Let me start with an honest question:
Do you ever choose a restaurant solely based on the free bread?
Be honest.
You say you’re going for the steak… but you’re really going for the rolls.
Some of you already have your list.
Texas Roadhouse — those warm rolls with cinnamon butter.
Outback Steakhouse — the dark honey wheat bread.
Olive Garden — unlimited breadsticks that just keep coming.
Red Lobster — cheddar bay biscuits that could qualify as a spiritual experience.
If we’re being truthful, sometimes the bread is better than the meal.
And here’s what happens – you fill up on the free bread, swear you’re not going to eat another bite – then somehow you still order the entrée.
Why?
Because bread satisfies – but only for a moment.
You wake up hungry again.
And that reality sets up one of the most powerful teachings in John 6.
Just like our favorite restaurant breads keep us coming back for more – the people in John 6 were filled one day and came back the next looking for more bread.
The chapter opens with Jesus feeding 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish. It’s miraculous. Stomachs are full. Crowds are amazed.
But what happens next reveals their hearts.
They try to force Jesus to become their king.
They weren’t rejecting Him – they were trying to crown Him.
But for the wrong reasons.
Rome occupied Israel, and the people longed for political liberation. A man who could multiply bread could certainly sustain an army. In their minds, provision equaled power.
If He could feed an army, He could lead an army.
They wanted a king without a cross.
A provider without repentance.
A ruler without transformation.
So Jesus withdrew, because He will never be crowned on false terms.
When the crowd finally finds Him again, Jesus confronts their motives:
“You are seeking me… because you ate your fill of the loaves.” (John 6:26)
In other words: You’re not here because you believe – you’re here because you were fed.
That confrontation leads to one of His most famous declarations:
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
In the ancient world, bread was survival. If you had bread, you lived. It was the most basic necessity of life.
But even the best bread had limits.
You eat today – you’re hungry tomorrow.
Jesus uses that physical reality to point to a deeper spiritual truth. Physical bread fills temporarily. He came to satisfy eternally.
And we still chase bread today.
We look to substances to numb pain.
To success to prove worth.
To money for security.
To relationships for identity.
To comfort for peace.
None of these things are inherently evil – but they become false breads when we expect them to do what only Christ can do.
They promise satisfaction, but leave us hungry again.
Jesus doesn’t just suppress sinful behavior – He satisfies the hunger beneath it.
Beneath addiction is a hunger for relief.
Beneath greed is a hunger for security.
Beneath lust is a hunger for intimacy.
Beneath anger is a hunger for control.
Beneath approval-seeking is a hunger for acceptance.
Sin is often an attempt to meet a legitimate hunger in an illegitimate way.
That’s why behavior modification alone never lasts. You can remove the habit – but if the hunger remains, the soul searches for another substitute.
Jesus offers something different.
He offers Himself.
And then He goes even further:
“Whoever comes to me I will never cast out… I should lose nothing… but raise it up on the last day.” (John 6:37–39)
Not only will He receive you – He will keep you.
Not only will He nourish you now – He will raise you later.
Four times in John 6 Jesus repeats the promise of resurrection.
Because the deepest hunger beneath all hungers isn’t comfort – it’s life itself.
We don’t just fear emptiness, we fear death.
Jesus declares that the Bread He gives doesn’t just sustain life – it conquers the grave.
Temporary bread fills for a moment.
True bread secures forever.
So the question becomes personal:
Where are you feeding your soul?
Because bread that isn’t Christ will always expire.
But the Bread of Life never does.
Come hungry.
Come empty.
Come honest.
And you’ll find what every human heart is searching for:
A satisfaction that doesn’t fade and a life that doesn’t end.
Upside Down Faith 