John 6.30-36 - The Work of God Pt 2

So yesterday Jesus fed a huge crowd with one boy’s lunch.  Amazing miracle/sign [14].  His disciples came over to the city of Capernaum by boat while Jesus “walked” most of the way!  Another miracle [but not a sign?].  Now the crowd has tracked Him down, looking for another free meal [26], and asking, how can we work the works of God?  Jesus has told them that what they need to be working for is the food of eternal life, and that they do that ONLY by believing in Him.

[30-31 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?  Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’” ] OK, you want us to believe?  We need a sign.  We need to SEE a sign.  Are you kidding me?  They just ate the sign!  Many of these have also seen the signs He did in Jerusalem.  He’s been doing signs all over Judea and Galilee and everywhere in between for the past two years.  The signs are everywhere, right in front of their faces (and in their bellys)!  Seeing CAN be believing.  But not always.  The problem is, even the most obvious physical signs are often missed by hard hearts.  Isn’t it amazing how stubborn/blind we can be when we want to be in control?  When we want (or DON’T want) something?  Even when it’s right in front of our faces?

Jesus has mentioned this “food that endures to eternal life” [27], and so they do this google search in their heads, and they get a hit!  They click on this idea of “bread out of heaven” - i.e. give us something (else) to eat!  Something heavenly!  And obviously they’re focused on the [physical], looking for a (daily?) physical sign/work, something tangible they can see or feel - just like the physical manna God gave their forebears on a daily basis.  But so, you want us to believe?  By all means, give us what Moses gave us, some of that daily bread out of heaven!  

[Bread] of course is the staple of life in so many places - including the Middle East.  Bread at every meal.  Daily bread.  Every day you make bread - or you go down to the [agora] and get your bread for the day [that's what we did when we lived in Slovakia - daily trips to the store to get "chlieb" made fresh that day].  Biblically-speaking, Bread = life.  Without bread/food, water only, people can survive maybe 40-80 days.  40 years?  Ain’t happening.  This IS how God kept His people alive in the wilderness - bread out of heaven, every day for 40 years.  What the Lord was trying to teach His people during those years in the wilderness, every day, every morning going out and gathering manna, this "bread from heaven”, getting it into their thick skulls, was - your survival, your life, your very existence depends on Me.

[32-33 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.  For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”] You want bread, Jesus asks?  You want to REALLY live?  Bread from heaven?  You will NOT get this from Moses.  You think life is found in the law, in keeping the law Moses gave you.  But you need to get the true bread out of heaven - straight from the Divine Baker Himself.  From My Father.  The Bread of God, life for the whole world!  THIS is the bread that gives the life that you want.  (And - who in their right mind wouldn’t want some of that?)  

[34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”]  YES!!! Give us this bread of God.  Always.  Every day.  What do you think?  Are they being super enthusiastic?  Are they being lazy?  Are they being typical demanding consumers?  What’s in it for me?  Either way - check out Jesus’ answer to them:  [35  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.]  You want bread that gives life?  Guess what - [I am the Bread] [adds pronoun for emphasis].  I MYSELF am.  I AM.  Two things we need to understand about this phrase, I AM: 

1) [Ex. 3:13-14  Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”][which in Hebrew is the word "YHWH"].  This is the ancient sacred name that the God of Israel declared to be His.  Devout Jews won’t pronounce the name for fear of somehow taking The Name in vain, they might profane it somehow [Ex 20.7]. They don’t even insert the implied vowels [YeHoWaH].  But as we’re seeing, Jesus employs this special Name of God - I AM - over and over [1x in Mt, 2x in Mk, once in Lk, and 22x in the book of John.  Do you think maybe John is trying to highlight something for us?]  In ch 1, John was telling us, He was.  [In the beginning He was].  The Word.  He was always God.  And once He comes on the scene, He’s like, I AM.  Jesus has already dropped it twice [John 4:26 Jesus *said to her, “I AM, the One speaking to you…” John 6:20 But He *said to them, “I AM; do not be afraid.”].  There can be no doubt as to what He is saying - and as we’ve already seen, this is what is going to get Him killed (humanly speaking).  I AM.  He is…existence itself.  The I AM is…life itself.  He is.  Now.  Always.  Forever.

But 2) what Jesus gives specifically in John, is seven different I AM Names, divine titles that help us understand more of Who the I AM really is.  And this is the 1st I AM: “I AM the Bread of Life.”  You want bread?  You’re looking for bread to come out of heaven?  To fill your bellies and keep you alive?  I AM the the true bread of God.  You’re looking for the bread that gives life?  [I AM the Bread of Life]: everything you want, every thing you think might somehow impart life or enhance your life, you’re looking at it.  At Me.  Right in front of you.  You see everything you could ever need for life as it was meant to be, for your best life.  No more soul hunger, no more soul thirst.  What you’re looking for, what you’ve been looking for your whole life, what you’ve been missing - is Me.  Not a new iPhone.  Not a new diet or a new workout.  Not a different spouse or a different job in a different city.  More than anything else, JESUS is what we need.  He’s THE Answer.  Jesus is The Bread these folks are looking for, He IS the sign.  But this is NOT the answer they’re looking for.  

[36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.]  They don’t, they won’t believe.  They’re unwilling to trust in Jesus - even tho they have a front row seat!  They ate the miracle!  But they don’t WANT to trust in Him.  And why IS this?  They’ve seen the signs.  All these witnesses.  We saw this in ch 5.  1) They don’t know how much God loves them.  And 2) they care more about what people think.  But it’s also because, trust is about surrender.  It’s about giving up control.  Trust is about saying, there IS a God, a Creator, a great I AM, and I am not Him.  He is.  He is greater.  He must increase.  In the world.  And in my heart.  And He is better.  WAAAAY better.  Jesus is so worth it.  He is worth it all.   Whatever IT is that I might have to give up - Jesus is worth it. ["I never made a sacrifice" - spoken by Hudson Taylor who gave up a career in medicine to go share Jesus as a missionary in China][Also the Apostle Paul: Phil. 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.]. 

Now for us - unlike these 1st c. Jews who are staring at the Bread of life IN THE FLESH - trust/surrender also requires opening our eyes to look beyond self, beyond the purely physical.  At something we may not be able to see with our 20/20 eyes.  To see this, we need infinity/20 vision.  Which most people - including these Jews - do not use.  But some… [Heb. 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance][20.29 Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”].  The work of God is to believe/trust in this for-now-unseen One Who is all we need, the Bread of life.  Will you and I trust and surrender today?

Referenced verses:

James 1:12  Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

Heb. 13:6  we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”

Is. 40:21  Do you not know? Have you not heard?  Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?  Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22  It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

23  He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

24  Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, but He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm carries them away like stubble.

Ex. 20:7   “^aYou shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not ¹leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

Psa. 123:1    To You I ^alift up my eyes, 

O You who ^bare enthroned in the heavens!

2  Behold, as the eyes of ^aservants look to the hand of their master, 

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, 

So our ^beyes look to the LORD our God, 

Until He is gracious to us.

Psa. 34:18  The LORD ^ais near to the ^bbrokenhearted 

And saves those who are ^1ccrushed in spirit.

Psa. 33:13    The LORD ^alooks from heaven; 

He ^bsees all the sons of men;

14  From ^aHis dwelling place He looks out 

On all the inhabitants of the earth,

15  He who ^afashions ¹the hearts of them all, 

He who ^bunderstands all their works.

16  ^aThe king is not saved by a mighty army; 

A warrior is not delivered by great strength.

17  A ^ahorse is a false hope for victory; 

Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

Psa. 33:18    Behold, ^athe eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, 

On those who ^1bhope for His lovingkindness,

19  To ^adeliver their soul from death 

And to keep them alive ^bin famine.

John 6.14-29 - The Work of God?

So last time Jesus took one boy’s lunch box and multiplied it to feed every student in Gregg County.  [14-15 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.]  Now the crowd wants to make Him their [king].  And why wouldn’t they?  He IS The Prophet Who Moses said would come.  And this "man" has the power - and the compassion - to protect them and provide for them.  As much as they want…they were filled [11-12]  Who wouldn’t want THAT person to be your leader?  We like leaders who give us everything we need, and then some, don’t we?  Of course you’d want this man to be your king.  But why would Jesus NOT want to be their king?  Isn’t He already King of the universe?  He’s shown us - and people all over Palestine - that He clearly has power and authority over all things - all people, all of creation.  Isn’t King His obvious destiny, His Divine Right?  Isn’t ruling as King of kings His job?  His work?  This is what we’ve been talking about.  But there’s more in play here, AND there’s more in play in this life than just temporary physical needs, temporal physical power.  Beyond nations and rulers and such [Is 40].  Jesus does not reign on our terms.  And for now, He has other work to accomplish.  Something eternal.

[16-21 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.  The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.  Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.  But He *said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.]  Jesus walking on water.  He gives us yet another sign of Who He really is.  What would it take to walk ON TOP of water (i.e. not sink)?  Need to take on a lighter density than the water (legs!).  Or suspend the Law of gravity, or alter the surface tension of the water [also need some traction?] - supersede the known laws of the universe in any case.  The laws of the universe are subject to Jesus (even tho He can/does operate within them: [1.3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.][Phil. 2:7-8 He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.]).  [The work of God > the universe. The death of Jesus > the universe.]

But here - in the middle of this lake, at night, dark, windy, waves, these experienced fishermen are scared.  Not by the rough conditions!  By Jesus.  Why?  Cuz no normal person can walk on water [now they’re WAY beyond the place of comfort/the familiar].  Now they’re really in the realm of the otherworldly.  Don’t miss how in the midst of blowing their mind with this new sign of Who He is, He cares about their heart, how they’re feeling.  The work of God involves (caring for) people.  And don’t miss what He says, this eternal truth: I Myself AM.  I AM.  I am the Eternal God.  And I am here.  Never forget that - I am with you.  Do NOT be fearing.  The cure for fear.  What/whom shall I fear? [Heb. 13:6 We confidently say, “The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”]

[25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”] You didn’t come by boat, so we know you came on foot - so, when did you get here?  How’d you get here so quickly? (And are we missing another feast?)  Of course, they’re focused on the physical, AND when you’re focused on the physical, you’re asking the wrong question… It’s not “when?”, or even “how?” (they just assume he walked on land).  When we focus on the physical, we assume we know the right questions to ask, and we assume we know the answers to the questions we’re not asking.  But the first question they/we really need to be asking is, Who?  WHO IS JESUS?  WHO are You, Lord?  WHO do YOU say that I am, Jesus asks?  WHO am I to YOU?

But to their well-intended but ill-informed question, Jesus drops another double-truly: [26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.]  I.e. you’re not really looking for signs that point you to spiritual reality/eternal truth.  To you, I’m just a novelty.  A 24hr convenience store.  A guy w free bread.  You’re more interested in what’ll fill your tummy.  Temporal food.  You followed Me, you got filled, and you liked that.  We're just the same: What can I get out of this?  Our fallen mindset is, what is in it for me, right now? Here & now. Temporal.  That which perishes...

[27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”]  [Perishable food].  THE work of God is not about [physical] food.  The temporary.  Jesus exhorts, don’t make it your main goal in life, don’t throw your primary effort, your best years, your only life after stuff that can/will perish.  Rot.  Rust.  This food - ALL this stuff - is designed to perish.  Why give your life for something that won’t last?  [i.e. like mist on a warm lake in fall - so temporary]  He’s saying, there IS food here, work that endures to [eternal] life (spiritual food).  Truly non-perishable.  There IS work that will last forever - and it involves the eternal souls of those around us.

Yes, the reality is that we’re all consumers.  Like any consumer, we’re each driven by self-interest.  What’s in it for me?  And as consumers, we consume stuff.  We DO need to eat.  We DO need to acquire a critical mass of stuff that helps us to survive, and even thrive.  We need sometimes  to cross stormy lakes.  [And yes we can do all this in ways that show off the goodness of God 1Cor. 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.].  But savvy consumers look for [Seals of Approval].  Guarantees that you are getting good food, quality merchandise.  Well there is one SoA that surpasses all the rest.  God the Father [27].  Consider how significant it is for Him to set His SoA on anything [it's a big deal even for a human engineer to certify a pool].  And God the Father, the Engineer of the entire universe, has set His SoA on Jesus.  And Jesus does have food to give us, food which endures to eternal life.  The work of God.

[28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”] So now they’re asking about work.  Doing some work.  The workS of God, plural.   As if there are a bunch of things they need to do, keep doing.  Trying to work their way into God’s good graces [which of course is a gift].  Maybe they think they need to do some physical works that might contribute to something significant?  Works OF God?  OR maybe they’re looking to curry favor with God?  Works FOR God?

[29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”] How do we “DO” the “works of God”?  Jesus turns their question on its head.  Neither a work OF God nor a work FOR God, THE true work that God has given us to do is NOT to work per se, but to trust, to believe (i.e. not something physical —> spiritual) - IN THE SON!  Believe IN the One He sent, the GOD•send!  THE work of God is believing, trusting in His Son.  That is the “work” God has given us to do - because this is our true need.  This is the eternal food we’re looking for.  Trust/believe in Jesus, trust Him for eternal life and for everything that pertains to this life, trust Him to provide the food and everything that you need, trust Him to get you across the stormy lake… [Ps 2]

Referenced verses:

James 1:12  Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

Heb. 13:6  so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.  WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”

Is. 40:21-24  Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?  It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.  He it is Who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.  Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, but He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm carries them away like stubble.

Psa. 2:1    Why are ^athe ¹nations in an uproar 

And the peoples ^bdevising a vain thing?

2  The ^akings of the earth take their stand 

And the rulers take counsel together 

^bAgainst the LORD and against His ^1cAnointed, saying,

3  “Let us ^atear their fetters apart 

And cast away their cords from us!”

Psa. 2:4    He who ¹sits in the heavens ^alaughs, 

The Lord ^bscoffs at them.

5  Then He will speak to them in His ^aanger 

And ^bterrify them in His fury, saying,

6  “But as for Me, I have ¹installed ^aMy King 

Upon Zion, ^bMy holy mountain.”

Psa. 2:7    “I will surely tell of the ¹decree of the LORD: 

He said to Me, ‘You are ^aMy Son, 

Today I have begotten You.

8  ‘Ask of Me, and ^aI will surely give ^bthe ¹nations as Your inheritance, 

And the very ^cends of the earth as Your possession.

9  ‘You shall ^1abreak them with a ²rod of iron, 

You shall ^bshatter them like ³earthenware.’”

Psa. 2:10    Now therefore, O kings, ^ashow discernment; 

Take warning, O ¹judges of the earth.

11  ¹Worship the LORD with ^2areverence 

And rejoice with ^btrembling.

12  ¹Do homage to ^athe Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, 

For ^bHis wrath may ²soon be kindled. 

How blessed are all who ^ctake refuge in Him!