Exodus 16: 2 – 15; Psalm 78: 1 – 25; John 6: 24 – 35 (Sermon)

We need to set the scene for our Gospel lesson. At the beginning of chapter 6 we see that great crowds followed Jesus to the Sea of Tiberius because previously He had miraculously healed the sick. It was late in the day and the crowd was hungry. Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men, besides the women and children, with a little boy’s lunch of 5 small loaves and 2 small fish. At this point the crowd wanted to forcefully make Jesus their physical king but Jesus withdrew to the other side of the Sea.

In verse 24 we see the crowd went to great lengths to find Jesus. And in verse 26 Jesus, knowing their hearts, Jesus tells them their religion is shallow. They were searching for Him because they wanted a free meal.

We see that Jesus forces them and Jesus forces us to reflect our motives for seeking Him. Are we here today for a free lunch? Are we here because we think we are doing God a big favor by coming and that God will reciprocate by granting us health or by blessing us with physical possessions? Are we here because of what Jesus can do for us? Are we like this crowd who wanted the loaves but not the Lordship of Christ?

You see Jesus is not just concerned about our empty stomachs; Jesus is much more concerned about our empty hearts.

When Jesus exposed the shallowness of their discipleship, they asked Jesus "What must we do to please God?’ Then in verse 27 Jesus tells them and us "do not work for food that spoils, but food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."

When the crowd asked Jesus "What must we do to do the works God requires?" We see that the crowd misinterpreted what Jesus said. They thought Jesus was saying that God required them to work and earn everlasting life. Jesus quickly corrected them in verse 29 by saying, "The work that God requires is for you to believe that Jesus is the Messiah or God in the flesh." "Believe in the One God sent." Then Jesus revealed that He is the Bread of Life. Jesus is "the Bread that came from heaven."

When the people responded they told Jesus, "That is the bread we want, give it to us." Jesus answered, "Open your eyes and see. I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst." That is the message for us today. "Open your eyes and believe". Today we have the Bible and the testimony of thousands of witnesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We just need to open our spiritual eyes and to believe that Jesus is The Son of God and that it is Jesus who gives life and Jesus wants to be with us!

To the crowd’s credit they had made sacrifices searching for Jesus. They had a hard journey and they didn’t know exactly where Jesus was nor did they realize what it was that they hungered for. To your credit each of you made a sacrifice to be here this morning. And I am sure many of you feel like that crowd did, that Jesus has been elusive.

Remember, the crowd had followed Jesus because He miraculously healed the sick and miraculously fed a large crowd of over 5,000. However, notice in verse 30 the crowd had the audacity to say, if you want us to believe in you, then show us a sign like the manna in the wilderness. … But before we condemn that crowd, we need to be honest with ourselves. Because many times we try to shift the blame for our unbelief in Jesus by saying, "What have you done for me today?"

Yes to a certain degree we are all here because of what Jesus can do for us. We are here because Jesus can forgive us of our sins. We are here because Jesus can free us from the guilt of our sinful attitudes and sinful acts. We are here because Jesus is the only One who can grant us life in heaven throughout eternity and we are here because something is missing in our lives. The crowd’s determination to find Jesus points us to the importance of an authentic human desire for a word from The Lord and a universal human desire to be in the presence of Almighty God.

We also see that Jesus’ answer forces us to look at the purity of our expectations for being here today. Did we come to be entertained or did we come to worship our creator God? Did we come to be with our friends or did we come to be in the presence of Jesus our Lord?

In this passage Jesus assures us that as the Bread of Life He can satisfy our longing for the Divine.

Jesus invites us to His table in order to feed us. You see our primary purpose for being here should always be seeking a personal relationship with our Creator God as revealed in Jesus Christ.

Our scripture lessons from Exodus and John’s Gospel draw a corollary between the food that physically sustains life and the food that spiritually sustains life. The children of Israel were afraid and hungry and God miraculously sent manna to them to satisfy their physical hunger. The Jews in Jesus’ day had a spiritual void in their lives and were searching for spiritual guidance and God miraculously sent Jesus. Both the manna and Jesus are necessary for life. Both the manna and Jesus are described as bread from heaven.

In the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper we celebrate the presence of God. The Bread makes the presence of God real. The physical bread points us to the Bread of Life come down from heaven. When we receive the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper we are mystically joined with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are made one with our Lord. We are in communion with our Lord Jesus The Christ.

This is the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a banquet for poor sinners who need a rich Savior. Jesus brings everything. The only thing we bring to the table is a yearning heart to be present with our Lord. And Jesus fulfills that void when we come believing. Believing that Jesus is God in the flesh; believing that Jesus can save us from our sins; believing that Jesus is the only One who can make us right with God; believing that Jesus makes us whole; believing that it is Jesus who is the source of life; and believing that it Jesus who gives purpose to our lives.

It is not enough to merely physically eat the elements. We need to eat with our hearts, believing the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The bread makes God physically present to us. When we eat the bread, Christ restores our bodies and our souls, giving us the courage and the confidence to face another day. The promise of Exodus and John is that the bread will be available tomorrow, the next day, and everyday. The beauty of this sacrament is that Jesus shares Himself with us through the mystery of the incarnation. And Jesus The King of Kings and The Lord of Lords invites you to come, to sit, and dine with Him at His table. Jesus invites you to come and to be fulfilled both now and throughout eternity. AMEN