --> 00:37:07.880 at Him, 00:37:08.280 --> 00:37:09.400 and happy are those 00:37:09.400 --> 00:37:10.780 who trust in Him. 00:37:11.780 --> 00:37:12.100 Amen. 00:37:12.100 --> 00:37:12.200 Amen. 00:37:12.199 --> 00:37:15.960 Let's pray. 00:37:22.539 --> 00:37:23.699 Lord, this is something 00:37:23.699 --> 00:37:25.379 that most of us 00:37:25.379 --> 00:37:28.119 don't already know. 00:37:28.119 --> 00:37:31.359 of course Jesus 00:37:31.359 --> 00:37:32.299 is the bread of life. 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:35.059 But we confess 00:37:35.059 --> 00:37:36.259 the ways that we cry out 00:37:36.259 --> 00:37:36.900 in our hunger 00:37:36.900 --> 00:37:39.039 because we've looked 00:37:39.039 --> 00:37:39.920 to feed elsewhere. 00:37:42.179 --> 00:37:43.179 Show us, Lord, 00:37:43.900 --> 00:37:45.299 there is no better bread. 00:37:45.300 --> 00:37:49.260 what a gift 00:37:49.260 --> 00:37:50.920 that the I Am 00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:52.960 volunteered to be 00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:53.560 I Am 00:37:53.560 --> 00:37:54.880 the bread of life 00:37:54.880 --> 00:37:55.860 broken 00:37:55.860 --> 00:37:57.360 for broken people 00:37:57.360 --> 00:37:58.039 like us. 00:37:59.740 --> 00:38:00.920 Give us the faith. 00:38:03.420 --> 00:38:05.420 Give us the reverence. 00:38:05.420 --> 00:38:07.940 Give us the joy 00:38:07.940 --> 00:38:10.099 to feed on Him alone, 00:38:10.180 --> 00:38:10.579 O God. 00:38:11.619 --> 00:38:12.440 And change the world 00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:13.059 because of that. 00:38:13.900 --> 00:38:14.960 Because of how satisfied 00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:15.960 Your people are 00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:17.440 in Christ, 00:38:18.019 --> 00:38:18.760 the bread of life. 00:38:19.559 --> 00:38:20.300 In His name we pray. 00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:21.180 Amen.