A Viral Moment of Reluctant Promotion

This past week, a clip of the CEO of McDonald’s took the internet by storm. The CEO was supposed to taste-test the company’s latest burger, the Big Arch. But instead of taking a confident bite, he took an incredibly small, timid one while referring to the burger as a “product.” He later added that it was “a big bite for a big burger.”

Since then, other clips of the same CEO have surfaced. In one, he appears to spit out another of the company’s burgers. In another, he grimaces while drinking the company’s new shake.

These videos sparked such a strong reaction because we expect people who promote a product to be enthusiastic about it—especially when it comes to food. When someone eats timidly and hesitantly, we assume either that they don’t actually like the product or that they know something about it that we should be concerned about.

When someone takes a tiny, reluctant bite, it sends a message: they don’t actually want to eat what they’re promoting.

That image stuck with me as I listened to the sermon at my church this morning.

The First “I Am” Statement

Our current sermon series is on the “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John—the seven times Jesus uses the phrase “I am” to reveal his identity and invite people to follow him. Today’s message focused on the first of these statements, where Jesus says in John 6 that he is the bread of life.

Jesus says in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Bread was the most basic and essential food in the ancient world. It was the staple that sustained everyday life.

And in a deeper sense, all of us are hungry.

We hunger to feel important.
We hunger to feel loved and accepted.
We hunger for meaning and purpose in our lives.

So we search for fulfillment in many places.

Wanting Blessings Instead of the Bread

Sometimes we even come to Jesus simply wanting things from him. As Pastor Mark Canada explained, we may want help with our jobs, our marriages, or our health.

Jesus is not insensitive to these needs. After all, in John 6 he miraculously fed the five thousand.

But the crowd that followed him afterward misunderstood what he was offering. Jesus told them in John 6:26, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”

They wanted more bread. They wanted more miracles. But Jesus wanted to give them something far greater.

He wanted to give them himself.

What we need most is not a miracle.
We do not merely need blessings in our lives.
We need the one who performs the miracles.

We need Jesus.

Taking Only a Timid Bite

And yet sometimes, even as Christians, we can look more like that McDonald’s CEO than we would like to admit.

We claim to follow Jesus. We publicly wear the label of his name. But when it comes to actually partaking of him—trusting him, depending on him, internalizing his words—we do so timidly.

We take small, careful bites.
We hesitate.
We hold back.

But Jesus is not offering something to sample cautiously. He is offering the very bread of life.

You Can’t Eat Halfway

One line from Pastor Mark Canada’s sermon especially stuck with me:

“You can’t eat halfway.”

Eating is an act of trust.
Eating is an act of surrender.

When you eat something, you internalize it. The nutrients become part of you. They sustain you.

Thinking about eating is not the same as eating.
Knowing facts about eating is not the same as eating.

In the same way, it is not enough simply to think about Jesus or know facts about him.

Many people in John 6 heard Jesus teach. Many saw his miracles. Many followed him for a time. But hearing about bread is not the same as eating bread.

Watching someone else eat bread is not the same as being nourished by it.

In the same way, Christianity is not merely learning facts about Jesus or admiring his teaching. It is coming to him, trusting him, and receiving life from him.

Later in the same chapter, Jesus presses the metaphor even further. He says in John 6:51, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”

Jesus is not offering temporary satisfaction. He is offering eternal life.

He is inviting us not merely to admire him, but to receive him.

When Many Walked Away

After Jesus delivered his Bread of Life sermon, John records that many people walked away from him.

His words were offensive.

They came wanting more miracles and signs, but Jesus offered them something very different. He offered them himself.

He offered them surrender when they wanted independence.
He offered them rest when they wanted good things to do.
He offered them eternal life, but they were not ready to acknowledge their need.

As the crowd began to leave, Jesus turned to his disciples and asked them a piercing question.

John 6:67 says, “So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’”

Peter’s response is one of the most powerful confessions in the entire Gospel.

John 6:68 says, “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”

For many years, when I was a Latter-day Saint, I often heard this verse quoted as if it were talking about a church—an institution, an organization, or the leadership within that church.

But Jesus is pointing us to the very heart of the gospel.

The answer is not an institution.
The answer is not a program.
The answer is not a religious system.

The answer is Jesus Christ himself.

Reflecting on Our Hunger

Pastor Mark ended his sermon with a question that has stayed with me all day:

Is Jesus still the one we are feeding on, or have we let other things take priority?

Are we trying to fill our bellies with things that cannot truly satisfy?
Are we searching for meaning in idols that cannot give purpose?

Jesus invites us to bring him our hunger, our thirst, and our longing.
And he promises that he will fill us completely—and forever.

The One Who Will Never Cast Us Out

Jesus has the words of eternal life because he is the bread from heaven that fills us completely.

He is calling us to trust him, to walk with him, and to abide in him.

Jesus knew something about us. He knew our faith would sometimes grow cold and that our enthusiasm would falter.

And yet he made a remarkable promise.

In John 6:37, Jesus says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

Even when our faith is weak, Christ remains faithful.

The good news is that Jesus is not like the McDonald’s CEO who hesitates, takes tiny bites, and seems embarrassed by the product he is promoting. He welcomes us wholeheartedly. He invites us to come fully, to feast without fear, to trust completely. He is never hesitant. He is never ashamed. He does not hold back. He promises that if we abide in him, we will be filled—and that filling will last forever.

And with that assurance, we can come to him boldly and without hesitation. We can deeply feast on Christ without shame or fear.