We're actually going to be spending a few weeks on this chapter.
We've really been kind of going through the chapters pretty quickly through the Gospel of John.
Because John, as you may have noticed, really hammers home his main point,
which is Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah.
So really, every message I preach, I could have said that over and over again,
and it would have been correct. That's what John is trying to get at.
But this chapter, there's a lot in there.
So I'm going to go up to 35, verse 35 today,
and then preach from a shorter section of the same passage on Christmas Eve
as an evangelistic sermon.
We're told people who are going to come to visit on Christmas Eve.
And then we'll cover the rest of the chapter from 36 to 71 next Sunday, this coming Sunday.
But before I start, let me pray for us.
God, as we sang earlier, we say again, speak, O Lord.
We want to be people who are governed not by our own ideas,
not by the whims and the shifting directions of the culture,
but by your word.
So speak, O Lord.
We are listening.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
Sigmund Freud, the renowned psychologist and atheist,
once accused people of creating God in their own image.
He said, no, God did not create man in his own image.
No, rather, men, they created God in their own image.
But to his credit, that's partially true,
because that's what we, in fact, do oftentimes.
We try to create God in our own image.
We try to put him in our own box
and use him for our own purposes,
rather than submitting to him
and being governed by him as our Lord and King.
And that's exactly what's going on here in this passage
as these men who have been following Jesus,
they try to peg Jesus down,
put him in a box of their own making,
and Jesus is unwilling to yield to that.
And he consistently defies their expectations,
as we will see throughout this passage.
And what Jesus teaches us instead
is that he is the bread of eternal life,
who alone can satisfy our true hunger and thirst.
We believe that we have hunger and thirst
that we want to satisfy for ourselves,
but Jesus reveals a deeper hunger and thirst.
And he says that he is the one who alone can satisfy it
as the bread of eternal life.
And to do that, John gives us three vignettes,
kind of portraits of Jesus,
who he is, his identity.
First one is in the first 14 verses.
It tells us that Jesus is the prophet like Moses.
And the second is from verses 16 to 21.
It tells us that Jesus is the I am.
And then third and finally,
it tells us in verses 22 to 34
that Jesus is the bread of life.
And we'll see after,
we just talked about how Jesus healed an invalid of 38 years.
So after having done that,
there was a confrontation that ensued
between him and the Jewish leaders about the Sabbath.
And so Jesus moves on to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
And read with me here in verse 2.
It says,
If you've been with us for the series in John so far,
you know that coming because the signs is a dangerous thing.
So people here are not coming
and having realized the significance of the signs,
the identity of Jesus that it points to.
Rather, they've come to see a spectacle,
to see a show.
They're coming to follow the signs in and of themselves
and not to see and to know Jesus as he is.
And as this crowd comes to him,
Jesus sees an opportunity,
a teaching opportunity.
And he asks one of his disciples,
Philip, in verse 5,
Where are we to buy bread
so that these people may eat?
Not because he actually intended to buy bread from somewhere,
but as it says in verse 5 or verse 6,
in order to test them, it says.
Jesus wanted to test his disciples.
And Philip answers in the most predictable way.
He says,
Two hundred denarii worth of bread
would not be enough for each of them to get a little.
And one denarius is a day's wage
for a common worker during that time.
So this is,
if you were to calculate it,
to contextualize it to our time,
the amount of money that they're saying
they need to feed just these people
just a little bit of food
is about $30,000.
And so, of course,
people don't normally carry $30,000
just in their wallets.
So they don't have that.
So Philip's shocked.
There's no way you could buy enough bread
to feed these people.
And not only is there no place
that sells that much bread,
even if there was such a place,
we would not be able to afford it.
So what are you talking about, Jesus?
And at this point,
another disciple interjects.
In verse 9,
Andrew,
there is a boy here
who has five barley loaves and two fish.
But what are they for so many?
You could hear the tinge of despair
at the end of his sentence.
He said,
well, there is a boy here
who's got some food
and he's willing to share it with us.
But that might be enough
for Jesus and his disciples,
perhaps if they share it,
just a little bit of food.
But what is that for so many?
And Jesus is not daunted.
He tells the crowd to sit down.
And verse 10,
it tells us that there were 5,000 men.
And that there's a distinction there
between men and people in general.
And all the Gospels
that record this miracle
make the same distinction.
And here,
because Jesus says in verse 10,
have the people sit down.
That includes women and children.
But later,
it notes in the same verse,
the men sat down about 5,000 in number.
So that shows that they only counted the men,
as was customary at the time,
especially large gatherings,
to make it easier to count.
For convenience sake,
they count only the men.
So if there are 5,000 men,
considering that most were probably married,
they married early,
and many of them had children.
And they had more children
back then than they do now
in Cambridge in particular.
So if you were to kind of guess
how many people were there,
it's probably over 20,000 people.
It's not a small gathering.
It's a large crowd.
And Jesus is telling them to sit down
and then he prays for the,
prays,
thanks God for the food
and then begins to distribute the food.
I mean,
can you just picture it with me?
This is,
it's so easy to just read this
because we're familiar with the story,
but this is ridiculous.
He has this five loaves of bread,
two fish,
he's breaking it,
starts to give it up.
And you could just look at,
imagine the disciples' faces
just staring at him aghast in disbelief.
What are you doing?
I mean,
this is not going to end well.
People are going to be very unhappy
at the end of this distribution, right?
And so they're staring on in disbelief
and he's not even just giving a little bit.
He says that he gave as much as people wanted,
says in verse 11.
I mean,
if you have only a little food,
you give them a little bit at a time,
but instead,
no,
just as much as you want,
he's giving them out.
And to their amazement,
as he does that,
somehow,
there's always more food to give out.
There's more bread.
There's more fish.
Somewhere in that process,
a miracle had occurred
and Jesus is able to give food
to all the people
as much as he wanted.
And not only that,
verses 12 to 13,
says,
when they had eaten their fill,
they gathered up
and filled 12 baskets
with fragments
from the five barley loaves
left by those who had eaten.
There was more food
left over at the end
than there was
at the beginning.
And it's almost certainly significant
that they filled 12 baskets
because there's 12 tribes
of Israel.
So in filling 12 baskets
full with the leftover bread,
that Jesus shows
that he is the one
who can fulfill the need
and meet the need
of all his people,
all of God's people,
Israel.
And so we're going to come back
to this main point,
what the meaning
of this miracle is
in a second.
But before we do that,
I want to make two,
it's a digression,
but two side points
that are illustrated here
about how Christians
have to relate to food
and what Jesus does here.
It's interesting.
And first is,
of course,
the familiar practice
of thanking God.
We thank God for the food.
And throughout the Bible,
we see more examples of,
there is one instance
where Jesus blesses the food,
but almost every other instance,
Jesus rather blesses God
for the food.
He thanks God for the food.
That's as if he prays.
And this is so familiar
to many Christians
that we don't think
it's very radical at all.
But if you think about it
from the perspective
of an unbeliever,
it's a very radical practice.
to pray and to thank God
for your food.
Because, I mean,
in their mind,
they're saying,
well, I worked hard
to get the money
and I used the money
to buy the ingredients
and I used the ingredients
to make the food,
so why do I have to thank God for it?
I mean,
I did everything
that I need to do
to thank,
why should I thank God
for this food?
But Christians,
so this is a very subversive thing.
That's the way
we are conditioned
to thank in this culture.
But by thanking God
before our meals,
we are acknowledging
that even something
as ordinary
and customary
as everyday food
is ultimately from God.
We're recognizing that
as we pray,
as we thank God for it.
It's not a meaningless
road exercise.
As we do that,
we're forming habits
that form our affections
and understanding of God.
And that's the first thing.
And the second thing
is that after performing
this amazing miracle,
John takes care to note
that Jesus said,
in verse 12,
gather up the leftover fragments
that nothing may be lost.
Isn't that interesting?
Jesus just multiplied
five loaves of bread
and he didn't have
to pay a dime for it.
He'd fed 20,000 people with this.
He could do that
whenever he wants.
Why is he so concerned
about gathering up
the leftovers?
And it's not because
he's preparing
for future scarcity.
Rather,
he's trying to teach
a principle of stewardship.
The idea of Christian stewardship.
Here,
that the heart of Christian stewardship
is the idea
that God ultimately exercises
discretionary right
over all of creation.
It's his.
He's the owner.
It belongs to him.
Everything we have.
And that means
we are just managers
or stewards
of what belongs to God.
So think about it this way.
A property manager of a house
can't do whatever
he wants to do with the house.
He can't make
whatever renovations
he wants with the house
because the house
doesn't belong to him.
He's a manager.
He's not the owner.
In the same way,
a financial advisor
can't do whatever
he wants with the money
that his clients have given him
because that's not his money.
But he needs to maximize
the profit,
the interest for his client.
He's just a steward,
just a manager.
In the same way,
for us as Christians,
we have to recognize
that everything we have,
every relationship,
every hour, minute,
we have everything we eat,
all that we have
is ultimately from God.
He's the owner.
We're just stewards.
We're managers.
And that,
it's a simple
but profound concept.
If we get that right,
it radically changes
the way we understand
and do a lot of things.
For example,
if our bodies are given
to us by God
and they belong
ultimately to him,
we should neither abuse it
nor indulge it.
And if all the money
that we have
has been given to us
by God,
they belong to him,
ultimately we're just stewards,
then we neither have
the right to be stingy with it
when an opportunity
to be generous arises.
But we also don't have
the right to be spent with,
to spend it on
whatever we wish.
We're just stewards.
We manage God's money.
In the same way,
food,
Jesus says here,
ultimately belongs to God.
So we should steward,
not buying or eating
more than we need
and not wasting
what we have left.
That's what Jesus
is talking about here.
So there might be
a pertinent lesson
for the kids
if you have parents
who have kids
and keep believing
leftovers.
It's a good way
to teach them
about stewardship,
about God
and how he is the owner
of all things.
But now,
getting back to the main point,
that's the end
of that digression.
What's Jesus'
multiplication of the bread
and fish mean?
Why did he perform
this miracle?
Because a sign
by its nature
points to something,
right?
It points to something
beyond itself.
So what does this sign
of Jesus multiplying
the bread and the fish
point to?
And people,
it's the clues
in verses 15 and 14
because it says,
when people saw the sign
that he had done,
they said,
this is indeed
the prophet
who was to come
into the world.
The prophet
who was to come
into the world
is an allusion
to Deuteronomy 18,
15 to 9,
which prophesied of
and promised
a prophet-like
Moses.
He said,
another prophet
arrives who is
a prophet-like
Moses.
And Moses,
if you recall,
gave Israelites
manna,
bread from heaven
in the wilderness
after the Exodus.
And in a similar way,
Jesus here
provides bread
for the Israelites
in the wilderness.
And he leaves
12 baskets full
to indicate
that his provision
is sufficient
for all of Israel.
And moreover,
the fact that
it's mentioned
in verse 4
that this happened
during the Passover
is also making
this connection
even stronger
because Passover
was the last event,
the last sign
that God performed
that led to
Israel's ultimate
exodus and liberation
from slavery in Egypt.
And it happens
during that time.
So people have that
in their minds
and they see
that Jesus
is the promised
prophet like Moses.
And so they're making
the correct connection
here with biblical prophecy.
However,
they take it
one step further
than they should have
because they make
the deduction
that since Moses
let God's people
out of slavery in Egypt,
then this new Moses
that we have here,
this new Messiah,
should also lead us
out of our servitude
to the Roman Empire.
And so they have
it in their mind.
Look,
we have 20,000 people here,
5,000 men,
perhaps more will gather
once we have a cause.
That's a sizable,
that's a formidable militia.
Maybe they could have
waged successful
guerrilla warfare.
Right?
So they come to,
they put their heads together
and say,
well,
let's force him
to be our king.
Let's make him our king
to lead us
into the new exodus
out of this servitude
to Roman Emperor.
But Jesus
doesn't want anything
to do with that.
Because he's not interested
in creating
his own earthly kingdom,
but rather he has come
to announce
a spiritual kingdom.
He doesn't want
to stage
a military rebellion.
And so it says
in verse 15,
perceiving then
that they were about
to come
and take him
by force
to make him king,
Jesus withdrew again
to the mountain
by himself.
Suppressed in
by a crowd
that wants to make him
fit their mold
and expectations.
Jesus withdraws
the mountain
by himself.
That's the first vineyard.
Jesus is the prophet
like Moses,
but not what people
expect of him.
And the second
vineyard begins
in verse 16.
Read verses 16
to 21 with me.
When evening came,
his disciples
went down
to the sea,
got into a boat,
and started across
the sea to Capernaum.
It was now dark
and Jesus had not
yet come to them.
The sea became
rough
because a strong wind
was blowing.
And when they had
rowed about three
or four miles,
they saw Jesus
walking
on the sea
and coming
near the boat.
And they were
frightened.
But he said to them,
It is I.
Do not be afraid.
Then they were glad
to take him
into the boat.
And immediately
the boat was at
the land
to which
they were going.
The Sea of Galilee
lies about
600 feet
below sea level.
And it happened
quite frequently
that the wind
from the
Southeastern plains
would come
and it would
just interact
and displace
the warm,
moist air
in the lake
and that would
cause a violent
squall.
So that was
very common
for storms
to just suddenly
come in the
Sea of Galilee.
And that's what
seems to have
happened here
to Jesus'
disciple.
They're caught
in one of these.
And so in verse 18,
the sea became
rough because
a strong wind
was blowing.
But as they're
struggling with
their oars,
because in this
kind of wind
sail is useless,
so they're using
oars to get out
and they're being
tossed to and fro
by the waves,
they see Jesus
walking on the sea
and coming near
their boat.
And they are
understandably
frightened.
Because Jesus is
doing something
that humans are
not supposed to
do.
They're not
supposed to
walk on water.
In the same
way, if we're in
our room,
somebody just
suddenly started
levitating,
we'd be frightened
too.
What's going on?
Why is that
happening?
So they're
frightened.
But Jesus
reassures them
in verse 20,
saying, it is
I.
Do not be
afraid.
He's saying,
it's me.
Don't worry.
But to the
people, that's
the normal way
to say, that's
me.
It's me, so
don't worry
about it.
But for the
people that are
reading, the
people that John
intended this
gospel to speak
to and to be
read by, this is
more than a
simple phrase,
it is I.
Because the
phrase for it
is I literally
is I am.
And that's
the name of
God revealed
to Moses at
the time of
the Exodus.
Again, another
Exodus connection
in chapter 3,
verse 14, where
God said to
Moses, I am
who I am.
Say this to
the people of
Israel.
I am has
sent me to
you.
So by
connecting Jesus'
self-identification
with God,
with God's
self-revelation
in Exodus,
John's declaring
that Jesus is
God.
He is the
Son of God.
He is the
great I am.
And this is
all the more
pertinent in
this particular
miracle because
Jesus is
walking on
the water.
If you
peruse the
Old Testament,
there are many
prophets who
do miracles
related to
the water.
So Moses
parted the
Red Sea,
Elijah and
Elijah both
parted the
rivers.
They part
water, but
no one
walks on
water.
In fact, it
says in
Psalm 77,
19, only
God is
seen as
walking on
the water.
Water is
seen as
his path.
It says,
your way was
through the
sea, your
path through
the great
waters, yet
your footprints
were unseen.
Water is
frequently seen
in the Old
Testament as a
place of
chaos and
disorder, and
only God
was understood
to be able to
control it, to
tame it.
And Jesus
shows here his
mastery over
the storm, over
the elements, and
proclaims that he
is the divine
I am.
So we saw
that he was
the prophet
like Moses, and
we see here
that he is the
great I am.
And then
finally, in the
third and
climactic
vignette, we
return to the
original sign of
the multiplication
of the bread.
So noticing
that Jesus and
his disciples
had gone, they
had eaten
their fill, and
they were
talking amongst
themselves, and
they lost
track of
Jesus, and
they finally
follow him, they
track him down,
and find him, and
in verse 25, they
say, Rabbi, when
did you come
here?
So they're
wondering, okay, so
how long have you
been here?
When did you
leave?
And why did
you leave?
How, well, we've
been looking all
over for you.
They come to
Jesus, but Jesus
responds to these
seekers is
surprisingly sharp.
He responds in
verse 26, truly,
truly, I say to
you, you are
seeking me, not
because you saw
signs, but
because you ate
your fill of
the loaves.
on a superficial
reading of the
text, you might
think that this
flies in the face
of verse 2, which
said that a large
crowd was following
him because they
saw the signs that
he was doing on
the sick.
So verse 2 says
they came because
of the signs.
Verse 26 says that
people follow Jesus
not because of the
signs, but because
they had their fill
with the loaves.
But that's not a
formal contradiction
because they're
essentially saying
the same thing,
just in different
words.
What they're both
saying is that
people came to be
dazzled by and to
benefit from the
signs in and of
themselves without
paying any attention
to what the signs
pointed to, the
Christ identity, and
who he is.
So it's kind of like
people who go to
grocery stores just
to sample the free
food, like they go
to free sample food,
and they go around
and sample all the
food, but they're not
willing to buy
anything that those
samples were supposed
to point to.
It was the actual
product, which is
right next to it.
So it's kind of like
this, these people
are coming, they're
just sampling the
free food, they're
coming for the
signs, to see the
signs, to have
wonder and be amazed
by the signs, and to
eat the things, the
benefits that come
from the signs, yet
they have no interest
in who Jesus truly is
and claims to be.
The thing that the
signs were supposed
to point to.
And so he says,
no, you came here
because you ate your
fill of the loaves.
And then Jesus
continues in verse
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.
Jesus is telling
people, stop following
me around for signs,
stop following me
around for food, like
I'm a cheap crowd
pleaser or a magician.
I am the Son of God.
I'm the great I am.
I'm the promised
Messiah, the prophet
like Moses.
Come to me for the
food that endures to
eternal life.
And we have a knack,
don't we, for getting
caught up in lesser
things and losing
sight of the most
important things.
Right?
Even with things that
are not eternal, we
lose sight of the most
important things.
For example, we work so
hard for the food that
perishes.
We work hard to make
money so that we can
provide for the best
possible environment for
our children.
Right?
But in doing so, because
we're so busy, we neglect
our children.
Right?
We sacrifice our health to
study hard and to work
long hours to ensure a
successful career, make a
lot of money, and then
only to spend that hard
on our money to recuperate
our health.
And even if we get to
keep our money at the
end of our life, we
realize it does nothing
for dead people.
We can't take any of it
with us.
We idealize and even
idolize our boyfriend,
girlfriend, husband,
wife, family, but only to
find that even they can't
ultimately fulfill us.
or satisfy our deepest
longings.
We indulge ourselves in
various pleasures, whether
it's, you know, overeating
or binge-watching on
Netflix or drugs or
excessive drinking or
illicit sexual relations
or activities, thinking
that more is always
better and that with more
and more, we could have
more and more pleasure,
not realizing that the
more we do that, we
become more desensitized.
In fact, they bring less
and less pleasure.
We grovel for the approval
of people about our
appearance, intelligence,
or sociability.
And we're devastated by the
slightest hint of
disrespect, disapproval from
those people, not recognizing
that their approval is
fickle and fleeting and
ultimately unfulfilling.
we work so hard, don't we,
for the food that
perishes.
When there's food that
endures to eternal
life, Christ promises us
eternal life,
eternal riches,
and eternal love and
esteem of the
triune God who never
changes.
Yet why are we so
desperately and frantically
working for the food that
perishes?
And so Jesus
wrongly rebuked these
people for their
materialistic notions of
life and the kingdom of
God.
But they misunderstand
Jesus still further.
Jesus told them,
instead of working for
that, it worked for
this, worked for
eternal life, but
instead of focusing on
the goal, the reason
why they work, they
get back, they focus
their entire attention on
the work that they're
doing themselves.
So verse 28, they say,
what must we do to be
doing the works of God?
There's a naive confidence
about their response.
They say they have no
doubt about their
ability to meet any
challenge that God
sets before them.
Oh, just tell us what
he requires.
We'll do it.
That's their attitude.
But Jesus sets them
straight in verse 29.
This is the work of God
that you believe in him
whom he has sent.
Eternal life that
Christ offers is first
and foremost a gift.
not a wage.
So the quote-unquote
work that God requires
is simply faith.
To believe in him
whom he has sent.
And this is yet another
way in which Jesus
defies our expectations
and refuse to be boxed
in by our own
imaginations.
He says, we like to
be able to earn things.
We like to be able to
work for things.
We like to be able to
say, well, I had a part
in that.
I deserve that.
It is my right, my
entitlement.
But God chooses another
way.
He says, no, you simply
must believe and depend
on me.
And I give you this
eternal life.
And that's a radical
reason why God does that.
And a pastor in New York
named Kim Keller once
told a story in his book
about a woman that he
talked to.
And this woman had not
grown up in the church.
And she had never heard
the distinction between
the gospel, which is the
good news of Jesus Christ,
the fact that salvation
comes to us by grace
through faith, and works
righteousness, which
teaches that, no, you
earn your salvation by
working hard and becoming
a righteous person in your
own strength.
And when she first
heard this distinction,
she said she was
frightened.
And she was scared.
And the pastor asked
him, well, what's so
scary about this?
This is good news.
Like, what's wrong?
And this is what she
said.
Well, if I was saved by
my good works, then there
would be a limit to what
God could ask of me or put
me through.
I would be like a
taxpayer with rights.
I would have done my
duty, and now I would
deserve a certain quality
of life.
But if I'm a sinner,
saved by grace, then
there's nothing you
cannot ask of me.
If we're honest with
ourselves, we're wary of
and sometimes feel badly
about receiving free
things from people.
Like, oh, no, just take
this at least.
The reason why is because
we don't like feeling
indebted.
We don't like feeling
like we owe someone
something.
But God's way is, is
by fully, by His grace, He
gives us the gift of
eternal life, salvation.
All we have to do is
believe in Him and take
hold of it in faith.
And God does that because
then when we do that, God
becomes supreme, sovereign,
Lord over our lives, and we
owe our allegiance to Him in
every way, in everything.
He becomes our God and
Lord, and that's what He
wants for us.
That's what we cannot say.
That is my right.
That is my entitlement.
I demand it of you.
We cannot say that to God.
He gave it to us as a gift.
And the people, and this is
the moment when we might
roll our eyes and palm our
foreheads, in people's
response, verses 30 to 31,
they respond with this
question.
Then what sign do you do
that we may see and believe
you?
What work do you perform?
Our fathers ate the manna in
the wilderness.
As it is written, He gave
them bread from heaven to eat.
So after all of this, we're
back to square one.
The sign.
They want more signs.
Jesus just performed a sign.
He just fed 20,000 people with
five loaves of bread and two
fish.
In fact, just before that, He
healed an invalid of 38 years.
And just before that, He healed
a dying son of an official.
And just before that, He turned
water into wine.
In fact, the whole book up to
this point, the book of John,
has been a book of signs.
The signs that point to Jesus'
identity as the Son of God, and
yet here they are, like they've
seen nothing.
They ask for a sign.
And Jesus is far more patient
than I would have been.
Verse 32 to 33.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave you the
bread from heaven, but my Father
gives you the true bread from
heaven.
For the bread of God is He who
comes down from heaven and gives
life to the world.
Then people then ask for this bread.
And Jesus says in verse 35,
I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me shall not
hunger, and whoever believes in me
shall never thirst.
Jesus does give them another sign.
He says, I am the bread of life.
And He points to His cross when He's
going to give His life, His body
broken for us, His blood shed for us,
that He is going to be that bread,
that bread that sustains us and gives
us eternal life, makes us whole again,
makes us new again, spiritually.
Again, another way which God defies,
Jesus defies our boxes and
expectations.
No, Jesus is not going to come and
just rule over us with an iron fist
and rule the nations to submission.
No, He brings us into His kingdom,
not with that, but by dying for us,
paying the penalty for our sins Himself
so that we can be reconciled to God,
so that we can be brought into His kingdom
willingly and freely out of our love for Him
and faith in Him.
And how do we eat this bread?
Well, it's not by physical eating,
chewing, or drinking,
because it says
that those who will no longer hunger
are not those who eat,
but those who come to Jesus, it says.
Those who will no longer thirst
are not those who drink,
but it says those who believe in Him.
So that's how you know this is a metaphor.
Jesus is using the bread as a metaphor.
Jesus is the bread of life.
That's the ultimate sign that He offers,
and He's pointing to His sacrificial death
on the cross.
And the way we eat this bread
is we come to Him,
and we believe in Him.
Like the promise that God had given
in Isaiah 55, 1,
Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters,
and he who has no money,
come buy and eat.
Come buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Because Jesus paid for that price.
We can come without pay,
without charge,
without price.
And if you are not a believer
with us this morning,
you don't know,
you have not experienced
this eternal life that Jesus offers.
You can come to Him this morning.
You can come and believe in Him
for your salvation.
Forsake all your own righteousness
and all your own schemes
at getting to God
and say,
No, I need Jesus,
and He's the only way.
Because He's the bread of life.
There's no other food.
That's the only way.
Come to Him.
Believe in Him.
And if you have already placed
your trust in Jesus
and your faith in Him,
yes,
that's a once and for all event
that we are saved by grace through faith.
But it's also an everyday event.
We come to Him again
and again.
We believe again
and again.
And we eat that bread again
and again,
just like we need sustenance
daily.
Yes,
we are saved once and for all
when we place our faith in Jesus,
but we must believe every day.
Because the world that we live in,
the culture that we're in,
the people around us,
they challenge us,
they wear our faith down,
and they tempt us
to disbelieve at every point.
So it must be our effort
to believe,
to come to Him again
and again.
And we can do that
not begrudgingly,
but with joy
and gratitude
because Christ is the Lord,
the bread of life
who offered Himself for us.
So let's pray together.
Amen.
God, we are so grateful
that you speak to us
in a way that we understand very well.
It's that when we go without food,
we go hungry.
When we go without food for a while,
we die.
Amen.
And spiritually even more so,
Lord.
We are already dead
apart from you
and we need the bread of life
to live.
Thank you for giving us
this bread in Jesus Christ.
And grant us unflagging faith
so that we may persevere
to the end
for your glory.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.