John 6:1-71 - Jesus is our Spiritual Sustenance

Even though there is so much in this amazing chapter of God’s Word, there is one overarching lesson that God wants to impress on our minds and hearts today.

And I truly believe this is the most important thing you will hear today.

Not because I was so clever to come up with it, because I didn’t, but because God has clearly spoken this to us in his Word.

Here it is, the most important thing you will hear today… are you ready for it?

Jesus is your only source of spiritual sustenance.

I’ll say it again because you do NOT want to miss this.

Jesus is your only source of spiritual sustenance.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember this as we work for things that will sustain our physical life and comfort.

We get distracted by these things and give little or no thought throughout the week about sustaining our spiritual life.

And we may even look at how the world works and think that God works the same way.

It’s true that if we want to eat, we have to work for it, but we sometimes think that if we want spiritual sustenance then we have to work for that too.

But that’s simply not true, as we will see in John chapter 6.

John lays out his argument for Jesus being our only source of spiritual life and sustenance in three parts.

The miracle, the lessons, and the response.

John tells the story of Jesus performing a miracle, then Jesus teaches the spiritual truths about that miracle, and people respond to that teaching.

First, we are going to look at the miracle Jesus performed in verses 1-24.

John 6:1–6 ESV

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

John 6:7–11 ESV

Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

John 6:12–15 ESV

And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

John 6:16–21 ESV

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

John 6:22–24 ESV

On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

The Miracle (1-24)

I want to sort of analyze this story a bit.

I want us to notice the Prominence, Nature, and Response in this story as it sets up the teaching Jesus will give later on.

First let’s look at…

The Prominence of the Miracle

This is the only miracle other than Jesus’ resurrection that’s recorded in all four gospels.

That fact alone makes this miracle something special… something important that should make us sit up and take notice.

This miracle also displayed Jesus’ divinity more publicly than any others up to this point in John’s gospel.

Turning water to wine was displayed to the wedding servants and Jesus’ disciples.

Healing the official’s son was displayed to the official and his whole household.

Healing the invalid at the pool of Bethesda was displayed to the religious leaders in Jerusalem.

And there were also many signs Jesus did that weren’t recorded which were probably very public, but of those recorded up to this point, this one is the most public.

The crowd that came to Jesus was massive, and the people would have gone hungry were it not for Jesus’ compassion and provision.

The people had a legitimate pressing need that seemed impossible to fill.

Jesus asked Philip where to buy bread for so many people, and Philip basically says that an average annual salary would not even be enough to buy one meal for all the people that were there.

Philip understands that even if there were a place that sold that much bread, they didn’t have the money to afford it…

even if they bought it in bulk from Costco!

Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother comes from a different angle…

if we can’t buy enough bread, maybe the people have their own food…

But the only food to be had was one little boy’s lunch…

5 barley loaves and 2 fish.

And Andrew despairs saying, “but what are they for so many?”

5 loaves and 2 fish are not sufficient to feed this many people.

We’re told that there were 5000 men, and I think it’s not a stretch to assume that there were just as many women and children there, if not more.

That’s a lot of people, and there doesn’t seem to be an apparent solution to the problem…

But Jesus has an answer.

And he is going to perform a miracle to solve this problem and show his glory as the Christ.

So this miracle is very prominent.

Tied for the most recorded miracle among the gospel accounts, and the most public miracle up to this point in the gospel of John.

Now Let’s look at…

The Nature of the Miracle

The first thing I want to point out about the nature of this miracle is Jesus’ Thankfulness.

He gave thanks before he distributed the food.

It may not seem like an important detail, but it was important enough that John refers to it later in verse 23.

Why did Jesus give thanks before this miracle and not the others?

We might assume that Jesus was thankful in general all the time, but especially when he was doing things that so evidently pointed to and worked toward fulfilling the Father’s will.

We are going to see that later as Jesus teaches about this miracle.

But here it’s enough to notice that he was thankful for the opportunity to show so many people his sufficiency.

The next thing I want to point out about the nature of this miracle is the fact that Jesus Created something out of Nothing.

This is how God created everything at the beginning, in Genesis 1.

Each of the six days of creation, God spoke and what he spoke came into being out of nothing.

Where there once was nothing, now there is what God created.

Nobody but God has this ability.

Sure, we can be creative and rearrange God’s original creation to make beautiful or clever things.

But we cannot create out of nothing.

This is another proof that Jesus is God.

He took the 5 loaves and 2 fish that were insufficient, and out of that insufficiency, out of nothing, he created more loaves and fish so that everyone had as much as they wanted, and ate their fill, and even had leftovers.

The last thing I want to point out about the nature of this miracle is how Jesus included his disciples in the miracle.

This is kind of like how Jesus had the servants participate when he turned the water into wine in chapter 2.

Here, he asks his disciples to help.

We can assume from the other gospel records of this miracle that the disciples helped distribute the bread and fish to the people.

And in our passage specifically, Jesus asks them to collect the leftovers so that nothing would be lost.

And each of the twelve disciples brought back a full basket of leftovers, 12 baskets in all.

This is such a kindness to his disciples because they get to see Jesus’ glory as the Son of God first hand.

So, this is an amazing and prominent miracle which displayed Jesus’ thankfulness, his power to create as he did in Genesis 1, and his kindness to include his disciples in performing this miracle.

Now let’s look at…

The Response to the Miracle

In verse 14 the people conclude that Jesus is the Prophet.

They’re referring to the Prophet Moses spoke about in Deuteronomy 18:15 ““The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—”

We know that the Prophet Moses was speaking about is the Christ, God’s chosen one…

but the Jews at this time saw a difference between the Prophet and the Christ.

Remember back in John 1, the religious leaders questioned John the Baptist asking if he was the Christ, or Elijah, or the Prophet.

They thought the Christ and the Prophet were going to be two different people.

But we know that they’re the same person, Jesus.

Well, their conclusion that he’s the Prophet, and no doubt the free food, made them want Jesus as their king instead of Herod or the Roman emperor.

In verse 15 we find that they intend to make Jesus their king whether he wants to or not.

They absolutely could NOT have forced Jesus to do anything against the Father’s will…

But Jesus knows their thoughts and he knows that their idea would be against the Father’s will…

It would be counterproductive to the reason he came.

He did not come to rule and reign as king yet…

he came to suffer and die so that we would be freed from sin and death.

The people’s intention to make him king was a bit of a problem, so Jesus leaves.

But the way he leaves is almost like part of a spy movie.

In verses 16-21 Jesus has his disciples go on ahead of him to Capernaum, and he catches up with them half-way there.

Jesus has very obviously retreated alone to the mountain, but before he left, he made an escape plan with his disciples.

While he’s gone, the disciples very obviously leave on their boat so the people will see that Jesus is not with them.

That way the people hopefully won’t follow them.

Well, it was dark, and the sea was rough, and they had only gone about half-way across when they noticed a hole in the plan…

They started to wonder how Jesus was going to catch up with them.

Just then they see a figure walking toward them… on the water.

I’m sure they all about jumped out of their skin thinking that they are about to be attacked by a ghost or something.

So, they row even harder trying to get away from whatever is chasing them.

Then they hear a voice they are all too familiar with, and it brings a wave of comfort.

Jesus says, “It is I, do not be afraid.”

WHEW!!!

Oh, what a relief!

They were so glad that it was Jesus.

So, Jesus gets in the boat with them, and they get to their destination without further incident.

But has their escape plan worked?

Well…it kind of worked.

In verses 22-24 we read that the people followed them to Capernaum anyway looking for Jesus.

These people are relentless.

It’s going to take more than a clever escape plan to dissuade these people from making Jesus their king and messing up God’s plan.

So, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach the people a few lessons about this miracle in a way that would be difficult to grasp for anyone thinking like they were.

Then they will have to respond with either belief or unbelief.

Those who believe will follow Jesus and see how he will bring about what he explains here.

And those who do not believe will go away thinking Jesus is a crazy person, and not trying to make him king.

Either way they will stop trying to get in the way of Jesus’ mission.

So, we saw the prominence, the nature, and the response to Jesus’ miracle of multiplying food.

Now let’s look at the lessons Jesus teaches about this miracle in verses 25-59.

The Lessons (25-59)

Jesus teaches two different groups of people.

He teaches the people who followed him in verses 25-40

And then he narrows his teaching to the Jews in a synagogue in Capernaum in verses 41-59.

So, let’s look at Jesus’…

Lessons for the People (25-40)

He taught two lessons for these people who followed him.

The first lesson for these people is the sufficiency of Christ in verses 25-35.

John 6:25–29 ESV

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

John 6:30–35 ESV

So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 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. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 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.

This lesson is…

The Sufficiency of Christ (25-35)

Jesus teaches this lesson through three contrasts.

The first contrast is between physical food and spiritual food in verses 25-27.

Physical food perishes, it gets eaten up and then it’s gone.

This is like the phrase, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too.

Once you eat it, you don’t have it anymore, it’s gone.

And you have to work for physical food.

Whether you grow the ingredients yourself or work to earn money to buy the ingredients…

or whether you bake the bread yourself, or work to earn money to buy the bread from a baker…

Work is always involved in getting physical food.

But spiritual food is different.

It never perishes because you can partake of it and it’s still there to have.

You can have your spiritual cake and eat it too!

And you don’t have to work for spiritual food, it’s freely given by Jesus.

But the people still think they need to work to get it, so Jesus goes on to teach them another contrast.

The second contrast is between works and faith in verses 28-29.

The only thing that must be done to receive the spiritual food that endures to eternal life is to believe in Jesus.

To do the works of God, you must believe in him whom he has sent.

The Father sent Jesus to do all the work…

All we need to do is believe in him.

We don’t need to do anything else.

Now, that faith will produce repentance from sin.

Repentance is turning away from the sin that God doesn’t want you to do and turning toward the righteous living that he does want you to do.

That repentance is very important, but it’s not the thing that saves you…

It’s not what gives you the spiritual food that endures to eternal life.

Faith in Jesus is the only thing that saves you.

Well, these people think that Jesus is the Prophet, a reincarnation of Moses who supposedly gave the Israelites mana from heaven to eat like Jesus did with the loaves and fish…

But they ask Jesus for another sign to prove that he is more than the Prophet, to prove that he is the Christ.

So, Jesus teaches them a third contrast.

This third contrast is between Moses and Jesus in verses 30-34.

Moses had no power in himself to do any miracles including providing mana to eat.

God did those miracles through Moses.

But Jesus has the power to perform miracles in himself because he is God.

Then Jesus dives deeper into the food metaphor.

Food sustains life.

And the true sustainer of life, Jesus, came down from heaven like the mana did.

Well, Jesus has convinced the people that the bread he has been describing is better than the bread they ate the day before and better than mana.

They say, “Sir, give us this bread, always!”

This is like in chapter 4 when Jesus described the living water he could provide to the Samaritan woman at the well.

She also recognized its value and said, “Sir, give me this water.”

Then in a wonderfully simple phrase, Jesus clarifies the metaphor he has been using in these contrasts to teach his Sufficiency in verse 35.

Similar to the previous chapter, Jesus began his teaching by talking indirectly about “the Son of Man” and “him whom the Father has sent” and “he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

But now he switches to the first person directly claiming all those titles for himself as the bread of life.

Whoever comes to Jesus will never hunger or thirst because Jesus is completely satisfying.

Now, this is clearly not talking about physical hunger and thirst because there are plenty of people who are spiritually satisfied with Jesus who go without physical food or water.

Jesus will clarify this point later to the Jews in the Synagogue, but here it’s enough to say that Jesus is sufficient to give and sustain spiritual life through faith in him.

Well, after this first lesson about Jesus’ Sufficiency to give and sustain spiritual life, he goes on to teach another lesson to the people who followed him…

A lesson about The Assurance of Spiritual Life in verses 36-40.

John 6:36–40 ESV

But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 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. 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 lesson is the…

Assurance of Spiritual Life (36-40)

Continuing with his use of the first person pronouns I and ME, Jesus remarks on the people’s unbelief because they still only think he’s the Prophet.

They’ve seen him, they’ve seen his miracles, his proof that he is the Christ… but they still don’t truly believe.

But for those who do believe, Jesus says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

The Father won’t let anyone he’s chosen slip through the cracks, and Jesus will hold securely everyone the Father gives to him.

Becoming a child of God is determined by God, not by anything good you could ever do or be.

And remaining a child of God is also determined by God, not by anything bad you could ever do or be.

Then Jesus assures them that he came down from heaven to do the will of the one who sent him… the Father.

He had already said that the Father is giving them bread from heaven in the form of a person who gives life to the world.

And he claimed to be that person… the bread of life.

So, now he puts those two truths together for them, claiming to have come down from heaven.

And he says that he came to do the Father’s will.

And the Father’s will is that Jesus would lose nothing of what the he has given him.

All of God’s children will be saved.

Not a single one will be lost.

Just like the leftover bread.

The assurance we have that nobody will be lost is that Jesus promises to raise all of God’s children up on the last day.

We look forward to that wonderful day when we will be with our loving savior forever!

And Jesus says something very similar to his conversation with Nicodemus in chapter 3.

There, he referred to Moses lifting up the bronze serpent so that all who looked to that statue wouldn’t die from the snake venom.

And he says that the will of the Father is that all who look on the Son in faith will have eternal life.

Things may look bleak.

God’s children will be persecuted and killed.

But we have eternal life through faith in Jesus, and he promises to raise us all up on the last day.

After he teaches the people who followed him, Jesus goes and teaches three lessons to the Jews in the Synagogue in Capernaum.

Lessons for the Jews (41-59)

As we look at this section I want you to notice that now Jesus is speaking to the Jews rather than speaking to the people.

His audience has narrowed to the Jews specifically.

And when we get to the end of this section, in verse 59, you will notice that the location where Jesus is teaching all of these lessons is identified as the synagogue in Capernaum.

So, the next lesson Jesus gives, now to the Jews in the synagogue in Capernaum, is God’s Sovereignty in Salvation in verses 41-46.

John 6:41–46 ESV

So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

This lesson is…

God’s Sovereignty in Salvation (41-46)

The Jews were grumbling.

They heard what Jesus had taught earlier.

But they know Jesus and his family.

Capernaum is probably where Jesus’ family lives now having moved from Nazareth.

And these Jews are sure that he came from his parents, not from heaven.

So, Jesus answers their grumbling by explaining The Father’s sovereignty in what he has been teaching.

No one can come to Jesus in faith unless the Father draws him.

And anyone whom the Father draws has eternal life, and Jesus will raise him up on the last day.

There is no other way to be saved.

We cannot do it on our own.

We cannot give ourselves eternal life.

We cannot save ourselves from God’s wrath against sin.

Jesus is the only savior, and the only way we will come to him to be saved is if the Father draws us.

But how does the Father draw us?

Jesus quotes Isaiah 54:13, “All will be taught by God.”

The father draws us by teaching us.

This concept is also found in the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:33-34.

God writes his law on our hearts, and we don’t need to teach each other about knowing God because all who have his law written on our hearts know God.

Everyone who has God’s law written on their heart comes to Jesus… without exception.

And just so we don’t get the wrong idea, Jesus says that knowing God in this way does not mean seeing him.

The only one who has seen God is the one who came from God… the Christ… Jesus.

Just like John wrote back in 1:18, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

After this lesson about God’s Sovereignty in Salvation, Jesus’ next lesson for these Jews is a summary of what he had taught the people earlier, that he is the source of spiritual life in verses 47-51.

John 6:47–51 ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

This lesson is that Jesus is…

The Source of Spiritual Life (47-51)

Jesus is the bread of life.

And believing in him results in eternal life.

The Jews thought very highly of the mana that God gave their ancestors in the wilderness.

It was proof that God cared for them and wanted them to live.

They even kept some in the ark of the covenant.

But that bread, as great as it was, could not give them eternal life.

The Israelites ate that bread, but they all still died… even Moses.

But Jesus says that he is better than the mana because he gives eternal life.

He is the living bread, and all who partake of him will live forever.

Then Jesus reveals some of the reality behind the metaphor.

The bread that Jesus provides is his flesh.

We know that Jesus was referring to his death on the cross, but the Jews didn’t know that… they thought he was promoting cannibalism.

But Jesus doubles down on this metaphor without clarification in his final lesson for these Jews as he foreshadows The Atonement in verses 52-59.

John 6:52–59 ESV

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

This lesson is…

Foreshadowing the Atonement (52-59)

This paragraph is right up there with the most misunderstood passages of Scripture.

Obviously eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood are reminiscent of the Lord’s Supper.

But the entire Roman Catholic church and quite a few Protestant Christian denominations think that Jesus is specifically referring to the Lord’s Supper in this passage.

The problem with this is when Jesus says, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

Now, if Jesus was referring to the Lord’s Supper, then what he says here means that partaking of that ordinance, eating the cracker and drinking the juice, is a necessary work to be saved.

And Jesus had just been teaching that works cannot save anyone!

The only work of God is to believe in him whom he has sent…. to believe in Jesus.

So, this cannot be what Jesus is talking about.

Up to this point the metaphor of Jesus being the bread that gives life has been a bit ambiguous.

But we’ve got to understand that eating is simply a metaphor for our faith and reminding ourselves what we believe.

If we understand that then things start to click into place.

When Jesus says, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you…”

He’s saying that unless you have faith in Jesus who gave his body and shed his blood to give you eternal life, you have no life in you.

Faith in Jesus is necessary to have the eternal life that he purchased with his body and blood on the cross.

And when he says, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day…”

He’s saying that reminding ourselves of the price Jesus paid to purchase our eternal life is what keeps us satisfied and persevering unto eternal life.

This is why we rehearse the gospel, why we participate in communion, why we encourage each other with the hope of Jesus’ return.

Because he will raise us up on the last day!

Four times, Jesus has repeated that phrase in this chapter.

Because it’s an important promise of hope in the midst of this broken world.

We have hope that Jesus is coming back to make all things new, and he will raise us up on the last day because he’s given us eternal life by giving his body and shedding his blood on the cross on our behalf.

Jesus’ flesh is true food, and his blood is true drink because that’s what truly sustains our souls unto eternal life.

And just like physical food goes into our stomach and becomes a part of our bodies, Jesus’ body and blood given for us on the cross spiritually becomes a part of us as we become a part of him.

And the living Father sent Jesus to give life to everyone who “feeds” or believes on Jesus and his death on the cross on our behalf.

Jesus came down from heaven to give his body and blood on the cross so that all who spiritually feed on him will live forever… they will not perish like the Israelites who physically fed on the mana in the wilderness but still died.

All of these lessons combined give us a picture of the one overarching truth Jesus was conveying here.

That one lesson is that faith in him and what he would do on the cross is the only way to have eternal life.

Jesus is the only source of spiritual sustenance.

So, we saw the miracle where Jesus created food for a massive group of people.

Then we saw the lessons that Jesus taught about that miracle, specifically that faith in him and his sacrifice on the cross is the only way to have eternal life.

Now let’s look at The Response to Jesus’ difficult lessons in verses 60-71.

John 6:60–64 ESV

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)

John 6:65–71 ESV

And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

The Response (60-71)

The response, as always in the gospel of John, is either belief or unbelief.

Because, remember, John wrote his gospel account so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and have life in his name.

So, John gives us many examples of what belief looks like and what unbelief looks like.

And here, at the end of chapter 6, John shows us the response of belief and the response of unbelief to the difficult lessons Jesus had just taught.

So, let’s look at the response of unbelief, and then the response of belief.

Unbelief

The disciples heard what Jesus had taught and they responded by grumbling about the difficulty of Jesus’ teaching.

Remember, instead of explaining his food metaphor, Jesus doubled down on it so that it appeared that he was telling them to physically eat his flesh and drink his blood.

They didn’t get it because Jesus had not gone to the cross yet.

We have the advantage of hindsight.

We can see clearly that Jesus was referring to his death on our behalf.

But they had to rely on prophecies like Isaiah 53 which were just as obscure as Jesus’ teaching at that time.

So, they’re grumbling about Jesus’ difficult lesson, and Jesus calls them out.

But he adds, in verse 62, “What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”

They will see that… after he goes to the cross and rises from the dead.

Once they see Jesus’ ascension, then his teaching will be clear to them because at that point they will have hind-sight and the Holy Spirit just a few days after his ascension.

And he says as much in the very next verse, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.”

They’re trying to understand Jesus’ teaching from a physical understanding, and it doesn’t make any sense.

Because they need the Holy Spirit to make these things clear…

The truth that Jesus is our only source of spiritual sustenance.

But some of Jesus’ own disciples didn’t believe.

Jesus knew from the beginning who would betray him.

But did that stop him from calling them to follow him?

NO, he called all of his disciples both believing and unbelieving, and not just the 12.

Jesus had many disciples, but even among his closest 12, one would betray him because of his unbelief.

Down in verses 70 and 71 Jesus called all 12 of his disciples… including Judas knowing that he would betray him!

If Jesus gave a genuine call to follow him even to those he knew would not believe and would even betray him…

How much more should we give a genuine offer of the gospel to everyone regardless of whether we think they may believe or not?

Jesus says, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Unbelief is the default setting of every person because of the fall.

It takes the work of all three persons of the Trinity.

The special call of the Father, teaching us by writing his law on our hearts through his Word and his Spirit.

The work of the Spirit who gives us life by producing in us the necessary faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The loving sacrifice of Jesus, his death on the cross on our behalf.

All of that is necessary for eternal life.

And all of that is freely given by God.

Belief can only happen when God acts on our hearts, and many of Jesus’ disciples did not believe.

In fact, many of them stopped following Jesus after this because they could not understand Jesus’ teaching.

And they would not believe what they could not understand.

Now let’s look at the response of Belief.

Belief

Jesus asked the 12 if they also wanted to leave, and Simon Peter responds for the whole group affirming their belief despite the difficulty of Jesus’ lesson.

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

At least Peter understood that Jesus’ identity as the Christ was more important than completely understanding some of his difficult lessons.

Jesus is the Christ, there is no other.

Jesus is the savior, there is no other.

Jesus is the only source of eternal life, there is no other.

Jesus is our only spiritual sustenance, there is no other.

Conclusion

If you have never put your faith in Jesus, then I beg you to believe that he is the promised one, the Son of God.

He came to earth, lived a perfectly sinless life, died in your place on the cross, and then rose again.

And right now, he is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding on your behalf, and he is coming again to judge and make all things new.

Repentant faith is all it takes for Jesus to take your place on the cross and intercede on your behalf so that you can be forgiven and have eternal life.

Turn and believe the truth of this good news and say, “Yes, Jesus has died for my sins so that I can be forgiven!”

If you believe it, then you have eternal life!

If you believe, then you are a child of God!

And God feeds all of his children with the comforting knowledge of this good news, this gospel.

All of us need to be reminded of the truth of Jesus’ death and resurrection every day.

This is how we are strengthened and sustained as we live in our fallen world.

Too often the world the flesh and the devil try to distract us from feeding on these truths.

And if they successfully distract us, then temptation is waiting to pounce and drive us away from God by our sin.

We must remain strong and fight against temptation by reminding ourselves of the gospel, by feeding on Jesus.

He is the only one who gives us strength to fight sin since he defeated the power of sin at the cross.

And he is the only true source of spiritual life and sustenance through faith in him and his death and resurrection on our behalf.

Pray

Father, thank you for revealing these amazing truths to us in your Word.

Thank you for sending your Son to take our place on the cross so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life.

I pray that you would impress this on our hearts and minds, and that we would never forget it.

Lord, don’t let us ever take for granted the price you paid to give us eternal life.

And we are so excited to spend eternity with you when Jesus comes back.

We thank you and praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.