Tag: John 6

Bibliography for “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus”

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When I conclude a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is the bibliography for our recent series, “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus.”

Bibliography for “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus”

Kenneth E. Bailey. The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Christ the Center. New York: Harper & Row, 1960.

Raymond E. Brown. The Gospel According to John. ABD. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966. Particularly Appendix IV: EGO EIMI “I AM,” pp. 533-538.

F. F. Bruce. The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition and Notes. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983.

G. M. Burge. “‘Glory.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 268-270. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

________. “‘I AM’ Sayings.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 354-356. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

John Calvin. John. The Crossway Classic Commentaries. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994.

D. A. Carson. The Gospel According to John. PNTC. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990.

J. Ramsay Michaels. The Gospel of John. NICNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010.

Eugene H. Peterson. Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005.

________. The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007.

G. F. Shirbroun. “‘Light.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 472-473. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

Francis Spufford. Unapologetic. New York: HarperCollins, 2013.

M. M. Thompson. “John, Gospel of.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 368-383. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

N. T. Wright. “The Story of John.” In The New Testament and the People of God, pp. 410-417. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992.

________. Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. 

Resources from the Bible Project:

Jesus, the Bringer of Bread: a poem reflection on Mark 6-8 and John 6

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“Jesus, the bringer of bread,” they called Him.
In place after place, He fed the hungry:
the meals for five-thousand and four-thousand,
plus all the feasts in homes along the way.
When a Gentile woman asked Him to heal
her demon-oppressed daughter, it was bread
to which she made reference in her appeal:
“Even dogs, with fallen breadcrumbs, are fed.”
“Jesus, the bringer of bread.” What a name
for this One with no home in which to rest,
who looked more like the ones He came to save
than those supposed to be divinely blessed.
Still, in Him they found soul-deep nourishment
for He was the bread of life God had sent.

Jesus Knows What We Seek and Gives What We Need

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After feeding a great crowd of people, as recorded in John 6, Jesus sends His disciples away and enters into prayer. As the disciples head across the Sea of Galilee, a great storm whips up. Jesus, taking the unorthodox route of walking on water, meets them halfway across the lake during the night, calms the storm, and they proceed together across the lake. As the sun rises the next day, the crowd realizes Jesus has gone across the lake and they rush after him. They want more of Jesus.

When the people finally find Jesus, they ask Him a question: “Rabbi, when did you get here?” (6:25) Jesus isn’t much interested in giving them an answer to that question. They knew He was across the lake yesterday and now was on this side of the lake today. The timing wasn’t all that important.

So Jesus answers them: “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (6:26-27).

Jesus knew what the people were after. They wanted more bread. They wanted more of what Jesus could give to them. 

Now, in one sense, it wasn’t bad for the crowd to want bread. They needed food. We all do! Every day we feel the hunger pangs that remind us that we need to have bread in order to live. But our hunger should also remind us that we are incessently hungry at deeper levels of our lives. We hunger to be satisfied in our souls…but we often settle for stuff, like bread, in an attempt to find satisfaction that can only be grasped deeper.

Jesus saw right through to the motivations of the crowd. They wanted Him to keep on doing the miraculous. They wanted Jesus to provide for their every want and to do it when they wanted. They wanted a Messiah who would meet their desires. That’s the kind of Messiah they would like to make king.

In the middle of that, Jesus confronts them about their motivation in pursuing Him. They are looking for Him because they ate bread until they were full. But Jesus tells them to pursue “not the food that spoils, but food the endures to eternal life” (6:27).

What are we looking for when we come to Jesus? Are we looking for Him to thrill us with miracle bread? Are we looking for special treatment from a God who will give us whatever we want? Or are we coming to Him because of who He is?

Are we looking to Him not for our desires but for the deepest need of our souls – the true food that satisfies eternally?

Jesus knows what we seek when we come to Him. But what a gift that He doesn’t always give us what we seek, but instead offers what we truly need. That greatest gift is Him: “the bread of life.”

“I am the Bread of Life”

Matt Erickson2 Comments

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus and our preaching series, “I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus,” drawn from the Gospel of John. This week Greg Marshall continued the series by exploring Jesus’ provocative statement, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35).

You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'” (John 6:35)

We ask God for things, but He wants us to have Him. 

The person is always more valuable than the product. 

When Jesus said He is the bread of Life, He is proclaiming that He is what we’ve all been looking for… 

The Promise we’ve been longing for

      To become life for us

The Invitation we’ve been waiting for

      To find wellbeing in the same place Jesus does 

The Calling we’ve been searching for 

      To become like Christ in real life 

He is the Promise, Invitation, and Calling that we are created for.  

“My Goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, nor even blessing, but himself, my God.” – Oswald Chambers 

Dig Deeper

This week dig deeper in one or more of the following ways:

  • Memorize John 6:35
  • Practice “chewing” on the Lord’s Prayer this week. Each morning, pray the Lord’s prayer slowly. Speak each line, and then speak out loud what you believe that line means, what you are asking for. Do this for each line. Take time to speak and mean what you are saying. 
  • Focus your energy on pursuing God Himself this week, not what he can give you or do for you. Practice this with your words and your actions. Talk to another follower of Jesus to figure out what this looks like for you. 

Eastbrook at Home – April 16, 2023

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Join us for worship with Eastbrook Church through Eastbrook at Home at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM. This weekend we continue our preaching series entitled “I Am: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus” based out of the Gospel of John. This week we look at Jesus’ powerful statement: “I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35).

Here is a prayer for the second Sunday of Easter from The Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

If you are able to do so, let me encourage you to join us for in-person services at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 AM this weekend at the Eastbrook Campus.

If you are new to Eastbrook, we want to welcome you to worship and would ask you to text EBCnew to 94000 as a first step into community here at Eastbrook.

Each Sunday at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM, you can participate with our weekly worship service at home with your small group, family, or friends. This service will then be available during the week until the next Sunday’s service starts. You can also access the service directly via Vimeo, the Eastbrook app, or Facebook.

If you are not signed up for our church emailing list, please sign up here. Also, please remember that during this time financial support for the church is critical as we continue minister within our congregation and reach out to our neighborhood, city, and the world at this challenging time. Please give online or send in your tithes and offerings to support the ministry of Eastbrook Church.