Sermon Tone Analysis

“When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’

Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Do not labour for the food that perishes, but 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.’

Then they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’

Then they said to him, ‘Then what sign do you do, 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 from heaven to eat.”’ Jesus then said to them, ‘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.

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’

They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

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.

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.’

“So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’

They said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?

How does he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not grumble among yourselves.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.

And I will raise him up on the last day.

It is written in the Prophets, “And they will all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’”[1]

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he Master identified Himself as the “I Am” on seven occasions in John’s Gospel;[2] however, He also employed numerous word pictures to identify His work among men.

On one occasion He used one such word picture to illustrate the reason that He came.

The account of His self-description is found in the text before us this morning.

Jesus had been challenged by Jewish sceptics to provide a sign so that they might believe.

In fact, they specified the sign they sought—to be fed.

Though they did not say so, they saw religion primarily as something to benefit themselves.

Like many today, they asked, “What’s in this for us?”

Jesus surprised these folk with His answer, identifying Himself as the “Bread of God.”

He continued by saying that He was “the Bread of Life,” and that all who feed on Him will never hunger.

This answer precipitated grumbling.

Though it was a foolish request, I am glad these people asked Him for a sign, because the Master’s answer provides instruction and encouragement for His people to this day.

Join me in learning of Jesus, the Bread of Life.

*The Request of the Sceptics* — “When they found Him on the other side of the sea, [the Jewish interlocutors] said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?’

Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Do not labour for the food that perishes, but 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.’

Then they said to Him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’

Then they said to Him, ‘Then what sign do you do, 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 from heaven to eat.”’ Jesus then said to them, ‘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.

For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’

They said to Him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’”

The text records an exchange that occurred the day after Jesus had fed a multitude consisting of about five thousand men.

Together with women and children, the number of people present must have exceeded fifteen thousand people.

The crowd was so impressed by what they witnessed that they spoke of making Jesus king [*John 6:1-14*].

However, knowing their intent, the Master withdrew and went up into the mountain by Himself [*John 6:15*].

As evening drew near, the disciples got into a boat and began to row across the sea toward Capernaum.

During the crossing, they encountered adverse seas.

Struggling against the waves and the wind, they were astonished when they saw Jesus walking on the sea toward them.

Approaching the barque, the Master got into the boat with the disciples.

After He had entered the boat, they were astonished that they immediately arrived at their destination [*John 6:16-21*].

There was no explanation—one minute they were rowing for all they were worth, and the next they were at the shore.

Something unimaginable had happened, and they could not explain it.

The next day, the crowd that had been on the other side of the sea realised that Jesus had not returned.

Noting the absence of the disciple’s boat, the people concluded that Jesus had returned to Capernaum, and so they sought Him out.

Finding Him there, they confronted Him, demanding to know when and why He had left them.

Their demand was met with a rebuke, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Do not labour for the food that perishes, but 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” [*John 6:26, 27*].

Jesus would have none of the suggestion that these food-seekers were interested in Him because of who He is; He cut to the heart of what they were really seeking.

Earlier, on the other side of the sea, they had witnessed the signs that He presented—healing the sick and feeding the thousands; but they were not interested in who He might be, only in what He might give them.

John would later write that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples”; however, those which are recorded were “written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name” [*John 20:30, 31*].

Jesus did not perform miracles simply to make people feel good about themselves.

He did not provide the signs that are recorded in order to gather a following or to astonish those who witnessed what was done.

All that Jesus did was to demonstrate that He was “the Son of God,” just as He claimed, and also that “by believing [people] may have life in His Name.”

You will recall that when Jesus first appeared before Pilate, the governor attempted to dissociate himself from placing Jesus on trial by sending Him to Herod.

When Herod learned that Jesus was to stand before him, “he was very glad, for he had long desired to see Him, because he had heard about Him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by Him” [*Luke 23:8*].

Herod was not interested in believing the Good News that God had sent His Son into the world; for him, it was all about being amused.

However, the signs Jesus provided were not for entertainment—neither in part nor in the whole.

In the contemporary religious world, great interest is frequently attached to signs and wonders, with entire denominations devoted to perpetuating the miraculous.

Even among conservative, orthodox churches are found an astounding number of congregations that have loosed from the foundational moorings in order to make their services more exciting through miracles, signs and wonders.

Observing such movements over a number of years, it appears to me that many of these churches, and many of the individuals who promote such amazing acts, fail to present Christ Jesus as Lord of life.

Just as Herod wished to be amused by a Jesus compelled to perform, so many who seek after signs and wonders hope to be entertained.

Rather than planning to meet the Risen Son of God, a shocking number of churchgoers attend the services of their church in order to be entertained.

They would never admit that the music is entertainment—and judged as such, preferring rather to speak of it as “worship.”

However, the presentation and the rhythm are of greater importance than is the expression of awe in the presence of the Living God.

Instead of listening to the sermon to hear a message from God, they want to feel good about themselves.

Instead of witnessing God at work through transforming lives, they want to be amused by some wonderful event.

Though few contemporary churchgoers would admit that their “worship” is all about them, the evidence points to the morphing of worship of the Son of God into an anthropocentric religion.

Look back at the text, taking note of the initial exchange between the Jewish people who were questioning Him and the Saviour.

Their initial question appears innocuous—they wanted to know when he came to Capernaum.

It seemed on the surface that they wondered how He managed to slip away without any of the crowd seeing Him do so.

However, Jesus exposes the true motives that were not immediately apparent.

Their purpose was not simply to find Him in order to hear what He was teaching; they wanted to be fed.

Becoming spiritual, they responded to His confrontation by indicating that they really wanted to be about the work of God, if only they could determine what God wanted them to do.

However, Jesus again pointed out that it was enough for them to believe on the One whom God sent.

That truth has never been rescinded.

Whenever an individual believes in Jesus—commits himself or herself to Him, they receive Him as Master.

Because He is Master, the one serving Him will seek His will and do that which pleases Him.

This is the promise of God given through His Word.