Intro
Jesus has just performed several miracles that demonstrate his power, authority, and love.
He did things that defy what we like to think of as “the laws of nature” because he is Almighty God, the Creator of the universe and can do as he wills.
These miracles provided for the needs of those who were following him (food, protection, and peace of mind).
In today’s passage, Jesus has an extended (somewhat argumentative) conversation with the people who witnessed these miracles.
Verses 22-25 give us the setting for this conversation.
(22) In the morning, many of the crowd from the previous day (the feeding of the 5,000) are surprised to find Jesus gone.
(23-25) They rush to the other side of the lake in some boats from the nearby town of Tiberias, catch up with Jesus and begin asking when he got there.
They are obviously curious how he got there before them when he didn’t have a boat (we know he walked on the water out to the disciples’ boat).
Rather than answer, Jesus uses this as an opportunity to talk about something more important
At some point, the site of this conversation switches from the seashore to the nearby synagogue (v. 59), but it is all one ongoing conversation.
(26-34) Seek the Bread of Life
(26-27) Jesus warns them that they are focusing on the wrong thing
They are only interested in Jesus because they got free food yesterday.
They see Jesus as a means of getting whatever they want right now.
We see this same attitude today in the “word of faith” teachings of many popular preachers, but it is an attitude that Jesus rejects.
They should be interested in what satisfies their true need: eternal life which comes from Jesus whom God the Father has appointed.
(28-29) Not only are they focused on the wrong things that God can provide, but they are also seeking a relationship with God in the wrong way.
They want to know what specific actions God wants them to do.
Even today, most people want to earn God’s favor and blessing…to feel that they deserve it at least a little bit.
They may want a checklist of rules ranked in order of importance so they can get enough “gold stars” to be on God’s good side.
They may want specific rituals to perform (e.g., sacraments that bestow “special grace”).
What God wants them (and us) to do is believe in Jesus whom He sent.
A right relationship with God doesn’t start with doing; it starts with believing.
They (we) need to believe that Jesus is who he claims to be.
They (we) need to trust him to provide eternal life on his terms.
(30-34) The people refuse to believe Jesus without another sign.
(30-31) They want Jesus to top Moses who gave their ancestors manna (miraculous bread) in the wilderness for 40 years (see Exodus 16).
They have just seen Jesus perform one miracle, but they want more.
They see Jesus primarily in terms of thrills and wish fulfillment, and they aren’t interested in much else.
(32-33) Jesus points out that manna was actually from God the Father, not Moses.
The true bread of life (the thing that the manna was pointing toward) also comes from the Father, not a mere human being with miraculous abilities.
The true bread of life is the one who comes from heaven to give true life.
(34) They still seem to be thinking of literal bread that satisfies physical hunger.
They are more than happy to have Jesus keep feeding them.
“Jesus, I have no idea what you are talking about, but bring on the free food!”
(35-59) Jesus Is the Bread of Life
(35-40) These people are bad at grasping figurative language, so Jesus spells it out.
(35-36) He himself is the “bread” that satisfies forever the deepest longings and needs when we trust him to do so…which these people are failing to do.
(37-40) In love, God chooses to bring people into a right relationship with himself.
(37) God works in the hearts of those who will be saved so that they come to Jesus in faith and are joyfully received into God’s family.
No one who comes to Jesus in faith is told “no, you are too bad to be forgiven and brought into my family.”
The Father delights to bring home lost people and make them his beloved sons & daughters.
(38) This is the loving plan of God the Father perfectly carried out through the Son.
(39-40) All who come to Jesus in faith receive eternal life and will never be thrown out of God’s family.
The process of transformation that begins when you trust Jesus to forgive your sins and give you eternal life will reach its perfect conclusion by his power and his faithfulness.
That salvation will be fully accomplished on the day we are raised from the dead with a glorious resurrection body to live in his perfect kingdom.
A lot more about that in two weeks on resurrection Sunday
(41-51) The people object and Jesus responds.
(41-42) They do not see how he could possibly be who he says he is.
They feel like they already know all that there is to know about him, and he’s just another human being, not someone who came from heaven.
This is not too different from people today who view Jesus as a great moral teacher or social reformer but nothing more.
Jesus repeats the claims he has already made.
(43-45) It is only through God the Father working within a person’s heart that they will come to Jesus, believe in him, and receive eternal life and resurrection.
No amount of Scripture reading, public preaching, personal witness, convincing arguments, or astounding miracles are enough by themselves.
The heart change that draws a person to faith in Jesus is ultimately a work of God…salvation is a gift of his grace from beginning to end.
If you have come to Jesus as your Savior, know that you have personally been taught by God himself.
(46-47) As the only one who has seen the Father, Jesus is supremely qualified to tell us the will of the Father: faith in Jesus.
It doesn’t matter that they (or we) cannot fully understand every detail of what God is doing. For example:
The incarnation & hypostatic union: Jesus is fully God & fully human
The Trinity: One God in three distinct persons who are equally God.
Eternity: There was never a time when there was not God
Predestinations: What is the interplay of God’s sovereign choice and irresistible drawing of who will be saved and free will or moral responsibility?
Theodicy: Why does God allow evil to exist?
Hell: that unforgiven sin results in eternal punishment in burning darkness.
Substitutionary atonement: that when Jesus died on the cross he suffered the punishment for our sins so we could be saved by faith.
We are asked to take him at his word regardless of our level of understanding
“…without faith it is impossible to please God…” – Hebrews 11:6
This starts with trusting him to forgiver our sins & give us eternal life.
It continues with trusting his Word to be true and his care for us to be perfect throughout our lives.
(48-51) Jesus returns to his illustration that he is the bread of life.
Unlike the manna that fed the Israelites in the wilderness until their natural death, Jesus is the living bread that gives eternal life (cf. “living water” in chapter 4).
He gives a new kind of life (cf. being “born again” in chapter 3).
Jesus explains that his own body will be given on behalf of the world (cf. “the lamb of God” in chapter 1)
(52-58) Once again, the people are confused.
(52) Some seem to take Jesus literally when he is clearly using a figure of speech.
(53-58) Jesus continues to use the metaphor/illustration of himself as the one that satisfies the deepest hunger and thirst.
The metaphor definitely sounds a bit strange/gross at first, but when you think about it, we use similar metaphors about eating and drinking:
“We devour books, drink in lectures, swallow stories, ruminate on ideas, chew over a matter, and eat our words. Doting Grandparents declare they could eat up their grandchildren.” – George Beasley-Murray
The idea is that we are partaking deeply of them and/or want them in the closest possible relation to ourselves
Jesus has already told us how we do that: by faith/belief/trust in him.
“Believe and you have eaten.” – Augustine
Jesus will use this same illustration again at the institution of the Lord’s supper.
The people who have been following Jesus up until this point have strong reactions to these statements.
(60-71) Responses to the Bread of Life
(60-66) Many disciples are deeply offended by Jesus’ words
This isn’t just the 12 disciples, but many in the crowd who thought of themselves as followers of Jesus.
(60) This isn’t the kind of thing they expected to hear from the Messiah.
He’s supposed to be magical and heroic and make their life easier right now.
He’s supposed to tell them what great things they can do for God.
He’s not supposed to say things that sound embarrassing, weird, or offensive.
(61-62) If they are offended now, they are going to be a whole lot more offended when they see his manner of returning to the Father.
Luke 23:46 – Jesus the Messiah died a torturous, humiliating death…not at all what his followers were expecting.
This is the means by which God chose to show his love and save the world.
(63-65) New life is a work of the Holy Spirit as God working in the heart of the individual draws them and brings them to the place where they response to faith in Jesus.
If you have never trusted in Jesus, do so today…the invitation is made to all.
Hearing Jesus’ Words is one means that the Spirit uses to draw you…
…together with that inward understanding and desire to respond.
We see in this passage that many who hear Jesus’ words and claim to follow him for a while do not respond with faith, and end up openly rejecting him.
…even one of the 12 “inner circle” disciples eventually betrayed him!
If you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, don’t grow discouraged in sharing the Gospel just because you don’t see results.
The results are ultimately up to God, but we have the responsibility of sharing the invitation.
(67-71) Eleven of the 12 disciples respond in faith to Jesus.
(66-67) As people are forsaking Jesus in droves, he asks the 12 about their loyalty.
The way the question is phrased implies that he expects them to answer “no.”
He seems to be asking them for their own benefit; so they can settle it in their own minds.
It’s a good question for us: the message of Jesus and the teachings of the Bible are becoming increasingly offensive to our society…will we give up on them?
(68-69) Peter, speaking on behalf of the disciples, gives an excellent two-part answer:
He recognizes Jesus as the only source of eternal life.
He recognizes that Jesus is the perfect savior sent by God.
Even though these disciples do not understand everything about Jesus, 11 of them trust him to save them as he promised.
They are not scared off by their lack of understanding or the fact that some of Jesus’ teachings leave people weirded out and offended.
They have “put all their eggs in one basket,” and it is Jesus.
That is what trusting Jesus is all about: telling him “Jesus, I need to be saved from my sins and be made right with God, and if you don’t do it I’m lost.”
(70-71) The chapter ends on a solemn note as Jesus knows that, unlike the others, Judas does not truly have faith in him and will ultimately betray him.
Judas said and did the right things for about 3 years, but his heart was never changed.
There were one or more things about Jesus that he just couldn’t bring himself to accept so he eventually utterly rejected and betrayed him rather than trusting him.
Applications
True saving faith trusts Jesus and his word even if we find some things hard to understand, explain, or accept.
Trust Jesus to forgive your sins and make you part of God’s family on the basis of his death and resurrection.
Receive eternal life, including resurrection and a home in God’s perfect kingdom.
Remain loyal to Jesus and his Word.
Don’t discard some of the Bible’s teachings because they are out of step with the current values and beliefs of society.
Don’t be embarrassed/ashamed of things in the Bible that are out deemed offensive.
Jesus is not the weird, crazy relative who we have to apologize for.
He is our Savior, the source of true life, and the one who is perfectly qualified to reveal the will of God the Father.
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