Jesus the Bread of Life/Many Disciples Desert Jesus | John 6:25-70

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And let's give Neil a round of applause 'cause that was an effort. Uh. Well, welcome friends. Uh, my name's Alex. I'm one of the pastors here. If you're visiting, watching Later online, welcome to you guys as well. Uh, and we just heard a, a passage that's long flows through lots of different metaphors and ends with some language, uh, that's just heavy.

There's this whole movement, uh, of the church that makes sure that if you're visiting, that you don't have to hear passages like that. Clearly, we're not very good at being one of those, uh, churches because that Yeah. What, how do we, how do we navigate that? And so I'm gonna give you a few things that I think will help us take that and kinda make some sense of it in 25 minutes.

For 45 verses, which is less than a minute a verse. So let's see how we do. I'm gonna start with a question, a statistic and a story that'll hopefully land us into an introduction. The question is this, have you ever started something and given up on it, ever started something you didn't finish, ho Hopefully the answer.

Is a hundred percent. Uh, because can you imagine how intolerable it would be to live with someone who finished everything that they started? I, I mean, who can do that? In actual fact, if, if you're someone who says yes to that, if you're everyone that says yes to that, you're in really good company. When you think about things like New Year's resolutions, and we usually talk about those in January or February, when you've given up on them, I, I'm gonna discourage you in November.

Uh, so you maybe don't start them. 92% of people who make New Year's resolutions never actually achieve them. We're just people that tend to find ways to give up on some of those things that we say that we'll do. The story that comes to mind, like this personal story, for me, it goes back to a time when I was about 13, 14 years old and had a group of friends that loved to go biking together.

It was the nineties, so we would just take our bikes and disappear all day long. We'd drive, we'd ride for miles, maybe 10, 11 miles, and then we'd ride up and down hills all day. And then we'd come back about 11 miles from where my parents live is this beautiful area of English countryside and it was given to the people of Birmingham by the people that make Cadbury's chocolate.

They give chocolate to the world and then these, this countryside to, to us. And so we would go and head up there and just have a blast. But one day when we were, we were heading up there, we took a guy who wasn't really into kind of riding, wasn't all the rest of us would've said we were athletes. We weren't, but we would've claimed it.

And, and he was the guy that would put his hand up and say, no way am I an athlete. But he came along for the ride and we stopped like in the fields as we rode and we'd bake, make bacon and cook, and then we'd carry on riding. But on the way to this set of hills. Is a big hill weather. Oak Hill. Now England isn't Colorado.

We don't have these gratuitous mountains over here. They're the hill's, not mountains. Someone once said, our hills are solitary, nasty, brutish and short. They don't look like the Rockies, but they're, they're tough to ride, especially if you're not an athlete. And 13 and 14. So we'd been riding and got to this hill.

Now you get to this hill and you go down. On the way there, and it's a great ride down. You're kind of wobbling and avoiding potholes and make it safely across, but when you come back, we've already ridden 11 miles there, and then you've ridden two or three miles at the hills, and then you ride back four or five miles and then you get to this hill with a 20% gradient.

That just seems to last forever. So we headed on our way to. Spend our day riding together. Got down the hill and looked back and Danny has just gone, we dunno where he is, he's just disappeared. We start to panic and so one of the guys goes back to try and find him and Danny's there pushing his bike back up the hill.

He's just done. He's just realized there's no way I can come back from riding and do this hill at the end of the ride, starting a journey. It is much easier than finishing one. It's easy to get started, harder to finish. I did a road trip with my three oldest kids a few years ago, right after our fourth child was born all the way up to Minnesota, and I took this picture about 90% of the way through.

It was just me questioning my life choices. Everyone had said it was a bad idea. I'd said it would be fine, and this was the moment I found out. A lot of people have compared following Jesus to a race a a journey. This is something one of Jesus early followers, Paul said at the end of his life, I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the race. I kept the faith. Not talking about winning the race just says I finished. It seems that somewhere following Jesus has to have a start. But at some point you just have to keep going. The, the passage that we read is the start. For a lot of people, Jesus has just taken bread and turned it into more bread.

He's provided food for thousands of people. And then we read that these people have continued to follow him afterwards, verse 25 of chapter six, when they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, rabbi, when did you get here? This group of people have received food and now they've said, Jesus, we're going to follow you as well.

Following in the way of Jesus. It needs a beginning. It needs a beginning, and Jesus has some questions for these people about just exactly why they're following him. He seems that there's some level of suspicion. Verse 26, Jesus answered very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

The starting point for these people is simply that Jesus did something miraculous for them. He fed them. In a place where there was very little bread. We as human beings, and this is like goes without saying really, but we're creatures of desire. We want different things and, and you know that if you're one of the 90% of people that own some kind of smartphone, what happens now when you wake up in the morning in a way that it never did 20 years ago?

You start to feel your hand. Start to move without doing anything. It reaches out for a phone and it starts to scroll through different things. Maybe it's one of these icons here, you just start looking for things unless you are very consciously trying not to do it. We're people that fall into those patterns, what we find ourselves easily attaching to, that kind of thing there.

There was some research in the restaurant. Industry just recently, and restaurants were trying to figure out why they'd lost. They were losing money or making less, at least since about 2007. And what they found is that the average group that came into a restaurant took twice as long as they had before 2007.

Why? Everyone would sit there. They wouldn't look at the menu. They'd sit on their phones. The server would come over and say, are you ready to order? And they'd say, no, sorry, we haven't even looked at our phones. Give us a minute. And the server would go away. And then the server would come back and say, are you ready to order?

And they'd say, sorry, we haven't even looked at the menu. We were on our phones. And then finally they'd get an order. And when the food came, everyone would spend lots of time taking pictures of it too. Were people that are addicted to that process. It's very hard for us. To stop. We do it when we wake up in the morning.

We do it when we're sad at the traffic lights. We do it at 70 miles an hour when the road's clear and you don't really need to pay attention. No, we don't. Kurt Thompson said this. Frankly, it is easy for me to desire just about anything that is pleasurable, good or beautiful, far more than I desire. God.

This is some of the thing that Jesus is teasing out with this crowd. Why are you actually here? Their world is bred. That was the thing that they wanted, the thing that they lacked. There wasn't enough to go around and, and, and for much of the world. That's, that's still true today. But, but probably it's not our thing.

But if it's not bred other things just take its place. We might follow Jesus for all sorts of reasons. In today's world, at least to begin with, the church it seems, has always had a complicated relationship with this information. The fact that people have these certain desires or certain wants, whether it's bread or something else, and so to help people get to church or begin to follow Jesus, we've done all sorts of things over the years.

We have ridden motorcycles on stages. For some reason had lions on stages. We've had pastors stay on the roof of the church in boxes. We've bought boxing rings into the church, all sorts of things, just so people will come to church and that's actually, I'm not critiquing that following in the way of Jesus needs are beginning.

We begin for all sorts. Of reasons, but Jesus does seem to say that it can't stay that way. Verse 27, do not work for food that spoils Jesus says, but for food that endures to eternal life, which is son of man will give you for him, God, the father is placed his seal of approval, the way of jour the, the way the journey started, whatever that looks like.

It's not necessarily the way it continues. Jesus begins to push on these people that have followed him for bread and starts, it seems to ask for something more, some other kind of commitment, and this seems to be where this story is going. Then they asked him, what must we do to do the works God requires?

They're open to something different. And what do you want? Jesus? And Jesus asks just one thing of them. The work of God is this to believe in the one he has sent. Actually, Jesus says, just believe in me, not because of things I've done believe in me. And then we get their response, which is a little bit of a clever response.

You can kind of see where they're nudging towards it. He says, believe in me, and they say, well, what sign will you give? So we may see it and believe in you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manor in the wilderness as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus has fed these people.

They have started to follow him, and he said to them, don't keep following me for bread. Believe in me. And they've said, what sign will you do so we can believe in you? Our ancestors got bred as a sign. Their answer actually just reveals their true desire. All they want is for Jesus to feed them Again.

They don't believe in anything you could. You could translate their words any of these ways. Give us more food. Moses did this all the time. He kept making food. We got it every day in that regime. How about you do the same? How about stake this time? Is there any way that we can improve the system? The desire is actually that Jesus continues to do things for them on the surface.

They want Jesus to prove himself. The real request is just give us small bread that will make us happy, and Jesus responds. Very truly, I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

As he has done with multiple people, Jesus makes this incredible offer. I have something to give you that is beyond anything else you can receive in this life. Sometimes the metaphor is water. Sometimes the metaphor is food. Sometimes the metaphor is rest, but Jesus always nudges them towards this idea. I have something that is beyond any natural thing that you could ever receive, and the people respond, always give us this spread.

Just give us that bread, then give us the thing that you are promising. But when Jesus actually reveals what that is. They're less interested. Verse 35, Jesus makes the first of what I call his I am statements. There are at least seven of them in this book, John, here it is. I am the bread of life. Later.

It's I am the light of the world. Another time it's I am the door, the gate. Another time. I am the good shepherd. Another time I am the resurrection and the life. Another time I am the way, the truth and the life. Another time I am the true vine and sometimes just I am. I, I simply am the one, I am the bread of life here.

Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Whoever believes in me will never go thirsty. That's an extreme claim, right? I mean, for someone to say, I am truly all that you need in life. Most of us could easily go and make a list of all of the other things we need. Other than Jesus. And of course we live in a world that offers loads of those quickly.

Your list might be, I'd like to meet someone, kind of fall in love. I'd like to get married, maybe like to have kids, maybe have a great job, maybe buy a house, maybe move to a better house, maybe retire with plenty to go around, maybe travel to multiple different places. We can easily make a list that we need.

All those things other than Jesus. But remember who this message has to work for. This message can't just work for you and me. Can't just work for fairly affluent 21st century Christians in America has to work for first century Christians in Ju Judea. Has to work for 10th century peasants in France, has to work for single mothers in Haiti.

Has to work for all sorts of people who would say our list is impossible, unachievable. If Jesus is not big enough to be everything for them, maybe he's not awfully big. At all. Couple of little thoughts on this for you, this idea. 'cause I think this idea is one that I kind of process and think, man, it's hard for me to surrender everything that I want and say that I might not need it as much as I think Dallas Willard famous philosopher said this desire is infinite.

Partly because we were made by God, made for God made to need. God made to run on God. We can be satisfied only by the one who is infinite, eternal and able to supply all our needs. We are only at home in God. May you, maybe you would say following Jesus is not a journey you've started. I, I would suggest his argument is that he's the thing that you truly need and part of the reason that a lot of us.

Have chosen to follow Jesus is we have this sneaky suspicion that Jesus might be smarter than we are, that he might understand the world a little better than we do. When you realize that, that actually brings you to this beautiful point of surrender of saying, I can actually trust what he says about the way the world works.

'cause again, I get to diminish myself a little bit and assume he's the one that really knows what's happening. Second quote, this is CS Lewis, uh, British guy born about a hundred years ago. He who as God and everything else, has no more than He who as God only. That's the kind of message that can work for a single mother in Haiti.

That message can work for anyone ever in the history of the world. More questions, but as I told you, Jesus says, you have seen me. And still you do not believe Jesus starts to get a little bit more combative, combative with them. You see me? You don't believe in me. All those the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away forever, have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me that I shall lose none of all those he has given me. But raise them up on that last day for my father's will is that everyone who looks to the son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up on that last day. Jesus is now not just talking about earthly things, but he's talking about beyond earthly things, beyond this.

Thing right now to something else. Not necessarily just some heavenly spatial thing, but maybe a practical earthly thing. But he's starting to talk about some future that we are invited to. Let me summarize those passages 'cause they move pretty quick. Verse 35, I'm the bread of life, verse 36, but you do not believe 37 or that the father has given me will come.

And also, if you come, you are one that the father has called verse 39. I will lose none of them. Verse 40, they will have eternal life. And then this is when they start to push back pretty heavily at this. The Jews, they began to grumble about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven.

They said, is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, I came down from heaven. These are small, rural towns. 400 people, 500 people, a thousand people, small groups where everybody could know everybody. Imagine if someone in that group suddenly starts saying something like this, London, how long have you been at this church?

16 years. Can I borrow you a second? You willing to volunteer? Come up on stage for a second? Gimme a round of applause.

No prompting whatsoever. Landon has been here longer than he can remember. No one knows a time for the most part, when Landon wasn't here. Most of us have been here less time than that, and the people that have been in longer remember the time that he was born. Landon, could you just repeat what Jesus says there in yellow?

I am the bread that came down from heaven. Can you imagine how that feels? Thank you very much. You did a great job. You can go back. Can you imagine how that feels? You have someone that you've seen grew up, you know their parents, you know their grandparents, and suddenly they're standing in the midst of towns where people have known them their whole life and they start seeing things like that.

I am the bread from heaven. Can you see why they start to pause and say, Hmm, we know your mother and father. How can you say, I came down from heaven? We're pretty sure we saw you at like three weeks old. It doesn't seem awfully different to everybody else. Jesus replies, stop grumbling amongst yourself. No one can say to me, no one can come to me unless the father.

Who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up on that last day. We're gonna have a whole chunk of scripture that we're gonna read fairly quickly. Watch for it. Jesus actually just reiterates everything he just said. He doesn't give them new information. He just reinforces it. He says the same thing over again.

No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws them. We, we saw that. It is written in the prophets. They will be taught by God. Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me, uh, already said that no one has seen the Father except the one who was from God already said that He's from God.

Only as he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. We've already heard that I'm the word of life. Your ancestors ate the manor in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which ev anyone may eat and not die. Jesus reiterates over and over again the things he's already told them, giving them another chance to believe.

And then he says this, and this is where he really loses them. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread. Is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Again, bad at that whole like welcoming in people not used to this message. I apologize 'cause this is heavy stuff in amongst all the things that he already said.

Jesus adds this one verse 51. This bread is my flesh. Heavy, right? Not the sort of thing that you expect a spiritual teacher to say. Then the Jews began to argue sharply amongst themselves. How can this man give us his flesh to eat? This is the bread that came down from heaven and your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.

Jesus says, behind the scenes, unaware to most of us from this 21st con century context. Jesus is talking about an old story. Back at the start of this chapter, there's this line that just seems like a throwaway line. He simply says the Jewish Passover Festival was here. Jesus takes an old story where the Jewish people were rescued by taking a lamb and cooking it and eating it and putting the blood on the door posts.

And says to them in their own language in a way they can understand, this Passover story is now a new story that's centered around me. Jesus takes the Passover, an old story, their story, and says, this is about me. The fact that the story doesn't connect with us is not about the story. As much as it is about you and about me, still hard for them to hear, but language that makes sense.

What's offensive to them is not the metaphor. And what's offensive to them is that he makes himself the center of this old story. And hearing it. Verse 60, many of disciples said, this is a hard teaching. Who can accept it? And from this time we read. Verse 66 and the verse afterwards, from this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

You do not want to leave. Two, do you? Jesus asks the 12. Many of his disciples stop following, and Jesus comes to the the 12, the closest ones to him and says, how about you? Are you going away as well? Are you giving up on this journey? Two following the way of Jesus needs a beginning, but following the way of Jesus always needs continuing.

That's why so often the scriptures use this language that's an ever present continuum. There's always a new decision every day to continue to follow Jesus, and Jesus offers it to them. Now, do you want to leave as well? It's where the story hovers. And I would suggest that what we see here is that while people historically over different centuries here and now and in between have followed Jesus for many different reasons, we continue to follow him for only one.

We continue to follow him for just one reason, and Peter gives it for all of us here. Lord, to whom shall we go? Who else is the to go to? When people end up leaving communities, churches, they often do so with a story. Someone hurt me here, someone did this to me. I struggle with this part of the scriptures.

All sorts of questions that rise. But what we found over and over again, especially here at South, which is a church where many of you come with stories saying, I actually just nearly gave up. On this whole thing. I actually landed here because it just seemed like a place I could ask honest questions. I could be myself.

I could work through that journey of, maybe you call it deconstruction or something else. We have all sorts of people that come with stories just like that. And the one thing we hear over and over again is that I could get way away from church, but for some reason. I could never get very far from Jesus.

There was something about him that kept me near, something about the words he used, something about the life we live. To be honest, I could take church or leave it, but Jesus. I stuck around just for him. It reminds me of something that my mom said to me over and over again. When she would see me stressed with work, with church, stressed with life.

She'd just say this over and over again. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus. I kind of tweaked it and made it my own and it looks like this. Something that I'd say to those of you getting baptized today. Follow Jesus on the journey he has for you. Invite other people. Along. That's what we do over and over again in the midst of questions, midst of struggles, midst of angst.

We just keep following Jesus and every day, again, we keep following Jesus. He's the one that we can't leave, can't get away from. This is John, a famous picture of John, the writer of this book, stuck on an island called Patmos. Probably at this point in his eighties, he wrote this book about 96 AD probably about 60, 65 years after Jesus died and rose again.

All his friends, the other disciples have been killed. He stuck on an island just living out his existence. Every worldly thing that he might have started following Jesus for is disappeared, and here he is now, still following Jesus. 'cause where else will he go? We're gonna invite the baptismal peeps to head out.

We're gonna invite the worship team to come back and we're gonna sing a song together before we actually do the baptismals. And we're gonna call up different people at different spots and you're gonna have a chance to, uh, to, to watch people that you love and care about. Get baptized. Little note if you are here because someone you love is getting baptized.

And this isn't your faith Tradition big in church is uncomfortable for you. It's not somewhere you choose to be on a Sunday morning. Can I just say this? Thank you so much for joining us today. You're so welcome here. We're so glad you have this opportunity to support someone you love.