John 6:22-71
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John 6:25-71 Teen Church
Introduction:
· Last week we had a look at two miracles. The first was the feeding of the five thousand, and the second was the walking on water. Both of these miracles were performed by Jesus in the region of Galilee, where some of his disciples would have grown up.
· The first miracle was the feeding of the five thousand. This miracle is famous, and is one of the only miracles included in all four of the gospels that have come down to us. The story is basically that Jesus, hoping to teach his disciples, had retreated to a quiet place on a hillside. A great crowd, however, had seen Jesus leaving and were deeply interested in what he did because of his ministry of healing. So they followed him. Jesus obliged to teach them, but at the end of their time teaching, they all needed food. This presented a problem. To solve the problem, Jesus took the five loaves and two fish provided by a small boy and he used them to feed everybody there to their hearts’ content. Once he was done feeding everybody, the disciples collected the leftovers into twelve baskets.
· When we looked at this last week, we saw that this miracle actually has more to it than meets the eye. It takes place at the time around the Passover, and it takes place in a deserted area, where a large group of people, following one man of religious significance, are fed sufficiently by supernatural means. This is all meant to lead us to see a parallel between this miracle and the Exodus and the time after that. And the reason that John deliberately parallels this account to the Exodus is to show Jesus in a new light. He wants us to see Jesus in Mosaic lines. Not only is Jesus the one who is leading these people, but he is their teacher. Also, like God in the story, Jesus provides them with food. By showing us that Jesus is in the place of Moses and God in the new Exodus, John helps us to see that Jesus has a much higher, more important status than Moses. But also, that his Exodus is greater too. While Moses led people away from slavery in Egypt, Jesus is going to lead them away from slavery to sin.
· The people recognise Jesus is playing this role when they consider whether or not he is the longed for Prophet whom Moses promised in Deuteronomy 18:18. They also try and make him a king by force, but Jesus understands that this is what they want to do and is able to escape before they can.
· The next miracle is much simpler. The disciples basically make to leave the place where they’re staying, and get caught at sea in a storm late at night. It is at this moment that Jesus appears to them walking on water. They are afraid, but Jesus reassures them. They then take him into the boat and get to their destination that very moment.
· Meanwhile, the next day a bunch of the people whom Jesus fed wake up, and they realise that both Jesus and his disciples are gone, but they have no idea how Jesus left, so they head off to find him.
· Today what we will see is how Jesus wants us to understand the miracle provided earlier, as well as a new metaphor through which we can understand Jesus’ work. We’ll break it up like this:
o 25-40 – The Bread of Life 1
o 26-59 – Conflict Over the Bread of Life
o 60-71 – Many Desert Jesus
25-40: The Bread of Life
· Where does the crowd find Jesus? (v25)
o On the other side of the lake.
· Now look all the way at the bottom of this section, what is he doing when they find him? (v59)
o He’s teaching in a Synagogue. This was basically like preaching in a church. This helps us get a picture of what is going on when these people hear about Jesus.
· What do they ask him? (v25)
o When he got there.
· And what do they call him?
o Rabbi. It just means teacher, so it shows that they have a high respect for him and what he has to say.
· Does Jesus answer their question? (v26)
o No.
· What does he say instead? What are they interested in?
o They’re only interested in his ability to feed them.
· Look at v14. There the people seem to think that Jesus is the king. They see the sign, and make a conclusion. So what is Jesus’ problem?
o The problem is that even though they see the sign and have some idea of what it means, they fail to see the truth. Like so many of the Jews Jesus is dealing with, they come so close, but are so far.
· Now look at v27. What does Jesus tell the people to look for?
o Not for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.
· Where have we seen an idea like this in John before?
o Remember the woman at the well in John 4:15? Jesus told her about water that would leave her satisfied forever, and she was super keen, but didn’t understand the spiritual nature of it.
· And where do they get it?
o From the Son of Man. Remember Daniel 7 for this title.
· And what gives the Son of Man the ability to give this bread?
o The fact that the Father trusts in him and sets his seal of approval on him.
· So, how do the crowd respond? (v28)
o They want to know what they have to do to be working for God.
· And what does Jesus say is the work of God that they should be doing? (v29)
o To believe in the one whom God has sent.
· And who is that?
o Jesus.
· The people understand this, but how do they react? (v30)
o They ask him for a sign to show that he is the one that God sent.
· And what historical event do they point to for precedent? (v31)
o The giving of manna in the desert.
· Why is this ironic?
o Jesus has literally just given these people bread in the wilderness. He’s given them exactly the sign they’ve asked for, but they can’t see it. Shows that Jesus was right about them in v26.
· What does Jesus say about the bread in v32?
o That it doesn’t come from Moses, but rather from God in heaven.
· And how does Jesus refer to God?
o As his Father, showing that he stands in a special relationship to God unlike that the Jews enjoyed.
· And what does this bread do? (v33)
o It gives life to the world.
· So, naturally, how do Jesus’ hearers respond? (v34)
o They want this bread, right? If this bread comes from heaven and gives life, then of course they’re desperate to have it and enjoy it.
· And, according to v35, what is the bread of life?
o Jesus is.
· And how does he take care of those who come to him?
o Those who come to him never lack.
· In what sense do you think Jesus means this?
o Clearly he doesn’t mean it in a material sense. Disciples of Jesus can still lack, and the most faithful believers can experience terrible poverty, and illness, and everything in this spectrum. But what Jesus is speaking about is life, the eternal life that comes with knowing him. With respect to this, when the disciples come to Jesus, they will never lack. Remember also what they said above. They want Jesus to give them this bread always, as if they need to keep eating of it to survive. Jesus’ point, however, is that the one who comes to him need eat only once.
· In what state is Jesus’ audience? (v36)
o They have heard and seen, but still, they don’t believe.
· Who is it who comes to the Jesus? (v37)
o Those whom the Father gives to him.
· And how does Jesus treat those who come to him?
o He will not cast them out. I.e. he will accept them. Here we have the balance between God sovereignly leading people to Christ and people calling out to Christ and being welcomed by him. These are not two groups of people, but are in fact one and the same. The process of salvation is glorious joining of God’s initiative and leading and man’s free acceptance of the gift God has given him.
· Why does Jesus not drive people away? (v38)
o He has come to do the will of the one who sent him. That is, the Father. Remember 5:19. Jesus is perfectly obedient to the will of his Father.
· And what is that will? (v39)
o That will is that Jesus should save all who are given to him.
· And how does v40 illustrate that?
o That all who look on and believe the Son are saved with eternal life, both now and on the last day. Notice that in these verses the same dynamic that was brought out in v37 is illustrated more fully. In v38 we have God’s sovereign initiative, where he gives a group of people to the Son to be saved. Then, from v40 we have those people looking to the Son to be saved. They’re the ones that are doing it, by their free will. So, we have illustrated here again the fact that God is both sovereign and people are free.
41-59: Controversy Over the Bread of Life
· How do the Jews react to this statement of Jesus? (v41)
o They complain.
· What is the substance of their complaint? (v42)
o They don’t believe that Jesus is the one who was to come because they’ve seen him grow up. Familiarity breeds contempt.
· How des Jesus respond in v43-44?
o He tells them to stop grumbling. This grumbling is reminiscent of that from Exodus 16, where the Israelites grumbled against God because of the lack of food. And we know how that turned out for them. He then reiterates the point that it is only a work of God that can save them.
· What does Jesus say in v45?
o He is explaining the kind of drawing the Father does. In Isaiah 54:13, God tells the people that they will all be taught by him, and this will give them the wisdom and understanding they need to understand who Jesus is and what he has come to do. The result of this learning will be that they come to Jesus.
· What is the point of v46?
o It again emphasises the heightened relationship shared between Jesus and the Father.
· And, because of this relationship, what does belief in Jesus give? (v47)
o Eternal life.
· And why? (v48)
o Because he is the bread of life. Jesus is now stepping back into the metaphor he established earlier, but now he is stepping into it more deeply than he did previously.
· Now look at vv49-50. What contrast does Jesus make, and what is he trying to say with it?
o Jesus compares the manna which the OT believers ate and the bread which he offers, which is himself. The differing results are that those who ate the manna died, but those who take part in what he offers receive eternal life. This contrast shows how superior what Jesus offers is to what Moses offers, and by extension shows the superiority of Jesus.
· What point does Jesus make about himself in v51?
o That he is the bread of life, and that eating this bread will give them eternal life.
· And how does it do that?
o By giving his flesh for the world.
· What do you think that is pointing to?
o Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.
· How do the Jews react in v52?
o They argue sharply among themselves. None of them thinks that Jesus is speaking literally. You’d have to be very foolish to think that. But none of them know what else it means, and so they fight with one another.
· How does Jesus respond in v53?
o He leans into their discomfort by adding the idea of drinking his blood. And he says that without doing this, they have no life. And v54 is pretty much the same idea stated in reverse.
· Now, vv55-58 is just Jesus repeating what we’ve heard him say already in this discourse. The difference is that now he is saying it in the context of this complicated and difficult metaphor. Well, not complicated for us, but certainly for the Jews it would have been.
60-71: Many Disciples Desert Jesus
· Notice that there is a new word introduced in this section. Disciples. These were probably Jesus followers on the periphery of his main group. How do they react to what is said?
o They say it is a hard teaching, and question who can accept it.
· Why do you think they feel this way?
o Jesus has just told them a couple of things they don’t understand. But what they do understand is that he is telling them he is the one who can save them, because he comes from God, which is tough for them to accept.
· How does Jesus respond? (61-62)
o He asks if this offends them, and then asks how they would feel if they saw him ascend to heaven.
· What do you think he is saying?
o It’s tricky to see here, but there are two options this conditional leaves for us. The first is that Jesus’ ascension makes the offence he causes greater, and the second is that it lessens that offence. In Jesus’ case, it is both. In the case of some, the event that goes before his ascension, his death on the cross, heightens the offence. But for those with eyes to see, it lessens it, because they begin to understand who Jesus is and what he has come to do.
· What does Jesus promise in v63?
o Life.
· And life from where?
o The Spirit.
· And what gives life that he can show them?
o His words. To believe in what he has said about himself is to receive the Spirit of his words and therefore to get life.
· What point does Jesus make in 64-65?
o That some of them don’t believe, and they don’t believe because the Father hasn’t called them to believe.
· And why can Jesus say this?
o He has known from the beginning who will believe and who won’t.
· So, what happens in v66?
o A large number of his disciples abandon him.
· And then whom does Jesus address in v67?
o The 12.
· And what does he ask?
o If they want to leave too.
· So what does Peter say?
o He says they don’t want to leave, because they know that Jesus has the words of eternal life.
· What else does he confess in v69?
o That they believe he has come from God.
· Based on all that Jesus has said in this discourse, what does this mean the disciples have?
o Life. Eternal life.
· How does Jesus reply?
o He says that he has chosen them. So we have the dynamic we’ve had described playing out. The disciples are choosing Jesus, but he is actually the one who chose them.
· But we end on a sour note. What does Jesus say at the end of v70?
o That one of them is a devil.
· And who is that? (v71)
o Judas Iscariot.
Application:
· As with the majority of the chapters of John, we have a reminder of the importance of Jesus for our faith and salvation. He is the centre, the one through whom it comes. He is the bread of life, from which we must eat if we want to live forever.
· But, and this is a more sombre one. There are often false disciples in the house of Jesus. People who either pretend to be followers of Jesus when they’re not, or else who think they believe but don’t. Now is the time to test yourself to see if you are one of those disciples.