John 6, Part 3
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Last week, we saw where Jesus announced the crowd had gathered to see what “signs” Jesus would do next, not to learn or to seek Him. He is referring to the miracle of feeding of the 5,000 men. Now, we see where Jesus is going to call out their spiritual issues and call them to a different thought process - from the physical needs to the spiritual needs. Jesus Christ is the Source of spiritual satisfaction, of man’s spiritual nourishment. He is the only Bread that can feed man’s great hunger, the hunger that gnaws and gnaws within his inner being. There is no other source upon which man can feed and be nourished.
30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
The people demanded proof of the claims Jesus had made. He was the Son of Man, He gave the bread of eternal life, He was the one in whom God had sealed, God had sent Him into the world, and He was the one in whom we were to believe in.
Man focuses upon the physical and material. He ignores all the signs, even the miracles of God which surround him. Christ had just miraculously fed the crowd, yet the crowd ignored the witness of that particular sign. It was not enough. They were so attached to the earth, to its physical pleasures and material goods, that they wanted more and more. Jesus’ claim was not enough for them.
Man demands that he first see, then he will believe. This is contrary to true faith. It is not the way faith works. A man must first believe God, then he sees. Faith must precede sight. Believe God and He will fulfill the desires of your heart.
They claimed Moses had fed Israel for forty years in the wilderness. Christ had fed them only once. Moses had fed Israel with manna falling out of the sky from heaven. Christ had merely multiplied bread from a few loaves in His hands. They felt as though Christ had not fed them in the right way, not given “them bread from heaven to eat.”
Man never has enough. He craves and craves, never being fully satisfied. He experiences a gnawing hunger, a restlessness, emptiness, loneliness, vacuum, and a lack of purpose, meaning, and significance. Even in dealing with God, he never has enough evidence or proof to believe—not within his human nature.
32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Jesus then points out He is the true bread. Where did the bread Moses fed them truly come from? Man cannot provide true bread, that is, true satisfaction. Only God can. Moses was not the one who gave Israel the manna from heaven; God was the One who gave the manna. A man must look both beyond other men and beyond the things of this world. Men and things cannot meet the gnawing hunger of man; they cannot provide true satisfaction, for they do not possess the true bread.
God alone provides true bread, that is, provides true satisfaction. Note three things. Christ called God “My Father”. The bread God gives is “true” bread. The bread or manna of God is not physical and material bread: it is spiritual. God may provide and actually does promise to provide for the physical necessities of His followers (Mt. 6:24–33), but physical and material bread is not what Christ was talking about in this passage. Physical and material bread lasts only for a short while. Once consumed, it is gone. Its satisfaction passes and man’s gnawing hunger arises again. But the bread God gives is spiritual bread, that is, spiritual food for the soul (see note—Ep. 1:3). It is the bread that man really needs more than anything else on earth.
33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Christ is the Bread of God. Christ made at least two points. The origin of the true Bread is God Himself. It is bread which came down from or out of heaven itself. The Bread of God gives life to the world. The purpose of bread is to give life.
Christ (and the Word of God) gives life to the believer by doing the same five things as bread.
• nourishing and sustaining
• satisfying
• energizing
• creating desire (the need) for more (See note—Lu. 4:3–4. See Ne. 9:15.)
• being partaken on a regular basis
The Bread of God came from heaven to give life to the whole world. It was not just to one person or to one nation that He came. He came to the whole world. He came to sacrifice Himself, to feed and save a starving world. His coming as the sacrificial Bread of God had been foreshadowed by the sacrifices of the Old Testament.
34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
“Give us this bread always”. The people requested the Bread of God. The people called Jesus “Lord” (Kurios), but how much they understood of His deity is not known. Apparently it was just an address of respect. However, the point is clear in the Bible. When a person asks for the Bread of God, he must call Jesus “Lord” and be ready to submit to Him as Lord, serving Jesus day by day. If a man comes to Christ, the Bread of Life, he will never hunger. Man has a starving, craving need for life. If a man comes to Christ, He will never hunger. The gnawing of starvation, the craving for life will be fully satisfied.
If a man believes, he will never thirst. The picture (symbolism) is switched from hunger to thirst. Man’s need is more than met; not only is his hunger satisfied, but his thirst is quenched. Every need of life, of nourishment, and of growth is met. Nothing is left out or lacking. When a person comes to Christ and believes (continuous action, meaning continuing to believe), every need of his life and growth is met. Of course, this does not mean he will never hunger after righteousness. He will, but his hunger and thirst will never go unsatisfied. He “shall be filled” (see Mt. 5:6). Note the words “not” and “never.” They are strong, emphatic words: “No, shall never, never thirst.”
36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
Christ was seen, but rejected. The point is that the people were without excuse. They had every opportunity in the world. Any of the people could have easily come to Christ, yet sitting there and hearing the glorious news, they still did not believe.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
The first assurance for the believer is God’s predestination. The meaning of the verse is clear. It is those whom “the Father gives” that come to Christ. However, note a critical fact. The stress is not predestination; it is assurance to the believer. Christ wants believers to take heart and to be assured of their salvation. It is God Himself who has drawn believers, who has moved upon and stirred them to come to Christ. Something should be noted at this point. There is a predestination thread that runs throughout John’s gospel. Things are controlled and happen as God means them to happen. The purpose of God is being done. He is God; therefore, He rules and controls all things
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
The second assurance for the believer is Jesus’ Word. Note the enormous security given to the believer.
Jesus clearly said that any man who comes to Him will “will never” be cast out. This is a strong, forceful promise: “Never, no never be cast out.”
Jesus was claiming the authority to accept and reject men. He accepts the person who comes to Him, the person who turns from the world and the flesh to Him. The believer’s assurance and security are as good as Jesus’ Word. If Jesus is who He claimed to be, “the Bread of Life,” then the person who comes to Him for spiritual nourishment can rest assured in his eternal security.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
He came to do God’s will. Jesus came not to do His own will, but the will of God. Christ subjected His will to God’s will. He fought and struggled to control His mind and will, to do exactly as God willed, and He conquered His will. He always succeeded. In every instance He subjected Himself totally to God. He always did what God willed—perfectly. The believer’s assurance is Jesus’ purpose. He set out to do God’s will and He did it perfectly. The believer can rest assured—Jesus is the full revelation of God. Jesus revealed God perfectly. What Jesus did—everything He did—is a picture of the perfect will of God. Man can come to Jesus for spiritual food and nourishment and know that He is coming to God.
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
Note also that Jesus calls God His “Father.” This stresses the love and care of God. God’s will is like the will of a father for His children. He wills only good and loving things.
God wills that Jesus should lose nothing. The words “I should lose nothing” (me apoleso ex autou) mean that He will not lose anything, not even a fragment, not any part of what God has given to Him. No person, not a single one, will be lost.
God wills a most wonderful thing: Jesus shall save every true believer through all, even up until the final hour of the very last day—the day of the resurrection. The Lord’s salvation is complete, ultimate, and final. No matter the trials, the heartaches, the hurts, the attacks of the enemy and the evil persecutors, Christ will save His dear follower through all; and He will raise him up at the last day. The genuine believer is assured and secure in the will of God. God wills that His Son lose no one—that each one will be saved through all circumstances—saved right up to the point of being raised up at the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
This verse also concerns God’s will, but it differs from the former point in that it centers upon those who see and believe on Jesus. In the former verse the stress is upon God choosing those who come to Christ, whereas in this verse, the stress is upon man choosing Christ. Both are necessary steps in salvation as already discussed
God wills that a person who sees and believes Jesus should have eternal life
The result of seeing and believing Jesus is being raised up from the dead. Jesus said very emphatically, “I will raise him up at the last day.” “I” is emphatic. Jesus and no one else can raise the dead, and He will take the person who sees and believes and raise him up. The believer is assured of three very significant things. The believer is assured of eternal life. The believer is assured of victory over death. The believer is assured of the resurrection.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2004. The Gospel according to John. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
