width="900" height="598" src="http://cdn.jeremysarber.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/bread.jpg" class="attachment-archive-thumb wp-post-image" alt="bread" />This is part 75 of our study of href="http://jeremysarber.com/series/the-gospels/" class="series-7" title="The Gospels">The GospelsTo the same crowd Jesus had fed by way of a miracle, he began to teach concerning the true bread of life. The people sought food. He provided them truth.

 

 

class="stag-nav stag-clearfix">href="#stag-tab-scripture">Scripturehref="#stag-tab-outline">Outlinehref="#stag-tab-transcript">TranscriptJohn 6:25-40

25  And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

30  They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

31  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

32  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

34  Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

36  But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

38  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39  And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

40  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Review of what’s happened since we have a continuing story:

1. Jesus sent the 12 to preach and perform miracles.
2. They attracted so many people that they could not be alone.
3. They sailed across the sea of Galilee only to find a multitude of people waiting.
4. Jesus moved by compassion and healed them.
5. When it came evening, Jesus fed them by way of a miracle.
6. The crowds wanted to make him their king on the spot (they had found genie to grant their wishes).
7. Jesus sent the multitude away and his disciples across the sea.
8. After allowing them to sail into a storm during the night, he came to them, walking on water.
9. Peter, determined to be in the presence of Jesus, asked to walk to him on water which he did.
10. They got back into the boat and were immediately to land.

All of that was leading up to this one discourse Christ preached to the crowds.

First of all, we have a comparison of faithful, obedient disciples verses self-serving, ignorant people who wants a leader who will serve them.

The disciples may have been confused and disappointed by they were obedient. The multitudes, on the other hand, they just wanted the personal benefits of the Lord’s power.

Let’s begin reading in verse 25…

John 6:25
/> 25  And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

They were confused because as verses 22-24 tell us, they knew Jesus didn’t get into the boat with his apostles. They also knew they hadn’t seen him as they traveled by foot along the shore.

But Jesus offers them no explanation. Why? Because the Lord withholds from those who are faithless.

Instead, Jesus proceeded to explain the things he had the patience to wait days to explain…

John 6:26
/> 26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

Why should he tell them of the miracles he performed on the sea when that’s not what they were interested in.

Those miracles were a confirmation of deity…

Acts 2:22
/> 22  Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you

The multitudes who followed Christ around the sea were not interested in the miracles, per say, because they were not interested in who he was. They were only interested in what he could do for them.

Again…

John 6:26
/> 26  Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

That cuts to the heart of the matter by cutting to the hearts of the people. They didn’t care about a heavenly king. They wanted a king who could create for them the greatest welfare state in history.

Jesus then told them, “You’re looking for the wrong stuff”…

John 6:27
/> 27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life…

Most of the mistakes we make in this life are the result of that kind of limited perspective. It’s all around us. People are far more passionate about the corruptible things of this world which cannot last.

We are passionate about:

1. The state of the nation (causes us to hate and shamefully treat others).
2. The state of our reputation (causes us to care about vain things).
3. The state of our comfort (causes us to go into debt and become consumed by material things).

But Jesus said, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life”

What do you suppose the crowd was thinking when he said that?

They were probably thinking, “Great. Where do we get this life-giving bread? I’ll take it.”

Jesus, knowing what may have been going through their minds, said…

John 6:27
/> 27  which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Only the Son of man can give it by God the Father’s approval. He is the only source of life-giving bread.

But the people were still thinking in terms of natural bread. They were picturing some magical loaf of bread which would act as a foundation of youth if they were to eat it.

They’re thinking, “If God gives this bread to the Son of man, perhaps God can give it to us as well.” So they asked…

John 6:28
/> 28  What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

In other words, how can we make this magical bread for ourselves? After all, that seems easier than following around Jesus and waiting in line for him to serve them.

The answer was surprising…

John 6:29
/> 29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Whether they knew it or not, they were asking Jesus, “What might we do to gain eternal life?”

Most of us would answer that question by saying, “There’s nothing you can do. Salvation is by grace.”

According to Paul, that’s a correct answer…

Romans 9:16
/> 16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Salvation comes only through God’s mercy. But we can’t gain his mercy by wanting it or working for it. It is by the sovereign will of God. Furthermore, we can’t want it or work for it until we have it.

Remember what Jesus said to Nicodemus…

John 3:3
/> 3  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John said it this way…

1 John 4:19
/> 19  We love him, because he first loved us.

Why then didn’t Jesus answer the question that way? He told them they must believe.

On another occasion, he gave a different answer…

Luke 18:18-22
/> 18  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
/> …
/> 20  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
/> 21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
/> 22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven

That sounds a lot like salvation by works which we all know to be untrue.

Christ didn’t answer their questions in a Pauline fashion with straightforward theological explanations. He had a way of answering people by giving them the most needful lesson (the rich ruler was attached to his stuff, the bread-seeking crowd didn’t want to believe in Christ for who he was).

In both cases, following his instructions would have provided them the same thing: assurance of their salvation.

Hearing and believing the gospel–the good news that Christ saved us from our sins–doesn’t give us eternal life. Christ did that. But hearing and believing the gospel does provide us assurance of the eternal life we’ve been given through Christ.

We often misinterpret verses about assurance to be verses about conditions…

John 3:16
/> 16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus didn’t say, “If you believe, I’ll give you life.” He said, “If you believe, you have life.”

Christ simply told the crowd to believe. If they were to believe, just as the Lord’s apostles, the bread of life and all of their questions about it would be revealed to them.

Just as Paul said the gospel brings life and immorality to light…

2 Timothy 1:9-10
/> 9  [God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
/> 10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

Hearing and believing the gospel doesn’t provide us life and immorality. But it does bring it to light and provide us assurance of the life and immorality we have.

The Lord’s answer did not appease the crowd…

John 6:30
/> 30  They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

If anything proves the ignorance of those people, this is it. Jesus claimed that he was authorized by God to give out this life-giving bread and if they wanted it, they’d have to believe in him. So, they demanded that he prove it.

First, he already proved it. Second, their demands of him only give more insight into what they really wanted.

Here’s their reasoning…

John 6:31
/> 31  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

In other words, they said, “Moses managed to feed more than a million people every day for forty years. Jesus, your miracle pales in comparison. Why should be believe in you?”

Jesus responded to that pretty quickly (no one could outwit Christ when it came to scripture)…

John 6:32-33
/> 32  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
/> 33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

First of all, Moses didn’t give anyone anything. He merely distributed it.

Second of all, that bread didn’t come from heaven. Not like the true bread Jesus was telling them about.

Third, that bread didn’t last very long. It never lasted more than two days. The true bread from heaven lasts for an eternity.

Last but not least, that bread was for a small minority of people. The true bread is for people all over the earth.

Just to be clear, who or what is the true bread? It’s Jesus Christ as he was the one the Father sent from heaven. He confirmed that in verse 35.

The crowd concedes to his point but…

John 6:34
/> 34  Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

They said, “Fine, you win. Your bread is better than Moses’ bread. Regardless, we want it.”

They’re minds were still on physical, material bread but Jesus responded…

John 6:35
/> 35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

He didn’t have the bread of life. He was the bread of life.

Unfortunately, Jesus said but…

John 6:36
/> 36  But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

It’s been awhile, but Jesus had already told some of the Jews before that they believed not…

John 5:39-40
/> 39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
/> 40  And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

They thought they could search the scriptures, learn the commandments, keep them, and have eternal life. But those commandments were meant to highlight their shortcomings while at the same time pointing to the one who could give them life, Jesus.

What a discouragement that must have been.

But then, there is quick change in the Lord’s demeanor and tone…

John 6:37
/> 37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

They may not come today. They may never come in the full, self-denying manner they should. They may never speak the name of Jesus. But they will come to Christ.

Why? Because the Father gave them. They were a gift to the Son which the Son saved and secured on the cross.

None will be lost. None will perish. None will be cast out. I feel sorry for those who don’t believe the blood of Jesus Christ was sufficient to secure the salvation of those given to him by the Father.

But wait a minute! That sounds a lot like election. You’re absolutely right.

As Paul said…

Ephesians 1:3-6
/> 3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
/> 4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
/> 5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
/> 6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

The sovereignty of God becomes impossible to deny if we are honest with the scriptures.

Maybe you don’t like the sound of God electing a people for salvation. You should be thankful since…

Romans 3:10-11
/> 10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
/> 11  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

It’s not scary to think God chose a people. It’s comforting.

God’s people are a gift to the Son and we find out why Christ would never refuse that gift…

John 6:38-39
/> 38  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
/> 39  And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

The Father gave and Christ saved. None will be lost. All will be raised again the last day.

Christ amended his statement slightly in the next verse…

John 6:40
/> 40  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

In other words, if you can see the Son–if you believe in him–you are one of those drawn by the Father. You do have everlasting life. You will be raised up in the last day.

What a comforting message yet some of the Jews didn’t like it. It’s not surprising since they didn’t believe. But there are Christians today who don’t like that message.

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