Words of Jesus Part 52

This chapter was a hard chapter for many. We see at the conclusion of this chapter, that many stopped following Jesus and no longer walked with Him after hearing these words.

John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

This is a natural result of seeing miracles. True genuine miracles will cause an increase in attendance. Those that stand firm in God's word, however are the faithful ones who will be standing when the Lord comes. The faithful ones are those that follow the Lord when times are prosperous, when times are bad, when miracles cease, when tribulation comes, and when friends forsake us because of our stand for the word of God.

John 6:3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

This shows us the compassion of the Lord to those who spent many hours listening to His teachings.

John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Miracles that bring material blessings were the kind that really got the notice of the people but Jesus was careful not to yield to the temptation to allow anyone to make Him king ahead of time. He came to die for sin first. The literal setting up a kingdom will come at the Second Coming of Christ.

John 6:16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,
17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
22 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one where into his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;
23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)
24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

So many of us have forgotten this warning of Jesus. Do not seek only material things, riches and things which will pass away but seek that which endures to everlasting life. Seek the salvation of the soul and the infilling of the Spirit of God.

Seek the Lord for spiritual things and just trust Him to supply necessary material things. Some may get things backward and just seek material blessings in this life only. The prosperity message is a false message. It has just enough truth in the message to make us think it is the truth but it is flawed so much that it is actually the opposite to what Jesus teaches. We are never to major on this life and not be concerned about our eternal life. Jesus warned time and again not to lay up treasure on earth, not to make His Father's house a house of merchandise, and not to labor for meat that perishes, but we don't always listen to that warning.

John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

This is so simple but we have to be careful not to water it down. Believing in Jesus who God sent to us to save us from sin is not just believing that he once existed but that He exists now also. Believing is believing His word, not just being a hearer of the word but a doer of the word. Believing means to believe what He says. To believe means to be part of.

Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Over and over Jesus reminds us of the importance of obedience to His word.

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

The word of God is to our spirit how natural food is for our body. We spiritually starve ourselves if we don't receive His word.

John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

Jesus said before that except they see signs and wonders they would not believe. Even if He gave them signs though, they would believe only as long as their eyes see the signs.

John 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

Jesus is the true bread of life. To eat of that bread is simply to believe in the name of the Son of God whom God sent to save us. Communion bread is not miraculously turned into the body and blood of Jesus. This part of chapter 6 is symbolic. To eat of the bread of life is to believe and keep His word. It is to receive Him into our lives with all our hearts. It is being born again by the spirit. This is a spiritual thing that we are reading now. The bible is literal unless there is proof that what is said is symbolic as this certainly is. There is no reason to be offended and stumble at these words. They are spirit and life.

John 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Naturally Jesus does not mean that our natural bodies will not suffer hunger or thirst. We know that it can't possibly be what is meant. He means that we will not hunger or thirst spiritually if we believe and live for Him. As long as we continue in the word and abide in Christ we should never hunger and thirst spiritually.

John 6:36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

This is true. God will not cast us away from Him if we come to Him. We can of our own freewill leave off serving Him and eventually be lost if we never repent but He is not the one who does the casting down.

John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

That has to be our attitude if we give ourselves to the ministry of the Lord.

John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

This is our hope and reason to rejoice; to be safe in Christ until our day of resurrection.

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

The second coming where He comes from heaven visibly is what they were expecting for His first coming. Had they known the scriptures, especially in Isaiah they would have seen that His first coming was as one that was to save us from sin.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah foretold the sufferings of the Messiah we know now as Jesus.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

God knew ahead of time the final result of allowing His own Son to die for our sins.

John 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

No one can waltz into salvation on his own. The spirit of God draws us to salvation. It is important when we feel the spirit of God drawing us, not to say no. It gets harder to yield to the spirit after we say no so many times. Our conscience becomes seared.

That also why sin gets easier after we do it over and over ignoring the conscience. Pretty soon what we once thought was wrong will not seem wrong. God has not changed but we have.

It is hard to tell someone that they are a sinner if they have been sinning for years when at the beginning they knew that it was wrong. Our hearts become hardened to the message of repentance if we keep resisting it.

John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

If we search the Old Testament prophet's writing, we will find Jesus all through it.

Isaiah 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

Isaiah is full of prophecies about the Messiah. Also Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Also in Micah:

Micah 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

This is why we take communion which is also referred to as the Lord's supper. We take it to remember that He Jesus is the bread of life and that He shed His blood to save us from sin and give to us eternal life.

John 6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

When He gave His flesh it was as a sacrifice on the cross. We do not literally eat the flesh of Jesus and a priest cannot literally turn a wafer into the actual physical body of Christ.

John 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

They had trouble discerning the true meaning of what Jesus had to say to us, just like many of us still struggle with these words.

When we read these scriptures we have to keep in mind: Faith, sacrifice, eternal life, spirit, believing, receiving, and not look at what we see, feel and touch. Jesus said that if we believe in Him we will never die. We know that our body will eventually die unless we are alive when Jesus returns so He can't possibly be talking of this temporary body that we see now. We have to open our eyes and see eternal life. The moment we die in Christ it is actually not death, but our soul and spirit enter heaven to await the resurrection of the body. So we do not actually die but inherit eternal life. Yet our eyes see a body that we think literally dies. So we do not literally eat the flesh of Jesus or drink His blood. We do this spiritually when we believe in Him.

John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

This message had so much to do with believing in the Son of God who came to save us from sin. This is what is meant by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. It is the exercise of faith in the sacrifice He did when He died on the cross and shed His blood to cover our sins.

To eat someone's words is to accept and live by them. We can't literally eat words. To eat is to believe to the point of practicing what one believes.

John 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Had they really sought diligently to be free from sin and believe in the Messiah, they would have sought until God gave them understanding of the word. It is sad to see those that decided to walk away. Are we also going to walk away or be as those in the verses below?

John 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

It is still true today. Where would we go? He has the words of eternal life.

John 6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

This opens the door to eternal salvation.

John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

Perhaps it was this message that stirred doubt in Judas which grew in his heart until his anger at Jesus or greed for gain caused him to betray Jesus.

Unbelief no doubt may have been the beginning of the downfall of Judas. Unbelief is our greatest enemy. Faith opens the door, unbelief closes it.

Words of Jesus Part 53

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