John 6:30-33 - Homiletics

The nature of the gift from heaven.

The Jews demanded "a sign from heaven."

I. THEM DEMAND FOR A FRESH MIRACLE . "What sign then dost thou do, that we may see, and believe in thee? what dost thou work?"

1 . They thought they were entitled to demand a fresh miracle, much in advance of the miracle at Bethsaida Julius; because that was, after all, not so remarkable as the miracle of the manna in the wilderness. "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He did give them bread from heaven to eat."

2 . They still evidently understood the higher benefit promised by our Lord as material, and not spiritual .

3 . They meant, by their seeing and believing in Christ . to reduce faith to a mere matter of sight— a mere belief of truth in the testimony of their senses. They were quite unspiritual in their conceptions.

II. OUR LORD 'S ANSWER TO THEIR DEMAND . He corrects their misapprehensions.

1 . He asserts that it was not Moses, but God, who fed the people with manna . "Moses gave you not the bread from heaven." It was a truly Divine work to feed two millions of people in the desert from day to day. Therefore there could be no comparison between Moses and Christ.

2 . He asserts that the Bread he speaks of is yet material, but spiritual . "But my Father giveth you the true Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world."

3 . It was continuous in its supply of man's wants . "It cometh down from heaven."

4 . It was not limited to one people, but offered to the whole race of man . The age of Jewish particularism was past.