1. Invitation (verse 35)
2. Confrontation (verse 36)
3. Explanation (verses 37-40)

One of the most famous (and most important) stories in the Bible is the story of the burning bush. It's famous because it is amazing, how Moses could see a bush that was on fire, and yet it was not consumed. It's important, because God appears to Moses, and God reveals his name to Moses. The story of the burning bush is told in Exodus, chapter 3. Listen to the beginning of Exodus, chapter 3.

Exodus 3:1-6
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Moses sees this bush on fire. He investigates what's happening. God appeared to him! Rightly so, Moses was afraid! God told Moses not to come near, and that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The story continues:

Exodus 3:7-12
Then the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" He said, "But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

We read here of why God appeared to Moses: because God was planning to redeem his people, the children of Israel, out of Egyptian slavery. He said that Moses would be the one who would lead the people out. At first, Moses objects, saying, "who am I" to do this thing? But God promises to be with him. Then, Moses objects a second time, asking, "Who are you?"

Exodus 3:13
Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?"

Moses has a very practical concern. If he comes to Israel to tell them of God's plan to deliver Israel from their slavery, and he has no response to the question, "What is his name?" Then, he would look a bit foolish. God responds, giving to us his name:

Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'I am has sent me to you.'"

When Moses asked God what his name was, God said, "I am who I am." If the people asked, Moses was to say, "'I am' has sent me to you." Further,

Exodus 3:15
God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."

This translation misses it a little bit. Better is the way that the Legacy Standard Bible translates this: "Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation." Yahweh is God's name. It is so sacred that the Jews would never say the name. Instead of saying his name, the Jews would often say, "The LORD." It's how the New Testament writers refer to God, not by his name, but by his title. It's why many translations choose not to translate God's name in the Old Testament.

The name, "Yahweh," is related verbally to the words, "I am" in the Hebrew text. Remember, God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'I am has sent me to you.'" It's appropriate for God, who has existed from all eternity, who is ever present throughout all eternity, to have the name, "I am."

Now, I say all of that for this reason: The phrase, "I am" comes up often in the gospel of John. Several times in the gospel, Jesus refers to himself as "I am," hinting back to Exodus 3, and God's name, claiming that he is Yahweh.

We see this for the first time in the gospel of John in chapter 4. In this chapter Jesus is speaking with the woman at the well. She speaks about the Messiah, and how he will come someday. Jesus says to her (in John 4:26), "I who speak to you am he." More literally, we read, "I am, the one speaking with you." With these words, Jesus gives a subtle hint back to Exodus 3 and the burning bush and the name of God. God's name is "I am." Jesus says, "I am."

We see this again in John, chapter 8. When Jesus said that Abraham was glad to see his day, the Jews objected to him, saying that Jesus hasn't seen Abraham to know this. Jesus said to them (in John 8:58), "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." God's name is "I am." Jesus says, "I am."

We see it again in John, chapter 18, when the soldiers come to arrest him in the garden. Jesus, knowing that the soldiers were looking to arrest him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he," or, more literally, "I am." Do you remember the response? The soldiers drew back and fell to the ground, reminiscent of Moses at the burning bush, falling to the ground in the presence of Yahweh, the "I am." This is not an accident. John is claiming what Jesus claimed: that Jesus is the "I am" of the Jews, that Jesus is Yahweh. Jesus is God.

Throughout the gospel of John, Jesus uses this phrase, "I am" to identify some truth about himself. We see it come through in our text today, John 6:35-40. So, if you haven't yet opened your Bibles, please open them now to the gospel of John, and turn to John, chapter 6. The title of my message this morning comes from the very first verse in our text: "I am the bread of life." This is the claim that Jesus makes of himself. Let us read our text:

John 6:35-40
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. 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 on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

This is the first of the seven "I am" statements in the gospel of John. "I am the bread of life." The second statement comes in chapter 8, verse 12, Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." In chapter 10, verse 7, Jesus says, "I am the door." In chapter 10, verse 11, Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd." In chapter 11, verse 25, Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life." In chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." In chapter 15, verse 1, Jesus says, "I am the true vine." You can see all of these pictures on our main teaching slide. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the true vine. All of these "I am" statements help us to see some aspect of who Jesus is. In our case this morning, Jesus says, "I am the bread of life," that is the one who provides true nourishment to our souls.

Jesus didn't merely say, "I am the bread of life" out of the blue. There is a context to what he said. There's a back story. If you would look back at the beginning of the chapter, we see Jesus feeding the 5,000. We read in the beginning of the chapter that there were thousands of people who were following Jesus, because of the signs that he was doing on the sick (John 6:2). Jesus saw this crowd and determined to feed them all. Beginning with five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus proceeded to multiply the loaves, and multiply the bread, until all five thousand of them were fed (John 6:10). They had so much left over that they gathered up twelve baskets of fragments (John 6:13), one for each of the twelve disciples.

When the people saw this, they were amazed! They said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" (John 6:14). Jesus is the Prophet! Jesus is the Christ, which is exactly John's point in writing his gospel. In our exposition, we have mentioned John 20:30-31 many times. It would be good for us to repeat it again.

John 20:30-31
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Feeding the 5,000 was an incredible display of the power of Jesus. He is able to feed 5,000 people at a moment's notice, able to feed them, not just a little bit, but until they were all completely satisfied! In showing his power he was demonstrating that he was the Christ, the one promised to come and save. The power of Jesus was not lost on those who were fed that day. Right then and there, they wanted to "take him by force to make him king" (John 6:15). Jesus would have none of that, so he withdrew to the mountain by himself (John 6:15).

When it was evening, the disciples were left alone. So they "went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum" (John 6:16-17). Along the way, the sea became rough, as a strong wind was blowing (John 6:18). Jesus came walking to them on the water (John 6:19). Soon, they found themselves on the land.

The next day the crowds were confused as to how exactly Jesus arrived on the other side. So they asked him about it (in verse 25), "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Rather than answering the question, Jesus confronts them. Look at verse 26, "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.'" In other words, "You tracked me down because you want more bread! But there's something better," which Jesus explains in verse 27. "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." "It's not bread that you ultimately want! It's eternal life that I can give you!" Jesus said.

In verse 28, 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" (John 6:29). They asked what they needed to do to get eternal life, and Jesus says, "Believe!" This is the gospel! We don't work good works to be approved by God. We believe, and God approves of us. Incredibly, the crowds don't believe in him right then and there. Instead, they pushed him for a sign.

In verse 30, 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.'" Instead of believing, they wanted more bread, just like Moses gave to Israel in the wilderness! Jesus corrects them in verse 32, "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'" (John 6:32-33).

In verse 33, Jesus says that he is the bread! He's the one come down from heaven. Yet, they still missed it. They said (in verse 34), "Sir, give us this bread always." That's why Jesus begins our text with these words: "I am the bread of life," because Jesus fed the 5,000 with bread, and there was a discussion about bread. I have three points to my message this morning. Here is the first: I'm calling it the

1. Invitation (verse 35)

He offers that life in verse 35,

John 6:35
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."

Jesus is the life-giving bread! You come to Jesus, and you will never hunger again. You believe in Jesus, and you will never thirst again! That is, Jesus completely satisfies our soul! In this way, Jesus is way better than the Jews ever thought. In verse 34, they said to Jesus, "Sir, give us this bread always." In their minds, they wanted Jesus to feed the multitudes again and again and again, like the Manna in the wilderness that was provided food to the Jews every day of their wanderings. That's what the crowds wanted. But Jesus gives a different picture. When you eat of Jesus, you are never hungry again! You don't need the bread again, because Jesus is our forever soul-satisfaction.

The invitation here is simple: Come to Jesus. Believe in Jesus and find your soul satisfied in him!

Have you come to Jesus? Have you believed in Jesus? The simple test for this is to answer the question: Is your soul satisfied in Jesus? Or, are you always thinking that there is more? Are you thinking that you must do something more to be satisfied in God? There is no more satisfaction than what Jesus gives to all who come to him and who believe in him. Are you thinking like the Jews did in verse 28, like you have to do something more? The Jews asked Jesus, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus says, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (John 6:29). There is nothing more, than believing in Jesus. So, here's the invitation: Come to Jesus. Believe in Jesus, and you will experience satisfaction in your soul.

Sadly, the Jews didn't believe. We see this in verse 36,

John 6:36
But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

By way of outline this morning, I'm calling this the

2. Confrontation (verse 36)

The invitation comes in verse 35. The confrontation comes in verse 36. Jesus confronts their unbelief. They saw Jesus, they saw Jesus feed the 5,000, but they didn't believe in Jesus, as the one who gives the ever-satisfying bread of life.

As we work through John 6, we will see that these crowds never believe. The end of the discourse comes in verse 59, "Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?'" (John 6:59-60). Yes, Jesus said some hard things, and they didn't believe. That's why we read in verse 66, "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him."

The next few verses, then, make it clear how many left. "So Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you want to go away as well?'" (John 6:67). That is, Jesus only had the twelve disciples left! All others went away from Jesus. Think about it! Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men. Many of them came to Capernaum to find Jesus, seeking more bread. After hearing Jesus, they all left, except for the 12.

What an amazing thing. Here was Jesus, the greatest preacher who ever lived, who was able to walk on water, who had thousands of potential followers listening to him. Yet, at the end of the day, only twelve of his disciples remained to follow him. They remained because they believed. Look again at verse 68, "Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God'" (John 6:68-69).

Are you like the disciples, who believed that Jesus has the words of eternal life? Or, are you like the crowds, into following Jesus for the food that he gives?

When thinking of the ministry of Jesus, we would evaluate Jesus as a terrible evangelist. He can't bring the crowds to faith! He had thousands of seekers, yet his congregation dwindled to only twelve. May this be an encouragement to all small church pastors. In our text, Jesus explains why so many didn't believe. This is my third point:

3. Explanation (verses 37-40)

We see the invitation of Jesus in verse 35, bread that satisfies forever. We see the confrontation in verse 36, that they didn't believe. Now, we see Jesus explaining why they didn't believe in verses 37-40. Let me warn you now that this is one of the "hard sayings" of Jesus that the disciples were talking about in verse 60. So, before I read them, I simply ask you the question: Do you believe that Jesus has the words of eternal life? (verse 68). Will you believe what Jesus says here? There are many who hate what Jesus says in these verses. In many ways it comes down to this: Will you trust in what Jesus says? Or will you trust in your own wisdom? Let's look at what Jesus says. Verse 37,

John 6:37
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Did you see what Jesus said? In verse 36, Jesus said to the crowds, "You do not believe." That is, they didn't come to Jesus, that they might not hunger ever again. Now, in verse 37, he says why they didn't come: because the Father wasn't working in their lives. "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." They didn't come to Jesus, because the Father didn't give them to Jesus. The reason why the crowds reduced from 5,000 to 12 was because of the sovereign hand of God. Had God given 5,000 to Jesus, they would have come to Jesus, and Jesus would never have cast them out. They would never have left. But they did.

On the flip side, realize this: if God has given you to Jesus, you will never be cast out! So, why is it that you have come to Jesus and have believed? Because God gave you to Jesus, and God worked in your life to bring you to faith, and Jesus will never cast you out! "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out."

Is this precious to you? It was precious to John Bunyan. He wrote an entire book, some 200 pages on this verse alone. Here's a picture of the title page of an early edition of this book, published three years after his death in 1688. The page reads, "Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ, Or, A Plain and Profitable Discourse on John 6, verse 37. Shewing the Cause, Truth, and Manner of the Coming of a Sinner to Jesus Christ with his Happy Reception and Blessed Entertainment."^[1]

In the first part of his book, Bunyan breaks down the verse to talk about

1 - The extent of the gift, describing "ALL that the Father gives me."
2 - The person giving the gift, "the FATHER."
3 - The Father's intent in giving, to save sinners.
4 - The Son's reception of the gift, "all that the Father gives me WILL COME."
5 - What it is to come to Christ.
6 - What force there is in the promise to make them come to Christ. It's an absolute promise.
7 - The promise to those coming to Christ, they will never be cast out.
8 - The sorts of sinners who come to Christ, those who come for the first time, and those who return again after backsliding.
9 - What it is to cast out, and how Jesus never does this.
10 - The power of Christ to save, or to cast out.

That's all in part 1 and covers about 100 pages. (And you thought that I preach slowly!)

Let me read a part of what Bunyan writes about these things, to give you a flavor of his love for this verse.

"All that the Father giveth me SHALL COME." In these last words there is closely inserted an answer unto the Father's end in giving of his elect to Jesus Christ. The Father's end was, that they might come to him, and be saved by him; and that, says the Son, shall be done; neither sin nor Satan, neither flesh nor world, neither wisdom nor folly, shall hinder their coming to me. "They shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

Here, therefore, the Lord Jesus positively determines to put forth such a sufficiency of all grace as shall effectually perform this promise. "They shall come;" that is, he will cause them to come, by infusing of an effectual blessing into all the means that shall be used to that end.

What a promise! "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." If the Father has given you to Christ, you will come to him!

Have you come to Christ? Bunyan puts forward two types of sinners. Those who have never come to Christ before and those who return after backsliding! Are either of these describing you? Have you ever come to Christ? Come to Jesus. Have you ever believed in him? Believe in Jesus. Experience the soul-satisfaction that he gives! Be cleansed of your guilty conscience! Not by your labor, but by his grace. Maybe you have come to Christ, but have drifted? Is that you? Come to Christ. Believe in Jesus afresh! The promise is that he will never cast you out! May this verse be precious to you!

You may have objections to coming to Christ. John Bunyan answers them all by referring back to the promise of Jesus, "I will in no wise cast out." He writes,

The word, "in no wise," cuts the throat of all objections, and it was dropped by the Lord Jesus for that very end; and to help the faith that is mixed with unbelief. And it is, as it were, the sum of all promises; neither can any objection be made upon the unworthiness that you find in yourself, that this promise will not assail.

But I am a great sinner, say you.
    "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.
But I am an old sinner, say you.
  "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.
But I am a hard-hearted sinner, say you.
  "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.
But I am a backsliding sinner, say you.
  "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.
But I have served Satan all my days, say you.
  "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.
But I have served Satan all my days, say you.
  "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.
But I have sinned against light, say you.
  "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.
But I have sinned against mercy, say you.
  "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.
But I have no good thing to bring with me, say you.
  "I will in no wise cast out," says Christ.

This promise was provided to answer all objections, and does answer them.^[2]

But that's not the end of our text. We still have three more verses, and we will run through them quickly.

John 6:38-39
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 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.

In these three verses, Jesus says much the same as verse 37. Jesus came to do the will of God, living among us, teaching us, showing us of his power, dying for us upon the cross. Jesus will lose nothing. This is the faithfulness of our Savior.

Think about how we lose things. This Christmas, many people received air tags, those little devices that help you find your keys, your wallet, your luggage. We lose things all the time. But Jesus never loses anything that the Father has given to him. He is faithful to keep and protect all who come to him.

John 6:40
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

We see this thought over and over in the gospel of John. Jesus is the one who gives life. You merely need to look to Jesus and you will have this life. Do you remember when Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus? He said to him, "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). When you take this back to the context of Numbers 21, it was the looking upon the serpent upon the pole that healed people from the snake bites (Numbers 21:9).

What will Jesus do with those who believe? He will raise you up on the last day. This is the promise of the resurrection. When Jesus returns, all who have believed in him will be raised to eternal life. Death is not the end for the believer. Jesus promises that he will raise us up. This is our hope, our comfort, our assurance. We are secure in Christ, held fast by his sovereign grace, kept by his almighty power, awaiting the day when he will raise us up to be with him forever.

Oh, we need Jesus! In verse 41, we read that "the Jews grumbled" because of what Jesus said. Their hearts were hard. God had not worked in their lives. May God work in our lives.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on January 5, 2025 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] Here is digitized version of an original publication of the work, "Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ,"
https://ia800104.us.archive.org/17/items/comewelcometojes00buny/comewelcometojes00buny.pdf. Here is an easier format to read: https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/bunyan/ComeandWelcomet%20JesusChrisJohnBunyan.pdf.

[2] When I preached this sermon, I didn't include this quote in my message. But Ryan (who leads our worship), quoted this passage before we sang our last song, "Lord, I need you." Ryan's thoughts were exactly what we needed at the moment (https://www.youtube.com/live/-HTe8TbD_vA?si=sEGe2fhflpP2QTB2&t=4702). The source of this quote, is Bunyan, but Dane Ortlund updated the English and provided the indents to help make it understandable in his book, Gentle and Lowly (Wheaton: Crossway, 2020), page 62. I didn't want to lose the thought, so I added this quote in my manuscript at the appropriate place.