John 06(34–71)

Introduction

We began to study John 6 last Sunday evening, when I said that I was tempted to preach on the whole chapter in one go. And I was tempted like that, because the chapter is mostly about the same thing. It’s mostly about how the Lord Jesus is the bread of life who has come down from heaven to give life to the world.

The chapter began with the miracle of the feeding of the multitude with only five small loaves of bread and two small fish. The Lord Jesus was able to take the bread and fish and multiply them so that all the men and woman and children who were there were able to eat as much as they wanted and there were 12 baskets of leftovers afterwards. It was a wonderful miracle.

The next day, the people went looking for the Lord Jesus. And when they found him, he rebuked them, saying they were looking for him, not because they had seen a miraculous sign, but because they had eaten food. In other words, they were only interested in earthly food, whereas the feeding of the multitude was a sign to point them away from ordinary food and towards heavenly food. And instead of seeking ordinary food, they should seek food that endures to eternal life, which he, the Son of Man, will give them.

And when they asked him what works God wanted them to do, he told them plainly that the work God requires of them is to believe in him.

But what miraculous sign will he do so that they will believe in him? That’s what they wanted to know. Moses gave their forefathers manna in the wilderness. Can the Lord Jesus do what Moses did? And the Lord answered them by reminding them that it wasn’t Moses who gave their forefathers the manna. God gave it to them. And furthermore, that manna which their forefathers ate in the wilderness was not the true bread from heaven. It was not the true bread of life. The true bread which God the Father gives is in fact the Lord Jesus Christ. He is one who has come down from heaven to give life to the world.

And that’s as far as we got last week. In today’s passage, the conversation continues. In verse 34, they ask the Lord to give them this bread. And the Lord responds to their question. In verse 41, they began to grumble about him. And the Lord responds to their grumbling. In verse 52, they began to argue among themselves about the Lord Jesus. And the Lord responds to what they were arguing about. And then in verses 60 to 66, some of them took offence at the things he was saying and many of them turned back and stopped following him. And the chapter ends with verses 67 to 71, when the Lord turns to the 12 disciples to ask if they want to leave him too. And Peter answers by asking, ‘Lord to whom shall we go?’ To whom shall we go? After all, you are the one who has the words of eternal life. So, no one else can tell us what you’re telling us. And no one else can give us what you can give us, which is eternal life in the presence of God, where all of God’s people will be happy for ever.

Verses 34 to 40

Let’s turn to verses 34 to 40 which begin with the people saying to the Lord, ‘Sir, from now on give us this bread.’ The Lord has just referred to the true bread from heaven. And they ask him to give them that bread from now on. And it seems they’re thinking about actual bread. In this way, they’re like Samaritan woman at the well, when the Lord spoke to her about living water. She was thinking about H2O. But the Lord was talking to her about the Holy Spirit, who is the Lord and Giver of Life who gives us eternal life in the presence of God. So, she was thinking about H2O, when the Lord was talking about the Spirit. And the people in John 6 are thinking about actual bread, when the Lord Jesus is talking about himself.

So, he declares to them in verse 35: ‘I am the bread of life.’ So, he’s the bread of life, or the bread of God, who has come down from heaven to give eternal life to the world. And he goes on to say to them that he who comes to him will never go hungry, and he who believes in him will never be thirsty. When he refers to coming to him and to believing in him he’s really talking about one and the same action. He’s talking about believing. We come to him by believing in him and whoever believes in him has come to him.

And just as we need ordinary bread and ordinary water for this life, so we need to come to the Lord Jesus and to believe in him for eternal life.

The Lord mentions both hungering and thirsting to make clear that he’s able to give us everything we need for eternal life. So, a person who eats a big meal might still be thirsty afterwards if there’s nothing to drink. And a person who takes a long drink might still be hungry afterwards if there’s nothing to eat. But the Lord Jesus is able to satisfy us completely by giving us everything we need for eternal life.

And the Lord goes on to rebuke the people in verse 36. He says they have seen him, but they still do not believe. They have seen him and all the things he has done: all the miraculous signs he has performed, including the feeding of the multitude. The feeding of the multitude was a sign which pointed to how he had come down from heaven to give life to the world. So, they had seen him and his signs. But they have not believed in him.

Nevertheless, all that the Father gives to him will come to him. Do you see that in verse 37? All that the Father gives to him will come to him. He’s referring here to God’s elect people: to all those chosen by God before the creation of the world. God the Father chose them and he gave them to his Son in the sense that he has given them to his Son so that the Son will save them from their sin and misery in this life and give them eternal life in the presence of God. God the Father has assigned them to his Son. He has chosen them to be saved.

And all of them will come to the Saviour. And since coming to him means believing in him, then the Lord is saying that all that the Father has given him will believe in him.

Now, many of the people listening to the Lord Jesus that day did not believe. They saw the things he did, but still they did not believe in him. And many people today hear the good news of the gospel. They hear what they need to hear about the Lord Jesus who gave up his life for sinners. They hear the good news, but they do not believe. Nevertheless, all who have been chosen by God before the creation of the world and assigned to the Lord Jesus for salvation will certainly believe in him.

And whoever comes to the Lord Jesus, or whoever believes in the Lord Jesus, he will never drive away. Do you see that in verse 37? Think of that time when people were bringing their children to the Lord so that he could bless them. And the disciples drove them away. But then the Lord stopped his disciples, because he wanted the children to come to him. And the Lord Jesus will never drive away anyone who comes to him or anyone who trusts in him for salvation. He will never drive us away, but instead he, as it were, opens his arms to us to receive us. And when we come to him, he washes away our guilt and he gives us peace with God and he gives us everlasting life.

Since all of us are sinners, who sin against the Lord continually in thought and word and deed, then all of us deserve to be driven away. We deserve to be driven away from his presence and punished for ever for what we have done wrong in this life. But because he is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, since his love for his people is abundant and overflowing, then he does not drive us away, but he receives us and he saves us.

And the Lord goes on to say that he has not come down from heaven to do his own will, but to do the will of the Father who sent him. He’s not saying that his own will is different from the Father’s will. He’s not saying that he wanted to do something different. He’s simply saying that he’s come to do his Father’s will. And his Father’s will is for him to lose none of all the people given to him before the creation of the world. His Father’s will is for him to lose none of them. Instead of losing them, he’s to raise them up at the last day. The last day is the day when he comes again in glory and with power to raise the dead. And so, his Father’s will is for him on the last day to raise up God’s elect people from the grave, so that they will live with God in body and soul for ever and for ever. And that also means that the Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. And on the last day, the Lord Jesus will raise them up from death to life.

Isn’t this astounding? This is the Father’s will for his sinful people. We deserve to be condemned and driven out of his presence for ever. But instead of leaving us on the path of destruction, which we’ve chosen for ourselves, he has willed to save us from destruction and to give us everlasting life in his presence. And since God is almighty, then he’s able to accomplish his will and there’s no one who can thwart his will. We ourselves can’t thwart his will, even though we’re sinfully inclined to disregard God and his purposes for us. Even though our hearts are hard. Even though we naturally repress the knowledge we have of God and worship other things. Even though we’re inclined by birth not to believe. Even though we do these things, we can’t thwart God’s will; and he’s able to use his almighty power to ensure that all his elect people will eventually come to Christ and put their faith in him for salvation. And when Christ comes again, he will say the word and he will waken us from death and make us live for ever.

This is God’s will for his people and he uses his almighty power in this way because of his abounding love for his people. Before we knew anything about him, in fact before we were created, he knew us and he loved us and he chose us and he willed to save us. It’s wonderful.

Verses 41 to 51

Look now at verse 41, where John tells us that the Jews began to grumble about the Lord. He’s told them these wonderful things about God the Father. And yet, instead of rejoicing in this good news and trusting in Christ for salvation, they began to grumble. And I wonder? Do you remember what I said last week about how the feeding of the multitude recalls the time of the exodus in the days of Moses? Well, here’s another example of that, because just as the Israelites sat in their tents and grumbled about the Lord and about Moses, so these people grumbled about the Lord Jesus.

And they grumbled because he claimed to have come down from heaven. But isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his parents. We know where he came from. How can he now claim to be from heaven? It doesn’t make sense. That’s what they were saying.

And the Lord told them in verse 43 to stop grumbling. And he went on to say that no one can come to him and believe in him unless the Father draws him. What he means is this: We’re sinners by birth. By birth we’re dead in our transgressions and sins. By ourselves we’re unable to believe. And so, none of us would ever believe if it were not for the Father’s overflowing love and kindness by which he reaches out to us through his Son and by his Spirit to draw us to Christ for salvation. And the Lord quotes from Isaiah 54, where it says that they will all be taught by God. And he adds that everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to the Lord Jesus. God the Father is the most wonderful teacher. Human teachers want to impart knowledge to their students, but some students are just unwilling to listen and to learn. And some are unable to learn. And when students can’t learn or when they’re unwilling to learn, then the teachers can do nothing. But God the Father is the most wonderful teacher, because he’s able to impart to his chosen people everything they need to know so that they will come to the Saviour. And because they’ve been taught by the Father, then they come willingly and gladly, because the Father persuades them about the beauty and the loveliness and the majesty of the Saviour. So, when he draws them, it’s not as if he’s pulling them against their will. He teaches them in such a way that they want to come.

Plenty of people hear the good news, but they disregard the message. And not only do they not believe, but, in actual fact, they cannot believe. And they cannot believe, because they’re spiritually dead. But the Father ensures that those who have been chosen from before the creation of the world will hear and learn and listen and believe.

And God the Father is able to teach his people, even though he doesn’t appear to them visibly. No one has ever seen him. That’s what the Lord says in verse 46. So, God the Father doesn’t appear to us in a vision or a dream. But he teaches his people through his Son, who has come from the Father to make known to the world the greatness of God’s love and his willingness to give everlasting life to everyone who believes in the Son. The Son taught us this when he was on the earth; and he continues to teach us through his word.

And to confirm everything that he’s been saying, the Lord repeats in verse 48 that he is the bread of life. Just as we need ordinary bread for life in this world, so we need him for eternal life in the world to come.

Their forefathers ate manna in the wilderness. And the manna was special bread, wasn’t it? It was special because God provided it for them in a miraculous way every day. But nevertheless, the people who ate the manna still died. The manna kept them alive in the wilderness for a time. But they eventually died. But here is bread — and we can perhaps imagine the Lord pointing to himself — here is bread, or here is living bread, that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. So, he has come down from heaven by means of the incarnation, when God the Son became flesh and made his dwelling among us. And he gives his flesh for the life of the world. Do you see that in verse 51? He gives his flesh in the sense that he died on the cross to pay for our sins and to make peace for us with God. He gave up his flesh and blood to death. He gave up his life for us and for our salvation. And in this way he became the source of everlasting life for everyone who believes in him.

Verses 52 to 59

And then John tells us in verse 52 that they began to argue among themselves. They began to argue about what he had said about giving us his flesh to eat. How can he give us his flesh to eat? And they argued about what this meant.

And perhaps we’re expecting the Lord to clarify what he meant. But he doesn’t really clarify it. In fact, he doubles-down on the imagery, by going on to say that they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Unless you do that, you have no life in you. But whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life and he will raise them from the grave on the last day.

And we’re not to think he’s referring to the Lord’s Supper. Many Christians have thought that’s what he’s talking about here. But he’s not talking about the Lord’s Supper, because the bread and the drink of the Lord’s Supper are signs which point us to Christ and to his body broken for us and to his blood shed for us on the cross. But he’s not talking about signs here. He’s talking about real food and real drink. Do you see that in verse 55? And he means real food as opposed to symbolic food. The manna was symbolic, because it pointed to him. Feeding the multitude was symbolic, because it pointed to him. And the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper are also symbolic, because they point to him. And he’s not talking about symbolic food here. He’s talking about real food or true food. And the true food and drink he’s talking about is his body and blood, because whoever eats his body and drinks his blood will have eternal life.

And although he’s talking about real food and drink, there is something symbolic in what he says about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He’s using the imagery of eating and drinking to make the point that we have to take him as our Saviour. Just as ordinary bread and drink will do us no good unless we take the bread and eat it and unless we take the water and drink it, so the Lord Jesus will do us no good whatsoever unless we take him as our Saviour and believe in him. Food on a plate will do us no good. We have to pick it up and eat it. And Christ the Saviour cannot save us unless we trust in him as our Saviour.

And so, the Saviour cannot do anything to help the people he’s talking to unless they believe in him. While they remain in their unbelief, he cannot save them. But when we come to Christ and trust in him as the only Saviour of the world, then we’re joined to him in this wonderful and mysterious way so that — as the Lord says in verse 56 — we remain in him and he remains in us. And the idea of remaining implies permanence, doesn’t it? A visitor comes and stays with us for a day or two and then goes home. We go on holiday and we stay somewhere for a few days or weeks and then we go home. But if we remain somewhere, we’re going to live there permanently. And when we trust in Christ, we’re joined together with him in a permanent bond. It’s not temporary. In fact, it’s eternal.

And just as he lives because of the Father, so we will live because of him. That’s what the Lord is saying in verse 57: ‘Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.’ The Lord Jesus lives because of the Father in two ways. If we think of his divine nature, then we can say that he lives because of the Father, because he comes from the Father eternally. But if we think of his human nature, then we can say that he lives because of the Father, because the Father sent him into the world as one of us and prepared a body for him. And just as the Son lives because of the Father, so all who have Christ as their Saviour will live because of him. We’ll live because of him, because we’ve been joined with him in this wonderful and mysterious way so that we are in him and he is in us.

Verses 60 to 66

According to verse 60, many of the Lord’s disciples, on hearing this, said that it was a hard saying. ‘Who can accept these things?’ they asked. And John is referring here, not to the 12 disciples, but to the many other disciples who were following the Lord at that time and who regarded him as their teacher. But now they weren’t so sure about what he was teaching them. What he was saying to them was hard for them to accept.

And the Lord was aware of what they were saying and how they were grumbling about him. And he confronted them. ‘Does this offend you?’ he asked. Are you offended by me claiming to have come down from heaven? Well just you wait, he seems to be saying to them in verse 62. Just you wait, because the time is coming when you will see me ascend to where I was before. And he’s referring, of course, to the time of his ascension, when he was taken from this world and lifted up to heaven to sit at his Father’s right hand side as Lord of all.

But even then, some of them will not believe. And why will they not believe even then? Look down at verse 65. It’s because no-one can come to him and believe in him unless the Father has enabled them to come and to believe in him. So, unless the Father enables them to come and to believe, they will never believe in him, even if they see him ascend to heaven. If the Father does not enable them to believe, they’ll explain away his ascension. They’ll say it wasn’t real. They’ll say it didn’t happen. They’ll say it means nothing. They will never believe unless the Father enables them to believe.

That’s something we need to remember when we think about and discuss evangelism. God has told us in his word how to evangelise, but we have doubts when people are not being converted and we think we’re doing something wrong and there must be a better method. And we forget the words of the Lord Jesus that no-one can come to the Saviour unless the Father enables him to come. Nothing we do can make people come to the Saviour, unless the Father draws them. And when the Father draws them, then nothing can stop them from coming, because, as the Lord said back in verse 37, all that the Father gives to him in eternity will come to him in time.

And how does the Father enable people to believe? He does it by sending his Spirit. That’s why he mentions the Spirit in verse 63. The Spirit gives life. So, the Father sends his Spirit to the people he has chosen in eternity; and the Spirit comes into their lives and gives them the new birth so that they’re able to believe in the Saviour. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but it’s the Spirit of God who gives us the new birth and enables us to believe.

And John tells us that from that time on many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. And he let them go. And he let them go, because there’s nothing he can do for people who do not believe in him.

Verses 67 to 71

And then the Lord turned to the 12 disciples and he asked them if they were going to leave him too. But Simon Peter spoke up and he was speaking for all of them, apart from Judas Iscariot, who would later betray the Lord. And Simon Peter said: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’ That is to say: You are the Holy One of God who has come down from heaven to give life to the world.

And so, where else would they go? And where else would we go? We’ve found the one who can give us eternal life. And he can give us eternal life, because he came in the flesh to die on the cross to pay for our sins with his perfect life; and he shed his blood to cleanse us of our guilt. And from his throne in heaven, he sends his Spirit to all of God’s chosen people here on earth to give us new life through the new birth so that we’re able to trust in him for forgiveness and for peace with God and for eternal life in the presence of God, where we will be happy for ever and for ever, because we’ll be loved by God for ever and for ever.

And the wonder of it is that we don’t deserve it and we have done nothing to earn it. And we would never have believed in the Saviour if it were not for the abounding and overflowing love of God the Father, who chose us before the creation of the world and who gave us to Christ so that he would save us. And having given us to Christ in eternity, he then drew us to Christ in time. And so thanks be to God for his wonderful love and his grace and mercy towards us. And out of gratitude to him for his kindness to us, we should use the life he has given us to love and serve him always.