The Real Bread – John 6:24-69
Ever notice how some Christians seem to be always looking for spiritual excitement, but have a total lack of responsibility toward Jesus Himself? The sad truth is that many believers are fickle. They hop from one church to another looking for the trendiest seminar, the most ‘exciting’ Bible study, the most electrifying concert, the most exciting worship production, or a sermon that gives them that spiritual ‘mountaintop moment’ without the tough parts of true discipleship.
But Jesus didn’t come to give us endless spiritual highs. He came to give us a chance to know Him. Look at the message Jesus gave to the crowds listening that day: “…the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” And the crowd replied, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
In response Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I said to you, you have seen me and yet do not believe.”
The way the crowd responded tells us a lot about the difference between what people want and what people need. Too often the very thing people need is the last thing they’re looking for. And so, after hearing this many of His followers began to grumble and turned away.
It turns out that even some of Jesus’ disciples were really just fair weather followers looking for a free lunch. They didn’t have any real interest in a relationship with God. Verse sixty-six gives us this sad indictment: “…many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.”
In the middle of this painful rejection, Jesus turned to His Apostles with a question that must have been hard to ask: “You do not want to leave too, do you?”
Thankfully, good old Peter came through for Jesus, saying, “ Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Peter understood what the crowds missed. The Apostles weren’t there for fish sandwiches, to start a Jewish revolt against Rome, to find a new list of rules to keep, to get in on a Jesus pep rally, or even to hold a big miracle crusade. They were there because they believed that Jesus was the Holy One of God. The Messiah. The Bread of Life. All they needed was what they already had. Jesus Himself.
So, is Jesus all you need? Is He your Bread of Life? Or are you looking for that fluffy white empty loaf that goes down easy, but has no nutritional value? If we’d been there that day, would we have walked away, or would we have echoed Peter’s words? Because Jesus is truly The Bread of Life. Jesus is the real bread.