What Fills? "I Can't Get No Satisfaction," said the Rolling Stones. " I ...
The Rolling Stones, in the 60s, captured a universal emotion in a song, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”
Do you need a reminder of it?
Jesus addressed the same notion in John 6:35:
“I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst…“
In Exodus 16, there are thousands of Hebrew refugees from Egypt in the desert wanting food. They wanted it and needed it.
In II Samuel 11 and 12, we see David, who wanted Bathsheba. His wants had some basis in need, but it was a misplaced desire for satisfaction.
Later, David wants and needs grace. His prayer ascends in Psalm 51.
In Ephesians 4, Paul reminds us of the satisfaction that comes from being part of a family of faith in Jesus that lives a life of genuine humility, community, and giftedness, exercising those gifts in service to God and one another.
Jesus is the Bread of Life without whom we slowly whither into lifeless shells of animated emptiness. He is the food that sustains. He is the source of our energy, the giver of nurture, and the fount of health. He feeds us and we grow.
He has always been the bread of life. Through him, the Father created all things and through him, all things have come into existence and continue to exist.
And he is the bread that is broken for us. Not only does he impart life to us, but he lays down his very life for us.
He is the Bread of Life.
Jesus Christ is the true source of fulfillment.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. - John 6:34
In Bible-talk, bread is food. It is the full spectrum of nutrition we need to live and the spiritual food that keeps us going within.
Jesus taught much about bread, verbally, symbolically, even miraculously.
He multiplied bread and fed the multitudes.
He said he had bread to eat of which others were not aware. It was the bread of his mission that was satisfying and filling. His life work was his bread.
He taught about leaven.
He taught that he was the Bread of Life.
He passed out bread at the table and associated the breaking of that bread with the breaking of his body in sacrifice.
He told us to eat our bread in remembrance of him.
Bread is common, but Jesus used it to teach uncommon truths.
"For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world."
When the disciples began to understand this lesson, they pleaded with him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread."
They knew they needed it, and therefore, they wanted it. They craved it. They yearned for it. They knew that they would starve without it. They would whither. They would fall. Theirs was the deepest sort of hunger.
When our yearning is that deep, we shall be filled.
Hungry, I come, my God, to your table.
Empty I come, ready to eat.
Famished, I offer what I am not able
To give. So, I fall at your feet.
Christ is the bread for which I am craving.
Christ is the food that alone makes me whole.
Christ is the life and my life needs saving.
I come to Christ to eat. Oh, fill my soul.
John 6:24-35
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
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 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.
Jesus takes us further and deeper. He does this in answer to their very shallow questions. They ask for signs. Jesus points to Himself.
He is the source of satisfaction.
He is the source of purpose.
He is the source of soul nurture.
He gives eternal life.
Looking at both of these passages, and slightly ahead, the observation can be made as an acronym for BREAD.
B - Behavior flows from being and believing. It is Jesus' being and our believe in who He is that transforms who we are and how we behave/work.
R - Receiving the gift indicates that He has received us. Jesus is the Father's gift to us and we are the Father's gift to Jesus. When we receive him, he receives us and never loses us. They asked for him to give them the bread, but after he explained it, they were not so sure about receiving it.
E - Eating is what we do with bread. There will be more on this next week. However, today, the message is that we taste eternity and are nourished by our relationship with Jesus to the extent to which we eat, which is to say, internalize his presence in our lives.
A - Agree with Him as to who He is. Attend to His words. Anticipate his promises. Announce them. In so doing, we will be involved with him in His work. If we are what we eat, in this case, it means total alignment with Jesus Christ.
D - Decide that Jesus is the bread of life and that He is all the food you need for living life in the Spirit in the midst of time.
Those are some glimpses and thoughts to propel your own insights into Jesus, the Bread of Life
"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." - John 6:27, (NIV)
" Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness' - Isaiah 55:1-2
Then said they unto him, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God" Jesus answered and said unto them, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." - John 6:28-29
Either work is easy, or belief is hard work.
I am going to presume that both are true.
Belief-work is what produces lasting satisfaction in our lives. This is the preface to Jesus' teachings on the bread of life. Because people are hungering for more, Jesus is addressing that hunger and providing himself as the source of "food that endures to eternal life."
So far, they have labored with frustration and only temporary satisfaction. There is a need in every human to produce something of lasting value. Futility is the fruit of meaningless work. Jesus offers more.
Belief is not a passive thing. The word for "believe here is "pisteuhte," translated, "to keep on believing." I have always been intrigued that the root of the word is used for our modern word, "pistol."
Pistols launch projectiles into open space and belief launches our lives and efforts to a place beyond ourselves.
The work of God is to believe. Once we accept that, we can begin to learn what it means to believe. We can be taught by God what the implications of living faith really are. We can begin to be shaped by our beliefs as they take shape within us.
As a starting point (as well as an ending point), Jesus gives us focus, to believe in him whom the Father has sent.
After a miraculous meal, the crowds worked very hard to find Jesus.
He gently questioned their motives to get them to do the same about themselves.
Your harried, frantic efforts to feed yourselves are futilely flawed, he seems to suggest.
Everything in which you invest your time, energy, and resources is already in the process of spoiling.
There is, however, a food that produces eternal satisfaction.
Place your focus there.
Thus, Jesus introduces a lengthy discussion of the bread of life. He started by stimulating their hunger and thirst to hear more.
What does it take for God to make us aware of our profound hunger for more?
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