I Am the Bread of Life

Lesson #112

In this lesson we will cover John 6:48 – 51 and see what Jesus says that causes the Jews to dispute among themselves. Jesus continues by saying, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died” (John 6:48 – 49 ESV). We just finished a very difficult verse and now Jesus is leading up to another one. He is now drawing a contrast between him being the bread of life and the manna in the wilderness. Jesus claims there is an important difference. Those who ate the manna were physically nourished for a while but they eventually died. Jesus claims he is the bread of life that will provide eternal life.

Jesus says, “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die” (John 6:50 ESV). Imagine that you are in the crowd and you hear Jesus say he is the bread of life and if eaten would provide eternal life. Do you think you would understand? I don’t think there are many Christians today that can explain this verse. These people are unsaved and they stand there wondering what he is talking about. How are they to eat this bread?

What Jesus says next doesn’t help at all and in fact makes the matter even less understandable. He says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51 ESV). Here Jesus identifies his flesh as the bread that is to be given. How will his flesh be given for the life of the world?

His flesh is to become a sacrifice; his flesh and blood will be given as a substitute in our place. The Son of man must be lifted up on a cross (John 3:14) as the perfect sacrifice to die in our place for our sin. The question is, “How do we appropriate this to our lives?” How do we eat of this bread, his flesh, to obtain the life he has to give? Can you imagine the confusion that must exist there in the crowd?

The next section, defined by John 6:52 – 58, will add much more to this discussion. We will start that section in our next lesson.

Prayer

Lord, you claim to be the bread that came down from heaven and if we eat of it we will not die, but will live forever. You also said that this bread was your flesh that we were to eat. This is indeed deep and difficult to understand. I pray for understanding as I write and for those who read that we will know the true meaning of this.

We Are Taught by God

Lesson #111

In the last six lessons we have considered the statement made by Jesus in John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (ESV). The position that was taken in those lessons was that the drawing does not include everyone, but only those who actually come to Jesus. There are verses that many present that they claim indicates that all are drawn and then we decide if we want to actually come. We will come to those verses later in our study of John and will leave our discussion of them until we encounter those verses. It is important that we get back to our verse by verse study and pick up where we left off.

After saying “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,” Jesus continues by saying, “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life” (John 6:45 – 47 ESV). This statement will help us understand how the Father draws us.

Those who the Father draws in verse 44, Jesus says, “will all be taught by God.” Each one who is drawn will receive spiritual instruction that will prepare him for spiritual birth. Jesus then says, “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” These who are drawn are given the ability to hear and learn from God. This understanding continues as the Father brings them to Jesus. Every single one who is drawn and receives this teaching comes to Jesus. No one is lost along the way; they all come and experience the new birth. God’s teaching is so effective that all come into a saving relationship with Jesus.

There is a new covenant that God spoken of by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:33 – 34), which will include all believers. Under this covenant God will place his law within our hearts through his teaching. It is this teaching that takes place in those being drawn. Since all that are being taught come to Jesus one must conclude that not everyone is not drawn and taught by God. It is this teaching that overcomes our rebellion, opens our understanding to the truth and gives us the ability to believe. Without God working in our heart we are unable to come to Jesus and each heart that God works in will come without exception. Take some time and recall the background that led to your salvation.

Prayer

Father, during my time in China I saw the damage done by western Christians who came with intentions of making converts with convincing arguments. One of my seeking students was hurt so badly by this approach that it took years before she was willing to listen again. Several other of my students told me they prayed the requested prayer just to stop the pressure of the conversation. Father, it became so clear to me that we don’t convince anyone to become a believer. It is not by our schedule but yours. Father, forgive us for our arrogance in our method of advancing the gospel. 

Some Cannot Believe

Lesson #110

In this lesson we will look at the fifth and last passage that relate to John 6:44: “Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” (John 12:37 – 40 ESV).

One cannot say that God draws everyone because for some “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” These people “could not believe” because God did not draw them; he has given up on them and the result is a hardening of their hearts. This describes most of Israel today and is described by Paul as a mystery: “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25 NASB).

As I study this it is clear to me that those who come to Jesus are the ones drawn by the Father, which none deserve. It is a gift of the grace of God. Those who do not come to Jesus were not drawn by the Father but left in their rebellion against God, which we all deserve. Do not be concerned about which group you are in. Each of us has the responsibility to come to Jesus. Have you responded yet?

Prayer

Father, thank you for what I have learned from preparing these lessons. This verse by verse study has forced me to consider all that is presented in logical context. This is how I can obtain a most accurate understanding. I would never consider picking up a good book and reading a paragraph here and one there through the book. If I did I would not have a very clear picture of what the author was saying in writing the book. This is my objection to most preaching today. It leaves out important parts of the story and allows for false conclusions. Father, thank you for your guidance in my study.

My Sheep Hear My Voice

Lesson #109

In this lesson we will look at the fourth of five passages that relate to John 6:44: “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:26 – 27 NASB). In Matthew 25 people are divided into two groups: goats and sheep. Goats represent the unsaved while sheep represent the saved. In real life a goat has 60 chromosomes and a sheep has 54. Physically a goat never becomes a sheep. The implication is that from the beginning a person is either a sheep or a goat and before salvation a sheep is known as a lost sheep. Sheep are the ones the Father draws; the ones he has chosen to give to his Son. The reason those in the crowd do not believe, Jesus says, is because they are not sheep. You can preach to a goat for as long as you want, but they will never become a sheep. A believer’s job is to go out into all the world and search for loss sheep.

What determines whether we believe in Jesus, whether we hear his voice and follow him? Jesus says it depends on a decisive act of God that makes us part of his flock. As we reviewed in the last lesson, this is the same as saying: “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (John 6:37), “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44), and “No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (John 6:65). It is very important to note that we come to Jesus voluntarily and freely because we want to come, but behind that desire is the decisive work of the Father. Without that work no one would come because “There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one” (Romans 3:11 – 12 NASB). Justice demands that all spend an eternity apart from God in Hell, but through the sacrifice of Christ the grace of God is given as a gift to some. This is his sovereign will! Do you have the freedom and the right to give gifts to those of your choosing? Is that fair?

Prayer

Father, thank you for causing me to be a sheep; a member of the flock that belongs to Jesus Christ. Understanding this decisive act on your part results in me feeling greatly loved and secure, but also imparts to me a sense of responsibility. Thank you for your work in my heart and the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit.

Whoever Is of God

Lesson #108

In this lesson we will look at the third of five passages that relate to John 6:44: “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God” (John 8:47 ESV).

Before we consider this verse let us go back and bring to mind several key points. In John 6:37 Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (ESV). The Father gives people to Jesus as a gift and everyone to be given will come. There are none lost along the way and everyone given will be eternally kept. In John 6:44 Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” (ESV). Everyone given as a gift to Jesus is first drawn by the Father. If the Father gives all that come to Jesus and none are lost along the way then the Father draws only those who he gives. If the Father drew everyone and if the ones given are the ones who come then you have a condition that the Father drew some that he didn’t give. Why would the Father draw some and then decide not to give them? In John 6:65 Jesus continues and said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (ESV). The Father chooses those he draws, grants them permission to come, and brings them as a gift to Jesus Christ. A child in an orphanage is unable to choose the family to live with. We as spiritually dead sinners are unable to choose to be a child of God. The Father chooses us to be born again. This is his sovereign will.

Our verse for this lesson reinforces this sovereign choice. “Whoever is of God hears the words of God” implies that you are of God before you can understand and believe the word. Those who are of God are known in the Scriptures as “loss sheep”. These loss sheep are the ones drawn by the Father and given authority to come and will be brought and given as a gift to Jesus. As the Father brings these to his Son he employs us in the process of evangelism. Being of God are those chosen to be drawn and in that process of drawing the ability to understand and believe is developed. These are the ones granted to come. Study the conversion of Paul and many conversions in the Middle East today as an application of this.

Prayer

Father, as I consider the time before my salvation, I can see the effects of your drawing on my life and the process of bringing me to my point of salvation when I knew without any doubt that the time of the new birth had come. That particular night I knew that I had been given as a gift to Jesus and that he gave me the gift of eternal life. No one convinced me to make a decision. Like Paul on the road to Damascus I knew I had to say yes. Thank you that in your sovereign will I am now a child of yours; loved and secured. 

The Father Grants Authority

Lesson #107

In this lesson we will look at the second of five passages that relate to John 6:44: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”” (John 6:63 – 65 NASB).

What about those who do not believe; who do not come to Jesus like for example Judas? Jesus makes it clear that there will be some who will not believe. Jesus knows who they are and explains that they have not been granted permission by the Father to come because he did not draw them. These were left in their sin under God’s curse to live out their rebellion against God.

In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats all humanity is divided into two groups. The sheep are the ones who have been born again and will spend an eternity with God. The goats are the ones who were not born again and will spend an eternity in hell apart from God. The bible also speaks of lost sheep. In the context of chapter 6 it would seem that these are people who have been chosen and drawn by the Father to be given to Jesus. These people are to be found by believers sharing the gospel with all who will listen. It is the process of evangelism that we are commanded to do. The only ones that will hear and understand and believe are the ones granted him from the Father. The rest, like Judas, remained in their lost condition.

This process becomes clear to me as I study the movement of God around the world and see where church growth is taking place. God the Father controls this growth by his drawing and granting authority to people in different parts of the world at different times in history. Those he draws and grants his authority to he brings to Jesus, at times through extremely difficult situations, but he does bring them. The devil may try, but anyone chosen will be drawn through anything he may try and as this process unfolds the person grows in his love and desire to come to Jesus to that time set by the Father for being born again. As one remains faithful to the text the pieces come together and a wonderful picture from God begins to unfold.

Our third text is John 8:47; an interesting verse and is one that will broaden our understanding and will be covered in the next lesson.

Prayer

Father, as I study the material of John 6 I see marvelous sovereign plan unfolding that explains the growth of the perfect body of Christ. It is not something that happens by chance or by our choosing to believe, but is growing according to a perfect plan conceived in the beginning of time. Your sovereign will is perfect and by grace out of love people are coming to Jesus. Thank you for drawing me and developing a desire in me to come to Jesus.

The Father’s Choice

Lesson #106

As Jesus reveals more to the crowd before him it does not result in greater clarity for his listeners, but instead produces greater resistance. Without understanding and accepting the virgin birth, what Jesus is saying about himself simply is not possible and in the minds of the people it does not make any sense and is the cause of their grumbling. As Jesus continues to share we will find this resistance to increase to alarming levels. But let us not get ahead of our text and spend some time with verse 44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (ESV).

As we move forward we must keep in mind, and we will see again and again, that this drawing of God is not in conflict with our choosing to come or with our wanting to come, but without this drawing being decisive on the part of God no one would come. What Jesus says in verse 44 is essentially said in five other passages: John 6:37, John 6:63 – 65, John 8:47, John 10:26 – 27, and John 12:37 – 40. We will look at these passages to help give clarity to what Jesus is saying.

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37 ESV). The Father gives people to his Son as a gift and everyone given will comes; none drop by the wayside when coming. Each one that comes is accepted by the Son. Jesus accepts us as a gift from the Father and then he gives to us eternal life as a gift. In the process of coming God is preparing our heart to be spiritually ready for being born again. Who are these people the Father gives? They are the ones in verse 44 that the Father draws; the ones chosen “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit” (1 Peter 1:3 NASB). This drawing is the deciding cause that compels us to come to Jesus Christ; it is what opens our eyes to see and our minds to comprehend spiritual things.

What about those who do not believe? What does Jesus say about them? In our next lesson we will look at John 6:63 – 65, our second of five passages, and see what Jesus says.

Prayer

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). Father, this extremely familiar verse tells what you do and it tells what the one who believes has, but it does not say anything about how one comes to believe. We have now learned how one comes to believe; it is the result of the Father drawing and giving to Jesus. Father, thank you for showing me that I am no better than some of my friends who are still unsaved. My salvation is totally from grace as there was nothing that I was able to do to help in my coming. Thank you for your love and grace. Thank you for bringing me to Jesus Christ.

A Verse that Divides Us

Lesson #105

Jesus is making some very strong statements about himself; claiming to be the bread of life that came down from heaven from the Father; claiming to have the responsibility of the eternal security of every believer given to him as a gift from the Father; claiming to have the power to raise up every one the Father gives to him. Considering the fact that Jesus was born of Mary and grew up among them, how do you think the Jews might react to these claims of Jesus?

“So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”” (John 6:41 ESV). The people following and listening to Jesus and watching his signs were getting excited, but now we are beginning to see some negative reaction, especially among the Jewish leaders. They are beginning to grumble because things don’t seem to connect the way should in their minds. They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (John 6:42 ESV). Again we encounter the inability to comprehend the spiritual. Those who grumble are unable to accept or understand the virgin birth that allows Jesus, the Son of God, to become man and live among them as their Messiah. This concept is foreign to them and totally unacceptable. Again and again we witness spiritual concepts to not be understood by the spiritually dead.

Jesus responds to their grumbling by saying to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:43 – 44 ESV). Jesus tells the Jews to stop grumbling and then tells them something that has divided the church to this day and has been hotly argued for the last 200 years without any resolution. I wrestled with this verse for many years before I realized how the two sides actually come together to establish a concept that is extremely important to understand. We will look at this in future lessons. How can this verse mean two different things?

Some say verse 44 means that no one can come to salvation without God drawing them, but they say that God draws everyone, but not everyone comes. This implies that God makes the coming possible, but that something else causes the process of coming to be complete by those who so choose. That something else is the ability of the one coming to understand their sinful condition and see their need met by coming to Jesus and accepting him into their live. It is assumed that God starts everyone and then each has the free choice to finish the process of coming. The mystery to me is where do these people obtain this ability or power to finish coming without God bringing them?

Others say that verse 44 means that no one can come to salvation without God drawing them, but they say the ones God draws he brings all the way, without exception. This means that the Father draws only the ones he gives to his Son as a gift. This also means that the decisive cause of coming to Jesus lies with God not with man.

This lesson is already too long, so we will delay any further comment until our next lesson. In preparation for future lessons you might want to watch the video by John Piper on this subject. It may cause you to do some hard thinking.

Prayer

Father, we have come to a verse that divides us with passionate believers on both sides. I pray that as I study this verse in its context that the Holy Spirit will guide my understanding and open the hearts of my readers to what Jesus meant to convey with his statement. I pray that we can set aside preconceived ideas and focus on what lies before us.

Assurance of Salvation

Lesson #104

As we watch the reaction of the crowd that follows Jesus around it becomes apparent that spiritually dead people are unable to see or understand spiritual things. For many this raises a serious question. What is the chance that no one will have the faith to believe that Jesus accomplished anything by his death on the cross. What if no one responds to the sacrifice God is making? God would have then failed to establish an eternal body of believers to have fellowship with. How can God ensure the salvation of people? He could ensure their salvation by choosing those he wants to give eternal life to. Is it within God’s sovereignty and right to do so? Is that fair to those he doesn’t choose?

Consider what Jesus says next: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37 ESV). Jesus tells the crowd that his Father gives his chosen ones to him. This process of the Father choosing and Jesus receiving is also mentioned in verses 39, 44, 65, which we will be coming to. Those chosen by the Father and given to Jesus will come to him. They will come because God brings them. Bringing them ensures that nothing will happen to the one chosen along the way. Those who are chosen and brought to Jesus will be eternally kept. Jesus does not pick over those given and cast some out. The choosing, giving and bringing is the sovereign work of the Father, and the keeping is the sovereign work of the Son. What assurance this gives to know that the Father loves us so much that he chooses us and brings us as a gift to his Son. Then because of the love and desire of the Son for us, he accepts the gift and promises that he will never set us aside or stop loving us.

Jesus continues by saying, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:38 – 39 ESV). Jesus came to do the Father’s will and that will is that Jesus would not lose any the Father gives him and beyond this assurance is the promise that he will raise up our bodies on the last day.

Jesus adds more by saying, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40 ESV). Those the Father brings to Jesus have been prepared to desire to look on the Son and believe in him and as a result will have eternal life as a gift from the Son and be raised up on the last day.

Consider 1 Peter 1:1 – 3 where we learn that according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, we were chosen and according to the Father’s great mercy, he caused us to be born again to a living hope (NASB). This is how we come to salvation. Someone is sure to raise the question about very small children and maybe a miscarriage or an abortion. That is for another time because it is not part of our text for this lesson, but keep in mind; “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” How might those you are questioning be brought to Jesus by the Father?

Prayer

Father, what a lesson this was for me to prepare. What joy and excitement it gives me to carefully look at the word, meditate on it like eating a great meal and listen to the Holy Spirit give insight as I ingest what I am eating. The Word is Jesus the bread of life we are to come to and partake of and when we faithfully do we are fully satisfied. Thank you that I do experience this as I prepare these lessons.

Unable to Believe

Lesson #103

In the last lesson Jesus told the people that his Father gives them true bread from heaven. Jesus continued by saying, “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33 ESV). The bread of God is a person just like in John1:1 and 14, the Word is a person and he was sent by the Father and comes down from heaven. Jesus stands before them to give life to them and to all in the world who would come to him in faith, but those standing before him did not understand. They were like the woman at the well who responded to the offer of living water with, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water” (John 4:15 ESV). These responded with, “Sir, give us this bread always.” They expected Jesus to be like Moses and daily provide them with bread.

Jesus then makes it very clear to them by saying, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35 ESV). This hunger and thirst is not physical, but represents the needs of our soul. It is that which the soul longs for and occurs on a regular basis. Jesus said that by coming to him their soul would not hunger and by believing in him their soul would not thirst. As we spend time with him daily the needs of our soul are met; we are nourished. Whatever longing our soul has it is met in Jesus as he is the all satisfying provider. But like Nicodemus and the woman at the well, these people are blind to the spiritual dimension of what Jesus is presenting because they are spiritually dead.

Jesus continues by saying, “But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe” (John 6:36 ESV). These people who have been following Jesus have seen the signs he has performed and heard the words he has spoken, but they still can’t see or understand. Jesus has come to this point of presenting who he is, where he is from, and why he is here, but the people don’t get it. One might be thinking that through Jesus the saving purpose of God has failed because no one seems to truly understand and believe.

These people standing before Jesus are unsaved and as he speaks words of life no one is able, on their own to choose him as their source of eternal life. If you have made a decision how did you come to the point of being able to understand and believe? What made you different than these people that gave you the ability to truly believe? We will begin to look at this in our next section covering John 6:37 – 40.

Prayer

Father, it appears we have come to a place in our study where unsaved, spiritually dead people are unable to understand spiritual things and believe. It appears that a spiritually dead person is unable to come to Jesus by faith on their own. Father, as I look ahead to the next lesson I am thankful there is a solution to this apparent dilemma. Thank you that I have experienced the needed gift of grace in my life.

Trying to Comprehend

Lesson #102

We are currently working through the section defined by John 6:25 – 36. So far we have covered verses 25 – 27. In the last lesson Jesus told the people not to work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life. The people in the crowd responded by saying to Jesus, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28 ESV). What are those works? How does one work for bread that gives eternal life? Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29 ESV). To work for bread that gives eternal life one simple had to believe in Jesus whom the Father had sent to them.

What if you were in the crowd standing before Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, before you had been born again; what do you think your thoughts would be; how do you think you would have responded? Jesus is telling them that he is the treasure they should seek, the Bread of Life, which they needed. They cannot work to obtain that treasure; they must come to him in belief and he will give himself to them. The “work of God” they must do is to believe and see by faith the feast that is before them and come and freely eat and live forever. No amount of work on their part, or yours, will ever accomplish that. It is simply an act of faith.

It is clear that the people in the crowd did not understand; they did not have faith to see what Jesus was laying out before them because they respond with, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?” (John 6:30 ESV). These people already saw a great sign when Jesus fed them on the other side of the sea, but it is now a day later and they are hungry again. They want to know if he is going to feed them again. I say this because of their next statement.

 

“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (John 6:31 ESV). Every day for forty years God provided manna in the wilderness. If Jesus claims to be the Messiah then how will he meet their continued hunger? They wanted Jesus to keep feeding them as Moses did. But Jesus responds with, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32 ESV). Jesus is now creating a powerful connection. The bread (manna) received in the wilderness was from God. That bread met their physical needs, but Jesus tells them that his Father gives them the true bread from heaven; the bread that endures to eternal life. We will continue this in our next lesson to see that this bread is Jesus.

Prayer

Father, as I study this I see a people who have seen several signs performed by Jesus. As a result they see Jesus with power to meet their physical needs in various ways and as a result they refer to him as Messiah. But I see a people who cannot see the spiritual connection. They cannot grasp who Jesus really is and what he can truly provide. Father, thank you for giving to me the ability to believe, see and accept the gift of eternal life.

Food to Work For

Lesson #101

The crowd that follows Jesus around are drawn to him because of his gifts that he has demonstrated through the signs he has been performing. These gifts all relate to the physical and are all temporary. While helpful, these gifts are not sufficient to meet the real needs of the people. They need to see that Jesus is the treasure they need to seek and at this time that treasure is the living bread from heaven that provides eternal life. As the people ate the loaves and the fishes their hunger was satisfied for a while. Jesus wants the people to see that he is the bread that will satisfy them with life for an eternity. With this in mind we will move ahead in our study and work on just one verse; John 6:27: “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal” (NASB). This verse is packed with so much information; we will consider it phrase by phrase.

“Do not work for the food which perishes.” Taken out of the context it is in you think it is telling us to not work for our physical food. If we don’t work for the food that perishes, we would soon die, so that is not the meaning. We must work to provide for the food we need for living, but we are not to be anxious about obtaining that food; we are not to make obtaining this food the focus of our desire. We need to understand that this food that provides for our physical need, supplies strength for a short time and another meal is needed. It is a process that must be continued if a person is to live.

“. . . but for the food which endures to eternal life.” The food that perishes provides for our body, but the food which endures provides for our soul by nourishing and strengthening it. This food endures to eternal life. Once eaten it provides life that never diminishes and as we continue to eat more our soul is further nourished. This is a need that must be met for anyone desiring eternal life.

“. . . which the Son of Man will give to you.” The only source of this food which endures to eternal life is Jesus the Son of Man. Anyone who comes and surrenders to him will receive this food. As we continue through chapter 6 we will learn much more about Jesus being this food.

“. . . for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” This seal from the Father is his authorization that his Son, as the Son of Man, can give eternal life to whom he will. We will see in future lessons that the Father will select and give to his Son those who he will give eternal life.

Jesus said they were to work for the food which endures to eternal life. The people responded with a question of how they were to do that work. We will cover that in our next lesson.

Prayer

Lord, how thankful I am for the food that provides eternal nourishment; food that is so abundantly available and so nourishing, but I so often don’t stop to take time to enjoy a good meal with you. Forgive me for my neglect and encourage me to take better care of my soul and my relationship with you.

Logistics

Lesson #100

Before we move ahead to the next section defined by John 6:22 – 26, we need to go back to the previous day when Jesus fed the 5,000. Realizing that the people were about to come and take Jesus by force to make him king, Jesus went with the disciples to the shore of the sea and sent then off in a boat to Capernaum (Mark 6:46). Jesus then withdrew to the mountain to be by himself. “On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone” (John 6:22 ESV). The crowd had no idea what happened during the night as the disciples tried to cross the sea during the storm. Since there was only one boat at the shore and the disciples took it, the crowd supposed that Jesus was still there with them.

After the disciples left, “Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks” (John 6:23 ESV). The people searched for Jesus, but “when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus” (John 6:24 ESV). They assumed that Jesus must have used one of those boats and gone to the other side so they went to find him. “When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here”? (John 6:25).” They seemed to be interested in when he crossed the sea, but Jesus does not answer their question. He responds with “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26 ESV).

In the past the crowds were seeking him because of the signs Jesus was doing, but now the bar has been raised. Jesus is now providing food to meet a basic need for life. With the power Jesus has and now the ability to feed an army, what a king he would make! They do not yet have a clue about what Jesus is trying to do. They are focused on the physical and they know that Jesus can meet their physical needs. Being spiritually dead they are unable to even imagine anything outside their living experience. Without faith only the physical realm is possible in their understanding.

Because of signs the people who followed Jesus saw they believed he was the Messiah, but they followed him not for who he was, but what he could provide for them. This is being grossly selfish to replace the deserved worship of the Messiah with seeking him to enhance their physical existence on earth. Let’s be honest; do we come to Jesus to lift him up in worship or do we seek him supposing he will add to our earthly happiness or provide escape from suffering? Is our focus on the bread and fishes or is it to honor God and seek the good of his kingdom? Our answer may determine if we are Christian or not.

Prayer

Father, I struggle with how to live in this western culture as an alien or as a stranger. How do I live to glorify you to where I am seen as being different because my life demonstrates something of true value that attracts those with spiritual needs to the Lord Jesus? Believers facing the loss of everything, who stand against their persecutors with love and forgiveness truly demonstrate this value. How should I stand so others see a value in me that draws them to Jesus?