John 6:52–59 Sermon

Sermon Text

John 6:52–59 ESV

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 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. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 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. 58 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.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 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. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 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. 58 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.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Introduction

Last week, we saw that the Jews grumbled because Jesus said of Himself that He was the bread that came down from heaven.

And the reason for their grumbling over what Jesus said was found in .

John 6:42 ESV

42 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’?”

We saw how a belief in Jesus as the son of Joseph and a denial of Jesus as the Son sent by the Father from heaven, blinds one from seeing and hearing what Jesus was saying about Himself.

In verse 43 Jesus told them not to grumble over what He was saying and then in verse 44 Jesus said,

John 6:44 ESV

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John

This was Jesus clearly telling them that in order to come to Him, which entails believing in Him, the Father must draw them to Him.

Jesus said that belief is the work of God ()

Jesus said whoever believes in Him will never thirst ()

Jesus said that it was the will of the Father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes will have eternal life (John 6:40)

Jesus said again, whoever believes has eternal life ()

Not believing in Christ, which is also found in this chapter, proves that one has not been drawn by the Father and that they have not eaten of the bread of life. Which Jesus would say about Himself.

Jesus pointed to bread that people ate in the wilderness which did not give them life and He would point to the bread that came down from heaven which was living bread. Which if one would eat of it they would not die.

Jesus goes further to explain that this bread was His flesh and that it gives life.

John 6:51 ESV

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.”

We asked the question: How is the bread that He gave, which is His flesh, able to give life?

And the answer was that: Jesus was speaking about the sacrifice that He would give at the cross. And belief in this gives life.

Jesus was speaking about His body being offered as a sacrifice for sins. And His blood being offered for the remission of sins.

Belief in this which is granted by the Father, saves. Our weekly communion represents this.

And communion does not mean what some have said.

Some believe that the elements actually turn into the flesh and blood of Christ.

But Jesus explains in

John 6:63 ESV

63 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.

​ ESV63 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.

Since the words Jesus was speaking were spirit and life and since the flesh is no help at all to understand these things, they would do what any carnal minded man would do.

They would grumble and dispute what He was saying about Himself.

Our text today shows Jesus speaking in covenant language but in a way that was extremely offensive and spiritual so that only those who believed in Jesus would understand.

Outline

1. The Dispute (v.52)

2. The Response (v.53-59) with observations

1. The Dispute (v.52)

Verse 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

In verse 52, we see that the Jews began to dispute among themselves. Which meant that they were arguing with one another.

Which meant that they were arguing with one another.

This wasn’t the only time the Jews were divided on what Jesus said and did.

Jesus healed a man who was blind from birth and He healed him on the Sabbath which prompted them to say in ,

John 9:16 ESV

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

In , Jesus would reveal Himself as the Good Shepherd.

Then in verse 19,

John 10:19 ESV

19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.

The arguments and the disputes happened because they could not see Jesus as who He was. And it revealed a lack of faith in what Jesus said about Himself.

And it revealed a lack of faith in what Jesus said about Himself.

Jesus spoke of His flesh as that which would give life to the world. And because they did not have the spirit and life they would deny and dispute His words.

Jesus understands this. He knows that One that has not been drawn by the Father can only have a carnal mind.

Paul talked about this in ,

Romans 8:6–7 ESV

6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

This is exactly what is happening here. They are hostile to God (Jesus Christ) because their minds are set on the flesh which is death and they do not have the mind of Christ which is life and peace.

It is amazing to see Jesus go even further into what He was saying. Which we will see in verses 53-59.

In His response, I want us to make some observations to what He is saying. Mainly, because it will help us understand something about Him and also about us who have saving faith and those who do not have saving faith.

2. The Response (v.53-59) with observations

Looking into verses 53-59, I thought it would be good for us to know what Jesus meant when He used the word feed.

He uses this four times in this chapter and it is important to remember why He is using this.

His audience are not only the Jews but also the crowds that followed Him. Which were the part of the 5000 fed by Him.

And we have to remember that this took place at the time of the passover.

Jesus said to the crowds who followed Him in verse 26,

John 6:26 ESV

26 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.

From there He would continue to speak of bread that they did not but in fact it was bread that they needed.

We also have to remember that this took place at the time of the passover ().

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Passover

A major festival held in the spring to commemorate Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The term is often used of the entire festival celebration (e.g., Ex. 12:48; 2 K. 23:21). It may also designate the Passover sacrifice to be eaten (Ex. 12:11; 2 Ch. 30:18) and the animal victim, i.e., the “Passover lamb” (Ex. 12:21; 2 Ch. 30:15).

The passover was a major festival held in the spring to commemorate Israel’s deliverance from Egypt where the people of God sacrificed a lamb.

It may also designate the Passover sacrifice to be eaten (; ) and the animal victim, i.e., the “Passover lamb” (; ).

Exodus 12:11 ESV

11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.

After using the blood of the lamb on their door posts to avoid death, the people of Isreal were instructed to eat of it. Leaving none of it after.

Jesus is using passover language when speaking of Himself here in our text. And He speaks of Himself as the bread of God.

He is speaking in light of

The verses we are looking into today answer what has already been stated in verse 33,

John 6:33 ESV

33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Verses 57 and 58 says it again but Jesus speaks now of those who feed on this bread.

Read Verse 58 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.

Read Verse 57 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.

Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.

Read Verse 57 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.

Those who feed on Him (on that bread) will live forever because of Him.

whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

Feeding here means partaking of Jesus which is meant to convey that one has come to believe in Him. Feeding on Him means believing on Him.

Feeding on something is meant to show that one has hungered. The desire to eat (hunger) precedes feeding on something.

When Jesus is speaking of those who feed on Him it is assumed that one has hungered for Him.

This is important because of the use of “whoever” which is not in the original text.

So this is not leaving out the possibility to anyone. It only deals with those who the Father has drawn.

Coming to Christ is only the work of God and not man. And once one comes to Christ hungry they will be satisfied.

John 6:35 ESV

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.

To be fed with Christ is to believe in Christ as we just read from verse 35.

Which is our first observation.

First: To be fed is to believe.

Verse 53 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.

Those who do not eat and drink do not have life. Proving that they do not believe.

John 6:35 ESV

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.

Question: Who are those that will never thirst?

Answer: .

John 7:38 ESV

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

Jesus said in verse 53,

The eating and drinking (belief) of the Son of Man gives life.

John 6:47 ESV

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

And remember that believing is the work of God.

John 6:29 ESV

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Those who believe prove that God has worked in them to believe and it proves that they have eaten of the Son meaning that they have believed.

And belief brings with it eternal life.

Read Verse 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Jesus would talk about raising one up on the last day four times in this chapter.

Let’s look at every time he said it to help understand what He means here.

In , He spoke of the will of the Father being that Christ will lose nothing of all that he has been given

In , He spoke again of the will of the Father. Which was that everyone who looked on the Son and believes will have eternal life

In , He said that no one can come to Him unless the Father who sent Him draws them

So those that feed on the Son will be those that Christ will never lose. They are those that have been drawn by the Father and have been given eternal life.

Those who feed on the Son are kept by the will of the Father. Revealing the truth about what Jesus is saying about Himself.

Read Verse 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Read Verse 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Read Verse 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Question: Why is His flesh and blood that which is true?

Answer: Remember when He compared living bread (Himself) with the bread that their father’s ate in the wilderness (which was perishable food).

They ate and died. But those who eat of the Son abide in the Son.

What makes it true is that it gives eternal life and not temporal satisfaction.

To be fed is to believe. Partaking in His death, burial and resurrection by faith bring life.

Question: Which begs the question for us. Have we lived as those that have been satisfied?

If we have been given Christ as bread

If we have been given Christ as truth

If we have been given Christ as our secure hope

If we have been given Christ as life

If we have been given Christ as our hope

If we have been given Christ who keeps us and secures our salvation

Then why do we not live with a joy inexpressible?

Since we have been fed with the living bread by faith, then we must live by faith.

John 20:31 ESV

31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Believing must be in company with life in His name!

The

And life in His name means that we abide in Him and that He abides in us!

Second, To be fed means that one abides in Him.

Read Verse 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Let’s look at every time he said it to help understand what He means here.

In , He spoke of the will of him the Father being that Christ will lose nothing of all that he has been given

In , He spoke again of the will of the Father. Which was that everyone who looked on the Son and believes will have eternal life

In , He said that no one can come to Him unless the Father who sent Him draws them

__________________________________________________________________________

Verse 53 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.

Verse 53 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.

In verse 53, Jesus again says truly, truly.

Jesus says this four times in this chapter alone. It is meant to demand someone’s attention to something that was extremely important.

Every time in the gospel of John that Jesus says, “truly, truly” it was always followed with “I say to you.”

Question: Why is this important?

Answer: Because in verse 54, we see in our translation the word whoever.

Whoever is not in the text. And because the verses after verse 53 are explaining what Jesus said in verse 53 we need to pay careful attention. Namely, because He is telling us who it is that has no life.

John 6:53 ESV

53 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.

Before we look into the next part of our text, we have to ask what does it mean when Jesus says, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”???

If by His flesh Jesus is speaking of His sacrifice, then it would mean that partaking of it happens when one believes in the sacrifice that He offers.

Question: So how do we know that when Jesus is speaking of His flesh here that it means His sacrifice?

John 6:51 ESV

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.”

Question: When did Jesus give His flesh and blood in order to give life to the world?

Answer: He gave Himself at the cross. And the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (belief in this) gives life.

So when Jesus speaks of His flesh, I believe He is talking about His death on the cross.

Feeding on His flesh and blood means believing in what He would do at the cross.

That’s why He said in ,

John 3:14–15 ESV

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

This is not meaning that one literally eats of His very own flesh and blood. He said in ,

John 6:63 ESV

63 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.

Feeding on His flesh and drinking His blood means believing!

- Explanation found in verses 54 and 55

Read Verse 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

57 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. 58 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.”

Read Verse 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Jesus would talk about raising one up on the last day four times in this chapter.

Let’s look at every time he said it to help understand what He means here.

In He spoke of:

In , He spoke of the will of him the Father being that Christ will lose nothing of all that he has been given

In , He spoke again of the will of the Father. Which was that everyone who looked on the Son and believes will have eternal life

In , He said that no one can come to Him unless the Father who sent Him draws them

Since the word “whoever” is not in the text. those that Christ is speaking of are those who have been given to Him by the Father.

Which are those who have looked on the Son and have believed.

They are those who have been drawn by the Father.

Feeding and drinking means believing and being drawn by the Father.

It is those who believe and that have been drawn that Jesus would raise up on the last day.

A carnal mind can can only see this and only believe that Jesus is talking about cannibalism.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

John 6:39

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.

John 6:40

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.”

John 6:44

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

A spiritual mind can see that Jesus is talking about spirit and life. They will see and believe in His death, burial and resurrection.

Feeding on His flesh and drinking His blood meaning, believing in the giving of His flesh (the cross) bering eternal life. And He will raise them up on the last day.

We see the cause of our salvation and the hope of our salvation.

has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

The cause (feeding/believing) in Him brings hope because eternal life is given and we will be raised on the last day.

This is offensive to those who are carnal minded.

There is a hope given and a present benefit given when one believes in Him

- 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

Read Verse 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Verse 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Verse 57 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.

- 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.

Verse 58 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.”

Verse 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

- This is the bread that came down from heaven

Verse 57 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.

- not like the bread the fathers ate, and died

Question: What does it mean to abide in Him?

To abide means to stay or remain.

So, when one believes in Christ they will remain and He will remain in them.

This is why He said in verse 39,

John 6:39 ESV

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.

He will lose none because whoever believes abides (remains) in Him.

When one eats of the bread of life (Jesus) they have been given eternal life.

To be fed means that one has believes which means that they will remain in Him.

Remaining in Him means that He will keep us and it means that we will bear fruit.

John 15:5 ESV

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Read Verse 57 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.

whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

Abiding means that one has believed and that one will live as Christ has lived.

Read Verse 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me.

Being fed the bread of life means that we too have life in Christ, and it is because of Christ.

John 15:4 ESV

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

As the Father lives, Christ lives. And as Christ lives, we live. Which proves even more that we will never see death.

John 8:51 ESV

51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

Question: Why?

Answer: Because He lives and we abide in Him and live because of Him.

This is why we believe in the perseverance of the Saints.

To say that it is possible for a believer not to persevere is to also say that Christ could have not persevered.

We live as Christ lives because of Christ giving Himself to us.

It is because He lives.

I remember an old song we used to sing,

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow Because He lives, all fear is gone Because I know He holds the future And life is worth the living, just because He lives

It is because He lives that we live.

And Christ lives as the Father lives.

Because He was the bread that came down from heaven, who gave Himself for those who believe, we who believe, live!

And not only do we live. We live forever because He will lose none that the Father has given to Him.

Read Verse 58 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.

Believing in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, brings life.

But for those who do not believe?

Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”1

John 15:6 ESV

6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

John 15:

Not abiding meaning not believing and it proves that one has not lived.

It mean that they are not abiding which means that they have only death and a temporal hunger for temporal things.

They do not have Christ as bread

They do not have Christ as truth

They do not have Christ as a secure hope

They do not have Christ as life

They do not have Christ who can keep them and secure them for salvation

If we have been given Christ who keeps us and secures our salvation

The people who disputed here in our text proved to have no life in them because they saw no life in Christ.

We are to abide in Him and bear fruit in our remaining in Him and He in us!

And if you have not believed in Christ for salvation, then repent. Turn from your sin which is worthy of God’s wrath and judgement!

Jesus gave Himself so that we may believe in Him. And in believing we escape the wrath of God because of His death.

He died because the wages of our sins is death. He died in our place so that we could come to Him in faith and believe.

And in believing we have life in His name!

Note: Look up feed in John. Remember Peter being asked to feed sheep.

- Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever