Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Jesus had walked upon the water and come to Capernaum with His disciples.

Naturally the people, who never saw Him get in the boat with His disciples, were curious as to how He got there.

Jesus never really answers the question.

He knew the miracles were not bringing about faith in the people.

The people saw the miracles of Jesus but they were failing to see what the miracles signified.

“Instead of seeing in the bread the sign, they had seen in the sign only the bread.”

During the US civil war Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast.

Lincoln was not a church-goer but was a man of deep, if at times unorthodox, faith.

At one point one of the ministers said, “Mr President, let us pray that God is on our side”.

Lincoln’s response showed far greater insight, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”

During the US civil war Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast.

Lincoln was not a church-goer but was a man of deep, if at times unorthodox, faith.

At one point one of the ministers said, “Mr President, let us pray that God is on our side”.

Lincoln’s response showed far greater insight, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”

Lincoln reminded those ministers that religion is not a tool by which we get God to do what we want but an invitation to open ourselves to being and doing what God wants.

Lincoln reminded those ministers that religion is not a tool by which we get God to do what we want but an invitation to open ourselves to being and doing what God wants.

These folks had the wrong idea about Jesus…to them He was a tool to get what they wanted…more bread!

They failed to see Jesus as Messiah and place their faith in Him.

They had eaten and had their bellies filled.

Now they wanted more!

Jesus tells the people to stop working for food that spoils…stop spending your time and energy in pursuit of material things which won’t last.

Instead work for eternal life.

Naturally the people then ask the question, “What must we do to do the works God requires.”

This is the normal response of mankind to the question of salvation…What must I do to be saved?

What works must I do to save myself?

It is a works based, man centered kind of salvation and it is an anathema.

It is unbiblical and an affront to God.

We cannot save ourselves by our works.

The people had asked what “works” and Jesus answers the “work.”

There is one thing needed and one thing alone…that “work” is faith in Jesus.

The original verb tense here is such that it means a continuing attitude of faith in Jesus.

We are saved by God’s grace through our faith in Him alone.

This is not of works.

This faith in Jesus is a faith in His mission.

It is faith in who HE is and why He came.

He was sent and that sending is important…In order to do the work God requires we must have faith in who Jesus is and the mission He was sent to do…die on the cross for our sins.

Their mind was still on their stomach...

Bread

There was thought among the Jewish people of Jesus’ day that the Messiah would duplicate the miracle of the mana in the desert.

They had just been provided bread the day before and decided to demand something more, perhaps a permanent supply of bread to prove His identity as Messiah.

They wanted to see if Jesus was greater than Moses.

They wanted proof that He was the Messiah.

But we have already seen that miracles produce terrible disciples.

People have a tendency to place their faith in the miracle rather than what the miracles was meant to represent or teach.

The people were looking for a political leader and if Jesus acquiesced to their demands He would be affirming their desires and demands.

He would also placed Himself as captive to the

So Jesus uses their desire for literal food as an opportunity to teach them of their more significant needs and His ability to meet them.

He uses bread as a metaphor in doing so...

Father gave you mana — Moses was not the one who actually gave the Mana from Heaven…God is the one who did that…so get that right first!

My Father gives you the true bread from heaven — Jesus moves to the present tense here…God is giving you now bread…bread from heaven!

That is the bread of God and He gives eternal life.

Give us this bread — Still looking for a belly full of bread they are looking still yet for a meal.

They wanted Jesus to give them this bread and to do so again and again…So they could again and again have their physical hunger satisfied.

Like Nicodemus who thought he must literally be born a second time from his mother’s womb…Like the Samaritan woman who literally thought Jesus would give her water that would forever quench her thirst…this crowd was looking for literal bread

They wanted Jesus to give them this bread and to do so again and again…SO tehy could again and again have their physical hunger satisfied.

So Jesus takes the metaphor a step further to gain their attention and increase their understanding of the subject...

I Am The Bread of Life

Jesus makes an emphatic statement here.

He is the bread of Life.

Anyone who comes to Him will be satisfied to the full and never be hungry.

The longing for God and the great emptiness which is felt in the heart of every human being, will be completely satisfied in Jesus.

All of us are born with a thirst for God.

All of us are born with a hunger for Him.

Not everyone may know or understand what that hunger or thirst really is but the human heart was meant for God even if not aware of it due to spiritual death.

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If we come to God through faith in the person and work of Jesus ALL of our hunger and ALL of our thirst will be satisfied and quenched.

Come to Jesus — To follow after…believe, have faith in Him and His mission.

Still you do not believe — The people had seen Jesus but still they had not placed faith in Him as their Messiah.

“They had seen bread and power, not what they signify.

..Only their curiosity, appetites and political ambitions had been aroused but not their faith.”

May it never been said of us that we see the miracle of Jesus but missed Jesus in the process.

May it never be that we admire the works of God and miss God.

May it never be said that we knew and witnessed the works of God but missed the message and the one these to whom they testified...

But Jesus makes the point here…once again it is a reminder of the grace necessary for salvation…we cannot save ourselves…nor can we ever come to salvation on our own.

The Great Paradox

Paradox — a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true

Carl Sandburg captured well the human condition: "There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud."

That's a paradox.

Seemingly contradictory statements that are nonetheless true.

Carl Sandburg captured well the human condition: "There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud."

That's a paradox.

Seemingly contradictory statements that are nonetheless true.

This is where the issue of divine sovereignty and free will leave us…We are left with a great paradox whereby we see that our salvation is a predestined work of God yet a matter of choice as well.

A newly appointed pastor who went to visit the home of a congregation member.

Upon arriving there the minister discovered his host was an avid gardener, and was only too delighted to show his pastor around the garden, a magnificent sea of greens, purples, blues, whites, yellows and pinks.

Wanting to set the relationship off on a strong, positive note, the pastor said, “Praise God for the beauty of his handiwork”.

A newly appointed pastor who went to visit the home of a congregation member.

Upon arriving there the minister discovered his host was an avid gardener, and was only too delighted to show his pastor around the garden, a magnificent sea of greens, purples, blues, whites, yellows and pinks.

Wanting to set the relationship off on a strong, positive note, the pastor said, “Praise God for the beauty of his handiwork”.

But his host replied in a somewhat offended tone, “Now pastor, don’t go giving all the credit to God.

You should have seen this garden when the Almighty had it to himself!”

But his host replied in a somewhat offended tone, “Now pastor, don’t go giving all the credit to God.

You should have seen this garden when the Almighty had it to himself!”

The gardener, his pride an obvious problem, still in fact had very good theology.

God has designed the world in such a way that God works in partnership with us, and we with God, to achieve God’s ends.

Jesus says you still do not believe…why???

The gardener in fact had very good theology.

God has designed the world in such a way that God works in partnership with us, and we with God, to achieve God’s ends.

God does the work…In fact He does everything…however, as a part of that “everything” He has decided to allow us the privilege of cooperating with Him…we see the Father at work and join Him…He draws us and we respond…He takes the initiative and we receive