05.04.09 John 6:60-71 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 6:60-71
Going Deeper: Study Guide
The Reality Of Defection
This is what has been said about a person and event that took place about 64 years ago here in Canada - "What happened was an urgent wake-up call and warning to the western countries;" "He was a great Canadian who put his life on the line;" "It was absolutely explosive, probably the single most important event in counterintelligence…" The event that I am speaking about is one of the greatest defections in Canadian History. The person I am speaking about is Igor Gouzenko. Most of us would not know his face, but perhaps would recognize the images of a man wearing a hood to conceal his identity as he was being interviewed. Gouzenko was a Soviet clerk who walked out of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa with 109 secret documents. His daring move blew the lid off a Soviet spy ring by revealing direct evidence of Soviet espionage in Canada, the US, and many other international countries. Gouzenko has been named as " the genesis of the Cold War…." And what he did eventually ended up with the fall of the Soviet Union.
(ww w.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1054765154488_12)
The bottom line is that Gouzenko was a defector. And depending on what side of the fence you were on - Gouzenko was to be loved or to be hated. The fallout of his actions had major impact upon not only upon his life but many others.
Today we will be looking at the topic of DEFECTION, and the lessons learned can also have a major impact on where our life is headed. Up to this point in the Gospel and in light of what Jesus revealed about Himself in chapter 6 - the hard claims that Jesus makes and the call to commitment divide the followers. The disciples become divided because it gets to a point where one cannot follow and hang around Jesus with out any serious and deep reflection. It becomes impossible to stick around without making a commitment - so the reality of DEFECTION was a clear and present danger. The people we have met in this chapter would say if asked - that they were disciples of Christ - but now their profession was about to be tested. The challenge was - you talk the talk but can you walk the walk?
Please turn to the longest chapter of the Gospel of John, chapter 6 -Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard [this] said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?" 61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble? 62 ["What] then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 "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. 65 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." 66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" 68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." 70 Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and [yet] one of you is a devil?" 71 Now He meant Judas [the son] of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.
As we journey through life, we inevitably will face choices in our lives. There are choices that pertain to relationships, finances, careers. There are choices that we make relating to circumstances caused by another person, the lack of personal ability, illness, and the prospects of our future - school, marriage, retirement. Yet ultimately of all these…there is one choice that we can’t make on our own, that will affect us now and forever and guides the course of each our lives. That choice deals with what we do with Jesus.
The key question for us is - So how do you deal with Jesus? Are we for Him or are we against Him? Are we uncommitted or are we fully committed? We can answer our key question by examining the topic of DEFECTION. Our passage today can be divided into two parts:
The first is from verses 60-66 which reveals THE CHARACTER OF DEFECTORS.
And the second part is THE CHARACTER OF TRUE DISCIPLES - verses 67-71.
THE CHARACTER OF DEFECTORS - THEY REJECT THE TRUTH (v.60-66)
v.60 As we begin in verse 60 the word disciples is used. I think most of us would immediately think of the 12 disciples of Jesus, but the term disciple simply means ‘learner.’ In the context of today’s passage, Jesus addresses both believing disciples and unbelieving disciples. These disciples had just heard Jesus speak and their response was - This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it? What was hard to accept was the call by Jesus to the Jews in the preceding section, that they were to eat His flesh and drink His blood. The Jews were confused and even outraged at the suggestion. Some thought Jesus was suggesting some form of cannibalism. When Jesus said this He was using a metaphor - for the people it was a difficult to understand one. The metaphors used spoke of something spiritually greater and more significant. So the concept of eating of Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood - is associated to belief. What Jesus means when He says - He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him (v.56), is that one must continue in understanding, accepting, and believing in the fullness of Jesus’ sinless person, character, ministry, purpose of life, His death to take away our sin upon the cross.
Jesus, the Bread of Life offers our sin weary souls - spiritual nourishment and rich satisfaction, because of His death - but to appropriate this into our life ….Jesus calls us to comprehensively believe and receive Him through faith and appropriate this into the outworking of our life.
v.61 All this talk by Jesus caused not only the Jews to grumble, but now the disciples grumbled at this. So Jesus asks a question that He already knew the answer to - Does this cause you to stumble? Once again we get a glimpse of Jesus’ Deity - for Jesus was conscious of their hearts - and the thing which was causing the people to stumble - what was blocking them from Jesus was the issue of faith and obedience. These disciples attached themselves to Jesus more for the perks that they received. Isn’t that like many people today? There are people today come to church for the perks - they look to soothe their conscience, they seek personal health and wealth, they look for business contacts, they come to look for a date, a free meal, some companionship from loneliness….the list goes on…everything except answering that key question - So how do you deal with Jesus?
In some sense I’m like that when it comes to get free stuff - but not in terms of my faith . I would sign up for just about anything if there was a no strings attached deal where I could get something for free. I have signed up for an auto parts card for free auto service, I have gotten free life insurance, free magazines, signed on for a credit card to get a free Toronto Raptors cap, I wanted to get some free Corning Ware, but actually I think my wife stopped me on that one… and I have even gotten free money - $50 bucks US! My only caution in doing this is - read the fine print. When it came to these disciples they wanted all the freebies - they took whatever they could get - but when it came to the fine print - a commitment to Jesus - that was too much for them to accept.
v.62 Jesus continues to address the spiritual murkiness of the disciples in verse 62 with these words - ["What] then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? Jesus once again makes a reference to where He was before - His place of origin - His eternal pre-existence in heaven. What Jesus had said about His origin was already a hot ember flaring into a fire, but imagine what will happen when He speaks about His death, resurrection, and ascension? It would be like pouring gasoline into the flames, and things would erupt into a raging inferno of open hostility (we are going to see that in the next couple of chapters of John).
Jesus already knew the condition of hearts and the thoughts of their minds… these so called disciples ….so Jesus indicated that, even if they saw the Son of Man ascending into heaven they would not be able to fathom the significance, in light of their spiritual condition - their eyes were crusted over with sin and self - therefore they REJECT THE TRUTH.
v.63 Their spiritual condition could only be changed by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God that imparts life to a persons flesh which is spiritually dead - not some kind of physical meal of Jesus’ flesh and blood - which they had tried to humanly reason. The Spirit who gives life - that was Jesus’ whole point in the verses that came before our passage today. Without the Spirit of God illuminating a person’s mind - Jesus’ words would not be comprehended. They would be REJECTED as powerless words that were of human origin. But if Jesus’ words were RECEIVED as of His Deity - then there would be no way of stopping the outcome….an outcome that would communicate spiritual life and culminate in eternal life.
It is the very words of Jesus that are spirit and are life because they are fully reflective of the truth of God and His will. Jesus’ words that He spoke in this discourse pointed people to God’s divine purpose of the cross. Jesus’ words still stand today and are efficacious for salvation unto eternal life - yet they are defectors that REJECT THE TRUTH.
These so called disciples go on and….THEY RESIST THE FATHER (v.64-65)
v.64 Many people claim to be Christians, yet not only do they reject Jesus - they also REJECT THE FATHER and have no life - But there are some of you who do not believe - as it says in verse 64. Some of those who followed Jesus don’t accept what He is saying and /or Jesus Himself. A failure to believe Jesus words, kills the power and life contained in His words which leads to eternal life. The words that bring life - have to be appropriated by faith and not through human wisdom. God has to be the Sovereign initiator of spiritual understanding and faith. Jesus knew from the beginning that in His chosen 12 disciples that one of them would betray Him - that being Judas - who did not believe. Once again we catch a glimpse that Jesus is GOD the Son - as He had foreknowledge of the one who would betray Him. Jesus even knew the very disciples of the crowd that would not believe. There in the crowd were individuals that outwardly claimed belief, but inwardly RESISTED THE FATHER by writing Jesus off - they paid mere lip service to Jesus instead of possessing real trust.
v.65 Jesus once again supports the reality that God is the initiator of belief - last time we found in 6:44 these words - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And now Jesus says in v.65 - no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father. The reason Jesus repeats this truth is that He wants to clear up any confusion about the reason why some do not believe. Unbelief is really a part of each of us. If left on our own…. apart from God’s grace….you know what we would do? The sinner would choose to sin. Our fallen nature is bent on self - and not on God, and the love of sin pulls us away from commitment to GOD in Christ.
Jesus’ aim was not to get people to DEFECT, but He simply told the truth in His teachings. But the people were divided into those who were there for the freebies and had no intention or desire to follow Christ - or they simply didn’t like what they heard so….. THEY CHOOSE DEFECTION OVER DISCIPLESHIP (v.66)
v.66 The break point comes in verse 66. This is one of the saddest statements in the Scriptures - As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. After having Jesus right their before them - teaching them and even performing miracles, those who paid lip service to Jesus - withdrew. Jesus gave them the invitation to believe in Him…to partake of an intimate fellowship with Him…and therefore enter into a life everlasting relationship…but they turned their backs on Jesus and eternal life - they we in bondage to sin. They distanced themselves and no longer made claims of discipleship. And this was not just a few members of the crowd, but it was on mass…it was many. Many people that day revealed a true picture of their hearts and were not walking with (not following) Jesus. The wording not walking with - speaks of a final and decisive act - they had claimed themselves to be disciples up to this point, but now it is certain that they were and never were true disciples.
Think of this as we look back at the overall text of chapter 6 - Jesus starts off with at least 5000 people at the start of chapter 6 and now he is left with only 12 people - His chosen - the 12 Disciples. From the beginning of the Gospel of John to this point we see a clear build up of who Jesus is. It moves from misconception to prominent perception. The people had the misconceived notion that Jesus was the one who was going to deliver Israel from the yoke of foreign oppression. Others had the idea that Jesus was the miracle maker that could give them whatever they wanted - but Jesus gave them only what they needed. And because of these misconceptions - people flocked to Jesus. But they soon realized what Jesus really stood for and frankly didn’t like it at all. Jesus called people to forsake their love of sin and self and be submitted to a life of righteousness and holiness in Him. The Good News of Jesus Christ therefore became a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (cf - 1Cor. 1:23). Many walked away, but now the big test came as Jesus turns to the Twelve disciples and He challenges them on their response….
THE CHARACTER OF TRUE DISCIPLES (v.67-71)
We in our lives can practice and develop the character of being a true disciple in many ways. In our passage we can extract three actions that can help us in dealing with defection - you can MAINTAIN YOUR COMMITMENT, CLING TO YOUR CONVICTIONS, and GUARD YOURSELF AGAINST DEFECTION.
MAINTAIN YOUR COMMITMENT - in v.67 Jesus questions His disciples and brings to bear upon them this challenge - "You do not want to go away also, do you? The Twelve disciples were a part of the feeding of the five thousand. They witnessed Jesus’ power in walking on water and calming the raging sea. They witnessed and heard the words of Jesus as He preached. They witness the rejection by the Jews. The Twelve even now saw the multitudes abandon ship. So Jesus in effect says to them - So what are you going to do? - Are you going to abandon ship too?
Imagine what must have been going on in the disciples minds. It is one of those questions that give you an uneasiness in answering - even if you know what the answer is. The disciples must have felt a restlessness in their minds, an uneasiness in their gut. The way that Jesus posed the question in the original text tells us that He was expecting a ‘no’ answer - meaning that the disciples would say that they were going to stick it out with Jesus. What Jesus is driving at in His question is a commitment to faithfulness - loyalty.
What would you say if Jesus asked you this same question? You can rise up to the challenge by being bold and uncompromising about your COMMITMENT to Christ - this will help dealing with leanings towards DEFECTION. Proverbs 29:25 says ‘The fear of man brings a snare.’ If the disciples had let the crowds influence them, let the mass DEFECTION discourage them…then they too could have probably answered - yes, that they were going to leave too. But they rose to this challenging question and maintained their belief in Jesus even if the departing crowds intimidated them.
The disciples were under a lot of pressure and they were not ashamed…and they in their answer exhalted Christ - learn to exhalt Christ in all things. Philippians 1:27-28 encourages us in this way - "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ….stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you." So we can DEAL WITH DEFECTION by being bold and uncompromising about our commitment to Christ - join together in a fellowship group with other faithful believers in doing the same - how many disciples were there? One? No there were twelve - they encouraged one another. Christians who isolate themselves are most likely to alienate themselves from Christ.
You can also MAINTAIN YOUR COMMITMENT by living a life without compromise. Set your sights upon an uncommon spiritual excellence in your life. Don’t settle for what the rest settle for - set your sights on Biblical excellence and seek the Lord to help you to rise to that excellence. Don’t settle for second best, don’t be happy with the status quo - don’t look around in the crowd to see what everyone else is doing. The disciples could have gone back to their old professions, to their old ways of life just like the masses, but instead Peter was prepared to answer Jesus with a firm YES.
The next CHARACTER OF A TRUE DISCIPLES calls you to….. CLING TO YOUR CONVICTIONS (v.68). In v.68 even though the question is directed at all the Twelve disciples, it is Peter who speaks up. Peter throughout the Gospels is seen as the spokesman for the 12. Peter answers the Lord in his usual fashion - that with an edge of boldness - and those of you who are familiar with Peter, you know that he can stick his foot in his mouth and at other times he can hit the bulls eye with his statements. Peter says to Jesus - Lord, to whom shall we go? This means that they had no one else to turn to except to Jesus. Peter used the word Lord to address Jesus and in the context of this verse it had strong implications of his view of who Jesus really is. Peter confesses that Jesus indeed has the words of eternal life. Given this statement Peter was saying that there is no way that they would forsake Jesus, even in light of the masses falling away. It showed that Peter was convicted by Jesus’ teaching as He said back in v. 63 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. Peter had accepted Jesus as the Bread of Life and his commitment was to Christ. In encountering Jesus’ words of life and tasting of eternal life, there would be no way to abandon such truth. A well know Bible scholar wrote this - ‘When a man once knows Jesus, none else can satisfy’ (Leon Morris).
As believers in Christ - we all struggle with unbelief at some point of our lives. Some of us struggle with it more than others. We can recognize this and call upon the transforming work of the Holy Spirit to change us. It is like the man whose son was demon possessed - he cried out to Jesus ‘I believe; help my unbelief’ (Mk. 9:24). And that is what we need to do when we are caught up in doubt related to our faith. Our UNBELIEF can be replaced by BELIEF, if we come before the Lord confessing our imperfect faith, and asking the Holy Spirit to give us the greater faith that Jesus reveals through His Word.
v.69 This is what we can learn from Peter - he continues - and Peter makes this emphatic statement - We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God. Wow what an amazing admission of faith in Christ. Peter’s confession was one of two that he made of this magnitude - the other was at Caesarea Philippi. What Peter was saying in his specific choice of words here, is this - we have come to a place in our faith, where we have believed and have come to know who You are, and we continue in the truth. Peter’s belief came through personal relationship and experience with Jesus. It was a first hand encounter with the Holy One of God. The title ascribed to Jesus - the Holy One of God - is the only second such use in the NT. The title is linked to and reminds us of the OT title of God - the Holy One of Israel. The use therefore places Jesus in His rightful place with the Father as set apart, righteous, and pure.
Belief is a work of grace that God initiates and sustains. How can we debilitate doubt? How can we find belief in the midst of unbelief? We can maintain integrity through developing a confident faith. Realize that God’s Word is true. Understand that God never changes. Exalt Jesus to His rightful place as set apart, righteous, and pure. When we are tossed about by unbelief we can reach for the anchor of truth and hold fast to it - that is what I mean when I say - CLING TO YOUR CONVICTIONS. It could be arguably said that some people lose their belief in Jesus….it is not really that they lose it, but it was probably never really there in the first place - the reality of Jesus was a passing fashion and not a heart piercing spiritual regeneration. That anchor of a confident faith is God’s Word. The doubtful mind is always juggling truth and untruth. The clouded mind can be emotionally unstrung - therefore our minds of unbelief need to move from what is subjective to what is objective. God’s Word is the only source of objective truth. God’s Word says so….and that is what I choose to believe and CLING on to. Have and develop a mind that is settled and firm on the truths that Scripture contains. Study the things which are unclear to you - even if you have to wrestle with them. Don’t let the crowds influence you but as it states in Colossians 3:16 - ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..."
Finally THE CHARACTER OF A TRUE DISCIPLES warns you to….GUARD YOURSELF AGAINST DEFECTION (v.70-71). If you have been a Christian for a long time you would probably have seen many DEFECTIONS. I have certainly have seen many in my life. Growing up there were many people who were close to the church - people who even did ministry together with. I can think of one person, and this is back in the 70’s and 80’s - a church friend of mine Ann, who after resisting the ministry of the church for a long time - she then really got serious about her faith….so it seemed….because after some time….she became more and more distant…and then she fell away all together. The last time I was in Toronto, I met her mother and I asked her about Ann…she still was not going to church. Out of all of my friends who were in our fellowship group - in one way or another have DEFECTED - only a few remain faithful. What I experienced we see in the last 2 verses of our passage. Jesus knew that there is always someone that would be prone to defection.
v.70 What Peter had stated in verse 69, was true about who Jesus is - yet Jesus also knew, that as Peter spoke on behalf of the twelve, that it was sincere, yet overstated. Jesus was the One who chose the twelve - and therefore He knew that one of them was a devil. There was among the Twelve, one who was going to fall away like the mass of disciples had just done. There was one who would be used by Satan to oppose Jesus.
v.71 For our benefit the Apostle John adds a note - that the one who was a devil - this person was none other than Judas [the son] of Simon Iscariot. John gives us a positive ID of Judas through naming his father and his birthplace - Iscariot meaning ‘men of Kerioth.’ It is an interesting side note that all of the disciples came from Galilee, except for Judas. The magnitude of Judas’ betrayal and DEFECTION was heightened by the reality that Judas was one of the twelve. The question lingers….how can one be so close yet be the mortal enemy. The issue with Judas was integrity - there was a lack of integrity of character.
Are there challenging things that Jesus teaches us which lessen our commitment to Him? Are there things that we desire that replace what Jesus desires for us? Are there unchecked sins or habits that cloud our judgment about Him? Do we find ourselves like Judas who was doing ministry among the Twelve and yet rebels against God? Are we open to hearing and receiving the Words of Jesus or do we walk away spurning them, or even worse, outright rejecting Him in DEFECTION? You can GUARD YOURSELF AGAINST DEFECTION by being unhindered in your perseverance.
Do not let things distract you from God’s will. Clear the path of obstacles in your life which will hinder you from carrying out God’s will. Don’t give up at the first signs of resistance - I can tell you from experience that this is a real temptation that most of us face. Forget about entertaining anything which will lead us to rationalize DEFECTION. Something like Judas’ defection can be devastating, but we can see from the balance of the NT that the rest of the disciples continued with the unhindered perseverance of true disciples. Consider what Hebrews 12:1-3 says….
…let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
Let us like Peter guard against the enemy, and declare Jesus as Lord and live in that light - in faith we shall say - Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." (v.68-69).
God honours this kind faith, for He is a faithful God.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
John 6:41-59 Christian Cannibalism or Spiritual Food?
29.03.09 John 6:41-59 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 6:41-59
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Christian Cannibalism or Spiritual Food?
Today we are going to look at something that the Jews thought was crazy and grotesque. We are going to continue in the Gospel of John and we arrive at John 6:41-59. In the previous section from verses 22-40 Jesus was addressing the crowds that sought after Him, just after the feeding of the 5000. It is in this interaction with the crowds that Jesus clearly reveals in this Gospel, that He is the Bread of Life (v.35). Jesus is the Bread of Life and those who submit their life to Him will be spiritually satisfied, and shall be raised to eternal life. This theme that Jesus is the Bread of Life continues in our passage today through one injunction and two challenges.
The injunction is - DON’T GRUMBLE BUT LEARN (v.41-47); The two challenges are - ARE YOU READY TO EAT MY FLESH ? (v.48-52) and ARE YOU READY TO DRINK MY BLOOD ? (v.53-59).
John 6:41-59 reveals to us: 41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." 42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, `I have come down out of heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 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. 45 "It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." 52 Then the Jews [began] to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us [His] flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
As we move into our passage today, we are going right down to our last verse -verse 59 which lets us know where everything takes place. All the events and dialogue that are occurring is in the midst of a synagogue meeting. In this meeting Jesus gives the injunction (now starting in v.41)….
1. DON’T GRUMBLE BUT LEARN ABOUT THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.41-47)
v.41 In today’s passage Jesus is interacting with the Jews - which is a general reference to those who opposed Jesus’ ministry - which most likely from the context of the passage are the locals of Capernaum. These people were engaged in prolonged murmuring, like the droning of a swarm of bees. It was much like the complaining of the Israelites in the wilderness in the OT. Their debate and discussion focused on what Jesus had claimed in the verses that preceded today’s passage - summed up in these words - I am the bread that came down from heaven. Now you may be wondering - Why was this statement so controversial to these Jews? There was a stir because Jesus’ words spoke of His Divine origin - therefore it implied His Deity - which was offensive to the religious Jew who rejected the full revelation of God - revealing Himself as the God-Man Jesus Christ. The statement was controversial because the response of those who opposed Jesus was rooted in a hard-heartedness - an unbelief.
v.42 To the Jews this was seemingly unfathomable that this son of a carpenter - declared for Himself that He was Diety. They knew of Jesus and some of them probably even had known Him from birth. After all Jesus was born of human parents - Jesus was the son of Joseph - and these people knew His father and mother. They knew His roots….His family background - they were looked upon as blue collar small town folks…probably much like how some Vancouverites would look at small town folks. Some of these people had heard of the supernatural circumstances associated with Jesus’ birth. Yet in spite of all of this - Jesus’ claim to Divine origin was mind-blowing and their unregenerate minds could not grasp the truth and reality of Jesus’ declaration.
Even today people still are questioning the claims of Jesus’ Diety. It seems that this question which arose nearly 2000 years ago, still rages on. We can see the debate about who Jesus is even to this day - right now - with the release of The DiVinci Code - and movies with Hollywood versions of Jesus which are often way off base. The grumbling in our passage, can be likened to the debates between those who support the movie and those who reject it. Those who reject the movie are complaining - maybe they should sit down and learn about the true Jesus of the Scripture.
v.43 In the midst of the ongoing grumbling and a swelling tide of protest - Jesus interjects. Jesus commands the Jews - Do not grumble - they were getting nowhere with their complaining, so they were to stop it - it was unproductive for belief.
v.44 This is what Jesus says to the Jews in the synagogue - and these comments are really directed at the Jews hearts that were hardened - unbelieving hearts - - Jesus says No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. Those Jesus addresses were not drawn by God…… Look down at your Bibles to verse 44, there is a word Jesus uses - the word ‘draws’ - the word ‘draws’ pictures a fishing net being dragged - that there is a lot of resistance - and because of that resistance it is near impossible to bring in.
Romans 8:7-8 - the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so], 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
This verse from Romans is exactly what is taking place here in the Jews hearts. Their minds are by nature are so hardened to Jesus that it results in the natural outcome - rejection and unbelief. Yet there is the parallel reality which Jesus teaches - that belief comes only through God’s initiation, which leads to salvation and eternal life. Scripture is clear that God elects and draws people to Himself. When God does that, a person comes to a place in his or her life that responds to God in a personal love for Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
v.45 Jesus continues to expand on what He is stating by referring to the prophets of the OT. The prophets foretold of the coming of the Messiah. The Jews had the Scriptures - and they poured over them with a fine tooth comb. Today 2009, we are clearly in a day and age where God has taught and revealed the truth about His Son - Jesus. The question is - what are you going to do with that truth?
As God draws someone to Christ then they must have heard and learned from what God is teaching through the Word. Those who listen, consider, and obey the truth that God reveals about Jesus will be saved from their sins. The drawing process that God initiates therefore bears fruit as God intends, and the person will listen and learn and embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It fully is a work of God and not of man, who by nature is dead to God (Eph. 2:1-10).
v.46 There is the popular saying ‘Seeing is Believing’ - we have all heard this haven’t we….but Jesus refutes this kind of mis-notion by underscoring it with the reality which He states - Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. So Jesus is explicitly saying that only He has seen God the Father. The Word, Jesus, is God (cf. Jn.1:1) - God the Son - and because of this - of course He has seen God the Father. By making this statement Jesus gives an answer to the question in the minds of the Jews, that they were grumbling about - that is Jesus’ claim of Divine origin. Jesus makes it quite clear to those who would listen and learn - that Jesus is God veiled in human flesh (Jn. 1:14 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth).
v.47 In verse 47 we have those familiar words again - Truly, truly, I say to you - something important is to be stated. This time it is something which is critical for each one of us to know if we want to verify if we will be in heaven after we die - to have everlasting life. The critical point made is belief. Not belief in God - allow me to qualify that - there are so many people today who would say they believe in God - but true belief in God cannot be divorced from belief in Jesus as the Son of God. In other words, what this is telling us is that the only way to quote - unquote - ‘see’ God is through Jesus Christ. John 1:18 was clear about this - No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained [ Him ]. Here is perhaps an easier way to understand the implications of Jesus' statements:
If you want to ‘see’ God then you must believe in Jesus.
If you want to please God you must please Jesus.
If you want to follow God then you must follow Jesus.
If you want to submit yourself to God you must submit
yourself to Jesus.
You get the point? Without Jesus there is no relationship with God. Jesus Himself declared that - I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (Jn. 14:6). A personal saving faith in God always calls for an individual response to Jesus. The most fundamental facts about Jesus that we are to believe in, is that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and on the 3rd day rose from the dead to have victory over sin.
There is a lot of grumbling about Jesus today. People have all kinds of excuses to write off Jesus. Yet it is quite clear and simple that we are called not to complain, but to listen and learn about Jesus from the Bible. The people Jesus addresses wrote Him off, and they are now just about to get really get offended. Jesus continues to teach patiently despite their failure to listen and learn - and He asks this question…poses this challenge….
2. ARE YOU READY TO EAT MY FLESH ? (v.48-52)
v.48 Once again Jesus makes the assertion that He is the bread of life. Jesus - God in human flesh - offers to all of us, a personal relationship with Him. We all realize that many people walk around with a spiritual emptiness. The remedy for unbelievers to fill that void is with people, money, sex, work, spiritual counterfeits, hobbies, sports, whatever it is - let me suggest to you that this emptiness cannot be filled with anything else other than with the bread of life - Jesus Christ. You need to have Jesus Christ in your life to be spiritually full. That is the very thing that the Jews were missing - they filled their lives with religion, rules, and regulations - but what they lacked was a believing relationship with Jesus. He knows where we stand with Him. He knew where the Jews stood too and He reveals this illustration….
v.49 The Jews fathers who were in the wilderness had manna. It was a physical substance from heaven to physically sustain them, yet it only kept them alive for a while - and then came death. Yes they ate the manna and their stomachs were full but in the end it did nothing for their spiritual hunger. In the end they died.
v.50 But in Jesus, is the sustaining bread - the sustaining source of life - sent by God - by which men might be saved - a bread which one may eat of it and not die. What does Jesus mean when He uses the word eat? When we eat food it must be chewed and then digested. The food that we eat is absorbed into our body for our nourishment and it gives us energy. Jesus’ very purpose in coming is to serve as the bread which comes down out of heaven - He is for our spiritual benefit. If a person truly considers Jesus’ claim and is drawn by the Father to repent of sin and believe, then that person will saved from his sins and not die. That person has eaten the spiritual food that Jesus offers, digested it and it reaps spiritual nourishment - which is salvation from sin. Acts 4:12 clearly states the exclusivity of God's means of salvation - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
v.51 Jesus now changes the terms a little from, bread of life to living bread. These two references still are used to mean that this bread, that Jesus is referring to, is what gives a person life - that is to say that this person who eats this bread will live forever. Jesus the bread of life is alive and only He can give life.
At this point of the text, this is were things start to get very confusing. To the Jews what has been stated by Jesus, becomes very disturbing. The Jews can’t make any sense out of what Jesus is saying (and they can’t because they are not born again - Jn. 3:3 - and so they do not have the teacher of truth the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual truth - 1 Cor. 2:14). So what Jesus does is connect the bread as being His flesh. Jesus says in verse 51 - the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh. This statement speaks about the extent of Jesus’ voluntary death on the cross, to make it possible for people to have a restored relationship with God by taking away our sin. This too was unimaginable to the Jews because they could not believe that the Messiah that they waited for would be killed.
v.52 Jesus’ statement gets an immediate response from the Jews. It all began with the Jews grumbling about what Jesus’ claim of Divine origin. Now they propel themselves into deeper turmoil and confusion and argue with one another. The Jews picked up and made the connection that Jesus was saying that He was the bread of life - or living bread. But the notion of eating Jesus’ flesh was down right grotesque, and they engage themselves in a bitter war of words.
So can you picture in your mind what is happening - things are getting heated up and there is an uproar. Don’t forget this is right in the synagogue - people are pointing their fingers at each other and Jesus, and accusations ring loud. The Jews unyielding emotions flared up into contempt - as if Jesus was going to turn them into cannibals. The Jews sharply debated this grossly offensive suggestion - How can this man give us [His] flesh to eat? The issue here was not even close to suggestions of cannibalism (and the Jews probably realized this)….but Jesus was using a metaphor to speak of something spiritually greater and more significant.
Maybe this illustration will help you understand the concept: If you like eating liver - and I place right in front of you a piece of raw liver, and I tell you that it is really good for you and that you should eat it raw - it will just slither down your throat - what are you going to do? Would you believe me? No, your going to be grossed out. Whether you eat that raw liver is a matter of belief. If you believe me your going to eat it. But since you know better, and don’t believe me your going to reject it.
Now if you like eating beef - and I place a nicely grilled piece of prime rib in front of you - still hot and sizzling - and I tell you that this is one of the best cuts of beef - what are you going to do? In your mind you know its edible, and you take it - this time believing and trusting that it is going to nourish you and satisfy your hunger.
So the concept of eating of Jesus’ flesh is the concept of belief. Belief in what? Belief that Jesus calls us - in other words to partake in belief that the Bread of life came to die - His body sacrificed for our sins on a cross - and we are to appropriate this in our life.
Though we may know this - sometimes a challenge like ARE YOU READY TO EAT MY FLESH is just too offensive. Do you find yourself in a place where you would rather have an abstract Jesus? A Jesus who doesn’t quite challenge you as much about sin. A Jesus that confronts, by getting up close and personal, when you are caught in your lies, surfing the net, about what you read, what you wear, how you are at work, what you say? Do we say or think - Jesus I wish you were not here at this moment? In those times may we know that the Bread of Life offers our sin stained and - dead souls (of those who are not born again cf. Jn. 3:1ff) spiritual nourishment and life, and rich satisfaction, because of His death which grants us true life - repent, believe, and receive.
Jesus is not finished with us yet nor is He with the Jews…and He offers up this challenge….
ARE YOU READY TO DRINK MY BLOOD ? (v.53-59)
v.53 Here is Jesus’ reply…which once again leads off with the words - Truly, truly, I say to you. Jesus doesn’t want anyone to miss the importance of His discourse on the Bread of Life - so on top of repeating His statement of eating the flesh of the Son of Man, Jesus adds that a person must drink His blood - and if a person didn’t do that they would have no life.
The Mosaic Law prohibited the Jews from drinking blood or even eat meat in which the blood had not been drained out (Lev. 17:10-14, Deut. 12:16). If the Jews did do what they thought Jesus was suggesting, then they would be engaging in a gross sin. Jesus’ call to drink His blood, to the Jew was really - really disturbing - because they did not understand the metaphor, and took it literally and lost sight of the true spiritual significance. So you might be asking what is going on here? Maybe you are just as confused as the Jews were. At a first reading this passage is somewhat hard to understand. This is why? Throughout Jesus’ ministry He used metaphors and parables to elicit a response from those the Father drew to Himself. Jesus did not always purpose to make everything He said simple to grasp. But those the Father drew to Himself for His salvation, Jesus knew they would make further inquiry. Those who would not listen and learn from the Father would be turned off or even offended by these kinds of statements - it would be a stumbling block.
Jesus is using a metaphor - a very difficult one at that. The Jewish people often used the actions of eating and drinking to be representative of the process of the mind in accepting, understanding, and applying a lesson. We could probably liken it to our common use of the word digest - meaning the same thing…..for example after participating in a heavy seminar…we might say - yeah…I’m going to have to digest that.
What Jesus means when He says eat the flesh of the Son of Man, is that one must understand, accept, and believe in the fullness of Jesus’ person and character and work upon the cross. When Jesus continues and says that one must drink His blood, it means that that person must continue in understanding, accepting, and believing in the ministry and purpose of His life.
v.54 This truth is repeated in verse 54 but this time in the positive. If this is still confusing - look back at the words eats and drinks…..now go back to verse 40, which states - For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life. In verse 40 we have the parallel concept in the words beholds and believes. So the concept of ‘eats and drinks in Christ’ is the same as ‘beholds and believes in Christ.’
If you are to have eternal life - you must understand that you are a sinner deserving God’s eternal wrath and there is nothing that you can do to save yourself. You must personally believe in Jesus, whom God has sent to save you from your sins and its penalty. You must believe in the true nature, character, and life of Jesus - and receive Him as the only Saviour from the penalty of your sins, put your complete trust in Him, and make Him the Lord over your life. You must accept His death and resurrection on behalf of bringing life to you as a sinner. These facts are life saving facts and they must be real in your life - appropriated and assimilated (digested). The person who is drawn by God will do so and Jesus will raise him up at the last day.
v.55 You may have heard of something which Catholics teach and believe - which is called Transubstantiation or some also refer to it as the Doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ. The Catholic view of the Lord’s Table is referred to as a sacrament, we would use the proper term - ordinance - because we see Communion as a symbolic act of obedience that Jesus calls us to observe. Catholics base their belief in Transubstantiation by going to verse 55. Catholic doctrine teaches that during Communion the elements of bread and wine during the mass actually and miraculously become the physical flesh and blood of Jesus. That is why some people in the course of history, have called Christians cannibals - CHRISTIAN CANNIBALISM.
Today we are going to observe the Lord’s Supper, and without getting into the details - our passage is not referring to this observance. There are compelling reasons why I say this - but I’ll just give you the main reason why - this passage is not about the Lord’s Table because it is instituted by Jesus in the Upper Room about a year after this.
It is best to understand this verse in context of what is being presented by Jesus, which is the spiritual significance of His Person. That spiritual significance is that - only in Jesus can we find the true SPIRITUAL FOOD that will convert and nourish our sin weary soul - to eat and drink from His fountain of eternal life.
v.56 Whoever eats this real food and drinks this real drink of real SPIRITUAL FOOD he abides in Christ - there is going to be a real relationship.
v.57 This relationship that Jesus offers to you is going to be like the one that exists between the Father who sent Jesus from heaven. The person who is drawn by the Father through Christ will experience a close and intimate fellowship with Christ - just like the fellowship between God the Father and God the Son.
v.58 As this discourse comes to an end, Jesus comes back to what He referred to earlier in v.49 - that of the manna that the Israelites ate during Moses’ time in the wilderness wanderings - that physical bread did not prevent physical death - just like we all will experience one day. Yet in contrast Jesus offers us this reality - he who eats this bread - the true bread of life which is Christ - will live forever. Eternal life comes from eating, drinking, and digesting the spiritual realities of believing in Jesus. We are not talking about CHRISTIAN CANNIBALISM, but true SPIRITUAL FOOD.
Are you willing to drink of His blood - to make the Bread of Life’s sacrifice real in your life? Accepting Jesus’ life poured out means that you humbly acknowledge that you are a sinner before a Holy God, you yield to God’s work of reconciliation and forgiveness of your sins through Jesus Christ, and have faith that you are freed by His incredible gift of eternal life, and you are therefore able to live in His grace today - forgiven of all your sin.
We live in a pretty crazy world, but as Christians we can know that we will live forever - we have eternal life - and that puts a real stability into our lives. Because of the Father’s love for us we can enjoy Him through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Audio Sermon File: John 6:41-59
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Christian Cannibalism or Spiritual Food?
Today we are going to look at something that the Jews thought was crazy and grotesque. We are going to continue in the Gospel of John and we arrive at John 6:41-59. In the previous section from verses 22-40 Jesus was addressing the crowds that sought after Him, just after the feeding of the 5000. It is in this interaction with the crowds that Jesus clearly reveals in this Gospel, that He is the Bread of Life (v.35). Jesus is the Bread of Life and those who submit their life to Him will be spiritually satisfied, and shall be raised to eternal life. This theme that Jesus is the Bread of Life continues in our passage today through one injunction and two challenges.
The injunction is - DON’T GRUMBLE BUT LEARN (v.41-47); The two challenges are - ARE YOU READY TO EAT MY FLESH ? (v.48-52) and ARE YOU READY TO DRINK MY BLOOD ? (v.53-59).
John 6:41-59 reveals to us: 41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." 42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, `I have come down out of heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 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. 45 "It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." 52 Then the Jews [began] to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us [His] flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
As we move into our passage today, we are going right down to our last verse -verse 59 which lets us know where everything takes place. All the events and dialogue that are occurring is in the midst of a synagogue meeting. In this meeting Jesus gives the injunction (now starting in v.41)….
1. DON’T GRUMBLE BUT LEARN ABOUT THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.41-47)
v.41 In today’s passage Jesus is interacting with the Jews - which is a general reference to those who opposed Jesus’ ministry - which most likely from the context of the passage are the locals of Capernaum. These people were engaged in prolonged murmuring, like the droning of a swarm of bees. It was much like the complaining of the Israelites in the wilderness in the OT. Their debate and discussion focused on what Jesus had claimed in the verses that preceded today’s passage - summed up in these words - I am the bread that came down from heaven. Now you may be wondering - Why was this statement so controversial to these Jews? There was a stir because Jesus’ words spoke of His Divine origin - therefore it implied His Deity - which was offensive to the religious Jew who rejected the full revelation of God - revealing Himself as the God-Man Jesus Christ. The statement was controversial because the response of those who opposed Jesus was rooted in a hard-heartedness - an unbelief.
v.42 To the Jews this was seemingly unfathomable that this son of a carpenter - declared for Himself that He was Diety. They knew of Jesus and some of them probably even had known Him from birth. After all Jesus was born of human parents - Jesus was the son of Joseph - and these people knew His father and mother. They knew His roots….His family background - they were looked upon as blue collar small town folks…probably much like how some Vancouverites would look at small town folks. Some of these people had heard of the supernatural circumstances associated with Jesus’ birth. Yet in spite of all of this - Jesus’ claim to Divine origin was mind-blowing and their unregenerate minds could not grasp the truth and reality of Jesus’ declaration.
Even today people still are questioning the claims of Jesus’ Diety. It seems that this question which arose nearly 2000 years ago, still rages on. We can see the debate about who Jesus is even to this day - right now - with the release of The DiVinci Code - and movies with Hollywood versions of Jesus which are often way off base. The grumbling in our passage, can be likened to the debates between those who support the movie and those who reject it. Those who reject the movie are complaining - maybe they should sit down and learn about the true Jesus of the Scripture.
v.43 In the midst of the ongoing grumbling and a swelling tide of protest - Jesus interjects. Jesus commands the Jews - Do not grumble - they were getting nowhere with their complaining, so they were to stop it - it was unproductive for belief.
v.44 This is what Jesus says to the Jews in the synagogue - and these comments are really directed at the Jews hearts that were hardened - unbelieving hearts - - Jesus says No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. Those Jesus addresses were not drawn by God…… Look down at your Bibles to verse 44, there is a word Jesus uses - the word ‘draws’ - the word ‘draws’ pictures a fishing net being dragged - that there is a lot of resistance - and because of that resistance it is near impossible to bring in.
Romans 8:7-8 - the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so], 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
This verse from Romans is exactly what is taking place here in the Jews hearts. Their minds are by nature are so hardened to Jesus that it results in the natural outcome - rejection and unbelief. Yet there is the parallel reality which Jesus teaches - that belief comes only through God’s initiation, which leads to salvation and eternal life. Scripture is clear that God elects and draws people to Himself. When God does that, a person comes to a place in his or her life that responds to God in a personal love for Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
v.45 Jesus continues to expand on what He is stating by referring to the prophets of the OT. The prophets foretold of the coming of the Messiah. The Jews had the Scriptures - and they poured over them with a fine tooth comb. Today 2009, we are clearly in a day and age where God has taught and revealed the truth about His Son - Jesus. The question is - what are you going to do with that truth?
As God draws someone to Christ then they must have heard and learned from what God is teaching through the Word. Those who listen, consider, and obey the truth that God reveals about Jesus will be saved from their sins. The drawing process that God initiates therefore bears fruit as God intends, and the person will listen and learn and embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It fully is a work of God and not of man, who by nature is dead to God (Eph. 2:1-10).
v.46 There is the popular saying ‘Seeing is Believing’ - we have all heard this haven’t we….but Jesus refutes this kind of mis-notion by underscoring it with the reality which He states - Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. So Jesus is explicitly saying that only He has seen God the Father. The Word, Jesus, is God (cf. Jn.1:1) - God the Son - and because of this - of course He has seen God the Father. By making this statement Jesus gives an answer to the question in the minds of the Jews, that they were grumbling about - that is Jesus’ claim of Divine origin. Jesus makes it quite clear to those who would listen and learn - that Jesus is God veiled in human flesh (Jn. 1:14 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth).
v.47 In verse 47 we have those familiar words again - Truly, truly, I say to you - something important is to be stated. This time it is something which is critical for each one of us to know if we want to verify if we will be in heaven after we die - to have everlasting life. The critical point made is belief. Not belief in God - allow me to qualify that - there are so many people today who would say they believe in God - but true belief in God cannot be divorced from belief in Jesus as the Son of God. In other words, what this is telling us is that the only way to quote - unquote - ‘see’ God is through Jesus Christ. John 1:18 was clear about this - No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained [ Him ]. Here is perhaps an easier way to understand the implications of Jesus' statements:
If you want to ‘see’ God then you must believe in Jesus.
If you want to please God you must please Jesus.
If you want to follow God then you must follow Jesus.
If you want to submit yourself to God you must submit
yourself to Jesus.
You get the point? Without Jesus there is no relationship with God. Jesus Himself declared that - I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (Jn. 14:6). A personal saving faith in God always calls for an individual response to Jesus. The most fundamental facts about Jesus that we are to believe in, is that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and on the 3rd day rose from the dead to have victory over sin.
There is a lot of grumbling about Jesus today. People have all kinds of excuses to write off Jesus. Yet it is quite clear and simple that we are called not to complain, but to listen and learn about Jesus from the Bible. The people Jesus addresses wrote Him off, and they are now just about to get really get offended. Jesus continues to teach patiently despite their failure to listen and learn - and He asks this question…poses this challenge….
2. ARE YOU READY TO EAT MY FLESH ? (v.48-52)
v.48 Once again Jesus makes the assertion that He is the bread of life. Jesus - God in human flesh - offers to all of us, a personal relationship with Him. We all realize that many people walk around with a spiritual emptiness. The remedy for unbelievers to fill that void is with people, money, sex, work, spiritual counterfeits, hobbies, sports, whatever it is - let me suggest to you that this emptiness cannot be filled with anything else other than with the bread of life - Jesus Christ. You need to have Jesus Christ in your life to be spiritually full. That is the very thing that the Jews were missing - they filled their lives with religion, rules, and regulations - but what they lacked was a believing relationship with Jesus. He knows where we stand with Him. He knew where the Jews stood too and He reveals this illustration….
v.49 The Jews fathers who were in the wilderness had manna. It was a physical substance from heaven to physically sustain them, yet it only kept them alive for a while - and then came death. Yes they ate the manna and their stomachs were full but in the end it did nothing for their spiritual hunger. In the end they died.
v.50 But in Jesus, is the sustaining bread - the sustaining source of life - sent by God - by which men might be saved - a bread which one may eat of it and not die. What does Jesus mean when He uses the word eat? When we eat food it must be chewed and then digested. The food that we eat is absorbed into our body for our nourishment and it gives us energy. Jesus’ very purpose in coming is to serve as the bread which comes down out of heaven - He is for our spiritual benefit. If a person truly considers Jesus’ claim and is drawn by the Father to repent of sin and believe, then that person will saved from his sins and not die. That person has eaten the spiritual food that Jesus offers, digested it and it reaps spiritual nourishment - which is salvation from sin. Acts 4:12 clearly states the exclusivity of God's means of salvation - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
v.51 Jesus now changes the terms a little from, bread of life to living bread. These two references still are used to mean that this bread, that Jesus is referring to, is what gives a person life - that is to say that this person who eats this bread will live forever. Jesus the bread of life is alive and only He can give life.
At this point of the text, this is were things start to get very confusing. To the Jews what has been stated by Jesus, becomes very disturbing. The Jews can’t make any sense out of what Jesus is saying (and they can’t because they are not born again - Jn. 3:3 - and so they do not have the teacher of truth the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual truth - 1 Cor. 2:14). So what Jesus does is connect the bread as being His flesh. Jesus says in verse 51 - the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh. This statement speaks about the extent of Jesus’ voluntary death on the cross, to make it possible for people to have a restored relationship with God by taking away our sin. This too was unimaginable to the Jews because they could not believe that the Messiah that they waited for would be killed.
v.52 Jesus’ statement gets an immediate response from the Jews. It all began with the Jews grumbling about what Jesus’ claim of Divine origin. Now they propel themselves into deeper turmoil and confusion and argue with one another. The Jews picked up and made the connection that Jesus was saying that He was the bread of life - or living bread. But the notion of eating Jesus’ flesh was down right grotesque, and they engage themselves in a bitter war of words.
So can you picture in your mind what is happening - things are getting heated up and there is an uproar. Don’t forget this is right in the synagogue - people are pointing their fingers at each other and Jesus, and accusations ring loud. The Jews unyielding emotions flared up into contempt - as if Jesus was going to turn them into cannibals. The Jews sharply debated this grossly offensive suggestion - How can this man give us [His] flesh to eat? The issue here was not even close to suggestions of cannibalism (and the Jews probably realized this)….but Jesus was using a metaphor to speak of something spiritually greater and more significant.
Maybe this illustration will help you understand the concept: If you like eating liver - and I place right in front of you a piece of raw liver, and I tell you that it is really good for you and that you should eat it raw - it will just slither down your throat - what are you going to do? Would you believe me? No, your going to be grossed out. Whether you eat that raw liver is a matter of belief. If you believe me your going to eat it. But since you know better, and don’t believe me your going to reject it.
Now if you like eating beef - and I place a nicely grilled piece of prime rib in front of you - still hot and sizzling - and I tell you that this is one of the best cuts of beef - what are you going to do? In your mind you know its edible, and you take it - this time believing and trusting that it is going to nourish you and satisfy your hunger.
So the concept of eating of Jesus’ flesh is the concept of belief. Belief in what? Belief that Jesus calls us - in other words to partake in belief that the Bread of life came to die - His body sacrificed for our sins on a cross - and we are to appropriate this in our life.
Though we may know this - sometimes a challenge like ARE YOU READY TO EAT MY FLESH is just too offensive. Do you find yourself in a place where you would rather have an abstract Jesus? A Jesus who doesn’t quite challenge you as much about sin. A Jesus that confronts, by getting up close and personal, when you are caught in your lies, surfing the net, about what you read, what you wear, how you are at work, what you say? Do we say or think - Jesus I wish you were not here at this moment? In those times may we know that the Bread of Life offers our sin stained and - dead souls (of those who are not born again cf. Jn. 3:1ff) spiritual nourishment and life, and rich satisfaction, because of His death which grants us true life - repent, believe, and receive.
Jesus is not finished with us yet nor is He with the Jews…and He offers up this challenge….
ARE YOU READY TO DRINK MY BLOOD ? (v.53-59)
v.53 Here is Jesus’ reply…which once again leads off with the words - Truly, truly, I say to you. Jesus doesn’t want anyone to miss the importance of His discourse on the Bread of Life - so on top of repeating His statement of eating the flesh of the Son of Man, Jesus adds that a person must drink His blood - and if a person didn’t do that they would have no life.
The Mosaic Law prohibited the Jews from drinking blood or even eat meat in which the blood had not been drained out (Lev. 17:10-14, Deut. 12:16). If the Jews did do what they thought Jesus was suggesting, then they would be engaging in a gross sin. Jesus’ call to drink His blood, to the Jew was really - really disturbing - because they did not understand the metaphor, and took it literally and lost sight of the true spiritual significance. So you might be asking what is going on here? Maybe you are just as confused as the Jews were. At a first reading this passage is somewhat hard to understand. This is why? Throughout Jesus’ ministry He used metaphors and parables to elicit a response from those the Father drew to Himself. Jesus did not always purpose to make everything He said simple to grasp. But those the Father drew to Himself for His salvation, Jesus knew they would make further inquiry. Those who would not listen and learn from the Father would be turned off or even offended by these kinds of statements - it would be a stumbling block.
Jesus is using a metaphor - a very difficult one at that. The Jewish people often used the actions of eating and drinking to be representative of the process of the mind in accepting, understanding, and applying a lesson. We could probably liken it to our common use of the word digest - meaning the same thing…..for example after participating in a heavy seminar…we might say - yeah…I’m going to have to digest that.
What Jesus means when He says eat the flesh of the Son of Man, is that one must understand, accept, and believe in the fullness of Jesus’ person and character and work upon the cross. When Jesus continues and says that one must drink His blood, it means that that person must continue in understanding, accepting, and believing in the ministry and purpose of His life.
v.54 This truth is repeated in verse 54 but this time in the positive. If this is still confusing - look back at the words eats and drinks…..now go back to verse 40, which states - For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life. In verse 40 we have the parallel concept in the words beholds and believes. So the concept of ‘eats and drinks in Christ’ is the same as ‘beholds and believes in Christ.’
If you are to have eternal life - you must understand that you are a sinner deserving God’s eternal wrath and there is nothing that you can do to save yourself. You must personally believe in Jesus, whom God has sent to save you from your sins and its penalty. You must believe in the true nature, character, and life of Jesus - and receive Him as the only Saviour from the penalty of your sins, put your complete trust in Him, and make Him the Lord over your life. You must accept His death and resurrection on behalf of bringing life to you as a sinner. These facts are life saving facts and they must be real in your life - appropriated and assimilated (digested). The person who is drawn by God will do so and Jesus will raise him up at the last day.
v.55 You may have heard of something which Catholics teach and believe - which is called Transubstantiation or some also refer to it as the Doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ. The Catholic view of the Lord’s Table is referred to as a sacrament, we would use the proper term - ordinance - because we see Communion as a symbolic act of obedience that Jesus calls us to observe. Catholics base their belief in Transubstantiation by going to verse 55. Catholic doctrine teaches that during Communion the elements of bread and wine during the mass actually and miraculously become the physical flesh and blood of Jesus. That is why some people in the course of history, have called Christians cannibals - CHRISTIAN CANNIBALISM.
Today we are going to observe the Lord’s Supper, and without getting into the details - our passage is not referring to this observance. There are compelling reasons why I say this - but I’ll just give you the main reason why - this passage is not about the Lord’s Table because it is instituted by Jesus in the Upper Room about a year after this.
It is best to understand this verse in context of what is being presented by Jesus, which is the spiritual significance of His Person. That spiritual significance is that - only in Jesus can we find the true SPIRITUAL FOOD that will convert and nourish our sin weary soul - to eat and drink from His fountain of eternal life.
v.56 Whoever eats this real food and drinks this real drink of real SPIRITUAL FOOD he abides in Christ - there is going to be a real relationship.
v.57 This relationship that Jesus offers to you is going to be like the one that exists between the Father who sent Jesus from heaven. The person who is drawn by the Father through Christ will experience a close and intimate fellowship with Christ - just like the fellowship between God the Father and God the Son.
v.58 As this discourse comes to an end, Jesus comes back to what He referred to earlier in v.49 - that of the manna that the Israelites ate during Moses’ time in the wilderness wanderings - that physical bread did not prevent physical death - just like we all will experience one day. Yet in contrast Jesus offers us this reality - he who eats this bread - the true bread of life which is Christ - will live forever. Eternal life comes from eating, drinking, and digesting the spiritual realities of believing in Jesus. We are not talking about CHRISTIAN CANNIBALISM, but true SPIRITUAL FOOD.
Are you willing to drink of His blood - to make the Bread of Life’s sacrifice real in your life? Accepting Jesus’ life poured out means that you humbly acknowledge that you are a sinner before a Holy God, you yield to God’s work of reconciliation and forgiveness of your sins through Jesus Christ, and have faith that you are freed by His incredible gift of eternal life, and you are therefore able to live in His grace today - forgiven of all your sin.
We live in a pretty crazy world, but as Christians we can know that we will live forever - we have eternal life - and that puts a real stability into our lives. Because of the Father’s love for us we can enjoy Him through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
John 6:22-40 Wonder Bread
22.03.09 John 6:22-40 (NASB)
Audio Sermon Files: John 6:22-40
Going Deeper: Study Guide
The following is from a web page entitled BAN BREAD, which offers us some food for thought… (http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/st-bread.html). These are some compelling reasons for banning bread…..
- More than 98% of convicted felons are bread users.
- Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average Canadian eats more bread than that in one month.
- Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat, begged for bread in as little as two days.
- Here is something important to know for our new parents - Newborn babies can choke on bread.
- Bread is baked in temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.
- Bread has proven to absorb water. Since the human body is 90% water, it follows that eating bread could lead your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey, bread pudding person.
-Most Canadian bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact, and meaningless statistical babble from a web page. KINDA MAKES YOU… WONDER… DOESN’T IT?
On a more serious note - our passage opens with the words The next day, triggering our minds back to what had just took place in chapter 6. Chapter 6 began with the miraculous ‘feeding of the 5000’ with bread and fish. At the conclusion of this miracle Jesus sends His disciples back to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee without Him. As the disciples make their way across the waters they are faced with a storm. In the midst of the storm, and in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, the disciples were fearful for their lives. This is when Jesus comes to the disciples - walking on the water - another powerful demonstration of who Jesus is - that He is the Messiah and Son of God. With the feeding of the 5000 Jesus demonstrates His creative power - that He can create at will. With Jesus walking on the water and stopping the storm, He demonstrates His Deity through His sovereign control over His creation.
As we move through our text we can divide our verses into 4 key sections. These divisions will reveal to us the human condition - helping us to see characteristics of hard heartedness in people towards the things of God. May this lead you to discover that Jesus is - The Bread of Life. That only Jesus can cleanse you from sinful human attitudes and grant you eternal life.
Our passage Jesus unravels 4 mindsets that the people harboured in their hearts which caused spiritual blindness and seperation from God….these are: #1 MATERIALISM - #2 SELF SUFFICIENCY - # 3 SKEPTICISM - # 4 UNBELIEF.
Surveying verses 22-40 we are going to see the progression of the passage. The people search for Jesus, giving us point:
1. MISSING THE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL BREAD (v.22-27)
Jesus then reveals our second point:
2. YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO EARN THIS BREAD (v.28-29)
The hardhearted people make a request, but Jesus reveals:
3. SATISFACTION COMES FROM THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.30-35)
Finally Jesus reveals THE ETERNAL WONDER OF THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.36-40)
1. MATERIALISM - MISSING THE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL BREAD (v.22-27)
22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but [that] His disciples had gone away alone. 23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You get here?" 26 Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 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."
v.22-24 So now we are at the next day, and the rest of the chapter focuses on one main theme - that Jesus is the Bread of life. It is apparent that some of the crowd that were a part of the miraculous feeding were still on the north-eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. The people wanted to find Jesus, knowing that He did not leave with the disciples the previous evening, on their little boat. In the course of this search, other boats came from Tiberias with more people seeking out Jesus at the location where the miraculous feeding took place. In the midst of the search they all realized that Jesus was not there. These people did not know that in the middle of the night Jesus walked out on the Sea to meet the disciples - only the disciples witnessed that miracle. Since Jesus was not there, nor His disciples were anywhere in sight, they figured that He must have left the scene. They didn’t know how Jesus traveled, but they knew that He wasn’t there anymore. So they get back into their boats and they head over to the north western shores to Capernaum.
v.25 The people search for Jesus and now find Him. Even though the people were searching for Jesus they were surprised to find Him there - because they ask Jesus this question - Rabbi, when did You get here? The people were still puzzled as to how Jesus got across the lake without a boat, but Jesus doesn’t answer their direct question, but takes the opportunity to teach.
v.26 Jesus replies - Truly, truly, I say to you… do remember this phrase? ….something very important is going to be said by Jesus…"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Jesus targets the thoughts of the people and addresses their concern for materialism. The people were searching out Jesus for blessing - in terms of goods. These people were the direct recipients of food for their hungry stomachs in the miraculous feeding of the large crowd at the beginning of this chapter. And now we still see that their minds were focused on material… earthly… stuff. Jesus is not denouncing the necessity of material goods - yes we all need them, but His point is that the people’s material necessities of everyday living blinded them to what was utterly more important. Jesus was telling them that they weren’t looking for Him because they were interested about the spiritual side of life. In fact the people totally missed the significance of the miracle…the signs which point to who Jesus is. Instead they came to get more handouts…another free meal…they craved for more of that wonderbread.
v.27 But this is Jesus’ challenge to the crowd …a deep response to a shallow people - Jesus says, "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 … Jesus isn’t telling the people to stop working to make money to buy the food that they need….and by the way a food that spoils.
All food has a shelf life - an expiry date - and likewise so does our earthly life….our earthly existence is limited and lets face it …..one day we are going to expire - die. When we are young we think that we are invincible - death rarely crosses our minds. When we are young we do things that our parents wouldn’t do. Have you noticed, the age of those who are involved with extreme sports? We perhaps have recently, casually read about another gang member who got targeted and killed - and of the innocent that have died in the cross fire - and we think that it will never happen to me, and we go on with life - without thought of the life beyond. When we get older death becomes more real - we can’t help but notice it increasingly creeping closer - but we still think in terms of the here and now.
When my grandmother was still alive - in the last years of here old age she would often say in Cantonese - ‘dung say’ - waiting to die. What a sad statement - you live a whole life, chasing after stuff - a better job, a better car, a better figure, a lager house, more personal recognition, bigger toys, a grand retirement….. - materialism….. - but we all will die. But what about the life to come? Whether your a Christian or not - most people do not seriously consider the things to come beyond this earthly life. I’m going to ask all of you to do this one thing this week - take an inventory of everything that pre-occupies you Sunday to Sunday - if you do this - it will become obvious where your focus is….whether on physical earthly stuff or on the eternal spiritual realities of life. Are you living for yourself or are you living for Jesus?
In this section of our passage, Jesus is leading the people to think not in terms of food for their stomachs, but of food for their souls. What Jesus is driving at is that they should be pursuing something which is infinitely more important…. the food which endures to eternal life. The food that Jesus is talking about is a food that never perishes…which is everlasting….eternal….and can be found only in Jesus Christ. In light of our eventual death - God, has set His seal His seal of approval on Jesus - meaning that Jesus is the only one who is certified, marked out, or sealed to be the genuine dispenser of eternal life. Jesus moves from addressing materialism to the people’s….
2. SELF SUFFICIENCY- YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO EARN THIS BREAD (v.28-29)
28 Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
v.28 The people respond to Jesus’ interaction with them and they ask - What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? In the people’s reply was a sense of both zeal and self sufficiency. The zeal was that these people seemed to think that they had the capacity, and could do the works of God which He requires. Don’t forget these people had gone to Capernaum to search for blessing from Jesus with a material / earthly mindset - instead of a spiritual one. In their minds, pleasing God and obtaining eternal life was some kind of performance related formula - a system of works in an attempt to merit some kind of favour from God. So these people thought that they were self sufficient in pleasing God and in achieving eternal life. In other words they believed that they in their own strength were good enough to work their way to heaven. These Jews believed that by keeping the Law they would be saved unto eternal life. Eternal life to them consisted of following a bunch of rules and regulations, but they missed the whole point of the Law of God. The point of the Law of God was to show people how unrighteous, how un-holy, how much of a sinner they were before a Holy, righteous, just, and perfect God….and realizing this….they would get the message of how much they were insufficient in their self-sufficiency…therefore they desperately needed to turn to their Creator, God, to save them from their sins.
And this is the same with people today, even Christians to some extent. They think that going to church or following Jesus, is a bunch of rules and regulations in the Bible. Yet they miss the whole point. The average person on the street thinks that they have sufficiently done just enough goods things, with out doing too many bad things - that when they die and come before God… the result will be eternal life. …that God will be more than happy to let him into heaven…maybe even obliged to let them in. The people misinterpreted what Jesus was saying about work when He said - Do not work for…etc., back in verse 27.
v.29 But what does Jesus say about this? Instead Jesus says….this is the work of God …. that you believe in Him whom He has sent. Jesus defines the work not in terms of human effort and accomplishments, but in terms of abiding belief….in terms of faith. To have eternal life comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the One whom God has sent for the very purpose of granting eternal life. The answer to those who seek salvation from the weight of guilt and shame in this life de to their sin stained life …is this ….For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8-9). Belief….belief that God grants to the sinner - solely by God’s work of grace - to believe in the very nature, character, and mission of the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus lays it all out - that the food that people should seek, that - which endures to eternal life (v.27) is found in a Person - Jesus Himself. Jesus points out that - you can’t work for this bread of life.
Jesus quoted in Matthew, Hosea 6:6 - which really illustrates the point here in our passage - For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. God doesn’t want outward signs of religion from a heart which is far from Him - but He wants a relationship with His creature. It is not what you do, but who you know. And who you know will dictate what you do. One commentator sums the reality of eternal life in Christ, with this statement - "Acceptability with God is a relationship God gives" (Borchert).
As we move into our third section…Jesus has made it quite clear that the people needed eternal life through Him. Yet we will soon realize that the message is not sinking in…and the response is:
3. SKEPTICISM - YET SATISFACTION COMES FROM THE BREAD OF LIFE (v30-35)
30 So they said to Him, "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.' " 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
v.30 The response from the people is almost unbelievable. The people are saying to Jesus - "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? In other words they are saying hey, what are you going to do for us? They ask for a miraculous sign from Jesus so that they can believe. It is incredible that these people are asking for a miracle right now, since they had the previous day….only hours before, witnessed and benefited from a spectacular miracle (feeding of 5000). These people had been on the other side of the Sea of Galilee being fed bread and fish, yet they totally write off this sign from Jesus. This underscores the reality that it is God who opens people’s eyes to spiritual realities. People can witness all the miracles they want, but in the end if God doesn’t replace our hearts of stone with a heart of flesh, then you will never respond to the gift of eternal life in Jesus.
v.31-32 The people continue and they bring up the past. They look to their fore-fathers at the time of Moses, and they start comparing Jesus’ ministry with his. Moses provided the people with manna in the wilderness - bread out of heaven to eat. So the people were in effect saying that Jesus’ miraculous sign really was piddley - compared with Moses’. So what was is implied in our passage is that the people are kind of saying - now Moses miracle… that was a real miracle….that was really big, he fed the whole nation of Israel….and you Jesus just fed a few thousand people. Jesus…Moses fed them for forty years….and you Jesus - only a single meal. Moses bread came from heaven….Jesus, your bread from some earthly loaves - so Jesus show us something really big. Once again the people are blind to spiritual realities.
This is how Jesus responds…look down at verses 32…there are those words again… "Truly, truly, I say to you …. it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. Jesus frankly explains to those before Him, that Moses was not the one who gave the Israelites bread to eat from heaven, but it was the God the Father. In other words the point that Jesus makes is that - Moses is not greater than Jesus.
God is the One who gives them true spiritual bread. The word true in verse 32 means ‘genuine’ or ‘original.’ So Jesus is saying that the manna gave only physical nourishment which was only able to nourish a person for a while - but God is the only One who can give genuine spiritual life forever - God gives a true bread which gives eternal spiritual nourishment.
v.33 Now when we move into verse 33 it is really important for us to see the apologetic Jesus builds up. This is what he continues to say - "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." Did you catch that? Jesus smoothly transitions from - God gives spiritual life sustaining bread; - to - the bread of God is a Person. Think back to the beginning of this gospel in chapter 1:14 - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is the only One, God in human flesh, who comes down out of heaven. Jesus is the only One who can give each one of us eternal life - who are living in the world - because He is the Creator. Once again back to the prologue of this gospel - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
If we put what Jesus is saying here in our passage of chapter 6 - put it into an equation, this is what Jesus was expressing:
Physical bread = physical life;
Spiritual bread = spiritual life.
v.34 The crowd was getting excited - just like the woman at the well, back in chapter 4 - thinking that she could get some special source of water - this crowd was thinking they were going to get some free bread. They were still thinking in an earthly perspective - great another free meal like last night. The Jews were thinking - Yah…all right….that would be fantastic…. Jesus will - always give us this bread. So they were thinking that they were going to get an endless supply of bread. They were imagining - only if we could get an endless source of bread….no more baking….no more stores….so they urgently pressed Jesus for the goods….JUST SHOW ME MORE BREAD.
v.35 The people are so focused on the physical - on their stomachs - that they miss the big picture. Therefore Jesus declared openly in no uncertain terms His identity - I am the bread of life. This is the first in a series of self declarative, I AM statements Jesus makes in this gospel to the people. The people come for more bread and fish, but Jesus offers them more, much more….He offers Himself.
Jesus states - "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. He offers to people a personal relationship with Him, with the God of all creation (including themselves who due to sin have fallen short of the glory of God and are alienated from God). Anyone coming to Jesus for spiritual food will not go hungry. Anyone who believes in Jesus will not be spiritually thirsty….EVER! There is a guarantee imbedded here in the original text. The words will not is the strongest way to say no in Greek. Placing your faith in the person of Jesus Christ for all that He claims to be - the Son of God - and in Him is the only way to be reconciled to God, and believing that what Jesus has accomplished for sinners on the cross - that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,(1 Cor.15:3-4) - you will never - never, ever be spiritually hungry or thirsty again. By coming to Jesus Christ we find eternal spiritual refreshment and satisfaction for a sin weary soul. This reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 - Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me , for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
The people’s earthly focus and skepticism now explodes in attitude #….
4. UNBELIEF - yet in the midst of rejection, Jesus still offers THE ETERNAL WONDER OF THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.36-40)
36 "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
v.36 Jesus offers the people eternal life, but in strong contrast, the response of the people is rejection - and yet do not believe. They have seen Jesus doing all the miracles but they still do not believe.
v.37 There is a tension, a seeming contradiction, yet there is a parallel truth in verse 37. It is the correlating truth between Divine Sovereignty and human responsibility. On the one hand these people do not believe because the Father does not give Jesus their lives - and so they respond with UNBELIEF. Then on the other hand is human response. If God determines to change our hearts to accept Him, then He will receive us as His children through faith in Jesus Christ. It says in this verse that Jesus will receive those the Father gives. And to those who are received, Jesus will certainly not cast out. This the human response which God calls us to - those who truly come in humble confession of their sins before a Holy and righteous God….coming acknowledging that they cannot save themselves from their sins…but that Jesus can…and He has paved the way through His perfect life and then His voluntary and sacrificial death on the cross as our sin bearer….you will never be cast out from His presence. This is a promise, a guarantee. We as Christians can look at a passage like ours today, and know that God has done a wonderful work in our lives. We can know that Jesus is sufficient to keep us faithful to the end. Hebrews 12:1-3 encourages us with these words - 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
v.38-39 Jesus has come down to earth to do what God has sent Him here to do. It reminds us once again of John 1:14. What is God’s will? Jesus explains to the people - that God desires that of all the people that He has given to Christ, that Jesus will lose nothing (v.39). Now you may ask - lose what? The answer is that none shall lose eternal life. In other words no one who is found in Christ will perish, but instead they have eternal security in Christ. When all is said and done…when all is completed in our life…when it is time to return to our Creator at our earthly death…the one who has abiding faith in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour - will have no fear of God’s wrath, but you will be welcomed into your heavenly home.
On the last day we then will receive our resurrected bodies. This day is the time at the end of the Tribulation and before the Millenium of Christ’s reign on earth, where God will raise His saints from the beginning of human history to this last day. This is known as the ‘resurrection of the just’ and it is when we as believers in Christ will receive our heavenly bodies - bodies suited for a perfect place - bodies that will not break down - a body that will be glorious and eternal.
v.40 If there is anything that we should remember from our Bible passasge, is this - God calls everyone of us to respond to Him. This is the will of [the] Father. If you do not personally know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour in your life, this is the challenge, that you must [behold] the Son. You must look to Him for salvation for the complete forgiveness of your sins. Over the course of our sermon series and even today we have presented Jesus for who He is. Jesus is God the Son and he lovingly commands all to come to Him for rest from sin, and a restored relationship with God.
The words beholds the Son, suggests that you need to contemplate on who this Jesus is. And then if you are drawn by God through Christ…..you are called to respond in saving belief in Jesus Christ alone, by repenting of your sins. Jesus is the Bread of Life and those who trust their life to Him will not go away spiritually hungry and thirsty, but shall be raised to eternal life in Him - on the last day we then will receive our resurrected bodies, which will be perfect and perfectly suited to dwell in heaven with Christ in heaven for eternity.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
Audio Sermon Files: John 6:22-40
Going Deeper: Study Guide
The following is from a web page entitled BAN BREAD, which offers us some food for thought… (http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/st-bread.html). These are some compelling reasons for banning bread…..
- More than 98% of convicted felons are bread users.
- Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average Canadian eats more bread than that in one month.
- Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat, begged for bread in as little as two days.
- Here is something important to know for our new parents - Newborn babies can choke on bread.
- Bread is baked in temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.
- Bread has proven to absorb water. Since the human body is 90% water, it follows that eating bread could lead your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey, bread pudding person.
-Most Canadian bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact, and meaningless statistical babble from a web page. KINDA MAKES YOU… WONDER… DOESN’T IT?
On a more serious note - our passage opens with the words The next day, triggering our minds back to what had just took place in chapter 6. Chapter 6 began with the miraculous ‘feeding of the 5000’ with bread and fish. At the conclusion of this miracle Jesus sends His disciples back to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee without Him. As the disciples make their way across the waters they are faced with a storm. In the midst of the storm, and in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, the disciples were fearful for their lives. This is when Jesus comes to the disciples - walking on the water - another powerful demonstration of who Jesus is - that He is the Messiah and Son of God. With the feeding of the 5000 Jesus demonstrates His creative power - that He can create at will. With Jesus walking on the water and stopping the storm, He demonstrates His Deity through His sovereign control over His creation.
As we move through our text we can divide our verses into 4 key sections. These divisions will reveal to us the human condition - helping us to see characteristics of hard heartedness in people towards the things of God. May this lead you to discover that Jesus is - The Bread of Life. That only Jesus can cleanse you from sinful human attitudes and grant you eternal life.
Our passage Jesus unravels 4 mindsets that the people harboured in their hearts which caused spiritual blindness and seperation from God….these are: #1 MATERIALISM - #2 SELF SUFFICIENCY - # 3 SKEPTICISM - # 4 UNBELIEF.
Surveying verses 22-40 we are going to see the progression of the passage. The people search for Jesus, giving us point:
1. MISSING THE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL BREAD (v.22-27)
Jesus then reveals our second point:
2. YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO EARN THIS BREAD (v.28-29)
The hardhearted people make a request, but Jesus reveals:
3. SATISFACTION COMES FROM THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.30-35)
Finally Jesus reveals THE ETERNAL WONDER OF THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.36-40)
1. MATERIALISM - MISSING THE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL BREAD (v.22-27)
22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but [that] His disciples had gone away alone. 23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You get here?" 26 Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 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."
v.22-24 So now we are at the next day, and the rest of the chapter focuses on one main theme - that Jesus is the Bread of life. It is apparent that some of the crowd that were a part of the miraculous feeding were still on the north-eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. The people wanted to find Jesus, knowing that He did not leave with the disciples the previous evening, on their little boat. In the course of this search, other boats came from Tiberias with more people seeking out Jesus at the location where the miraculous feeding took place. In the midst of the search they all realized that Jesus was not there. These people did not know that in the middle of the night Jesus walked out on the Sea to meet the disciples - only the disciples witnessed that miracle. Since Jesus was not there, nor His disciples were anywhere in sight, they figured that He must have left the scene. They didn’t know how Jesus traveled, but they knew that He wasn’t there anymore. So they get back into their boats and they head over to the north western shores to Capernaum.
v.25 The people search for Jesus and now find Him. Even though the people were searching for Jesus they were surprised to find Him there - because they ask Jesus this question - Rabbi, when did You get here? The people were still puzzled as to how Jesus got across the lake without a boat, but Jesus doesn’t answer their direct question, but takes the opportunity to teach.
v.26 Jesus replies - Truly, truly, I say to you… do remember this phrase? ….something very important is going to be said by Jesus…"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Jesus targets the thoughts of the people and addresses their concern for materialism. The people were searching out Jesus for blessing - in terms of goods. These people were the direct recipients of food for their hungry stomachs in the miraculous feeding of the large crowd at the beginning of this chapter. And now we still see that their minds were focused on material… earthly… stuff. Jesus is not denouncing the necessity of material goods - yes we all need them, but His point is that the people’s material necessities of everyday living blinded them to what was utterly more important. Jesus was telling them that they weren’t looking for Him because they were interested about the spiritual side of life. In fact the people totally missed the significance of the miracle…the signs which point to who Jesus is. Instead they came to get more handouts…another free meal…they craved for more of that wonderbread.
v.27 But this is Jesus’ challenge to the crowd …a deep response to a shallow people - Jesus says, "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 … Jesus isn’t telling the people to stop working to make money to buy the food that they need….and by the way a food that spoils.
All food has a shelf life - an expiry date - and likewise so does our earthly life….our earthly existence is limited and lets face it …..one day we are going to expire - die. When we are young we think that we are invincible - death rarely crosses our minds. When we are young we do things that our parents wouldn’t do. Have you noticed, the age of those who are involved with extreme sports? We perhaps have recently, casually read about another gang member who got targeted and killed - and of the innocent that have died in the cross fire - and we think that it will never happen to me, and we go on with life - without thought of the life beyond. When we get older death becomes more real - we can’t help but notice it increasingly creeping closer - but we still think in terms of the here and now.
When my grandmother was still alive - in the last years of here old age she would often say in Cantonese - ‘dung say’ - waiting to die. What a sad statement - you live a whole life, chasing after stuff - a better job, a better car, a better figure, a lager house, more personal recognition, bigger toys, a grand retirement….. - materialism….. - but we all will die. But what about the life to come? Whether your a Christian or not - most people do not seriously consider the things to come beyond this earthly life. I’m going to ask all of you to do this one thing this week - take an inventory of everything that pre-occupies you Sunday to Sunday - if you do this - it will become obvious where your focus is….whether on physical earthly stuff or on the eternal spiritual realities of life. Are you living for yourself or are you living for Jesus?
In this section of our passage, Jesus is leading the people to think not in terms of food for their stomachs, but of food for their souls. What Jesus is driving at is that they should be pursuing something which is infinitely more important…. the food which endures to eternal life. The food that Jesus is talking about is a food that never perishes…which is everlasting….eternal….and can be found only in Jesus Christ. In light of our eventual death - God, has set His seal His seal of approval on Jesus - meaning that Jesus is the only one who is certified, marked out, or sealed to be the genuine dispenser of eternal life. Jesus moves from addressing materialism to the people’s….
2. SELF SUFFICIENCY- YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO EARN THIS BREAD (v.28-29)
28 Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
v.28 The people respond to Jesus’ interaction with them and they ask - What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? In the people’s reply was a sense of both zeal and self sufficiency. The zeal was that these people seemed to think that they had the capacity, and could do the works of God which He requires. Don’t forget these people had gone to Capernaum to search for blessing from Jesus with a material / earthly mindset - instead of a spiritual one. In their minds, pleasing God and obtaining eternal life was some kind of performance related formula - a system of works in an attempt to merit some kind of favour from God. So these people thought that they were self sufficient in pleasing God and in achieving eternal life. In other words they believed that they in their own strength were good enough to work their way to heaven. These Jews believed that by keeping the Law they would be saved unto eternal life. Eternal life to them consisted of following a bunch of rules and regulations, but they missed the whole point of the Law of God. The point of the Law of God was to show people how unrighteous, how un-holy, how much of a sinner they were before a Holy, righteous, just, and perfect God….and realizing this….they would get the message of how much they were insufficient in their self-sufficiency…therefore they desperately needed to turn to their Creator, God, to save them from their sins.
And this is the same with people today, even Christians to some extent. They think that going to church or following Jesus, is a bunch of rules and regulations in the Bible. Yet they miss the whole point. The average person on the street thinks that they have sufficiently done just enough goods things, with out doing too many bad things - that when they die and come before God… the result will be eternal life. …that God will be more than happy to let him into heaven…maybe even obliged to let them in. The people misinterpreted what Jesus was saying about work when He said - Do not work for…etc., back in verse 27.
v.29 But what does Jesus say about this? Instead Jesus says….this is the work of God …. that you believe in Him whom He has sent. Jesus defines the work not in terms of human effort and accomplishments, but in terms of abiding belief….in terms of faith. To have eternal life comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the One whom God has sent for the very purpose of granting eternal life. The answer to those who seek salvation from the weight of guilt and shame in this life de to their sin stained life …is this ….For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8-9). Belief….belief that God grants to the sinner - solely by God’s work of grace - to believe in the very nature, character, and mission of the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus lays it all out - that the food that people should seek, that - which endures to eternal life (v.27) is found in a Person - Jesus Himself. Jesus points out that - you can’t work for this bread of life.
Jesus quoted in Matthew, Hosea 6:6 - which really illustrates the point here in our passage - For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. God doesn’t want outward signs of religion from a heart which is far from Him - but He wants a relationship with His creature. It is not what you do, but who you know. And who you know will dictate what you do. One commentator sums the reality of eternal life in Christ, with this statement - "Acceptability with God is a relationship God gives" (Borchert).
As we move into our third section…Jesus has made it quite clear that the people needed eternal life through Him. Yet we will soon realize that the message is not sinking in…and the response is:
3. SKEPTICISM - YET SATISFACTION COMES FROM THE BREAD OF LIFE (v30-35)
30 So they said to Him, "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.' " 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
v.30 The response from the people is almost unbelievable. The people are saying to Jesus - "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? In other words they are saying hey, what are you going to do for us? They ask for a miraculous sign from Jesus so that they can believe. It is incredible that these people are asking for a miracle right now, since they had the previous day….only hours before, witnessed and benefited from a spectacular miracle (feeding of 5000). These people had been on the other side of the Sea of Galilee being fed bread and fish, yet they totally write off this sign from Jesus. This underscores the reality that it is God who opens people’s eyes to spiritual realities. People can witness all the miracles they want, but in the end if God doesn’t replace our hearts of stone with a heart of flesh, then you will never respond to the gift of eternal life in Jesus.
v.31-32 The people continue and they bring up the past. They look to their fore-fathers at the time of Moses, and they start comparing Jesus’ ministry with his. Moses provided the people with manna in the wilderness - bread out of heaven to eat. So the people were in effect saying that Jesus’ miraculous sign really was piddley - compared with Moses’. So what was is implied in our passage is that the people are kind of saying - now Moses miracle… that was a real miracle….that was really big, he fed the whole nation of Israel….and you Jesus just fed a few thousand people. Jesus…Moses fed them for forty years….and you Jesus - only a single meal. Moses bread came from heaven….Jesus, your bread from some earthly loaves - so Jesus show us something really big. Once again the people are blind to spiritual realities.
This is how Jesus responds…look down at verses 32…there are those words again… "Truly, truly, I say to you …. it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. Jesus frankly explains to those before Him, that Moses was not the one who gave the Israelites bread to eat from heaven, but it was the God the Father. In other words the point that Jesus makes is that - Moses is not greater than Jesus.
God is the One who gives them true spiritual bread. The word true in verse 32 means ‘genuine’ or ‘original.’ So Jesus is saying that the manna gave only physical nourishment which was only able to nourish a person for a while - but God is the only One who can give genuine spiritual life forever - God gives a true bread which gives eternal spiritual nourishment.
v.33 Now when we move into verse 33 it is really important for us to see the apologetic Jesus builds up. This is what he continues to say - "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." Did you catch that? Jesus smoothly transitions from - God gives spiritual life sustaining bread; - to - the bread of God is a Person. Think back to the beginning of this gospel in chapter 1:14 - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is the only One, God in human flesh, who comes down out of heaven. Jesus is the only One who can give each one of us eternal life - who are living in the world - because He is the Creator. Once again back to the prologue of this gospel - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
If we put what Jesus is saying here in our passage of chapter 6 - put it into an equation, this is what Jesus was expressing:
Physical bread = physical life;
Spiritual bread = spiritual life.
v.34 The crowd was getting excited - just like the woman at the well, back in chapter 4 - thinking that she could get some special source of water - this crowd was thinking they were going to get some free bread. They were still thinking in an earthly perspective - great another free meal like last night. The Jews were thinking - Yah…all right….that would be fantastic…. Jesus will - always give us this bread. So they were thinking that they were going to get an endless supply of bread. They were imagining - only if we could get an endless source of bread….no more baking….no more stores….so they urgently pressed Jesus for the goods….JUST SHOW ME MORE BREAD.
v.35 The people are so focused on the physical - on their stomachs - that they miss the big picture. Therefore Jesus declared openly in no uncertain terms His identity - I am the bread of life. This is the first in a series of self declarative, I AM statements Jesus makes in this gospel to the people. The people come for more bread and fish, but Jesus offers them more, much more….He offers Himself.
Jesus states - "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. He offers to people a personal relationship with Him, with the God of all creation (including themselves who due to sin have fallen short of the glory of God and are alienated from God). Anyone coming to Jesus for spiritual food will not go hungry. Anyone who believes in Jesus will not be spiritually thirsty….EVER! There is a guarantee imbedded here in the original text. The words will not is the strongest way to say no in Greek. Placing your faith in the person of Jesus Christ for all that He claims to be - the Son of God - and in Him is the only way to be reconciled to God, and believing that what Jesus has accomplished for sinners on the cross - that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,(1 Cor.15:3-4) - you will never - never, ever be spiritually hungry or thirsty again. By coming to Jesus Christ we find eternal spiritual refreshment and satisfaction for a sin weary soul. This reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 - Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me , for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
The people’s earthly focus and skepticism now explodes in attitude #….
4. UNBELIEF - yet in the midst of rejection, Jesus still offers THE ETERNAL WONDER OF THE BREAD OF LIFE (v.36-40)
36 "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
v.36 Jesus offers the people eternal life, but in strong contrast, the response of the people is rejection - and yet do not believe. They have seen Jesus doing all the miracles but they still do not believe.
v.37 There is a tension, a seeming contradiction, yet there is a parallel truth in verse 37. It is the correlating truth between Divine Sovereignty and human responsibility. On the one hand these people do not believe because the Father does not give Jesus their lives - and so they respond with UNBELIEF. Then on the other hand is human response. If God determines to change our hearts to accept Him, then He will receive us as His children through faith in Jesus Christ. It says in this verse that Jesus will receive those the Father gives. And to those who are received, Jesus will certainly not cast out. This the human response which God calls us to - those who truly come in humble confession of their sins before a Holy and righteous God….coming acknowledging that they cannot save themselves from their sins…but that Jesus can…and He has paved the way through His perfect life and then His voluntary and sacrificial death on the cross as our sin bearer….you will never be cast out from His presence. This is a promise, a guarantee. We as Christians can look at a passage like ours today, and know that God has done a wonderful work in our lives. We can know that Jesus is sufficient to keep us faithful to the end. Hebrews 12:1-3 encourages us with these words - 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
v.38-39 Jesus has come down to earth to do what God has sent Him here to do. It reminds us once again of John 1:14. What is God’s will? Jesus explains to the people - that God desires that of all the people that He has given to Christ, that Jesus will lose nothing (v.39). Now you may ask - lose what? The answer is that none shall lose eternal life. In other words no one who is found in Christ will perish, but instead they have eternal security in Christ. When all is said and done…when all is completed in our life…when it is time to return to our Creator at our earthly death…the one who has abiding faith in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour - will have no fear of God’s wrath, but you will be welcomed into your heavenly home.
On the last day we then will receive our resurrected bodies. This day is the time at the end of the Tribulation and before the Millenium of Christ’s reign on earth, where God will raise His saints from the beginning of human history to this last day. This is known as the ‘resurrection of the just’ and it is when we as believers in Christ will receive our heavenly bodies - bodies suited for a perfect place - bodies that will not break down - a body that will be glorious and eternal.
v.40 If there is anything that we should remember from our Bible passasge, is this - God calls everyone of us to respond to Him. This is the will of [the] Father. If you do not personally know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour in your life, this is the challenge, that you must [behold] the Son. You must look to Him for salvation for the complete forgiveness of your sins. Over the course of our sermon series and even today we have presented Jesus for who He is. Jesus is God the Son and he lovingly commands all to come to Him for rest from sin, and a restored relationship with God.
The words beholds the Son, suggests that you need to contemplate on who this Jesus is. And then if you are drawn by God through Christ…..you are called to respond in saving belief in Jesus Christ alone, by repenting of your sins. Jesus is the Bread of Life and those who trust their life to Him will not go away spiritually hungry and thirsty, but shall be raised to eternal life in Him - on the last day we then will receive our resurrected bodies, which will be perfect and perfectly suited to dwell in heaven with Christ in heaven for eternity.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
John 6:16-21 Surviving the Storms of Life
15.03.09 John 6:16-21 (NASB)
Sermon Audio File: John 6:16-21
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Surviving the Storms of Life
When we began chapter 6 we found ourselves in the midst of a miracle. This was the 4th sign in the gospel of John, popularly know as the feeding of the 5000. The key lesson that we focused on was related to trusting God. We found that the disciples were pre-occupied about earthly things - how were they going to disperse this huge crowd, and if they stay… how are they going to feed them all? Up to this point the disciples had been with Jesus for about 2 years. We would think that they should have know the nature and character of their Master, and what He could do. Yet we find that their spiritual eyes are short sighted. They were in the presence of Jesus - God the Son - but they were spiritually blind. Despite this we should give the disciples credit for obeying Jesus’ instructions as He prepared for the miracle. Now Jesus performs the miracle for all to see. As the people finished eating, the disciples collected what was leftover. They were able to fill twelve baskets with the barley bread which had not been eaten by all the people. What the disciples learned that day was to focus on Jesus more, instead of focusing upon themselves. They learned that Jesus is sufficient for all things and He demonstrated it again through the miraculous feeding of the great crowd. With the miracle complete the disciples had learned something about trusting their teacher and His power. The disciples faith wavered but in the end it was bolstered, and caused them to mature just a little bit more.
Today we are going to see that Jesus reveals even more of Himself to His disciples. If you remember back to verses 14 and 15, the people began to say that Jesus was the Prophet that God had promised from the days of the OT. The people in interpreting the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures were correct. Yet it was energized by the wrong motives - the people interests, in Jesus, lay largely upon the Jewish hopes for political freedom from the yoke of the Roman empire. They sought a powerful and influential person who would be from their own people. They figured that Jesus was just the right One to play this role, and they tried by force to make Him king. We know from the gospels that even the disciples viewed Jesus as a political deliverer. Yet when Jesus rejected the position there was a great sense of discouragement. In their view this was a great time to become king. The feeding of the crowd gave rise to the possible recruitment of 5000 men.
As we begin the next section of chapter 6, we have the 5th sign that is presented in the our gospel - the miracle of Jesus walking on water. This is the account from the Scripture:
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 and after getting into a boat, they [started to] cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea [began] to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He ^said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
This sign is witnessed only by the disciples and no one else. It served to encourage the discouraged disciples who just witnessed Jesus reject the kingship of the people. The disciples could have been wondering if they had been mistaken about Jesus. They could have been thinking that they put all their eggs into one basket - perhaps they had misplaced their faith in the wrong person? They had spent all this time with Jesus and now when the people had pressed Jesus to be their king He refused. The disciples were likely replaying over and over in their minds the question - If Jesus was really serious about bringing in the Kingdom …then why doesn’t He seem to care? Perhaps the disciples hopes were somewhat shattered. Yet in Jesus’ refusal to be king he demonstrated His authority over the great crowd, for He was not going to do anything that was in conflict with His Father’s will.
This 5th sign would serve to be an encouragement to the disciples and settled the many doubts that they had. So what Jesus chooses to do is to reveal to His disciples His true identity as the Son of God - the sovereign Lord over all creation. This is what we will see through this sign - that Jesus is our LORD AND SAVIOUR, that He in all circumstances can be trusted. This miracle of Jesus walking on water helps us to think through our faith. It challenges us to live in greater trust in Jesus that He is the One who brings us through the so called ‘storms’ in our life. When we place our trust in Jesus we don’t need to be afraid.
Understanding how God matures us can be seen through three stages, in the journey of the disciples across the Sea of Galilee. The disciples grow in faith by:
1. TRAVELING IN DARKNESS ALONE (v.16-18).
The disciples are stretched to their own limits through:
2. TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR (v.19).
But they survive the storm, and likewise we can survive the storms that we face in our life by:
3. TRUSTING JESUS WITH THE FEARS (v.20-21).
So now let us begin digging into the text to see what the Lord is teaching us today.
1. TRAVELING IN DARKNESS ALONE (v.16-18)
v.16-17 Our events begin late in the - evening. Jesus had asked that His disciples go ahead of Him, by boat back across - the sea of Galilee, to the western seaside town of Capernaum. Jesus’ own plan was that He would be alone on the mountainside in prayer (cf. 6:15). Jesus spent little time to rest but found strength in the presence of God the Father, to carry on. Soon Jesus would be off again ministering to the disciples in the middle of the sea through a miracle. It seems that Jesus had given the disciples the instructions to go on without Him if He - had not yet come to them by the time it had already got - dark. It was now dark and Jesus still did not meet them. So in obedience to their master’s command (Matt. 14:22), the disciples got - into a boat, they [started to] cross the sea to Capernaum. They were probably reluctant to depart feeling anxious about leaving Jesus behind. Though they traveled these waters often they may have felt the vulnerability of going on the lake with some winds blowing. Little did the disciples know that a time of trial was awaiting them. They would find themselves alone in the dark, clinging on to life in desperation.
v.18 The Sea of Galilee is a lake about 21 km long and 13km wide. It is a fresh water body of water being fed by the Jordan River and underground streams. The water is clear and the home of many fish. The lake is close to 700 feet below sea level and therefore it is surrounded by mountains and cliffs. The air temperature can reach up to 40 degrees in the summer months, and that is in the shade. This combination makes for some treacherous conditions. A Bible encyclopedia states - ‘The difference in temperature between the surface of the sea and the high surrounding mountains makes it liable to sudden and violent storms, as the cool air from the uplands sweeps down the gorges and upon the surface of the water (ISBE).’
This is the situation that we have in our passage in verse 18 - as it states that - The sea [began] to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. The disciples were facing a dangerous situation, yet not something totally unfamiliar to them, since some of them were experienced fishermen - but we will discover that even their life experience would give them no comfort. In a moment everything seemed to be totally out of control. They were tossed about in the churning waters of the raging sea, all together - yet alone.
Jesus possess Divine knowledge and He knew about the storm, He knew that the disciples were struggling at sea - and remained in prayer until the appointed time. Jesus knew what He was to do with the disciples and the storm. He knew in His infinite wisdom that the disciples required to have their needs pushed to the limits before He intervened. In order to accomplish His work in our hardened hearts Jesus allows for situations that He knows that we can’t totally handle on our own. Many times we live with a mere knowledgeable faith - we say to ourselves - and to God … ‘I believe that You can handle this.’ But what God purposes for our maturity and His glory is that He wants us to realize and live out this - ‘Lord, I KNOW that you can handle this!’ So, God allows those storms to well up in our lives, in which we find ourselves strenuously rowing against, making little progress. But in order for us to learn this lesson…He leaves us alone, so that we be - TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR (v.19) …. Yes, sometimes God has to humble us before we can mature!
2. TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR (v.19)
v.19 Under normal conditions the trip across the Sea of Galilee, is only a few miles across the top, and would require little time to navigate. But from Mark chapter 6 (47-48), we know that the disciples were in the middle of the lake. The strong headwinds which they needed to fight against pushed them way off course. This caused them to take a greater deal of time to get to the other shore. They had been rowing all evening and had only rowed the distance of about three or four miles, that is about 5 or 6 kms. The time would have been between 3-6 am (Mk. 6:48), so they would have battled the storm, rowing at least 6 to 9 hours at this point. This is when they saw Jesus - drawing near to the boat. This is where the drama of the encounter begins. We need to remember that the disciples had been rowing all night - so they were tired - drained physically and mentally. They were shaken and scared because of the danger of the storm. They were surrounded by darkness without any security, and their life saver was left on the shore since Jesus was not in the boat.
Haven’t we sometimes found our selves in a like emotional situation? A meltdown in a relationship - perhaps you are drifting apart from a spouse - from your parents - a friend; Maybe you are encountering an uprising of emotional turmoil - someone close to you is severely ill - you have had an argument with a close friend - you are moving to an unfamiliar place; or possibly there is an unwanted disorder in circumstances - the loss of a job….all these turn in events which drive us into a frenzied vertigo…..we don’t know where the horizon lies…. leaving us with a sense of self paralyzing hopelessness and despair. The disciples found themselves in such a like emotional situation. Then they all saw a figure beyond the boat….their life saver Jesus….but it seemed too good to be true…. and then they slipped back into fear - and in this new fear, they thought it to be a phantom or ghost (as Matt. And Mk. record). Their response was from fear to fear. They were frightened - struck with fear and seized with alarm at this strange occurrence - Jesus walking on the sea.
As believers what a powerful assurance we are given. That even when things are seemingly out of control and we begin to feel like we have been pushed out of an airplane with our hands tied behind our backs…. plunging rapidly downward in a dizzying spiral…and we just can’t reach forward to grab the pull string on the parachute of our own resources…Jesus is here. Here is an illustration that I found that might help us understand what I have been stating:
A construction worker who was employed on some high building project, was working at night. Busy on the edge of the wall, many stories high and with insufficient lighting, he suddenly lost all his balance and fell, but managed to grasp the edge of the wall with his fingers. Desperately he clung for his own life, hoping that his plight would be discovered. He was in total darkness below the level of the wall, and his cries were lost in the chatter of the roar of the machines, and the myriad of other sounds arising from the project. Soon he felt his arms grow numb, and his fingers begin to relax against every effort of his will to hold them rigid. Frantically he tried to save himself, but… At last his fingers slipped from the wall, and, with a retching cry of sheer terror, he fell…….plunging down… all three inches to a scaffold that had been there in the darkness all the time!
Isn’t this just like us many times? We like the disciples think that we can get through anything with our own endurance and resources. We like the construction worker clinging on to everything that we have….right to the end. When we acknowledge that we indeed have our weaknesses, we become fearful, anxious, and perhaps even unhappy….yet underneath…. all the while, are the everlasting arms of a faithful, loving and all-powerful Saviour - ready to break our fall, prepared to show us the best way, ready to restore our faith in a faithful God. (HO VanGilder, in Knight - fear).
We as believers are never TRAVELLING IN DARKNESS ALONE, and we don’t have to be TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR…we just need to be ….
3. TRUSTING JESUS WITH THE FEARS (v.20-21)
A long time ago a real person wrote this response about real circumstances…
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, 2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ... 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 [we are] afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you....14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. 15 For all things [are] for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal ….. 5:5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight... That was the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 3:18-5:7).
v.20-21 In the midst of these terrifying circumstances for the disciples - Jesus speaks calm into the situation - the focus of the disciples fears shifts from the storm unto the Saviour - ahhh…the sound and reassurance of a familiar voice - It is I; do not be afraid. Jesus says It is I - which literally is I AM. Apart from the introduction of this book back in chapter 1 ….this is one of those small glimmers in this gospel, of Jesus’ self declaration - His true unveiled identity - and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth - He is Deity - He is God - the great I AM of the OT Scriptures. In the authority of His person, Jesus commands the disciples - don’t be afraid. It is in the presence of Jesus that we can find abiding peace for the storms of life. We find in Him, Divine assurance and protection.
Since the disciples now knew that this was not a phantom, but Jesus in person - So they were willing to receive Him into the boat. As Jesus steps into the boat with Peter, the sea storm stopped (Matt. 14:32). The miracle was now complete, without Jesus even saying a word or lifting a finger - what an awesome display of Divine power. It was like the storm was waiting for the purpose of the miracle to be finished. With this taking place immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going, so they made it to their destination. Another miracle took place.
So how do we on a practical level TRUST JESUS WITH OUR FEARS? There is no miracle formula…and it is in fact often undervalued and taken for granted….that is read and apply Scripture into your life. In the past years there was a book written entitled ‘Experiencing God’ and one of the catch phrases is ‘Let go and let God.’ That sounds like a good thing to do, but it is theologically wrong. What that statement teaches is that we just sit back and God will do everything. ‘Let go and let God’ is wrong because it absolves us from human responsibility….taken to the logical ends it is saying that - if things go wrong it is God’s will (or even fault). So how do we Biblically trust Jesus? We can look at a variety of verses but let’s just take one of them - Col. 3:16 states - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…’Dwell’ means ‘to live in’ or ‘to be at home,’ and the word ‘richly’ can be translated as ‘abundantly or extravagantly rich.’ This means that our response in trials, and just everyday living, is that Scripture should permeate every aspect of the believer’s life and control every though, word, and deed. We need to be submitted to the Word of God in obedience therefore allowing the Holy Spirit to shape and direct us with the truth of God’s Word (MSB). When we live our lives in obedience to the living Word…Jesus….when we ‘welcome Him into the boat’ (if we kinda stretch that phrase a bit) - in other words, we respond to His Word…. He will chart the course of our life and bring us to our destination. Jesus guides us not according to our own desires, but according to the Father’s will….according to His own timing and purpose.
In the gospel according to Matthew we have this statement of response - Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." Once again the disciples spiritual eyes were open for a moment. They recognized Jesus for who He claimed to be - the Son of God. The book of Colossians 1:15-17 - states this: And He (that is Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. The disciples saw with their very eyes - Jesus reveal Himself as - the One who made the world. Jesus was I AM - God in human flesh - God with the disciples - God with us. Jesus in walking on the water controlled the forces of nature which He created. He suspended the law of gravity and demonstrated that He is the Sovereign Lord of all creation….therefore there was only one response - and that response was that the disciples worshipped the one true God - unveiled to them being revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. What an awesome demonstration of His person. What an effective tangible object lesson, that was given to the disciples. It is also a powerful reminder to us.
More recently, in our times a pastor wrote this….‘We will never find ourselves in a place where Christ cannot find us; and no storm is too severe for Him to save us from it. He protects His own, whom He will never fail or forsake (Josh. 1:5; Heb. 13:5). The lesson for the disciples is the lesson for us. There is no reason for God’s people to fear. There is no reason for anxiety, no matter how hopeless and threatening our problems seem to be. Life is often stormy and painful, often threatening and frightening. Some believers suffer more than others, but all suffer at some time and in some way. In spite of that, the storm is never so severe, the night never so black, and the boat never so frail that we risk danger beyond our Father’s care’ - J. MacArthur
Today…Sunday…is the start of a new week. Isn’t it great that we are able to start off the week with God’s Word and His people? As we enter this week may we be reminded that we don’t have to feel that we are TRAVELING IN DARKNESS ALONE (v.16-18). This week if we find ourselves looking to our own resources and we are TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR (v.19)….think about what we have learned today…and be assured that we can through the Spirit of God, be TRUSTING JESUS WITH OUR FEARS (v.20-21).…… He will lead us and mature us…as Jesus stated… IT IS I….DO NOT BE AFRAID.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Sermon Audio File: John 6:16-21
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Surviving the Storms of Life
When we began chapter 6 we found ourselves in the midst of a miracle. This was the 4th sign in the gospel of John, popularly know as the feeding of the 5000. The key lesson that we focused on was related to trusting God. We found that the disciples were pre-occupied about earthly things - how were they going to disperse this huge crowd, and if they stay… how are they going to feed them all? Up to this point the disciples had been with Jesus for about 2 years. We would think that they should have know the nature and character of their Master, and what He could do. Yet we find that their spiritual eyes are short sighted. They were in the presence of Jesus - God the Son - but they were spiritually blind. Despite this we should give the disciples credit for obeying Jesus’ instructions as He prepared for the miracle. Now Jesus performs the miracle for all to see. As the people finished eating, the disciples collected what was leftover. They were able to fill twelve baskets with the barley bread which had not been eaten by all the people. What the disciples learned that day was to focus on Jesus more, instead of focusing upon themselves. They learned that Jesus is sufficient for all things and He demonstrated it again through the miraculous feeding of the great crowd. With the miracle complete the disciples had learned something about trusting their teacher and His power. The disciples faith wavered but in the end it was bolstered, and caused them to mature just a little bit more.
Today we are going to see that Jesus reveals even more of Himself to His disciples. If you remember back to verses 14 and 15, the people began to say that Jesus was the Prophet that God had promised from the days of the OT. The people in interpreting the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures were correct. Yet it was energized by the wrong motives - the people interests, in Jesus, lay largely upon the Jewish hopes for political freedom from the yoke of the Roman empire. They sought a powerful and influential person who would be from their own people. They figured that Jesus was just the right One to play this role, and they tried by force to make Him king. We know from the gospels that even the disciples viewed Jesus as a political deliverer. Yet when Jesus rejected the position there was a great sense of discouragement. In their view this was a great time to become king. The feeding of the crowd gave rise to the possible recruitment of 5000 men.
As we begin the next section of chapter 6, we have the 5th sign that is presented in the our gospel - the miracle of Jesus walking on water. This is the account from the Scripture:
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 and after getting into a boat, they [started to] cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea [began] to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He ^said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
This sign is witnessed only by the disciples and no one else. It served to encourage the discouraged disciples who just witnessed Jesus reject the kingship of the people. The disciples could have been wondering if they had been mistaken about Jesus. They could have been thinking that they put all their eggs into one basket - perhaps they had misplaced their faith in the wrong person? They had spent all this time with Jesus and now when the people had pressed Jesus to be their king He refused. The disciples were likely replaying over and over in their minds the question - If Jesus was really serious about bringing in the Kingdom …then why doesn’t He seem to care? Perhaps the disciples hopes were somewhat shattered. Yet in Jesus’ refusal to be king he demonstrated His authority over the great crowd, for He was not going to do anything that was in conflict with His Father’s will.
This 5th sign would serve to be an encouragement to the disciples and settled the many doubts that they had. So what Jesus chooses to do is to reveal to His disciples His true identity as the Son of God - the sovereign Lord over all creation. This is what we will see through this sign - that Jesus is our LORD AND SAVIOUR, that He in all circumstances can be trusted. This miracle of Jesus walking on water helps us to think through our faith. It challenges us to live in greater trust in Jesus that He is the One who brings us through the so called ‘storms’ in our life. When we place our trust in Jesus we don’t need to be afraid.
Understanding how God matures us can be seen through three stages, in the journey of the disciples across the Sea of Galilee. The disciples grow in faith by:
1. TRAVELING IN DARKNESS ALONE (v.16-18).
The disciples are stretched to their own limits through:
2. TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR (v.19).
But they survive the storm, and likewise we can survive the storms that we face in our life by:
3. TRUSTING JESUS WITH THE FEARS (v.20-21).
So now let us begin digging into the text to see what the Lord is teaching us today.
1. TRAVELING IN DARKNESS ALONE (v.16-18)
v.16-17 Our events begin late in the - evening. Jesus had asked that His disciples go ahead of Him, by boat back across - the sea of Galilee, to the western seaside town of Capernaum. Jesus’ own plan was that He would be alone on the mountainside in prayer (cf. 6:15). Jesus spent little time to rest but found strength in the presence of God the Father, to carry on. Soon Jesus would be off again ministering to the disciples in the middle of the sea through a miracle. It seems that Jesus had given the disciples the instructions to go on without Him if He - had not yet come to them by the time it had already got - dark. It was now dark and Jesus still did not meet them. So in obedience to their master’s command (Matt. 14:22), the disciples got - into a boat, they [started to] cross the sea to Capernaum. They were probably reluctant to depart feeling anxious about leaving Jesus behind. Though they traveled these waters often they may have felt the vulnerability of going on the lake with some winds blowing. Little did the disciples know that a time of trial was awaiting them. They would find themselves alone in the dark, clinging on to life in desperation.
v.18 The Sea of Galilee is a lake about 21 km long and 13km wide. It is a fresh water body of water being fed by the Jordan River and underground streams. The water is clear and the home of many fish. The lake is close to 700 feet below sea level and therefore it is surrounded by mountains and cliffs. The air temperature can reach up to 40 degrees in the summer months, and that is in the shade. This combination makes for some treacherous conditions. A Bible encyclopedia states - ‘The difference in temperature between the surface of the sea and the high surrounding mountains makes it liable to sudden and violent storms, as the cool air from the uplands sweeps down the gorges and upon the surface of the water (ISBE).’
This is the situation that we have in our passage in verse 18 - as it states that - The sea [began] to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. The disciples were facing a dangerous situation, yet not something totally unfamiliar to them, since some of them were experienced fishermen - but we will discover that even their life experience would give them no comfort. In a moment everything seemed to be totally out of control. They were tossed about in the churning waters of the raging sea, all together - yet alone.
Jesus possess Divine knowledge and He knew about the storm, He knew that the disciples were struggling at sea - and remained in prayer until the appointed time. Jesus knew what He was to do with the disciples and the storm. He knew in His infinite wisdom that the disciples required to have their needs pushed to the limits before He intervened. In order to accomplish His work in our hardened hearts Jesus allows for situations that He knows that we can’t totally handle on our own. Many times we live with a mere knowledgeable faith - we say to ourselves - and to God … ‘I believe that You can handle this.’ But what God purposes for our maturity and His glory is that He wants us to realize and live out this - ‘Lord, I KNOW that you can handle this!’ So, God allows those storms to well up in our lives, in which we find ourselves strenuously rowing against, making little progress. But in order for us to learn this lesson…He leaves us alone, so that we be - TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR (v.19) …. Yes, sometimes God has to humble us before we can mature!
2. TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR (v.19)
v.19 Under normal conditions the trip across the Sea of Galilee, is only a few miles across the top, and would require little time to navigate. But from Mark chapter 6 (47-48), we know that the disciples were in the middle of the lake. The strong headwinds which they needed to fight against pushed them way off course. This caused them to take a greater deal of time to get to the other shore. They had been rowing all evening and had only rowed the distance of about three or four miles, that is about 5 or 6 kms. The time would have been between 3-6 am (Mk. 6:48), so they would have battled the storm, rowing at least 6 to 9 hours at this point. This is when they saw Jesus - drawing near to the boat. This is where the drama of the encounter begins. We need to remember that the disciples had been rowing all night - so they were tired - drained physically and mentally. They were shaken and scared because of the danger of the storm. They were surrounded by darkness without any security, and their life saver was left on the shore since Jesus was not in the boat.
Haven’t we sometimes found our selves in a like emotional situation? A meltdown in a relationship - perhaps you are drifting apart from a spouse - from your parents - a friend; Maybe you are encountering an uprising of emotional turmoil - someone close to you is severely ill - you have had an argument with a close friend - you are moving to an unfamiliar place; or possibly there is an unwanted disorder in circumstances - the loss of a job….all these turn in events which drive us into a frenzied vertigo…..we don’t know where the horizon lies…. leaving us with a sense of self paralyzing hopelessness and despair. The disciples found themselves in such a like emotional situation. Then they all saw a figure beyond the boat….their life saver Jesus….but it seemed too good to be true…. and then they slipped back into fear - and in this new fear, they thought it to be a phantom or ghost (as Matt. And Mk. record). Their response was from fear to fear. They were frightened - struck with fear and seized with alarm at this strange occurrence - Jesus walking on the sea.
As believers what a powerful assurance we are given. That even when things are seemingly out of control and we begin to feel like we have been pushed out of an airplane with our hands tied behind our backs…. plunging rapidly downward in a dizzying spiral…and we just can’t reach forward to grab the pull string on the parachute of our own resources…Jesus is here. Here is an illustration that I found that might help us understand what I have been stating:
A construction worker who was employed on some high building project, was working at night. Busy on the edge of the wall, many stories high and with insufficient lighting, he suddenly lost all his balance and fell, but managed to grasp the edge of the wall with his fingers. Desperately he clung for his own life, hoping that his plight would be discovered. He was in total darkness below the level of the wall, and his cries were lost in the chatter of the roar of the machines, and the myriad of other sounds arising from the project. Soon he felt his arms grow numb, and his fingers begin to relax against every effort of his will to hold them rigid. Frantically he tried to save himself, but… At last his fingers slipped from the wall, and, with a retching cry of sheer terror, he fell…….plunging down… all three inches to a scaffold that had been there in the darkness all the time!
Isn’t this just like us many times? We like the disciples think that we can get through anything with our own endurance and resources. We like the construction worker clinging on to everything that we have….right to the end. When we acknowledge that we indeed have our weaknesses, we become fearful, anxious, and perhaps even unhappy….yet underneath…. all the while, are the everlasting arms of a faithful, loving and all-powerful Saviour - ready to break our fall, prepared to show us the best way, ready to restore our faith in a faithful God. (HO VanGilder, in Knight - fear).
We as believers are never TRAVELLING IN DARKNESS ALONE, and we don’t have to be TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR…we just need to be ….
3. TRUSTING JESUS WITH THE FEARS (v.20-21)
A long time ago a real person wrote this response about real circumstances…
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, 2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ... 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 [we are] afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you....14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. 15 For all things [are] for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal ….. 5:5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight... That was the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 3:18-5:7).
v.20-21 In the midst of these terrifying circumstances for the disciples - Jesus speaks calm into the situation - the focus of the disciples fears shifts from the storm unto the Saviour - ahhh…the sound and reassurance of a familiar voice - It is I; do not be afraid. Jesus says It is I - which literally is I AM. Apart from the introduction of this book back in chapter 1 ….this is one of those small glimmers in this gospel, of Jesus’ self declaration - His true unveiled identity - and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth - He is Deity - He is God - the great I AM of the OT Scriptures. In the authority of His person, Jesus commands the disciples - don’t be afraid. It is in the presence of Jesus that we can find abiding peace for the storms of life. We find in Him, Divine assurance and protection.
Since the disciples now knew that this was not a phantom, but Jesus in person - So they were willing to receive Him into the boat. As Jesus steps into the boat with Peter, the sea storm stopped (Matt. 14:32). The miracle was now complete, without Jesus even saying a word or lifting a finger - what an awesome display of Divine power. It was like the storm was waiting for the purpose of the miracle to be finished. With this taking place immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going, so they made it to their destination. Another miracle took place.
So how do we on a practical level TRUST JESUS WITH OUR FEARS? There is no miracle formula…and it is in fact often undervalued and taken for granted….that is read and apply Scripture into your life. In the past years there was a book written entitled ‘Experiencing God’ and one of the catch phrases is ‘Let go and let God.’ That sounds like a good thing to do, but it is theologically wrong. What that statement teaches is that we just sit back and God will do everything. ‘Let go and let God’ is wrong because it absolves us from human responsibility….taken to the logical ends it is saying that - if things go wrong it is God’s will (or even fault). So how do we Biblically trust Jesus? We can look at a variety of verses but let’s just take one of them - Col. 3:16 states - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…’Dwell’ means ‘to live in’ or ‘to be at home,’ and the word ‘richly’ can be translated as ‘abundantly or extravagantly rich.’ This means that our response in trials, and just everyday living, is that Scripture should permeate every aspect of the believer’s life and control every though, word, and deed. We need to be submitted to the Word of God in obedience therefore allowing the Holy Spirit to shape and direct us with the truth of God’s Word (MSB). When we live our lives in obedience to the living Word…Jesus….when we ‘welcome Him into the boat’ (if we kinda stretch that phrase a bit) - in other words, we respond to His Word…. He will chart the course of our life and bring us to our destination. Jesus guides us not according to our own desires, but according to the Father’s will….according to His own timing and purpose.
In the gospel according to Matthew we have this statement of response - Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." Once again the disciples spiritual eyes were open for a moment. They recognized Jesus for who He claimed to be - the Son of God. The book of Colossians 1:15-17 - states this: And He (that is Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. The disciples saw with their very eyes - Jesus reveal Himself as - the One who made the world. Jesus was I AM - God in human flesh - God with the disciples - God with us. Jesus in walking on the water controlled the forces of nature which He created. He suspended the law of gravity and demonstrated that He is the Sovereign Lord of all creation….therefore there was only one response - and that response was that the disciples worshipped the one true God - unveiled to them being revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. What an awesome demonstration of His person. What an effective tangible object lesson, that was given to the disciples. It is also a powerful reminder to us.
More recently, in our times a pastor wrote this….‘We will never find ourselves in a place where Christ cannot find us; and no storm is too severe for Him to save us from it. He protects His own, whom He will never fail or forsake (Josh. 1:5; Heb. 13:5). The lesson for the disciples is the lesson for us. There is no reason for God’s people to fear. There is no reason for anxiety, no matter how hopeless and threatening our problems seem to be. Life is often stormy and painful, often threatening and frightening. Some believers suffer more than others, but all suffer at some time and in some way. In spite of that, the storm is never so severe, the night never so black, and the boat never so frail that we risk danger beyond our Father’s care’ - J. MacArthur
Today…Sunday…is the start of a new week. Isn’t it great that we are able to start off the week with God’s Word and His people? As we enter this week may we be reminded that we don’t have to feel that we are TRAVELING IN DARKNESS ALONE (v.16-18). This week if we find ourselves looking to our own resources and we are TRANSITIONING FROM FEAR TO FEAR (v.19)….think about what we have learned today…and be assured that we can through the Spirit of God, be TRUSTING JESUS WITH OUR FEARS (v.20-21).…… He will lead us and mature us…as Jesus stated… IT IS I….DO NOT BE AFRAID.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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