Towne South Church of Christ
Jesus Satisfies the Hungry
Locations & Times
Towne South Church of Christ, Elizabeth City, NC. 27909
2224 Peartree Rd, Elizabeth City, NC 27909, USA
Sunday 8:45 AM
Hunger is a strong survival instinct. When our hunger is satisfied it strengthens us and makes us content. But when hunger is denied it creates pain and weakness and sometimes bizarre and irrational behavior. The same is true spiritually. There is a spiritual hunger in every one of us that is just as real, just as needed as bodily hunger, and when that is satisfied it brings about spiritual strength and contentment, but when it is denied it produces restlessness, pain, and sometimes irrational and bizarre behavior.
Now there’s a story in John chapter 6 that illustrates how Jesus satisfies the hungry. Probably all of us are familiar with the feeding of the 5000. But do you know what happened immediately after the feeding of the 5000? The second section of scripture that follows the feeding of the 5000 in John 6 is even more important. So this morning I want to look at both, the feeding of the 5000 and the discussion that follows and I want us to see how Jesus satisfies the hungry.
Let’s begin by looking at how…
Now there’s a story in John chapter 6 that illustrates how Jesus satisfies the hungry. Probably all of us are familiar with the feeding of the 5000. But do you know what happened immediately after the feeding of the 5000? The second section of scripture that follows the feeding of the 5000 in John 6 is even more important. So this morning I want to look at both, the feeding of the 5000 and the discussion that follows and I want us to see how Jesus satisfies the hungry.
Let’s begin by looking at how…
I. Jesus satisfies physical hunger.
John chapter 6 begins with the familiar story of the feeding of the 5000.
Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee and goes up on a mountain and sits down with his disciples. They aren’t there for long and a crowd of people follow them there. When Jesus saw the great crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “How are we going to feed all of these people?” Now he only asked Phillip that to test him because Jesus already had in mind what he was going to do. But Philip answered him. He said it would take more than half a years wages to feed this crowd. In today’s economy it would be like saying it’s probably going to cost 20 to 30 thousand dollars to feed this many people. At this point another disciple Andrew spoke up and said, “Here’s a boy with five loaves of bread and two fish, but I don’t see how that’s going to help very much.”
Now this was a large crowd. We talk about the feeding of the 5000 but verse 10 of John 6 says there were about 5000 men. If there were even half that many women or children, then this was a really large crowd…well over 5000.
Jesus broke them into groups and took the loaves and the fish he gave thanks for them and distributed them so that everyone had as much as they wanted. It was a miracle and Jesus provided so abundantly that there were 12 baskets full left over.
Now how does that apply to us today?
We ought to be the people through whom Jesus feeds the hungry today.
As Christians we are called to follow the example of Christ. To exemplify that same compassion.
A few years ago, our teens participated in a 30 hour famine. The teens went 30 hours without food. The purpose of the 30 hour famine was to help raise money to feed the hungry around the world, but also to help the teens to be able to identify with and sympathize with those who are hungry on regular basis, by going without food themselves for 30 hours.
When was the last time you went without food for 30 hours? Have you ever gone without food? Most of us try never to miss a meal.
You remember on one occasion Jesus went for 40 day without food, so he knew what it was like and he had compassion on those who were hungry. And that’s what you would expect to find from those who claim to be followers of Christ. Listen to how the Bible describes the early Christians who were a part of the very first church.
33And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. (Acts 4:33-35)
Today, we collect tithes and offerings each week, and a significant part of that is used the meet the needs of others in our community and around the world. A number of the mission we support here at Towne South help to meet some of the basic needs of the people in the regions around the world where they minister. So when you give to this church part of that money is going to meet the needs of people around the world.
One of the missions we support is I.D.E.S. – International Disaster Emergency Service. Their website says, “In a world wrought with suffering caused by natural disasters and man-made violence, hunger and malnutrition, disease and injuries, lack of sustainability and lack of development - the need for help and hope is deep. IDES exists to meet physical and spiritual needs of suffering people throughout the world in the name of Jesus Christ. (www.ides.org)
They have five focuses: Disaster Response, Hunger Relief, Development & Sustainability, Medical Care, and Evangelism. You can go to their website and find out about what they’re doing in each one of those areas.
It addition to that (a little closer to home) we have an ongoing ministry to feed the hungry here in Elizabeth City. It called SOULS - Serving Others in Unity and Love.
Every first and third Saturday night of the month different ones from this congregation fix food and feed the hungry at the Elizabeth City Middle School. I believe right now they are looking for volunteers to help out in this ministry. If you can help out see Rod Sershen, one of our elders.
We have also, on a number of occasion collected food items around thanksgiving and Christmas to help feed people in need. And our Dollar Club and Benevolence ministry help meet the local need of people in the Elizabeth City area. It may be food or it may be help with utility bills, or rent.
Jesus responded to the physical needs of people. He ministered to the whole person. The Bible says…
17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17, 18)
We ought to be the people through whom Jesus feeds the hungry today.
Now as important as that is, we see in the discussion that follows here in John chapter 6 that Jesus is even more concerned about spiritual hunger. Let’s look at how…
John chapter 6 begins with the familiar story of the feeding of the 5000.
Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee and goes up on a mountain and sits down with his disciples. They aren’t there for long and a crowd of people follow them there. When Jesus saw the great crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “How are we going to feed all of these people?” Now he only asked Phillip that to test him because Jesus already had in mind what he was going to do. But Philip answered him. He said it would take more than half a years wages to feed this crowd. In today’s economy it would be like saying it’s probably going to cost 20 to 30 thousand dollars to feed this many people. At this point another disciple Andrew spoke up and said, “Here’s a boy with five loaves of bread and two fish, but I don’t see how that’s going to help very much.”
Now this was a large crowd. We talk about the feeding of the 5000 but verse 10 of John 6 says there were about 5000 men. If there were even half that many women or children, then this was a really large crowd…well over 5000.
Jesus broke them into groups and took the loaves and the fish he gave thanks for them and distributed them so that everyone had as much as they wanted. It was a miracle and Jesus provided so abundantly that there were 12 baskets full left over.
Now how does that apply to us today?
We ought to be the people through whom Jesus feeds the hungry today.
As Christians we are called to follow the example of Christ. To exemplify that same compassion.
A few years ago, our teens participated in a 30 hour famine. The teens went 30 hours without food. The purpose of the 30 hour famine was to help raise money to feed the hungry around the world, but also to help the teens to be able to identify with and sympathize with those who are hungry on regular basis, by going without food themselves for 30 hours.
When was the last time you went without food for 30 hours? Have you ever gone without food? Most of us try never to miss a meal.
You remember on one occasion Jesus went for 40 day without food, so he knew what it was like and he had compassion on those who were hungry. And that’s what you would expect to find from those who claim to be followers of Christ. Listen to how the Bible describes the early Christians who were a part of the very first church.
33And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. (Acts 4:33-35)
Today, we collect tithes and offerings each week, and a significant part of that is used the meet the needs of others in our community and around the world. A number of the mission we support here at Towne South help to meet some of the basic needs of the people in the regions around the world where they minister. So when you give to this church part of that money is going to meet the needs of people around the world.
One of the missions we support is I.D.E.S. – International Disaster Emergency Service. Their website says, “In a world wrought with suffering caused by natural disasters and man-made violence, hunger and malnutrition, disease and injuries, lack of sustainability and lack of development - the need for help and hope is deep. IDES exists to meet physical and spiritual needs of suffering people throughout the world in the name of Jesus Christ. (www.ides.org)
They have five focuses: Disaster Response, Hunger Relief, Development & Sustainability, Medical Care, and Evangelism. You can go to their website and find out about what they’re doing in each one of those areas.
It addition to that (a little closer to home) we have an ongoing ministry to feed the hungry here in Elizabeth City. It called SOULS - Serving Others in Unity and Love.
Every first and third Saturday night of the month different ones from this congregation fix food and feed the hungry at the Elizabeth City Middle School. I believe right now they are looking for volunteers to help out in this ministry. If you can help out see Rod Sershen, one of our elders.
We have also, on a number of occasion collected food items around thanksgiving and Christmas to help feed people in need. And our Dollar Club and Benevolence ministry help meet the local need of people in the Elizabeth City area. It may be food or it may be help with utility bills, or rent.
Jesus responded to the physical needs of people. He ministered to the whole person. The Bible says…
17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17, 18)
We ought to be the people through whom Jesus feeds the hungry today.
Now as important as that is, we see in the discussion that follows here in John chapter 6 that Jesus is even more concerned about spiritual hunger. Let’s look at how…
II. Jesus satisfies spiritual hunger.
After Jesus fed the 5000, the people were very impressed with Jesus and wanted to crown him as King. But he and his disciples went to the other side of the lake. And the next day the people followed Jesus to the other side of the lake, and they wanted him to feed them again. The Bible says…
26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give you.” (John 6:26, 27)
Now Jesus is trying to turn this dialog in such a way that it will help them to see that their spiritual need is ever greater than their physical need. And that just as he could meet their physical needs he’s even more apt to meet their spiritual needs. Jesus uses an analogy to try to get them to understand. He says he’s the bread of life come down from heaven and that those who come to him spiritually will never hunger or thirst again, but his audience is kind of confused. They’re not really tracking with him so v. 30 says…
30 So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (John 6:30, 31)
The crowd is still thinking in terms of physical hunger. So they say, “If you’re really from God produce some manna like Moses and the Israelites ate in the Old Testament and we’ll eat that.” Beginning in v. 32…
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. (John 6:32-35)
Look at how the people respond in v. 41
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?’” (John 6:41-42)
They can’t comprehend what Jesus is saying. They’re thinking, “What in the world is he talking about? Who does he think he is saying he’s the bread coming down from heaven? We know that he grew up in Nazareth. We knew his mother and father and they were just ordinary people. Who does he think he is, and what is he talking about.”
But Jesus reiterates it again in v. 47, 48
47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. (John 6:47, 48)
Jesus is saying, “Spiritually, I am the one who is able to sustain you.” Now there are four basic truths that we need to understand in order to see how Jesus can satisfy our spiritual hunger. The first thing you have to understand is…
1. Man is primarily a spiritual being.
The Bible says…
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness… 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26, 27)
We were created in God image. But God is not a physical being. He’s a spiritual being. The Bible says…
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
We are created not just with a body, but with a soul… a spirit. Man is not just a physical being. He is a spiritual being like God. The Bible says…
23May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Someone once put it like this, “I am not a physical being having a spiritual experience. I am a spiritual being having a physical experience.” Man is primarily a spiritual being.
And in this passage of scripture in John chapter 6 Jesus is speaking in spiritual terms. And if you don’t understand human beings as being spiritual beings then you miss the point of what Jesus is trying to say.
The second truth that we need to understand in order to see how Jesus can satisfy our spiritual hunger, is that…
2. The soul craves spiritual food.
If man is a spiritual being then he requires spiritual sustenance. Remember how Jesus responded to the devil when he was tempted in the wilderness to turn the stones into bread. He said…
4Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
There is a spiritual dimension to us that requires feeding. Pascal, the French scientist said, “There is a God-shaped emptiness within the heart of every person which cannot be filled by any other created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”
Remember the Rich Young Ruler? He came to Jesus and he said I’m missing something what do I lack? He had youth. He had wealth. He had power. Yet he still felt like he was missing something inside.
And some of you here have just about everything that this physical world has to offer, but you’re restless, dissatisfied, you’re searching for more. And I can tell you what it is. It’s a spiritual hunger and won’t be satisfied by anything but spiritual food that comes only from the Lord. The Bible says…
1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1)
Now when that hunger for the spiritual is not satisfied it sometimes leads people to bizarre and even irrational behavior to try to fill it. The Bibles says…
11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. 13 In that day the lovely young women and strong young men
will faint because of thirst.” (Amos 8:11-13)
The prophet Amos is describing this spiritual hunger. A good way to illustrate it is to look at the country of India where the Hindu religion is the most prevalent. The Hindu religion worships many different idols. They believe in reincarnation, and they believe that the cows are sacred. Here they are living in a land where people are starving death and living in poverty and they have plenty of food, but the cow is more sacred than the human being. It’s better to preserve the cow’s life than it is to preserve a human’s life. Don’t you think that’s bizarre? You see spiritually they’re feeding on the shoe leather and tree bark of idol worship and reincarnation. They’re spiritually starving to death.
Another example of spiritual hunger is, several years ago 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate Cult committed suicide. Their poisoned bodies were found dressed in black neatly lying on bunk beds in a very well to due house outside of San Diego. They believed they were leaving their bodies to join an alien space craft that was following the Hale Bop comet. Their leader Marshal Applewhite claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and the only modern day representative through whom people could get to heaven. So he convinced 38 people to separate from their families, shave their heads, eliminate gender differences, and ultimately take their own lives believing that they were disconnecting from this world. Casting their bodies aside they would be able to experience the next level of evolution and live forever.
Don’t you think that’s is bizarre and irrational behavior? What would cause people to do such a crazy thing? I believe it’s hunger. No, the bodies that they found were not puny and malnourished, but I believe that if we could have seen the spirits of those 39 people we would see that they were starved to death and they were desperately looking for anything that would fill them. It’s too bad they were feeding on the spiritual garbage of this world and it killed them.
Someone once said, “When men cease to believe in God, they don’t believe in nothing. They believe in anything.”
The Soul craves spiritual food.
Thirdly…
3. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy the spiritual hunger of the soul.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”.
There are three basic needs that man has that only Jesus Christ can satisfy. There is the need for forgiveness of sins. Look at the other world religions. They don’t offer forgiveness of sins or a cleansing of the soul. They offer a system of works and rituals. And if you work real hard and engage in the rituals you might just gain some spiritual enlightenment, but there’s no guarantee, and there’s no promise of renewal or the removal of guilt.
And that leads to the second need…and that is the need for hope beyond the grave. Again, in all major world religions there’s really no assurance, there’ no guarantee. So in the end you don’t really have a lot of hope. It’s more like wishful thinking.
The third basic human need is for meaning in life.
Only Jesus Christ death on the cross can cleans us of our sins and set us free from guilt and the fear of death. Only Jesus resurrection can guarantee life beyond the grave. And only Jesus Christ can give us meaning and purpose in life. The Bible says…
5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 5:5)
Jesus alone can forgive sins. Only Jesus can meets the need for hope beyond the grave. Only Jesus presence in the form of the Holy Spirit in our lives can give meaning to each day.
That’s why Dale Evans said, “I searched all my life for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I found what I really needed at the foot of the cross.”
There’s nowhere else, and no one else who can meet your basic human spiritual needs than Jesus Christ. The Bible says.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Only Jesus Christ can satisfy the spiritual hunger of the soul.
The fourth truth that we need to understand is….
4. Jesus Christ continues to nourish us after we come to him.
If you come to Jesus Christ as the bread of life and you believe in him and you confess him and are baptized into him, you are going to be made spiritually alive. There is a peace and joy and satisfaction that will fill you soul.
But that’s just the beginning. It’s like eating a big Thanksgiving meal. After eating, you’re so full and so satisfied, you think you never want to eat again. But just a few hour later you begin to rummage through the kitchen for some leftovers. You get hungry again. If you’re healthy you’re going to have a good appetite.
And spiritually you have to continue to eat, in order to grow. It’s an ongoing process. You should have a healthy appetite for more. That’s why the Bible says…
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
One of the ways Jesus feeds us is by…
· Reading and studying the Bible
The Bible says…
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:2, 3)
The Bible compares itself to milk for the new Christian and then there are sections that are meaty for the mature Christian.
Just like Jesus miraculously multiplied the loaves and the fish to feed the 5000, the Bible provides us with and endless supply of spiritual nourishment. It says…
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
So let Jesus satisfy you spiritual hunger by reading and studying the Bible.
Another way the Lord feeds us is by…
· Preaching and teaching
Now spiritually we can read the Bible on our own and we can be nourished by it, but it’s also good to go to a Bible class or go to a church service where someone has had time to study and they can feed it to us too. And we feel nourished by it.
Remember after Jesus’ death, on that first Sunday morning there were two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus and Jesus joined them and opened the scriptures to them and the Bible says…
32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)
Jesus feeds your soul through the preaching and teaching of his word.
Another way he feeds us is by…
· Worship and communion
In John chapter 6 it says…
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)
Now we don’t believe that in communion the bread and juice becomes the actual body and blood of Jesus. But we do believe that when we participate in communion or the Lord’s Supper in a right spirit there’s something mysterious that happens that strengthens us spiritually. When the Apostle Paul gave instructions concerning communion he said…
28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 11:28-30)
Paul here is warning the Christians in Corinth because they had not been observing the Lord’s Supper properly. And he says that because of that some of them were weak, and sick and had fallen asleep. I think he means spiritually weak, sick and sluggish. And he says that’s a result of not participating properly in the Lord’s Supper.
One other way the Lord continues to feed us is by…
· Feeding others
The Bible says…
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6:38)
When we serve and minister to others we ourselves are fed. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone to the hospital or nursing home to encourage someone, and although I may have been successful in encouraging them I walked away feeling like I was more encouraged then they were. When you give to others, when you minister others, you are spiritually nourished.
Now, with all that Jesus promised to do, ironically, at the end of John 6 the people reject Him. They would rather have their physical appetite met than the spiritual. It says…
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. (John 6:66)
Jesus then turned to the twelve and asked…
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (John 6:67, 68)
Jesus alone promises to satisfy our spiritual hunger. Jesus alone can forgive sin and promises eternal life. What will your response be? To whom will you go, for he alone has the words of eternal life that satisfy your spiritual hunger?
After Jesus fed the 5000, the people were very impressed with Jesus and wanted to crown him as King. But he and his disciples went to the other side of the lake. And the next day the people followed Jesus to the other side of the lake, and they wanted him to feed them again. The Bible says…
26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give you.” (John 6:26, 27)
Now Jesus is trying to turn this dialog in such a way that it will help them to see that their spiritual need is ever greater than their physical need. And that just as he could meet their physical needs he’s even more apt to meet their spiritual needs. Jesus uses an analogy to try to get them to understand. He says he’s the bread of life come down from heaven and that those who come to him spiritually will never hunger or thirst again, but his audience is kind of confused. They’re not really tracking with him so v. 30 says…
30 So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (John 6:30, 31)
The crowd is still thinking in terms of physical hunger. So they say, “If you’re really from God produce some manna like Moses and the Israelites ate in the Old Testament and we’ll eat that.” Beginning in v. 32…
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. (John 6:32-35)
Look at how the people respond in v. 41
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?’” (John 6:41-42)
They can’t comprehend what Jesus is saying. They’re thinking, “What in the world is he talking about? Who does he think he is saying he’s the bread coming down from heaven? We know that he grew up in Nazareth. We knew his mother and father and they were just ordinary people. Who does he think he is, and what is he talking about.”
But Jesus reiterates it again in v. 47, 48
47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. (John 6:47, 48)
Jesus is saying, “Spiritually, I am the one who is able to sustain you.” Now there are four basic truths that we need to understand in order to see how Jesus can satisfy our spiritual hunger. The first thing you have to understand is…
1. Man is primarily a spiritual being.
The Bible says…
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness… 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26, 27)
We were created in God image. But God is not a physical being. He’s a spiritual being. The Bible says…
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
We are created not just with a body, but with a soul… a spirit. Man is not just a physical being. He is a spiritual being like God. The Bible says…
23May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Someone once put it like this, “I am not a physical being having a spiritual experience. I am a spiritual being having a physical experience.” Man is primarily a spiritual being.
And in this passage of scripture in John chapter 6 Jesus is speaking in spiritual terms. And if you don’t understand human beings as being spiritual beings then you miss the point of what Jesus is trying to say.
The second truth that we need to understand in order to see how Jesus can satisfy our spiritual hunger, is that…
2. The soul craves spiritual food.
If man is a spiritual being then he requires spiritual sustenance. Remember how Jesus responded to the devil when he was tempted in the wilderness to turn the stones into bread. He said…
4Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
There is a spiritual dimension to us that requires feeding. Pascal, the French scientist said, “There is a God-shaped emptiness within the heart of every person which cannot be filled by any other created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”
Remember the Rich Young Ruler? He came to Jesus and he said I’m missing something what do I lack? He had youth. He had wealth. He had power. Yet he still felt like he was missing something inside.
And some of you here have just about everything that this physical world has to offer, but you’re restless, dissatisfied, you’re searching for more. And I can tell you what it is. It’s a spiritual hunger and won’t be satisfied by anything but spiritual food that comes only from the Lord. The Bible says…
1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1)
Now when that hunger for the spiritual is not satisfied it sometimes leads people to bizarre and even irrational behavior to try to fill it. The Bibles says…
11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. 13 In that day the lovely young women and strong young men
will faint because of thirst.” (Amos 8:11-13)
The prophet Amos is describing this spiritual hunger. A good way to illustrate it is to look at the country of India where the Hindu religion is the most prevalent. The Hindu religion worships many different idols. They believe in reincarnation, and they believe that the cows are sacred. Here they are living in a land where people are starving death and living in poverty and they have plenty of food, but the cow is more sacred than the human being. It’s better to preserve the cow’s life than it is to preserve a human’s life. Don’t you think that’s bizarre? You see spiritually they’re feeding on the shoe leather and tree bark of idol worship and reincarnation. They’re spiritually starving to death.
Another example of spiritual hunger is, several years ago 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate Cult committed suicide. Their poisoned bodies were found dressed in black neatly lying on bunk beds in a very well to due house outside of San Diego. They believed they were leaving their bodies to join an alien space craft that was following the Hale Bop comet. Their leader Marshal Applewhite claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and the only modern day representative through whom people could get to heaven. So he convinced 38 people to separate from their families, shave their heads, eliminate gender differences, and ultimately take their own lives believing that they were disconnecting from this world. Casting their bodies aside they would be able to experience the next level of evolution and live forever.
Don’t you think that’s is bizarre and irrational behavior? What would cause people to do such a crazy thing? I believe it’s hunger. No, the bodies that they found were not puny and malnourished, but I believe that if we could have seen the spirits of those 39 people we would see that they were starved to death and they were desperately looking for anything that would fill them. It’s too bad they were feeding on the spiritual garbage of this world and it killed them.
Someone once said, “When men cease to believe in God, they don’t believe in nothing. They believe in anything.”
The Soul craves spiritual food.
Thirdly…
3. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy the spiritual hunger of the soul.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”.
There are three basic needs that man has that only Jesus Christ can satisfy. There is the need for forgiveness of sins. Look at the other world religions. They don’t offer forgiveness of sins or a cleansing of the soul. They offer a system of works and rituals. And if you work real hard and engage in the rituals you might just gain some spiritual enlightenment, but there’s no guarantee, and there’s no promise of renewal or the removal of guilt.
And that leads to the second need…and that is the need for hope beyond the grave. Again, in all major world religions there’s really no assurance, there’ no guarantee. So in the end you don’t really have a lot of hope. It’s more like wishful thinking.
The third basic human need is for meaning in life.
Only Jesus Christ death on the cross can cleans us of our sins and set us free from guilt and the fear of death. Only Jesus resurrection can guarantee life beyond the grave. And only Jesus Christ can give us meaning and purpose in life. The Bible says…
5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 5:5)
Jesus alone can forgive sins. Only Jesus can meets the need for hope beyond the grave. Only Jesus presence in the form of the Holy Spirit in our lives can give meaning to each day.
That’s why Dale Evans said, “I searched all my life for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I found what I really needed at the foot of the cross.”
There’s nowhere else, and no one else who can meet your basic human spiritual needs than Jesus Christ. The Bible says.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Only Jesus Christ can satisfy the spiritual hunger of the soul.
The fourth truth that we need to understand is….
4. Jesus Christ continues to nourish us after we come to him.
If you come to Jesus Christ as the bread of life and you believe in him and you confess him and are baptized into him, you are going to be made spiritually alive. There is a peace and joy and satisfaction that will fill you soul.
But that’s just the beginning. It’s like eating a big Thanksgiving meal. After eating, you’re so full and so satisfied, you think you never want to eat again. But just a few hour later you begin to rummage through the kitchen for some leftovers. You get hungry again. If you’re healthy you’re going to have a good appetite.
And spiritually you have to continue to eat, in order to grow. It’s an ongoing process. You should have a healthy appetite for more. That’s why the Bible says…
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
One of the ways Jesus feeds us is by…
· Reading and studying the Bible
The Bible says…
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:2, 3)
The Bible compares itself to milk for the new Christian and then there are sections that are meaty for the mature Christian.
Just like Jesus miraculously multiplied the loaves and the fish to feed the 5000, the Bible provides us with and endless supply of spiritual nourishment. It says…
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
So let Jesus satisfy you spiritual hunger by reading and studying the Bible.
Another way the Lord feeds us is by…
· Preaching and teaching
Now spiritually we can read the Bible on our own and we can be nourished by it, but it’s also good to go to a Bible class or go to a church service where someone has had time to study and they can feed it to us too. And we feel nourished by it.
Remember after Jesus’ death, on that first Sunday morning there were two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus and Jesus joined them and opened the scriptures to them and the Bible says…
32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)
Jesus feeds your soul through the preaching and teaching of his word.
Another way he feeds us is by…
· Worship and communion
In John chapter 6 it says…
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)
Now we don’t believe that in communion the bread and juice becomes the actual body and blood of Jesus. But we do believe that when we participate in communion or the Lord’s Supper in a right spirit there’s something mysterious that happens that strengthens us spiritually. When the Apostle Paul gave instructions concerning communion he said…
28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 11:28-30)
Paul here is warning the Christians in Corinth because they had not been observing the Lord’s Supper properly. And he says that because of that some of them were weak, and sick and had fallen asleep. I think he means spiritually weak, sick and sluggish. And he says that’s a result of not participating properly in the Lord’s Supper.
One other way the Lord continues to feed us is by…
· Feeding others
The Bible says…
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6:38)
When we serve and minister to others we ourselves are fed. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone to the hospital or nursing home to encourage someone, and although I may have been successful in encouraging them I walked away feeling like I was more encouraged then they were. When you give to others, when you minister others, you are spiritually nourished.
Now, with all that Jesus promised to do, ironically, at the end of John 6 the people reject Him. They would rather have their physical appetite met than the spiritual. It says…
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. (John 6:66)
Jesus then turned to the twelve and asked…
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (John 6:67, 68)
Jesus alone promises to satisfy our spiritual hunger. Jesus alone can forgive sin and promises eternal life. What will your response be? To whom will you go, for he alone has the words of eternal life that satisfy your spiritual hunger?