Sundays: 9:00 AM Sunday School | 10:30 AM Worship Service

Watch Live

|

Contact

|

App

|

Sermon

The Jesus Diet

Speaker
David Capoccia
Scripture
John 6:22-59

Listen to Audio Save MP3
Reading Tools:

Aa

In this sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia examines Jesus’ Bread of Life Discourse in John 6:22-59. There, Jesus makes three profound assertions about himself as the bread of life so that you will by faith feed on Jesus as your soul’s exclusive food and thereby experience eternal life:

1. Jesus Is the True Bread from Heaven (vv. 26-35)
2. Jesus Will Succeed in His Life-giving Mission (vv. 36-47)
3. Jesus Imparts Life by Sacrifice and Union (vv. 48-59)

Auto Transcript

Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

Jesus declares Himself to be the bread of life in John 6:22–59, calling all people to feed on Him alone for eternal satisfaction and life. The passage reveals that Jesus is the true bread from heaven—superior to the manna given under Moses—and that saving faith means wholly identifying with Christ, including His sacrificial death. We are reminded that God sovereignly draws people to saving faith, yet every person bears genuine responsibility to believe. The bread of life metaphor teaches that believing in Jesus is not a one-time event but a continual lifestyle of feeding on Him.

Key Lessons:

  1. Jesus is the true bread from heaven, of which the Old Testament manna was merely a shadow—He alone gives eternal, imperishable life.
  2. God’s sovereign drawing of sinners to faith does not eliminate human responsibility; both divine sovereignty and genuine human choice stand side by side in Scripture.
  3. Saving faith wholly identifies a person with Christ’s sacrificial death—eating His flesh and drinking His blood means embracing the gospel of the cross.
  4. Feeding on Christ is not a one-time act but a continual lifestyle of finding satisfaction, security, and salvation in Him alone.

Application: We are called to examine the diet of our souls—to stop seeking satisfaction in perishing things and to commit exclusively to Jesus as our spiritual food. Those who already believe are urged to stop “cheating” on the Jesus diet by turning to sin, idols, or self-righteousness, and instead to continually feast on Christ with joy.

Discussion Questions:

  1. In what areas of life are you tempted to seek “perishing bread”—satisfaction from things that cannot ultimately fulfill—instead of feeding on Christ?
  2. How do divine sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation encourage you rather than confuse you, especially when others reject the gospel?
  3. What would it look like practically in your daily life to “continually chew” on Jesus—to make feeding on Him a lifestyle rather than a one-time decision?

Scripture Focus: John 6:22–59, where Jesus declares “I am the bread of life” and explains that believing in Him—including fully identifying with His sacrificial death—is the only way to eternal life. Supporting references include Psalm 78:24, Exodus 16:4, Isaiah 54:13, and John 4–5.

Outline

Introduction

Let’s pray together. Holy God, open up your word to us and feed us with the food of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Bread of Life Metaphor

Here’s a hypothetical question to start us off this morning. If you had to eat just one meal repeatedly for the rest of your life, what would it be? I know that this is perhaps a dangerous question to ask close to lunchtime, but think about it. Which meal would you choose to eat exclusively from now on?

For me, I’d like the answer to be a simple but well-made set of hamburger and fries. No, it may not be the most cultured meal, but I tell you, a juicy burger slathered with a nice layer of ketchup and mayonnaise next to a copious collection of crispy and well-salted fries—it’s a little affirmation of God’s goodness in the world. I might choose to eat that meal for the rest of my life.

But if I’m thinking soberly, I know that I would quickly come to regret that choice. I think you can understand why. For one, a steady diet of burger and fries is not exactly healthy. All that fat and cholesterol would quickly take a toll on my body.

Not to mention, I’d be missing out on a lot of other important nutrients from fruits and vegetables. Also, no matter how tasty a particular meal is, I’m sure that I would eventually grow bored of it. Part of the goodness of food as God has created it is its variety.

To eat only one kind of food forever—even the best food—it would soon be like torture. In fact, I bet that no matter what meal you come up with to answer my hypothetical, you could not actually eat it for the rest of your life. Not exclusively.

But what if I told you there is one meal that is an exception to that rule? This meal is not just healthy; it’s life-giving. If you eat it, you will never die but live forever. More than that, this meal is fundamentally satisfying.

Eating it not only removes hunger but also cravings for other food. And the more you eat of it, the more enjoyable it becomes for you, not less. Also, this meal is absolutely free, available immediately to anyone who asks for it.

But there is a catch. This is not a meal for your stomach but for your soul, where you actually have a more serious hunger and you’re in danger of starvation. Also, if you choose to enjoy this meal, you cannot enjoy other meals alongside it anymore. You must make this meal your exclusive diet for the rest of your life.

What is the meal?

I alluded to it in my prayer. It’s the Son of Man. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ, who the Bible declares has come down from heaven as the bread of life to the world so that all kinds of persons might feed on him and find life and satisfaction forever.

“This meal is not just healthy; it’s life-giving. If you eat it, you will never die but live forever.”

Setting the Scene: John 6 Context

How is Jesus the bread of life? What does it mean to take him as your only food? That’s what I want to look at with you this morning as we investigate the Jesus diet from John 6:22-59.

Please, if you haven’t already, take your Bibles and turn to John 6. It’s a large passage before us today—38 verses. I will not reread the passage to start. We instead will read as we work our way through the verses.

Do you recall the preceding context of John 6:22-59, which we see in the first 21 verses of our chapter? In verses 1-15, we have Jesus’ miraculous feeding of 20,000 people or more. After which, a group of impressed Jews—you may remember—they were about to force Jesus. They were going to take Jesus by force and make him King. But he didn’t let that happen.

Then in verses 16-21, which is where we were last week, we saw Jesus’ miracle of walking on the water while the disciples were attempting to cross the lake, the Sea of Galilee.

What happens the next morning is our passage. It’s Jesus’ famous bread of life discourse. According to verse 59 at the end of our passage, this conversation takes place between Jesus and Galilean Jews in the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus’ second hometown.

“We see the first of seven profound ‘I am’ statements of the Gospel of John.”

In the conversation, we see the first of seven profound “I am” statements of the Gospel of John. This is the first one, where Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” and he explains what that means.

In terms of organization, the passage has a short section of introduction and then three sections of extended conversation focused on particular truths. That’s going to form our sermon outline.

We can summarize the main idea of the passage in this way: In John 6:22-59, Jesus makes three profound assertions about himself as the bread of life so that you will by faith feed on Jesus as your soul’s exclusive food and thereby experience eternal life.

A Hungry Crowd Seeks Jesus (vv. 22–25)

Let’s see this for ourselves, starting with the introduction in verses 22 to 25.

The introduction—if I can summarize it—is a hungry crowd coming looking for Jesus. Let’s read those verses.

“The next day, the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus had not entered with the disciples into the boat, but that his disciples had gone away alone. There came other small boats from Tiberius near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’”

Now, these verses are mostly important for setting up the discourse that is about to take place. We won’t look at these in great detail, but notice a few aspects of this section with me.

We learn here that the crowd that had previously been fed miraculously by Jesus—fed and dismissed—they go back to that rural spot on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee to find Jesus again. There are even some people who come from Tiberias, which is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. They also come to look for Jesus and perhaps to get in on that miraculous bread action.

But the crowd doesn’t find Jesus, and they don’t find his disciples, which mystifies them because they’re pretty sure Jesus did not leave the area by boat with his disciples. Verse 24 says that the crowd, or whatever portion of the crowd could fit into the boats around Tiberias, decide to search for Jesus in Capernaum. And lo and behold, they find him.

“The crowd goes back to find Jesus again—to get in on that miraculous bread action.”

When they do, they ask him a question: “Rabbi, when did you get here?” It’s a somewhat reasonable question to ask. But we find out Jesus’s response as we get to the main part of this text and the first profound assertion Jesus makes about himself as the bread of life. This covers verses 26 to 35.

Jesus Is the True Bread from Heaven (vv. 26–35)

Number one: Jesus is the true bread from Heaven.

Look at verses 26 to 27.

“Jesus answered them and said, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him the Father God has set his seal.’”

Seeking Jesus for the Wrong Reasons

So notice there’s a bit of an ouch here. Jesus, as he’s done before in conversations in this gospel, he doesn’t answer the question posed to him. But he responds omnisciently to the main issue in the heart of the inquirer.

Jesus puts his finger right on the problem of their heart: the Jewish people are seeking him not because they revere him, not because they believe in him as God’s Messiah, but because they want more food.

“Truly, truly I say to you,” Jesus says. We’ve seen that phrase before. In other words, Jesus is saying, “It’s shocking, I know, but you’ve got to believe what I’m about to tell you. I know that you’re coming after me for the wrong reasons. You like food. You like the food that I gave you, and you want more of it.”

Jesus then gives some counsel along with his rebuke. Stop working for the food which doesn’t last, but seek the food which does last and even brings about eternal life for the eater.

“Stop working for the food which doesn’t last, but seek the food which does last and brings eternal life.”

Where can the Jews find this food? It’s not so subtle. It’s with Jesus, who notice calls himself the Son of Man here in verse 27. That’s his favorite title for himself, ostensibly highlighting his humanity but also subtly alluding to his messiahship and even deity.

Jesus is saying in verse 27: the Son of Man is able to give you enduring food if you seek it. You can count on the Son of Man’s food because on him, Jesus says, the Father God has set his seal.

What does it mean to set one’s seal? It means to mark someone or something as approved. Jesus says that he, as the Son of Man, has God’s seal of approval.

How do we know that? How can he say that? Jesus doesn’t explain here, but we already heard in John 5:3 about how the Father gives testimony—supernatural testimony—on Jesus’ behalf through the Son’s works, the Son’s words, and through the Old Testament scriptures.

Well, how did the Jews respond to Jesus’ offer of better food than what they’re seeking?

The One Work God Requires: Believe

Verse 28: “Therefore they said to him, ‘What shall we do so that we may work the works of God?’”

The Jews have not fully understood Jesus’ words to them. They understand that they need to seek better and more lasting food than literal loaves of bread. The Jews think that Jesus is telling them they need to seek the lasting food of fulfilling God’s rules.

See the phrase “the works of God” at the end of verse 28? This is best understood as “the work which God requires.” So essentially, these Jews—like all religious people in the world—they are displaying their natural belief in works-based righteousness here.

They say, “Jesus, you’re right. We should be seeking that which gives us lasting life, and we know where to find it: the commands of Torah. So tell us, what are the works that we need to do to meet God’s required standard?”

Notice the proud assumption here: that these people can do whatever God says are the necessary works.

But Jesus gives another surprising response to the Jews in verse 29.

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent.’”

You see the irony in Jesus’ response? The Jews are asking which works God requires for eternal life. God only has one requirement—one little work, work which is really no work at all. You simply must believe in him whom God has sent.

John 6:29: “This is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

And whom did God send? What has Jesus been saying all along in this gospel? God sent Jesus.

So Jesus is saying: if they would believe in him, they will have the food that lasts to eternal life.

But do the Jews get it?

The Jews Demand a Greater Sign

Look at verses 30 to 31.

“So they said to him, ‘What then do you do for a sign so that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written. He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”

You see, the Jews kind of get what Jesus is saying. They realize that Jesus is calling on them to believe in him for eternal life. But incredibly, they indicate that they haven’t seen enough miraculous signs from Jesus to believe.

Why do I say that’s incredible? Because Jesus has been doing sign after sign as he’s been ministering in Galilee, including the massive sign just recorded in John—from the day before—in feeding thousands of people from five loaves and two fish. It was Jesus’ most massive miracle up to this point. But it’s not enough for these Jews. They want more. They want bigger. They want more spectacular.

In fact, they not so subtly suggest what kind of sign would really get them on board the “believe in Jesus” train. “Hey, Jesus, can you top Moses, who miraculously fed the whole nation with manna—bread from heaven—for 40 years while they wandered through the wilderness? That was pretty massive, right?”

They even quote the scriptures at Jesus to indicate or to assert that this is what God’s promised Prophet would do. Their quotation—you read the quotation—”He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.” That’s a quotation of Psalm 78:24, but probably combined with other scriptures like Exodus 16:4 and Exodus 16:15.

But do you see what’s so insidious about this reply from the Jews to Jesus? The Jews are now trying to validate as biblically warranted their shallow seeking of perishing food, for which Jesus just rebuked them in verses 26 to 27.

They’re essentially telling Jesus: “Jesus, we will believe in you as God requires if you will continually give us all the fleshly things that we want. Then we’ll know that you’re really the Son of God if you fulfill all our lusts.”

“Do not many people do the same with God today? ‘Give me all I want, and I will believe.’ But that person doesn’t really want God.”

How foolish and wicked a response is that? And yet, do not many people do the same with God today? “God, give me all the things that I want, and I will believe in you.” But that person doesn’t really want God.

How did Jesus respond to this fleshly request for another sign?

As we might expect, with correction.

The Father’s True Bread vs. Moses’ Manna

Verse 32: “Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.’”

Notice again we have that “truly, truly” opener. Jesus is trying to get the people’s attention. Then he offers a double correction.

Jesus clarifies: it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but God, my Father. But also, the bread that God gave under Moses was not the true bread. That is, it was not the ultimate bread. That manna was merely a type, a shadow of better bread to come.

Jesus says this better bread is presently here and available. Notice the present tense in verse 32. He says, “My Father who gives you the true bread”—is present. Jesus says the Father—not Moses—who’s currently giving the true bread and doing so apart from obedience to Moses’ law.

How does Jesus know that this true bread is different and has now arrived?

Well, look at verse 33.

“For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.”

Really, the ancient manna was pretty special, but it only gave life temporarily to one people—people of Israel. But Jesus says you’ll know the true bread because it gives life to the whole world. That is, it gives life to the entire dwelling place of mankind, to mankind generally. It is able to save the human race.

John 6:33: “The bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.”

But are the Jews tracking with Jesus?

Look at verse 34.

“They then said to him, ‘Always give us this bread.’”

Oh boy. They still think that Jesus is talking about physical bread. “Jesus, you’ve got the Father’s super bread somewhere? That’s the bread we want all the time.”

This may remind you of the woman at the well’s response to Jesus when he offered living water. She says, “Oh, give that to me all the time. I don’t have to keep coming to this well.” She thought he was talking about physical water.

Well, as in that other situation, because the Jews still don’t get it, Jesus speaks to them plainly.

I Am the Bread of Life

In John 6:35, Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.”

Notice the phrase “I am the bread of life.” Here again, we see that Greek phrase which we’ve often drawn attention to through this gospel: “ego eimi”—”I am.” This is a clear statement of self-identification, but it also, especially in this gospel, has overtones of deity. And here it’s attached to a predicate: “I am the bread of life.”

Jesus says, “of life” attached to bread—that would be with the sense of “I am the bread that gives life, that has life and gives life.”

Jesus is telling the Jews: I am what I’ve been talking to you about. I am the enduring, life-giving bread. I am the ultimate bread of which manna under Moses was just a type. I am the one who has come down out of heaven to give life to the world.

John 6:35: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.”

But how does one enjoy or benefit from Jesus as the God-sent bread of life? Well, it’s the same as Jesus said back in verse 29. A person must come to Jesus and believe in him. That’s exactly what he says in this verse.

And notice the promise results: the believer will not hunger and will never thirst. Actually, the Greek is even more emphatic than what appears in our English New American Standard 95 translation. A more literal translation of the Greek would read something like: “He could not possibly be hungry, and he absolutely will not be thirsty ever.”

How could Jesus speak so confidently? Well, it’s like what Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4. When someone eats—by belief—the bread of life, Jesus the Son of Man becomes in that person a source of both continual hunger satiation and also thirst quenching. It’s not one and done. It’s always there, like Jesus told the Samaritan woman: a spring welling up inside someone.

So whenever he’s thirsty, he takes a drink. What a revelation!

And do you notice that this is an implicit invitation from Jesus to his listeners and even to us today? Jesus says to you, even now: “I am the life-giving, soul-satisfying bread to everyone who comes to me and believes.”

“Jesus says to you: ‘I am the life-giving, soul-satisfying bread to everyone who comes to me and believes.’”

Will you not partake? What a kind, what a generous offer!

Yet, even in the face of such, Jesus realizes that many will not come, many will not believe. They will refuse to believe. Yes, even among the Jews, his own people, the people of God supposedly.

Therefore, is there some failure in God’s plan to save the world with the true bread of heaven? Well, not at all. As Jesus will explain in his second profound assertion about himself as the bread of life.

This one covers verses 36 to 47, and it is:

Jesus Will Succeed in His Life-Giving Mission (vv. 36–47)

Number two: Jesus will succeed in his life-giving mission.

Jesus is the true bread from heaven, and he will succeed in his life-giving mission.

Look at verse 36.

“But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.”

This is a sudden shift in the conversation, isn’t it? Especially following that beautiful offer.

Jesus knows all men, and he knows that most of the people to whom he is speaking here have seen Jesus. They’ve seen the supernatural testimony of the Father on Jesus’ behalf. And yet they do not believe. He told them this before, most recently in verses 26 and 27. Now he tells them again.

But Jesus is not discouraged.

For notice verse 37.

The Father’s Gift and the Son’s Keeping

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.”

Where does Jesus find comfort and confidence in the face of rejection and apathy? The sovereignty of God. Specifically, Jesus notes—and he’s even willing to tell his believing disciples and the unbelieving Jews—that everyone whom the Father gives to the Son will come to the Son in saving faith.

Not “these persons might come,” hopefully will come, probably will come. No, they are given as a gift from the Father to the Son. And so those persons will come and believe.

“Everyone whom the Father gives to the Son will come to the Son in saving faith.”

In other words, Jesus knows that his bread of life ministry will be effective for those chosen by God.

Furthermore, Jesus says he is committed to keeping all those given to him and not driving them out.

Why?

Verses 38 to 39.

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me: that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day.”

Do you see the reason that Jesus will cast out no gift from the Father? Because Jesus doesn’t seek his own will but the Father’s will.

What is the Father’s will? Jesus spells it out in verse 39. Not only should Jesus not voluntarily cast out a person chosen by the Father and gifted to the Son, but also Jesus should make sure not to lose any of them to unbelief and condemnation.

On the contrary, Jesus’ specific mission from the Father, as reported here, is to ensure that everyone chosen by the Father for belief in the Son should persevere in faith and be raised up by the Son in resurrection on the last day.

Jesus is not only confident that all those chosen by God will come and take Jesus as the bread of life, but also that none of those who do will ultimately fall away.

“Jesus is confident that all chosen by God will come and that none of them will ultimately fall away.”

Sovereignty and Free Invitation Side by Side

But does that mean that Jesus’ evangelism, his proclamation of the Gospel, is therefore useless, not necessary?

Look at verse 40.

“For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day.”

What’s this? It’s another implicit invitation to come and believe.

Jesus sees no contradiction in resting in the ultimate sovereignty of God while also freely offering the gospel, even guaranteeing to those who hear it that all who are willing to respond in true faith will gain eternal life.

You see? Complete divine sovereignty and real human choice and responsibility—they exist side by side in the Bible, as they literally do right here.

“Complete divine sovereignty and real human choice and responsibility exist side by side in the Bible.”

The Jews Grumble at Jesus’ Claims

But what are the Jews making of what Jesus has said thus far?

Verses 41 and 42.

“Therefore the Jews were grumbling about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down out of heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he say, “I have come down out of heaven”?’”

We can see that Jesus was speaking accurately in verse 36, can’t we? These Jews have seen, they are seeing again, but generally they do not believe.

Just like that Exodus generation that grumbled about the manna that God had provided, so this generation of Jews also grumbles at the presentation of Jesus as God’s greater bread.

“Just as that Exodus generation grumbled about manna, so this generation grumbles at Jesus as God’s greater bread.”

Now, why specifically are the Jews grumbling here? Well, it’s because they know Jesus’ origin, and it’s not from heaven. They think: “How could Jesus claim to be special when we all know his family? We know his mom and dad. He’s just a man. He’s not divine bread worthy of our full devotion and belief.”

How does Jesus respond to this fresh resistance from Jews, even his close countrymen in Galilee?

No One Comes Unless the Father Draws Him

Verses 43 and 44.

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.’”

Isn’t that interesting? In his response, first Jesus calls out the Jews’ grumbling as unjustified. But second, Jesus then affirms the sovereignty of God in salvation even more strongly than he did before, back in verse 37.

Jesus said that all those given by God to the Son will come and believe. But now Jesus describes the flip side: unless God gives someone to the Son, or to use the words here, unless God draws, pulls, or attracts a person, that person cannot come to Jesus and believe.

Yet notice the last part of it: everyone who is drawn thus by the Father, Jesus will raise that one on the last day. Nobody but a certain condition will come, but those Jesus will raise on the last day.

John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

This is Jesus’ comfort amid the grumbling of the Jews. And it is the explanation for the Jews’ grumbling.

Did you notice that Jesus does not try to correct the Jews’ misunderstanding of his origins? He doesn’t clarify: “Oh, Joseph is not really my birth dad, and I was born in Bethlehem under these miraculous circumstances.” You don’t see any of that.

Why not? Jesus recognizes that this clarification will not fix the Jews’ fundamental heart problem: the fact that they really want perishing bread over living bread and evidently are not being drawn by God to desire otherwise.

In fact, look at what Jesus says next.

Taught by God: Isaiah 54:13

Verses 45 and 46.

“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.”

Here Jesus quotes Isaiah 54:13, and that verse is from a section of Isaiah that’s all about Israel’s future repentance and restoration by God.

Jesus quotes this verse to affirm a fundamental New Covenant reality that is already evident in Jesus’ ministry. Those drawn by God to saving faith have God himself speaking to their inner man. God is revealing himself to them in their hearts by his Spirit and writing his law on their hearts. He’s teaching them in the inner man about him, with the result that such taught ones come to Jesus and truly believe in him.

God never drags anyone kicking and screaming into the kingdom. He irresistibly woos and regenerates the heart so that the person thus spoken to and taught by God cannot help but believe. That’s the only thing he wants. He must do that.

“God never drags anyone kicking and screaming into the kingdom. He irresistibly woos and regenerates the heart.”

Yet this process—this magnificent, miraculous process—never occurs without the word and revelation of Jesus. For as Jesus says in verse 46: “No one has seen or knows God except the one who is from God.”

If the Father is teaching you and speaking to your heart, he must be doing so by means of the only ordained explainer of God, who is the Son, whom the Father sent into the world.

To say that another way: as we’ve already learned from John, in John 5, the way the Father speaks to the hearts of men and draws them to salvation is through the words of the Son, which we have as the scriptures.

Therefore, if you, like these Jews, hear the words of the Father through the words of the Son and are not moved to believe, then the Father’s not drawing you. No extra evidence will be effective in bringing you to the Son. You will not come.

You Must Believe

But again, this does not absolve you of your responsibility to come, your responsibility to believe.

For Jesus again says in verse 47.

“Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”

This may seem like an incredible statement after everything Jesus just said about God’s sovereignty. Truly, you will not believe unless God speaks to your heart through Jesus’ word and draws you—supernaturally draws you.

Yet, friend, you must believe. It is your own momentous choice. If you believe, you will have eternal life. If you will not believe, you will not have eternal life but experience eternal death.

Never excuse your own unbelief or disobedience by the sovereignty of God. No, the Bible will not let you do that. You are responsible. You make your own choice. You do what you want.

“Never excuse your own unbelief or disobedience by the sovereignty of God. You are responsible.”

Yet, when others reject God or only show apathy to the gospel, as a Christian, do not be discouraged. Jesus will succeed in his life-giving mission. The precious bread of life will not be wasted.

There’s more to the bread metaphor for Jesus beyond what we’ve seen thus far. Like bread, Jesus gives life—just better life.

As we move to the third and final profound assertion Jesus makes about himself as the bread of life, we’ll see why bread is a particularly appropriate metaphor for Jesus.

This last point will cover verses 48 to 59.

Jesus Imparts Life by Sacrifice and Union (vv. 48–59)

Number three: Jesus imparts life by sacrifice and union.

Look at verses 48 to 51, first part of 51.

“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever.”

Notice here that after again declaring himself to be the bread of life, Jesus returns to the comparison that began this discourse. Basically, the manna under Moses versus the bread of the Father now given in Jesus.

Jesus highlights for the Jews a fundamental shortcoming of that original heaven-sent bread. Those who ate it still died.

“Why are you clamoring for that food? You’re still going to die. They died.”

But Jesus says: “If you will eat of the living bread that now comes down from heaven, you will not die but live forever.”

“If you will eat of the living bread that now comes down from heaven, you will not die but live forever.”

By this point, we do understand what Jesus means by eating living bread, right? Jesus means to believe. That’s what he’s been saying the whole time. Eat equals believe. That’s what he’s been calling on the Jews to do.

But Jesus adds something at the end of verse 51 that certainly raises the Jews’ eyebrows.

The Bread That Gives Up Its Flesh

Look at the end there: “And the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

What’s this? Jesus now begins to describe more specifically how he functions like bread.

Jesus says: “In the future, I will give up my flesh as bread to bring life to the world.”

Now, what kind of description is that? What is that reminiscent of? “Give up my flesh for the life of the world”—that is a description of sacrifice. That is the language of sacrifice, even the death of one for another.

Now, flesh is a pretty visceral term, isn’t it? When we eat meat today, maybe in a hamburger, we don’t say, “Mmm, delicious cow flesh.” Why not? Because that’s way too vivid. That’s too real. That’s too much a reminder of the physical existence of another creature whose life has been taken for our sustenance.

Yet this is the word that Jesus chooses to describe how he serves as God’s bread to the world.

“‘Give up my flesh for the life of the world’—that is the language of sacrifice, even the death of one for another.”

And the Jews are not happy about this, as we soon find out.

Verse 52: “Then the Jews began to argue with one another saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’”

And this is worse than before, right? Before, the Jews were grumbling. Now they’re fighting, quarreling with one another.

“Jesus cannot be talking about cannibalism, right? No, that can’t be. So what does he mean? What is this?”

And if you’re feeling a little uncomfortable about Jesus talking about eating his flesh, imagine how the kosher Jews feel!

But then Jesus turns up the discomfort up a notch.

Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood

Verse 53.

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.’”

Could Jesus be more provocative?

Notice he starts out again with that introductory, attention-grabbing phrase: “Truly, truly I say to you.”

Then Jesus declares that the Jews must not only eat the flesh of the Son of Man—Jesus—but drink his blood.

Now, that’s a distasteful image, isn’t it? Pardon the pun. Many people get queasy at the sight of blood.

But Jesus wants God’s people to drink blood.

On the surface, this act is actually forbidden in the Bible. It’s forbidden in the Torah of Moses as a reverence for the fact that God declared a creature’s life is in its blood. The Jews were forbidden from consuming blood, ever, or eating meat with blood still in it. Those who violated that command willfully would be executed.

Yet now Jesus says that people must drink his blood.

And notice the absolute terms of this declaration: “Unless you do as Jesus outlined—eat his flesh, drink his blood—you have no life in yourselves.”

To put it positively: the only way that anyone may have eternal life, according to Jesus, is if they eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man.

“The only way anyone may have eternal life is if they eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man.”

You say, “Pastor Dave, what is going on here?”

The answer is actually straightforward. Jesus is saying that true saving faith wholly identifies a person with Jesus Christ, including with Jesus’ sacrificial death for sinners.

Truly, if giving up flesh is the language of death and sacrifice, how much more is the pouring out of blood?

Jesus is not being needlessly gory with this imagery. No, he is appropriately describing the most shocking truth of the Gospel. Indeed, he is drawing attention to the two truths that are most bothersome to proud religious people.

Number one: they, despite all their religiosity, are terrible sinners in need of rescue by sacrificial death. And two: the only one who could provide that sacrificial death to save them is the King of Glory, the Messiah, the Son of God himself.

Remember, as the rest of the New Testament bears out, the bloody cross is the stumbling block to the Jews. The Jews can’t stand the idea of a crucified Messiah. They don’t think they need a crucified Messiah to pay for their sins. They need a living Messiah to commend them, reward them, usher in that kingdom of prosperity.

But Jesus is confronting that proud notion in the most poignant way.

And perhaps he’s also doing so for you today. Are you proud in your religiosity? Do you realize that you must eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, or else you have no life in yourself?

But could Jesus be talking about something more literal here, like the Eucharist or the Lord’s table celebration? Many assume so when they come to this passage. But that cannot be the case.

Because look at what Jesus says next.

Verse 54.

“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up. I myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Say, “What are you talking about, Dave? How does that prove your point?”

Well, do you notice how this parallels exactly something we’ve already seen in this passage?

Go back to verse 40.

“For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day.”

It’s the exact same phrasing. The first part is just different.

Is Jesus contradicting verse 40 with verse 54? No, he’s just saying the same thing in another way.

To eat Jesus’ flesh and to drink his blood is to do what verse 40 says it is: to behold him and to believe in him. Because the outcome is the same. Jesus is not teaching about the need for the Eucharist for salvation in verses 53 to 54. That is foreign to the context and doesn’t even make sense in the passage.

The Jesus Diet: Continual Feeding by Faith

But there’s something else here, and it’s the whole reason for my sermon title.

Starting at verse 54 and going all the way to verse 59, Jesus starts to use a different word for eating than he’s used up to this point.

Before, Jesus used the Greek word “esthio.” But now he uses the Greek word “trogo.”

Now, they do both mean “to eat.” This is not an improper translation. But “trogo” is a word that also includes the idea of chewing food, especially in the context of a happy occasion.

Furthermore, every time this word “trogo” appears for the rest of the passage, it is in the form of a participle.

In English, a participle is just an “-ing” verb that describes someone’s continual action, characteristic action.

So to illustrate, in verse 54, a more literal translation of this verse would read—or at least of the section having to do with verbs—”The one chewing my flesh and drinking my blood has eternal life.”

You notice the “-ing” verbs there: chewing, drinking. We see that actually in the Greek for the rest of the passage.

Why does that matter? Because Jesus is revealing, starting at verse 54, that eating him by faith is not just a one-time fundamental act, but actually what begins a continual lifestyle.

You don’t eat Jesus’ flesh and blood and then move on in your life to eat other food. No, you are continually chewing. You are characteristically drinking him in your heart as you celebrate the gospel.

I told you that verses 53 and 54 are not about the Eucharist, the Lord’s table as being necessary for eternal life. Yet this truth that I’ve just expressed to you—that is the same truth that is being declared in the Lord’s table, that memorial meal which in obedience we follow because it is prescribed by our Lord.

It is the symbolic eating and drinking of Jesus as an expression of our faith in him and as an expression of our trust in his salvation work on our behalf. You’re saying: “I fully identify with him. I take him in, all of him, including his death.”

Truly, to become a Christian is spiritually to adopt the Jesus diet. Your soul feeds on him alone. No longer sin. No longer idols. No longer false gods. No longer self-righteousness. You’ve given up all those foods because you want the best food. You want the only food that gives resurrection life.

“To become a Christian is spiritually to adopt the Jesus diet. Your soul feeds on him alone.”

Jesus explains a little bit further in verse 55.

“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”

Again, Jesus is not saying that other food and drink in the world are fake or false, but rather that they are just types and shadows. They fall short of he who is the ultimate food, the ultimate bread, the ultimate drink.

All regular food that you and I eat—we’re going to eat after church today—that’s just a dim representation of the one who gives true life, lasting life. A burger gives you life for a little bit of time. Jesus gives you life forever.

It is indeed the sacrifice of Jesus, indestructible life, that results in life-giving food for all who believe.

This is why the bread of life metaphor is appropriate. He’s giving up himself. He’s giving up his body. He’s giving up his flesh in death. And he says: “This is so that you might live. Eat it. Believe it. And gain eternal life. Keep chewing on it. Keep ruminating on it so that you may enjoy it and be satisfied always.”

Union with Christ: The Source of Life

But that’s another aspect of the bread of life metaphor that Jesus begins to explain in verse 56.

He says: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

Here’s something mysterious. Jesus draws attention to how eating him by faith results in continual union and fellowship.

Normally, when you eat bread or any other food, the food goes in your stomach and it abides for a time until your body extracts all the nutrients it can. Then your body gets rid of the food.

But Jesus said the bread of life is different. Similar, but different. He does go into you, but not into your stomach. He goes into your heart. And he has such everlasting life, such nutrition—if you want to call it that—that he always remains. You never use him up. Your body, or your soul, never spends him.

Furthermore, Jesus says: when you take him into you, he also takes you into him.

No earthly food does that. It’s not like when I eat a hamburger, it also takes me into itself. No, that makes no sense.

But Jesus is different. When you eat him—that is, when you believe in him—he indwells you by his Spirit. But also, he mysteriously places you in his Spirit.

I can’t fully understand that. I just declare that because that’s what the Bible says.

This is the amazing doctrine of union with Christ. When you believe, you become spiritually one with Jesus. He and you, you and him.

It is this spiritual oneness, it is this union with Christ, that is the source of all our salvation blessings, eternal life included, as Jesus himself explains in verse 57.

“Union with Christ is the source of all our salvation blessings, eternal life included.”

“As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also will live because of me.”

Follow the analogy here. As the living Father is the source of all life, and as the Son is in spiritual union with the Father, the Father’s life is shared with the Son. Thus, as Jesus says, the Son lives because of the Father.

In a similar way: as the Son has life in himself, and as the Son is in spiritual union with a believer, the Son’s life is shared with the believer. And thus, the believer lives because of the Son.

You see, brethren? This is how Jesus functions as the bread of life for his people. Jesus imparts his life by his voluntary sacrifice for sin. But also, Jesus communicates his life to his own by spiritual union.

Therefore, those who believe in Jesus as the bread of life are not only assured of the Son’s satisfying fellowship, his presence, his fellowship now and forever. But they also know, they can know with full confidence, that they will indeed overcome death.

Why? Because the Son’s own life is in the believer, and the Son’s life cannot be quenched. Therefore, you will never die. You will be raised up on the last day.

In verse 58, Jesus concludes his discourse by summarizing his final assertion.

“This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

That’s what he’s been explaining the whole time, right? “I am better bread. Don’t seek that bread. Eat this bread. Believe in the one whom God sent, and you will live forever.”

Verse 59 then concludes: “These things he said in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum.”

Application: What Is the Diet of Your Soul?

Well, brethren, what is the diet of your soul?

Have you, as Jesus and John urge from this passage, come to see Jesus as the bread of life? The bread of life upon whom you wholly and continually feed for the eternal life and satisfaction of your soul?

You say, “I want Jesus. Jesus is where I find satisfaction. Jesus is where I find contentment. Jesus is my life.”

Is that you?

Or are you instead munching on that perishing bread from the world, which cannot save you and cannot satisfy you?

It was kind of Jesus to warn the Jews: “Don’t seek the bread that is perishing. It won’t satisfy you, and ultimately its fate will be your fate. You will perish. Your soul, in a sense, will starve to death. Take Jesus as the bread of life instead.”

“Don’t seek the bread that is perishing. It won’t satisfy you, and ultimately its fate will be your fate.”

Perhaps you say, “I have.” Well, let me ask you this: Are you cheating on the Jesus diet?

You’ll eat Jesus sometimes, but other times your soul feels like it needs some of Satan’s fast food to slake that fleshly craving, and you go for it.

But like we know from diets in this world, that doesn’t work, does it? It doesn’t satisfy that craving so that it doesn’t come back anymore. No, it inflames it. And you feel guilty for not eating what you knew you should have eaten.

Maybe you cheat on your diet so much it’s not really a diet, is it?

You say, “Yeah, Jesus is my only food. He’s my exclusive food.”

But then you look at your life, or others look at your life, and you say, “I don’t think so.”

If that’s the case, you need to ask yourself: Have I eaten the bread of life at all?

Because like I said, once you take in Jesus, he becomes your continual food. If that’s not the case, maybe you’ve never taken him in.

Whatever your situation, what is the Lord telling you today?

That it’s time. It’s time to really take the bread of life, or it’s time to come back to the bread of life. It’s time to commit to Jesus as your only food, your fundamental bread of life.

So that even as you do enjoy other good things in this world, you don’t look to them for your ultimate satisfaction. You don’t look to them for your ultimate security. You don’t look to them for your ultimate salvation.

You say, “This is just another way of enjoying him who is truly saving and satisfying: Jesus Christ.”

Yes, even physical food—it just becomes another way of enjoying him who is the true food.

May that be more and more true of us as a church.

Closing Prayer

Let’s close in prayer.

Lord Jesus, it’s so interesting the way you created the world from the beginning. You created man to eat in the garden. You gave him food not just so he could sustain his physical processes but for enjoyment.

We know a lot about eating. It’s so ever-present with us. And yet you reveal in this passage: yes, food—that basic necessity, that basic pleasure of food—it’s a type. It’s a shadow. It’s a pointer to him who is the ultimate of what all regular food is.

Jesus, you are the true food. You are the real food. You are the ultimate food. You are the bread that is life and gives life. And you offer yourself freely to anyone who will come and partake.

Lord God, I pray that you would be so kind in your sovereignty—which is highlighted in this passage—to move in the hearts of the people of this church, people visiting with us today, people listening online, so that they say, “I want that food. I want the food that lasts. I’m done with this fake food. I’m done with these idols. I’m done with the sin. I’m done with the things of the world which are vaporous and cannot satisfy. I want the true food.”

Lord God, I pray that you would cause the listeners today to repent and believe.

And for those who do have you as their food, who do believe, who have repented and believed already, God, I pray that they would enjoy you. You meant for your people to savor you, to chew on you, to be continually drinking you, celebrating your salvation—yes, and all its parts, even your sacrificial death on our behalf, that was so necessary for us.

God, I pray that the enjoyment of you as the true bread would be experienced in an even greater way to all those who know you and have heard your truth in this passage today.

I pray that for myself. I pray that for my brothers and sisters. Lord, where we do indeed momentarily move away from the true food to go back to the fake food, the perishing food—Lord, forgive us for that. But help us to finally learn the lesson and say, “This will never satisfy me. I want Jesus.”

And I pray that you’d sanctify this church, sanctify this people, so that we, in our hearts first, but then manifested in how we behave, show, Lord, that you are our bread of life and that we are satisfied only in you.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Amen.

Share this sermon:

More from Gospel of John