“I Am The Bread of Life”: More Than Food – Jesus Revealed Part IX

Sermon Title: “I Am the Bread of Life:” The Bread that Keeps on Giving

Good News Statement: Jesus sustains us through the bread of life

Preached: Sunday, March 12, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.              

 

Scripture (NRSV): John 6:35-40 Today’s scripture comes from the Gospel of John who enlightens us that Jesus is the bread of life: an eternal source of strength, nourishment, and spiritual feeding. From the Bread of Life, we can feed the multitude…

 

The Bread from Heaven

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. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away, ³⁸ for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.”

Exodus 16:11-15 The Manna of Heaven

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³ In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

Introduction:

During her sermon on Jesus’s teaching that we should love our enemies, the pastor asked the congregation to raise their hands if they had enemies. Everyone did so except for Mrs. Watson in the front row, who had just turned 95.

“Mrs. Watson,” the pastor asked, “how could you possibly live for 95 years and have no enemies?” “That’s easy,” the senior citizen replied, “I just outlived them!”

Before Jesus tells the Pharisees that he is the light of the world, Jesus tells the gathered crowds, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). When we think of bread, especially in relation to Jesus Christ, we automatically think of Holy Communion. The use of bread in the sacrament of Communion highlights the embodied nature of our faith presented to us as the Body of Christ: “Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’”

However, the importance of bread goes beyond its role on the altar table. Bread is one of the oldest cultivated sources of nourishment in human history. There is evidence that bread was a staple in people’s diets as early as 14,600 years ago, with grinding stones for making flour dating back even twice as far as that. It seems that as soon as humanity began creating permanent agricultural dwellings, bread became part of our story.

It’s no wonder why Jesus relates himself to a source of nourishment that has kept people alive for centuries. It’s no wonder Jesus calls himself the “bread of life” because without him we wouldn’t be receiving the proper nourishment that is needed to be who he has called us to be. When Jesus said, “I am the bread of life,” he identified himself with something central to our shared human experience, as well as divine nourishment of both body and soul. Jesus sustains us with the bread of life.

 

Body:

Almost every time that I go back home to visit my parents, my brother, Thomas, will text me asking what kind of bread I would like to eat and bring back to Oblong with me. I usually respond by saying, “Surprise me!” You see ever since my brother got a bread-maker several years ago for Christmas, all he wants to do is make bread. Now the only bread that I make involves me making a trip to the local Dollar General or to Wal-Mart, so I am beyond blessed to receive homemade bread; especially when it first comes out of the bread-maker: it’s warm, soft, tender, easy to tear apart, and melts the butter instantly. If heaven has a flavor, it would taste just like fresh homemade bread.

While watching my brother make bread, I became curious about what ingredients are used to make bread. From the many recipes that I came across regarding how to make bread, I noticed that each recipe shared similar ingredients: flour, yeast, salt, water, and oil. Some recipes called for eggs, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, extracts, different flavorings, and spices. My Grandmother would also add “love” to her recipe. She used to say, “Nothing is truly homemade unless there was a pinch of love mixed in!” After reading what ingredients are most commonly used for making bread, I told myself that making bread doesn’t sound that difficult. I was wrong…

I mean making the bread itself seemed like a doable task but then I did some more reading. Did you know that there is an outstanding and perplexing science experiment taking place in the bread even before you eat it? Besides kneading the dough or beating the dough to activate the yeast, in the oven—while baking—the eighth wonder of the world is taking place, and it all begins with yeast. Yeasts are small, living, single-celled organisms that feed off of simple sugars, breaking them down into carbon dioxide (CO2), alcohol, flavor molecules, and energy. This process is referred to as fermentation. During fermentation, carbon dioxide is released causing the bread to leaven. In bread making, the yeast organisms expel carbon dioxide as they feed off of sugars. As the dough rises and proofs, carbon dioxide is formed; this is why the dough rises or increases in volume. The carbon dioxide expands and moves as the bread dough warms and bakes in the oven. The bread rises and sets.

Furthermore, I learned that yeast is essential to raise the bread, not only because it produces carbon dioxide, but also because it produces alcohol that evaporates as the bread bakes. Yeast also helps to develop and strengthen the gluten network—which traps bubbles of gas in the bread. After reading about the science of bread, I was quickly reminded of why the pre-packaged loaves of bread at Wal-Mart are so enticing to me; it’s because I don’t have think about the science of bread, I just have to eat it!

Needless to say though, reading about bread made me pause and really think about what Jesus meant when he said, “I Am the Bread of Life” in John 6:35. Jesus is not talking about bread as a physical loaf of bread that we purchase or make. As a matter of fact, Jesus is talking about something more than food. Jesus is talking about something spiritual that gives us strength, nourishment, and life to face tomorrow. The Bread of Christ is more than manna from heaven, more than food  and more than just something for today: it is life everlasting, and we have been invited to receive this bread in our life.

The Bread of Jesus is more than Manna. Before Jesus walked this earth, God is found supplying food to the Israelites who had been, under the leadership of Moses, wandering around the desert for forty years in search of the Promised Land. When I read the words from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, I find myself in the desert or wilderness with the Israelites praying to receive some sort of food that would give me strength to keep going. In the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Exodus, we read about the manna that came from heaven. Moses writes, “The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites;’ say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat’” (Exodus 16:11-15).

During a moment of desperation and quite possibly defeat, God sends bread from heaven to feed the complaining Israelites. God hears their cries and does something about it. The bread that He sends is often called manna. Manna is produced from the dried sap of a tamarisk tree, and is often described as a unique, cake-like sprouted bread that is absent of sugar, yeast, salt, and other preservatives. There is nothing much to the manna, substance-wise, that God sent from heaven; but yet it provided the people with what they need to keep going. This particular story from the Book of Exodus reminds us that God will provide, and that He will provide more than enough for us to do what He has called us to do (2 Corinthians 9:8). However, this manna is no substitute for the bread that will one day walk this earth.

Jesus, in our Scripture reading, distances himself from the manna in the desert or wilderness by saying, “Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that whoever eats from it will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven…” (John 6:49-51). Although both the manna and Jesus descended from heaven, the manna only fulfilled the physical hunger of the people and the living bread, Jesus, will eternally fulfill the spiritual needs of the people. Those who eat the bread of Jesus will never die, will never perish, but will be given eternal life. The Bread of Jesus is more than manna: it is eternal life and spiritual nourishment.

The Bread of Jesus is more than just food. Every one of us eats food every day. We eat food because it smells good, it looks delicious, it makes our stomachs grumble, it tastes delectable, and we eat it because it sits on our counter and we have this urge to take a bite or sample of it every time we walk by. But we eat food not just because it smells, looks, or tastes good: we eat food because it gives us energy, strength, and a sense of renewal. Food is more than a simple substance. Food is a necessity of life. The Bread of Jesus is more than just food: it is a necessity: something we need and something we can’t live without.

Without the bread of Christ we don’t have the strength to face tomorrow. Without the bread of Christ our spirit is lacking meaning and purpose. Without the bread of Christ we don’t have the will power to fulfill the good news, to comprehend scripture, pray with conviction, hear the needs of the people, or see where love can conquer hate and produce acceptance and equality. Without the bread of Christ we don’t have the ability to “trust in the LORD with all heart” (Proverbs 3:5). Without the bread of Christ we are “nothing more”, as the Apostle Paul would say, “than the creaking of a rusty gate” (1 Corinthians 13:1). The Bread of Jesus is more than just food: it is what gives us purpose, determination, and inspiration to do what Jesus has called us to do.

As a matter of fact, the Bread of Jesus is very similar to what Peter, a follower of Jesus and one of the leaders of the Church, describes in his own letter. I like to refer to this passage as the “Ingredients of Life.” Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:5-7, “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with excellence, and excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.” In some ways, our lives are like a recipe for becoming the bread of Christ. It begins with faith in Jesus Christ. Then we add goodness and knowledge and wisdom. Next, we stir together self-control and endurance which are combined with godliness and a pinch of shared affection. Lastly, after mixing it thoroughly and placing it in the oven to bake, what comes out is something containing an abundance of love. What comes out of the oven is the bread of Jesus, the very bread that helps us become who God needs us to be. The Bread of Jesus is more than just food: it is a livelihood, a combination of ingredients that provides us with life, love, and faith.

The Bread of Jesus is more than a Fulfillment of Today. The opening story to the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John reminds us that the Bread of Jesus is something that will forever be attainable. After feeding the five thousand from five loaves of bread and two fish, according to John, there were twelve baskets leftover filled with only fragments of the barley bread (John 6:13). John is the only Gospel that only mentions that the bread was leftover. This is no accident. Instead, this is a promise. The bread, the eternal life of Jesus, which we receive today, is available tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the day after that. The bread of Jesus will never go dry or run out because he knows that we need it to be able to do his work and to overcome the struggles and pains and feeling of defeat in our life. Remember, the bread of Jesus is necessary in order to live. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry…” (John 6:35) because there will always be baskets of bread for you and everyone else.

The bread which we receive is a promise that we will have a future in Christ if we choose to no longer be hungry. We may be hungry today, but we don’t have to be hungry tomorrow because we have Jesus in our life, and his bread, his body, will last for eternity. Jesus said, “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away, for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:37-38). From this bread, we have been given the will of the Father, the words of Jesus Christ, and the works of the Holy Spirit today, tomorrow, and for eternity. The bread of Jesus is more than a today thing it is an everyday thing that helps us overcome our own wills and to focus on the will of God. But the question becomes, are you willing to accept the Bread of Life, to receive Jesus into your heart, and to do what he has called you to do? Are you ready to no longer be hungry?

Conclusion:

Bread is tangible. Jesus is tangible: he walked with the people, he laid hands on the sick, people touched his cloak, Jesus spoke and people were healed, and Jesus fed the multitudes. Bread is made from the ground up. Jesus walked on this earth, the dirt of the everyday covered his feet, and he experienced suffering, pain, grief, and joy, happiness, and peace alongside of those who made a living from the ground. Bread is created through human ingenuity but blessed by God. Jesus became the word incarnate (John 1:1-5), the word made flesh, and did the work of God here on earth. And Bread is something to which almost every person has access to. Jesus is everywhere: in all places, in all spaces, living amongst palaces and in tombs, the wealthy and poor, the accepted and rejected, and in the lost and saved.

In closing, every time I return to Oblong with a fresh loaf of home-made bread, I am reminded of not only my family, but I am reminded that Jesus Christ is the bread of life. And from this bread of life, I am spiritually fed, provided strength to keep going, and have received something from heaven that will not let me perish but will allow me to have eternal life. The bread of Jesus is more than manna, more than just food, and more than just a today thing. The bread of Jesus is sustainable, eternal life, and everlasting. Without this bread in our life we are nothing—we are always hungry. But with this bread we are saved, loved, and called upon by Jesus to help feed those around us. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life….I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever…and will never be hungry” (John 6:35, 51, 35).

Are you willing to receive the bread of life? Are you willing to live forever in the presence of Jesus Christ? Are you willing to know that home-made bread is nothing compared to the bread the Jesus gives us on a daily basis? For we all partake of this one loaf so that we may live and never go hungry. The Bread of Jesus is more than food: it is life eternal and it is everlasting.

 

Communion Transition:

Knowing that Jesus is the bread of life, we gather together in the presence of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, as we share Holy Communion together—the meal in which we receive the living bread that came down from heaven.

 

Benediction:

Whisper to yourself, “I have received the bread of life. I have received the bread of hope. I received the bread of love.” Jesus is the bread of life that sustains us, strengthens us, and nourishes us so that we can do his will, so that we may live forever in his presence. May the bread of life bless you and nourish you today and every day. Go, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit as you share the bread of Jesus with others. And all God’s people said, “Amen.” Amen. Amen.