For Eternal Life

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 15th of July, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The people followed Jesus, as they so often did, to a remote area to hear Him preach and teach.  As the day grew late, His disciples worried about what the huge throng would eat.  A boy in the crowd happened to have brought along five loaves of bread and two small fishes.  Jesus took those loaves and fishes, gave thanks to His Father for their provision, then began breaking them into pieces that were distributed by the disciples to the people.  In all, well over 5000 men, women, and children were fed from that boy’s humble lunch.  What followed might be considered the moral or lesson of this story.

Our scripture reading this morning is rather long, but I think it important that we hear the whole story to better understand what Jesus was trying to tell us.  So please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 6 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 22 through 58, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake realized that only one small boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came to shore near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

25 When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, you are looking for Me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. 27 Do not work for the food that disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life — the food which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put His seal of approval on Him.”

28 So then they said to Him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?” 29 Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires — to believe in the One whom He sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “Then what miraculous sign will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but My Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time!”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to Me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty. 36 But I told you that you have seen Me and still do not believe. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never send away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of the One who sent Me. 39 Now this is the will of the One who sent Me — that I should not lose one person of every one He has given Me, but raise them all up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father — for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus replied, “Do not complain about Me to one another. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God — He has seen the Father.) 47 I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began to argue with one another, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood resides in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ate, but then later died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

--John 6:22-58 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, as Your chosen people wandered in the desert for 40 years, You sent bread from heaven to provide for the physical needs.  And Father, as Your children still wander in a wilderness of our own making, You give us the true bread of heaven, Your Son Jesus, to provide for our spiritual needs.  Help us, please Father, to accept and believe in the One whom You sent.  Help us to grow in our faith even as we help others along the path to righteousness.  Speak to us now, Father, with the message we need to hear this morning.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


I’d like to share a few quotes with you that I think bear greatly to our scripture reading and to the times in which we live:

The great reformed, Martin Luther, once noted:  “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.”

Christian author Marjorie Holmes added:  “...possessions are meant to enhance life, not to become the main focus of living. ...we come into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing.”

English writer, philosopher, and lay theologian had a slightly different take on possessions:  “There are two ways to get enough: One is to accumulate more and more, the other is to desire less.”

And American patriot Patrick Henry, best remembered for declaring, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, also said this:  “I have now disposed of all my property to my family.  There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ.  If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed.”


Our possessions, as gifts from God, should enhance our life, not become our number one priority in living.  The more we accumulate, the more we want.  The easiest way to have enough is to desire less.

I like things – most people like things.  But the underlying point to these and Henry’s statement is that in the end, things won’t matter.  All that will matter is our belief, and our faith.  And that is what we need to pass on and share.


Today’s scripture reading, on the surface, seems to focus on bread a lot.  The crowds followed Jesus because they had eaten the bread.  God gave the ancient Hebrews bread from heaven.  Jesus is the true bread that came down from heaven.

Bread is something we can understand, especially as regards how important it is to mankind.  As miraculous as the feeding of the 5000 was, it was still only bread, and fish - worldly things that last only a short while.  We call bread the “staff of life”, meaning it is and has been vital to mankind’s survival.  Jesus said “I am the bread of life”, and He is indeed vital to our spiritual survival and life everlasting.


Jesus made a couple of references to God sending bread from heaven to Moses and the children of Israel.  Let me briefly refresh our memory of what Jesus is talking about, reading from chapter 16 of Moses’ Book of Exodus, the first part of verse 4, verses 19 and 20, and verse 31…

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you."

19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.

31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

--Exodus 16:4a, 19 & 20, 31 (NKJV)

Each day God provided for the peoples’ needs.  He wanted them to trust in His provision, that He would see to their needs each and every day.  Some didn’t trust Him and tried to gather more manna than they needed for that day.  But what they had labored to hoard away rotted, bred worms, and stank.  The manna, the bread from heaven, melted with the heat of the day and turned rancid if left overnight.

Jesus, the true bread from heaven, is eternal, and what He gives is eternal.  All those Israelis who ate of that sweet bread in the desert stilled died, as has everyone else who ever lived and ate of physical food.  But those who eat of the bread of life that is Jesus will live forever.

Anything of this world – our valued possessions, our very food – will eventually rot and decay, and become useless to anyone.  Only our spiritual possessions – our faith and belief – will serve us for eternal life.


Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”.  Those who go to Him will never be hungry.  Those who believe in Him will never thirst.  Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats from this bread they will live forever.

And then in verse 51 Jesus said, “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”  The Jews were aghast, yet He goes on and adds, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.  The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.  The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood resides in Me, and I in him.”

If you’ve not closely looked at this scripture before, a lightbulb may be going off over your head about now.  This should be reminding us of our Lord’s last meal with His followers, of our Holy Communion.  Now this is coming from the Apostle John’s Gospel account, but while John did not report on the Last Supper itself, Matthew, Mark and Luke did, in their Gospel accounts, and so did Paul, in chapter 11 of his 1st letter to the Corinthians.  Listen to how Matthew recorded Jesus’ words that night, in chapter 26 of his Gospel account, verses 26 through 28…

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

--Matthew 26:26-28 (NKJV)

Jesus said “this is My body”, “this is My blood”.  Take and eat for this is the true bread from heaven.  Eat this bread for eternal life.

When we observe Holy Communion, we do as Jesus commands.  We drink of His blood for the remission, the forgiveness, of our sins.  We eat of His flesh for eternal life, that we will be raised up on the last day, that we may live in Jesus and He in us.


Do we trust in God to provide for our needs - not our wants, but our needs?  Or are we like some of those ancient Jews who tried to accumulate more than they needed, only to watch it all rot and decay?

All the things of this world, both great and small, are temporary – they will not last.  Only the things of heaven are eternal.  We cannot take the things of this earth with us when we breathe our last breath here.  We can leave them to our children and their children, or others of our loved ones left behind.  But unless we have left them with our faith, our belief, nothing else will truly matter.  We can leave our loved ones nothing else of value but our belief and our faith.  Only those matter for eternal life.

Jesus told us a solemn truth.  Hear the message our Lord speaks, eat of His bread, and live forever.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You provide for our worldly needs, and You also provide for our spiritual needs.  Too many, Father, take advantage of the former while passing up the latter.  Forgive us, O gracious God, when we don’t completely trust You to provide for us.  Forgive us when we don’t accept Your true bread from heaven.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You came to offer us eternal life, salvation through You and the sacrifice of Your own flesh and blood.  Help us to better understand the solemn truths You spoke to us.  Help us to better trust our Father God, that He will see to our needs.  Help us to grow and strengthen our faith and our belief, the only things that matter.  And help us to share Your truth and Your bread with the world while there is still time.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.