Jesus Holds Us Fast

Introduction

Loved when the kids were little and they would climb up a jungle gym at a playground and ask...Will you catch me? I’d say “no”… No…I wouldn’t say that....maybe I said it a couple times. But they’d say will you catch me. I’d say “Yes” Then they’d say, “Are you sure?” I’d say, “Yes”. They’d say, are you sure? They’d say, “What if I fall?” I’d say, “Have I ever let you fall?” They’d say “no”. I’d say, “you know I’m going to catch you this time.” Then they’d jump down and I’d catch them

At the heart of this question is this: Am I secure. Am I going to be OK?

Even as adults we have this question. Am I secure? Is my job secure? Are my investments secure? Is our country secure? Is my marriage secure? Are my friendships secure? Sometimes we don’t always know the answer to these questions.

Let me give you another questions that you may have considered: Is my relationship with Jesus secure? Is my salvation secure?

It’s with this question in mind that I want you to approach our passage for this morning.

Context

Still part of the bread of life discourse.

Synagogue in Capernaum.

Started this last week. 6:22-34. The Bread of Life…Jesus is the true bread of life that gives life to the world.

Outline

Title: Jesus Will Hold You Fast

Point 1: If you come to Jesus…you will not hunger or thirst. (v.35-36)

Point 2: If you come to Jesus…the Father has given you to Him. (v.37a)

Point 3: If you come to Jesus…He will keep you secure to the end. (v.37b-40)

Point 1: If you come to Jesus…you will not hunger or thirst.

(v. 35-36)

John 6:35–36 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. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

Jesus’ Declaration

1st of 7 “I am” + predicate statements.

The Gospel according to John (c. Jesus the Bread of Life (6:35–48))—Don Carson

The expression I am the bread of life is the first of seven similar claims, each with egō eimi (‘I am’) and a predicate. The other six (plus minor variations) are: I am the light of the world (8:12), the gate (10:7, 9), the good shepherd (10:11, 14), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way and the truth and the life (14:6), the true vine (15:1, 5)

I Am: Ego Eimi.

-1) the bread of life

-2) the light of the world

-3) the gate

-4) the good shepherd

-5) the resurrection and the life

-6) the way the truth and the life

-7) the true vine

What does bread of life mean?

Parallel

manna: God sent down manna from heaven to sustain the life of his people in the wilderness.

Jesus is the true manna…the bread of life send down from heaven by God the Father to give life to the world.

Jesus is the life giver sent from God.

How does he provide this bread?

By coming in the flesh…then by going to the cross and being broken for us.

So, does everybody get this bread?

You have to do something

this is your responsibility...

Turn from your unbelief. (v.36)

These people saw so much—Jesus feeding 20K

…yet their hearts remained hard.

God’s people in the wilderness.

Psalm 78:32 ESV

32 In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.

The Gospel according to John (c. Jesus the Bread of Life (6:35–48))

This crowd has witnessed the divine revealer at work, but only their curiosity, appetites and political ambitions have been aroused, not their faith.

Come to Jesus & Believe in him. (v.35)

Your life is focussed on something.

Call here is to come to Jesus and make him the Lord of your life.

Put your faith and trust in him for salvation. (Believe)

trust in, depend up, and set your allegiance upon Jesus.

What happens when you come to Jesus?

a) You will encounter the bread of life (v.35)

b) You will never hunger or thirst (v.35)

In what way?

Your life will be perfect?

You will always have enough food to eat?

You will always be happy and satisfied?

In this sense: Regarding Eternal Life

If you come to Jesus and put your faith in him.

You will never hunger or thirst again in regards to eternal life.

It’s provided for you.

It’s there…you have enough.

In v.34—they ask Jesus to give this bread to them always.

This implies that it would be a repeated gift like the manna in the wilderness

Isaiah 55:1 ““Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

Revelation 7:14-16 “I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.”

In Temporal Sense: Contentment and Joy in This Life

knowing who you are: a child of the king.

knowing what awaits you: eternal life

knowing that you are loved

knowing that you have a purpose…to live for the glory of God…and no one can take that away from you.

Application:

What is keeping you from coming to Jesus?

Different life goal.

Don’t like what he has to say.

You doubt he’s true.

You’re ok coming to him with certain parts of your life…but others.

either you want to control.

Or you don’t want to bring them into the light.

Temporal: Satisfaction of Jesus

Are you experiencing the satisfaction that only Jesus can bring in this life?

Come to him…encounter Him in His Word.

Encounter him in His people.

Praise him as a family.

Remind yourself of His promises.

Transition to Point 2:

If you come to Jesus...you will not hunger or thirst.

If you come to Jesus…the Father has given you to Him.

Point 2: If you come to Jesus...The Father has given you to Him.

(v. 37a)

John 6:37 ESV

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

The Father Gives Many to the Son

Order…The Father gives…those precise people come…Jesus won’t cast them out.

Every single one of them will come to Jesus.

If you come to Jesus…It means that the Father has given you to him.

Also means that God has granted for you to come to Jesus.

John 6:65 (ESV)

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

This is God’s sovereignty in drawing people to Jesus.

Why can no one come unless God grants it?

dead people don’t come

Ephesians 2:5 ESV

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Enslaved people don’t come

Romans 6:16 ESV

16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

You were slaves.

He’s broken your bondage to sin and rebellion and enabled you to come to Jesus.

Because left up to your own will, the only thing you ever would have chosen is rebellion against God.

Making yourself the sovereign ruler of your own life.Unity of purpose and will.

Children of disobedience don’t come

Children of disobedience & lawlessness.

Our master was Satan.

We couldn’t bring ourselves into God’s family.

Illustration: Our Natures Need to Be Changed.

love tofu and hate steak

always choose tofu…if sin was a food it would be tofu.

like choosing sin over God…yet left up to our own nature we will always choose tofu.

God has to enable to us come.

Transition to Point 3:

It’s clear…if you come to Jesus…the Father has drawn you to Him.

last part of verse 37: whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Let’s look more at this same idea in our remaining verses.

Last point:

If you come to Jesus:

You will never hunger or thirst

The Father has given you to Him.

He will hold you fast to the end.

Point 3: If you come to Jesus…He will hold you fast to the end.

(v. 38-40)

John 6:38–40 ESV

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.”

What Will Jesus Do with those who come to Him?

V.47…he will never cast them out.

Application: what have you been cast out for?

what have you been rejected for?

What don’t you like about yourself.

Is there something you try to hide from others?

Jesus knows all of those things…and he will never cast you out!

V.39—He will lose none of them

Something you intended to keep safe but you lost it. Wallet. Keys. Phone.

We are finite beings with finite power...

Jesus guarantees that he will lose none.

v.40—he will raise them up on the last day

Until the very end…until the day he returns.

Until the final resurrection and the entrance into the eternal kingdom of God!

Illustration of Not keeping pets safe

Little Bluey, Mr. Turtle…intended to keep them alive..but it didn’t go well. Thankfully we’ve done better with our dogs and cats.

Our good intentions mean nothing as far as security is concerned!

Unity of the Father and Son

Unity of will, purpose, and mission

Illustration: Walking Dog

Someone with their own agenda. Walking a dog. Clear when the dog has its own agenda. Clear when the dog and the owner have different agendas. Example: I wish I could say that Bella and I had perfect unity of will on our walks…but when she sees a squirrel or a cat, all bets are off.

If the Father wills that the Son loses none…guess what…He will lose none.

The unity of the Trining guarantees that he will hold you fast.

He will keep you secure.

Don Carson: (4) The one exception is Judas Iscariot. This turns out not to be an exception at all. It was not that the Son’s preserving power broke down in this one instance; rather, Judas was the son of perdition from the beginning (cf. notes on 17:12). Jesus chose him to be one of the Twelve, but knew from the beginning that he was ‘a devil’

For who?

all who look on the Son and believe in him

God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility Aren’t at Odds

Don Carson: John is not embarrassed by this theme, because unlike many contemporary philosophers and theologians, he does not think that human responsibility is thereby mitigated. Thus, he can speak with equal ease of those who look to the Son and believe in him: this they must do, if they are to enjoy eternal life. But this responsibility to exercise faith does not, for the Evangelist, make God contingent. In short, John is quite happy with the position that modern philosophy calls ‘compatibilism’.

Other Passages:

Romans 8:28–30 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified

Ephesians 1:3–6 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

chose us before the foundation of the world.

he predestined us…to be adopted into his family

If we are now sons…he will never cast us out!

John MacArthur: “Intellectually harmonizing the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of people is impossible humanly, but perfectly resolved in the infinite mind of God.”

We Return to Our Original Illustration

Child jumping off of the jungle gym…daddy…are you going to catch me. Will you keep me safe?

Jesus…will you keep me safe?

The answer is s a resounding Yes!

How can we be sure?

Power and character of Jesus.

He’s strong enough…He’s good and loving and trustworthy. What he says, he will do!

Protection—two people saying I will protect you. First describe a well intentioned weakling. Second, describe an untrustworthy strong person. Third, describe a person who is both strong and trustworthy. You know their character. You know they have the power to fulfill their promise.

Our Own Power?

If our security rests in our own power…that’s a scary place to be!

There is no assurance!

In this life and in the life to come…if our security rests in our own power…then eternal life isn’t secure.

Final Application:

Live each day in light of the last day.

How? Remind yourself when you wake up in the morning that the last day is coming. Remind yourself before you go to bed that the last day is coming. When you’re making a decision, ask how does this impact whether or not I’m living for the last day.

Applications:

Look and believe…

don’t see and not believe. How? Be in God’s Word. Surround yourself with God’s people. Continue to look at Jesus.

What you look at is what you’re going to hit. Look where you’re going…don’t look at what you don’t want to hit. Example: Snowboarding—look between the trees…if you look at a tree, you’re going to hit it. Look at Jesus. Don’t focus on all of the things that you don’t want to be conformed to…look at Jesus. (v.40)

Outline

If you come to Jesus:

You will never hunger or thirst

The Father has given you to Him.

He will hold you fast to the end.

Extras:

ESV Study Bible: “Jesus states the paradoxical and corresponding truth that once people come to Jesus, they will realize that behind their willing decision to come and believe lies the mysterious, invisible work of the Father who all along was drawing them to Christ.” (See Romans 9 & Ephesians 1:3-6)

time when hungry & thirsty

time when you didn’t understand

Something given to you and protected

Security

Don Carson:

Divine sovereignty in salvation is a major theme in the Fourth Gospel. Moreover, the form of it in these verses, that there exists a group of people who have been given by the Father to the Son, and that this group will inevitably come to the Son and be preserved by him, not only recurs in this chapter (v. 65) and perhaps in 10:29, but is strikingly central to the Lord’s prayer in ch. 17 (vv. 1, 6, 9, 24; cf. Carson, pp. 186ff.).

Illustrations:

A time when you were really hungry or thirsty. Look up a story of a person in the depression or at war.

Seeing is believing…not true (v.36).

Child exercising its own will.

Plant: dies…intended to keep it alive, but forgot about it.