Sunday February 10, 2013 | Laurel Bunker
11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Got Bread? In this sermon, Laurel Bunker shares with us the all too common desire of humans to want more from God than Jesus. We all want to never be hungry, but we first have to realize that Jesus is the true source and nothing else will satisfy.
The Pharisees liked to test Jesus. They never really believed Jesus. Whether it was miracles or teaching the truth about who He was, the Pharisees never fully trusted that Jesus was who he said he was. They could never really believe that Jesus was all that they needed.
On this occasion, they wanted a sign from Jesus. But not just any sign. They had just seen Jesus feeding thousands of people with only a few loaves of bread and a few fish. This was miracle. But miracles weren’t enough for the Pharisees. They wanted a pillar of flame to come from heaven and announce Jesus. They wanted the same thing that carried the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Little did they know something greater than a pillar of flame was right in front of them. And the Pharisees were not the only ones to misunderstand Jesus.
Jesus warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. But the disciples didn’t understand. Jesus was warning them about the perils of legalism and the things of this world pulling them away. But the disciples argued about who forgot the bread. They were hearing Jesus from a carnal and earthly perspective. And they aren’t too different from Christians today.
We sometimes hear Jesus carnally and not spiritually. Jesus calls us to walk by faith and not by sight. He wants us to jump out of the boat and follow him despite the storm. He wants us to believe that the sacrifice on the cross is greater than any sign or wonder that came before or will come after. No greater sign came from God than Jesus on the cross. Yet, we still look for the things of this world to show us God. We test and question, just like the Pharisees, and ask God to show up in this world and show us just a little more.
Got Bread? Have you eaten your spiritual food today and have been satisfied? Jesus wants you to partake of his spiritual food everyday. Just like a body cannot survive without food, he wants us to crave eating the spiritual food that is Jesus.
Jesus wants us to take the word and make it a part of our life. He wants us to know the truth so it can set us free. He wants us to stop looking at the things of this world and for more signs and wonders. Instead, he wants us to look to him and see the greatest sign of all. And not only to look, but to feel and understand and be renewed by it.
Jesus wants us to take the word out into the world to show them the light. The beauty of Jesus’ message wasn’t just for us to hide within ourselves. He wants each and every one of us to show that beauty by walking by faith. And walking by faith requires the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our connection to the living bread that is Jesus.
Got Bread? Jesus is the living bread. He is always fresh and always moving. If you’ve got a hunger and a place of desperation that needs filling, go to Jesus. He is the only source that can satisfy. Life’s distractions are Satan’s attempts to feed us food that doesn’t satisfy. If we want the true source of spiritual food, we must turn to the Holy Spirit and find Jesus, our fresh and always moving, living bread.