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The Bread of Life · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.
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  Speaker 1: He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he
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  Speaker 1: that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6.35 Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: I thank you for being the source of healing and
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  Speaker 1: redemption to those who are lost. Just like bread was
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  Speaker 1: accessible to all people, no matter the social economic standing,
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  Speaker 1: I thank you that your grace and your forgiveness is
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  Speaker 1: available to all, no matter where they are in life.
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  Speaker 1: Because you are the bread of life, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: for nourishing every part of my being. I thank you
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  Speaker 1: for making yourself available to rejuvenate and restore those who
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  Speaker 1: are lost. In the same way you offered healing to
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  Speaker 1: the Gentile woman in today's reading, use me also to
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  Speaker 1: offer your grace and mercy to those who have yet
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  Speaker 1: to receive it. Because of what you did on the cross, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: we no longer have to hunger and thirst for a
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  Speaker 1: connection to our Heavenly Father, but we have direct access
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  Speaker 1: into His kingdom and all that He has laid up
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  Speaker 1: for us. Oh, thank you that your word is the
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  Speaker 1: bread of life. Thank you that I don't have to
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  Speaker 1: settle for crumbs of breakthrough, but I can experience it all.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for praying with me today.
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  Speaker 1: Continue listening for an incredible Bible story brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Bread of Life In our last story, Jesus fed
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  Speaker 2: 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish.
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  Speaker 2: He fed all the people with more to spare, and
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  Speaker 2: everyone awed at him. They wanted him to be made king,
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  Speaker 2: so Jesus departed before the crowd became violent. The disciples
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  Speaker 2: departed on a boat while Jesus stayed on shore to pray. Then,
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  Speaker 2: in power and glory, Jesus walked on the water to
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  Speaker 2: return with his disciples. Now we learn about the crowd
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  Speaker 2: finding Jesus once again. Instead of feeding them food, he
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  Speaker 2: feeds them the truth about who he is. He speaks
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  Speaker 2: powerful truths hidden behind awkward metaphors, so awkward that many
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  Speaker 2: depart from him, inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, Pastor Jack Graham here with another episode of The
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. We're so grateful for so many
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  Speaker 3: of you who are listening and engaging with God's Word
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  Speaker 3: with us. In our last episode, we heard how Jesus
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  Speaker 3: fed a multitude of people with just five loaves of
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  Speaker 3: bread and two fish, showing the people that God brings
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  Speaker 3: abundance even in the most unlikely of situations. The people
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  Speaker 3: were amazed but failed to recognize Jesus' true intent and identity.
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  Speaker 3: They tried to make him king according to their own desires,
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  Speaker 3: but he retreated to a quiet place to pray. Later,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus walked on the water, striking astonishment, awe, and adoration
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  Speaker 3: from his disciples as they worshiped him. Today, we'll hear
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  Speaker 3: as Jesus teaches about the bread that truly matters, not
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  Speaker 3: the kind of bread that temporarily satisfies, but a bread
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  Speaker 3: that gives life, eternal life, and abundant satisfaction. Let's listen
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  Speaker 3: now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: The day after Jesus had fed the 5,000, he was
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  Speaker 2: on the other side of the sea with his disciples.
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  Speaker 2: They sat on the shore and ate together, enjoying the
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  Speaker 2: solitude away from the crowds. The people had seen the
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  Speaker 2: disciples depart on their boat the day before, but they
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  Speaker 2: knew that Jesus had not joined them. They searched all
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  Speaker 2: night and day for Jesus, not knowing that he had
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  Speaker 2: walked on the sea to join his disciples. The crowds
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  Speaker 2: had finally sailed and walked to Capernaum to find Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: They saw him on the shore with his friends and
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  Speaker 2: ran towards him,' Rabbi!' they exclaimed.' When did you come here?'
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  Speaker 2: They were worried that Jesus had left the region. They
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  Speaker 2: wanted to be near him to see more signs. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: stood on the boat to speak to the whole crowd.
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  Speaker 2: He was concerned about why they had followed him. So
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  Speaker 2: he spoke clearly, saying,' You are not seeking me because
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  Speaker 2: you saw signs or listened to the teachings. You are
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  Speaker 2: seeking me because your bellies were filled with bread and fish.' Jesus'
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  Speaker 2: words struck a chord with the people. He was right.
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  Speaker 2: They were so excited that Jesus was able to feed them,
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  Speaker 2: they came in expectation that he would do it again.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus raised his voice again, saying, Do not look to
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  Speaker 2: fill yourselves with food that perishes. You will be hungry
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  Speaker 2: again and again for it. But seek the food that
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  Speaker 2: satisfies your soul. Seek eternal life. The crowds were confused
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  Speaker 2: and curious at Jesus' words. What shall we do then
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  Speaker 2: to inherit eternal life?
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  Speaker 3: They asked.
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  Speaker 2: Believe in him who God has sent, Jesus responded. He
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  Speaker 2: was speaking of himself and the work he would do
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  Speaker 2: on the cross. How are we to know that you
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  Speaker 2: are the true one that God has sent?
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  Speaker 3: They asked.
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  Speaker 2: Even Moses gave our ancestors bread from heaven, manna. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: shook his head and said, It was not Moses who
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  Speaker 2: gave them manna. It was God. God is the provider
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  Speaker 2: of all things, and he has provided you with the
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  Speaker 2: true bread that gives life to the whole world. The
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  Speaker 2: crowds were stirring when Jesus mentioned bread that gives eternal life.
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  Speaker 2: They pleaded with Jesus, saying, Where is this bread? Could
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  Speaker 2: you give it to us? For they thought that Jesus
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  Speaker 2: was speaking of a specific meal. They did not understand
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  Speaker 2: the true meaning behind his words. Jesus raised his arms
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  Speaker 2: and shouted, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes
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  Speaker 2: to me shall never hunger again. They will be satisfied.
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  Speaker 2: Whoever comes to me will be taken care of. Whoever
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  Speaker 2: comes to me will never be cast away. I have
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  Speaker 2: come from heaven to do the will of him who
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  Speaker 2: sent me, and I am not going to lose anyone
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  Speaker 2: who comes into my arms. For the will of God
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  Speaker 2: is this, that whoever looks upon me shall have eternal life.
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  Speaker 2: Some people awed at Jesus' words, but others grumbled. Some
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  Speaker 2: of them spat on the ground and said, I know
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  Speaker 2: this man. He is the son of Joseph the carpenter.
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  Speaker 2: Who is he to now say he has come down
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  Speaker 2: from heaven? Jesus could see the crowd stirring. They disputed
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  Speaker 2: among themselves as to whether Jesus was truly God himself.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus watched as they argued. Do not grumble among yourselves,
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  Speaker 2: Jesus said. The Father will draw those who come to me.
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  Speaker 2: Whoever has seen me has seen God. Your forefathers ate
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  Speaker 2: manna in the wilderness and they eventually died. However, whoever
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  Speaker 2: eats of my flesh and drinks of my blood will
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  Speaker 2: never die. These words repulsed many of the people. They
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  Speaker 2: cringed and said, Now he wants us to eat his
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  Speaker 2: flesh and drink his blood? The closer followers of Jesus
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  Speaker 2: were also disturbed by this. They found it hard to
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  Speaker 2: imagine themselves eating Jesus' flesh and drinking his blood. It
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  Speaker 2: reminded them of the old pagan rituals of the Canaanites.
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  Speaker 2: This is a hard saying, Jesus, the people said. Does
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  Speaker 2: this offend you? Jesus asked. I speak in the spirit
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  Speaker 2: who gives life. There will be some of you who
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  Speaker 2: do not understand and do not believe. It was true,
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  Speaker 2: for many of the close followers of Jesus had already
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  Speaker 2: been thinking of leaving his side. They did not believe
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  Speaker 2: the words of Jesus and were looking for any excuse
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  Speaker 2: to leave him. So as Jesus spoke, many of them
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  Speaker 2: turned away and left him. Jesus watched as dozens of
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  Speaker 2: his close followers left. All that remained were the twelve.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus looked at Peter and said, Are you going to
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  Speaker 2: leave me as well? Peter shook his head. Where would
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  Speaker 2: we go? he asked. You alone have the words of
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  Speaker 2: eternal life. Peter gestured to the other disciples and said,
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  Speaker 2: Even though you may be hard to understand sometimes, we
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  Speaker 2: have come to know that you are the holy ones
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  Speaker 2: sent by God. So Jesus and his disciples departed to
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  Speaker 2: the district of Tyre and Sidon. The sun was high
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  Speaker 2: and hot in the sky. The streets were busy with commerce,
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  Speaker 2: and children played among themselves. As the disciples were walking,
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  Speaker 2: they were approached by a Canaanite woman. She was not
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  Speaker 2: a Jew, and therefore it was culturally taboo for her
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  Speaker 2: to come to Jesus, a rabbi. Please have mercy on me,
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  Speaker 2: O Lord. Son of David, have mercy on me, the
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  Speaker 2: woman pleaded. My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.
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  Speaker 2: She writhes in pain and is tormented day and night.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus did not answer her. However, she persisted and walked
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  Speaker 2: with the disciples. Jesus was listening to her incessant cries.
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  Speaker 2: He heard her, but he was waiting to see the
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  Speaker 2: response of his disciples. Finally, the disciples leaned towards Jesus
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  Speaker 2: and said, You should send this woman away. It is
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  Speaker 2: not right for us to mingle with her. Jesus turned
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  Speaker 2: to the woman and said, You know I have come
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  Speaker 2: to shepherd the lost sheep of Israel. His tone was
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  Speaker 2: impassive and seemingly out of character. However, the woman did
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  Speaker 2: not waver. Please, Lord, help me. It is not right
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  Speaker 2: for me to take the children's bread and throw it
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  Speaker 2: to puppies, he said. Yes, but even the puppies get
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  Speaker 2: scraps from the table, the woman protested. Please, you are
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  Speaker 2: my only hope. Jesus smiled. The woman's answer revealed a
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  Speaker 2: humble spirit. Although Jesus had always planned to help her,
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  Speaker 2: he wanted her heart to be displayed among the disciples.
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  Speaker 2: Great is your faith, Jesus said to her. Go home.
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  Speaker 2: Your daughter is healed. Thus began the healing power of
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  Speaker 2: God extended to the Gentiles and not just the Jews.
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  Speaker 2: Soon the whole world would know that Jesus was the
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  Speaker 2: source of life and healing. This woman and her daughter
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  Speaker 2: were only the beginning.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional, that will give you
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing Word,
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  Speaker 3: by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org. JackGraham.org. In today's scripture, Jesus and his disciples
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  Speaker 3: have sailed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee,
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  Speaker 3: away from the crowds. It was a moment of quiet
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  Speaker 3: that was growing increasingly rare as the crowds continued to
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  Speaker 3: follow Jesus wherever they could find him. And it wasn't
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  Speaker 3: long before they found Jesus again on the shores of Capernaum.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus knew their motives for seeking him were often misguided
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  Speaker 3: and even selfish. They weren't always seeking words of truth
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  Speaker 3: or even seeking miracles. They wanted physical comfort. So Jesus
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  Speaker 3: called them out, saying they weren't interested in what he
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  Speaker 3: had to say, They wanted to get their bellies full
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  Speaker 3: to eat more bread and fish. They were only thinking
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  Speaker 3: of today, of here and now, failing to see that
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  Speaker 3: Jesus had so much more to give to them. He
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  Speaker 3: told them that they should be looking for food that
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  Speaker 3: brings life, eternal life, rather than chasing after the food
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  Speaker 3: that will not last. To their credit, they asked Jesus
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  Speaker 3: what they were to do to get this eternal life.
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  Speaker 3: It was a good question, but one rooted in a
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  Speaker 3: belief that works could somehow make one right with God.
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  Speaker 3: But listen to how Jesus replied in Matthew 6, 29.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work
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  Speaker 3: of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.
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  Speaker 3: This is the ultimate truth that Jesus is communicating to
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  Speaker 3: us today. There is nothing we can do to gain
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  Speaker 3: or inherit eternal life or salvation except by grace through
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  Speaker 3: faith in him. trusting and believing in Jesus and what
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  Speaker 3: he has done for us, his cross, his resurrection. This
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  Speaker 3: is the message of the gospel. Our actions, our behavior
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  Speaker 3: will certainly flow out of belief, but the work of
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  Speaker 3: salvation was done by Christ and Christ alone on the cross.
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  Speaker 3: There is nothing that you or I, any of us
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  Speaker 3: can do to gain approval or right standing with God
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  Speaker 3: on our own. This is why we desperately need Jesus
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  Speaker 3: and that he gives eternal life, for it is by
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  Speaker 3: grace that that we are saved through faith. But as
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  Speaker 3: we heard, the people still didn't understand. They asked how
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  Speaker 3: they were to know Jesus was the Messiah. After all,
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  Speaker 3: Moses gave them manna in the wilderness. Of course, it
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  Speaker 3: was not Moses who gave people the manna. And Jesus
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  Speaker 3: told this to the people very clearly. It was God
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  Speaker 3: who gave the manna. It is God who gives everything.
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  Speaker 3: He gives every good and perfect gift that comes down
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  Speaker 3: from above according to the scripture. It's a reminder to
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  Speaker 3: all of us that God works through people to bring
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  Speaker 3: blessings and provision, but we must never forget that it
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  Speaker 3: is God who himself provides for us. God is faithful,
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  Speaker 3: and he never forsakes us, and he always provides for us.
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  Speaker 3: And now Jesus said God has provided the true bread
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  Speaker 3: of life. Speaking of himself, Jesus is the bread of life.
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  Speaker 3: And this bread satisfies the deepest hunger of the human heart,
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  Speaker 3: the deepest hunger of the soul. Jesus then told everyone
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  Speaker 3: that whoever would come to him and believe in him
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  Speaker 3: would have eternal life. Clearly, the people knew Jesus was special,
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  Speaker 3: very special, but to hear him say that he came
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  Speaker 3: from God and that he alone would give them eternal
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  Speaker 3: life was way too much for some. They saw him
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  Speaker 3: as a carpenter's son, just a man, just a carpenter.
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  Speaker 3: But Jesus went on. It was time for the people
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  Speaker 3: to hear the word of truth he came to give them.
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  Speaker 3: And when he said that he was different from that
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  Speaker 3: man of which their forefathers ate, he then said anyone
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  Speaker 3: who ate his flesh and drank his blood would never die.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, those aren't the easiest words for us to understand.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus knew that this was difficult for many to accept.
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  Speaker 3: Some would even be offended. They could not understand. He
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  Speaker 3: was speaking a spiritual truth, but their minds were still
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  Speaker 3: focused on the physical, on what they could see, what
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  Speaker 3: they could taste. How often do we limit God by
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  Speaker 3: our own spiritual inadequacy? And so many that day left
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  Speaker 3: and they didn't follow Jesus after that. So looking to
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  Speaker 3: his disciples, Jesus saw that they remained. And Peter's words
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  Speaker 3: are one of the great confessions of faith that we
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  Speaker 3: find in the Bible. Jesus asked them, will you also
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  Speaker 3: go away? And Simon Peter said, where would we go?
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  Speaker 3: You have the words of eternal life. Such great truth.
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  Speaker 3: In Christ and Christ alone, we have eternal life. His
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  Speaker 3: words are truth, and His words are timeless. He gives
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  Speaker 3: eternal life. Peter's words demonstrated why Jesus chose him and
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  Speaker 3: the other men. They were far from perfect. They weren't
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  Speaker 3: educated men who knew all of the laws of the
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  Speaker 3: religious group. But they had faith, and they put their
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  Speaker 3: trust in Jesus, even though they couldn't quite yet comprehend
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  Speaker 3: it all. They followed Jesus because they did believe that
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  Speaker 3: he was the one that God had sent. They followed
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  Speaker 3: Jesus because he was so compelling and so compassionate. All
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  Speaker 3: but one of the men, and Jesus knew which one
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  Speaker 3: would betray him, chose to follow him all the way
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  Speaker 3: and to fulfill God's plans and purposes. Our reading closes
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  Speaker 3: with another encounter with an outsider, a Gentile woman in
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  Speaker 3: need of healing. She pled with Jesus, believing he could
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  Speaker 3: make her whole. Jesus's actions and words may seem harsh
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  Speaker 3: and uncaring, but they are far from it. He was
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  Speaker 3: teaching the disciples that his love, his grace, his healing,
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  Speaker 3: ultimately the salvation that he offers was meant for all,
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  Speaker 3: not just for Jewish people, not just for people like
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  Speaker 3: the disciples. It's a message for the entire world. Let's pray. God,
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  Speaker 3: we do thank you for eternal life. Thank you, Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: for providing this gift to us, for your love. for
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  Speaker 3: your grace, for your help, for your hope. We give
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  Speaker 3: you praise. Thank you that you bring the words of
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  Speaker 3: eternal life to us every day. May we take those
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  Speaker 3: words to the world as well. May we bring the
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  Speaker 3: bread of heaven to earth by preaching the gospel and
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  Speaker 3: witnessing of your love and power to save. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go,
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would love to
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: every single day. So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's JackGraham.org.