The Message of the Loaves Week One: Labor for the Bread that Endures

Unedited Transcript follows:

I'm excited to be with you guys today. This is like, my favorite Passage in scripture. So John chapter 6 is right up there with, like if I were to have like, If I were to have a tattoo of like a Bible verse, It would it would be like John 6 uh something from it.

Probably not all of John six because you need a lot of your body covered with that. But But if I, we're gonna get a Bible verse on me, that would, that would be the one. So, uh, I'm excited to be doing this, but I wanted to ask of you ever had an all-you-can-eat brunch.

Have you ever gone out for an all-you-can-eat brunch before? It's first meal of the day use. I mean if you're unless you're a rookie and like you shouldn't eat before the all you can eat. Brunch guys. But it's the first meal of the day and you're eating all that you can eat.

Okay, if you're like me, you care too much. About getting your money's worth. If you're uh, if you're like me in a situation like that, you care a lot about making sure you get your money's worth. It's like my goal that the restaurant loses money on me. Like, I'm like, you're you're good.

If you're if you're gonna let me in to eat all I can eat, it's gonna cost you so so I I give it my best shot, right? And the reason I asked about brunch and not a different meal, is that if you like me, went out for an all-you-can-eat brunch and you really ate all you can eat So experience something else that's maybe kind of strange.

You got hungry again, that evening, didn't you? That wasn't your last meal of the day. It was your first meal of the day, but it wasn't your last meal of the day, think about it. You went out to an all-you-can-eat lunch, you ate until you couldn't eat another bite.

And you couldn't even make it to the end of the day without needing to eat again. See so much of Our Lives. Are spent laboring after things that don't endure. And and we have real needs that need to be met forever. They have to be met forever. And so what do we do to find lasting fulfillment?

If it's not just Gorge ourselves more and eat more, what can we do to find that fulfillment that lasts that endures? Today in that Gospel reading, Jesus was calling his people to be a people that stopped laboring for the stuff that perishes for the food that perishes But to receive.

Him by faith, which is going to meet all the deepest needs that we have. I think it's important to recognize that this laboring about things that perish it points to one of the most important truths about us, I think, right? So these these verses verses 24 through 47, I think it's important to talk about like our 24 through 27, I apologize.

I think it's important to recognize that. They're dealing with a people that are seeking Jesus. If you look at verse 24, right at the beginning, they're they're looking for Jesus. They're seeking Jesus. Now, Jesus is going to challenge their motives later and it's going to get More and more contested as this sermon goes on right.

But they were seeking Jesus. They knew that something was incredibly unique about this man. Who seem to be able to make bread? Right. That's weird. So he seemed to be able to make bread where there wasn't bread or multiply bread where there was bread and they were chasing after him.

Jesus tells them the reason that they're chasing him is that they ate until they were satisfied. He tells him the problem with seeking for this need only Is that they're going to hunger again that it perishes. See, this is true, right? These people who ate until they were satisfied and then there was bread left over.

We're probably already hungry again. Right. They were already coming to grips with the fact that they were going to need to eat again. This was true. Even for the Israelites. Remember we read about, we read about the Israelites getting Manna and and receiving bread from Heaven. By the way, this is why they were so worked up about Jesus doing the miracle.

He did it on the Passover. Um, John chapter 6 tells John is the one that makes a big point to talk about Passover, a lot and he did it on the Passover, we have a guy on the Passover out in the wilderness making bread they're like they were looking for a prophet like Moses.

They were excited. That's why they were about to make him King all this had just taken place, right? And so now they they find him Working on water, which we talked about in Mark last week, but but he had just walked on water. And then they find him and they're saying, wow, this might be the guy that we're waiting for.

He's on the Passover. Bread's showing up. Maybe he's the prophet like Moses. He's doing Moses-like stuff. But those Israelites, Got hungry again. Every day. They had to go out. And gather more Mana. They had to gather it because they needed it and they and every day they had to gather and remember what happened when they tried to store up extra so that they wouldn't have to go out the next day.

It all we got worms in it. It rotted like it didn't carry unless it was But uh, I guess it would have been Friday morning. Yeah, unless it was Friday morning because the Lord wasn't going to rain Manna down on the Sabbath, and so then, they were going to gather up two days.

And then you might remember the story they some of them go out on the Sabbath and God's like, hey, what is going on? Why are you out here? I told you you needed to gather up two days worth and that this is a day of rest, right? And so like, God, put even his people Israel when he was miraculously providing for them.

He put them in this Perpetual reminder, that they were going to need more that this even the Manna from Heaven was bred that perished All of it. Is bred that perish and it's important to recognize that no one had ever done anything, like, what Jesus had done. No one had ever.

Made the bread from nothing. Or multiply bread from bread. That was sitting there. No one had done this before. This was new. And they were. Amazed. And we also like, labor for things. That perish. Don't we? How much of your paycheck? Is spent before you get it. I mean, think about it.

Like uh, like, uh, like I know. Every I mean I have a budget. Is down to two dollars and Seventeen cents I think. Like I think that's what I like. Like I think that's the end of like what's left over. Like I know what everything's going to before I get paid like before payday.

I know it's not like I'm like it's payday like now I have a lot of money like I like it. I I know where everything's gonna go right. And don't you like like and this is our lot. I I joked that like I S a lot of our life is like if we if we spend a lot of time like opening our banking apps, what you're gonna see is like you work a lot and all that happens is the numbers go up and down.

Just forever. They just go up and go down. I mean and maybe that's what we work for the pleasure of watching the number go up and then go down. I don't know. But like that. That's really that's that that is what it's like because We are needy. We have need like, I, I think the trunks of cars are about to get a lot smaller.

Right, uh, like I I'm gonna guess that in 2030. There's not going to be the cars with the huge trunk space. Um, that that's why because it's discouraging with how many groceries like Uh, how much money you'd have to spend to fill your trunk with groceries. Now, like I think it's, it's just discouraging like, and and so I think trunks will get smaller.

I honestly believe that that's gonna because we don't have to who needs all that trunk space, like, we can't afford it, right? And so this is the reality that was like we're a needy people. When your house is paid off, how much of it is going to be original.

It's all perishing as you pay for it, guys. The needs never quit. And I think Jesus is asking people, if this is what you're seeking is to meet those needs. Are you tired yet? They don't go away. They continue. They're Perpetual. And it points to a reality. That's true about us that never goes away.

We are incurably needy. Incurably needy. Everything about us is contingent, none of us can ever create anything. All we can do is receive what God has created. All we can do is receive what God gives us a gift. None of us can gen. We even talk about like when we talk about money, we talk about generating wealth, none of us can generate anything.

All we can do is receive what God gives us. He is the only one with power to create. He is the only one with power to breathe life. He is the only one who has ever created anything from nothing. This is our real and I wanna and what's important about recognizing we're incurably.

Needy is, this isn't even a result of the fall. This is just how God. Designed it, I mean there's no other way to make contingent people except that they're contingent. So like if you're not independent, if you don't exist independently of God and you don't and I don't Then you're needy, then you depend on it, you depend on him for everything, you depend on him, for every breath that you breathe, you depend on, we depend on God for everything.

And it's not even because we're sinful, it's just because we're created. Were created beings and so were dependent. We need and the needs never, ever, ever, go away, and the physical needs are only a piece of the puzzle. They point to a more important reality that We're unable to connect with God, we're unable to meet our deepest needs.

Apart from his grace, and apart from him meeting us and apart from him saving. See, Jesus is the only one. Who meets the needs of the incurably needy. It's really the message of the bread of life discourse. See. Look what Jesus has the audacity to say in verse 35.

Whoever comes to me, shall not hunger. And whoever believes in me, shall never thirst. Well, on its face like it's just not true. You know, people that come to Jesus and do they get hungry? Yep. You know, people that come to Jesus, do they get thirsty? Yep. Listen, Jesus got hungry.

Jesus got hungry, Jesus got thirsty, right? And the only one who was ever not contingent. The only one who wasn't created as he took on human flesh. Took on himself. The ability to feel hunger and thirst and need. And so Jesus himself, got hungry and thirsty. He's needy. He became needy for our sake, but obviously people do get hungry and thirsty and Jesus is pointing to something else.

He's pointing to some deeper needs. He's pointing to the needs that we're all seeking that. Never that also never quit. Needs like, acceptance. And significance. Intimacy. Purpose. And what he really gets at here and pushes toward and when all these things are a subset of anyways, immortality. Glory. Decided to live forever as God created us to, right?

And the meeting of those most fundamental needs comes only through. In Jesus, it comes only through. Trusting in Christ. And it's not through doing more. It's really interesting. Faith isn't about doing more working harder. It's the, the, um, interchange between do and give is really interesting. So he says, don't continue, don't keep working for the food that perishes but receive the, the bread of life, which the son of man will give you A gift.

Don't keep laboring for food, that perishes receive the gift that I'm giving you the food that lasts forever and that leads to eternal life, right? And then what do they ask, what am I supposed to do? What should I do their answer? That was what do I do, right?

How what do I need to be working? Now, where do I need to turn my energy now to get that food, that doesn't perish, and he said, The work is to believe. Right. So belief isn't just like working harder Or turning our work in a New Direction. Belief is also not.

Site. It's not site. But they, they immediately turned him and asked for a sign. They ask for a sign. And Jesus says, Jesus had already said you're not seeking me because you saw a sign but because you ate till you were full, right? And now they they ask for a sign.

And I find it interesting that what like they say, they quote from Nehemiah chapter nine, they do an interesting thing with Person of the verb. They use the the third person. Instead of the second person that Nehemiah 9 is actually a prayer. Um to God and it says you gave us Manna from heaven or you gave your people Manna from Heaven.

Right? Or you gave them bread from heaven to eat, right? They quote and they say, he gave them bread from having to eat, which, there could be reasons they're doing that and still talking about God, but Jesus. Definitely took them to be saying that it was Moses who performed that sign right now.

It's interesting. They didn't learn a lesson because Moses didn't get to go into the garden. Why didn't he get in? Go to get to go, or go into the land? I mean, why didn't he get to go into the land? He didn't get to go into land because he said, do you want me to take make water come out of this rock?

To make water come out of this Rocky, stubborn rebellious people. He did that in the book of numbers, right? They maybe didn't learn the lesson. Hey Moses, gave us a sign so that we could know he was worth following. And then and Jesus immediately pounces on that Moses didn't give you anything.

Moses didn't give you anything. God gave you the bread from heaven to eat. That's what Nehemiah 9 16 says, that's what that like it was always God. It was always God giving you that

So, it's not site and and you know, So much of my life has been found learning. That faith faithfulness. Doesn't require. Everything to be worked out. In advance in an often, the Journey of faith is walking with God without understanding. We say to God all the time, like, our culture is all about understand.

And then all believe Prove it and then I will believe make me understand and then I'll believe and Christianity teaches us that. No, we take the steps of faith. It doesn't mean that we close our eyes to like seeking after evidence or anything like that, but we we have to take steps of belief.

In order to then, Begin to understand. And this is a really challenging thing for us to walk into, but even more than like is, is it true the Flames of the Gospel, that's part of it. But I think the, the big thing that the these people all believe there was a God.

So when he, when he's talking about believing in him He's not talking about just like intellectually. Coming to grips with the fact that there is a God. I think the big belief, like if we look back at what we learned last week that the that the disciples didn't know the message of the Loaves.

I think it's coming to believe that God is for us. When things are hard. And when we don't understand, Coming to believe that God is for us. Not only that God is there. But that God is favorably disposed towards us. And then following him showing Covenant loyalty to him.

Belief isn't really about. Is it mainly about this cognitive ascent to a fact? It's about Covenant loyalty. It's about faithfulness and so he says the work is to be loyal to me. The loyal to the one who God has sent.

So Jesus. Meets our needs in this life, obviously. Which is what they're talking about this whole time. He's the only way to get those deepest needs met and not only our physical needs, but our need for intimacy, our need for love. Our need for connection. Our need all those things that just won't quit.

He's going to meet those needs. He's ga, he talks about eternal life. He alludes to it, here. He's going to talk more about that as we move on in his sermon, but I think more importantly today, the message is like those needs that just won't quit today for your life today.

Those are found in Jesus, Those are found in him. So we believe in the Lord Jesus. Today. What we're being asked to do is believe in the Lord Jesus. Who Meet those incurable needs. We come to crisis people. That know we are hungry. We know that we have a hunger that will never go away.

We're physically hungry. Obviously, we need to eat regularly, but more importantly, we're spiritually hungry. We're dead in our sin and trespasses, we're needing Jesus to feed us. We're needing Jesus to save us. And Jesus is the bread of life. He is the answer. He is the bread. Physical and spiritual needs that we have no cure for, they aren't going to go away.

So what we're invited to do is to cast our hopes on Jesus, And find him to be the answer. That meets our incurable needs. Amen.