Depend on Jesus (Part 1)

An Atheist tourist was walking around Belfast and noticed all the community centre events for either Catholics or Protestants. After checking out yet another board, he asked a staff member:

Atheist: "What do you do in this town if you're an Atheist?"

Staff member: "Well sir, that depends.”

Atheist: “Depends on what”

Staff Member: “On whether you're a Catholic atheist or a Protestant atheist."

Historical/Cultural Context -

The Gospel of John was written between 90 AD and 100 AD. Scholars also believe that John wrote the three Epistles and the book of Revelation around the same time-frame as he wrote this Gospel. The Gospel of John was written after Matthew, Mark, & Luke had been written and circulated. John has been dubbed by most scholars as “The Spiritual Gospel.”

Biblical Text -

John 6:15–59 NLT

When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself. That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination! The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.) “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked. So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - You Can Depend On Jesus As Your Source For All Things Good.

Life Point- Do You Help Others To Depend On Jesus?

Exegetical -

John 6:22–40 NLT

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

Homiletical -

So The next day the people found out that the disciples had taken the only boat and Jesus was not with them when they left, but now he isn’t on the shore with the crowd either.

Then some people with boats came and ferried a great number to the other side. Low and behold they found Jesus and the disciples.

They asked how He got there, but Jesus didn’t answer the question. Instead He tells them their true motivations for seeking Him out.

They wanted Him because He fed them, not because the understood from what happened that He was the Messiah.

You will have people who seek you out because your generous, because you have something they want. These people are just takers. They don’t want you to find Jesus, they want your stuff.

Yes you gave once, but that doesn’t mean you continue to give until you have nothing left.

Jesus didn’t feed them again because that is what they were seeking. He tried to give them spiritual things in this encounter and they rejected Him for it. When you meet the perceived need of someone for a time and you try to give them something that is more precious than the temporary, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they reject you, you have to ask yourself are you becoming the person they depend on? Shouldn’t they come to a place where they depend on Jesus?

Don’t let people become dependent. Let’s find the cause they are so dependent on you.

1) Do they depend on Jesus to meet their needs? If not, why not?

2) Dependance on you can become their drug and that’s not good either. Never put more work into something than the person who is seeking your help. Let’s find out where the breakdown has occured and try to fix it. Do they need you because they refuse to work? Do they need you because they don’t know how to budget?

3) If they refuse to depend on Jesus, then you must ween them off of you as their source of hope. They need to be looking to Jesus on how to manage their affairs. Not you.

John 3:30 NLT

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

Let that be your focus on all people, so that you may serve others and not the same person over and over, where you become stuck in a rut.

Jesus tells them the only work he wants is for them to believe in the one the father sent.

The people say, ok so what sign do you give us for that?

Are you kidding me? He just fed over 10,000 people and you are asking for yet another sign? What was wrong with the one that you just got? Is there some reason that you can’t comprehend what Jesus just did?

They reason that Moses gave them manna from heaven

Jesus says, no he didn’t God the father did. Not Moses and then he starts talking spiritual words about the true bread that comes from heaven. That whoever eats this bread will not go hungry again.

So just like a selfish person, they ask if they can have this bread. You see they are thinking in the physical realm again and not the spiritual realm.

Jesus says you got it all wrong. I am the true bread from heaven.

He says they don’t believe him.

Here I am sitting here some 2,000 years later and in my flesh I want to say I would believe him.

A lot of people are saying “if that were me, I wouldn’t make that mistake.” Yes you would, you know how I know? Because you are human and you still have a sin nature. In other words, you are just as hard headed as they were. So am I.

John 6:35–40 NLT

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

Those that the father has given to Jesus will come to Him. Not might, not maybe, but will come to Him. There is a promise here too. He says He will NEVER reject them.

If you would come to Jesus, I mean truly come, He will by no means cast you out.

Matthew 7:9–11 NLT

“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Jesus is the only good thing we need. If we don’t have Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour than anything else you may learn about life or Christianity means nothing. Why?

Because without Jesus you will die in your sins.

Romans 6:23 NLT

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

What else does He say here?

He says that it is the will of God that He lose none of those that are His, but will raise them on the last day. He emphasizes this.

You know what that tells me? It tells me that I am bought with the blood of Christ. That I am His lock, stock, and barrel. That He will never lose me. That I can never lose my salvation. That no one can ever take it away. Because He loses none that belong to him.

Romans 8:38–39 NLT

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Life Principle– You Can Depend On Jesus As Your Source For All Things Good.

Call to Action – altar call….