Well, good morning church, and thank you so much for being here, number one, but also number two, lemme just say this, thank you for who you are. You know, it's not there, there, there's barely a week that goes by in, in those of us' lives that kind of live here at the church all the time. Not literally, but you know what I mean, that we don't hear of life change happening in people's lives. How God has really and truly does something incredible in someone's lives and transform them. And the reality is a lot of that is because of who you guys are and how you're investing in people's lives and how you're caring for people. So man, let me just pause at the beginning of this moment and just say thank you, thank you, thank you for making this place what it is. Now, I wanna start the message a little bit different this week than normal.
And I want to start by just simply asking you a question, a question. And here's the question, all right? It's a super serious question. When was the last time you were hungry? All right, you were hungry. Now I know some of you're like, oh, Matt, right now, hurry up, right, right now, no. But, but, but really, really, really? When was the last time you were hungry? I say that to say this a lot of, you know two weeks ago Melissa and I went, we, we snuck away. We got on a, a, a little, little anniversary trip that we took and at the place we were staying, one of the best things about this place was that all the food you wanted was included. Can I get an amen for these kinds of places? And here's what you need to know about your boy.
All right? Right here, couple things. Number one, I want to know, I get my money's worth. All right? I just want to know that. And number two, I've still got it. And here's what I mean by that. All right? Here's what I mean by that. I mean, I went hard in the pain in the food department on this trip, all right? I went hard. Not only was there breakfast, which was like, sit down, all you can eat. Not only was there lunch, which was just absolutely fabulous, not only was there dinner, there was all of those meals that don't have a name. Hallelujah. Praise to God. That you can eat whenever you want to. And I did. I went at it. There was pre-breakfast, there was post breakfast, there was pre-lunch, there was post-lunch. There was even those moments where Melissa went back to the room a little bit early.
I had that hour while she's getting ready to go out to a nice dinner, and I hit up the street taco stand just waiting for dinner on the way there. There was appetizers at dinner, there was dinner, there was one night we ate and I decided while walking past another place that I wanted what they had. So I ate what they had on the way to get another dessert on the way that night. That's how bad it was. Alright? That's how bad it was. Now, I'm not saying that gorging yourself for days on end is a good thing. I'm not saying that. And I'm not even saying that Melissa participated in my moment. All right? I'm not saying that. But what I am saying is it was impressive. All right? I put on a display and I fully walked away from that week going, you know what?
I did it. I got my money's worth. It was impressive. Not only was that impressive Monday morning after we got home and I went downstairs to the gym and I stepped on the scale. That was impressive right there. All right? That was impressive. Which meant one thing has to happen in this middle aged guy's life. That means something drastically has to change. You know what I'm saying? Remember when you were teenagers and you could just throw it down, hard in the pain whenever you wanted to, and it didn't matter? Well, that is not some of us anymore. Can I get an amen? Something had to change, and as a result of that, I'm not really good at just kind of cutting back a little bit, alright? That doesn't work in my life. So I just cut it. I was like, I'm not doing it. And so as enjoyable as that one week was, it has been a miserable two weeks in my life, absolutely.
I haven't just been hungry, I've been hangry. I mean, you know what I'm talking about. I mean, not only has it affected what I've eaten, I mean, I've been so hungry. I think it's affecting all of my life, which science backs up. Did you know that science tells us that hunger can make you make bad decisions. It can change your mood. It can make a person unbearable to be around. Don't look around right now, right? No, no, no. Don't do it. It can give you sleep problems. It can break down your muscles eventually, and it can break your immune system down too long. Ain't none of us going that long, but you know what I'm saying, right? And eventually it can actually take your life. Here's the deal, and here's where you're like, Matt, what in the world is this? We know it's the 11 o'clock service, but come on, right?
Lemme tie this to John's gospel into Jesus. You see, spiritual hunger is the same as physical hunger, and the reality is it's no different. Spiritual hunger actually affects every part of who we are as well. So today we're gonna look at the idea of spiritual hunger, and we're gonna look at this idea of what Jesus does about that. So to set the tone for today, I want you to write down a principle that's gonna get us thinking in the direction of John chapter six. That's where we're gonna be today. Get us thinking in that direction and show us why this chapter is so important. Here's the first principle I want you to write down. The cause of many of your spiritual problems is spiritual hunger. The cause of many of your spiritual problems is spiritual hunger. In other words, here's what I'm saying by that. If you track back some of your worst decisions that you have ever made, some of your worst habits, some of your bad habits, some of your addictions, even some of your mental or emotional problems, if we were or if we could track those back in times for a lot of them, what you will find is a deep unsatisfied spiritual hunger in your life.
Now, John chapter six, if you'll join me there. What Jesus is going to do is he's not only gonna make the point that I'm trying to make just by my funny little gorging myself, example, but he is also gonna not only make the point, but he's going to show us and offer us an eternal cure for the spiritual hunger that all of us have. Now, if you've been tracking with us in this series, I think it's like week eight now, I'm not sure, maybe seven, eight. What you know is we've been tracking through the Book of John today. The graphics changed. We're still in John, don't freak out. All right? But what has happened is from the beginning of John till now, we've watched Jesus and we've actually watched John show us who Jesus is, show us that he is. God, show us that by believing in him that we can have life.
Now, as we turn the corner and as we get into John chapter six, today, Jesus does something incredible and he actually shifts into some of these longer teachings of Jesus that shows us an even deeper look into who he is and what he wants to do in our lives. So for the next couple of weeks, like six, seven weeks, what we're gonna do is we're gonna spend some time looking what I would just call the five or or the seven famous "I AM" statements that Jesus gets us these statements that separates him from everybody else, and it shows us that he is God. We're gonna spend some time looking at those, not all of them, but most of them, and really feeling this idea that Jesus is the one that brings what we truly need. Now, I wanna start this morning in a little different way.
I wanna start at the end today, and then I wanna show you how Chapter six builds towards where it is in John chapter six, verse 35. What Jesus does is he gives us the main walkaway verse of John six, and then the rest of the chapter, the beginning of the chapter and the end of the chapter kind of points towards this verse. So let me just read that verse. That'll set the tone for us. We're actually gonna read it a few times this morning. John chapter six, verse 35 says this. It says, then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. If you got a copy of a paper Bible, you might wanna circle that word I am and circle that idea that he is the bread of life. If you're digital, just highlight the whole verse. All right? Then Jesus declared, lemme read it, I am the bread of life.
He says, whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Now lemme pause right there and give you a little bit of background why I told you to circle this idea of I am. Not only is that gonna be where we're gonna focus in on for the next couple of weeks with the phrases that follow it, but I wanna show you why this is such a big deal and why Jesus uses this phrase, tying all scripture together. This idea of I am is actually the name that God uses to describe himself and his power to Moses in the wilderness as he was preparing Moses to be the one that delivers God's people, the Jews out of bondage into the Promised Lamb. The story goes like this. Moses has had this encounter with God. God has just described to him how he's gonna use him and what he's gonna do in his life.
And then at the very end, Moses asking for some clarification looks at God and says, Hey, as I'm doing this, who is it that I need to tell them is telling me to do this? And God answers him in a way that's a little bit surprising to us. God looks at Moses and just says, tell them that I am has sent you that I am has sent you to which the question is Matt, doesn't that seem a little bit odd? Isn't that a little bit of a weird answer? So if you're wondering, what is this a weird thing to say, the answer is yes, it is a weird thing to say, but let me tell you why it is that. You see in this time, even more so than in today's world, actually, names carried some meaning. In this time you didn't just kind of flip through the baby book or have have a cool name that nobody else has, that nobody else can spell or really know why you named your kid that.
All right? That's not how it worked during this time, okay? During this time, a name described who you were, described what family you were from, what area you were from, what resources you had to bring to the table, and actually what clout that you had about you. And so when Moses looks at God and says, God, who do I tell them is sending me? What Moses is really asking him is, Hey, I need a description of who you are so that I can tell them by what power can this happen? So God looks at Moses and says, tell them that I am has sent you. In other words, I'm not like you Moses, God's saying, I don't come from anywhere. I'm not from anywhere. God's saying I don't depend upon anyone, and God is saying that I am fully sufficient. Therefore, what he's doing looking at Moses, God is saying, therefore, if you lack anything or if you need anything that you are not whatever it is or you don't have, or as you're going on this mission, God is looking at Moses saying, I am.
Amen. Does that make a little more sense today? Maybe. Maybe nobody's ever explained that to you. So what God is doing, he's saying, Hey, whatever it is that you're doing, whatever problem that you have, whatever power you lack, whatever name that you need, I am that. So in the Bible, as you're reading the Bible, the phrase I am is actually in Hebrew, translated Yahweh. In Latin, the phrase I am is actually translated as Jehovah. So from this point on in the Jews' life, anytime they needed something from God, they didn't just simply call out to the I Am. Although that's an incredible thing to do, they would actually put an adjective alongside of it to describe exactly what they needed. In other words, if they were in need, they would call out to what? Jehovah Gyra, right? The giver and provider of all that we need.
If they were sick or dying, they would call out to Jehovah Rafa, which just simply means that I'm the healer. If they were really afraid, they would call out to Jehovah Shama, the God I am that is with us. So when Jesus pulls up, alright, come back to the New Testament, when Jesus pulls up in verse 35 in John's gospel and takes on the name I am, and really when he does it for the next couple of weeks, just to keep in your minds, it is a big deal. It's actually a huge deal. So when Jesus says, not only I am, make no mistake, Jesus is claiming to be God, the God that our souls crave the God that our souls need to flourish. So when Jesus looks at these people and he says, I am the bread of life, I'm the bread of life, what is he saying?
He's saying, I'm not only Yahweh, but I'm the one that fills you with everything you need. That's what he says, why bread of life? I mean, it's simple. Think about it. There's no more common feeling on this earth than hunger is there, especially at this service. Amen? No more common feeling. And there's no more universal satisfaction to our physical hunger throughout all times, in all places, at all moments, except for you people who've given up wheat, than bread. No more common than hunger, no more common than bread. So only Jesus, that's what he's saying right here. Only Jesus satisfies the deep and the spiritual hunger that you have. Write this principle down so you can remind yourself this week just as bread sustains the hungry body, it's an intimate relationship with Jesus that nourishes the soul. Just as bread fills the body. An intimate relationship with Jesus nourishes the soul.
That's what John chapter six is all about. Now, John chapter six has hardly ever preached in one full message of one full chapter. Why? Because there's 71 verses in John chapter six. All right? You're gonna have to read 'em on your own this week. But today what I wanna do is I wanna show us how all of this supports this idea that he is the bread of life, and how all of this shows us that we at our deepest, deepest, deepest being, what we need is for him to fill us. Alright? Lemme show you John chapter six. We're gonna start in verse four. We're gonna read it and just talk about it a little bit. And you're gonna have to read all of it this week. Here it goes. Ready? It says this, the Jewish Passover Festival. What's near? Alright, now, this is one year from the flipping over of tables, if you were here a couple weeks ago, alright?
Jesus, at this point has done a lot of miracles. He's done a lot of teachings, and I want you to see that the Passover is on them. It's gonna, it's gonna matter later on verse five, when Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him for Jesus. He had in mind what he was going to do. Now I know all the time we say, man, I just wish I was the disciple. I don't know if I really wish I was discipled, knowing that Jesus could always kind of throw out the test that he did right here, but he did. Right? Lemme set the tone of what's happening. Jesus is outside the city. He's in the wilderness. He's gained this massive popularity, this crowd of people around him because of all of his teachings, because of all of his miracles.
They're all following after him to hear these incredible lessons. And so at this moment, Jesus pauses to teach the disciples a small little lesson right here. And what does Jesus do? Jesus throws out this little pop quiz moment. Now, everybody hates pop quizzes, right? But Jesus does this right here to his disciples. Now remember, anytime Jesus asks a question, he's not asking for his behalf. I mean, he's God for goodness sakes. He knows what he's going to do. He always asks questions for our behalf to teach us something and to show us that we can't do it without him and how unable we are. So Jesus looks at his disciples and watch what he says. He says, how are we gonna feed all of these people? Look at verse seven. Philip answers him, it would take more than a half year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite.
Now, your translation might say, it would take 200 denarii, right? For each one to have a bite. It's the same thing. A denarii 200 denarii is literally a definition of a half year's wage. So Philip looks at Jesus and he is like, Hey, there's no way, Jesus. There's no way we can do it. This is beyond our power. This is beyond our resources. This is beyond what we have. And Philip says, look, even if we worked for a half a year, we would never be able to do this, and those people would die of starvation, right? And then Andrew steps up, all right, so there's Philip. Now Andrew steps up next. Now, Andrew doesn't, get a lot of press in the Bible, but Andrew seems to always bring people to Jesus, right? That's what he does all the time. Read through it and you'll see it.
Look at verse nine. Watch what Andrew does. Here is a boy, Andrew says, with five small barley loaves. Barley was the cheapest of the cheap. I mean, it was the day old wonder bread right? Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and too small fish. But how far will they go among so many? Andrew says, in other words, Hey, Jesus, here is a little Jewish snack pack or a Hebrew happy meal, whatever it is, here it is, Jesus, right? But but what is that going to do with these thousands of people? Now, the Bible tells us that there's 5,000 men there. You can add on the women and children somewhere between 15 and and 20,000 people on this hillside at this moment. And now we've got these five fish in these two loafs.
What we see next is Jesus obviously feels like, Hey, you know what? I made my point with the boys. Now let me handle it. So what does Jesus do? Jesus takes the little meal from the little boy and he blesses it right in front of him. There's a, there's a little precedent for praying the the blessings God has given us. And then what does he do? He begins to share it with his disciples to start feeding this incredibly large crowd around him. Now, I want you to let this sink in your mind for a minute, even if you've been seeing this story since the flannel board. Think about this just for a minute. Okay? Think about it. Jesus now has the small little meal. He's sitting in my mind at least, I don't know if he's sitting, but in my mind he is. So stay off.
All right? He is sitting at the front of this group and he begins to take the bread. He begins to take the fish, and he begins after praying for it, and he begins to divide it and he begins to hand it to the disciples, to which now the disciples are standing there with it. And you, can you think of the level of faith that it took for these 12 disciples to begin to start handing out this food that Jesus gave them? I mean, think about the mutiny they would have on their hands if all they made was the front row of the 20,000, right? But they didn't. Why? Because Jesus told 'em, Hey, take these and go begin to feed these people. They're thinking, well, what if it runs out? But the good news is it doesn't. And as they hand it out, Jesus multiplies it until what happens in the story.
They feed every single person that is on this hillside until what did the Bible say Until every person was full. Now notice the disciples over here. Were just trying to get a bite for everybody. And in this society that would've been a lot because they didn't eat like we do. They don't settle up to the buffet and eat until they're about can't walk outta the place. No, they ate for substance. They ate just to make it. But now what we're seeing is Jesus doesn't just give 'em a bite. He absolutely fills them and to make it all better, on top of that, Jesus doesn't just feed them. The scripture says, if you keep reading down that at the end of this event there are 12 baskets left over. I want you to write this principle down about Jesus just so you can think about it this week.
Jesus doesn't just meet our needs, he exceeds them abundantly and perfectly. That's what he is doing in the story, right? The humans on this side, were just asking, Hey, just give him a bite. And Jesus is like, I'm just not a bite person. I wanna fill you. I wanna fill them perfectly and abundantly. Did you catch what just happened here? Jesus, just so they could see who he really was, he makes sure there's extra even after they were full. Now, this is just scene one in John chapter six, I told you there's a lot of ground to cover here. This is scene one, and actually this is not the main message of scene one, but it's setting us up for the scene that we need to see in verse 35. Look at verse 14. Here's what it says next. It says, after the people saw the sign, Jesus performed, they began to say, surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world.
Now, notice what it doesn't say, all right? Sometimes you gotta look at that. It doesn't say, here is a prophet, doesn't it? What does it say? It says there is the prophet. You see, there's a difference between a prophet and the prophet. A prophet is anyone who proclaims that they can tell what is going to happen. The prophet is a whole nother deal to these people. You see, to us, we're looking at this miracle and we're just seeing a new thing that Jesus does, a cool thing that Jesus does to show his power. But to them, Jesus was actually with the Jews at this moment. And to them, what they saw was that this miracle in a whole different context, a whole larger context, because they saw what was really happening as Jews as an incredible moment. You see, they knew exactly at this point what they were saying when they said, this is the prophet.
You say Matt, what, what, what does that mean? Stay with me just for a minute. Let me make the connections. As Israelites, their whole life, they've been looking for the prophet. They've been looking for the prophet. And right here, when Jesus produces bread from these little bitty moments, they go, wait a minute, this is the delivery. Say, Matt why would they say that? They said that because in the Book of Exodus, when the Jews were coming out of Egypt, when they got hungry, remember what Moses did with God? Moses looked at God and he's like, Hey, we need to do something here. And God, what did he do? He provided manna. He provided bread in the wilderness. Every single morning he put the sweet golden Graham cracker on the ground so that the people could do what? They could eat until they were satisfied. The deliverer of God's people.
Now a couple thousand years later, here it is, we have another group of Jews. They're now in the wilderness again. They're now also living in oppression, not by Egypt, but by Rome. And they're needing a deliverer like Moses and Jesus comes onto the scene and he shows the same power that Moses showed in the wilderness, but Jesus also does it during the Passover. Remember in verse four, I told you to remember that, to do what? To show them exactly who he is. Put the pieces together. There's a new prophet, right? Not Moses. It is Jesus. There is new manna on the ground. This is the bread of life. There's a new Passover moment right here. All the while, what is happening in this, what was left over at the end of this story, there was 12 baskets left over how many tribes were there in the wilderness that God delivered his people?
There word 12. So when you put all of this together, what you are beginning to see, they are looking at this going, this is the one, this is the prophet, this is the one that we've all been waiting for. But then things go a little bit sideways. Instead of seeing this for what Jesus was teaching it to be, they look at this as an opportunity to go. That's the one that is going to conquer Rome. And that's why we say that they understood the miracle, but they missed the point. Look at verse 15. Jesus knowing this, knowing that they had intended to come and make him king by force, he withdrew again to a mountain by himself. In other words, they thought Jesus was feeding them to give them nourishment and strength to overthrow Rome. But Jesus wasn't doing that. That wasn't the main point.
Jesus's main point was to look at them and to look at us and to prove once again that he is God and he is the bread of life that gives us life. You see, Jesus is pointing to the fact that they and we, we have a problem. We have a problem. And listen to me close. Our problem is way bigger than our empty stomach. Amen. It's way bigger. It's way bigger than Rome or our government. Our problem, what Jesus is pointing to in this whole chapter is that our soul is empty. And no matter what it is that we chase after to fill it, it will not fill us unless it's the bread of life. That's what Jesus is pointing to. And listen, it is just as relevant today as it was with them that we have got to see Jesus for who he is.
And what Jesus is pointing to is what we need most is not the miracle, it's the maker of the miracle. It is Jesus himself and a relationship with Jesus. It's an understanding that Jesus doesn't just give us the bread, that he is the bread. That's what the whole point chapter six is. Look, I know that there are many, many, many of you this, I don't wanna be sensitive when I say this. I know there's many of you that you came to church today with a problem. You need God to fix. You need 'em to heal your marriage. You need 'em to fix your finances. You need 'em to fix your kids. You need 'em to heal your physical body. You need a job. You need 'em to help you get pregnant. And listen, yes, Jesus is in fact aware and he's fully consumed. He's fully cares about those things.
In fact, we just saw him feed these people, did we not? So many times we'll say, man, if Jesus will just do this, if you'll just do this, then everything else will be good. But listen, nothing that God gives you will ever fill you like him giving you himself. It's the point here. And our core, what we really need is Jesus. What we really need is the bread of life. And I pray that we can grab hold of this. So the Jews, they're here at this mountain and they don't get it. They don't get it. But Jesus doesn't get frustrated. He just goes and he retreats off to a moment of prayer. And what does he do? You would think that the next chapter in your Bible would have a title that says Jesus sets 'em straight. But that's not what happens actually, right? Jesus sends the disciples across the sea of Galilee, right?
He sends these disciples over towards Capernaum when he goes over to pray, right? That's what it says he does, right? And as the disciples get into the boat, as they head across in the middle of the night, what John's gospel tells us is that in the middle of the night, a great storm comes up, one of the most famous miracles in the Bible, right? A great storm comes up, they row against it. They can't get anywhere after struggling and then all of a sudden, just before daylight, it tells us that Jesus comes walking across the water on the storm. And two things happen at the end of that moment. The first thing is that Jesus climbs into the boat and the storm stops. And the second thing is the second half of verse 21 in John chapter six, where it says, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
So in other words, I don't know how it worked. Jesus steps into the boat and automatically it fast forwards right to where he was sending them. But I want you to write a principle down that this reminded me of this week. Here it is, and it's that whatever storm or you can put hunger, whatever storm that you are in, Jesus has the power to overcome it. He has the power. Now, think about our text for a minute. At first, Jesus has already overcome their hunger. He's overcome that storm. Now, Jesus has overcome the physical storm and the storm of their fear. And that's what Jesus is saying through this whole chapter is, I am the only one. You can chase the other stuff. You can do what you want to. But I am the bread of life that fills. So the disciples, lemme bring you into what's going on.
They land at Capernaum, right where Jesus sent them in verse 16, they land. The Capernaum was an area where all the gentile population of that region lived. There was a ton of Gentiles there, okay? They weren't Jews. They were looked at as downcast. They were looked at as enemies of God. So they land there and immediately after they land, John doesn't tell us what's going on. But if you want some background in Matthew 14 and Matthew 15, Matthew tells us what happens. Immediately after they land, Jesus heals this Canaanite, this gentile lady's daughter, to which nobody understood. Actually they hated on him for it. But Jesus was just proven once again that he has come for all of us. Thanks be to God because not many of us are Jews. Amen. That he has come for all of us. And then secondly, then after healing this Canaanite lady, what Matthew tells us is that actually Jesus does the feeding miracle.
Again, maybe you never really realize this, but there's two of them. There's the feeding of the 5,000 on the Jewish side, and now what we're seeing is the feeding of the 4,000 on the Gentile or the pagan Canaanite side. Same thing happens again. Jesus looks up, he finds a little food, he feeds the 4,000 late in the afternoon, but instead of there being 12 baskets left over when they're done, now there's seven baskets left over to which you would ask, why is he tired? Did he run out of power? Is his mojo running low? No, actually, let me tie the pieces together. Once again, if you go back to Exodus to the first man, a miracle, you'll see that when God did this mana, this bread miracle in the wilderness, that there were seven Canaanite nations that surrounded the 12 tribes of Israel in the wilderness
tionshat was always coming at them. Are you seeing how this is working? You're watching now that on the Jewish side he gives them 12 baskets of leftover. He crosses the sea to the gentile side. Now there's seven baskets left over recognizing the fact that Jesus has come for whosoever, for whosoever. You don't have to be a Jew, you don't have to be a gentile. He is crossing over. In fact, write this principle down. Jesus has come to save and to sustain who so will receive him. So church, lemme bring this into where we are. Whatever storm you're facing, whatever hunger you're dealing with, yes you can keep chasing all the things the world wants to give you. But what Jesus is showing us here, no matter where we come from, and no matter who we are, Jesus wants to step into our boat, bring us peace, heal us from our infirmities and give us fullness because he is the bread of life.
In fact, it was on the gentile side that we read verse 35 again, then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life and whosoever whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Have you ever thought about the fact that it's Jesus comes to save the whosoever? Have you ever traced the whosoever through scripture? Lemme give you a couple of 'em. John three 16 from a couple weeks ago, that what for God still of the world that he gave his only son that who ever believes in him shall have everlasting life. What about Romans 10 13 where it says, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. What about John 1126? Whosoever lives by believing in me, John says, shall never die. Acts 10 43 says, whosoever believes in him shall have forgiveness of their sins.
In John, John one, John four 15 says, whosoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, he lives in them. Listen, you might have come to church this morning, yes, with a problem on this side, not realizing that your biggest problem is Jesus to fill you. But you also may have come to church today thinking that, Hey, I am too far for God to ever do something in me. To which Jesus says, oh, no, no, no, no. I'm in the business of crossing the seas and I'm in the business of meeting you right where you are. Listen, you don't have too much baggage, you don't have too much secrets. You don't have too much past, you don't have too many bad decisions and you don't have too much shame. I've got news for you. You are not that far from God. And Jesus wants to come to your Capernaum with the same bread multiplying, filling power that he's shown us twice in this one little chapter.
And if you go back and you look at this, what we're seeing even again this week on a micro scale of Jesus crossing and meeting is exactly once again what Jesus does on a macro scale of who we are, Jesus has crossed the sin. See to come for me, he has sought me out. He has shown me his power. But the question is, have I received him? We started this whole series off of one John one 12 when it says yet to all who did receive him to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. You know what one of my biggest passions in preaching is? It's to bring the text not only to life, but it's to bring it to right where we are. And listen, Jesus just did this. Do you know the reality today is that you can receive him right now?
The greatest advantage that we have over them is that not only now, Jesus is not just limited to one spot at one time at one place, no. Now Jesus is beside the Father interceding on our behalf, and he can hear every single one of us at one time, which means that he is listening for us to ask him to fulfill us and satisfy our soul as the giver and the bread of life. That's the whole text. The question is today, what is keeping you from it? And whatever it is, I can promise you it's not worth it. I can promise you whatever you're chasing that is not the bread of life will not fill you. It will give up on you and it will turn your back on you. Look again at the promise of Jesus. Lemme read you these last couple of verses that I just wanna point out from this text.
It's Jesus again reviewing what he's already taught us in verse 47, Jesus. And this is what I'm closing with. Jesus says, very truly, I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. Jesus says, I am the bread of life. And watch what he did. He ties all the pieces together magically that I've just been so feeble trying to do all day watch. He says, your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, yet they died. In other words, they, they got some bread, but they chased it after. And it wasn't me, but here. Now picture this in your mind. Picture Jesus telling me that. He says, but here is the bread. In other words, he's looking at himself, he's going here. He's not looking at the bread he's giving them. That's where your mind wants to tell you, no, no, no, he's going. But here I Jesus said, I am the bread.
How do we know that? Read the less of the sentence. But I am the bread that calms down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. Verse 51. He says it again, I am the bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. My this bread is my flesh. Here's the gospel which I give for the life of the world. Li listen again. This is not about physically eating your lunch in about an hour from now, right? It's not. This is about Jesus going, I am the bread not, does he give the bread? No, he is the bread not. Does he give you a way to live in the bread? No. He is the bread not, does he just give you a L new lifestyle? No, I am the bread. Listen, church, it's about a relationship with the bread. And Jesus says, I am the bread.
I'm the one you've been looking for. I'm the one that can satisfy your soul. I'm the one that will meet you right where you are. But I love you too much to leave you there. Therefore, I'm offering my life to you to satisfy you eternally and the bread of life. Man, this chapter is incredible because it takes one of those things that every one of us fills and it shows us we can chase after anything we want, but it won't fill us like he will. You realize that he's the bread of life in our victories, that he's greater even than our victories. He's the bread of life in our defeats, knowing that nothing else really matters. If we have him, he's the bread of life that doesn't just exist on the Jewish side, but he is there for us. He's the bread of life that meets us in the storms and meets us in the hunger and meets us in the question, and meets us in those moments where we feel like nobody can do it. He is the bread and church. I hope you're seeing what's happening here. I hope you're seeing what's offered to us. I hope you're seeing the new manna, the new bread, the new Passover lamb, whose body brings us satisfaction, whose blood brings us forgiveness. And now he's said, I'm available to the who so ever. So here's the question this morning, have you given him your life? Have you received him as your Savior and as your Lord? I'm the bread of life.