The Chief End of Man

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 50:1-6
• Hymn — The Mighty God, the Lord
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin
• Assurance of Pardon — Psalm 103:11-13
• Scripture Reading — Psalm 22:25-31
• Prayer
• Offering
• Hymn — Be Thou My Vision
• Scripture Reading — John 6:22-34
• Prayer
• Sermon
• Lord's Supper
  • Words of Institution — Luke 22:14-23
  • Hymn — Abide with Me (vv. 1–2)
  • Distribution of Bread
  • Distribution of Cup
  • Prayer
  • Hymn — Abide with Me (vv. 3–5)
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: The Chief End of Man

Scripture: John 6:22-34

I. The Chief Aim of Miracles Versus the Miracle Worker

A. Jesus rebukes the crowd's motive for seeking him — they came not because they understood the signs, but because they ate their fill (John 6:26)

B. Two key ironies in the crowd's response

1. They are standing before Jesus because of a miracle, having also witnessed many prior signs (John 6:2)
2. They claim to be the people of Moses while acting like the unbelieving, grumbling Israelites of the Exodus who were judged in the wilderness

C. The pattern of Israel in the wilderness: no number of miracles satisfied them

1. Ten plagues, the Passover, and the parting of the Red Sea — yet they grumbled (Exodus 14:11)
2. Manna provided — yet they grew sick of it
3. The crowd after the feeding of the 5,000 wanted to make Jesus king, but only as a means to political ends

D. Seeking a sign as a condition for belief is condemned by Christ

1. John 20:29 — Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed
2. Hebrews 11:1 — Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen
3. Matthew 16:4 — An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign

E. Application: believers whose worship of God is conditional on favorable circumstances share this same disposition — the aim must be the Benefactor, not the benefits

II. The Chief Aim of Materials Versus the Material Giver

A. The crowd's materialistic mindset is exposed: when Jesus directs them to believe in him for eternal life, they demand a sign and invoke the manna (John 6:30-31)

B. Jesus uses strong language — "because you ate your fill of the loaves" (John 6:26) — indicating that physical satiation was their only aim

C. The crowd's response in John 6:34 — "Sir, give us this bread always" — confirms they want the gift, not the Giver; they seek Christ-plus-bread, not Christ alone

D. Illustration: spoiled children whose love for parents is measured only by what they receive; tantrums begin when the gifts stop

E. The historical trajectory of the West: as material wealth increased through the Industrial Revolution, God was progressively displaced

1. Deuteronomy 8:17 — Beware lest you say, "My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth"
2. Fallen man's catechism has always been: glorify self and enjoy what I think I have acquired apart from God

F. Application to the Lord's Supper: the minuscule portions of bread and cup are designed to draw our hearts away from getting fat on loaves and toward feasting on Christ alone

III. The Chief Aim of Moses Versus the God of Moses

A. Moses was effectively idolized in first-century Judaism; Jesus corrects the misconception — it was not Moses but the Father who gave the manna, and now the Father gives the greater bread, his Son (John 6:32-33)

B. Jewish Messianic expectation held that the Messiah would replicate the gift of manna (2 Baruch 29:8); Jesus is fulfilling and surpassing that expectation

C. Rabbinic teaching also spoke of the law given at Sinai as giving "life to the world" — Jesus fulfills both the manna and the law as the bread of everlasting life

1. He fulfills the law that condemns sinners
2. He becomes the bread that never perishes
3. The work of God is not the works of the law but trusting in the one who fulfills the law (John 6:29)

D. The Jews loved the law as a badge of distinction separating them from Gentiles, but they did not love the Lawgiver; they loved the inscripturated Word but not the Word made flesh

E. Illustration: Benjamin Franklin loved George Whitefield but not the Christ Whitefield preached — it is possible to esteem the messenger and the Book while rejecting the Lord they proclaim

F. Application: the right question to ask of any church is not merely "Is it Bible-believing?" but "Does it proclaim, glorify, and magnify the Christ of the Bible?"

G. Conclusion: the chief aim of Moses, the law, the prophets, the apostles, and the whole counsel of God is to glorify Christ and enjoy him forever — come to the table hungry for the bread that has come down from heaven