Preached at Markham Baptist Church, April 1, 2001

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which 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 will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; 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. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day." Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall 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 the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors 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. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum."
(John 6:25-59) (NRSV)

Imagine a teenage boy who owns an old Ford Pinto. He loves his old Ford Pinto. And you can understand why he loves that car; it's his first car. Even though it constantly breaks down on him, the boy loves his car. Every day after school, and every Saturday, he works on his old Ford Pinto. He could always be seen with his head under its hood as he was tightening this bolt, changing this filter, and fixing that plug. Now, imagine his father, trying to get his attention. It was hopeless, because every time his father wanted his son's attention his son's head was under the hood of this old Ford Pinto. Until one day the father hits upon a plan.

He goes to the boy and says, "O son." Nothing but a grunt comes from the boy. The father continues, "Look what I have! Keys to a brand new Lexus." What do you think the reaction of the boy would be? Of course! He looks up, gives his old Pinto a kick and comes running.

My friends, this is the same dynamic, to a degree, that is happening in our text today. Here is the crowd and they have their heads, not under the hood of an old Ford Pinto, but they have set their hearts set on something that is worth just as much. They have their hearts and heads set on food - food that spoils.

And some ways we can understand why. I mean, just the day before, Jesus had performed a wonderful miracle. There, in chapter 5, we read of how Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. It's a miracle. And that bread must have tasted delicious; don't you think? For one thing the crowd was hungry. Food always tastes better when you are really hungry. But more than that, this food is baked in heaven's ovens, prepared by divine hands. The fish is perfect, the bread fresh, and just the right consistency. I'm sure that the fish and the bread that Jesus provided would have melted in the mouth; it would have tasted marvellous, the best bread and fish anyone had ever tasted.

So, having had their stomachs filled - filled for free I might add - they are hungry again, and they come to Jesus looking for more.

And what does Jesus do? Jesus uses the opportunity to try to lure the crowd away from their love for that which is temporary, which in the end will spoil and rot, and lure them to that which is so much better.

He says to them, in verses 26 and 27, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." (NIV)

Do you hear that? Do you hear the call there? Jesus makes it plain; this [earthly bread] is what you want - and it is not worth your effort. But this [the Bread of Life] is what I have to offer and it is so much better.

Now, having read these words, we have to evaluate whether or not we will leave our old Ford Pinto, so to speak, and go for what Jesus is offering. That would mean that we would have to see; we would have to realize that that which we long for, that which we hunger for, is not worth anything. It may be worth something TO US; it may hold some emotional value; it may offer some satisfaction, but when it is compared to what Christ offers, it is worth nothing.

Now for the crowd, the old Ford Pinto was bread. What is it for you and me? It may be material wealth and material comfort? Is that what you are labouring for? Is the love of money and material goods that drives you? Is that what you hunger for? We know that many people in our day do hunger for money, and many people in our churches have money as their god.

You say, "O pastor, you are being a little harsh. Come on now - I shop at Gord's No Frills. I bring in a modest income. I do have to raise a family you know."

Yes, you do. And Jesus did say that when we pray we are to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Yes. Jesus wants to look after us physically. He seeks to provide for us. And I have come from a family of means and I can tell you that if you follow the moral principles of Scripture in business you will probably be successful. If you treat your customers with honesty; if you treat your fellow employees with dignity and fairness, you will most often be successful in business. And it's not something to be ashamed of. We need Christian businessmen and Christian businesswomen who will treat their customers with integrity.

That's not what I am talking about. Here's the question, "Are you CONSUMED for the love of the material."

And don't ask yourself that question, because you will most often come up with the answer, "No". There are times when we do not evaluate ourselves properly. We need to ask another, someone who can be trusted to give an honest answer.

It has been said that baby boomers want it all - O that was really true and they really did want it all. But the truth is many in our generation just want a bit of it, and often it's the worst bit. The bit that you can see and touch and feel. The material bit.

But listen, listen: it will not satisfy you. If that's what you long for, in the end, you will come up empty. That's the nature of it - material wealth simply cannot satisfy us. It doesn't last; it's material and vanishes away and, in the end, it is nothing. It rusts; it corrodes; thieves break in and steal it. The things of this world must stay in this world. Do you know why material things won't satisfy you? It is because you are an immortal spirit. Therefore, material things just won't satisfy you. And if you are living for material wealth and comfort, one morning you'll wake up and discover that it isn't enough.

I pray that if your heart hasn't grown as hard as rock that this will be that morning.

Ah, but is what Jesus has to offer better than what we now have? What does Jesus say about what he offers us?

First, he tells us in verse 29 that his offer is free; all we need to do is believe in him.

The crowd cannot believe it. They think that there must be something that they must do. And so all the false religions of the day gather round to say the same.

Jesus answers and says, "The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent." This is the fulcrum of the whole message of the gospel. Believe. If we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord we will be saved.

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life - whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Do you mean we can have all that Jesus has to offer for free simply by believing? Yes. That's it.

Well, I'm still not sure. What is it that Jesus is offering? It is life.

"I am the bread of life," Jesus says. This is what he is offering to us. Life. There is the promise of eternal life here.

Verse 40, "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (NIV)

Then again in verses 50 and 51, "But here is the bread that comes down from heaven which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (NIV)

And in case we missed it, again in verse 58, "Your forefathers ate manna and died but he who feeds on this bread will live for ever."

D.L. Moody told his friends, "One day you will read in the papers about my death. They will say something like this, 'On such-and-such a day, at such-and-such a time, D.L. Moody died.' But don't you believe it," said Moody, "on that day I will be more alive than ever."

That's the truth; we will be more alive than ever.

Eternal life. This is what Jesus offers. Does what you are living for now offer you that? I don't think so. It can't possibly, for there is no life outside of the person of Christ. Eternal life, this is what he offers to us.

But there is also life offered in the here and now.

But you say, "I have life."

Not without Christ you don't. In I John we read that those who have Jesus have life and those who do not have Jesus do not have life.

We read in John's gospel that, "In him was life." This is what Jesus offers us. All that he is, he offers; all that was in him, he offers us. All that is his, he offers us. Verses 32 and 33, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who 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." (NIV)

And then in verse 35, "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." (NIV)

What is it that Jesus offers? It is himself. There is his life. There is no life outside of Christ.

"Wait a minute pastor," you say, "I know people who are living without Christ."

And I say, "Not without Christ they're not." My son John used to watch Sesame Street. And on Sesame Street there was a song that taught kids about living things. A rock comes out dancing and the singer sings, "A rock is not alive." And then a cow comes out dancing and the singer sings, "A cow is alive. How can you tell?" the singer asks. "Because things that are alive breathe, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. If you breathe then you are alive."

Listen, I've got news. There are a whole lot of people out there who are breathing who aren't alive. They aren't alive.

I read a poster recently that said, "Are you really living or are you just walking around to save funeral expenses?"

This is what so many people are doing. So many people aren't really living at all. Jesus saw it all the time. He had this eerie habit of speaking of certain people as being dead even though they were very much physically alive. There they were bustling and jostling and breathing in and breathing out. Very real and very obvious. Yet our Lord would turn and look after them sadly, with a look of bewilderment on his face, for what they called life wasn't really life at all, but only a shadow of it, a mere trickle of it, compared to the gushing spring that he has to offer.

What is the life that Jesus has to offer? It is his own life that he plants in you, that he plants in me. His own divine life, that had no beginning and has no end. That is the life that he brings to you and me.

It is a life of joy, steadfast joy. Joy, that in the midst of difficulty, Jesus is for us and in us. That we can rest assured that we have God's favour.

It is a life of peace. When trouble and difficulty come our way we can know that nothing can snatch us out of God's hand.

It is a life of hope. For we know that what people often call the end will not be the end, but will open into a wonderful continuation of the life that we are now experiencing. Only more, with God.

That's the life. That's the life.

We look at these little things - money, wealth, cars - and they are but old Ford Pintos compared to all that Jesus offers.

All we need to do is believe.

When we come to this table it is an act of belief. Jesus says in our text that we need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. He is that explicit. Now we don't believe that the bread on this table is the actual flesh of our Lord. We believe that he is speaking in picture language. He is saying to us, "Take in the bread, and in that act you are testifying to each other here, and to God himself, that you believe. That you have turned your back on that stuff of the world and turned your face toward God and you are going to live for him and only him. That you have received his life into your heart. That's what you do when you come this table. You turn your back on the world and turn your face toward God. You take the life of Christ, and say, 'Lord I am yours. I take your life in me. I want that life that only you can bring.'"

So this morning, come to this table hungering and thirsting for Jesus and allow him to fill you. Turn your back on the world and your face toward God.