Two Kinds of Food John 6:22-40

Review Jesus fed the 5,000+ with five loaves of bread and two fish –Many believed in Him as the Prophet to come –Some wanted to take Him by force and make Him king Jesus told the crowd to leave, told His disciples to take the boat and cross the sea –Jesus went to the mountain alone to pray –Then Jesus caught up to the disciples by walking across the sea (among other miracles)

Introduction John 6:22-24 –The people Jesus had sent away, didn’t depart –The next morning they came together looking for Jesus They had seen the disciples leave on their boat They knew no other boat had been taken So they assumed Jesus was still around –Probably saw Him go into the mountains –Didn’t see Him walk across the sea –But when they couldn’t find Him, they took other boats (either fishing boats or their own boats by which they had followed Jesus) Some of the huge crowd probably had left the night before, others may have walked back

Finding Jesus John 6:25 –The multitude comes to Capernaum and finds Jesus already there Can’t imagine how and when Jesus got there? –No boat, to walk would be 10 miles –If He walked it might have taken all night –Why didn’t He wait? He could have sailed with the multitude

Jesus explains John 6:26-27 –He knew what was in their heart They were interested only in the food, not what the miracle indicated –Wanted Jesus to provide for them –Not realizing the miracles meant He was God and they should listen to and obey His word Prompting Jesus to warn them about the food for which they labor –Our lesson will be based on this warning and making application of it »There are 2 kinds of food for which you can labor...

The food which perishes What food is this? –Literally, it is the food we eat It quickly perishes, even with preservatives It fails to satisfy for long, soon we are hungry and thirsty again (Jn 4:13) –Figuratively, other "foods" which soon perish The food of human wisdom The food of folly The food of mirth and pleasure The food of great wealth and industrious labor All of which Solomon found to provide no lasting fulfillment (Eccl 1:17-2:11)

Do not labor for the food that perishes This does not mean we are to make no effort to supply our needs –A Christian is to provide for his family (1Tim 5:8) –If a man does not work, neither should he eat (2Thess 3:10-12) But that we not labor for “perishing food” to the neglect of food which endures –The "food" which perishes should not be our priority in life (Mt 6:25-34) –A lesson Martha needed to learn (Lk 10:38-42) So what is the food which endures?

The food which endures What food is this? –In other texts, it is the Word of God By which man truly lives (Mt 4:4) Which Job treasured more than food (Job 23:12) Which David valued more than gold and fine food (Ps 19:10, 119:72, 103, 111) Which Jeremiah found to be the rejoicing of his heart (Jer 15:16) Which causes rebirth, and endures forever (1Peter 1:22-25)

The food which endures What food is this? –In our text, it is Jesus, the Word of God Jesus, the Logos (Word) of God (Jn 1:1,14,18) He is the true bread from the Father in heaven (John 6:32-33) He is the bread of life who offers everlasting life (John 6:34-40)

Labor for the food which endures Jesus must be the primary focus of our labors, in which we strive... –To believe in Him, for therein is everlasting life (Jn 6:28-29,40) –To follow Him, for He has the words of eternal life (Jn 6:66-69) –To know Him, for that is eternal life (Jn 17:1-3) –To obey Him, for to those who obey He is the author of eternal life (Heb 5:9)

Labor for the food which endures Are we laboring for the food which endures to everlasting life? –Let Paul's attitude be our example (Phil 3:7-15) Seeking to know the Lord more and more Never content with our current understanding, always pressing further –Let Peter set the standard (2Pet 1:5-8, 3:18) Seeking to become like the Lord more and more Always abounding, always growing in grace and knowledge

Conclusion One thing we do not want to be like: –Jn 6:30-31 The very people who had their sick healed Who had eaten of the bread produced from 5 loaves and 2 fishes Who knew He was the Prophet and were willing to force Him to be their king –Now they demand a sign before believing We will examine their rejection of Jesus more closely in our next lesson Let us let Isaiah 55:1-3 be our invitation to come for the food which endures