Well, we're going to consider the entire chapter of John 6, fifty-nine verses. Don't be afraid, I'm not going to read fifty-nine verses to you. This may be one of the top two or three most famous miracles that for which Jesus is known. And again, it's so magnificent that it can draw your attention away from what it's actually about.
Jesus took a small lunch of 5 loaves and 2 fish and turned them into a meal that fed five-thousand people with 12 baskets of leftovers. Here's where we'll pick up the story.
When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"
Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Now think about this; this seems like the moment of moments. Finally, these people want Jesus to be their king; that's what he came to be. He came to be their king, and yet he runs away and hides. And you should say, "What? Why would he do that?" Now keep listening.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him, God the Father has set his seal."
Jesus said, "You experienced the miracle, but you didn't see it as a sign. You didn't see what it was pointed to. You just want me to be king because you think I will deliver to you an eternal buffet. You're just running after me because your bellies are filled. You don't see that I am what you need, not just physically, but spiritually." (Summary Paraphrase) "Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" And Jesus said, "Just believe."
Now, this is amazing what happens next.
So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? (Seriously? He's just done this amazing miracle!) Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the true bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven...
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life..."
Now, I want you to think for a moment. Jesus, when he says, "I am the bread of life from heaven," he is actually taking manna as his name. He's referring back to Numbers 11. Don't you remember that moment when the children of Israel had nothing to eat because they were migrating, and God sent bread from heaven that would appear like dew in the morning on the grass? He said, "I am that ultimate provision." But unlike that bread that you'd have to gather day after day, "...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood...shall never thirst. You'll never be hungry again. I am the bread that you need." (Summary paraphrase)
You know what the response of the Jews was? Here it is, verse 41. This is very sad!
So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 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?" Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves."
Here is Jesus, the bread of life, being rejected once again. I have to say this. Many in the crowd there were like us; they thought of themselves as religious. They would have named themselves believers in God. They were people who would go to the temple. They would give their offerings. But they rejected the Messiah when he stood in front of them. Formal religion is not enough. Do you entrust everything you are to the Messiah, Jesus?
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. In what ways might you (like the Jews at the time of this story from Scripture) misunderstand who Jesus is and what he came to do in your life? When God doesn't give you what you want when you want it, is your temptation to grumble? How is your grumbling a rejection of Christ and his work in your daily life?
2. Why does Jesus make the connection between manna and himself? How is that personally relevant to you right now? Why is Christ your ultimate provision? In what ways is your life an inaccurate representation of someone who trusts in Christ's ultimate provision? How are you willing to change as you process through your last answer?
3. How might religion be standing in the way of you seeing Jesus accurately? Why is formal religion not enough when it comes to submission to God? Do you entrust everything you are to the Messiah, Jesus? If not, take some time to pause and pray a prayer of submission to Christ and his authoritative rule in your life...there is no better place to be.
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
• Why do you think Jesus referred to himself as the "bread of life"? How does Jesus calling himself the breath of life connect to you and me right now?
• Why do you think Jesus spoke like this in ways that were difficult for some people to understand what he was talking about and what he meant when he spoke?
For Older Children:
• Why do you think Jesus referred to himself as the "bread of life"? How does Jesus calling himself the breath of life connect to you and me right now?
• What does the word "provision" mean? Why is Jesus our ultimate provision? How is he your ultimate provision and what does that look like on a daily basis to you?
• How do you see Jesus as the ultimate provision and authority in my life? Where do you see gaps between calling Jesus my ultimate provision and actually living as if it's true?
• Can we pray together and ask Christ to be our ultimate provision in all we say, think, and do?
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