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An Invitation to Discipleship | The God Who Feeds Us

April 24, 2022
John 6:41-51

⁴¹So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴²They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—⁴⁶not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

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In John 6:41-51, Jesus offers another invitation to discipleship, “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever”. This passage comes on the heels of Jesus feeding the 5,000 by multiplying loaves of bread and a few fish. This miracle has drawn the attention of large crowds and religious leaders all of who are trying to make sense of who they think Jesus is and who he claims to be. Once again he is inviting their hunger, welcoming their appetites, and saying their appetites are meant to draw them to Jesus. But it is only when they recognize that Jesus is the one who can feed them and respond to him in faith that they (and we) taste and see that Jesus is the one who can actually satisfy our hunger.

1. Admitting Our Need For Jesus

It is important to remember in the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-15) Jesus welcomes the hunger of the crowds. Now as Jesus tells the religious leaders that he is the bread from heaven, he once again is inviting their hunger and promising to feed them not physical food but spiritual food. No one will eat of it and die. The feeding of the 5,000 was meant to be an appetizer to an even greater feast because what Jesus now offers in v.41-51 is bread that does not spoil or fade away. While Israel ate manna in the wilderness and died, the bread that Jesus offers leads to eternal life.

• How does the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 help us make sense of Jesus’ proclamation that he is the bread of life?
• What other places/times in Jesus’ ministry do we see examples where Jesus welcomes people’s appetites?
• Where are places/times where Jesus redirects or even rebukes people’s appetites?
• What are some practical ways that we can bring our deepest desires and longings to Jesus?

2. Recognizing Jesus' Presence

The reason the religious leaders scoff when they hear Jesus say, “he is the bread of life, the bread come down from heaven,” is that he is so familiar to them. How can he be from heaven when they know his parents and his place of birth? They fail to recognize the presence of God in their midst because Jesus is too familiar and too ordinary and so they miss him. The imagery of the Exodus is prominent in this passage, which invites us to see that when Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life, it is a promise that he will be present with them to sustain them and nourish them. One of the great challenges we face in our own lives is recognizing the ways Jesus provides for us in ordinary ways. Therefore, our perception of God is often that he is absent rather than present with us.

• How does this passage offer hope to us when we feel or struggle with our belief that God is absent or distant rather than present and near?
• What are the ways this passage and other places in Scripture call us to see and experience God in the ‘ordinary’?
• How do we and can we as a church help one another experience God’s presence in our lives?

3. Responding to Jesus' Presence

Jesus is calling for a response to his invitation to feed upon him. While the Father draws us (v.44) the invitation to feed upon Jesus is expansive (‘if anyone…’, ‘whoever…’). We are to respond by faith in Jesus and trust him to provide for us bread that never spoils or fades away. 

• In John 6:14, the crowds try to take Jesus by force and make him their king. How is this response to Jesus’ power and invitation not the right one? How do we do something similar in our own lives?

Sending

Revelation 5:13: To the one who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!  

• View Study Guide Notes

  Question 1: If possible, you might consider reading John 6:1-40 as well as v.41-51. Reading this passage in light of the feeding of the 5,000 helps us see that Jesus is attracting those who are hungry, not only physically but spiritually. This is the major difference between the crowds who trust in Jesus and the religious leaders who don’t. The crowds are desperate enough (hungry enough) to know they need Jesus to feed them. The religious leaders don’t think they need Jesus and therefore can’t welcome his promises of life as good news. 

  There are many places in Jesus’ ministry where desperate people approach him and he welcomes their desperation and physical/spiritual hunger. The woman at the well in John 4, Nicodemus’ hunger for answers and insight in John 3, and the disciples’ hunger at the Last Supper (and many, many more). But there are also places like in John 6:14 where Jesus redirects people’s desires because they are trying to devour him, rather than submit to his Kingship.

  Question 2: N/A

  Question 3: N/A