The Bread of Eternal Life I (John 6:22-40)

Make it your life ambition to get Jesus Christ, the God-given bread of eternal life

I. The Fans of the Christ

Famous people always have their followers. Famous authors have their readers; famous scholars have their students; famous movie stars their fans, and famous politicians their supporters. And at this point in his ministry, Jesus is no different. At this point in his ministry, Jesus is famous. Very famous. I mean, if miraculously feeding five thousand or more people from five loaves of bread will not make you famous, then surely something must be wrong. However, things are going to be changing very soon.

We come now to a pretty long section in the Gospel of John, which is 6:22-59. And in this long portion of Scripture, we find one of the most important dialogues between Jesus and the Jews in the entire Gospel. This dialogue is a significant turning point in the Gospel because after it is over, many of those who once followed Jesus, many who of those who were once his admirers or his fans, will leave.[1] Before this dialogue, many were seeking him. But after 6:59, those who were once so excited about him will turn away.

But what is the reason for this change in heart? Well, we will know as we make our way through the dialogue. In fact, as we move through this dialogue, we will see other issues being raised. Issues like: Why is it that some people believe in Jesus and others do not? What is Jesus’ mission all about? Most importantly, what does it mean to believe in Jesus? All the answers to these important questions will begin revealing themselves as we make our way through 6:22-59.

II. John 6:22-40: The Bread of Eternal Life

A. Seeking Jesus (6:22-24)

So we come now to verse 22 and here, we return to the crowd which Jesus fed earlier. Now, bear in mind that these people did not see Jesus walk on water. As far as they are concerned, they are completely unaware of what happened during the night. All they knew was that their teacher had decided for some reason to leave them. And all they want now, more than anything else, is to find him. Verse 22 tells us that the crowd realized that Jesus and his disciples had come in only one boat. And since Jesus “had not entered the boat with his disciples,” then the disciples must have gone away alone, and Jesus could still be in the area.

But eventually, as verse 23 tells us, other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread. And somehow, the word must have gone out that Jesus had been spotted in Capernaum and so the people get on the boats and go to Capernaum, “seeking Jesus.” Now, I find it very interesting that we are told they were seeking Jesus. How eager they must have been to catch up with their hero. But how greatly their excitement will change by the time we get to the end of chapter 6. One good exercise you might want to do is simply to go through John 6:22-59 and pay close attention to the reactions and responses of the people toward Jesus, and you will see the gradual change from excitement or curiosity, to grumbling, to argument, and eventually, to abandonment.

B. Finding Jesus (6:25-40): The Dialogue in the Synagogue at Capernaum

1. The Crowd: “Rabbi, When Did You Come Here?”

Now, upon reaching Capernaum, they do find Jesus. In fact, 6:59 suggests to us that they found him while he was teaching in a synagogue, which is a Jewish house of worship much like our churches today. And so when they find Jesus, they ask him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

2. Jesus: Unveiling and Counseling

Now, we can imagine that this is a somewhat awkward situation. After all, the reason why Jesus separated himself from the crowd in the first place was because he had a problem with them. And now these same people have found him and they were coming to him completely unaware of the reason for why Jesus had left in the first place.

How then does Jesus respond to their question? Well, notice that he does not even bother to answer it. Instead, he gets right to the heart of the issue. First, Jesus moves very quickly to uncover the true motivation of the people: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of loaves” (v.26). In other words, you people are seeking me not because you saw the miracles as signs of something deeper; you are seeking me because you want me to create more food for you. And yet, having criticized their intentions, Jesus proceeds to give the people some advice: “Do not labor for the food that perishes,” Jesus says; instead, work “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” (v.27). Well, what is Jesus doing here? He is trying to teach the people that their reasons for looking for him were wrong. Yet, he does not stop there. He wants to also teach them the right reasons for why they should come to him. So even in rebuking or criticizing the crowd, it is not as if Jesus was pushing them away. Instead, he is very skillfully creating an opportunity to teach them about himself.

3. The Crowd: “How to Do the Works of God?”

Now, having heard what Jesus had to say, they probably started thinking: If Rabbi Jesus said that we should work for food that lasts forever, then surely he must teach us how to do this work that God wants us to do. It is this line of thinking that explains their next question: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (v.28) In other words, how can we do what God wants of us? What is it that God wants us to do in order to gain the food that lasts forever?

4. Jesus: “This is the Work of God…” (6:29)

But the answer that Jesus had for them was probably not what they expected. “‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent’” (v.29). In other words, you want to know what God wants of you? You want to know what God calls you to do in life? Fine. This is the work that God wants you to do: Believe in the one he sent.

5. The Crowd: “Prove It” (6:30-31)

Now, at this point, the crowd obviously understood what Jesus was asking of them. They knew that Jesus was asking them to put their trust in him. Well, this is fair enough. But before they make such a big commitment, they must first have proof. And so they ask Jesus, “‘what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?’” (v.30) In other words, Rabbi, give us some empirical and measurable proof that you are the one we should believe.

Now, at this point, you might be thinking, “Wait a minute. Didn’t Jesus just multiply five loaves of bread and two fish the day before? What more proof do these people want?” Well, the clue to the kind of proof they want is really found in the next thing that they say. Look at verse 31: “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Verse 31 is obviously referring to the event in Exodus 16 where God provided bread for the Israelites to eat while they were in the wilderness. This was a special kind of bread called manna. But why were the people bringing up this event? What has the manna got to do with asking Jesus to prove his authority? Well, this is what I believe the crowd is doing: In bringing up the manna, in reminding Jesus of the manna, they were challenging Jesus to prove his authority by producing a miracle greater than the manna. And understand this: Since the feeding of the five thousand was the one miracle Jesus performed that came closest to the manna miracle of Exodus 16,[2] the crowd was therefore challenging Jesus to do something greater than the feeding of the five thousand. Do you see their logic here? They want Jesus to do better than what he had already done. As you read John 6:31, understand that the people are once again trying to get Jesus to do what they want him to do. This time, they want him to prove himself—and prove himself using standards they themselves had set. It is not too different from what we ourselves do at times. Right? “God if you are real, then do x, y, z.”

6. Jesus: God’s True Bread is Here (6:32-33)

Now, how does Jesus respond? Surely he knows what these people are up to. Surely he knows that they are putting him to the test again, trying their old tricks on him. What will he do? Well, it is interesting that he begins by emphasizing the difference between Moses and God the Father: “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (v.32). Now, what is Jesus doing here? He is reminding the people that Moses is not the issue. Whatever happened during the leadership of Moses—which includes the manna of Exodus 16—should not be the deciding factor or criteria of what God is doing. Instead, it is God—and what God is doing now—that should be the main issue. And what is God doing now? He is giving “the true bread from heaven” (v.32). The word “true” here does not mean the opposite of false. “True” here means “final,” or “complete,” or “perfect,” as opposed to “temporary” or “imperfect.” What Jesus is doing here is drawing the people’s attention away from Moses and focusing them on God who is now, presently, giving them the perfect bread, the bread that is even better than the manna.[3]

What then is this true bread from heaven? Look at the second part of Jesus’ reply: “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (v.33). This then is the bread that Jesus has in mind. It is the true bread that is better than the manna. And the people should look at this bread and take it on its own terms.

7. The Crowd: “Give Us This Bread” (6:34)

At this point, you can already expect what the crowd would say next, right? If the true bread of God is here, then the most logical question to ask is, “give us this bread always” (v.34). And for all you know, it is very likely that Jesus is guiding the people toward this very important question because he wants to answer it for them.

8. Jesus: “I Am the Bread” (6:35-40)

And so what comes next is that great moment of revelation. The people cry, “Sir, give us this bread always” (v.34). And Jesus answers, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (v.35). By claiming to be the bread of life, Jesus is basically making three big claims. First, he is claiming that he comes from God; second, he is claiming that he is better than Moses, and third, he is claiming to have the power to give eternal life.

But having said this however, Jesus does not stop. Look at verse 36: “But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.” He is scolding the people. In other words, “Look, don’t act so surprised. I am not exactly teaching you new things. I’ve told you this before. Yet, you do not believe.” But after scolding the crowd, Jesus goes on to say something quite strange: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (v.37). Why is he saying this? I think he himself is explaining why the people do not come to him. If all that the Father gives him will come to him (come in the sense of believing), then the reason the people do not come to him is because the Father has not given them to him. This is a very important idea that we will deal with when we get to John 6:44. And having said in verse 37 that he will not reject those who come to him, Jesus then goes on in verses 38-40 to explain why it is that he will not reject those who do come to him. And you will notice that by explaining this, Jesus also basically explains why he calls himself the bread of life. Verse 38: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” And what is the will of the one who sent Jesus? Verse 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.” This is why those who come to Jesus will not be rejected. They will not be rejected because it is Jesus’ job not to reject them. For if God the Father has brought them to Jesus, then it means that the Father wants Jesus to have these people. And as if this is not clear enough, Jesus goes on to restate what he has just said: “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” (v.40). And this is also what Jesus means when he calls himself the bread of life. He is the bread of life because whoever comes to him will be given eternal life. And eternal life is the life of heaven itself. Eternal life is the life of God.

And so if we have been following closely, we see that Jesus is basically doing one thing throughout this entire part of the dialogue. He has been correcting the priorities of the people. The people were seeking Jesus for the wrong reasons. And Jesus is giving them the right reasons to seek him. The crowd sought Jesus for bread, but Jesus wants them to seek him for eternal life.

III. Working for the Bread of Eternal Life

And just as Jesus corrected the priorities of the crowd, so today, we find that he is correcting ours. Jesus is saying to us that in the end, there is only one thing of supreme importance; only one thing that we really need to be concerned about—and that is to make it our life’s ambition, our life’s dream, our life’s aspiration, to get the bread of eternal life. God wants us to make it our life’s work to believe in Jesus Christ. This is what our Lord taught those who came looking for him and this is what he teaches us today as we come looking for him. And for the remainder of our time, I want us to be thinking about this command and how we can obey it.

A. Why Should We Make it our Life’s Ambition to Get Jesus?

Now, when we face a command like the one we have on our hands today, perhaps the first question we should ask is, “why?” Why should we make it our life’s ambition to get Jesus? Why is Jesus worth more than my job, and my family, and my health? Now, this might seem a silly question given what we have already seen from our passage. But the reason we should ask this question is precisely because the answer is worth thinking about again and again and again. You see, in the end, the reason why Jesus is worth it is because Jesus is who he is. Has it ever occurred to you that before the universe was made, and before angels ever sang the praises of God, and before you ever showed signs of interest to God, the Son was already there? Has it ever occurred to you that before the Father delighted in your worship, he delighted in the glory of his own Son? And most importantly, has it ever occurred to you that God the Father loves you only because he loved his own Son? My friends, let us not be so arrogant as to think that we are the center of God’s universe. Long before God drew worship from you, God drew delight from his Son. For you see, the Son of God is the mirror image of the Father himself. The Son of God is the projection of the Father’s glory, and his power, and his wisdom, and his holiness. I like what Hebrews 1:2 has to say about him, that he is “the radiance of the glory of God.” And since it is inconceivable that God the Father should ever be without his glory, then it is inconceivable to think that the Son was at one time not in existence. The Son is eternal as the Father. He is the first and original superpower and he will be the last. Long after the great superpowers of the world are gone, the Son will be there, reigning as lord. But then, in an act of staggering love for us, the Son of God chooses to offer us a share in his eternal life. The Son chooses to give himself to us. Now realize that the Son of God does not have to do this. He does not need us, he does not need our theology, he does not need our missions, and he does not even need our worship. But out of his love, he graciously invites us and pulls us into his fellowship with the Father, into the life that he and the Father share. This, friends, is why Jesus is worth it. This is why it is foolishness not to pursue Jesus. For if God values the Son and places infinite worth in his Son, how can we think of doing anything less?

B. How Do We Get Jesus?

Now, if we know why we should do all we can to get Jesus, then the next logical question is, How do we get him? And once again, the answer is something that we have already seen. In John 6:29, what is the work that God calls us to do? Is it a very large and impressive project? No. God simply wants us to “believe in him whom he has sent.” And again, in verse 35, Jesus says, “whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Friends, we come into full possession of the Son of God by believing and trusting in him. And we all know what it means to trust, don’t we? We trust in the cleanliness of our air, that’s why we leave our homes without gas masks. We trust that the ground will hold us and that’s why we confidently walk on the ground. Or to bring it closer to the text, we trust in food to ease our hunger and so we go for lunch at around 12 pm everyday. So believing in Jesus should be very simple. We believe that Jesus can give eternal life and so we trust in him for that. In fact, later in John 6:54, Jesus will use an even clearer illustration of what trust in him looks like: Jesus says, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Friends, trusting in Jesus is really like eating Jesus. It is depending upon him entirely for eternal life the same way we depend on food to stop our hunger. It is as simple as that.

But if you think about it, it is precisely because trusting in Jesus is so simple and unimpressive that we find trusting in Jesus so difficult to do. Trusting Jesus for eternal life is so hard because everything in our world tells us that the best things in life come to those who work for it. And if we do not work hard, we will not be rewarded. If you do not work hard in your classes, you will fail. If you do not train hard, you will lose the race. Now, I am not in the least suggesting that we drop our professional standards and simply pass everyone. That would actually be disastrous. Imagine that a student who failed medical school was allowed to perform open heart surgery. Or imagine the disaster that would result if someone who cheated his way through flight training was allowed to fly a plane. That certainly will not do. So I am not denying the principle of work and reward. Yet, when it comes to our own salvation, we must recognize that God has somewhat different plans. When it comes to being saved from our sins and gaining eternal life, God does not command us to be great and successful people. No. Instead, God commands us to look on the greatness and success of someone else. God commands us to look at Jesus. And again, this is hard to do because it is such an unimpressive act on our part. But yet, it is precisely because faith is unimpressive that it highlights the power of the Son. You see, when we have faith, we are trusting in someone else, not ourselves, and so the person we are putting our faith in gets the credit. And so this is why God wants us to look to Jesus—because he wants Jesus to get the credit. So in the end, we find that eternal life is really not for those who are fixed on their own success. It is not for those who worry about the seeming unimpressiveness of faith. Eternal life is for those who will let Jesus be the Savior.

C. How Do We Make It Our Life’s Ambition to Get Jesus?

Yet, there is still one more question we must ask. We know why we should make it our life’s purpose to get Jesus. And we know how to get Jesus. But now, how then do we make it our life’s ambition to get Jesus? Now, let me be clear here about what I am asking. When I ask this question, I am not suggesting that we can get Jesus and then somehow lose him and then have to get him all over again. Not at all. Once we get Jesus, we have Jesus. And Jesus himself promised that he will protect those who come to him so that they will not be lost (6:39). Instead, when I ask this question, what I am suggesting is that even though Jesus does not leave us, it is still our responsibility to keep believing in him. In other words, believing in Jesus is the lifelong work of the Christian. You who are sitting here may be students, medical doctors, teachers, homemakers. But more importantly, you are believers in Jesus. That is your first job. I know that believing in Jesus is the lifelong work of the Christian because in John 15:4, Jesus commands his disciples to abide in him, to keep believing in him. And so when I ask how we can make it our ambition to get Jesus, what I am asking is, how should we live life in such a way that we are constantly believing in Jesus? And that is a really good question. Let me just share three elements that are crucial for the believing life.

1. Keep Looking at Jesus

Firstly, in order to live a life of believing in Jesus, we need to have a Christ-looking mindset. In other words, we need to keep looking at Jesus. This is the starting point because without this, other things will not occur. The Christ-looking attitude is a disposition of the heart, or better, it is a state of mind, where we are always turning outside of ourselves to Jesus for help. And for the most part, this attitude will reveal itself in prayer because when we pray, we do not pray to ourselves, we are praying to someone else. We are looking to someone else. We are looking to Jesus. Now, let me say that this attitude will not always come easily. We actually have to discipline ourselves to have it. We have to actually fight to have it. And the way we fight to have it is really to discipline ourselves to pray regularly—even when we feel like our prayers might be forced or insincere. At this point, I should say that what we pray for is also important. Again, we can be like the people in John 6 and pray mainly for our exams, our health, and our job situation. But Christ wants to give us more. Don’t just pray for food that perishes. Pray for a deeper love for Christ. Pray for deeper delight and contentment in Christ. Pray that you will enter a state of deeper submission to Christ. And see if he will not answer that prayer.

2. Keep Studying Jesus

Another element that is necessary for living a life of continual belief in Jesus is to study Jesus continually (cf. Jn.15:7). Now, you notice I used the word “study.” And this is deliberate. If studying means giving disciplined and sustained attention to something in order to understand it, then studying Jesus means giving disciplined and sustained attention to Jesus in order to understand him. Now, why is study important? Because if we don’t study, we will not grow in our understanding of who Jesus is and what he wants.[4] This is a universal fact which applies to all of life too, doesn’t it? If we don’t study for our exams, we will not know the important facts. If we do not study our friends, we will not know how to care for them. In the same way, if we do not study Jesus, we will not know what he wants.

How then do we actually go about studying Jesus? Well, let me give us two ways, both of which are related to the Bible. The first and most important way to study Jesus is of course to study the Bible for yourself. You can do this on your own or in a Bible study. A convenient first step might be to start reading all the books of the New Testament. And while you read the New Testament, you might want to take note of all the statements about who Jesus is and then simply record them in a notebook which you can pull out for further reflection. A second way to study Jesus is really to read good books that other Christian pastors and scholars have written to explain Jesus’ teachings. If reading in general puts us in touch with the thoughts of others, then surely, by reading good books that teach Jesus Christ accurately, we come into contact with the best thoughts of other Christians concerning Christ. If I may put it this way, reading is the means by which we are connected to the ongoing study of the Bible that the church as a whole is doing. Now, needless to say, reading will take time—time you might otherwise use to watch TV and engage in other seemingly more exciting activities. But let me say this: I think that Jesus actually deserves the time that you spend studying him. I mean, if we can spend time studying what we need to do for our work, if we can spend time studying the play of our favorite sports teams, if we can spend time studying the best deals we can get over the Internet for things that we want, then surely we can spend time to study the Lord of the universe himself.

3. Keep Obeying Jesus

But there is a third thing that we need in order to have a life of continual belief in Jesus. Not only do we need a Christ-looking attitude in prayer, not only do we need to study Jesus, the third thing we need is to keep obeying Jesus, to keep obeying what Jesus tells us about himself and what he wants us to do. Now, why is obedience a part of the believing life? Because Jesus himself says so in John 15:10: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Friends, as Christians, we make it our life’s ambition to believe Jesus by keeping his commandments and obeying all that Jesus has instructed us to believe and to do. Obedience is the evidence that we believe in Jesus Christ and taking his word seriously. When we obey Jesus, we are saying that we agree with his ways. When we obey Jesus, we are saying that we love his reign over us. When we obey Jesus, we are saying that he owns us. And as Christians, the target to which we are striving to reach is nothing less than perfect and flawless obedience to him. Now, this does not mean that we will not fail. In fact, for each of us, the Christian life is often marked with failure. And the more we study Jesus and the more conscious we become of Jesus’ commands, the more we will see our own sins. But yet, we can still take comfort because even when we sin against the Lord (which happens on a daily basis), the fact that we go to him for forgiveness is also a part of our obedience to him. Confession of sin is obedience to Christ because Christ’s commands take into account our own sin. Our sins may be painful to the Son of God but they do not break us from him. He will not leave us. He will finish the job.

IV. Conclusion

So friends, what do you think of this? What do you think of Jesus when he says, “I am the bread of life”? How does that make you feel? How will you respond to the command, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you”? If Jesus is the bread of eternal life, then it only makes logical sense that we dedicate all that we have to getting this bread. It only makes sense that we find Jesus and do all we can to put our faith in him. In fact, not to do so, would be the height of stupidity. Is this something you are willing to do? Is Jesus someone you will dedicate your life to pursuing? Or do you prefer to go hungry?

Bibliography

Beasley-Murray, George R. John. Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 36. Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987.
Burge, Gary. John. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.

__________. The Gospel According to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991.

Köstenberger, Andreas. John. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2004.

Milne, Bruce. The Message of John. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1971.
Ridderbos, Herman. The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary. Trans. John Vriend. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1997.
[1] As John 6:66 says, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”
[2] D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, 285
[3] C.K. Barrett, The Gospel According to John, 241.
[4] Every now and then, you will encounter some Christians who seem to operate on the assumption that there is no need to discipline ourselves to study God’s word. They prefer to wait for God to give them visions and speak directly to them. At first sight, such an attitude seems to be highly spiritual. But in reality, such an attitude is often a combination of laziness and arrogance. A person with such an attitude is lazy because he forgets that when God saves us, he saves all our faculties and he expects us to use those faculties—and one of which being our mind and intellect. A person with such an attitude is arrogant because he assumes that he is some kind of special case and the word that God has given to his people through the ages may not necessarily apply to him at an individual level. People who claim that they need special and direct communication from God may actually be thinking that they are somehow more important and more special than the rest of Christ’s followers. In reality, they actually run the danger of deceiving themselves.