For turning tonight in our Bibles to John chapter 6, and
I'm going to read from verse 35 all the way through to verse 51.
John chapter 6, reading from verse 35.
Let's hear the Word of God. Follow with me in your Bible.
If you haven't got a Bible, please contact us and we'll be
happy to get you. 1 Reading of course from the Authorised
Version, John chapter 6, verse 35.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.
He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in
me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye
also have seen me, and believe not all that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and then that cometh to me I will in no
ways cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which have sent me, that of all
which He has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
Him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the
last day. The Jews then murmured at him,
because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
And they said, It's not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose
father and mother we know. How is it then that he saith, I
came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and
said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
No man can come to me except the Father which have sent me.
Draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of
God. Every man, therefore, that hath
heard and have learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Not that any man have seen the Father.
See if he which is of God, he have seen the Father.
Verily, verily, I say also unto you, He that believeth on me
hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life, your
father's to eat manna in the wilderness, and her dead.
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may
eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he
shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Amen. We do God, and stamp with His
own approval and blessing this reading of His own precious and
infallible word. Now my text tonight is taken
from John chapter 6, verses 48 to 51, verse 48.
I am that bread of life your father's did eat manna in the
wilderness, and her dead. This is the bread which cometh
down from heaven, that a man may eat there often not die.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven.
If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.
And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give
for the life of the world. I want to ask the question
tonight, and is this? Are you living on or by the
bread of life? Now these words have to be
understood against the back cloth of one of the greatest,
mightiest miracles performed by the Lord Jesus, namely the
feeding of the 5000. The feeding of the 5000 is 1 of
35 miracles recorded in the New Testament.
It's recorded four times here. Christ miraculously fed 5000 men
besides women and children with five little barley loaves and
two small fishes. The amazing thing as well is
after this miraculous display of divine power, the disciples
gathered up not one but 12 baskets of fragment that
remained. Jesus said that nothing would be
lost. And according to John chapter 6
verse 14, we read these words. Then those men when they had
seen the miracle that Jesus did, said this is of a truth, that
prophet that should come into the world.
Later on in the narrative, the Lord Jesus used this miracle to
proclaim a message, and that message was this John 6 and 35.
I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.
And after discoursing further with certain religious Jews
about the manna and about Moses, he added our text from verse 47
really right through to verse 51.
Now think of this, If Jesus Christ is the bread of life and
as the bread of life, the Lord Jesus Christ has come down from
heaven, and that if a man comes to Christ and eats of that
bread, then that man will live and not die.
In fact, Jesus said that man will live forever.
That man will have everlasting life.
Now the question is this, are you living by or living on the
bread of life? I want you to think of four
things this evening. One, there's a majestic
declaration. Look at verse 48.
I am that bread of life. This was repeated from an
earlier statement in John 6 and 35.
I am the bread of life now. Here's the first of seven I am
statements recorded in John's Gospel.
I am the bread of life Now. I believe this is a figure of
speech. This suggests A likeness to
something. If I was to say such and such a
person's as cold as ice, or I was to say such and such an
individual has a heart like stone, I wouldn't mean literally
that they have got a stone heart inside their human body.
What I would mean is that their heart is like stone.
In other words, their heart is hard and it's cold and it's
without feeling. It's it's a loveless heart.
It's a it's a thoughtless heart. And you see, Lord Jesus used
this figure of speech. I am that bread of life.
He was not saying I am literally bread.
He wasn't saying that he was a barley corn loaf or any other
kind of loaf. No, he was employing this figure
of speech and he was wanting to convey a certain message.
Now think of the opening words I am.
Let's pause there. You see, that's significant.
What significance do you read into that?
I am Well, I want you to think of Exodus chapter 3, verse 14,
where God revealed himself to Moses at the burning Bush.
When Moses asked who will I say that sent me, he said I am, that
I am. That's one of the names of God.
That's one of the titles for God himself in the Old Testament.
That's a divine title. And here's one of these titles
for God himself in the Old Testament.
And the Lord Jesus takes that title.
The Lord Jesus takes that name, that name for Jehovah in the Old
Testament and he applies it to himself and he just doesn't do
it one time. He does it 7 times.
I am is to be understood to be the name for God.
He says I am the bread of life. John 6 and 35.
I am the light of the world, John 8:00 and 12:00.
I am the door. John 10 and 7 I am the Good
Shepherd. John 1011 to 14 I am the
resurrection of the life. John 1125 I'm the way, the truth
to life. John 14 verse 6 I am the true
vine. John 15 verse one seven times.
The Lord Jesus made these I AM statements 7 times and every
time He made them He was claiming not just the attributes
of deity, he was claiming to be God himself.
Did you know there's two more declarations that the Lord Jesus
made of God's name in John's Gospel?
John 8 and 58, before Abraham was I am and also whenever he
was being arrested in the garden.
When they asked for Jesus of Nazareth, He says I am He.
You see, when the Lord Jesus used I AM, he was claiming to be
eternal God Incarnate. I am's a revelation of the name
of dead. It's one of the divine names.
I am speaks of the existence of God.
It speaks of the eternality of God.
It speaks of the Excellency of God.
It speaks about the exclusivity of God.
What is God? God is a spirit, infinite,
eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness,
justice, goodness and truth. I want to say tonight, Allah is
not the God of the Bible. Allah is a false God, so is
Buddha. There's only one living and true
God, and his name is Jehovah, and one of his divine names is I
am that I am. Now I want you to feel the force
of this seven times. The Lord Jesus takes that title
for God, that name, and applies it to himself.
He is claiming to be absolutely, eternally divine.
Now he's either the Lord of all or he's a liar and can be
challenged or he's a lunatic. I learnt that from a man called
Josh McDowell who used to argue in the universities in America
before Charlie Kirk, and he wrote a book.
And in fact, that was one of the things that he sought to prove
in the book about the eternal deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that was the very description he used.
He's either Lord or he's a liar or he's a lunatic.
You have to make a decision and make a judgement call.
I am is a verb. It's in the present tense.
It means I am. I always was, and I always will
be. And what's he telling us?
I am always was and always will be that bread of life.
See, in contrast to the manna, he says I am the bread of life.
The poor Jews, they were religious people, very
respectable, righteous in their own eyes.
They could only appeal to Moses. They could only appeal to manna
given in the wilderness. But they had no understanding of
who Christ really was and what He had really come to do in the
world. Yes, they partook of that
literal bread that God the Father of course had supplied to
them in the wilderness, and that manna had fed them and sustained
their bodies and kept them alive all through the wilderness
wanderings. But the Lord Jesus Christ as the
great I am, as the self existent one, the One who always is, the
one who's eternally present, He is able not just to meet the
need of men physically, but He's able to meet the need of men
mentally, emotionally, and most of all spiritually.
And in this portion, John 6 of God's Word, you have a very
clear and precise presentation of the gospel.
Oh, that we could get sinners to see and understand.
They not only need Christ, but sinners can find Christ.
Him that cometh to me, He said, I will not cast out.
And sinners can actually find in Christ everything that they
need. Listen to John 6 and 35.
I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
What a promise. Link it up to verse 47.
Verily, verily that means truly, truly.
I say unto you, He that believeth on me half everlasting
life the word believe. It means to trust and adhere to
and rely on. So I'm telling you tonight there
is here a majestic declaration in this text.
There's something else in this text.
There's a miraculous demonstration if you look again
that says this. I am not bread of life.
Your Father's the deep manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may
eat thereof and not die. Think of the words bread of
life. Now I want you to think with me
of the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 men besides women and
children. I told you this miracle is
recorded four times in the Gospel, is recorded in Matthew
chapter 14 verses 13 to 21, and the 21st verse actually tells us
that there was 5000 men besides women and children.
The people were hungry, the people were weary.
They needed to be fed. They needed to be cared for and
Christ provided for all that was needed for that multitude on the
journey of life because He himself is the bread of life.
Maybe you're here tonight and you're a needy individual.
You're listening to me online and you're a needy individual.
Maybe you carry a burden in your heart.
Maybe you nurse a big problem in your mind.
Maybe you're here tonight as a Christian and you're struggling
and you're full of fear and worry.
Maybe you're crippled by insecurity.
Maybe it's a loved one who has particular needs and you're
burdened and concerned for that individual.
Maybe you have a fear of the past, some guilt and some sin
hangs over your head and you you've marred your testimony and
you feel despised and useless and people looking down at you.
Maybe you've got a fear of the present loved ones not see if
they was thinking about that. On Friday when I was at the City
Hall, people that were going past refusing a tract and I
thought, is there No Fear of God before the rise?
There's no thought of God in all their hearts and in all their
minds. And whenever you think about it,
they have No Fear of hell, No Fear of future punishment, no
consciousness of sin. And yet the glorious message is
this, that none of them are too sinful and too hardened for
Christ. If He made the world out of
nothing and speak the world's into existence by the word of
His power, and He upholds all things by the word of His power,
as Colossians 115 and 17 teaches us, then there's nothing beyond
His ability. If he could take a loaf, a
barley loaf of a little boy and break it into two, and that loaf
in his hand miraculously become whole, and then keep repeating
the exercise to feed 5000 men besides women and children, and
of 12 baskets of fragments that we gathered up and remain.
Then once you recognise that, you recognise something
wonderful. The miraculous demonstration is
this. There's a sufficiency in Jesus
Christ to meet all your need, whatever your need is,
physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, He
is able to meet that need. You know, in the context here,
there was a storm. Remember, they get into the
boat. They went across the Sea of
Galilee to the other side, the land of Ganasserate in the boat.
They were fearful, they were worried.
They could see the Lord Jesus in the storm walking in the sea.
And the Bible tells us He received Him.
If you look at John chapter 6 and verse 21, then they
willingly received Him into the ship and immediately the ship
was at the land, whether they went and there was a great cow
willingly received Him. See, I encourage you, if you're
full of fear and worry, whether it's about a guilty past you've
marred your testimony, whether it's fear and worry about family
who are not saved, whether it's fear and worry about a loved one
who's sick and ill. And we understand those fears
and those are burdens and stresses and you go to bed with
them, you wake up with them, you take them to work, you bring
them home again. The Lord knows all about that.
But what I'm saying is this, bring him into every situation.
Bring him into that ship that's tossed about with the wind and
the waves. Bring him into your
circumstances and then you'll enjoy the peace that Christ
provides. You'll enjoy his provision
because once Christ entered into that ship, there was a great
calm on the Sea of Galilee used to sing a weak chorus in cold
rain. With Christ in the vessel, you
can smile at the storm. Not only is there.
A miraculous demonstration. There's also a merciful
discovery. Look at verse 50.
If you go back to our text, this is the bread which cometh down
from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.
Where does this bread of life come from?
It come down from heaven. Now there's a great principle
there. I want you to see that because
it says in verse 32 if we read it together, OK, he says, but my
Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
And then in verse 33 for the bread of God is he which cometh
down from heaven and giveth life unto the world.
And again in 41 he says this I am the bread which came down
from heaven. And then in verse 50, this is
the bread which cometh down from heaven.
And if you can write down to verse 58, he said this is that
bread which came down from heaven. 5 * 5 as I've told you
and taught you often is the number of grace and coming down
from heaven is a reference to the visitation of God to this
earth. It's a reference to Christ
incarnation and virgin birth. The bread that came down from
heaven is a portrayal of Christ who came down from God the
Father. The idea is of a divine
visitation, of a divine unveiling and revelation of
Christ, of a of a divine appearance from Christ.
He was given by the Father. He was sent forth from the
Father, and he was sent forth and given us what?
The bread of life. That's a merciful discovery.
You know, there's a wonderful connection in the Old Testament
about the giving of bread and a divine visitation.
Have you turned over there to the book of Ruth?
The book of Ruth In Ruth chapter 1, Ruth comes after the judges.
In Ruth chapter one, we read this in verse 6.
Then she arose with her daughters in law.
After that she might return from the country of mob, for she had
heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited His
people in giving them bread. Notice the word had visited His
people in giving them bread. Ruth, remember, has a
mother-in-law called Naomi. Naomi is an Old Testament
backslider. She lived in Moab for about 10
years. She left Bethlehem, Judah due to
a famine with her husband and two boys.
Her husband Elimelech died and Moab.
So did her two boys, Malone and Kellyon.
They both died there. Can you just imagine that?
3 funerals in short time? She's a widow and Moab life is
hard. Yet there Naomi seems to be
comfortable. Naomi seems to be at ease even
though it's hard, she seems content to remain there.
And then God stepped in. And how did God step in?
God visited His people in giving them bread.
Visiting His people and supplying bread is connected.
In Luke 178 we read this. The day spring from on high has
visited us, and this visitation is connected to the concept, the
idea of redemption and mercy, because it's always on the basis
of redemption and mercy that God visits us and the light of
redemption and mercy. God has visited mankind and he's
sent and gave the one who is the bread of life, not because we
deserve it, not because we have earned it.
It's not a reward, it's God and grace Five times came down from
heaven. Notice also not only a great
principle here, but a great place.
Where did Ruth and Naomi return to?
From the land of Moab they turned to Bethlehem.
Bethlehem in the Bible is known as the House of bread.
Beth is house, Lechem is bread. Put the two together, that's
where they left. That's where they returned to
you. For a long time, sadly,
Bethlehem, Judea, the House of bread was empty.
The people were famishing, starving, they were hungry, but
that is where they returned to you.
It says in Luke chapter 1 and verse 22 and they came to
Bethlehem. They came to Bethlehem and where
was the Lord Jesus born? Make a 5 and 2 Bethlehem.
He was given, He was sent to Bethlehem and He fulfilled
prophecy. The bread of life was born in
the House of bread. Not only a great place, but a
great period here. When did it happen?
The beginning of the barley harvest.
Ruth 1 and 22. That's what it says.
They came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
What was the bread made from? It was made from the barley.
Go back to the feeding of the 5000.
What sort of loaves were they? Well, they weren't palm loaves
or plain loaves. They weren't Mother's pride or
son blessed or kingsmills. There were 5 barley loaves, John
6:00 and 9:00. There's a clear connection.
And that bread had to be born in the sense of seedlings and
saplings. The bread had to blossom.
The bread then was bleeded in the fullness of time and cut
down. The bread was bruised, It was
broken down and crushed. There was physical suffering and
then the bread was baked in the often.
And that's a picture of Christ as the bread of life.
He, He was born for us. He, he, he grew and developed in
favour of men and of God. And then in the fullness of
time, God's time, he was cut down.
There was a smiling of Christ. You can think about his arrest
and his unjust trial and you can think of his beatings and
scorchings. You can think of the physical
sufferings, the mental torture in that sense.
You think of the crown of thorns being plotted on his brow.
You think of Him being nailed to the tree.
You you think of Him on the tree in agony and blood, and then
think of him in three hours of darkness, suffering the wrath of
God, crying out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
And of course we get the answer from 2nd Corinthians 521.
For he that is God have made him that is Christ to be sin for us,
a sin offering that we might be me at the righteousness of God.
In him Christ died the just for the unjust that he might bring
us to God. And you know many in Ulster
tonight, many in carried off and beyond.
They have No Fear of God. They have no thought of God.
They don't know God. Sadly, they've forgotten and
forsaken him. And in their heart there's a
vacuum, we could say a God shaped vacuum, Augustine said.
And they have no true peace and no inner satisfaction.
Why? Because they were made in the
image of God. They were made for God.
And because they live without him, they're never going to have
peace or inner satisfaction. Only Christ, the bread of life,
can bring true life and enjoyment into the soul.
There's a great picture here very quickly of the manna.
You see the manna sustained physical life, but in contrast
to the manner, Christ goes beyond physical life because
he's the true bread that cometh down from heaven.
He's the real thing. He's the true substance.
We live in days of counterfeit. There's counterfeit Christ and
counterfeit gospels. There's a lot of sham, but
there's only one true genuine bread from heaven, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ will
not disappoint any who trust him or any who take him as Lord and
Saviour. He can give help in the physical
realm. He can fill our hearts and minds
with a sense of peace, perfect peace.
He's the one that can meet the need of our heart in a spiritual
sense. I finish with this.
There's a mighty doctrination here.
If you look at the text again in verse 51, he says I'm the living
bread which come down from heaven.
If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.
And the bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I give
for the life of the world. You see, mention is made here
for the manna, verse 49. Your father's did eat man in the
wilderness and are dead Now. That's a reference to physical
eating. And we all enjoy that, don't we?
Breakfast, lunch and evening meal.
And that bread that we're giving is all that's necessary to
sustain us physically in the earth.
But even though we have a birthday, one day we'll have a
deaf day. The reference to them dying
wasn't because there was anything poisonous in the bread.
It was their journey of life. It was a reference to their
physical death. And the Lord Jesus was saying
this. If a man eats of the living
bread, the living bread which come down from heaven, if any
man eat of that bread, he will live forever.
Now what does he mean? I want you to think of the act
of eating. I want you to think of
appropriation. You're sitting at the table and
the table is spread. Come for all things are now
ready, and you're to eat and you're to profit from all that
he provides. You see, the Gospel feast is but
an illustration of this. The food won't benefit you just
sitting at the table. You have to partake.
Remember what Isaiah the prophet was able to say in Isaiah
chapter 55 and the verse one and two, Isaiah 55 and one and two.
Let's think of the word of God. O everyone that thirsteth, come
ye to the waters, and neither have no money.
Come ye buy and eat. Ye come buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Wherever do you spend money for
that which is not bread, and your labour for that which
satisfyeth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in
fastness. Psalm 34 verse 8 says, O taste
and see that the Lord is good, and you see this.
The whole concept of eating the bread and partaking of it and
appropriating that bread to yourself, this is on the same
basis. This is likened to coming to
Christ and resting in Him and receiving him as Lord and
Saviour. You see, coming to Him is an act
of faith. Believing in Him is an act of
faith, and you're coming to rest in Him and coming to receive Him
as the bread of life because your mindset is this.
He is all I need. There's a fullness in Christ to
meet my need now. None but Christ can satisfy.
Let me ask this as we finish. Are you resting on Christ alone?
Have you received him by faith as your Lord deceiver, A time
when you knelt as a Sinner and called out God be merciful to be
the Sinner you recognise, you of a soul.
You recognise you need to be saved.
You know that only Christ can save you.
Neither is there salvage than any other.
But there's no other name under heaven given among men.
For by you must be saved, and that through Christ you can be
redeemed and washed in his precious blood.
And through Christ you can be reconciled to God and be in a
right relationship with the God of heaven.
These are only some of the blessings that flow.
You know when you set at a table and appropriate food, you get up
from the table and I hope you say to your mother, thank you
mummy, that was lovely. I say that to Rosie often.
Stew the other day and boys it tasted really good.
But that Stew wouldn't have done me any good, even though I was
famished, if I hadn't have lifted the spoon and started to
eat it. Well, you see, Christ doesn't do
many any good, because they never appropriate them.
They never come to Him, and they don't by faith rest and receive
Him and all that He has. That's the mighty doctrine that
Christ wanted to get across to the Jews.
He that cometh to me, I will in no ways cast out.
He says He that believeth in me shall never hunger or never
thirst in a spiritual sense. So I trust and pray the
question, are you living on or by the bread of life?
You'll see this mighty declaration.
I am the bread of life. You'll see this miraculous
demonstration. What the bread of life did.
You'll hear this merciful discovery, the bread of life has
come down from heaven, and you'll receive this mighty
doctrination to your heart, and you'll seek to put faith and
trust in Christ to the glory of God.
May the Lord take these few thoughts and bless them to you.