Welcome! Today we are continuing our series entitled “What
did He say?!” on John chapters 5 through 11, so-named because of all the
astounding, shocking things Jesus did say to His disciples, to Jewish leaders,
and to the crowds in these chapters. It is easy for us to become numb to these
words if we have grown up with them. One of my desires and prayers for us
during this series is that these profound passages would shake us up and cause us
to stare freshly at the amazing and undeserved provision of God in Jesus Christ.
My desire and prayer is that it would move us to worship Him, and that it would
move us to serve Him sacrificially with our lives.
Today we pick up the story in the middle of Chapter 6, and it is helpful to briefly review what has happened earlier in this chapter. Jesus has become famous for the things He has said and especially for His miracles of healing, and now, inGalilee , when
people figure out that He is the man that people have been talking about, large
crowds gather and follow Him. This was one of those times, and as it was time
for a meal and there was no McDonald’s around, Jesus asked His disciples, as a
kind of test of their faith, where they should buy bread for these people.
Today we pick up the story in the middle of Chapter 6, and it is helpful to briefly review what has happened earlier in this chapter. Jesus has become famous for the things He has said and especially for His miracles of healing, and now, in
This was a huge crowd, described as 5000 men, and so the
disciples failed the test and pointed out that it was impossible to feed to so
many. One disciple noticed a boy nearby with 5 small loaves and two small fish,
but also pointed out how completely insufficient this was. Jesus, however, had
the disciples instruct the large crowd to sit down, and then He gave thanks for
the tiny amount of food and with it miraculously fed the entire crowd to
complete fulfillment. There were 12 large basketfuls left over that the
disciples gathered afterwards.
Jesus saw into the hearts of those in the crowd and saw that, because of this miracle, they wanted to grab Him and force Him to be king, so Jesus withdrew to a mountain. That evening, His disciples took a boat to go to the other side of the lake, toCapernaum
The next day, the crowd figured out what had happened and themselves took boats toCapernaum
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” – John 6:25-27a
Jesus reveals their hearts, which are looking for a handout, not for God to worship. They have in fact “worked” for food – they have used their detective skills and taken boats across the lake; they have invested significant time and effort to follow Jesus – but for all the wrong reasons. They are interested in the Giver only as a means to an end, because He gives a free meal and might give more free meals. They have no idea of what Jesus really intends to offer them.
On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval. Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” – John 6:27b-29
Now, I want you to follow the conversation carefully. Jesus has just told them not to work for food that spoils (bread and fish), but for food that endures to eternal life, a kind of food that lasts forever and produces eternal life, something that Jesus also promises to give them. And then, He adds this comment about Himself: On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval. Perhaps this dates me, but I picture Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. This was an endorsement made by the Good Housekeeping magazine on products it had tested and passed their tests. The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval goes all the way back to 1909. (I’m not that old, by the way.)
If you look at the Greek, the “of approval” is not really there. What it is saying is that God has personally placed a seal on Christ, a seal of authenticity, a seal of protection. In the various passages where it says that believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit, it is the same word. Its root word is used to describe the inscription or impression made by using a stamp on wax. He is saying this because He is saying, in effect, look, I can tell you how to have eternal life. And you can trust that what I tell you is of God because God has personally authenticated Me. And although the passage does not specifically refer to this, it certainly brings up memories of Jesus’ baptism, where the Holy Spirit settles on Him as a dove, and God speaks, saying “This is My Son, whom I love.”
And so the crowd, following Jesus well at this point, asks, in effect, “So you are offering some kind of eternal food. What do we need to do?” And Jesus’ answer, so simple, is “Believe in Me.”
Well, if I was writing this as a story, I would have the crowd say, “We do believe!” and they would bow down and worship Him. But here is what really happened:
So they asked Him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” – John 6:30-31
Wow! That’s quite a different reaction from the one I suggested! Instead of accepting His words, they demand a sign. Well, excuse me guys, but what do you think happened yesterday? Five loaves and two fishes? Don’t you remember? What is that, if not a massive sign? And look at what kind of a sign that they want – one where they are given food! The assumption seems to be that manna is a greater miracle than bread.
Actually, I think this response is keying off of Jesus’ statement about a greater food, a food that endures to eternal life. They are in effect saying, yes, you can “magically” produce regular bread, but when you talk about this greater food, we just don’t believe you. Our forefathers ate a greater food – manna. Show us some proof that you are truly sent by God and that we should believe in you.
And when you think about manna, you see an irony here – manna had no preserving power at all! You couldn’t store it up but had to pick it up each day, except prior to the Sabbath when you could pick up only two days’ worth; if you tried to store it up it would just rot and become maggot-infested. Even bread could last a week or more if it had a good crust. Manna was the exact opposite of a food that “endures.”
However, there was one sense in which the manna endured – it was given to the people every day (except Sabbaths) for nearly 40 years. They did receive their daily bread – without having to work. And I am afraid this was what they were really looking for. Free food for life! If Jesus fed us once, He can do it again. He can do it every day! Now how did Jesus reply to their request and reference to manna?
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” – John 6:32-34
Jesus actually points out four errors here! Number one, Moses was just the guy “in charge” – but it was God Himself who produced the manna and did every other miracle in Exodus. In Exodus 16:4, God says, “I will rain bread from heaven for you.” Moses just organized how they were to collect it. Number two, manna is “bread from heaven” but it is not “true bread from heaven.” Manna is only a symbol, a shadow, of the true heavenly bread. Thirdly, the true bread gives life to the world. It’s spiritual life-giving bread. It doesn’t just keep away physical hunger. It gives life where there wasn’t life before. Manna doesn’t do that. And fourth, the true bread gives life to the world, the kosmos, the whole world, not just to a bunch of Jews at one point in history in the desert.
And they have a fifth misunderstanding – this bread isn’t a thing; it’s a He. And that He is Jesus Christ Himself. And where did He come from? From heaven. Now let’s take a quick poll. How many of you came from heaven? Anyone? Of course not! This is a direct claim to Christ’s divinity. Yes, He was born through Mary, but before Mary was born, before Abraham was born, what did He say? “I am.” He’s not just bread. He’s not just true bread. He’s not just true bread that gives life. He’s not just true bread that gives life to the whole world. He’s true bread from heaven that gives life to the whole world.
Now I don’t know how much they understand any of this, but they definitely don’t catch on to this fifth correction, because they reply, give us this thing, this bread. And give it to us from now on, evermore. They are still thinking like it is manna, a daily provision.
Let me just mention that Jesus could have agreed to their request. He could have made manna, or bread, or ice cream cones fall from the sky every day. If He had done this, He would have had the entire nation ofIsrael
But if He had done this, He would have utterly failed. In fact, He would have given in to Satan’s first temptation – turn these stones into bread. And He would have given in to Satan’s final temptation – just worship me and I will give you the whole world. But that is not why Jesus came; it wasn’t to feed people physical food, because people would still die, and when they died they would still face judgment. If Jesus had settled for this, the world would still be lost in their sins. That is not why Jesus came – not at all. Why did He feed the 5000? It was a signpost, a pointer to Him. But the crowds seemingly preferred the signpost over the real offer.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe. – John 6:35-36
Wow! “What did He say?!” There is nothing veiled here, nothing hidden. Our souls hunger; our souls thirst. Do you know that? Our souls ache for something that satisfies, and we seek to fill our hunger, our thirst, with the things of this world. We try good things, like physical food, even very good things, like friends and family, but they don’t ultimately satisfy our hunger. We try bad things, like entertainment and drugs and physical intimacy outside of marriage and they don’t satisfy our hunger either. In fact, the bad things only make us hungrier, and the result is addiction to the bad things, terrible addictions that provide no joy but only the slightest temporary relief from our hunger.
Jesus says, come to Me. I am the only thing that can satisfy your hunger – truly satisfy it. Listen – if you are struggling with loneliness, or emptiness, or depression, or an addiction, understand that these are all symptoms of soul hunger. And Christ can satisfy those longings if you truly come to Him. Believing in Him is the focus of this passage, and it is the necessary first step – if you do not believe in Him, He cannot even begin to satisfy your hunger. But coming to Him is also a process. Ultimately, if you are saved, when you are resurrected you will be perfected in Christ, you will be totally and completely “come to Him” and you will never hunger again. But before this, while we remain in this life, you can wander away from Him, and although your salvation will not be in danger, you can experience pangs of hunger, because you are not coming to Him, not remaining in Him. I think these “pangs” are not the same as the true hunger you experienced before coming to Him, before first believing in Him, confessing your need for Him and entering into relationship with Him. Your true hunger will be satisfied, and nothing can snatch you out of His hand. But these “pangs” are a way that God draws His wandering sheep back to Him.
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” – John 6:37-40
This is just fantastic. It’s beautiful. It’s awesome. Actually none of these adjectives capture how I feel when I read this. How many will He lose? None. For those who have truly come to Him and then blow it and do something really bad, how many will He send away? None. Do you know what this passage says you are? It’s easy to miss this. It doesn’t say you are a hassle, or a pain in the you-know-what. It says you are a gift. “All that the Father gives Me” – that includes us. We are gifts – precious gifts from the Father to Christ. And Christ takes His gifts, and opens them, and uses them, and holds on to them. He will lose none of His gifts. I don’t know about you, but this gives me a funny feeling when I think about this. I feel both very small, and very valuable. And that is a very Biblical way to view oneself.
By the way, this passage affirms both predestination and free will. It says both “all that the Father gives Me” and “everyone who looks to the Son and believes.” Yes, it’s a paradox. Yes, it’s hard for us to understand. These are obviously talking about the same people. From God’s perspective, it is those the Father has given. From man’s perspective it is everyone who looks to the Son and believes. If you think too hard about it, it will make your brain hurt. But after all, we are very small. (But we are very valuable!)
Ah, but back to the crowds…
At this the Jews began to grumble about Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” – John 6:41-42
This crowd, most of whom had been miraculously fed the day before, is now turning against Jesus. They don’t like what they were hearing. And they are grumbling. This means that they are no longer talking to Jesus, but are talking to one another about Jesus. As a professor, when I teach my classes, I know I have a bad situation on my hands when the audience stops asking questions to me and instead starts talking to one another. This is what is happening here with Jesus.
The miracle should have been enough for them – how else can they explain it? And there were also miraculous healings they had seen, according to the other gospels, as well as Jesus’ reputation and all the miracles that were reported of Him. Note that just a few verses earlier they wrongly believed Moses had caused the miracle of manna. Jesus had corrected them on this, saying that God had done it, but now that Jesus is claiming to do things Himself, they reject it.
Now, when I have considered the crowd’s response, my first thought is, well, who can blame them? They probably didn’t have all the facts. But I think it is wrong to let them “off the hook” for this. They have personally been fed miraculously by Christ. They are letting their pride dictate their actions. A humble response to Jesus would have been to say, “Jesus, we find this hard to understand. Tell us more.” But they have let their pride lead them. Jesus is telling the crowd some incredible things. But when they start talking to each other, saying, “Come on, that’s nonsense. I’m not going to buy that!” they are speaking authoritatively against someone, Jesus, who is right in front of them who has certainly earned the right to be seriously considered based on the miracles He has done. They are acting foolishly, pretending to be experts when in fact they don’t know anything.
Listen, do you know that every unbeliever is actually strongly guilty of pride? People pretend to know much more than they do. That’s pride. You can actually help an unbeliever by asking him deeper and deeper questions about anything he says he believes strongly. Eventually they will get to a point of their ignorance. And if they are humble, they will acknowledge it. If not, they will try to bluster their way out of it or change the conversation or just get angry and walk away. Something like this is happening here in this passage. Jesus has stripped away the layers of their misunderstanding and left them with a profound truth they don’t want to face.
“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God. ’Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes toMe.
Is Jesus really even speaking to the crowd at this point? He knows their hearts; He knows they are not drawn to Him. He is saying this for the disciples’ sakes (and for us) as much as or more than He is for the crowd, although there are likely a small number in that group who are humble and are open to what He is saying.
Jesus reiterates that the Father draws people, and then He goes on to say that there is no one else to come to; if God the Father draws them, they will come to none other than Jesus.
Jesus saw into the hearts of those in the crowd and saw that, because of this miracle, they wanted to grab Him and force Him to be king, so Jesus withdrew to a mountain. That evening, His disciples took a boat to go to the other side of the lake, to
The next day, the crowd figured out what had happened and themselves took boats to
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” – John 6:25-27a
Jesus reveals their hearts, which are looking for a handout, not for God to worship. They have in fact “worked” for food – they have used their detective skills and taken boats across the lake; they have invested significant time and effort to follow Jesus – but for all the wrong reasons. They are interested in the Giver only as a means to an end, because He gives a free meal and might give more free meals. They have no idea of what Jesus really intends to offer them.
On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval. Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” – John 6:27b-29
Now, I want you to follow the conversation carefully. Jesus has just told them not to work for food that spoils (bread and fish), but for food that endures to eternal life, a kind of food that lasts forever and produces eternal life, something that Jesus also promises to give them. And then, He adds this comment about Himself: On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval. Perhaps this dates me, but I picture Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. This was an endorsement made by the Good Housekeeping magazine on products it had tested and passed their tests. The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval goes all the way back to 1909. (I’m not that old, by the way.)
If you look at the Greek, the “of approval” is not really there. What it is saying is that God has personally placed a seal on Christ, a seal of authenticity, a seal of protection. In the various passages where it says that believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit, it is the same word. Its root word is used to describe the inscription or impression made by using a stamp on wax. He is saying this because He is saying, in effect, look, I can tell you how to have eternal life. And you can trust that what I tell you is of God because God has personally authenticated Me. And although the passage does not specifically refer to this, it certainly brings up memories of Jesus’ baptism, where the Holy Spirit settles on Him as a dove, and God speaks, saying “This is My Son, whom I love.”
And so the crowd, following Jesus well at this point, asks, in effect, “So you are offering some kind of eternal food. What do we need to do?” And Jesus’ answer, so simple, is “Believe in Me.”
Well, if I was writing this as a story, I would have the crowd say, “We do believe!” and they would bow down and worship Him. But here is what really happened:
So they asked Him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” – John 6:30-31
Wow! That’s quite a different reaction from the one I suggested! Instead of accepting His words, they demand a sign. Well, excuse me guys, but what do you think happened yesterday? Five loaves and two fishes? Don’t you remember? What is that, if not a massive sign? And look at what kind of a sign that they want – one where they are given food! The assumption seems to be that manna is a greater miracle than bread.
Actually, I think this response is keying off of Jesus’ statement about a greater food, a food that endures to eternal life. They are in effect saying, yes, you can “magically” produce regular bread, but when you talk about this greater food, we just don’t believe you. Our forefathers ate a greater food – manna. Show us some proof that you are truly sent by God and that we should believe in you.
And when you think about manna, you see an irony here – manna had no preserving power at all! You couldn’t store it up but had to pick it up each day, except prior to the Sabbath when you could pick up only two days’ worth; if you tried to store it up it would just rot and become maggot-infested. Even bread could last a week or more if it had a good crust. Manna was the exact opposite of a food that “endures.”
However, there was one sense in which the manna endured – it was given to the people every day (except Sabbaths) for nearly 40 years. They did receive their daily bread – without having to work. And I am afraid this was what they were really looking for. Free food for life! If Jesus fed us once, He can do it again. He can do it every day! Now how did Jesus reply to their request and reference to manna?
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” – John 6:32-34
Jesus actually points out four errors here! Number one, Moses was just the guy “in charge” – but it was God Himself who produced the manna and did every other miracle in Exodus. In Exodus 16:4, God says, “I will rain bread from heaven for you.” Moses just organized how they were to collect it. Number two, manna is “bread from heaven” but it is not “true bread from heaven.” Manna is only a symbol, a shadow, of the true heavenly bread. Thirdly, the true bread gives life to the world. It’s spiritual life-giving bread. It doesn’t just keep away physical hunger. It gives life where there wasn’t life before. Manna doesn’t do that. And fourth, the true bread gives life to the world, the kosmos, the whole world, not just to a bunch of Jews at one point in history in the desert.
And they have a fifth misunderstanding – this bread isn’t a thing; it’s a He. And that He is Jesus Christ Himself. And where did He come from? From heaven. Now let’s take a quick poll. How many of you came from heaven? Anyone? Of course not! This is a direct claim to Christ’s divinity. Yes, He was born through Mary, but before Mary was born, before Abraham was born, what did He say? “I am.” He’s not just bread. He’s not just true bread. He’s not just true bread that gives life. He’s not just true bread that gives life to the whole world. He’s true bread from heaven that gives life to the whole world.
Now I don’t know how much they understand any of this, but they definitely don’t catch on to this fifth correction, because they reply, give us this thing, this bread. And give it to us from now on, evermore. They are still thinking like it is manna, a daily provision.
Let me just mention that Jesus could have agreed to their request. He could have made manna, or bread, or ice cream cones fall from the sky every day. If He had done this, He would have had the entire nation of
But if He had done this, He would have utterly failed. In fact, He would have given in to Satan’s first temptation – turn these stones into bread. And He would have given in to Satan’s final temptation – just worship me and I will give you the whole world. But that is not why Jesus came; it wasn’t to feed people physical food, because people would still die, and when they died they would still face judgment. If Jesus had settled for this, the world would still be lost in their sins. That is not why Jesus came – not at all. Why did He feed the 5000? It was a signpost, a pointer to Him. But the crowds seemingly preferred the signpost over the real offer.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe. – John 6:35-36
Wow! “What did He say?!” There is nothing veiled here, nothing hidden. Our souls hunger; our souls thirst. Do you know that? Our souls ache for something that satisfies, and we seek to fill our hunger, our thirst, with the things of this world. We try good things, like physical food, even very good things, like friends and family, but they don’t ultimately satisfy our hunger. We try bad things, like entertainment and drugs and physical intimacy outside of marriage and they don’t satisfy our hunger either. In fact, the bad things only make us hungrier, and the result is addiction to the bad things, terrible addictions that provide no joy but only the slightest temporary relief from our hunger.
Jesus says, come to Me. I am the only thing that can satisfy your hunger – truly satisfy it. Listen – if you are struggling with loneliness, or emptiness, or depression, or an addiction, understand that these are all symptoms of soul hunger. And Christ can satisfy those longings if you truly come to Him. Believing in Him is the focus of this passage, and it is the necessary first step – if you do not believe in Him, He cannot even begin to satisfy your hunger. But coming to Him is also a process. Ultimately, if you are saved, when you are resurrected you will be perfected in Christ, you will be totally and completely “come to Him” and you will never hunger again. But before this, while we remain in this life, you can wander away from Him, and although your salvation will not be in danger, you can experience pangs of hunger, because you are not coming to Him, not remaining in Him. I think these “pangs” are not the same as the true hunger you experienced before coming to Him, before first believing in Him, confessing your need for Him and entering into relationship with Him. Your true hunger will be satisfied, and nothing can snatch you out of His hand. But these “pangs” are a way that God draws His wandering sheep back to Him.
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” – John 6:37-40
This is just fantastic. It’s beautiful. It’s awesome. Actually none of these adjectives capture how I feel when I read this. How many will He lose? None. For those who have truly come to Him and then blow it and do something really bad, how many will He send away? None. Do you know what this passage says you are? It’s easy to miss this. It doesn’t say you are a hassle, or a pain in the you-know-what. It says you are a gift. “All that the Father gives Me” – that includes us. We are gifts – precious gifts from the Father to Christ. And Christ takes His gifts, and opens them, and uses them, and holds on to them. He will lose none of His gifts. I don’t know about you, but this gives me a funny feeling when I think about this. I feel both very small, and very valuable. And that is a very Biblical way to view oneself.
By the way, this passage affirms both predestination and free will. It says both “all that the Father gives Me” and “everyone who looks to the Son and believes.” Yes, it’s a paradox. Yes, it’s hard for us to understand. These are obviously talking about the same people. From God’s perspective, it is those the Father has given. From man’s perspective it is everyone who looks to the Son and believes. If you think too hard about it, it will make your brain hurt. But after all, we are very small. (But we are very valuable!)
Ah, but back to the crowds…
At this the Jews began to grumble about Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” – John 6:41-42
This crowd, most of whom had been miraculously fed the day before, is now turning against Jesus. They don’t like what they were hearing. And they are grumbling. This means that they are no longer talking to Jesus, but are talking to one another about Jesus. As a professor, when I teach my classes, I know I have a bad situation on my hands when the audience stops asking questions to me and instead starts talking to one another. This is what is happening here with Jesus.
The miracle should have been enough for them – how else can they explain it? And there were also miraculous healings they had seen, according to the other gospels, as well as Jesus’ reputation and all the miracles that were reported of Him. Note that just a few verses earlier they wrongly believed Moses had caused the miracle of manna. Jesus had corrected them on this, saying that God had done it, but now that Jesus is claiming to do things Himself, they reject it.
Now, when I have considered the crowd’s response, my first thought is, well, who can blame them? They probably didn’t have all the facts. But I think it is wrong to let them “off the hook” for this. They have personally been fed miraculously by Christ. They are letting their pride dictate their actions. A humble response to Jesus would have been to say, “Jesus, we find this hard to understand. Tell us more.” But they have let their pride lead them. Jesus is telling the crowd some incredible things. But when they start talking to each other, saying, “Come on, that’s nonsense. I’m not going to buy that!” they are speaking authoritatively against someone, Jesus, who is right in front of them who has certainly earned the right to be seriously considered based on the miracles He has done. They are acting foolishly, pretending to be experts when in fact they don’t know anything.
Listen, do you know that every unbeliever is actually strongly guilty of pride? People pretend to know much more than they do. That’s pride. You can actually help an unbeliever by asking him deeper and deeper questions about anything he says he believes strongly. Eventually they will get to a point of their ignorance. And if they are humble, they will acknowledge it. If not, they will try to bluster their way out of it or change the conversation or just get angry and walk away. Something like this is happening here in this passage. Jesus has stripped away the layers of their misunderstanding and left them with a profound truth they don’t want to face.
“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God. ’Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to
Is Jesus really even speaking to the crowd at this point? He knows their hearts; He knows they are not drawn to Him. He is saying this for the disciples’ sakes (and for us) as much as or more than He is for the crowd, although there are likely a small number in that group who are humble and are open to what He is saying.
Jesus reiterates that the Father draws people, and then He goes on to say that there is no one else to come to; if God the Father draws them, they will come to none other than Jesus.
By the way, one important truth I obtain from this passage
is that if I want to go out and share the gospel with people, I should pray for
the Father’s drawing of these people. This is
the only way people can come to Christ. We should pray that God the Father
does this and that He leads us to these people He has drawn.
No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, He who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” – John 6:46-51
Jesus now expands on what He has said earlier. Why did those that ate that wonderful manna that the crowd has been talking about die? Because manna cannot take away your sin! Manna cannot restore your relationship with God. And then He says the most shocking thing yet. It’s not that He provides this bread that comes down from heaven, it is that He is this bread; and this bread is His flesh.
If you were here when we went through the Old Testament law a few months ago, we talked about how for certain animal sacrifices it was required that the meat be eaten, and how early cultures would never share a meal with someone who was not a friend because to share a meal with them you ate the same food and in a sense became one through that shared food. (You are what you eat, as the saying goes.) The Jews were of this thinking; this is why they refused to eat with Samaritans and other non-Jews. Think about the impact of what Jesus is saying on a culture that believes this – to eat of Jesus, whatever this means, and they were basically overwhelmed with the shock of it (as the next verses show), but to eat of Jesus was to become somehow one with Him and one with one another who shared in this “meal.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. – John 6:52-56
At any point in this conversation, Jesus could have backed off. He could have told them gentler things and remained popular. But instead, with each reaction of the people, Jesus only becomes more and more blunt, more and more provocative in how He explains this essential truth. They viewed everything on the physical plane; in fact, they had had this problem from the very beginning of the conversation. But Jesus meant it at a spiritual level. We can make two mistakes with this – viewing the physical plane as “bad” or “inconsequential” – this was one of the errors of the early church, or, like the crowd, viewing the physical as more “real” than the spiritual, as all that really matters.
The truth is that what you believe is really important. It affects your eternal future, your physical future. Jesus is speaking spiritually, but it is literally true on the spiritual level. These are not platitudes. We are totally, completely dependent on Christ for our future sustenance. We “eat His flesh” and “drink His blood” not by cannibalism, or even by partaking the symbols of Christ, the bread and the cup, that we call communion, but by accepting from Him His death on the cross as payment for our sins. Eating is not hard, but it requires an action, of putting something into our mouths. Spiritually, eating His flesh and drinking His blood is not achieved by just thinking something true about Christ, any more than thinking about food will feed us; we must appropriate it, and we do this by telling Him that we need Him and that we “take” His sacrifice for us.
Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue inCapernaum
Why did Jesus feed the 5000? It was, you could say, a sermon illustration. It was so that they could understand that just as Jesus was able to miraculously, impossibly, in the physical world, provide food for a giant crowd of people, so could He provide Himself as the food that brings eternal life, reconciliation with God, forgiveness of our sins, to the entire world. But just as one would not have benefited from His bread the day before unless they actually took some and ate it, the same was true of His offering of Himself. Anyone who fed on this bread, as He said, would live and that is real living, good living, eternal intimate fellowship with God, forever.
On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. – John 6:60-63a
These are not the 12, but others who have followed Him, some just in the past day, others perhaps longer. By “hard” teaching, they mean objectionable, offensive, just plain nutty. They wanted to follow Him, but they didn’t want to accept His words. You can’t really do that, can you? And so what was their response? Most of them left. When Jesus says “does this offend you” the Greek is skandalizo, from which we get the word scandalize. Literally, it means a trap with bait used to kill animals. Did I lure you in but now you feel trapped? Do My words kill your desire to follow Me?
His answer is great. What if you see Me float on up into the clouds back to heaven? I’m sure they were thinking, “Yeah, right, like that’s gonna happen.” But of course, that is exactly what happened after Christ rose from the dead. You see, Christ not only correctly predicted His death, not only correctly predicted His resurrection, but He even correctly predicted His ascension!
And the second part of His answer is that even though He dies, even though He gives His flesh and blood and feeds and gives drink to the world, yet He will be ascending. His body is not limited to the physical laws about flesh. And He is saying that it’s not His physical flesh and His physical body that you need to have eternal life, it is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, His Spirit.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him.” From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. – John 6:63b-66
And so Jesus told the greatest truths ever told, and what was the result? Most of those who heard it left Him. And perhaps some of them were even inJerusalem
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray Him.) – John 6:67-71
What a contrast! Simon Peter, flaws and all, on one hand, and Judas, probably one of the most promising looking, from a worldly perspective, on the other. God does not desire our competence, or our having it all together. He desires our acknowledgement of our total need for Him. He desires our coming to the end of “us” and instead leaning on Him. To whom else could we go? He has the words of eternal life! Believe and know that He is the Holy One of God!
No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, He who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” – John 6:46-51
Jesus now expands on what He has said earlier. Why did those that ate that wonderful manna that the crowd has been talking about die? Because manna cannot take away your sin! Manna cannot restore your relationship with God. And then He says the most shocking thing yet. It’s not that He provides this bread that comes down from heaven, it is that He is this bread; and this bread is His flesh.
If you were here when we went through the Old Testament law a few months ago, we talked about how for certain animal sacrifices it was required that the meat be eaten, and how early cultures would never share a meal with someone who was not a friend because to share a meal with them you ate the same food and in a sense became one through that shared food. (You are what you eat, as the saying goes.) The Jews were of this thinking; this is why they refused to eat with Samaritans and other non-Jews. Think about the impact of what Jesus is saying on a culture that believes this – to eat of Jesus, whatever this means, and they were basically overwhelmed with the shock of it (as the next verses show), but to eat of Jesus was to become somehow one with Him and one with one another who shared in this “meal.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. – John 6:52-56
At any point in this conversation, Jesus could have backed off. He could have told them gentler things and remained popular. But instead, with each reaction of the people, Jesus only becomes more and more blunt, more and more provocative in how He explains this essential truth. They viewed everything on the physical plane; in fact, they had had this problem from the very beginning of the conversation. But Jesus meant it at a spiritual level. We can make two mistakes with this – viewing the physical plane as “bad” or “inconsequential” – this was one of the errors of the early church, or, like the crowd, viewing the physical as more “real” than the spiritual, as all that really matters.
The truth is that what you believe is really important. It affects your eternal future, your physical future. Jesus is speaking spiritually, but it is literally true on the spiritual level. These are not platitudes. We are totally, completely dependent on Christ for our future sustenance. We “eat His flesh” and “drink His blood” not by cannibalism, or even by partaking the symbols of Christ, the bread and the cup, that we call communion, but by accepting from Him His death on the cross as payment for our sins. Eating is not hard, but it requires an action, of putting something into our mouths. Spiritually, eating His flesh and drinking His blood is not achieved by just thinking something true about Christ, any more than thinking about food will feed us; we must appropriate it, and we do this by telling Him that we need Him and that we “take” His sacrifice for us.
Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in
Why did Jesus feed the 5000? It was, you could say, a sermon illustration. It was so that they could understand that just as Jesus was able to miraculously, impossibly, in the physical world, provide food for a giant crowd of people, so could He provide Himself as the food that brings eternal life, reconciliation with God, forgiveness of our sins, to the entire world. But just as one would not have benefited from His bread the day before unless they actually took some and ate it, the same was true of His offering of Himself. Anyone who fed on this bread, as He said, would live and that is real living, good living, eternal intimate fellowship with God, forever.
On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. – John 6:60-63a
These are not the 12, but others who have followed Him, some just in the past day, others perhaps longer. By “hard” teaching, they mean objectionable, offensive, just plain nutty. They wanted to follow Him, but they didn’t want to accept His words. You can’t really do that, can you? And so what was their response? Most of them left. When Jesus says “does this offend you” the Greek is skandalizo, from which we get the word scandalize. Literally, it means a trap with bait used to kill animals. Did I lure you in but now you feel trapped? Do My words kill your desire to follow Me?
His answer is great. What if you see Me float on up into the clouds back to heaven? I’m sure they were thinking, “Yeah, right, like that’s gonna happen.” But of course, that is exactly what happened after Christ rose from the dead. You see, Christ not only correctly predicted His death, not only correctly predicted His resurrection, but He even correctly predicted His ascension!
And the second part of His answer is that even though He dies, even though He gives His flesh and blood and feeds and gives drink to the world, yet He will be ascending. His body is not limited to the physical laws about flesh. And He is saying that it’s not His physical flesh and His physical body that you need to have eternal life, it is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, His Spirit.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him.” From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. – John 6:63b-66
And so Jesus told the greatest truths ever told, and what was the result? Most of those who heard it left Him. And perhaps some of them were even in
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray Him.) – John 6:67-71
What a contrast! Simon Peter, flaws and all, on one hand, and Judas, probably one of the most promising looking, from a worldly perspective, on the other. God does not desire our competence, or our having it all together. He desires our acknowledgement of our total need for Him. He desires our coming to the end of “us” and instead leaning on Him. To whom else could we go? He has the words of eternal life! Believe and know that He is the Holy One of God!
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