Here in the United States, we have many sayings - one of which is, ‘You are what you eat.’ Today, we are going to find out a lot about the crowd, who was asking Jesus some questions. And, we are going to find out a lot about ourselves, as we look at what it is that we eat, spiritually.

Another saying that we have in our language is, ‘You can tell a lot about a person, by looking in their checkbook.’ We are going to find out a lot about the crowd who was following Jesus, and we are going to find out a lot about ourselves, as we look at the questions that the crowd asked of Jesus.

It is one in the same crowd, but today we are going to see three different mindsets of this crowd, as they ply questions to Jesus. The three mindsets are that of: Materialist, Legalist, and Sensationalist.

Materialist Mindset

Let us just look at each mindset, one at a time. The crowd came to Jesus, first of all, with a materialist mindset. It was only one day removed from Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5,000 men, with five loaves of bread and two fish. We don’t know the question they asked of Jesus, but from Jesus’ response, we know they were looking for more. Jesus said, "You are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill."

They were looking to make Jesus their ‘bread king.’ They were looking to make Jesus their ‘political savior.’ They wanted political solutions. They wanted a free handout. They wanted material goodies.

Missionaries in third world countries talk about this very same mindset, when they call a group of people ‘rice Christians.’ They are people who are very interested in the message that the missionaries have, as long as there is some free rice to be handed out. But, as soon as those handouts are gone, some people don’t come back, because they were not interested in the message, they were interested in the handout.

Today we are no different. We live in a ‘gimmy’ society, "Gimmy this, and gimmy that." Occasionally, as my kids come home from the library, they will bring a book with the title, The Bernstein Bears get the Gimmies. In this story, Brother Bear and Sister Bear want everything. If they don’t get it, they throw a major temper tantrum, until they do. By the end of the story, Mama Bear and Papa Bear help Brother Bear and Sister Bear get over their case of the ‘gimmies.’

But we continue to be a ‘gimmy’ society. It was a phrase that was popularized in the eighties. It is seen in bumper stickers and tee-shirts even until today. It simply says, ‘He who dies with the most toys, wins.’ We can have that same mindset of being materialists. Yet, in scripture, Jesus says,

"What good is it for a man

to gain the whole world

and yet forfeit his own soul?"

Every materialist goal the sinful mind sets up in place of Jesus, is bread that spoils. Let me say that again. Every materialist goal that the sinful mind sets up in place of Jesus is bread that spoils. It leads to nothing but everlasting life in Hell.

And so Jesus continues to say,

"Do not work for food that spoils."

"Don’t have that materialist mindset, but hunger for spiritual food that endures to eternal life."

2. Legalist Mindset

If the crowd couldn’t have a free lunch, they wanted Jesus to set up rules for them to follow. And so they asked Jesus, "What must we do, to do the works God requires?" They had a legalistic mindset. It reminds me of the rich young ruler, who came to Jesus and asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Basically, Jesus said he should keep the commandments. The rich young ruler said, "I have done that."

Jesus then said, "Sell all of your possessions, give it to the poor, and follow me."

The man went away sad, because he loved his material possessions, more than he loved Jesus.

He wanted rules to get to Heaven. He did not want faith to get to Heaven.

Notice how Jesus answered the question of the crowd. They asked, "What must we do?" Jesus said,

"The work of God is this:

to believe in the One

He has sent."

Oh how easy it is for us to fall into that legalist mindset, and say, "Look at what it is that I have done." We become pharisaic in our thinking, just like the Pharisee who said, "God I fast twice a week. And I give a tenth of everything." We can break our own arm, as we try patting ourselves on the back, saying, "God, look at what it is that I have done."

Notice again what Jesus says, "The work of God is this." It is not even a work that we can do on our own. Scripture even reminds us that we cannot come to faith on our own.

"No one can say Jesus is Lord,

except by the Holy Spirit."

Scripture says,

"It is by grace

you have been saved,

through faith.

It is not of yourselves.

It is a gift of God,

not by works."

Well, they could not have a free lunch. They could not get to Heaven, through rules.

3. Sensationalist Mindset

The crowd that day wanted to be wowed. They said, basically, "What miracle, Jesus, will you do for us?"

Well, Jesus had already done miracles that they had seen.

He changed water into wine.

He healed the royal officials son in Capernaum.

He had healed a man in the pool of Bethesda, down in Jerusalem.

And just the day before, He had fed five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish.

But to them, that was yesterday’s news. They wanted something today. They wanted to be ‘wowed.’ And, they wanted a miracle. They even suggested to Jesus what miracle He could perform. They said, "Our forefather ate the manna in the desert." Almost like they wanted Jesus to reenact that.

How often today don’t we fall into that mindset, as we are more interested in being entertained by God’s Word, than being taught by God’s Word? In our prayers, how often haven’t we said, "God, you show me this and I will do that." Or, "God, you do this for me, and I will believe in you."

Notice how Jesus answers the crowd. With the mindset of materialism, with the mindset of legalism, and with the mindset of sensationalism, He simply says,

"The work of God is this:

to believe in the one He has sent."

We don’t need stuff. We don’t need rules. We don’t need to be entertained.

What we need is the Bread of Life.

We need Jesus, as our Savior.

To which the crowd responded, and may we also respond, "Sir, from now on give us this bread."

Every time we hear God’s Word, we feast on Jesus, the Bread of Life. At your baptism, you received Jesus, the Bread of Life. As you receive the Lord’s Supper, you also receive Jesus, the Bread of Life.

This morning I will close with this paragraph, from a sermon help book that wraps up this whole text, together.

"When by the working of the Holy Spirit, through the Word, a person believes, he is satisfied. Eternal life is his. There is no more working for it. No more longing for it. Why hunger for something we already have? The words and works of Christ last for all eternity. Never again need we suffer from the hunger of not knowing that our sins are forgiven, by the gracious will of God, through the word of Christ."

And so today, may our response be the same as that of the crowd, at the end of their conversation with Jesus.

"From now on, give us this bread."

Jesus became your Bread of Life, when He died on the cross. And as Martin Luther so aptly put it, "When Jesus is your Bread of Life, you have the forgiveness of sins. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation."

From now on, give us this bread.

Amen.