Sermon nuggets Tues April 22, 2008
Theme- Miraculous Manna
Verses-32 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34 "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."
35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
41 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."
42 They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
GOD’S PROVISION
The Jews were proud to be the select people of God and experienced the miracle when Moses led them through the wilderness and provided manna for them to eat. Jesus corrected them on the source of the bread. It wasn’t Moses that gave them bread, or manna, but God. Moses prayed and God told them that the next morning in the desert they would go out and find flakes that would be collected and eaten as manna from heaven. They called this sometimes a bread from angels. Could this be the first mention of angel food cakes? They did collect it every day, but the Sabbath when they were to collect the previous day enough for two days, for the Lord would not send bread on the Sabbath. Every day they were to have enough for that day so they were not to store it and keep it, and those that did try to keep too much found it moldy and wormy.
“So give us today our daily bread” is part of the “Lord’s prayer”, recognizing daily that God provides just as he did in the desert. Bread satisfied their hunger and gave them the sustenance they needed.
Some of the quotes from the rabbinical writings were like these “As was the first redeemer so was the final redeemer; as the first redeemer caused the manna to fall from heaven, even so shall the second redeemer cause the manna to fall.” “Ye shall not find the manna in this age, but ye shall find it in the age that is to come.” “For whom has the manna been prepared? For the righteous in the age that is coming. Everyone who believes is worthy and eateth of it.”
God is the provider of the bread from heaven, and Jesus is giving them a teaching they cannot understand that he is the miraculous manna of the New Testament. In fact as God is the first provider so he is the second provider of that which would meet their spiritual need. Jesus was sent from heaven in the Virgin Mary, God’s only son and vs. 35-40 recognizes the fact that he is the provision that will save them. It is only possible through Jesus who gives life. It is a heavenly provision of much greater importance and the Manna was yet another type or picture of Jesus Christ the promised one from heaven.
Vs. 41-42 troubled them for they understood too well what Jesus was saying – that He was a heavenly being. He was God, but they grumbled and said, he is not from heaven for we know him. He is the son of Joseph and of Mary.
Hearts don’t change much. Just as they were looking for physical bread, so today we want God to provide us with things of this world, more than with Himself. Health and wealth, name it and claim it all points to provisions that are temporary. WE praise God it is His grace that desires to meet our physical needs in order that we see our spiritual hunger is satisfied in Him.
I think if God allows us to face unsteady economic times it will be a faith stretcher. But our confidence is the provision today of the true Manna from heaven. His dear son Lord Jesus Christ.
Jeremy Camp sings an old Negro spiritual that is summarized, “In the morning when I rise, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Give me Jesus. And when I am alone, give me Jesus. And when I come to die, give me Jesus. You can have all this world, but give me Jesus.” When the slaves had nothing of this world, they had everything in the Manna from Heaven that could not be taken away.
Pastor Dale
