John 6:52-59

The Jews Respond

The Jews respond to Jesus’s statement in John 6:51 “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.”” They say John 6:52 “The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?””

The word for this man suggests contempt in several ways.

Just a man, not God.

Not saying his name. Just this person. Disbelief of who He has claimed to be.

Literally in Greek, it’s just “this”. This thing.

Because the word is a pronoun, it has the idea of demons?

They are becoming more and more upset. First they were grumbling, now they were disputing.

Jesus Responds to their arguing.

Jesus doesn’t get angry. In kindness, he speaks to them. He speaks truth, really hard truth, but he does not respond to their anger with anger. Jesus does not compromise on the truth or make the truth wimpy. He comes at them with all of the truth.

Breakdown of Jesus’s response:

You want physical bread because you only are thinking of temporary life. Jesus says I am the bread of life. Believe in me and have eternal life. Last week, Jesus said the bread that he gives will be his flesh.

If you do not eat and drink of Jesus’s flesh and blood, you have no life. vs 53

Whoever feeds on Jesus’s flesh and blood has eternal life. Will be raised up. vs 54

Has eternal life because what Jesus has to offer in his flesh and blood is true. vs 55

Whoever feeds on Jesus abides (remains or stays) in Jesus and Jesus will abide in him. v56

Just like the Jesus depends on the Father for life, those who feed on Jesus will have life v57

This (same word as above that the Jews used) is the bread. In other words, I am the bread that came from heaven. Jesus is unlike the bread the people want because he provides life not death. v 58

So how are we to understand this with Jesus’s flesh and blood. Only in context. Throughout Jesus’s discourse on the bread of life, he has had one point.

John 6:35 “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.”

What does it mean to believe? But the Jews aren’t getting it. They keep seeking for bread to fill their bellies instead of bread to fill their souls. They are looking for bread that does not satisfy, that only prolongs their death. Jesus offers them Himself, and through Himself eternal life.

So Jesus has offered them bread. And this bread is Himself.

Before jumping into our text, we need to understand what Jesus is saying about eating or feeding on his flesh and drinking his blood because I don’t want us to get confused. Bread gives you life. You eat, you can live.

1 Kings 17:8–12 “Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.””

Exodus 16:3–4 “and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”

Just as the people in these examples understood that they needed bread to live, Jesus is what we need for life. In other words, If you want eternal life, you need Jesus, and only Jesus.

With that, let me show you 4 truths about Jesus to help you understand what our relationship with Jesus must look like.

If you do not understand your need for Jesus, you are not saved. v 53

The Jews wanted something else other than Jesus. They didn’t want him. They just wanted their bellies full. They didn’t want to live only for Jesus.

There are many things that get in the way of us loving Jesus. If you are trusting in anything else other than Jesus for your salvation you are not saved. What are some of those things?

Church, your parents, your obedience, etc...

These things are all good. They are not Jesus.

If you are saved, you will desire to be with Jesus. v 54-55

The word for feeds is funny. It’s a loud chomping. Like the best meal you ever had and you are just shoving it in your mouth. You can’t get enough.

It is the same way with Jesus. If you are saved you will desire to be with Jesus. Not just once, not only sometimes, but throughout the day! Why? Because Jesus gave himself to you!

If you are saved, you will stay with Jesus. v 56-59

Salvation isn’t a one day thing. It’s not, I said a prayer and I’m good. It is your life because Jesus has saved you!

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

You now live for Jesus. Will you sin? Yes. But do repent and turn back to Jesus?

To wrap up this whole bread of life discourse, Jesus welcomes all who come to Him, but you have to come to him in the way that he tells you to. And that is by believing in Him. You can look for satisfaction in anything else but it will not bring you life. If you want true satisfaction, repent of your sins and turn to Jesus. How kind of the Lord to provide the way for us. Let’s run to Jesus instead of other things.