John 6C (2014) Let s dive right back into the conversation Jesus is having with the crowd He fed miraculously with the fishes and loaves

Transcription

1 Jhn 6C (2014) Let s dive right back int the cnversatin Jesus is having with the crwd He fed miraculusly with the fishes and laves It s the day after that miracle tk place, and the crwd has fllwed Jesus arund the Sea f Galilee hping t find Him in Capernaum And when they did, He cnfrnts them ver their reasns fr fllwing Him s fervently Jesus tld them they weren t fllwing Him because they had cme t knw Him as Messiah and Lrd They weren t devted wrshippers as their actins might suggest N, Jesus declared, they fllwed Him merely because they were hungry and they hped Jesus wuld satisfied their desires fr bread S then He tld them they shuld redirect their gal frm satisfying earthly cncerns t seeking fr eternal satisfactin Specifically, Jesus said they shuld seek the Bread that cmes dwn frm heaven, referring t Himself By calling Himself bread, Jesus revealed that the manna given t Israel in the desert was a picture f Christ Therefre, Jesus had fulfilled this picture when He descended frm Heaven t bring eternal life t Israel S Jesus tld the crwd t stp wrking t preserve their physical lives; instead, wrk t save their suls They asked what kind f wrk they must d, and Jesus replied they must believe in Him Whm the Father has sent Instead, they demanded a sign and suggested Jesus repeat the ne Mses perfrmed in the desert - In ther wrds, they want Jesus t prduce manna And in respnse, Jesus repeated they shuld be seeking the Bread frm Heaven, meaning Himself 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Jhn 6C 2 f 23 It s at this pint that we rejin the cnversatin, and it s in this final part f chapter 6 that Jesus begins t teach the crwd and HIs disciples n the tpic fr tnight The rigins f saving faith Jhn 6:35 Jesus said t them, I am the bread f life; he wh cmes t Me will nt hunger, and he wh believes in Me will never thirst. Jhn 6:36 But I said t yu that yu have seen Me, and yet d nt believe. We briefly cvered v.35 last time, but I repeated it tnight as part f the cntext we re studying Jesus cntinues t affirm t this unbelieving crwd that He is the bread that gives life This crwd may be hungering fr earthly bread t nurish their bdies But Jesus explains t the crwd that they suffer frm anther hunger - One that is far mre dangerus and urgent than their need fr fd They need the bread f life t feed a spiritual hunger And like He tld the Samaritan wman, they need t quench a spiritual thirst The slutin in bth cases is fr the crwd t cme t Jesus Remember in chapters 1 and 2 we heard the disciples repeatedly telling each new disciples that they must cme and see fr themselves Here again, Jesus says eternal life begins with cming t Him And ne cmes t Him, Jesus reveals Himself as Savir By that recgnitin, the persn is brn again and fllws Him Nevertheless, these peple have apprached Jesus, and yet they have nt believed Jesus cntinues t tell them that they must cme t Him 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Jhn 6C 3 f 23 Haven t they already cme t Him at least in the sense that they fllwed Him acrss the Sea f Galilee? Ntice in v.36 Jesus says they have cme and they have seen Him, and yet they d nt believe Why haven t they acknwledged Him as Messiah? What s hlding them back? Jesus has certainly been as clear with them as with anyne else t this pint And He s dne miracles in their presence that are equal t anything else recrded in the Gspels S why have they refused t see Him fr Wh He is? At the end f last week s lessn, I asked hw it culd be that the Lrd Himself culd present the Gspel message and yet His call t believe nt be effective in cnverting? If the Lrd s wn presentatin f the Gspel fails t persuade a man t believe, hw can anyne cnvert anther persn? If ur wn Lrd strikes ut, then what hpe is there fr us? Is the utcme merely randm? Des the utcme rest n the capriciusness f a persn s perceptin r md r feeling at a given mment? Des eternal salvatin rest n chance? What explains the inability f these peple t make sense f all they have seen and all Jesus has said? Jesus gives us the answer t why this crwd was unable t accept Jesus as Lrd Jhn 6:37 All that the Father gives Me will cme t Me, and the ne wh cmes t Me I will certainly nt cast ut. Jhn 6:38 Fr I have cme dwn frm heaven, nt t d My wn will, but the will f Him wh sent Me. Jhn 6:39 This is the will f Him wh sent Me, that f all that He has given Me I lse nthing, but raise it up n the last day. Jhn 6:40 Fr this is the will f My Father, that everyne wh behlds the Sn and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up n the last day Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Jhn 6C 4 f 23 Over the next series f verses, Jesus teaches the rigins f salvatin and why it is that sme peple accept Him as Lrd The explanatin Jesus prvides is abslutely fundatinal t ur understanding f the Gspel and f grace itself In fact, there are few individual verses in the New Testament mre imprtant n the tpic f ur salvatin than v.37 by itself S let s nte carefully what Jesus says in this verse First, Jesus says the Father gives peple t Christ The meaning f this statement is very specific and nt at all ambiguus Jesus says sme peple are given t Christ by the Father The Father selects (r the Bible wuld say elects) certain individuals t cme t Christ, t accept Him as Messiah The verb gives clearly indicates that this prcess is entirely within the Father s cntrl The Father is the One Wh gives He isn t reacting t smething r respnding t smething in Creatin He is the One initiating the prcess, determining that certain nes will cme t His Sn Then ntice the secnd verb in this pening phrase Jesus said all the Father gives will cme t Jesus Jesus desn t say thse the Father gives may cme, as if they are presented a chice as t whether t cme r nt Rather, Jesus says all will cme, meaning the utcme is determined by the Father Furthermre, Jesus uses the wrd all Nt sme, but all f thse the Father gives will cme t Jesus There will be n exceptins N ne can be given t Christ but then fail t cme t Christ 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Jhn 6C 5 f 23 All thse the Father gives t Christ will cme t knw and believe in Christ Based just n the first half f this verse, we learn tw fundamental aspects f the dctrine f salvatin, sterilgy First, ur salvatin rests n a decisin f the Father t bring us t Christ - It des nt depend n ur will - This is ften called the dctrine f electin Secndly, the Father s electin always leads t a persn t accept Christ - We cannt resist salvatin nce the Father has determined t give us t Christ - This is called the dctrine f irresistible grace S when the Father has determines that a persn will receive His mercy in Christ, then that persn will inevitably respnd affirmatively t that grace They d s because Gd s grace changes them frm within, as we learned in chapter 3 - They are brn again s that they can then respnd t the call f the Gspel - Salvatin is a wrk f Gd in the heart And there is n pwer in the Universe strng enugh t stp the wrk f Gd - Nt even ur wn will can resist what Gd purpses t d - Fr as Paul says in Rmans 9, wh can resist Gd s will? - Answer: n ne And the Bible als teaches that the Father s chice t bring us grace was made lng befre we were brn Paul teaches that the Father s decisin was made befre time began 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Jhn 6C 6 f 23 Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the Gd and Father f ur Lrd Jesus Christ, wh has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Eph. 1:4 just as He chse us in Him befre the fundatin f the wrld, that we wuld be hly and blameless befre Him. In lve Eph. 1:5 He predestined us t adptin as sns thrugh Jesus Christ t Himself, accrding t the kind intentin f His will, Eph. 1:6 t the praise f the glry f His grace, which He freely bestwed n us in the Belved. Ntice again that Paul credits the Father with chsing us t be hly and blameless in Christ And Paul says the Father made that chice befre the fundatins f the wrld The wrd in Greek fr fundatin can als be translated cnceived S befre the wrld itself was cnceived, yu and I were chsen by the Father t enter int His grace We were predestined t be adpted as children by Gd This is the definitin f grace accrding t the Bible Grace is nt defined as the ffer f the Gspel, as sme have errneusly defined it The Bible describes grace as Gd s willingness t save us even while we were His enemies - That is, even befre we knew well enugh t say yes t the Gspel That s why Paul says this in later in Ephesians Eph. 2:8 Fr by grace yu have been saved thrugh faith; and that nt f yurselves, it is the gift f Gd; Eph. 2:9 nt as a result f wrks, s that n ne may bast. Ntice Paul s particular chice f wrds We are saved by grace, thrugh faith 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Jhn 6C 7 f 23 We aren t saved by faith, because faith is the secnd step in the prcess We are saved by grace And all that fllws is the result f Gd s grace S by grace, Gd delivered salvatin t us S what part des faith play in this prcess? Paul says Gd granted us salvatin thrugh (r by way f) ur faith Said anther way, Gd s grace was delivered (r manifested t us) thrugh a faith we received Paul says very specifically that the faith we have we received It is a gift frm Gd, Paul says Gd gave us the gift f faith s that we wuld respnd t the Gspel This is hw Jesus can say with cnfidence that all wh are given t Him will cme t knw Him Because even ur cming t Christ is smething Gd Himself prduces in us by His grace Obviusly, the idea that ur salvatin riginates in the Father s chsing f us can be a challenging and disrienting revelatin Almst withut exceptin, every Christian wh has cme understand the dctrine f electin frm scripture has been surprised t see hw they were saved But let yur surprise cause yu t reject this teaching ut f hand - Because ur pride naturally recils at the suggestin that ur decisin t fllw Christ was nt truly urs t make The teaching f Jhn 6:37 clearly shws that salvatin des nt riginate in ur wn chices r decisins And f curse, this truth is backed up by the entire text f scripture frm Genesis t Revelatin 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Jhn 6C 8 f 23 Few dctrines f scripture are mre clearly evident thrughut the pages f scripture than the principle f Gd s svereignty But n where is it mre clearly seen nr mre succinctly expressed than in the first ten wrds f v.37 S in the first half f this verse, Jesus taught the dctrines f electin and irresistible grace Then in the secnd half f this verse, He teaches anther cre dctrine f salvatin Jesus says that the ne wh cmes t Jesus, He will certainly nt cast ut Casting ut in this cntext means t ppsite f cming t Jesus - As in t be cast int the judgment fires f Hell Once a persn has cme t Jesus, nce they have believed in Him, then that persn will never again be withut faith in Christ As sme have cme t say, nce saved, always saved Ntice Jesus desn t say thse wh remain in Him will nt be cast ut There is n requirement placed n the individual t maintain their salvatin by anything they might d And this makes sense, because ur entry int salvatin in the first place wasn t a result f anything we did - S it makes sense that ur cntinuing in salvatin isn t dependent n ur wn strength Once the Father wills us t cme t faith, Jesus says this persn will never be cast ut Eternal judgment has been eliminated frever... Rm. 8:31 What then shall we say t these things? If Gd is fr us, wh is against us? Rm. 8:32 He wh did nt spare His wn Sn, but delivered Him ver fr us all, hw will He nt als with Him freely give us all things? Rm. 8:33 Wh will bring a charge against Gd s elect? Gd is the ne wh justifies; Rm. 8:34 wh is the ne wh cndemns? Christ Jesus is He wh died, yes, rather wh was raised, wh is at the right hand f Gd, wh als intercedes fr us Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Jhn 6C 9 f 23 The phrase thelgians use t summarize this pint f sterilgy is eternal security Every believer is eternally secure in the salvatin they have received frm the Father There is n ptential fr a believer t ever lse what the Father has given them freely in Christ If yu re challenged by the three pillars f sterilgy in v.37, cnsider what Jesus says next Ntice in vs Jesus repeating emphasis n the Father s will in each verse In v.38, The Father s will dictated Christ s rle in the plan f salvatin Jesus says the Father determined that His Sn wuld cme dwn because the Father sent Jesus S that even Christ Himself was subject t the Father s will Is. 53:4 Surely ur griefs He Himself bre, And ur srrws He carried; Yet we urselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten f Gd, and afflicted. Is. 53:5 But He was pierced thrugh fr ur transgressins, He was crushed fr ur iniquities; The chastening fr ur well-being fell upn Him, And by His scurging we are healed. Is. 53:6 All f us like sheep have gne astray, Each f us has turned t his wn way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity f us all T fall n Him. If Christ Himself was bedient t the Father s will, even t death n a crss, then we knw that n man can resist the Father s will! Secndly, Christ says in v.39 that the Father s will ensures all thse He gives t Christ frever remaining in Christ Christ lses nthing 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Jhn 6C 10 f 23 Christ prmises that all the Father has given Him will be raised n the last day, meaning resurrected int a new bdy t live eternally Jesus summarizes all His statements with a pwerful cnclusin in v.40 He says everyne wh behlds the Sn and believes in Him will have eternal life and be resurrected And He prefaces this cnclusin nce again with the phrase this is the will f my Father We culd read v.40 in this way: It is by the will f my Father that smene behlds the Sn and believes, and these I will raise up As challenging as this teaching may sund, it is just Jesus pening salv in this discurse And if this teaching is a challenge fr us, hw d yu think this unbelieving crwd respnded t Jesus wrds? Predictably, nt well... Jhn 6:41 Therefre the Jews were grumbling abut Him, because He said, I am the bread that came dwn ut f heaven. Jhn 6:42 They were saying, Is nt this Jesus, the sn f Jseph, whse father and mther we knw? Hw des He nw say, I have cme dwn ut f heaven? In respnse t Jesus statements abut Himself, the crwd began grumbling r murmuring amngst themselves T grumble r murmur means t utter disapprving cmments indirectly Specifically, they didn t apprve f the idea that smene s rdinary as Jesus f Nazareth shuld cmpare Himself t Gd Their cncern betrays their hearts, fr it prves t us that they didn t knw Jesus as Lrd They are grumbling ver His identity Jesus claim t have authrity whether they enter Heaven is t much fr them t accept The Gspel always cmes back t Jesus identity 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Jhn 6C 11 f 23 If yu cannt accept that Jesus is Wh He claims t be, Gd in the frm f Man with the pwer t determine ur eternal destiny, then nthing else He says will matter It s ur view f the identity f Christ that determines whether we are truly saved r nt Thse wh recgnize Jesus as Lrd are saved; thse wh dn t, are nt At this pint, Jesus has explained hw smene cmes t believe in Him But if this is s, then d we cnclude abut this crwd that that has seen and heard s much and yet hasn t believed in Him? We get that answer in the next part f Jesus teaching Jhn 6:43 Jesus answered and said t them, D nt grumble amng yurselves. Jhn 6:44 N ne can cme t Me unless the Father wh sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up n the last day. Jhn 6:45 It is written in the prphets, AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD. Everyne wh has heard and learned frm the Father, cmes t Me. Jhn 6:46 Nt that anyne has seen the Father, except the One wh is frm Gd; He has seen the Father. Jhn 6:47 Truly, truly, I say t yu, he wh believes has eternal life. Jhn 6:48 I am the bread f life. Jhn 6:49 Yur fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. Jhn 6:50 This is the bread which cmes dwn ut f heaven, s that ne may eat f it and nt die. Jhn 6:51 I am the living bread that came dwn ut f heaven; if anyne eats f this bread, he will live frever; and the bread als which I will give fr the life f the wrld is My flesh. Jesus rebukes the crwd fr disapprving f His wrds And in respnse t their rejectin f Him, Jesus teaches a crllary truth t His earlier statements Just as everyne the Father gives will cme t Jesus, s als thse wh are nt given by the Father will never cme t Jesus As Jesus says, n ne can cme t belief in Jesus unless the Father draws him 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Jhn 6C 12 f 23 The way Jesus spke these wrds in the Greek language is mre dramatic and cnsequently, mre revealing The wrd fr draw in Greek is helk, which literally means t drag Cnsider sme ther uses f that same Greek wrd in the New Testament: Jhn 21:6 And He said t them, Cast the net n the right-hand side f the bat and yu will find a catch. S they cast, and then they were nt able t haul it in because f the great number f fish. Acts 21:30 Then all the city was prvked, and the peple rushed tgether, and taking hld f Paul they dragged him ut f the temple, and immediately the drs were shut. Persnally, I m nt sure why the NASB translatrs chse t sften Jesus language in Jhn 6, Jesus literally said n ne can cme t Jesus unless the Father drags us t Christ The wrd drag accurately reflects the fact that we are ppsed t Gd by ur wn nature They we must be dragged int the Light f Christ As Jhn said in chapter 1 ne cmes t Jesus f his wn will - Only by the Father s will d we cme t belief in Jesus And nw we learn why this prcess must depend n the Father s will Because we must be dragged t Jesus Our sinful nature is set against Gd and the Gspel S unless the Father elects us and drags us t faith, we will never g there n ur wn accrd Paul and Jhn als teach this truth in varius places f the New Testament 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Jhn 6C 13 f 23 Rm. 8:6 Fr the mind set n the flesh is death, but the mind set n the Spirit is life and peace, Rm. 8:7 because the mind set n the flesh is hstile tward Gd; fr it des nt subject itself t the law f Gd, fr it is nt even able t d s, Rm. 8:8 and thse wh are in the flesh cannt please Gd. 1Cr. 12:3 Therefre I make knwn t yu that n ne speaking by the Spirit f Gd says, Jesus is accursed ; and n ne can say, Jesus is Lrd, except by the Hly Spirit. 1Cr. 2:14 But a natural man des nt accept the things f the Spirit f Gd, fr they are flishness t him; and he cannt understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 1Jhn 4:1 Belved, d nt believe every spirit, but test the spirits t see whether they are frm Gd, because many false prphets have gne ut int the wrld. 1Jhn 4:2 By this yu knw the Spirit f Gd: every spirit that cnfesses that Jesus Christ has cme in the flesh is frm Gd; 1Jhn 4:3 and every spirit that des nt cnfess Jesus is nt frm Gd; Jesus is revealing t this crwd that their murmuring ver His identity was prf that the Father had rejected them already Ntice in v.45 Jesus says even the OT prphets said that Gd s peple wuld knw Him because they wuld be taught by Him Jesus qutes Isaiah 54:13 t emphasize that this is nt a new cncept Gd has always wrked this way in bringing men t Himself in faith Everyne wh has heard and learned frm the Father will cme t Jesus Once again, it s a 100% success rate fr Gd as evangelist S as I asked last time, hw culd Jesus present the Gspel and nt have success in cnverting this crwd? The answer is that the Father had nt taught these peple abut Christ He was nt in the prcess f dragging them int the Light 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Jhn 6C 14 f 23 And s naturally they preferred the darkness If the Father had taught them Wh Christ was (as Isaiah says He des), then 100% f them wuld have received Christ But because the Father had nt taught them, exactly 0% received Jesus It s a black and white prcess: thse wh receive Gd s grace are saved Thse wh d nt, are nt As a side nte, when when the wrd f Gd says that Gd s children are taught by Gd, it desn t mean we are taught directly by the Father Fr n ne has seen the Father at any time Jesus says Jesus clarified that the nly One Wh has seen the Father is the One Wh is frm Gd That One, f curse, is Jesus Jesus has seen the Father S Jesus is ur teacher by means f His wrd and His Spirit living in us Therefre, men are taught by Gd thrugh His Spirit and nce we have been taught, we will believe As Jesus emphasizes again, he wh believes has eternal life And with that, Jesus nw return t emphasizing His identity as the key t salvatin Once again, Jesus uses bread as His analgy, saying He is the bread f life The bread that the Lrd gave Israel in the wilderness was nly gd enugh t sustain their earthly bdies Even thugh they ate the manna, they still died But Jesus is a new, imprved manna, the bread f life As we said last time, manna pictures Jesus s ministry Manna came at night, as Jesus came int darkness 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Jhn 6C 15 f 23 Manna came frm Heaven, as Jesus descended frm Heaven and became flesh The manna was sweet, and Psalm 34:8 says Psa. 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is gd; Hw blessed is the man wh takes refuge in Him! Just as Israel in the desert tk the manna int their bdies, s we have t take Him int ur spirit thrugh faith Just as the manna was cmpletely cnsumed up by the peple each day, s will Jesus be cmpletely cnsumed as He saves us spiritually - Jesus gave up everything n the crss t save us But there is an imprtant difference between manna and Jesus The Jews in the desert had t eat manna every day in rder fr it t sustain their physical bdies Yet a man need nly take in Jesus nce t be saved fr eternity Specifically, Jesus says that it will be His flesh that is cnsumed like bread fr the life f the wrld We understand that Jesus was referring t His sacrificial death n the crss fr the sins f the wrld In that sense, His flesh was like bread, given t the wrld t cnsume s that we might live But can yu imagine what the unbelieving crwd was thinking at this pint? Well, we dn t have t imagine because we see the respnse in the next sectin Jhn 6:52 Then the Jews began t argue with ne anther, saying, Hw can this man give us His flesh t eat? Jhn 6:53 S Jesus said t them, Truly, truly, I say t yu, unless yu eat the flesh f the Sn f Man and drink His bld, yu have n life in yurselves. Jhn 6:54 He wh eats My flesh and drinks My bld has eternal life, and I will raise him up n the last day. Jhn 6:55 Fr My flesh is true fd, and My bld is true drink Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Jhn 6C 16 f 23 Jhn 6:56 He wh eats My flesh and drinks My bld abides in Me, and I in him. Jhn 6:57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because f the Father, s he wh eats Me, he als will live because f Me. Jhn 6:58 This is the bread which came dwn ut f heaven; nt as the fathers ate and died; he wh eats this bread will live frever. The peple have the predictable respnse t Jesus wrds: they are disgusted at the prspect f cannibalism, which is what they assumed Jesus was suggesting S naturally, they ask ne anther hw can this man give us His flesh t eat? Ntice Jhn says they were arguing with ne anther and nt with Jesus The wrd in Greek means an intense argument erupted Sme peple were trying t make sense f Jesus wrds, while thers had heard enugh and were ready t leave it seems But Jesus desn t intend t make this any easier fr these peple He repeats Himself saying ne must eat His flesh and drink His bld t have life Jesus adds the reference t bld in respnse t the crwd s claim that Jesus was advcating cannibalism Obviusly, that s nt what Jesus is talking abut, and it s their inability t see Jesus with spiritual eyes that has led them t this cnclusin Therefre, Jesus decides t pick up n the idea f cannibalism and pushing it even further t mck their ignrance When He refers t eating His bdy and drinking His bld, He s saying tw things at nce First, He s using a figure f speech called a synecdche, which means using a part f smething t stand fr the whle f it Jesus flesh and bld are parts f His bdy, but by the cntext we can see Jesus meant the whle f Himself He s telling the crwd they must take in nt nly Jesus flesh but als His bld, meaning all f Him 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Jhn 6C 17 f 23 Yu must accept everything abut Me, everything I claim t be and d, r else yu d nt have eternal life Secndly, Jesus is als alluding t the Last Supper and the cmmand fr believers t participate in the Cmmunin meal Obviusly, that sacrament had nt yet been established at this pint Nevertheless, Jesus wrds are an allusin t that cming ritual Our salvatin depends n cnsuming Christ, which means t believe in Him And ur belief is pictured by ur participatin in the Cmmunin meal, where we cnsume symbls f His bdy and bld Then in vs.56-57, Jesus returns t the principles f eternal security and the Father s svereignty in the salvatin prcess Jesus says thse wh cnsume Christ will abide in Him and He will abide in them The wrd abide in Greek is men, and it has a range f meanings It can mean t cntinue r t endure r t remain S, the persn wh takes in Christ (i.e., believes in Christ) will remain in Him Our salvatin is eternally secure And ur belief will ultimately lead t resurrectin frm the dead We will live again as Jesus lives again Jesus says as He lives because f the Father, s will we wh take Him in live because f the Father Jesus resurrectin was accmplished by the pwer f Gd t raise Him frm the dead And that same pwer will act t raise us because f ur faith in Jesus Jesus sums up His pint n bread by repeating that He is a kind f bread that is far superir t the bread their father s knew He is a type f bread that wn t lead them t death 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Jhn 6C 18 f 23 But instead t eternal life His pint is stp wrrying abut hw t keep yur bdy alive Start cncerning yurself with hw t keep yur sul alive As Jesus says elsewhere Luke 12:4 I say t yu, My friends, d nt be afraid f thse wh kill the bdy and after that have n mre that they can d. Luke 12:5 But I will warn yu whm t fear: fear the One wh, after He has killed, has authrity t cast int hell; yes, I tell yu, fear Him! S Jesus has addressed the questin f the crwd s unbelief by explaining that they haven t been led by the Father int belief But what f the disciples in all this? They were als having a hard time accepting Jesus fr Wh He was, at least in the sense that they didn t recgnize His pwer S where did Jesus wrds t the crwd leave them? Jhn 6:59 These things He said in the synaggue as He taught in Capernaum. Jhn 6:60 Therefre many f His disciples, when they heard this said, This is a difficult statement; wh can listen t it? Jhn 6:61 But Jesus, cnscius that His disciples grumbled at this, said t them, Des this cause yu t stumble? Jhn 6:62 What then if yu see the Sn f Man ascending t where He was befre? Jhn 6:63 It is the Spirit wh gives life; the flesh prfits nthing; the wrds that I have spken t yu are spirit and are life. Jhn 6:64 But there are sme f yu wh d nt believe. Fr Jesus knew frm the beginning wh they were wh did nt believe, and wh it was that wuld betray Him. Jhn 6:65 And He was saying, Fr this reasn I have said t yu, that n ne can cme t Me unless it has been granted him frm the Father. We nw learn that the crwd caught up t Jesus while He was teaching in a synaggue service, presumably n a Sabbath day Naturally, His disciples were in the rm als, s they heard all the same things the crwd heard, including Jesus calling fr peple t cnsume His flesh and bld 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Jhn 6C 19 f 23 S in v.60 many f His disciples began t jin in with the crwd s grumbling They say this is a difficult statement, but the wrd in Greek is a euphemism fr ffensive They were ffended by Jesus wrds Their reactin tells us that the wrd disciple in this cntext isn t synnymus with the wrd believer A disciple was simply smene wh chse t fllw Jesus at least fr a time But nt all wh fllwed Jesus were believing in Him And it merely tk sme hard statement like this ne t weed them ut The same pattern exists tday in the church as it always has False disciples are everywhere And we cme t knw them when we see them rejecting clear teachings f Jesus frm the Bible When they reject Jesus as Gd When they reject Jesus teaching n sin, Hell, judgment, etc. When they reject the ntin f salvatin by faith alne and nt by wrks... They are shwing themselves t be false disciples because they are rejecting the very truths that define ur need fr Christ In v.61, Jesus asks these grumbling disciples if His wrds are leading them t stumble? His questin is rhetrical and serves t set up His next statements Jesus adds in v.62 that if they are unable t accept this teaching, hw will they accept Jesus resurrected frm the grave and ascending int Heaven? The answer f curse is they can t If they cannt accept Jesus wrd in ne thing, then they cannt accept Him at all 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Jhn 6C 20 f 23 Once again, it s an all r nne prpsitin Yu are either in r nt, accrding t the Father s grace Then Jesus graciusly ffers a clarificatin f what He meant in His earlier statements He says in v.63 that the One Wh gives men eternal life is the Spirit He s referring t the regeneratin prcess that the Spirit des in the heart Being brn again is literally a prcess dne t us by the Spirit inside us Because f that Spirit s wrk f regeneratin, we cme t believe in the Gspel and are saved In that way we receive eternal life And then Jesus calls ut thse in the rm fr there unbelief In v.64 He says that sme f these peple have nt believed But ntice, Jhn adds that Jesus knew frm the beginning wh these unbelievers were What des Jhn mean when he says frm the beginning? Frm the beginning f what? The meeting? The day? The events f the prir day? The answer is frm the beginning f the fundatins f the Earth as Paul taught Jesus knew which peple were given t Him by the Father and therefre they wuld cme t Him And He knew which nes were nt given t Him and wuld nt cme t believe And in fact, Jesus knew He had a disciple fllwing Him wh wuld ne day betray Him In ther wrds, Jesus wasn t waiting fr each persn t make up their minds cncerning His identity s that He culd knw wh wuld be His fllwers 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 Jhn 6C 21 f 23 Jesus knew wh the Father had selected fr Him befre He ever left Heaven and came t earth S that as Jesus walked arund the Galilee and ministered t the crwds, He culd see His sheep even befre they knew Him Just as He did with Nathaniel Just as He did with the wman at the well Likewise, Jesus knew wh wasn t given t Him by the Father and therefre wuld never cme t believe in Him This crwd and even sme f His disciples were peple such as these Men and wmen wh culd nt accept the things Jesus said because they were nt amng thse elected by the Father Ntice in v.65 Jesus repeats His central tenet n the rigins f ur faith N persn can cme t believe in Jesus unless it has been granted by the Father S that if smene rejects Christ, it is evidence in itself that the persn is nt given t Christ Or at the very least, the day f their salvatin has nt yet arrived We see the truth f Jesus wrds in the effect it had n the crwd Jhn 6:66 As a result f this many f His disciples withdrew and were nt walking with Him anymre. Jhn 6:67 S Jesus said t the twelve, Yu d nt want t g away als, d yu? Jhn 6:68 Simn Peter answered Him, Lrd, t whm shall we g? Yu have wrds f eternal life. Jhn 6:69 We have believed and have cme t knw that Yu are the Hly One f Gd. Jhn 6:70 Jesus answered them, Did I Myself nt chse yu, the twelve, and yet ne f yu is a devil? Jhn 6:71 Nw He meant Judas the sn f Simn Iscarit, fr he, ne f the twelve, was ging t betray Him. As a result f His teaching, many f these s-called disciples withdrew and stpped fllwing Jesus These peple were expsed fr wh they truly were: unbelievers 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

22 Jhn 6C 22 f 23 As Peter teaches in 2Peter, a dg returns t its vmit They acted differently than their true nature fr a time, but eventually the act grew ld It became t hard t fllw Jesus given all that He was saying S then it came dwn t the twelve disciples, thse Jesus handpicked Hw will these men react t Jesus teaching? Jesus ffers them the chance t leave as well, asking yu dn t want t leave t, d yu? The pint f His questin is t expse their hearts as believing just as He had expsed the rest f the disciples hearts as unbelieving In respnse t Jesus challenge, every-ready Peter steps up and declares, Where else wuld we g, since yu have the wrds f eternal life? This is a great pening, and if Peter had left it there, he might have dne pretty well in Jesus eyes Instead, Peter pushes the cnversatin nce step further saying we have believed and cme t knw yu are the Messiah Nw that statement might nt seem t bad either, except that it s cmpletely wrng Peter asserts that these twelve were sticking arund because they had cme t knw Jesus as Messiah The cnstructin f Peter s statement in Greek suggests that the disciples themselves wrked ut Jesus identity n their wn As if t suggest they evaluated His claims Cnsidered His teaching and miracles And then cncluded that Jesus must have been the Messiah But nthing culd have been further frm the truth These disciples didn t cme t faith in Jesus any differently than any ther persn As Jesus says in v.70, Wasn t I the One Wh chse yu? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

23 Jhn 6C 23 f 23 Jesus is pinting ut that each f the was brught t Jesus and subsequently selected as apstles entirely because f Jesus wn chice And as He taught earlier, their faith in Him was ultimately the result f the Father s will These men didn t cme t knw Jesus as Lrd They were made t knw Jesus as Lrd They aren t staying because they have reslved t stick arund They are staying because Jesus will nt lse any the Father has given t Him And just t prve the pint, Jesus says that ne amng them is a devil? Jhn explains in v.71 that Jesus was referring t Judas wh was later t betray Him Of curse, the rest f the disciples didn t have a clue what Jesus meant at the time Thugh bviusly it made an impressin, since Jhn remembered the statement Gd s svereignty is s certain and His plan s intricately wrked ut in advance that even Jesus betrayer was selected by Gd in advance The Father knew that n true disciple f the Lrd wuld ever desire t betray their Master S if the plan f the Father is fr Christ t be killed by Rmans n a crss, then He must psitin at least ne unbeliever inside Christ s inner circle S that by this ne, Christ may be handed ver t His enemies at the right time And in that way, Christ s death in ur place wuld be assured S when Peter declares that they chse Jesus, the Lrd rebukes Peter saying, N, I chse yu. And s it it fr each f us wh believe in Jesus While yu might be tempted t think yu chse Christ The wrd f Gd declares that He chse yu 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.