April 14, 1999

FAMILY BIBLE SERIES:
Ultimate nourishment found
only in Jesus Christ
___ John 6:1-59
___By Thomas Lea
___Southwestern Seminary
___As I write these words, I am sitting on an airplane and have eaten a lunch snack. The snack filled me temporarily, but I'll be hungry in several hours. I eat about every four hours. I become famished after five or six hours. No food fills me permanently.
___Jesus compared himself to living bread and promised that those who believe on him never would hunger again (John 6:35). He provides a life which never ends. He always satisfies spiritual hunger. Our lesson this week emphasizes that we find true nourishment only in Jesus.
___ Bread--Legitimate Needs (John 6:11-12, 14). Jesus' listeners had spent the day with him (Mark 6:34-35). They needed physical nourishment. Jesus saw their exhaustion and provided food for them.
___He took five barley loaves and two fishes generously shared by a boy. He continued dividing and multiplying these ingredients until everyone had eaten. The collection of leftovers magnified the miracle.
___Jesus' miracle reminded the crowd of the prediction of an appearance of "the prophet" in Deuteronomy 18:15. The people reasoned that the prophet like Moses would supply food and water in the desert as Moses had done (Exodus 16:11-36). Jesus' concern for meeting the physical needs of the crowd provides an example of compassion for us to imitate.
___ Bread--Wrong Motives (John 6:26-27). Jesus warned his listeners not to seek merely physical food, but to focus on enduring spiritual qualities. He promised that those who set their minds on receiving everlasting life would obtain it. His words challenge us to focus on eternal needs and avoid a quest for merely physical needs.
___ Bread--Primary Sources (John 6:35-40). In 6:35 Jesus made a statement and a promise. The statement identified Jesus as the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35). The promise was that he provided eternal life for all who believed in him.
___In 6:37 Jesus promised that the Father gave eternal life to those who trusted him. This verse emphasizes God's control of the salvation process. A verse such as 6:27 emphasizes that human beings are responsible for seeking eternal life. The verses taken together show God controls the process of our salvation, but we must seek Jesus for eternal life.
___ Bread--Superior Quality (John 6:47-51). Jesus contrasted his offer of the bread of life with the manna which Israelites ate. Those who believe in Jesus receive everlasting life. The Jews who ate manna were filled physically, but they all died. Those who believe in Jesus never die.
___Verse 51 explains the key for a genuine experience with God. Jesus descended from heaven to provide what human beings truly need. Those who respond in faith to him receive eternal life.
___Those who care only for the physical body receive a temporary filling. They eventually die. Those who nurture the spirit through faith in Jesus live forever.

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