Transcript
Speaker: There's an old saying familiarity breeds Contempt. Meaning you can become so familiar with something over time that it's difficult for you to see clearly. What'd you think this morning if you happen to know somebody who's gone on to accomplish extraordinary things? Maybe they were a pro athlete or a... Singer.
Speaker: Or maybe somebody famous. Um... When you think about that person, sometimes your first response is not amazement. Right? It's disbelief.
Speaker: Wait a second, him? I know that guy. Her? I went to school with her. But we remember where they came from. We remember the family.
Speaker: Remember what they were like many years ago? And sometimes that information that we have about them Keeps us... from seeing the situation clearly. that's right in front of us. Brothers and sisters, this is exactly what's happening.
Speaker: In our passage this morning in John chapter 6. The crowds have watched Jesus do... miraculous things, extraordinary things. He multiplies a little bit of food and he feeds thousands.
Speaker: They've experienced him firsthand. doing these miracles. And he told them... Last week, if you were here, he said, I am the bread of life.
Speaker: Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. whoever believes in me will never... Be thirsty. Then he makes... An even greater claim this morning in our passage.
Speaker: He says, I have come down. From heaven.
Speaker: And this is where the crowds get stuck. They can't accept him. for this statement. Sure! They don't look at him and accept him as Jesus, the miracle worker.
Speaker: Yes, they'll accept him as somebody who can provide them bread. But because they're so familiar with Jesus, they can't accept him. as the bread of life who has come down from heaven.
Speaker: The bread that they truly need. Brothers and sisters, I want to say this morning that the same can be true for us. I think sometimes we can become so familiar with Jesus. that we stop becoming astonished by him. and who he really is.
Speaker: I thought about you this week as I often do when I sit in the parsonage. In complete silence. In deep meditative prayer. Over this sermon.
Speaker: Another one. As I looked out on the pews, visually, I... envision, thankfully, you guys don't move around a lot, so I know kind of roughly where you guys all sit.
Speaker: I thought some of these folks have been here for decades. Generations. Same pews Never move. Y 'all know the Bible stories.
Speaker: Y 'all know all the passages. Y 'all know all the verses. Y 'all know all the hymns. Ain't that right, Miss Judith?
Speaker: you become so familiar with Jesus. But sometimes... You no longer... live each day in awe of Him. Or, I put in my notes, completely dependent upon him.
Speaker: So the question I want you to wrestle with this morning is what I've been wrestling with all week is, is Jesus merely familiar? to us. Or is he somebody we truly cannot live without?
Speaker: Jesus is not merely... something missing from an otherwise complete life that you may have. He's not an addition. He's not an accessory. He is life itself.
Speaker: We're going to see that here in our passage. Turn with me to chapter 6. Starting in verse 41.
Speaker: John tells us in 41 Here he says, then the people began to murmur. I love this word. We're going to look at this word a little bit. detailed today. my Brother Maxie did a fabulous job.
Speaker: reading that entire passage, which I apologize in... hindsight i didn't realize how much i gave him there but That entire... uh passage Had murmur at least seven times in there. by the way.
Speaker: He says here, the people began to murmur in disagreement because Jesus had said I am the bread that came down from heaven and they said um Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph?
Speaker: We know his father and mother. How can he say I came down from heaven?
Speaker: Notice what bothers them here. Right? Not primarily an argument about the bread It's about where Jesus came from. They're arguing about his origin. Hey, we know his mother and father. Isn't he the son of Joseph?
Speaker: But Jesus is now saying, I came down from heaven. And essentially this crowd was saying, no, you didn't. We know you. We know your family. Notice the complaint here.
Speaker: It's a grumble. a grumbling, a small murmur. It's it's often heard as as just a slow a little sound that kind of builds as more and more people are talking.
Speaker: This Greek word is gongizo. I love this word, gangizo. You hear this often in the churches. It starts whenever they see the drum set. put up on the stage.
Speaker: little grumblings, little words. popping up. Is that a guitar? I sure hope that doesn't have an amplifier with it. and The grumblings and the murmurs stop her. Gone, gone, Gizo!
Speaker: It means to complain or to mutter or to grumble. It's the same word you saw in Brother Maxie's reading today. The Israelites experienced this in the wilderness, right?
Speaker: God delivers them. out of slavery from Egypt and he sends them into the wilderness. And they start grumbling against Moses and, in effect, God. We're hungry!
Speaker: You've let us out here. We had all the food we could eat back when we were slaves and they start grumbling. to which God responds by providing them manna from heaven.
Speaker: And now here we are centuries later. Same crowd maybe different Crowd slightly, but same grumbling. Once again, it's bread from heaven that's at the center of this controversy.
Speaker: Except this time it's God who has given them something far greater than man. He's given them his son, Jesus. It's almost tragic, I put in my notes here, tragic irony, if you will. Their ancestors grumbled because they wanted bread from heaven, and now they have. indeed what they wanted the true bread from heaven standing right there in front of them but because they're so familiar with jesus they completely miss it
Speaker: Now I want you to look with me real quick at the and the misunderstanding here, right? They judged Jesus because of what's familiar. Listen again to the objection. Say, isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother, right? They know his earthly family.
Speaker: They know his hometown. They know his background, but they don't know his true origin. Yes, Jesus is fully human. But he's also the eternal son of God.
Speaker: They know something about Jesus, but they don't know the whole story. They have partial knowledge but not complete knowledge.
Speaker: And I put my notes and I circled it a couple times this week because as we were studying first. Corinthians on Wednesday nights, and if you haven't joined us. It's a great time to join us this week. Just like that crowd in Corinth, they don't know the whole story.
Speaker: And they're grumbling. It's a warning here for us, church family, I think, you know that sometimes we can be quick. to jump on the marmor and the grumbling.
Speaker: bandwagon when we don't know the full story.
Speaker: Wicked. become too familiar I put here. We can know all the Christian language. You can know all the Bible stories. You can even know some theology. You can know when to stand and when to sit. You can even know every verse from Amazing Grace.
Speaker: And you can still reduce Jesus to someone who's... familiar. somebody who's manageable.
Speaker: We must never confuse familiarity with Christ with faith. In Christ.
Speaker: The carpenter from Nazareth is indeed the son of God. the eternal Son of God. The one who became hungry is indeed the bread of life. The one who would die on a Roman cross is the one who gives eternal life.
Speaker: We cannot allow familiarity with Jesus to shrink. Jesus. In other words, we can't become so familiar with... that we start thinking, well, Jesus doesn't work that way.
Speaker: Jesus doesn't heal like that anymore. Yeah, he hears my prayers, but he can't answer those big things in life. Somehow we like to confine Jesus that way.
Speaker: Put them in a box. Look at what... Jesus says here, verse 43, he provides some... clarification. Verse 43, he says,
Speaker: Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to me unless the Father who... sent me draws them. And on in the last day, I will raise them up. Right? This word draw is... um Helkyro. Helkyro is like a fishing net that you would cast out in the water and you let it sink and you start pulling it in. This is this idea, this visual picture.
Speaker: it's like a full net of fish being pulled into the boat He says, This is something... profound about salvation I want you to miss. He says, We don't go out and discover Christ.
Speaker: because we're somehow spiritually clever. We don't go out and reason our way into God's kingdom because somehow we're smarter than everyone else. He says, no, the clear. salvation message is that God is the one who draws us. It's His initiative. It's His grace that draws us to Him.
Speaker: The Father draws, and we the sinners come, and the Son receives. Does not mean that God drags unwilling people kicking and screaming. Into salvation.
Speaker: As Jesus is describing here God's gracious work of opening the blind eyes. to awaken the heart of the sinner. to see Christ for who he really is.
Speaker: So they may come to him in faith. Look look look at verse 41 or 45. It says, Everyone who listens to the Father... And learns from him. Comes to me. Notice where the father's drawing leads. It leads directly to Jesus.
Speaker: God does not draw people away from Christ. He draws people to Christ. And once we fully understand where Jesus came from, The next question is pretty unavoidable. We have to say, well, why is Jesus here. Why did Jesus come?
Speaker: Look with me, verse 47 and on. Jesus says, I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life. Pretty straightforward, I put in my notes.
Speaker: He doesn't say anyone who behaves well enough might earn eternal life. Now listen again. Very simple, very clear, very straightforward. He says, anyone who believes.
Speaker: has eternal life. Notice the promise. Anyone. Whoever. That's you. That's me. Anyone who believes has eternal life. Amen?
Speaker: All throughout John's Gospel, we see believing means far more than just... acknowledging with our facts that something is true. Biblical faith means that we're placing our trust in someone, in the person of Jesus.
Speaker: Like Alistair Begg, he said, you can believe an airplane will fly without ever boarding it.
Speaker: You can believe a chair will hold you up without ever sitting in it. And in the same way, biblical faith is more than just saying, I believe that Jesus existed. biblical faith Puts weight.
Speaker: of your life on Christ. Notice that the tense Jesus uses here in this promise. Anyone who believes has.
Speaker: ongoing, not merely will have. It has and continues on. Eternal life certainly includes life forever with God, but it begins right now with this new kind of life the moment you place your trust in Jesus.
Speaker: The believer possesses eternal life now that extends beyond. The grave. Why can Jesus make this type of promise? Well, because he is the eternal son of God. Right?
Speaker: John, what was our our main purpose statement, those of you who wrote it several weeks ago? If you flip to the back of John with me real quick. real quick. John.
Speaker: 20. Verse 30.
Speaker: The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to these ones recorded in this book. But these 31 say are written. so that you might continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
Speaker: The entire purpose statement of John in that. A few couple of verses.
Speaker: Look with me. Verse 49 on, it says, i want I want you to see something. Your ancestors ate man in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats this bread from heaven, however, will never die.
Speaker: right the The miraculous gift of manna from God was a provision from God, but that manna at that time had limitations, right? You only... harvested it in the morning, and you ate it for the day. that was That's why we get that term daily bread from.
Speaker: Israel ate it. But they became hungry the very next day. And eventually they died. Now Jesus is saying, I'm offering you something even greater than manna. This bread that I provide, when you eat, you will never die.
Speaker: Jesus provides eternal peace. permanent life. And this is where the crowd gets confused all throughout John chapter 6, by the way. They keep thinking about... The physical.
Speaker: They keep thinking about their stomachs, the physical bread. And Jesus is talking something more spiritual here. He's talking about their souls. He's talking about eternal things. They want another meal. Jesus wants to offer them eternal life.
Speaker: And I put this week as I ponder this, are we not so different from these grumbling Israelites sometimes? Sometimes we get so focused on all the wrong things. The temporary things of life.
Speaker: That next meal, that next thing that's going to satisfy us. And as soon as we consume those temporary things in life, we're right back in the same place again. Hungry. One name. Jesus says here, if you have me, you will never be hungry again. You will never be thirsty again.
Speaker: I'm all the provision you need. Look at verse 51. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. And this bread which I offer. So that the world may live is my, and everybody say it.
Speaker: flesh Now if you heard this, brothers and sisters, and you were standing in that crowd, You would probably say What did he just say?
Speaker: His flesh?
Speaker: It's a stumbling block for these people. It's startling language here, my flesh. I don't care if you were in a crowd back then or if you were a crowd today. If somebody was sitting here this morning and they said this is the way that you're going to receive. Jesus Christ is that you have to eat his flesh.
Speaker: It would be pretty startling.
Speaker: What does he mean? by this statement. He's pointing ahead to the sacrificial death. that he's going to undergo. The bread of life will give his life so that sinners can receive eternal life.
Speaker: He saves us by giving. himself in our place and that's our second note sorry i must have skipped our first note there Our second note today that I want you to write down is that Jesus saves us by giving himself in our place.
Speaker: It's our heavy theological term of substitutionary atonement. He took your place and my place. We deserved that punishment on the cross. He took it for you and I.
Speaker: He was real human flesh and indeed the Son of God. And he paid that a price with his flesh on the cross. He would bear that sin. He would endure that judgment. He would die a sinner's death.
Speaker: And he would rise again, and friends, that's the gospel in a nutshell. That's the good news. The resurrection, by the way, is what makes it the good news. You know, I had a seminary professor tell me that a long time ago.
Speaker: He said the death of Jesus on the cross isn't good news. It wasn't good news for Jesus and it wasn't good news for you. But the fact that he died and rose again, that is the good news. that you too and I too will someday experience that same resurrection.
Speaker: that payment that Jesus made on the cross. came at an enormous, enormous cost. It's free to us, but it wasn't cheap
Speaker: He did so as so that spiritually dead people might be alive again. It's not so that... Decent people would be made better. It's so the dead people will be brought back to life again.
Speaker: He didn't come to improve your marriage. or to strengthen your family. or to make difficult weeks a little bit easier. He came to solve the deepest problem that you and I will ever experience.
Speaker: And that is the sin that separates us from God.
Speaker: So what do we do? this this Final question I put. for us today. How does that... life that Christ provides us. How does that become ours? How do we actually receive it? Well, look, verse 52. Real clear.
Speaker: Then the people began arguing with each other about what Jesus meant. How can this man give us his flesh to eat? They asked.
Speaker: I understand that the tension that's going on. you Jesus is going well beyond the physical level here of just... eating my flesh he's pointing to them to something much greater They have to probably be asking themselves in the back of their minds, maybe this is what they're mumbling about to each other.
Speaker: How is this man going to give us this flesh to eat? I don't understand physically how this is going to work.
Speaker: But back in verse 35, you'll remember Jesus says, Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Speaker: He's not talking about... cannibalism here y 'all this is why i want to be real close real clear with you guys he's He's pointing... to what we're gonna experience here in just a few. few moments at the Lord's Supper.
Speaker: right This representation that we're going to... parttakeing this special meal that we're going to partake in. And I want you, as we do that today, to think about Jesus' words today.
Speaker: right That that eating of the flesh that comes at a great cost and something that you and I get to participate in. in just a few moments. He uses this strong language, this vivid imagery of eating and drinking.
Speaker: But he's saying, brothers and sisters, that if you really want to accept Jesus, you have to receive him. and depend on him it is it is a life decision It's not simply an add -on. It's not simply an accessory.
Speaker: He's not the emergency contact that you put in your phone. this week you know when all things Start falling apart. You're like, where is that emergency contact? Oh, there's Jesus. Let me reach out to him this week.
Speaker: Jesus is... Life. Life eternal. Present life. abundant life,
Speaker: It's this personal and intimate relationship that we have. With him. You must personally receive. Jesus by faith.
Speaker: We eat because our bodies cannot sustain themselves indefinitely. We drink because our bodies need water. But Jesus is essentially saying this. This is how you'll know if you need me completely. If you depend on me.
Speaker: for life itself. Which takes us back to our very first question that I asked you. Do you simply know Jesus because he's familiar to you? Or do you... Really? Rely on him.
Speaker: Meaning you cannot live life without him.
Speaker: It's one of the hardest truths for the religious people. to accept. They would prefer Jesus as just... Somebody who's helpful. A helpful counselor. somebody who makes life a little bit better.
Speaker: But Jesus is not going to let them get off the hook that easy. He's going to say if you really want to know what abundant life looks like, you're going to have to... Consume me! I'm gonna have to...
Speaker: Be all of you. You cannot live. Without me. He presents himself as the living bread. like the The bread that you cannot live without.
Speaker: And he says here in verse 56, look with me, the result of those. who receive Christ will... Abide in him. I love this word. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me or abides in me.
Speaker: And I am... in Him. You'll see this word, meno. This is where we get abide from, the Greek word meno. It means to stay, to remain, to dwell, to abide, to sit in.
Speaker: It's almost a picture of a baby in the mother's arms. right The baby remains in this. picture of the mother cradling the baby. Jesus says, verse 57, I live because of the living Father who sent me and in the same way anyone who feeds on me will live because of me.
Speaker: Listen carefully to those words in 57. Will live. Because of me. Right, brothers and sisters, that's... The Christian message right there. It's not simply believing Jesus did something for me one time way back when, when I received him.
Speaker: It is living today because my life is found in him.
Speaker: So when fear comes... Depend on Christ. when When disappointment comes, we depend on Christ. When I don't know what the next step is to do, I depend on Christ.
Speaker: When my plans seem to fall all apart, Guess what? I'm going to depend on Christ. When my life is good and I feel tempted to be self -sufficient, guess what I'm going to do? Rely on Christ.
Speaker: When my strength begins to fail, I'm going to depend on Christ. One day when I eventually face death, I'm going to depend on Christ. Because Jesus says in 58, anyone who eats this bread will...
Speaker: Live. Forever. And that's the promise. Not because we're strong enough to hold on to him, but because our life is found in the one who's conquered death.
Speaker: So let me make this very practical this morning for you as you step out of these doors this week. I often like to do this. Sometimes I think... If they slept through the first 40 minutes, What would the last five minutes?
Speaker: If they woke up, what would that... really take home for them.
Speaker: Here's what I want you to do. outside of your normal routine. For some of you, you wake up in the morning. You grab the phone, you grab your coffee, you turn on the television.
Speaker: In your day. Starts off. You jump in the car, you go to school. You teach at school, you're you're somebody who sits in class at school. You go to work.
Speaker: Here's what I want you to do before all that. routine starts the very first thing you do when you get up in the morning Read John 6 .35. 6 .35 simply says this, I am the bread of the life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.
Speaker: So the first thing I want you to do is read 635.
Speaker: Two sentences. Then ask yourself this question What am I tempted to depend on today instead of Jesus? What am I tempted? To depend upon today instead of Jesus.
Speaker: And then I put, don't answer this generally. I think that's our go -to way of scapegoating these tough questions. You know, maybe I'll just say Sid. No, I don't want you to say, see, I want something specific. Think something specific.
Speaker: And then pray on it. Lord, show me specifically what I am depending on today instead of you.
Speaker: Read it. Ask the question. Pray about it. And then listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Get quiet. for just a few minutes before you start that hectic day that hectic routine.
Speaker: Maybe it's money. Maybe it's health. Maybe it's another person. Maybe it's your own ability to control. or seemingly control what you think happened. Maybe it's the approval of somebody else. Maybe it's personal comfort. Whatever it is. identify it. And pray.
Speaker: Jesus, you are the bread of life. Help me depend upon you today. Jesus, you are the bread of life. Help me depend upon you today. And carry that prayer throughout the day with you. So that when that anxiety rises up,
Speaker: Come back to Jesus. Pray that simple prayer. When frustration arises, Go back to Jesus. Pray that simple prayer. When temptation comes, go back to Jesus. Pray that simple prayer.
Speaker: And you know what? Even when good news comes... This week? Go back to Jesus and pray that prayer.
Speaker: We do this, brothers and sisters, not just as some additional religious habit that I want you to pick up this week. It's so that we might train our hearts. To live out what is already true.
Speaker: That Jesus is... your life. Everybody repeat after me. Jesus is... One more time. Jesus is. My life. Jesus is. My life.
