Series: NOW I SEE
The Bread of Life
March 19, 2017 | Bob Kerrey
Passage: John 6:35-58
Big Idea: Just eat it.
John 6:35-58 (ESV)
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 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 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Series Information
Deadened by the daily grind, drifting in a sea of confusing cultural ideologies, blinded by what we’ve always been taught or been told, we wonder. What is true? What is real? What is the meaning of all this? Why all the suffering and injustice? How can I find fulfillment? How can I make a difference? How can I live without regrets?
Jesus gives signs. The signs point to a new, full life that he offers. But neither Jesus nor the signs nor the new life fit into the tidy religious box of our expectations. And so they are easily misread or distorted or dismissed altogether. They demand openness. And eyes to see. And faith.
The Gospel of John was written to help everyone see the signs--signs that can lead us to a new, full life. Whether you're the most hardened skeptic or the most ardent fan, join us, expecting to think hard and fresh, as we study our way through the Gospel of John. This is for you.
