8/11/2024: Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66). What happened?! Jesus had recently fed many thousands of people. Everywhere he went, he was mobbed by a multitude looking for the hope and healing Jesus provided. In the first part of Jesus’ ministry, he was extremely popular. That changed so quickly. At this time many followers walked away from Christ. What had Jesus done that was so bad? He said, “I am the bread of life.” That statement seems, at worst, to be cryptic. It doesn’t seem offensive. But as the crowd grasped what Jesus was claiming, they decided they no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Bread is a staple food, something people eat every day (especially in Jesus’ day). Scripture will sometimes refer to bread and water as all one needs to sustain physical life. In this worship series we will examine what Jesus is teaching when he calls himself “the bread of life.” We will discuss why people would abandon Jesus for making that claim. And we will wrestle with whether we would ever do the same.

SPIRITUAL FOOD FOR THOSE FOCUSED ON THE EARTHLY

Physical food is a blessing from God without which we would literally wither away and die. That is why Jesus lovingly and miraculously fed thousands of followers with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Yet, while physical food is a good thing, it is far from the greatest thing God provides us. The greatest blessing God provides is spiritual food. The best thing God gives us is his Son, the bread of life. Without that spiritual food, we wither and die in a much worse way.

This week we see the multitudes coming to Jesus looking for two things: ever more temporal blessings—full bellies, healthy bodies—and an explanation of how to gain them. Jesus explains the greater need for spiritual food. He assures us that there is nothing we do to earn it. Our Father urges us to come to him for our daily bread, asking him to provide for our temporal needs. But may we hunger most for our greatest need: spiritual food that Christ freely gives.

God bless your worship.

Pastor David Clark will preach on John 6:24-35; “Do the Work God Requires”

Watch service online. (Sunday, 10:45 AM MST)

View or download this week's service folder.