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BREAD OF HEAVEN – SERMON SUMMARY – CHRIS KHOURY – 2/7/2017

Eph 1:18

Lord open the eyes of my heart and let the light of your truth flood in.

BREAD OF HEAVEN

Jesus said in John 6, “I am the true bread from heaven.”

My prayer today is that as we go through the meaning of this chapter, the truth will flood your heart.

 

BACKGROUND

At the beginning of the chapter we read about Jesus feeds the 5000.

Evening comes, Jesus instructs his disciples to get into a boat and to cross the sea of Galilee. It gets dark, the wind comes up and the sea is rough. Jesus walks on the water.

“It is I, don’t be afraid.”  The next day the people chase after Jesus and find him on the other side of the lake. “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Then Jesus proceeds to answer their question.

 

READ JESUS’ ANSWER IN JOHN 6:26-71  (THE VOICE TRANSLATION)

 

Jesus: 26 I tell you the truth—you are tracking Me down because I fed you, not because you saw signs from God. 27 Don’t spend your life chasing food that spoils and rots. Instead, seek the food that lasts into all the ages and comes from the Son of Man, the One on whom God the Father has placed His seal.

 

Crowd: 28 What do we have to do to accomplish the Father’s works?

 

Jesus: 29 If you want to do God’s work, then believe in the One He sent.

 

Crowd: 30 Can You show us a miraculous sign? Something spectacular? If we see something like that, it will help us to believe. 31 Our fathers ate manna when they wandered in the desert. The Hebrew Scriptures say, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

 

Jesus: 32 I tell you the truth: Moses did not give you bread from heaven; it is My Father who offers you true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God comes down out of heaven and breathes life into the cosmos.

 

Crowd: 34 Master, we want a boundless supply of this bread.

 

Jesus: 35 I am the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty. 36 Here I am standing in front of you, and still you don’t believe.

40 So if you want to know the will of the Father, know this: everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will live eternally; and on the last day, I am the One who will resurrect him.

 

Commentator: 41 Some of the Jews began to grumble quietly against Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

 

Crowd: 42 Isn’t Jesus the son of Joseph? We know His parents! We know where He came from, so how can He claim to have “come down from heaven”?

 

Jesus: 43 Stop grumbling under your breaths. 44 If the Father who sent Me does not draw you, then there’s no way you can come to Me. But I will resurrect everyone who does come on the last day.

47 I am telling you the truth: the one who accepts these things has eternal life. 48 I am the bread that gives life. 49 Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died as you know. 50 But there is another bread that comes from heaven; if you eat this bread, you will not die. 51 I am the living bread that has come down from heaven to rescue those who eat it. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. The bread that I will give breathes life into the cosmos. This bread is My flesh.

 

Commentator: 52 The low whispers of some of Jesus’ detractors turned into an out-and-out debate.

 

Crowd: What is He talking about? How is He able to give us His flesh to eat?

Jesus: 53 I tell you the truth; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not know life. 54 If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, then you will have eternal life and I will raise you up at the end of time. 55 My flesh and blood provide true nourishment. 56 If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you will abide in Me and I will abide in you. 57 The Father of life who sent Me has given life to Me; and as you eat My flesh, I will give life to you. 58 This is bread that came down from heaven; I am not like the manna that your fathers ate and then died! If you eat this bread, your life will never end.

 

Commentator: 59 He spoke these words in the synagogue as part of His teaching mission in Capernaum. 60 Many disciples heard what He said, and they had questions of their own.

 

Disciples: How are we supposed to understand all of this? It is a hard teaching.

 

Commentator: 61 Jesus was aware that even His disciples were murmuring about this.

 

Jesus: Has My teaching offended you? 62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascend and return to where He came from? 63 The Spirit brings life. The flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have been teaching you are spirit and life, 64 but some of you do not believe.

 

Commentator: From the first day Jesus began to call disciples, He knew those who did not have genuine faith. He knew, too, who would betray Him.

 

Jesus: 65 This is why I have been telling you that no one comes to Me without the Father’s blessing and guidance.

 

Commentator: 66 After hearing these teachings, many of His disciples walked away and no longer followed Jesus. Jesus (to the twelve):

 

Jesus: 67 Do you want to walk away too?

 

Simon Peter: 68 Lord, if we were to go, whom would we follow? You speak the words that give everlasting life. 69 We believe and recognize that You are the Holy One sent by God.

 

Jesus: 70 I chose each one of you, the twelve, Myself. But one of you is a devil.

 

Commentator: 71 This cryptic comment referred to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he was the one of the twelve who was going to betray Him.

 

BREAD IN THE BIBLE

Bread has been called ‘the staff of life’. Bread often featured in the Biblical stories - from ancient times.

• Abraham shared bread and wine with Melchizedek, King of Salem. Expression of peace and fellowship.
• The Israelites ate unleavened bread of the Exodus. This was a reminder of the haste and eagerness in which they left their life of bondage in Egypt.
• Remember the manna in the wilderness. That sustained them for 40 long years.
• In the Temple, which Solomon later built they had the showbread, called “the Bread of the Presence”. This was placed daily in the Holy place. It was a reminder that God was their provider and sustainer.

 

CONCLUSION

So when Jesus said, “I am the bread of heaven, the bread come down from God,” he was tapping into a rich tradition of symbolism. He adopted an ancient and familiar symbol and gave it newer and fuller significance.

 

Jesus now challenges them to see that he himself is the true bread from heaven.

 

DO WE GET IT?

Do you believe that Christ lives in you? This was the reality that really impacted me this last week. Christ is in me! He will raise me up. I do have life, everlasting life!

 

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

When we eat the bread and drink the wine, we live in Christ, and he lives in us. We abide in him - he abides in us. We eat from the ONE loaf. We are members of the ONE body of Christ. We therefore have responsibilities towards ONE ANOTHER. If you are united with Christ and I am united with Christ, then we are united with each other. We cannot eat the bread and drink the wine and not be changed. We his followers must also bear fruit. Their needs to be visible change in the way we live our lives. Our Christianity should make a difference in the way we live. The impact of Jesus life on us should not just be an academic understanding. None of us can be lone ranger Christians.

 

Their are over 50 “ONE ANOTHER” scriptures in the NT.

 

John 13:34

I give you a new command. Love one another.

You must love one another, just as I have loved you.

Rom 1:12 Encourage one another

Romans 12:16 Agree with one another

Romans 14:13 Let us stop judging one another.

Romans 14:19 So let us do all we can to live in peace.

And let us work hard to build up one another.

Romans 15:5 Strengthen and encourage one another.

Romans 15:7 Accept one another.

Romans 15:14  Teach one another.

Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.

1 Corinthians 12:25 Take care of one another.

2 Corinthians 13:11 Make things right with one another.

Galatians 5:13 Serve one another in love.

Galatians 6:2 Carry one another’s heavy loads.

Ephesians 4:2 Put up with one another in love.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and tender to one another.

Forgive one another,

Colossians 3:16 Teach and correct one another wisely.

1 Timothy 4:13 Read Scripture out loud to one another.

Hebrews 10:24 Let us help one another to do good works.

James 5:16 Confess your sins to one another.

Pray for one another so that you might be healed.

1 Peter 1:22 Love one another deeply, from your hearts.

 

So as we participate in the communion today - think on these scriptures. If any one of them impacts you, if you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you to change, to love, to encourage, to serve, then follow through with those thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

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