Divinity of Jesus - Week 2
- Apr 20
- 10 min read
INTRODUCTION
Go ahead and open your Bibles, or pull up your Bible app, to John chapter 6, verse 25. We are on week two of our series on the Divinity of Jesus.
Now - I can hear some of you thinking already: Wait a minute, Jerry… What happened in chapters 2 through 5? I encourage you to read those chapters especially since they hold amazing events and truths. But I want you to see that John is building a case about who Jesus says He is, as that will be our main focus over these next several weeks.
And today we land on a moment that is, in my opinion, deeply personal, in Chapter 6.
Because today Jesus is going to talk about hunger.
Everybody understands hunger. It is not complicated. Your stomach growls, you find food, you eat, you feel better. Simple.
But Jesus is about to talk about a different kind of hunger. A hunger that food cannot fix. A hunger that most of us spend a lifetime trying to satisfy with the wrong things - success, relationships, accomplishment, entertainment, approval - and none of it works. Because it is not the right kind of bread.
Here is the setup for John 6. Jesus had just done something remarkable. He fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. The crowd saw it. They were amazed. And the next morning they came looking for Him again.
They are about to get a surprise. Because Jesus is not going to give them what they are looking for.
1. The People Seek Physical Bread (vv. 25-31)
John 6:25-31
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, 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 from heaven to eat.'"
Here is what gets me. They just watched Jesus feed five thousand people with a kid’s lunch. And now they are asking for another sign. They want another miracle. More bread.
And Jesus puts His finger right on it. He says - you are not here because you saw signs. You are here because you ate your fill. You want more food. And He says - that food perishes.
He is talking about something deeper. They are asking the surface-level question: How do we get more bread? And Jesus is answering the question they did not even know to ask: What is the bread that actually satisfies?
Then they ask - what must we do to be doing the works of God? I love this. They are ready to work for it. Give us the list. Tell us the steps. And Jesus flips it completely. The work of God is to believe in the One He has sent.
Not a list. Not behavior modification. Not religious performance. Belief. That is the work that matters.
The Irony of the "Seal": In verse 27, Jesus mentions that the Father has set His "seal" on the Son of Man. In the ancient world, a seal was a mark of ownership and authenticity - often a wax stamp from a king. The crowd was asking for a sign, but Jesus is saying He is the seal. They wanted a magic trick; God gave them a legal, divine validation. He is essentially saying, "Stop looking at the bread I handed out and look at the mark of the Father on My life."
The "Manna" Trap: When the crowd brings up the manna in the wilderness (v. 31), they are essentially weaponizing their history. They are saying, "Moses gave us bread for forty years; you only gave us one lunch." They were looking for a Provider, but Jesus was trying to show them He is the Provision. They wanted a vending machine; He offered a relationship.
The Grammar of Belief: When Jesus says the "work" is to "believe," the Greek word pisteuō is not just mental agreement. It is a continuous action. He is shifting "work" from a checklist of deeds to a consistency of trust.
Application
Audit Your "Why": Jesus called out the crowd because they followed Him for the free lunch, not the Lordship. This week, sit with your prayer list. Are you seeking Jesus for the blessings - the bread - or for the Blesser? If the bread ran out tomorrow, would you still be standing on the shore looking for Him?
Stop the "Do" to Start the "Be": We often treat our faith like a spiritual resume - trying to add enough skills and works to impress God. Identify one area where you are trying to earn God’s favor. This week, replace that performance with five minutes of simple belief - just sitting in the truth that you are already loved because of the Seal, not your sweat.
Most of us are trying to earn what Jesus is offering to give. You cannot work your way to what grace is handing out.
2. Jesus Offers Himself as Eternal Bread (vv. 32-38)
John 6:32-38
Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me."
There it is. "I am the bread of life." The first great I AM statement in John’s Gospel.
Notice the crowd says - Sir, give us this bread always. They still think He is talking about literal food. And Jesus does not back down. He says - I AM the bread. Not "I have bread." Not "I know where to get bread." I am it.
He is claiming to be the source of life itself. Not a resource you stock in your pantry. A Person you come to.
And then this promise: whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Now I want to be careful here, because this does not mean Christians never struggle. It does not mean life gets easy. What it means is that at the deepest level - the level of the soul - there is a satisfaction available in Jesus that nothing else can give you. The hunger that has been driving you your whole life - the hunger that no amount of money or success or relationships has ever fully satisfied - that hunger was designed to be filled by Him.
You were not built to run on whatever the world is serving. You were built for something that actually lasts.
So what does it actually mean when Jesus says He is the bread of life? He is the essential, divine provider of eternal life and spiritual sustenance - satisfying the soul’s deepest longings just as bread sustains physical life.
And what Jesus says here echoes what we find in Matthew 5:6 - blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. And Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has placed eternity in our hearts. The longing was put there by design. Jesus is the answer to a question you were born asking.
People always want to do something complicated or religious to secure salvation and eternal life. Jesus makes it so simple. Just believe in Him. That is it.
Correcting the History: In verse 32, Jesus performs a surgical correction on their theology. The crowd was attributing the miracle of manna to Moses. Jesus corrects them on two levels: First, it was not Moses - it was the Father. Second, the manna was a shadow, but He is the substance. He shifts their gaze from a human hero to a divine gift.
The Present Tense of "Gives": Jesus says, "My Father gives (present tense) you the true bread." He is telling them that God is not just something that happened in the desert once. He is in a constant state of offering life to them right now, in the person of Jesus.
The "No Vacancy" Promise: In verse 37, Jesus says, "whoever comes to me I will never cast out." The Greek word ekballō is a violent term - it means to be thrown out or rejected. In a world where we are constantly evaluated and cut based on our usefulness, Jesus is offering a security that cannot be revoked. The Bread of Life does not come with an expiration date.
Application
Identify Your "Sugar Rush": Most of us try to satisfy our soul-hunger with spiritual junk food - social media likes, career milestones, retail therapy. These give a temporary high and leave us crashing by Monday. When you feel that familiar hunger of anxiety or discontent, stop and ask: Am I trying to fill a Jesus-sized hole with a temporary snack? Before you reach for the distraction, reach for a moment of prayer.
Check Your Source of Security: Jesus says He will "never cast out" those who come to Him. Are you living in fear that God is one mistake away from evicting you? This week, every time you mess up, instead of hiding from God, run to Him. The Bread of Life does not kick you out of the kitchen for being hungry or messy.
3. Eternal Life Secured by Faith in Him (vv. 39-40)
John 6:39-40
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
He says it twice: I will raise him up on the last day. Jesus is staking a claim. If you come to Him, if you believe in Him, He is personally responsible for getting you to the other side.
The will of the Father is that Jesus lose nothing of what He has been given. Which means if you are His, He is holding on. Not because of how well you perform, not because of how consistent your faith feels on any given week - but because His grip does not slip.
This is not a conditional promise. It is not - I will raise you up if you never doubt, if you always feel close to God, if you get your act together. It is just - I will raise him up. Period. That should change how we sleep at night.
The Father's Gift: In verse 39, Jesus uses the phrase "all that he has given me." In the Greek, "all" is actually in the singular neuter - it refers to the entirety of the church as a single gift from the Father to the Son. Jesus will not lose you because He will not lose a gift His Father gave Him. Your security is a matter of His honor, not your effort.
The "Looking" is "Lasting": Verse 40 says everyone who "looks to the Son" has eternal life. This is a subtle callback to the bronze serpent in the wilderness in Numbers 21. Just as the Israelites were healed simply by looking at the pole, we are saved by looking away from our own works and looking at the finished work of Jesus.
The "Last Day" Guarantee: Twice He mentions "the last day." This is Jesus drawing a line in the sand of history. He is claiming authority over the end of the story. He is not just a life coach for your now - He is the Savior for your forever. He is saying, "I have already seen the end of your story, and you are still with Me."
Application
Trade the "Grip" for the "Rest": We often spend our lives trying to hold onto God, terrified that if our faith wavers, He will let go. This week, when you feel spiritually weak, literally open your hands and say out loud, "Lord, I am glad my salvation depends on Your grip and not mine." Stop trying to hold onto Him and start resting in the fact that He is holding onto you.
Practice "Morning Manna": Before you check an email or a headline, read one verse - just one - and ask, "How does this feed my soul today?" Let that one truth be the fuel you run on for the first hour of your day.
The "Last Day" Perspective: When a crisis hits this week, remind yourself of the Last Day promise. Ask yourself: Will this matter on the day Jesus raises me up? It is not about ignoring the problem. It is about resizing the problem in light of your eternal security.
Your security is not based on the strength of your faith, but on the faithfulness of the One who made the promise.
GOSPEL CONNECTION
In the wilderness, God fed Israel with manna - bread from heaven. Every morning it appeared. Every morning they had to go out and gather it. You could not stockpile it. It was daily.
Jesus is the fulfillment of that manna. But better. Because manna did not give eternal life - Jesus does. Because manna was temporary - Jesus is not. Because manna satisfied the stomach for a day - Jesus satisfies the soul forever.
And the cross is where that eternal bread was broken for us. He gave His body - the Bread of Life - so that we could have what no amount of religious work would ever earn: eternal life, resurrection, and a secure place in the Father’s house.
He did not just bring bread to the table. He became the bread. And He broke Himself so that you could be whole.