John 6:67-71

I received praises to God from Pammie last night. After three hours of surgery, the doctors were very pleased and Royce came through well. He was pooped (and I’m sure his parents were exhausted). The big heart surgery has been scheduled for six weeks from now. Thank you, LORD, for your faithfulness! On to the end of chapter 6...

When Jesus’ teaching became too hard for the Jews and many of his disciples, they bailed on Him. So Jesus looked to the handful remaining, the twelve He had chosen, and asks them, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:67) And this was one of those moments when Peter came through:

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (vs. 68-69)

Jon Courson points out that, although they had seen the miraculous works of Jesus, it was His words that convinced them. Jesus had said that His words were spirit and life. Commitment to Christ comes from hearing His Word (Romans 10:17). Being with Jesus and hearing His teaching had completely convinced Peter that no one else had the words of eternal life. Peter had tasted of the LORD and had seen:

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)

Courson also notes the order of Peter’s declaration: first they believed and then they knew. This is one of the interesting things about faith. Believing is seeing! You need to take that step of faith before you will KNOW. And, indeed, that’s what the verse from Psalm 34 says. Taste first, and then you will see.

The majority of Jesus’ listeners that day were offended (vs.61). His words created sharp disagreement and the crowd left. It’s interesting that if your were at a party and brought up the name of any other religious leader (Buddha, Mohammed, etc.) you would probably provoke much interest. However, bring up the name of Jesus and many will be offended. His name is offensive to the majority. But to the minority, His words are eternal life.

After Peter’s bold affirmation of faith, Jesus responded, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (vs. 70). In hindsight, John was able to note that Jesus was speaking about Judas (vs. 71), but I wonder, since John doesn’t tell us, what that remark stirred in their brains. Did it alarm them? Did they look around suspiciously at each other? I’m sure Peter, at least, thought, “Not me!!!” :)

This chapter was full of amazing lessons! Jesus made such outrageous claims! We will see many more. Surely, this carpenter from Nazareth creates controversy. But If you have tasted of the Bread of Life, you know there is nowhere else to go! He alone has the words of eternal life!

 

John 6:41-66

...and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (I Cor 12:3)

When I first read this verse more than 30 years ago, I had a big “Aha!” moment. Some of you may think I should call it a “Duh!” moment! No one can possibly understand that Jesus is Lord by pure intellectual pursuit. It is not something that you can discern for yourself. It is something that the Holy Spirit must reveal to you. And it certainly explains the dullness of this group of people who were confused when Jesus claimed to be the Bread of Life. They were taken aback by this claim, because they knew he was just a carpenter, the son of Joseph and Mary. So they began to grumble among themselves:

At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” (John 6:41-42)

You know, God does NOT like grumbling! It’s what the Israelites did throughout the book of Exodus. One of the things they grumbled about was God’s provision of daily manna from heaven. They got tired of eating the same thing every day. So this grumbling here in chapter 6 is over the fact that Jesus is saying HE is the Bread from heaven. And they don’t think He looks too good either! Hey - he’s just one of us! How can he be from heaven? Jesus responds the same way Moses did:

“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (vs. 43-51)

This was an outrageous claim, and it cause the Jews to “argue sharply among themselves.” (vs. 52) Not only was it hard for the Jews to receive, even his own disciples could not receive it, and they, too began grumbling:

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”


From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. (vs.61-66)

See how the grumbling was tied to disbelief? If we are grumbling at God about our circumstances or something we read in His Word, aren’t we saying, “I can’t believe you would allow this?” or “You can’t possibly mean this?” And some people, especially ones new in their faith, will turn away in discouragement when God doesn’t answer their prayers in the way they wanted. “You didn’t save my marriage, God.” “You could have healed my spouse.” “You could have given ME that promotion instead of the other guy.” “Why did you let me lose my house?” And Jesus tells us here and in the verse from 1 Corinthians above that without the help of the Holy Spirit, we can’t possibly understand Who He is and what He is doing in our lives. Spiritual things are revealed by the Spirit.

Maybe you are in a place where you are grumbling like the disciples and thinking “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Jesus is saying, “Trust me! I am the very One you need for your sustenance and survival. Eternal life is found nowhere else. The teaching may be hard - your circumstances may be beyond anything you can comprehend, but I AM the Bread of Life, I AM in control, and I KNOW where I’m taking you!” Holy Spirit, please reveal to those who are hurting, and maybe even grumbling, what you are working out in their lives. Help them to trust and believe that Jesus is everything they need.
 

John 6:30-40

When Jesus told the crowd that the work of God is to believe in Him, they apparently didn’t like this answer, because they made a different demand:

So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (John 6:30-31)

They had already seen Him feed the five thousand the day before, so it wasn’t that they had not seen His power. But, because they were probably hungry after following Him over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and because they were looking for material not spiritual satisfaction, they wanted more food! “Do it again! That was cool! And if you do it THIS time, we’ll believe!” When what we’re seeking is temporal, we will never have enough! They wanted to see a “Moses” kind of miracle!

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”


“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” (vs. 32-34)

This is so much like the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Just as Jesus told her He could give her Living Water so that she would never thirst again, He is telling these hungry people that He can satisfy them so that they will never hunger again. And just like the woman, they say, “Bring it on!” However, the similarity ends there, for their response to Jesus’ next declaration is grumbling, not belief:

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (vs. 35-40)

This declaration of Jesus is one of the “I AM’s” of John’s gospel. It should have immediately taken the Jewish listeners back to Moses’ encounter with God. When Moses asked God His name (Exodus 3:14), God answered, “I AM.” It speaks of His self-existent, eternal nature. Jon Courson points out that Moses may have thought, “You are WHAT?” And Courson reminds us that Jesus is the answer to that question. Just before His crucifixion, when Jesus was praying in the garden, He says to the Father, “I have made you known to them.” (John 17:26)

To those who hunger and thirst, Jesus is the Bread of Life and the Living Water, Who completely satisfies all spiritual needs. He fills the emptiness with the fullness of Himself. (Ephesians 1:23) And you can’t get any fuller than that!

Did you notice the wonderful promise tucked away in this passage? “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away... I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” (vs.37,39) That’s how secure our eternal future is in Him! He will hold onto us and not lose one of us who come to Him believing He is the Son of God and God the Son.

I love the many verses that speak to our eternal security! In every other religion you are left wondering if you will make it to Heaven or Nirvana or whatever. You never really know if you will measure up. But because, for believers in Christ, our eternal life depends solely on Who Jesus is and what He has accomplished, we can KNOW for a certainty that when we die we will be with Him forever. This is our blessed HOPE! (Eph 1:18)

Are you one who is constantly searching for that one thing that will fill up your emptiness? You thought it would be your spouse, then maybe your children, or maybe the house, the new car, or the promotion at work... yet after the initial happiness that those things bring, there is the eventual gnawing again. You are hungry for something, but you don’t know what it is! Jesus promises that, as the Bread of Life, He will complete you and fill you to the fullest measure - to overflowing! The life He promises is abundant! Too bad this crowd couldn’t see it!

 

John 6:25-29

After Jesus and the disciples landed on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, it didn’t take long for the crowds who had been fed by him to follow.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”


Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” (John 6:25-27)

Jesus knew that their motivation for seeking Him out had nothing to do with their spiritual need. They were focused on their stomachs! So often people will turn to Jesus to get something from Him: a physical healing, a turnaround in their marriage, a better job, a mate, etc. And we can be a part of that problem when we tell people, “Come to Jesus! He will solve all of your problems!” So people who come to Him with this selling point are later disappointed when the “happy-ever-after” ending doesn’t appear. They remain sick, the marriage falls apart, they don’t get the job, and they no mate appears.

They don’t understand that their main need is to resolve the sin problem. They don’t get that Jesus wants to CHANGE them from the inside out. He didn’t come to put on a dog and pony show, performing miracles for the “oohs” and “ahhs” of the crowd. He came to rescue us from sin! He did not come to give them bread to eat but to BE the Bread of Life Who would satisfy their deepest needs.

Jesus tells this crowd that they need eternal food that only He can give. Their next question is an important one:

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”


Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (vs. 28-29)

The first time I ever read these verses they practically jumped off the page at me. Isn’t this the question everyone wants to know? “Just tell me what to DO, LORD, and I will DO it! What is it that You want me to DO to secure eternal life with You??” Jesus tells them that there is but one work that God requires: believe in Jesus! That’s it! He could have given them a laundry list of things to do! He could have told them to pray a certain way, so many times, to perform certain rituals, or even to give to charity. There are so many things that WE think we must do to win His approval, and that even some religious leaders insist we must DO. But Jesus says the work of God is to believe in Him!

Does this mean we don’t need to do good works? Certainly not! James tells us “faith without works is dead.” Our works, done from a heart that loves God and that are in response to the abundant grace He has lavished on us (Eph 1:7), show others that we have been changed, and, more importantly, they glorify our Father. But they don’t save us, nor do they make God love us more. It is impossible for God to love us anymore than He already does. For crying out loud, He loved us while we were yet sinners! (Rom 5:7-8)

I once heard a radio minister describe explain this passage tis way: God is asking us to obey the ONE thing He wants us to do - believe in Jesus. Suppose you, as a parent, had asked your child to do just ONE thing while you were gone for the afternoon: fold the laundry. When you returned the laundry was still in piles all over the floor. But your child points to his bedroom and says, “But I made my bed and straightened out my room!” You would say, “And you did a great job, but that’s not what I asked you to do. I asked you to fold the laundry.” Even though your child had not been lazy, and had actually done a terrific job in the bedroom, he had nonetheless disobeyed you. We spend our lives rushing from one “good work” to another, but if we have not obeyed Him in this one work that He requires, we will have wasted our energy and, worse, we would have missed eternal life!

This theme of believing is the dominant theme of John. It matters what we believe and in Whom we believe! Don’t waste your life striving to please God on your own. Just obey Him: believe in the One He has sent!

 

John 6:16-24

Today’s story is so familiar to some of us, that we may miss the wonderful lessons for us in it! After having fed the crowd, Jesus saw that they were wanting to make him their king, Jesus went alone to a mountain to pray, while He sent the disciples off in a boat to head to Capernaum.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. (John 6:16-21)

One of the details that John doesn’t give here, but that we find in Matthew 14:27 and Mark 6:45 is that Jesus MADE the disciples get into the boat. He purposely sent them out into a storm. So Jon Courson points out that Jesus is not just the Savior in the storm, but also the Sender of the storm. Some of you are in the middle of a “dangerous storm” right now (financial, marital, health issues, teenager problems, etc.), and you may be wondering what in the world is God doing, and why is He allowing it. Courson proposes that God has several purposes in sending us into storms: to give us new direction, to give us necessary correction, to give us needed protection, and to nurture perfection. Don’t you love four-point sermons with rhyme? :)

So how does this play out in our lives? First, because we are such stubborn creatures, sometimes God needs to let us face desperation before we will cry out to Him. In our self-sufficiency, we hang onto the idea that we are in charge until we’re forced by our circumstances to finally give over the reins. I have to admit that, before Don became a Christian, I used to pray, “God, get him, whatever it takes!”

Have you ever prayed that way for someone? And for some people, it’s that whatever-it-takes storm that finally breaks down their resistance. HOWEVER, I later discovered Romans 2:4 that tells us that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Now, I know that Paul may have meant that God’s character is so good that He is the One who, in grace, leads us to Himself, which is certainly true! But when I discovered that verse, God gave me an “AHA!” moment, and I began to pray that God would so BLESS Don, that he would clearly see God’s hand in his life and turn to Him from a place of thankfulness. Isn’t that a nicer way to pray? :) Unfortunately, though, some stiff-necked sinners need a storm - a big storm!

When we look at the story of Jonah, we realize that sometimes God sends a storm our way to correct us. Jonah was running away from God, so God put him in a “whale” of a situation so that Jonah would come to the place of obedience. Because He loves us, God will not let us get away with disobedience - and He WILL chasten us!

In the case of the disciples, I agree with Jon Courson, that Jesus wanted to give the disciples protection by sending them into the storm. They were in danger of being swept up by the emotions of the crowd seeking to make Jesus king for all the wrong reasons, so He made them get into that boat. Sometimes, when the world threatens to pull us away (through our association with a worldly group of friends, because of our love of alcohol or material things, etc.), God will send us into a storm to remove those temptations and distractions.

Finally, God loves us too much to leave us the way we are, so storms can be a necessary step to our purification. He wants us to become mature, and the only way to mold us into the person He wants to use is to put us into situations that will grow our faith - and there’s nothing like a big storm to put the fear of God into us! When the waves are so high around us and threaten to destroy us, we learn that the Sender of the Storm is also the Savior of the storm. And, surely, this is what the disciples learned when they saw Jesus coming to them on the water. No wonder they were “willing to take him into the boat !” And IMMEDIATELY the seas calmed (Matt 14:32), and they “reached the shore where they were heading.”

Jesus knows where He’s taking us! If you are in the midst of the most frightening storm of your life, don’t fear. Take courage! The Sender of the storm is also the Savior of the storm. Job learned this in the midst of his storm:

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. (Job 23:10-11)

 

John 6:10-15

In yesterday’s verses we saw that when Jesus turned to Philip, asking him what could be done to feed the massive crowd, Philip had no idea. He was looking at the problem and not to the Source of the solution. Yet, Jesus did not rebuke him or throw him out of the twelve as a failure of faith. In fact, He used Philip to accomplish this miracle we’re going to witness this morning! You have to figure that at least ten of the other disciples were probably nodding their heads in agreement with Philip, right?

I love what Jon Courson says about this! “Jesus didn’t say to His disciples, ‘ You bozos. Get out of the way and let Me do a miracle.’ No, He met them where they were and said, ‘Even though you don’t have the faith to see what I can do with the little given to Me, I’ll use you anyway. Could you make the people sit down? Could I use you in that way?’ ” (Courson, P. 482)

And that’s just what happened:

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.


When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. (John 6:10-13)

Don’t you love the orderliness of our God? He wanted everyone to sit quietly to be fed, in the same way that He wants us to be still so He can feed us. And then, He doesn’t want anything wasted, but all leftovers gathered. I think He inspired Tupperware! So, He has the disciples get the people to sit in groups of fifty (Luke 9:14), then He models what we need to do when we are insufficient or lack what we need to accomplish our task, He gave thanks to the Father! 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thank in everything! Again, I turn to Courson’s take on this, because it’s right on and so encouraging:

“So, too, regarding your dilemma, your frustration, your fear - do what Jesus did. Lift up your eyes and say, ‘Thank you, Father, that You’re going to take care of this situation. I know You will. You are faithful. You have never let me down but have done exceedingly abundantly above all that I could ask or think. When I thought I couldn’t make it, You pulled me through. When I thought I was going under, You pulled me up. When I thought I was out of it, You pulled me back.” (P.489)

Now, when Philip was not able to see an answer at the outset, note that Jesus already knew what He was going to do and how He was going to do it. Philip was one of the twelve who witnessed the miracle first hand. And he was one of the twelve who gathered the overflowing leftovers (exceeding abundantly, indeed!) in a basket. Don’t you love that EACH of the disciples was given a basket of leftovers to grow his faith?

So whatever our situation, whatever miracle we need, God KNOWS what He is going to do and how He is going to do it - exceedingly abundantly, of course! Even if we lack faith or have just enough faith to bring our few loaves and fishes, He can and will use us if we’ll just obey the small tasks He gives us. I’m believing that God will use our little faith and do GIANT miracles for baby Royce and for our little kindergartner, Valen, who is so sick. Keep praying and giving thanks in EVERYTHING!

 

John 6:1-9

In chapter 5 Jesus focused on the healing of one man; in fact, he sought him out in the temple after he healed him. Then He dealt with the unbelief of the religious leaders. In chapter 6 a crowd seeks Jesus out and we see Him withdrawing from the crowd, even as He has compassion on them.

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.


When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. (John 6:1-6)

As the crowds began to press around Jesus, he needed a retreat, so He took His disciples up on a mountainside to get some rest. Rest was important to Jesus, and He modeled here the need to take it - even when there is so much to do. In fact, precisely because there IS so much that demands our time and attention, Jesus continues to offer us rest.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matt 11:28)

Be still and know that I am God... (Psalm 46:10)

When Jesus saw the crowds had followed Him, instead of seeing them as a burden, He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, and even though they were seeking Him for His miracles and provision, rather than for Himself, He still met their needs! But He was first going to test the disciples. He asked Philip where they should go to buy bread, and Philip saw only the problem, and figured the only solution would be money!

Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (vs. 7)

Andrew did a little better. At least he saw a possibility:

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (vs.8-9)

However, notice the “but” in the middle of his sentence! “Here’s something, BUT...” Jon Courson writes, “How easily the word ‘but’ creeps into our thinking. We are aware of the provision, but we start raising objections when we look at the situation practically.” (Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: New Testament, P. 482)

Throughout the Bible God uses something “little” to do something huge! In fact, He chose the Israelites, precisely BECAUSE they were a little nation. David was the runt of the litter in his family, but he was chosen by God to become king. With only five smooth stones in his hand (and only using ONE of those), David slew Goliath. Gideon used a teeny army to rout a large enemy. And Jesus used just five SMALL loaves and two SMALL fish to feed over 5,000 people!

When we are looking for a miracle, let’s not OVERLOOK the small! What has God given you to work that miracle you are seeking. Is your faith SMALL? Ask Him to enlarge it by HIS power. We have been asking for some mighty miracles for Baby Royce this week. Let’s bring our small faith to our Mighty God, and watch Him work!