Jesus Is The Bread Of Life (John 6:22-71

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:04.240 Please remain standing, if you're able, and turn your attention to John, 2 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:11.550 Chapter Twenty two, John Six, rather John, sorry, John Six, 3 00:00:11.589 --> 00:00:23.579 verse twenty two. Let's hear God's word. On the next day, the 4 00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:27.260 crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been 5 00:00:27.460 --> 00:00:31.620 only one boat there and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, 6 00:00:32.219 --> 00:00:37.009 but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberius came 7 00:00:37.130 --> 00:00:40.890 near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 8 00:00:40.929 --> 00:00:45.929 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, 9 00:00:46.450 --> 00:00:52.000 they themselves got into the boats and went to copernum seeking Jesus. When 10 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.560 they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, 11 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.399 rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them. Truly, 12 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.840 truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw 13 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:08.230 signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do Not Labor 14 00:01:08.430 --> 00:01:14.150 for food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, 15 00:01:14.709 --> 00:01:18.549 which the son of Man will give to you, for on him God, 16 00:01:18.659 --> 00:01:23.019 the father, has set his seal. Then they said to him, what 17 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:26.420 must we do to be doing the works of God. Jesus answered them. 18 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:32.659 This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. 19 00:01:33.689 --> 00:01:36.609 So they said to him. Then, what sign do you do that 20 00:01:36.689 --> 00:01:41.650 we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers 21 00:01:41.769 --> 00:01:45.209 ate the manner in the Wilderness. As it is written. He gave them 22 00:01:45.329 --> 00:01:49.200 bread from heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, truly, truly, 23 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:53.439 I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread 24 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:57.760 from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven, for 25 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.590 the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to 26 00:02:01.670 --> 00:02:07.109 the world. They said to him, sir, give us this bread always. 27 00:02:07.069 --> 00:02:09.990 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes 28 00:02:10.030 --> 00:02:14.349 to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 29 00:02:15.150 --> 00:02:17.099 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not 30 00:02:17.300 --> 00:02:22.780 believe. All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever 31 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:25.860 comes to me I will never cast out, for I have come down from 32 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:29.780 heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent 33 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:31.969 me, and this is the will of him who sent me, that I 34 00:02:32.009 --> 00:02:35.889 should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up 35 00:02:35.969 --> 00:02:38.250 on the last day, for this is the will of my father, that 36 00:02:38.330 --> 00:02:44.090 everyone who looks on the sun and believes in him should have eternal life, 37 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:49.560 and I will raise him up on the last day. So the Jews grumbled 38 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.000 about him because he said I am the bread that came down from heaven. 39 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:58.039 They said, is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father 40 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:01.110 and mother we know? How does he now say I have come down from 41 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:07.189 heaven? Jesus answered them. Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can 42 00:03:07.270 --> 00:03:12.710 come to me unless the father who sent me draws him, and I will 43 00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:15.500 raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 44 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:20.860 and they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned 45 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:24.900 that the father comes to me or learned from the father, comes to me. 46 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:30.050 Not that anyone has seen the father, except he who is from God. 47 00:03:30.810 --> 00:03:34.370 He has seen the father truly. Truly, I say to you, 48 00:03:34.449 --> 00:03:39.969 whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your father's 49 00:03:40.009 --> 00:03:45.280 ain't the man in the Wilderness, and they died. This is the bread 50 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.960 that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.800 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats 52 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:57.949 of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will 53 00:03:57.990 --> 00:04:02.430 give, give for the life of the world is my flesh. The Jews 54 00:04:02.469 --> 00:04:06.710 then disputed among themselves, saying how can this man give us his flesh to 55 00:04:06.870 --> 00:04:12.099 eat? Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, 56 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:15.019 unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, 57 00:04:15.100 --> 00:04:19.500 you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks 58 00:04:19.540 --> 00:04:24.449 my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last 59 00:04:24.610 --> 00:04:28.930 stay, for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 60 00:04:29.410 --> 00:04:32.689 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in 61 00:04:32.810 --> 00:04:38.329 him, as the living father sent me, and I live because of the 62 00:04:38.449 --> 00:04:43.480 father. So whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 63 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:46.680 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread 64 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:51.439 the father's a and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. 65 00:04:53.350 --> 00:04:57.870 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Copernum. When 66 00:04:57.949 --> 00:05:00.629 many of his disciples heard it, they said, this is a hard saying. 67 00:05:00.709 --> 00:05:05.189 Who can listen to it? But Jesus, knowing in himself that his 68 00:05:05.310 --> 00:05:10.459 disciples were grumbling about this, said to them. Do you take offense at 69 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:15.060 this? Then what if you were to see the son of man ascending to 70 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:19.139 where he was before? It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh 71 00:05:19.180 --> 00:05:24.089 is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are 72 00:05:24.329 --> 00:05:28.930 spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. 73 00:05:29.569 --> 00:05:32.569 For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who 74 00:05:32.610 --> 00:05:38.319 it was who would betray him. And he said, this is why I 75 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:42.879 told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by 76 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.920 the father. After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer 77 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:51.430 walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, do you want to 78 00:05:51.470 --> 00:05:57.790 go way as well? Simon Peter answered him. Lord, to whom shall 79 00:05:57.829 --> 00:06:01.829 we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed 80 00:06:01.910 --> 00:06:06.420 and have come to know that you are the holy one of God. Jesus 81 00:06:06.459 --> 00:06:11.420 answered them. Did I not choose you, the twelve, and yet one 82 00:06:11.459 --> 00:06:15.740 of you is a devil? He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon 83 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:19.329 a scariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray 84 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:40.920 him. May God bless the reading of his word may be seated well. 85 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:44.639 It's a long passage. You can see why I read it in its entirety. 86 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:50.949 This is a significant turning point in Jesus's ministry and it all hangs together 87 00:06:51.149 --> 00:06:57.870 on this teaching that he's explaining here, based on things he said been done 88 00:06:58.829 --> 00:07:02.180 before. A turning point, because we see that these crowds that have been 89 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:08.779 following him are now saying, you know what, never mind, and even 90 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:14.060 we begin to John Anticipates for us and reminds us that there is one among 91 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:18.569 the twelve who is going to betray him, that Peter is gaining strength in 92 00:07:18.649 --> 00:07:23.810 his faith, is gaining larity. And who Jesus is? Where shall I 93 00:07:23.970 --> 00:07:26.970 go? Where shall we go? He says to the Lord, you have 94 00:07:27.209 --> 00:07:35.000 the words of eternal life. John Chapter six begins are rather I shouldn't say 95 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:38.439 begins, but I'll just say. Put It this way, John Chapter six 96 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:45.189 puts before us some very clear choices. Do we follow Jesus or do we 97 00:07:45.310 --> 00:07:49.870 turn away? Do we say this is a hard saying. I don't know. 98 00:07:51.269 --> 00:07:56.029 I can't take it, or do we trust him and do we believe 99 00:07:56.149 --> 00:08:01.540 what he says about who he is and what he gives? The things he 100 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:15.850 says are extreme. Jesus is not saying easy things to either understand or believe. 101 00:08:16.850 --> 00:08:20.689 It's one of the reasons that he says that the only reason we come 102 00:08:20.850 --> 00:08:24.850 to him is because of God's work in us. Man can't sort of work 103 00:08:24.970 --> 00:08:30.680 in himself and depend on his flesh and his reason and his will and his 104 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:33.200 emotions and put all that together and say, okay, I think I can 105 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:37.080 figure out a way to God. No, instead, God comes to us 106 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:43.429 in this very unusual way, a way that undermines much of our feelings, 107 00:08:43.509 --> 00:08:46.190 much underminds much of the way that we think about this world, imagine this 108 00:08:46.350 --> 00:08:52.750 world, a consider it, it undermines it and he gives us something entirely 109 00:08:52.830 --> 00:08:58.059 different, something that is very separate from us. And yet when we accept 110 00:08:58.179 --> 00:09:01.860 it and when we receive it and when we follow it, it becomes so 111 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:09.129 intimate to us that Jesus uses this word abiding many times here. We also 112 00:09:09.169 --> 00:09:22.370 read in First John that same language of abiding in God. Let's start back 113 00:09:22.409 --> 00:09:28.919 at the beginning of this section and remind ourselves some of the context of what's 114 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:35.519 going on here. We here in Tucson just had a very lovely spring and 115 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:39.110 it was about the spring, or if I should say in the springtime, 116 00:09:39.269 --> 00:09:43.669 sometime in the spring, when these events were happening. We know that, 117 00:09:43.950 --> 00:09:52.029 for because of a detail John includes in the previous passage when he has the 118 00:09:52.110 --> 00:09:56.659 people sit down. He says there was much grass. There's only one time 119 00:09:56.820 --> 00:10:00.659 that there's much grass in this part of the world and that's in the springtime. 120 00:10:01.740 --> 00:10:05.299 It's a lot of grass, it's beautiful, it had been raining. 121 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:13.409 There was a life and and a good time for sitting around and hearing at 122 00:10:13.409 --> 00:10:22.759 Jesus speak, but it wasn't very relaxing. In another way. John tells 123 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:26.679 us that what is happening, I kind of imagine in my mind, is 124 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:33.480 almost this sort of cartoonish scene of these crowds following Jesus and him trying to 125 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:35.789 get away, and then they follow into this other place and they're sort of 126 00:10:35.029 --> 00:10:41.309 back and forth across this sea. He describes to us at the beginning of 127 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:46.110 John Chapter six that Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of 128 00:10:46.190 --> 00:10:48.909 Galilee on. This was after some events where he had done some healing and 129 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:54.139 people were trying to kill him. Jews from Jerusalem were very upset with him 130 00:10:54.139 --> 00:10:58.860 and the things that he was doing and teaching. Crowds were also beginning to 131 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:03.850 form around him and they're following him. It's controversy everywhere. It's teaching and 132 00:11:05.009 --> 00:11:09.330 miracles. It was all very, very active, and Jesus is getting tired. 133 00:11:09.529 --> 00:11:13.889 His disciples are getting tired. In one of the other gospels, Luke 134 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:18.200 Nine, I believe it is a, tells us that they know. I'm 135 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:22.159 sorry, I think it's mark. Mark tells us that they didn't even have 136 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:26.960 time to eat. They needed some rest, and so they go to the 137 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:31.279 other side of the Sea of Galilee. John tells us, interestingly, that 138 00:11:31.870 --> 00:11:37.110 also called the Sea of Tiberius. Will come back to that in a moment. 139 00:11:37.509 --> 00:11:41.029 They go away to the other side to get some quiet and to get 140 00:11:41.789 --> 00:11:46.590 some rest. Now says they went up a mountain. You probably want to 141 00:11:46.710 --> 00:11:52.419 think more a mountain than Catalina. Right. We know that part because we 142 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:56.059 can look at the elevation and those kinds of things. We also know that 143 00:11:56.139 --> 00:11:58.179 because John says that he went up on the mountain and he could see the 144 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:03.169 crowds right here coming toward him. We call it sentinel peak right, because 145 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:07.370 we're able the people would stand up there and serve as centuries, to see 146 00:12:07.850 --> 00:12:13.370 as a similar kind of thing. John, the Jesus goes up this this 147 00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:18.600 mountain to have some time alone, to pray, but he sees the people 148 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:26.279 coming, he comes down from the mountain and feeds him. That's the miracle 149 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:31.789 we have at the beginning of John Chapter six. This, this work that 150 00:12:31.909 --> 00:12:35.789 he does, this feeding of these five thousand men plus women, plus children, 151 00:12:37.509 --> 00:12:43.269 is so amazing, such an amazing sign, that they want to seize 152 00:12:43.269 --> 00:12:52.299 him and make him king. Jesus then escapes again. Now I want to 153 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:56.860 pause there for a moment and know some of the context in which this is 154 00:12:56.980 --> 00:13:03.129 happening. I'm John Indicates this to us by'm pointing out that this sea is 155 00:13:03.250 --> 00:13:07.769 called the Sea of Tiberius. Now this is the only place where the Sea 156 00:13:07.809 --> 00:13:13.200 of Galilee is called the Sea of Tiberius, here in John Six, and 157 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:18.840 then also a later in the Gospel. It's interesting that John Refers it to 158 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:22.559 the Sea of Type Burius, the Sea of Galilee this way, especially in 159 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:28.950 this context where they are wanting to make Jesus a king. That's because Tiberius 160 00:13:30.029 --> 00:13:33.429 was the name of a city on the western shore of the lake and which 161 00:13:33.509 --> 00:13:37.710 all of these boats are being sent out from. And it's interesting because it 162 00:13:37.830 --> 00:13:43.179 was a new capital established in twenty a D it was a new capital founded 163 00:13:43.259 --> 00:13:50.620 by Herod of Antipas, or Herod Antipas, a capital of Galilee, named 164 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:58.730 after after Caesar Tiberius. Now, Herod was probably trying to be smart and 165 00:13:58.889 --> 00:14:03.490 founding this city here named after this Caesar, his overlord, we might call 166 00:14:05.330 --> 00:14:09.690 him, this higher ruler. Herod was trying to be smart and founding this 167 00:14:09.809 --> 00:14:13.919 little city, or big city, rather near the lake, near trade routes, 168 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:18.679 but it ended up being a real political disaster for him. So Herod 169 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:22.919 tries to found this capital city. Josephus tells us that he built it on 170 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:28.029 an old cemetery and thus made everyone there ritually defiled. That was a kind 171 00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:35.549 of political snapfoo. Moreover, Josepha says that the people who live there weren't 172 00:14:35.629 --> 00:14:39.620 very nice. It was such a bad place that Herod had to force people 173 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:46.580 into the new capital. He had to exercise his kingly power to force people 174 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:52.809 to live there. It's also possible that this is the place where he would 175 00:14:52.889 --> 00:15:00.889 celebrate his birthday and John the Baptist would later be beheaded. So this place, 176 00:15:00.929 --> 00:15:07.279 Tiberius, this new capital, has all the marks of politics, as 177 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:11.759 all the marks of a king exercising his power and the people not really being 178 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:16.759 very happy about it, things not going well, things and feeling frustrated and 179 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:26.950 and politically a politically charged place. And then here comes this Jesus, this 180 00:15:26.149 --> 00:15:31.389 one from this Galilee region, from Nazareth. This is one who's doing these 181 00:15:31.549 --> 00:15:39.620 amazing signs, this one who is I'm speaking with authority. Perhaps the thought 182 00:15:39.860 --> 00:15:45.860 was, let's make him king, this Tiberias business, this Herod Business. 183 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:54.169 Know we want Jesus. Here is this local boy doing amazing miracles. But 184 00:15:54.289 --> 00:16:00.090 in all of this context, despite sort of this maybe perhaps a perfect moment 185 00:16:00.289 --> 00:16:07.360 to become king, at least of this region, Jesus refuses. They want 186 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:11.600 to seize him and make him king, but he escapes. When evening comes, 187 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:15.279 is to side. He escapes. And then when evening comes, we 188 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.830 read in this section just previous to the one I read this morning, that 189 00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:22.750 his disciples then head down the mountain, get in a boat and travel at 190 00:16:22.789 --> 00:16:30.149 night across the sea to Copernum. And that's when we come to our passage 191 00:16:30.190 --> 00:16:34.659 today. The next day. The crowds that have been there have this mystery 192 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:40.500 on their hands. There was only one boat at the disciples in Jesus came 193 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:45.379 in. That boat left, but Jesus wasn't on it. And where's Jesus? 194 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:49.330 Now? We know from the last passage that Jesus went with his disciples, 195 00:16:49.450 --> 00:16:53.409 but not in the same way. He walked out on the water and 196 00:16:53.610 --> 00:16:57.490 met them there and traveled and took their boat the rest of the way to 197 00:16:57.649 --> 00:17:07.519 Copernum. When they realize this, other boats than arriving, arriving from Tiberius, 198 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:10.400 and they're all talking and no one's there. They all decide then to 199 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:15.029 to row over to Copernum. So you have these boats, essentially, that 200 00:17:15.109 --> 00:17:21.430 are traveling back and forth across the sea, following, following Jesus around, 201 00:17:21.470 --> 00:17:26.950 and then they eventually find him there at Copernum, Verse Twenty Five. Then, 202 00:17:29.549 --> 00:17:33.380 why did you come here? When Jesus, when they found Jesus on 203 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:36.700 the other side of the sea, they said to him, rabbi, why 204 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:41.980 did you come here? Jesus answered them. Truly truly, I say to 205 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:47.089 you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you 206 00:17:47.250 --> 00:17:52.650 ate your fill of the loaves again. This is very typical of Jesus. 207 00:17:52.730 --> 00:17:56.970 They ask him this question. You were just over there and your best side 208 00:17:56.089 --> 00:18:00.160 and now you're at Copernum. We've been following you all over the place. 209 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:03.279 Why are you? Why are you here? Jesus doesn't answer their question. 210 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:14.069 Instead, Jesus just talks to them and tells them. He tells them that 211 00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:18.190 they are not that they are not even here, that they are not seeking 212 00:18:18.230 --> 00:18:22.589 him because they saw this signs, but because they had their tummies filled, 213 00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:29.819 they had their fill of the loaves. They're not even there because they saw 214 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:36.180 this great miracle. They're there just because they want some free food. People 215 00:18:36.220 --> 00:18:40.220 will do a lot for free food. If you you know this, if 216 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:45.089 you've ever driven an extra few fought extra few miles to redeem a free sandwich 217 00:18:45.210 --> 00:18:48.809 cupon or if you've hung out at Costco just a little extra long they get 218 00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:56.359 some samples right. Never underestimate the power of the human appetite. Of this 219 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:00.799 doesn't make hunger bad, but Jesus uses it as a way to bring up 220 00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:06.920 priorities. If you're willing to do all of this work, you know, 221 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:11.950 taking days of your time traveling and rowing back and forth across the sea to 222 00:19:11.029 --> 00:19:18.109 follow me around for some free food. Do not do all of this work 223 00:19:18.349 --> 00:19:25.980 for food that perishes. Are you going to neglect the food that doesn't perish? 224 00:19:26.420 --> 00:19:29.940 Or is Jesus puts it, do not work for the food that perishes, 225 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:33.299 but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the son of 226 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:41.170 Man will give to you. This perhaps recalls Jesus Conversation with the woman at 227 00:19:41.210 --> 00:19:45.089 the well and John Chapter Four. He told tells her if, if she 228 00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:48.890 would just ask him, he would give her living water, or water that 229 00:19:49.210 --> 00:19:53.839 wells up to eternal life. How do I get this water, she asks. 230 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:57.680 They do the same thing here. They don't seem to understand, or 231 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:03.480 they partially understand, the the spiritual nature of what he's saying. He's offering 232 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:07.470 to them life, and so they ask him this question. Well, what 233 00:20:07.670 --> 00:20:12.349 must we do? What are the works of God that we need to be 234 00:20:12.470 --> 00:20:18.230 doing? I want to pause there for a moment because this recalls to our 235 00:20:18.309 --> 00:20:25.140 minds the doctrine of justification, this doctrine and which we are reminded that without 236 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:33.700 holiness, no one sees the Lord, that one must not merely be sin 237 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:41.210 free or having been forgiven, but must also be positively righteous, having done 238 00:20:41.529 --> 00:20:47.930 works that are worthy of eternal life. To such a one one, to 239 00:20:48.089 --> 00:20:52.839 such a person, God grants life. But what does Jesus Answer? Jesus 240 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:56.799 says, this is the work of God that you believe in him, whom 241 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:00.920 he sent. This is very interesting and Paul talks about this a lot. 242 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:07.710 In Romans. He says it is through faith that righteousness is credited to us. 243 00:21:07.789 --> 00:21:12.829 It's by our believing in Jesus that we come to have the works of 244 00:21:12.990 --> 00:21:19.859 God, not accomplished in us by us, but accomplished by Jesus and given 245 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:25.700 to us. This is why he talks about the Kingdom of God. Is 246 00:21:25.740 --> 00:21:32.740 something that is granted instead of earned, and this, my friends, is 247 00:21:32.930 --> 00:21:38.970 the heart of the Christian faith. Jesus says, COME UNTO ME, receive 248 00:21:40.210 --> 00:21:44.730 the bread that is given to you, and you will have life. What 249 00:21:44.970 --> 00:21:49.240 works do we need to do? Believe in me, trust in me, 250 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:55.640 trust in my works. Do you remember what John said previously, or what 251 00:21:55.720 --> 00:22:03.150 Jesus said previously? In John He says my food is to do the will 252 00:22:03.470 --> 00:22:07.549 of the father who sent me. That's what Jesus is, food is, 253 00:22:07.990 --> 00:22:14.430 that's how Jesus lives, in obedience, in perfect obedience to God. How 254 00:22:14.549 --> 00:22:22.220 do we live in our perfect obedience to God? No, we live in 255 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:29.900 Jesus. We feed on him, our life is in him, whose life 256 00:22:30.690 --> 00:22:37.930 is in the father. Jesus tells them that God has given them this bread. 257 00:22:38.089 --> 00:22:45.400 He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Some 258 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:51.799 people pride themselves and looking for signs from God. They see it as a 259 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:56.640 very spiritual thing that they are always reading. Always I mean I mean sort 260 00:22:56.680 --> 00:23:02.269 of reading the world and always looking, never really believing until God has done 261 00:23:02.509 --> 00:23:07.630 something special. And unfortunately people like that are just like the people here. 262 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:15.460 They want signs, but God has done them. God says, I've provided 263 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:19.420 the man and the Wilderness bread from heaven. He provides it now. Eternal 264 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:23.140 Life is Jesus, right here in front of them, is the bread of 265 00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:26.890 Heaven, as he says in John Thirty Five, I am the bread of 266 00:23:27.049 --> 00:23:30.970 life. They say, what sign will you do for us? Right, 267 00:23:32.049 --> 00:23:36.650 this is very typical. What sign will you do for us now, if 268 00:23:36.690 --> 00:23:41.680 you ask, didn't Jesus just do a sign? That's that's right, that's 269 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:47.920 exactly right. Jesus did just feed them, more than five thousand people, 270 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:52.519 from five loaves of bread and two fish, not to mention all the other 271 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:56.829 things he's done previous to this. That alone. They were there for that. 272 00:23:56.869 --> 00:24:00.990 That's the reason they're in copernum now, is because of that sign. 273 00:24:00.549 --> 00:24:03.990 And yet they say, what sign will you do for us that we may 274 00:24:04.069 --> 00:24:11.259 know you are the bread from heaven? There's this kind of spirituality that these 275 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:15.900 people have, in that many people have, in which it's never satisfied with 276 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:21.420 the work of God, never satisfied. God can do this sign and this 277 00:24:21.619 --> 00:24:25.849 sign and this sign. He can record hundreds, thousands of them in the 278 00:24:25.890 --> 00:24:30.250 pages of scripture, and it's never enough. It's always something more. They 279 00:24:30.289 --> 00:24:34.490 can look the son of God in the eye, who just gave them a 280 00:24:34.730 --> 00:24:40.519 sign, and say, what sign will you do for us? It's because 281 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:45.279 they don't want to trust God. They want to trust themselves. They want 282 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:49.680 the world and everything to be on their terms and their ways, even if 283 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:55.950 it has a kind of spiritual air to it. They come to Jesus, 284 00:24:56.470 --> 00:24:59.430 they come to know who he is, they come to see his his power, 285 00:24:59.869 --> 00:25:04.789 they see it, they get everything they want and then they walk away. 286 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:18.740 So sad I didn't see anything, they say. We say sometimes seeing 287 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:23.569 is believing, but I want you to understand that or think about that phrase 288 00:25:23.569 --> 00:25:30.210 a little differently. Here Jesus is saying you don't need to see, because 289 00:25:30.650 --> 00:25:40.720 seeing is believing. Believe and you will have life, eternal life. To 290 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:45.079 believe is as good as sight itself, as having the good things, as 291 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:51.349 having that good thing. Later in the gospel of John Thomas will say I 292 00:25:51.670 --> 00:25:55.750 am not going to believe unless I stick my finger into his side. Kind 293 00:25:55.789 --> 00:26:02.150 of gross and crass thing to say. Jesus allows this. Then he goes 294 00:26:02.190 --> 00:26:06.579 on to say, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. 295 00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:14.579 The condition for our salvation is not this or that experience or this evidence of 296 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:18.970 mirror, this evidence of this miracle or evidence of that miracle, though, 297 00:26:18.329 --> 00:26:22.289 as I mentioned, they are all recorded for hear us here. They are 298 00:26:22.329 --> 00:26:26.970 given to us to strengthen our faith, to teach US and show us. 299 00:26:26.210 --> 00:26:30.210 It's not as though we're lacking in any way. and Jesus, of course, 300 00:26:30.250 --> 00:26:34.079 continues to give us himself, just as he gave himself to them. 301 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:41.240 They're in Copernum and in Bethsida and Tiberius, since in Jerusalem and so on. 302 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:51.309 Jesus gives us himself and he tells us all you need to do is 303 00:26:52.029 --> 00:26:57.349 believe him, accept him, except the bread of life that is given to 304 00:26:57.470 --> 00:27:08.539 you. John Thirty seven through forty gives us great encouragement and confidence. Jesus 305 00:27:08.579 --> 00:27:14.299 says of himself. All that the father gives me will come to me, 306 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:19.490 and whoever comes to me I will never cast out, for I have come 307 00:27:19.609 --> 00:27:22.730 down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him 308 00:27:22.730 --> 00:27:26.329 who sent me, and this is the will of him who sent me, 309 00:27:26.930 --> 00:27:32.920 that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise 310 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:36.880 it up on the last day. For this is the will of my father, 311 00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:41.160 that everyone who looks on the sun and believes in him should have eternal 312 00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:45.910 life, and I will raise him up on the last day. When Jesus 313 00:27:45.990 --> 00:27:52.710 gives us life, it's not just for another day. When God poured out 314 00:27:52.349 --> 00:27:57.109 bread from heaven lands on the ground, the Israelites picked it up and we're 315 00:27:57.190 --> 00:28:02.980 fed through the wilderness. That was amazing, it was great. It sustained 316 00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:07.980 their life. Jesus is operating on a whole nother level. That's why he 317 00:28:07.140 --> 00:28:12.289 says on the last day, I will raise you up to eternal life, 318 00:28:12.809 --> 00:28:15.809 your father's, he says, their fathers. They ate the manner in the 319 00:28:15.849 --> 00:28:22.490 Wilderness and they died. They received this gift from Heaven, the bread from 320 00:28:22.490 --> 00:28:26.849 Heaven, and they still died. I, however, give you bread from 321 00:28:26.890 --> 00:28:32.880 heaven, the bread of life, and you will never die. This is 322 00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:37.960 the will of God and this is such a comfort to us because it means 323 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:41.549 that when we trust in Jesus, when we put our faith in him, 324 00:28:41.069 --> 00:28:48.549 we are perfectly and always safe. We will never be cast out from his 325 00:28:48.029 --> 00:28:52.230 from the presence of God. We will be raised up on the last day. 326 00:28:52.269 --> 00:28:56.740 That great picture of Judgment that I read in Matthew Two, Chapter Twenty 327 00:28:56.779 --> 00:29:03.579 Five. That is us, the sheep at his right hand, belonging to 328 00:29:03.700 --> 00:29:11.289 the Lord, safe in him. Jesus puts this in very strong language. 329 00:29:11.289 --> 00:29:17.569 He gives himself as our bread. He does this to indicate to us that 330 00:29:17.809 --> 00:29:26.640 we live by his life and by his life as both son of as the 331 00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:30.759 son of man and is the son of God. We live by his life 332 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:36.559 in both his humanity and his divinity. Jesus would come and came into this 333 00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:41.430 world not merely to reveal these teachings, although that's a huge part of it, 334 00:29:41.349 --> 00:29:47.309 but he came into the world to die. He came into the world 335 00:29:47.670 --> 00:29:52.980 to hang on a cross, for his body to be broken, for his 336 00:29:53.180 --> 00:30:00.819 blood to be shed, so that through his death we would die, that 337 00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:06.700 the judgments, in the wrath that would come upon God for our sins would 338 00:30:06.700 --> 00:30:11.210 be on him and not for us. The scriptures say that he who knew 339 00:30:11.250 --> 00:30:17.690 no sin was made to be sinned for us. He is our sack or 340 00:30:18.049 --> 00:30:23.599 our sacrifice, and this is how he is offered to God. And so 341 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:27.400 that's why Jesus speaks in this very strong language. He says, you cannot 342 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:33.519 live unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood. You must have my 343 00:30:33.160 --> 00:30:40.390 body, you must have a part in me, not my ideas, in 344 00:30:40.630 --> 00:30:45.069 me, in his person. So then, of course, the question is, 345 00:30:45.829 --> 00:30:49.779 how do we feed on him? We know that cannibalism is wrong, 346 00:30:49.900 --> 00:30:55.859 and I don't say that it sounds crazy, but they thought it was crazy. 347 00:30:56.660 --> 00:31:00.779 They say this sounds really weird, Jesus, this sounds really wrong, 348 00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:07.490 and indeed the early Christians were accused of cannibalism. The pagans heard this stuff, 349 00:31:08.049 --> 00:31:12.049 they heard about these Christian love feasts and eating and feeding on Jesus, 350 00:31:12.089 --> 00:31:19.920 and they said weird. So what does Jesus mean? What is he talking 351 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:26.759 about? How do we feed upon Jesus without murdering him about doing gross things. 352 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:32.160 How do we feed him on Jesus, even practically speaking, when his 353 00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:37.509 body is not here, it's in heaven? We go to the Scriptures for 354 00:31:37.589 --> 00:31:41.670 the answer. We don't need to make something up, we don't need to 355 00:31:41.710 --> 00:31:45.309 speculate about anything, we don't need to figure out some sort of odd system 356 00:31:45.390 --> 00:31:48.619 for this. What is Jesus say? He says we feed on him by 357 00:31:48.779 --> 00:31:55.779 believing in him. That's how he that's what he says. So I said, 358 00:31:55.819 --> 00:32:00.420 this is otherworldly. Jesus Kingdom is not of this world. It operates 359 00:32:00.450 --> 00:32:05.890 on principles that are not of this world. We don't feed on Jesus by 360 00:32:05.970 --> 00:32:10.450 doing amazing signs or even just looking for amazing signs. We don't feed upon 361 00:32:10.529 --> 00:32:15.329 Jesus by going and doing all the works of God. We don't feed upon 362 00:32:15.410 --> 00:32:20.960 Jesus by, you know, by actually putting his body, body, his 363 00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:23.599 his physical body, in our mouths. None of these ways are how we 364 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:28.400 feed on Jesus. How do we feed on Jesus? What are the scriptures 365 00:32:28.440 --> 00:32:32.390 say? We feed on him by believing on him, by receiving him in 366 00:32:32.750 --> 00:32:45.740 this way. It's hard, I know, but it is God's will and 367 00:32:45.900 --> 00:32:52.259 it is our life. It's good to remember that God is not pushed around 368 00:32:52.259 --> 00:32:54.019 by what we demand, or what we want or what we will. He 369 00:32:54.140 --> 00:32:59.009 has god, after all, the Creator and maker of Heaven and earth, 370 00:32:59.450 --> 00:33:04.569 the one who has existed before time began, who created all things. He 371 00:33:04.730 --> 00:33:07.849 is the one to whom we owe all obedience and have fallen into great sin 372 00:33:07.970 --> 00:33:13.200 and misery. We have no standing before God, to go before him and 373 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:17.839 say we want things in this or that way. This is God we are 374 00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:24.359 talking about, and here he is, incarnate in the flesh, giving himself 375 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:29.069 to us and saying, if you trust me, if you believe in me, 376 00:33:29.470 --> 00:33:32.190 though you have nothing, though you have not loved me, I will 377 00:33:32.349 --> 00:33:38.549 grant to you life and it will never be lost. Why do people hate 378 00:33:38.710 --> 00:33:49.339 this? It's crazy, but sin is crazy. Sin Turns US in on 379 00:33:49.460 --> 00:33:53.140 ourselves. Sin Takes God and turns him into an idol. Jesus is offering 380 00:33:53.220 --> 00:33:58.809 to US eternal life and help, and then Judas, who's right there, 381 00:33:58.890 --> 00:34:04.369 is willing to trade it all for thirty pieces of silver, then ultimately kills 382 00:34:04.410 --> 00:34:13.000 himself. It doesn't make sense. You want to talk about crazy. Sin 383 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:17.920 Is Crazy. Sin Is Irrational. Sin Takes the gift of God and says, 384 00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:23.710 I'd rather have a little bit of money, I'd rather have another piece 385 00:34:23.750 --> 00:34:30.829 of bread. Please do not work for that which perishes, work for that 386 00:34:30.949 --> 00:34:36.630 which is eternal. What is the work that we ought to do? Believe 387 00:34:36.710 --> 00:34:39.539 in the Sun. Here is their friend, their helper, they're king, 388 00:34:40.500 --> 00:34:50.219 their savior. Now some people so I mentioned Judas and, as we see 389 00:34:50.260 --> 00:34:54.929 in these crowds, some people will find this too hard. Some people will 390 00:34:55.050 --> 00:35:01.170 love bread more than their own lives. Some people will see their need, 391 00:35:01.369 --> 00:35:09.559 they will see how great he god is, how significant he is, how 392 00:35:09.719 --> 00:35:14.800 true he is, how good he is. But they have their work to 393 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:16.599 do, they have their businesses to a tend to, their families, their 394 00:35:16.679 --> 00:35:23.510 friends, their reason, their pride, their netflix shows, their adventures, 395 00:35:23.670 --> 00:35:29.110 their vacations, things that they want to do, things that they are occupied 396 00:35:29.230 --> 00:35:32.670 with, and so they walk away. I got other things to do. 397 00:35:34.630 --> 00:35:37.219 They go back to their houses and their politics and their families, their barns, 398 00:35:37.340 --> 00:35:45.860 their stuff, their plans. But Not Peter. I Love Peter. 399 00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:51.889 Here Jesus says everyone else is going away. What about you guys? Are 400 00:35:51.969 --> 00:35:55.050 you going away too? And Jesus and Peter has this kind of a ruth 401 00:35:55.210 --> 00:36:00.849 moment. If you know the story of Ruth, this Moabite, not part 402 00:36:00.889 --> 00:36:07.199 of God's people, had exposure to God and his covenants through these, this 403 00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:12.840 rebellious family really that like, tried to escape God's judgment. Leave Israel, 404 00:36:12.920 --> 00:36:17.360 going to MOAB. She comes into contact with them. Everything falls apart in 405 00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:22.869 Moab. Her motherin law says, well, nothing, but here is better, 406 00:36:23.429 --> 00:36:29.030 but I'm going to go home. And Ruth, this non Israelite, 407 00:36:29.190 --> 00:36:35.099 this pagan woman, Naomi, tries to send her back and says just go 408 00:36:35.340 --> 00:36:39.940 home, and Ruth Says No, who way. Your people are my people, 409 00:36:40.099 --> 00:36:45.179 your God is my God. Roote Peters doing something likes that, similar 410 00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:49.369 to that. Here he's seeing things from a new perspective and he says I 411 00:36:49.489 --> 00:36:52.650 have nothing to go back to. He says, Lord, to whom shall 412 00:36:52.650 --> 00:36:58.769 we go? You have given us the words of eternal life and we have 413 00:36:59.090 --> 00:37:02.400 believed and we have come to know that you are the holy one of God. 414 00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:07.519 This is Peter's ruth moment. He looks back on the world that he 415 00:37:07.639 --> 00:37:13.480 says, there's nothing there for me. What are you talking about? Where 416 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:22.190 can I go? The only thing that matters is you. We all need 417 00:37:22.469 --> 00:37:28.349 this kind of ruth moment or Peter Moment, and we need it every moment 418 00:37:28.469 --> 00:37:32.380 of our lives. We need to learn to distinguish between heaven and earth, 419 00:37:32.420 --> 00:37:37.619 between bread that lasts and bread that doesn't, between the Kingdom of God and 420 00:37:37.739 --> 00:37:45.210 the Kingdoms of this world. If you can't, then you may be a 421 00:37:45.250 --> 00:37:51.969 Judas, one who walks with God's people, who is nearer them and around 422 00:37:51.969 --> 00:37:57.610 them, but doesn't know God, one who follows Jesus but doesn't really follow 423 00:37:57.650 --> 00:38:00.800 Jesus, one that is ultimately in love with the things of this world, 424 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:10.440 the things that will perish and you will perish along with them. But Jesus 425 00:38:10.480 --> 00:38:15.269 is speech here, the sermon, whatever we want to call it, this 426 00:38:15.429 --> 00:38:20.550 way in which he opens up to us the heavenly knowledge and the salvation and 427 00:38:20.829 --> 00:38:27.460 the will of God himself is given to us so that we might have life, 428 00:38:28.500 --> 00:38:31.500 so that we might wake up and turn away from our sins, so 429 00:38:31.659 --> 00:38:36.579 that we might know what to believe in, what to trust in, how 430 00:38:36.699 --> 00:38:42.530 to see things and how to look at this world. And, like Peter 431 00:38:42.730 --> 00:38:47.889 says, if you have believed, then you can know that you belong to 432 00:38:49.010 --> 00:38:53.730 God. Taking Jesus's words at face value, you will not be lost, 433 00:38:54.719 --> 00:39:00.719 you will not be cast out. You will live forever and ever, no 434 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:06.199 longer in your sins on the last day, but in glory, in perfect 435 00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:09.309 righteousness, without any suffering or misery or all these trials that we go through. 436 00:39:09.630 --> 00:39:15.230 Eternal Life, heavenly life, blessed life. You will live that way 437 00:39:15.349 --> 00:39:20.070 because you will live not on the basis of your works, but on the 438 00:39:20.110 --> 00:39:22.869 basis of his, which are perfect, on the basis of his life, 439 00:39:22.909 --> 00:39:30.619 which is glorified. May God grant to each of you the grace of that 440 00:39:30.820 --> 00:39:37.260 spirit, so that you may come to Christ and have life, eternal life, 441 00:39:37.300 --> 00:39:39.170 in his name. Let's pray