The Bread of Life Is Christ

John 6:28-40

 

INTRO: The Lord Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life.  He is the source of life.  To have spiritual life, you must have Jesus (I Jn 5:12; Jn 3:36).  To be satisfied in this life and in the life to come, you must have Jesus.  Nothing satisfies the soul but Jesus.  Jesus is the Bread of Life, and He is the only one who can meet the sinner’s need of salvation and soul satisfaction.

 

I.        VSS 28-29, WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

A.       Vs 28, These men are asking Jesus, “What must we do to be saved?”  They are thinking in terms of good works.  The Jews thought of folks as either being good, in between, or bad.

1. Man has always wanted to work his way to heaven.  He wants to do something to merit forgiveness.

a. Man wants to do something for God and then be rewarded for it.  He wants to feel as though God owes salvation to him.

b. If we could work our way to heaven, salvation would be “not of grace, but of debt” (Rm 4:1-5).

c. The Bible clearly teaches that man cannot work for salvation (Titus 3:5; Eph 2:8-10).  We work because we are saved.

2. The heart of sinful man does not want to come as a beggar and accept the gift of eternal life.  The sinner man wants to do something to be saved.

a. The rich young ruler asked: “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 18:8).

b. On the day of Pentecost, the Jews cried, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”  (Acts 2:37).

c. The Philippian jailer wanted to know: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 2:37).

3. Friends, it is not what we do that saves; it is what He has done.  It is not do; it is done.

B.       Vs 29, The one thing that God wants sinners to do is believe.  This is what Abraham did and by doing so he came into a right relationship with God (Jm 2:23).

1. “This is the work of God.”

a. “Work” is the Greek word ergon meaning “an act, deed, thing done.”  The thing that God wants you to do is believe.

b. When the Philippian jailer asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?”  The answer was: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 6:31).

2. Man had rather do than simply believe.  Man does not want to see himself as “without strength” and “ungodly” (Rm 5:6,8).

a. Because of pride, man wants to boast about some work he has done to merit salvation.

b. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that salvation is by grace, and we have nothing to boast about.

3. Every sinner needs to accept the finished work of Christ on the cross.

a. God wants you to quit trying to work your way to heaven; He wants you to trust Jesus.  What man does falls short (Rm 3:10, 22).

b. All of your righteousness are as filthy rags.  All that you can do to be saved is believe.

4. If you do not believe, you will be damned forever (Mk 16:16).

5. Accept the gifts of eternal life.  Stop trying to earn it; accept it (Rm 6:23).

 

II.       VSS 30-31, THE HARDNESS OF THE HUMAN HEART

A.       Vs 30, Man has a hard time accepting Christ by simple child like faith.

1. Jesus said, “Believe.”  The men replied, “Show us a sign.”

a. We want to see something.

b. We want a miracle, some evidence before we will believe.

2. There are those who are saying if I could feel something, I would believe.

a. Salvation is based on fact not feeling.  The fact is that Jesus died for your sins.  The feeling comes later.

b. Believe first; take God at His word (I Cor 15:3-4).

3. Has God not given us many evidences of His existence and love?

a. Just the day before these men had seen Jesus feed the multitude.  Not only seen, but they partook of the food; yet, now they want a sign.

b. All about us we see the wonders of God.  How can men go on in unbelief?

B.       Vs 31, “If you are greater than Moses then do a greater miracle.”

1. For forty years, God gave manna from heaven to the Israelites.  It wasn’t Moses that gave it; it was God.

2. The day before, Jesus had taken five loaves and two fishes and fed the multitude; but that wasn’t enough.  He had something to begin with.  Moses, they said, gave bread straight out of heaven.

 

III.      VSS 32-34, CHRIST THE TRUE BREAD

A.       Vs 32, Moses was God’s instrument; He only gave instructions on how the manna was to be collected.  The Father in heaven is the real giver of the manna.

B.       Vs 33, “The Father’s provision for a dying world was to send from heaven His only begotten Son” (Pink 325).

1. Jesus is the true bread.

a. The manna in the wilderness could not give eternal life; only Jesus can do that.  The bread in the wilderness was a symbol of the true bread– Jesus.

b. I John 5:12; John 3:17.

2. In the wilderness only the Jews partook of the manna.  It fell only in Israel’s camp.

a. The “bread of God... giveth life unto the world.”  Not only can the Jews be saved, “Whosoever will may come.”

b. John 3:16.

C.      Vs 34, These men were just like the bad Samaritan woman at the well (4:15).  These folks have their minds set on the physical and not the spiritual.  Partaking of the bread of God is not a physical act; it is spiritual.

 

II.       VS 35, ONLY JESUS CAN SATISFY OUR SOULS

A.       Jesus said: “I am the bread of life.”  Jesus is our necessary food.  Bread is the staff of life.

1. Without Christ, we will go to hell.

2. Without Christ, we will perish spiritually.

3. There is no spiritual life and no spiritual health without Christ the Bread.

B.       Bread is satisfying food.  Jesus, the “Bread of life,” satisfies.  Jesus, the true bread, gives not only satisfaction from physical hunger; He gives souls satisfaction.

C.      Bread is suited for all:

1. Rich and poor.

2. Educated and uneducated.  It is the staff of lie.

3. Without Christ, you exist; but you don’t have spiritual life.

D.      Bread must go through a process before it becomes food.

1. It must spring up: blade, ear, full ear of corn– the birth and life of Christ.

2. It is then cut down, winnowed, and ground into flour– the suffering of Christ (Isa 53:4-5, 10).

3. The dough is then put into the oven, subjected to the fire– Christ took our place in judgment, bore our sins, suffered our hell.  “My God, my God, why.....”

E.       Bread sustains us.  After we are saved, we need to feed on Christ daily.

F.       The Lord satisfies our spiritual hunger (II Cor 5:17).

 

V.       VSS 36-40, THOSE THAT COME TO CHRIST WILL BE SAVED

A.       Vs 36, These unbelievers were fully responsible for their actions.  They could blame their unbelief on no one but themselves.

1. They had seen Christ; yet, they went on in unbelief.  They were religious, but lost.

2. If you go on in your lost condition after hearing the Gospel, you can blame no one but yourself.

B.       Vs 37, This verse teaches us the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.  Both are true.  There are those who want to believe in sovereignty, but not responsibility.  And there are those who believe in responsibility, but not in sovereignty.  Both are true, and we need to remember that truth out of balance leads to heresy.  We are not to put all of our eggs in one basket.

1. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me...”

a. This is sovereignty; this is election.  This is truth.

b. Those that come to Christ are those whom the Father has given to Him.  This is brought out plainly in John 17:2, 6, 9, 11, 12, 24.