“More Than a Free Lunch”

John 6:24-36 2015

John 6:24-36

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

When I used to make my living as a businessman,

I had a generous expense account for taking clients to lunch.

It was so we could focus over a nice quiet meal together,

and concentrate on what my company could do for them

without any interruptions or phone calls

while trying to conduct a meeting in their office.

Obviously it was pleasant

that I could take them out to a nice restaurant,

but it would’ve been foolish to do business with me

just because I’d buy them a fancy lunch now and then…

… when actually, what our company had to offer

would help make their business more profitable

and was way more significant than just a free meal.

In the verses proceeding the passage we read today,

Jesus had miraculously fed a crowd of over 5000,

with a young boy’s lunch

of some bread and a couple of small fish …

… and after everyone had eaten all they wanted,

there were enough fragments left over to fill 12 baskets…

… truly a sign of God’s provision and grace in abundance.

In the passage today, when the crowd catches up with Jesus again,

they wanted to know how he got there without a boat …

… but Jesus recognizes

that having been fed without any effort on their part,

what they really wanted was another free lunch… vs. 26

Jesus answered them, very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

The word, “sign” is a very important detail in this verse

because a sign is used to point to something beyond itself.

In John, the feeding of the 5000 is called a sign, not a miracle,

because the point was not just to fill their bellies with food,

but to point beyond the event itself

toward the gracious and loving nature of God,

who sent Jesus Christ to give us eternal life.

Typical of conversations found in the Gospel of John,

Jesus responds to the crowd’s question about his arrival

by redirecting to a more important consideration,

* with a warning that they are focused on the wrong bread.

Rather than food for the belly, seek “bread that endures”…

or more literally, “bread that abides”… vs. 27

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."

So then the crowd wants to know

what they have to do to qualify for this “food that endures”? vs. 28

Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"

* Do you see the ironic twist here?

Jesus, the bread of life, the gift of God’s grace

is already there, standing right in front of them,

and they are asking, what do we have to do to get it?

The lesson is about the nature of grace and our God who gives it.

* So what sort of work must we do to qualify for God’s grace?

It’s not our good works, but allowing God’s love into our lives. vs. 29

Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

* Grace is all about what God accomplishes, we simply receive.

In the Gospel of John, “believe” is another very important word,

and is way more than simply accepting certain facts as truth.

In Greek, “believe” is related to the word “trust”

and refers to where we place our loyalty and commitment.

* It’s about having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

To believe, is to trust God’s grace, and to become

a part of God’s healing and saving mission to this world,

as an act of gratitude toward the one who first loved us.

In calling them to believe Jesus is making two critical points:

1^st He is trying to shift their focus

away from worrying about their next meal,

to the more important truth of God’s promises & grace.

2^nd to shift away from a focus on human effort

and good works of trying to earn or deserve God’s favor,

to simply recognizing and receiving God’s grace,

as freely and abundantly given by our God.

In the John story, the crowd is still confused, and so they ask,

that if indeed Jesus was sent there by God,

then they want to see a sign, they want to see some proof,

and still focused on bread for the belly,

they connect it with manna eaten along the exodus… vs. 30-31

So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

After the feeding of the 5000, the crowd was thinking

that maybe Jesus was the new and improved Moses, version 2.0,

who would provide them with manna or bread from now on.

* They were still focused on how to get another a free-lunch.

Typical of John’s Gospel, Jesus moves the conversation deeper.

The phrase, bread that came down from heaven

describes a connection that links the manna of Exodus

to the sign of Jesus feeding the crowd of 5000

to Jesus himself, the bread that came down from heaven.

The point isn’t

that Jesus will provide free-bread for the next 40 years

like manna or feed like the 5000, but that Jesus himself

is the true bread that endures … bread that abides.

Jesus himself is the gift from God who gives eternal life. vs. 32-33

Then Jesus said to them, Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Still focused on a free lunch, on bread for their bellies, vs. 34

They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

But the point was not about the literal bread they wanted to eat,

but the graciousness of God who gives in abundance.

Jesus was trying to help them see past

their food-dominated anxiety and fear of scarcity,

and trust the life-transforming promises of God.

*Don’t settle for bread to eat when God intends so much more for us.

Life is not about bread that can only satisfy for a short while,

it’s knowing that God feeds and nurtures our souls forever,

that Jesus is the eternal bread of life, who abides… vs. 35

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

That is not to say that God is unconcerned with the material world,

or that God views our physical needs and desires as trivial,

but that God has so much more and far better for us,

and blessings far beyond the materialism of this world.

The crowd did not recognize, understand or appreciate

that something far greater than feeding on bread had occurred.

* And having missed the point,

Jesus was urging them to seek something deeper,

to hunger for more than just food for the stomach.

Our God intends

for our lives to be rich, productive and meaningful,

for us to know the joy of developing our gifts and character,

to experience the satisfaction of authentic Christian life

and of growing deeper and closer to our God of grace.

The problem is, we let the pleasures and enticements of this world

side-track us and distract us from what truly matters.

We let disappointment, trouble, doubt and fear

overpower our trust in God’s promises and truth,

and somehow forget

that we are blessed an beloved children of God.

We need the reassuring reminder of Communion,

“do this in remembrance of me.”

At the Lord’s Table, as we eat the bread and drink from the cup,

we are symbolically acting out the hope and promises of God…

… and who alone will feed our hunger, and thirst, and longings,

who alone can satisfy our emptiness, our fear and anxiety.

In Europe, right after WW II,

there were thousands of displaced and lost children

who had suffered unspeakable depravation and hunger.

The Allies set up hospital camps for these broken orphans,

trying to heal them and restore them to normal living.

These children had been so severely crushed, starved and damaged,

that despite excellent care and abundant food,

they were still so terrorized, anxious and fearful,

that memories and nightmares kept them from sleeping.

At one of these children’s hospital and care camps

a psychologist came up with a remarkable solution.

Each child was given a piece of bread,

not to be eaten, but to be held while they were sleeping,

as a promise and assurance that there was something more.

 

These war-broken children were then able to rest in that assurance,

as we rest in the assurance of God’s grace, love and promises,

as we gather to remember God’s promises at the Lord’s Table.

Today at the Table, don’t settle for less than God wants to give,

but consider what this means for you that Jesus promised:

“I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,

and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.