This week's sermon: "The All-Providing King Who Would Not Be King"

Bread exists to point us to Jesus. Its goodness and nourishment beckon us beyond the bread itself to the One who is "the Bread of Life."

But the large crowd in John 6 doesn't yet see beyond the bread to Jesus. They see him as the Prophet, but they don't see that he is God and not simply like Moses. They see him as king, but they don't see that his power is not military conquest but the power of the cross and of radical new desires.

Jesus didn't come into the world to lend his power to already existing appetites. That's the kind of claim that Jesus walks away from, not the gospel.

David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is an elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Twin Cities, and works as executive pastoral assistant to John Piper. He and his wife Megan have twin sons (Carson and Coleman) and live in Minneapolis. David is co-editor (with John Piper) of Thinking, Loving, Doing, most recently, and Finish the Mission, forthcoming. Yep, he plays rec softball and went yard in his last game.