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John 6:30-51 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Amen. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 6.
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Amen.
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There are seven places in John's Gospel that Jesus introduces himself as I am.
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Harkening back to that first introduction of God by name, the self-sufficient one.
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Then, followed by a metaphor.
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So, I am followed by a metaphor.
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Here he will say, I am the bread of life.
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Verse 35 and in verse 48.
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He'll go on in John's Gospel to call himself, I am the good shepherd, the vine, the way, the truth, the life, and the resurrection and the life.
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This is the first of those seven.
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This text also follows a literary theme in John's Gospel where a miracle is performed, in this case, two miracles, and then a discourse is recorded.
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We call this the bread of life discourse, this portion of it, at least this morning.
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We don't want to disconnect the words of Jesus from the activity of Jesus.
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In this case, it brings much to life in it.
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So, let's take our minds back to the beginning of the chapter for just a moment before we read the text together.
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At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee and a great crowd follows him.
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They're seeing him perform miracles.
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They think, this guy's amazing.
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They follow him to a remote place where Jesus miraculously feeds them from five barley loaves and two fish.
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See, there's 5,000 men, which means there's a multitude more than that, women and children.
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And there's two specific things I want us to remember from this text.
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First, it's literary structure, which is chiastic.
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It places verse 10 at the center of the episode.
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In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, I'll get to it.
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I'll explain what a chiasm is.
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But recall, back when we looked at this text together, verse 10, John 10, verse 10,
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there Jesus says, have the people sit down.
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And then John records, now there was much grass in the place.
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So, the men sat down, about 5,000 in number.
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And I drew your attention to this, this interesting little detail that John puts in there.
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It's not odd and out of place, but what's he trying to accomplish?
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What's he trying to picture for us as the entirety of John's gospel is chiastic?
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Chapter 6 corresponds with chapter 10, where Jesus calls himself the good shepherd.
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He's picturing for us Jesus as this one.
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Psalm 23 is where your mind ought to go.
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So, the psalmist says, the Lord is my shepherd.
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I shall not want.
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He makes me lie down in green pastures.
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He leads me beside still waters.
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He restores my soul.
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He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
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So, there's this picture of this good shepherd, right, providing plentifully for his people,
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giving him place of rest.
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But the psalmist very quickly makes this about the soul, this restoration of soul.
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So, it's being set up for us already.
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Everything that Jesus is going to say about himself as the bread of life.
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So, that's the first thing that's good to remember in this chapter.
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Secondly, verse 13 records,
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So, they gathered them up, the leftovers, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
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So, there are twelve baskets because there are twelve apostles.
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Each one of them has a basket.
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And this may seem like a random bit of information, but I suggest to you, as I did in our previous study of this part of chapter six,
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that it is a bit of information that adds punctuation to the bread of life discourse as we study into the next miracle.
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Following the feeding of this great crowd, the disciples get into a boat and begin a journey back across the sea.
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But Jesus has yet to join them.
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He doesn't get in the boat with them.
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And while they're out on the sea, they encounter rough weather.
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And Jesus comes to them walking on the water.
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Now, do I believe this happened chronologically?
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Absolutely, I do.
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But here we see, in chapter six, a miracle of Jesus feeding five thousand,
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the emphasis being on the bread.
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Notice that the fish aren't even acknowledged in the taking up of leftovers.
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And then, he launches into the bread of life discourse.
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But in between the two, John records this particular miracle.
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Why? Why does he do that?
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Is he a stickler for chronology?
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I'd suggest not.
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In fact, all throughout John's gospel, he jumps over some rather notable stories in Jesus's life.
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So, why?
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Why does he show us this one?
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John chapter six, verse 20 and 21.
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Again, I hear verse 20 is the center of the chiastic structure.
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It's meant to draw our attention.
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They're afraid when they see him walking on the water, understandably.
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But he said to them, verse 20,
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It is I.
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And it would be a very fair translation.
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In fact, I wish it was translated this way.
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I am.
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Do not be afraid.
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It's the center of this story.
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I am.
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Do not be afraid.
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And look at their response.
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Then, they were glad to take him into the boat.
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And immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
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Right?
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Carried safely through the storm.
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And I suggested to you, when we looked at the beginning of chapter six,
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that what's happening here is that each one of them had just carried around this basket
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and taken into it bread.
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Jesus is drawing out this connection that he is the bread of life.
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And they take him in the same way into the boat.
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I think that's why John places this right here,
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which I find very incredible.
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If you don't, I can't help you.
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So those two things, I think, are really helpful for us to remember.
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Following their crossing, right?
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The crowd is still seeking him, but they are not seeking him for him.
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They are coming because, verse 26 tells us, they ate their fill.
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They want to get what Jesus can give them, but they don't want Jesus himself.
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And it's there that this discourse launches off.
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Verse 27, John records Jesus saying,
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Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life,
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which the Son of Man will give to you.
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For on him God the Father has set his seal.
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Then they said to him,
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What must we do to be doing the works of God?
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Jesus answered them,
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This is the work of God,
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that you believe in him whom he has sent.
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Which brings us to today's text.
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Let's pray just before I read it.
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Father, help us this morning, we pray,
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as we take up your word together,
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that you'd find us grateful for it,
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humbly coming to it,
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to see what it is that we ought to know from it,
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and more importantly,
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that we would know you from it.
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We want to rightly understand it,
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and rightly apply it.
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We humbly recognize it was written for your glory,
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and our good.
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We pray that you'd work it in our hearts.
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Use my feeble preparation this week,
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and my feeble ability now,
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to work the great good in us,
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that we would believe its promises,
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and obey its commands,
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and have affection for you, its author.
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We pray this in Christ's name.
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Amen.
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John chapter 6, beginning in verse 30.
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So they said to him,
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Then what sign do you do,
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that we may see and believe you?
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What work do you perform?
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Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,
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as it is written,
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He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
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Jesus then said to them,
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Truly, truly, I say to you,
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it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven,
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but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
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For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven,
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and gives life to the world.
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They said to him,
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Sir, give us this bread always.
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Jesus said to them,
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I am the bread of life.
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Whoever comes to me shall not hunger,
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and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
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But I said to you that you have seen me,
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and yet do not believe.
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All that the Father gives me will come to me,
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and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
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For I have come down from heaven,
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not to do my own will,
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but the will of him who sent me.
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And this is the will of him who sent me,
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that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me,
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but raise it up on the last day.
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For this is the will of my Father,
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that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him
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should have eternal life,
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and I will raise him up on the last day.
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So the Jews grumbled about him,
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because he said,
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I am the bread that came down from heaven.
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They said,
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Is not this Jesus,
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the son of Joseph,
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whose father and mother we know?
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How does he now say,
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I have come down from heaven?
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Jesus answered them,
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Do not grumble among yourselves.
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No one can come to me
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unless the Father who sent me draws him,
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and I will raise him up on the last day.
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It is written in the prophets,
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and they will all be taught by God.
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Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
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Not that anyone has seen the Father,
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except he who is from God,
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he has seen the Father.
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Truly, truly, I say to you,
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whoever believes has eternal life.
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I am the bread of life.
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Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,
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and they died.
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This is the bread that comes down from heaven,
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so that one may eat of it and not die.
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I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
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If anyone eats of this bread,
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he will live forever.
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And the bread that I will give for the life of the world
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is my flesh.
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Now, there is much to be unpacked here.
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I was tempted this morning to turn this into a part one
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and a part two,
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but we're going to try to press on through.
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I just won't hit every single thing that could be said here
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or plumb the depths of this text.
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It is worth revisiting.
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In fact, these verses are the chiastic center of chapter 6.
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It's good.
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It's really good to understand it rightly.
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But I think for us to try to unpack it helpfully,
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we can note two prominent points
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that are found throughout the text itself.
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Now, as a little aside,
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I don't think we've publicly acknowledged
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just a sadness over the passing recently of John MacArthur.
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I say recently.
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I think it was in the middle of July at the age of 86.
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We've really lost some notable contemporary men
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these past couple of years.
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This one, I think especially sad.
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I'm very grateful for the 86 years he had.
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I'm so glad that he finished well.
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He's been helpful to many of us.
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I'm going to rip off his outline for this text this morning.
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I think it's John MacArthur that taught me to alliterate,
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and boy, he's got some alliteration for this one.
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You get bonus friend points with me
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if you can tell me after this.
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If you can tell me who wrote the line,
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I got a backpack full of tracks,
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plus I keep a Johnny Mac so I can pound it out.
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Think of that later.
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Two-point outline.
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Number one, divine provision.
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And number two, here's the P, human appropriation.
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Divine provision.
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Number two, human appropriation.
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And we'll find some sub-points here as well.
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So firstly, divine provision.
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We see this throughout the text.
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I mean, note it particularly in the first five verses.
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Right?
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So they're looking for a sign.
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Right?
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Oh, we're supposed to do this work of believing.
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Well, then prove to us.
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Right?
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Which Jesus had already done.
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They say, our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness.
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That was a miracle.
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Right?
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Word is written.
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He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
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And Jesus says to them,
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that bread came from heaven,
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and I, the true bread,
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are given by the Father.
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Into verse 32.
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My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
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The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven
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and gives life to the world.
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Now, understand when Jesus is talking about bread here,
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he's talking about a staple food product.
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Right?
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Like, we live in a day where we're trying to avoid bread
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all of the time.
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But here, this would have been the normative way
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that grain was turned into something edible.
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So he's talking about sustenance.
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He's talking about life itself.
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Their heads are in the temporal, temporal life.
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He is clearly talking about eternal life.
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Your truest and greatest need is a spiritual need,
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not a temporal need.
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We too often, like them,
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have our gaze fixed on the temporal stuff.
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and not lift our eyes to the eternal.
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I am quick to forget
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how satisfied my soul should be
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in the salvation of my God
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when I look at the trouble that I experience day to day,
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the pressures that are all around me.
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And I think this is where they find themselves.
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They say,
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Sir, give us this bread always.
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Misunderstanding.
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Missing the point.
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And Jesus says in verse 35,
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I am the bread of life.
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Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.
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And whoever believes in me
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shall never thirst.
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I think he's hearkening back to
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previous teaching there in the text.
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Fully satisfy the spiritual needs of our life.
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And this is given from heaven.
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It comes from the Father.
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There's a divine provision
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for our greatest of need.
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Note some things about this provision.
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Jesus, the bread of life.
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Notice first,
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his divine preexistence.
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Divine preexistence.
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Just briefly here.
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Verse 33 says,
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For the bread of God
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is he who comes down from heaven
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and gives life to the world.
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Right?
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This is the very thing
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that's troubling the Jews.
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He's saying he is God.
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And yes,
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this is absolutely true.
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If this wasn't true of Jesus,
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he would be the most terrible of blasphemers.
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Right?
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Total liar.
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Deceptive.
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Perhaps a lunatic.
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But in this case,
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he's actually Lord.
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This idea is repeated
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both in verse 50 and in 51.
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John begins this gospel account
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with this very idea.
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He's trying to convince us
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Jesus is the Christ
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and he starts in John chapter 1.
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In the beginning was the Word.
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Jesus.
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And the Word was with God
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and the Word was God.
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He was in the beginning
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with God.
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And in case you doubt his deity,
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he says in verse 3,
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all things were made through him
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and without him
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was not anything made
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that was made.
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Right?
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Jesus' very person here
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is being put on display
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as he calls himself
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the bread of life
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that has come down
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from heaven.
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Notice, secondly,
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in this divine provision
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that there is a divine purpose.
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Jesus was sent.
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He was sent
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for something in particular.
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And that was
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to redeem
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his people.
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Notice verse 37.
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There Jesus says,
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All that the Father gives me
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will come to me.
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The Father
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has something
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he will give
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to Jesus.
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Jesus.
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Who is he talking about here?
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He's talking about
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his people.
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Everyone
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who will repent
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and believe
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in
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I will never
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cast out.
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I have not
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come down
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from heaven
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to do my own will
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but the will
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of him
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who sent me
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to fulfill
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a divine
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purpose.
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The salvation
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of God's people.
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And this is the will,
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verse 39,
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of him who sent me
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that I should lose
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nothing
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of all
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that he
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has given me
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but raise it up
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on the last day.
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See
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God's people
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all the way
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to glory
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for this is the will
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of my Father
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that everyone
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who looks on the Son
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and believes in him
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should have
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eternal life
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and I will
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raise him up
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on the last
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day.
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Now,
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we as a church
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hold to the doctrine
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of
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sovereign
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grace.
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Right?
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Divine
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election.
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But I know
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not everybody
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in the room
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holds to
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this doctrine.
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And I just want
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you to know
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that I am
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sympathetic
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towards you.
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There's a lot
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to think about
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and a lot
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to wrestle out
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as we think
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about these
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things.
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But I just
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want to be,
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for my own self
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and for you,
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I just want to be
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really honest
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with the text.
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What does it say?
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What does it
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set down
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in front of us?
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Another text
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says a similar
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thing.
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Ephesians chapter
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1,
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verse 3
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through 5.
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There Paul
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writes,
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Blessed be the
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God and
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Father of
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our Lord
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Jesus Christ,
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who has
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blessed us
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in Christ.
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What a couple
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of words that
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is.
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In Christ,
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with every
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spiritual blessing
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in the heavenly
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places,
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even as,
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just like,
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he chose
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us in
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him before
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the foundation
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of the world.
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that we
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should be
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holy and
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blameless
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before him.
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In love,
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he predestined
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us for
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adoption to
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himself as
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sons through
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Jesus Christ
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according to
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the purpose
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of his
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will.
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It's there
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and it's
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plain.
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And I just
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don't want to
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do logical
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or grammatical
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somersaults to
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try to make it
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mean something
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other than
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what it
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means.
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It's just
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laid out
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there.
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clear for
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us.
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I think
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of a lot
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of our
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problem
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is that
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we have
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been brought
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to this
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kind of
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teaching
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in really
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wrong ways.
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But this
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kind of
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doctrine
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should only
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work in
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us three
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things.
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Only three
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things should
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be happening
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when we
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take up
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this kind
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of doctrine.
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First,
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it should
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make us
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massively
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humble.
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humble.
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It should
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humble us
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at every
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level.
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Too many
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people,
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when they
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come to
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understand
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these
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doctrines,
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become
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prideful
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rather than
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humble.
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They've
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unlocked the
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mystery and
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the key,
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and I
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think I
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myself have
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been guilty
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of this in
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past years.
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Perhaps
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maybe there's
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a frustration
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there against
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growing up
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in a way
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that seemed
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to make
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God really
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small and
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not the
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massive
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sovereign
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God that
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he is.
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I don't
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know all
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of the
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mix there,
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but it
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ought not
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ever make
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us proud.
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It ought
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to only
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make us
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humble.
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Why me,
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oh Lord?
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If God
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were to be
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entirely fair,
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not a single
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person would
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be saved.
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He would
23:12
withdraw the
23:13
wrath from
23:14
Christ,
23:15
because Christ
23:15
certainly did
23:16
not deserve
23:17
it.
23:19
And none
23:19
of us
23:20
would find
23:21
the blessed
23:22
state that
23:22
we have in
23:23
Christ Jesus.
23:25
It ought to
23:25
make us
23:26
absolutely
23:27
humble.
23:30
It ought to
23:31
also give
23:32
us great
23:33
confidence.
23:35
If we find
23:36
that we are
23:36
in Christ,
23:37
there's an
23:37
evidencing of
23:38
his spirit at
23:39
work in our
23:39
lives,
23:40
bringing
23:40
forth the
23:41
fruit of
23:42
repentance,
23:44
then it
23:45
ought to
23:45
ground our
23:46
faith.
23:48
Verse 39,
23:49
this is the
23:50
will of him
23:50
who sent
23:51
me, that
23:51
I should
23:52
lose nothing
23:54
of all
23:55
that he
23:55
has given
23:57
me.
23:59
Christ is
23:59
either powerful
24:00
to accomplish
24:01
this work,
24:01
or he is
24:02
not.
24:04
And I
24:05
want to
24:05
make much
24:06
of him.
24:07
Jesus can
24:08
do exactly
24:09
what he set
24:09
out to do,
24:10
and what
24:10
he set
24:10
out to do
24:11
was exactly
24:12
what the
24:12
father wanted
24:13
him to
24:14
do,
24:14
and that
24:14
gives me
24:15
great confidence
24:16
on my
24:18
most wretched
24:19
of days
24:20
to say,
24:22
yes,
24:22
because of
24:23
Christ,
24:23
in Christ,
24:24
not because
24:25
of my
24:26
merit,
24:26
but because
24:27
of his,
24:28
I have the
24:29
salvation
24:29
of my
24:31
soul.
24:32
So that's
24:32
the second
24:33
thing.
24:33
The third
24:33
thing that it
24:34
ought to do
24:34
is it
24:35
ought to
24:35
press us
24:36
out to
24:37
share the
24:38
good news
24:38
of Jesus.
24:39
And if
24:40
this to
24:41
your mind
24:41
is counter
24:43
logical,
24:44
it gives
24:45
us confidence
24:46
in our
24:47
going because
24:47
God has
24:49
a people,
24:50
and God
24:50
is saving
24:51
a people,
24:51
and we
24:52
want to
24:52
go and
24:53
declare the
24:53
good news
24:54
which he
24:54
has said
24:55
needs to
24:56
happen for
24:56
people to
24:56
be saved
24:57
so that
24:58
we be
24:58
part of
24:58
his
24:59
redemptive
24:59
work in
25:00
people's
25:00
lives.
25:01
It ought
25:01
to
25:01
drive us
25:02
out to
25:03
the very
25:03
ends of
25:04
the earth.
25:06
In fact,
25:07
all of the
25:08
significant
25:09
missionary
25:09
movements
25:10
have been
25:11
led by
25:12
people who
25:12
held this
25:13
doctrine,
25:14
who believed
25:15
it was true
25:16
that God
25:16
has a
25:17
people that
25:18
he's saving
25:18
and they're
25:18
going to be
25:19
numbered amongst
25:19
every tribe,
25:21
nation,
25:22
and tongue.
25:22
It ought to
25:23
press us
25:23
out
25:24
everywhere.
25:27
There's
25:27
divine
25:28
purpose in
25:29
God's
25:30
divine
25:30
provision.
25:33
Jesus says
25:33
down in
25:33
verse 44,
25:36
no one
25:36
can come
25:36
to me
25:37
unless the
25:38
Father who
25:39
sent me
25:40
draws him.
25:42
And I
25:42
know that
25:43
you could
25:43
go either
25:43
way with
25:44
this language,
25:45
right?
25:45
Maybe
25:46
everybody's
25:46
being drawn
25:47
and therefore
25:47
anybody can.
25:50
I don't
25:50
think it
25:50
fits contextually
25:51
with everything
25:52
else that
25:52
Jesus has
25:53
said,
25:54
but I'm
25:54
willing to
25:54
allow for
25:56
that there.
25:57
But I
25:57
do want
25:58
you to
25:58
know that
25:59
the word
25:59
here,
26:00
translated
26:01
draw,
26:02
is used
26:03
in
26:03
extra-biblical
26:04
Greek
26:05
literature
26:05
to refer
26:06
to drawing
26:07
water
26:08
out of a
26:10
well.
26:11
So forcefully
26:12
bringing water
26:14
up to
26:15
the surface.
26:18
No one
26:19
can come
26:19
to me
26:20
unless the
26:20
Father who
26:21
sent me
26:22
draws him
26:23
and I
26:23
will raise
26:24
him up
26:25
on the
26:26
last day.
26:27
I think
26:28
this is
26:28
why.
26:29
I think
26:30
this is
26:30
all on
26:31
either
26:31
side of
26:32
what I'm
26:32
going to
26:32
show you
26:33
is the
26:33
center,
26:34
the
26:34
chiastic
26:34
center
26:35
of this
26:36
text.
26:37
We're
26:38
structuring it
26:38
this way
26:39
to try to
26:39
understand
26:40
how is it
26:41
that these
26:42
people,
26:43
these people
26:43
who have
26:44
seen the
26:44
miraculous
26:45
provision
26:46
of Christ
26:47
in the
26:48
bread,
26:49
they've heard
26:50
tales certainly
26:51
of him
26:51
walking on
26:52
water,
26:52
why are
26:53
they
26:54
missing
26:55
him
26:56
in the
26:57
process?
27:02
Third point,
27:04
there's
27:05
divine
27:05
promise.
27:07
In the
27:07
divine
27:07
provision,
27:08
there is
27:08
divine
27:09
promise.
27:12
Jesus
27:13
says,
27:13
truly,
27:13
truly,
27:13
I say
27:14
to you,
27:15
whoever
27:15
believes
27:17
has
27:18
eternal
27:19
life.
27:21
There it
27:22
is.
27:22
That's
27:23
what the
27:23
provision
27:24
is for.
27:24
I've
27:24
mentioned
27:25
it
27:25
already.
27:26
It's
27:26
for
27:26
eternal
27:28
life.
27:30
Spiritual
27:31
life.
27:32
Now and
27:33
forever
27:33
more.
27:36
Jesus
27:36
calls
27:36
himself,
27:37
verse 48,
27:38
the bread
27:39
of
27:40
life.
27:42
Right?
27:43
Your
27:43
fathers ate
27:44
that manna
27:44
that you
27:45
mentioned,
27:45
and they
27:46
died.
27:47
Right?
27:47
It didn't
27:47
provide
27:48
forever
27:49
nourishment,
27:50
but the
27:51
bread that
27:51
comes down
27:52
from heaven
27:52
verse 50,
27:54
can be
27:54
eaten of
27:55
and a
27:56
person
27:56
will not
27:58
die.
27:59
They will
27:59
have
27:59
eternal
28:00
life.
28:02
Jesus
28:02
says,
28:03
I am the
28:03
living bread
28:04
that came
28:05
down from
28:06
heaven.
28:06
If anyone
28:07
eats of
28:08
this bread,
28:09
he will
28:09
live
28:10
forever.
28:12
And the
28:13
bread that I
28:13
will give
28:14
for the
28:15
life of
28:16
the world
28:16
is
28:18
my flesh.
28:20
He will
28:21
give up
28:21
his very
28:22
body
28:24
so that
28:24
we might
28:25
have
28:25
eternal
28:26
life
28:27
in him.
28:29
John
28:30
records
28:30
Jesus
28:31
defining
28:32
what
28:32
eternal
28:32
life is
28:33
in John
28:34
chapter 17
28:35
and
28:35
verse 3.
28:37
This
28:38
is
28:38
eternal
28:39
life,
28:41
that they
28:41
know you,
28:43
the only
28:44
true God,
28:45
and Jesus
28:46
Christ
28:47
whom you
28:48
have sent.
28:51
Beloved,
28:52
the great
28:53
joy of
28:53
the gospel
28:54
is that we
28:55
get to know
28:56
God and
28:57
that he
28:57
knows
28:59
us.
29:01
We don't
29:01
come to
29:02
Jesus for
29:02
what he
29:03
can grant
29:03
us in
29:04
this life.
29:05
We come
29:06
to him
29:06
for him
29:08
in this
29:09
life
29:09
and
29:10
forevermore.
29:13
So there's
29:14
divine
29:14
provision.
29:15
Found
29:15
in this
29:16
text.
29:18
Secondly,
29:19
let's look
29:19
at the
29:20
human
29:21
appropriation.
29:23
I think
29:23
the reason
29:23
I told you
29:24
the aside
29:24
about John
29:25
MacArthur
29:25
is I
29:25
just didn't
29:25
want you
29:26
to think
29:26
that I
29:26
came up
29:27
with the
29:27
word
29:27
appropriation
29:28
by myself.
29:29
This was
29:30
all his
29:30
doing.
29:31
I think
29:31
because of
29:32
the quick
29:33
strong
29:33
P in
29:34
the word.
29:35
Appropriation
29:35
means to
29:37
make one's
29:38
own,
29:39
right?
29:39
To take
29:40
possession
29:40
of.
29:42
So we
29:43
must
29:43
take
29:44
possession
29:45
of this
29:46
bread
29:47
of life.
29:49
And I
29:49
am happy,
29:50
really happy
29:51
with texts
29:52
like this
29:53
that we
29:53
see in
29:54
both
29:55
sovereign
29:56
grace,
29:58
God
29:58
working with
29:59
each other
29:59
whatsoever.
30:00
And I
30:01
think that's
30:01
how we
30:01
should take
30:02
it up
30:02
as well.
30:04
to show
30:05
you this,
30:06
I shrunk
30:08
down the
30:08
text very
30:09
tiny inside
30:09
your
30:10
bulletin.
30:11
I'm sorry
30:12
if your
30:12
eyes are
30:13
failing like
30:14
mine is.
30:14
I could
30:14
barely read
30:15
it myself
30:15
when I
30:15
shrunk
30:16
it down
30:16
that small.
30:17
That's
30:17
7.5
30:18
font if
30:19
you care
30:20
to know.
30:22
I just
30:23
want you
30:23
to notice
30:24
the
30:25
chiastic
30:26
structure.
30:26
Again,
30:26
so chiasm
30:28
comes from
30:28
the Greek
30:29
letter for
30:29
X,
30:30
chi.
30:31
So it
30:32
has a
30:32
shape to
30:33
it.
30:33
So I
30:33
put it
30:34
in that
30:34
shape for
30:35
you and
30:35
you can
30:36
see how
30:36
the beginning
30:37
corresponds
30:38
to the
30:39
end.
30:39
So A
30:40
and then
30:40
A
30:41
prime.
30:42
I'm
30:42
hoping you
30:43
can see
30:43
that.
30:44
That you
30:44
could
30:44
fold it
30:45
in the
30:45
middle
30:46
and it
30:46
would
30:47
fold over
30:47
on top
30:48
of itself.
30:49
I won't
30:49
walk you
30:50
through all
30:50
of these
30:50
because it's
30:51
not really
30:52
important to
30:52
do so.
30:53
But notice
30:53
like verse
30:54
31,
30:55
our fathers
30:56
ate the
30:56
manna in
30:57
the wilderness.
30:58
And then
30:58
verse 49,
31:00
your fathers
31:01
ate the
31:01
manna in
31:02
the wilderness.
31:03
Don't
31:03
these texts
31:04
seem so
31:04
incredibly
31:05
complicated
31:06
until you
31:06
start to
31:06
see this
31:07
happening?
31:08
I hope
31:08
that when I
31:09
read it to
31:09
you for
31:09
the first
31:09
time,
31:10
you might
31:10
have been
31:11
going,
31:11
I'm
31:12
starting to
31:12
see the
31:12
chiastic
31:13
structure.
31:14
I hope
31:14
this starts
31:14
to live
31:15
in your
31:15
head because
31:15
it's all
31:16
over the
31:16
book of
31:16
John.
31:17
There are
31:17
a lot
31:17
of other
31:17
places in
31:19
the Bible
31:19
and it's
31:19
incredibly
31:20
cool what
31:21
these authors
31:22
are doing.
31:23
Now,
31:24
did Jesus
31:24
say this
31:25
exactly this
31:25
way?
31:26
I don't
31:28
think so.
31:29
It's not
31:29
terribly
31:31
but I
31:31
think,
31:32
led by the
31:33
Spirit of
31:33
Christ,
31:34
John pins
31:35
it in
31:35
this way
31:36
to make
31:36
a careful
31:37
point to
31:37
us about
31:38
the teaching
31:38
of Jesus.
31:41
So,
31:42
again,
31:42
I'll just
31:43
show you
31:43
another spot
31:44
as we get
31:44
closer and
31:45
closer.
31:46
Verse 41
31:46
and then
31:47
verse 43.
31:49
So the
31:49
Jews grumbled
31:50
and then
31:51
Jesus,
31:51
verse 43,
31:53
do not
31:54
grumble,
31:56
which brings
31:57
us to the
31:57
center of
31:58
the text.
32:00
So you're
32:00
supposed to,
32:00
put on
32:02
verse 42
32:03
like as an
32:04
interpretive lens
32:05
to look at
32:05
the rest of
32:06
it.
32:07
Is not
32:08
this Jesus
32:09
the son of
32:10
Joseph whose
32:10
father and
32:11
mother we
32:11
know?
32:12
Like we know
32:12
where he came
32:13
from is what
32:14
they're saying.
32:15
How does he
32:16
now say I
32:17
have come
32:17
down from
32:19
heaven?
32:21
They don't
32:22
believe that
32:23
he is the
32:25
Christ.
32:26
So you have
32:26
this filter of
32:27
unbelief,
32:29
right,
32:29
as Jesus
32:30
is working
32:30
through this
32:32
teaching.
32:33
And the
32:33
structure of
32:34
it is meant
32:35
simply to help
32:36
us remember
32:36
it but also
32:37
to draw our
32:38
attention to
32:38
that very
32:40
fact.
32:41
So as he
32:42
has said
32:42
some massive
32:44
things about
32:45
sovereign grace
32:47
was meant to
32:48
have our
32:48
attention drawn
32:49
to the
32:50
rejection of
32:51
Jesus as
32:52
the Christ.
32:53
We must
32:54
appropriate the
32:55
bread of life.
32:55
we must
32:56
make him
32:57
our
32:57
own.
33:00
I included
33:01
in the
33:01
bulletin as
33:02
well a
33:02
quotation from
33:04
J.I.
33:05
Packer.
33:05
This is found
33:06
in a little
33:06
book he wrote
33:07
called Evangelism
33:08
and the
33:08
Sovereignty of
33:09
God.
33:09
A fantastic
33:10
read.
33:11
And there he
33:11
quotes Charles
33:12
Spurgeon.
33:13
So it's
33:14
old guy
33:15
quotation
33:16
inception.
33:18
C.H.
33:19
Spurgeon
33:19
once said,
33:20
was once asked
33:21
if he could
33:21
reconcile these
33:23
two truths to
33:24
each other.
33:25
I wouldn't
33:26
try, he
33:27
replied.
33:28
I never
33:29
reconcile
33:29
friends.
33:32
Friends?
33:33
Yes, friends.
33:35
This is the
33:36
point that we
33:36
have to grasp.
33:38
In the
33:38
Bible, divine
33:39
sovereignty and
33:40
human responsibility
33:41
are not
33:43
enemies.
33:44
They are not
33:45
uneasy
33:46
neighbors.
33:47
They are not
33:48
in an endless
33:48
state of cold
33:50
war with each
33:50
other.
33:51
They are
33:52
friends and
33:53
they work
33:54
together.
33:56
Now to
33:56
try to be
33:57
logicians and
33:58
work our way
33:59
through the
33:59
entirety of
34:00
all of that
34:01
is not
34:01
really the
34:02
point.
34:03
And I have
34:04
gone round
34:05
and round
34:05
with people.
34:06
I have read
34:06
countless
34:07
books on
34:08
the subject.
34:09
It's a
34:09
thing worth
34:10
thinking about.
34:12
But I just
34:13
want you to
34:13
note today that
34:14
they both
34:14
exist in the
34:15
text together.
34:18
There is a
34:18
mystery in
34:19
that.
34:20
I think
34:21
sometimes I
34:22
just want to
34:23
be a little
34:23
more simple
34:24
minded than
34:25
I often
34:26
am.
34:27
Just look at
34:28
the text and
34:28
go, yeah,
34:29
it's right
34:29
there.
34:30
I see it.
34:30
It's clear.
34:31
It says it.
34:32
And then go,
34:32
uh-huh, and
34:33
it also says
34:33
that too.
34:35
Trust that
34:36
God is
34:37
wiser,
34:39
certainly more
34:39
intelligent than
34:41
I am, and
34:42
he's given us
34:43
this book in
34:44
this way for
34:46
a reason.
34:47
So, there
34:49
must be a
34:49
human
34:49
appropriation.
34:50
There's a
34:50
responsibility for
34:51
people to
34:52
respond to
34:53
the gospel of
34:54
Jesus Christ,
34:55
to respond to
34:56
him, the
34:57
bread of
34:59
life.
34:59
We must
35:00
first come.
35:03
We must go
35:03
to Jesus.
35:04
Verse 35
35:04
says, I am
35:05
the bread of
35:06
life.
35:06
Whoever
35:06
comes to
35:07
me shall
35:09
not hunger,
35:09
and whoever
35:10
believes in
35:11
me shall
35:12
never thirst.
35:15
He indicts
35:16
them in
35:16
verse 36,
35:17
but I said
35:18
to you that
35:18
you have
35:19
seen me,
35:20
they had
35:21
come, and
35:22
yet you
35:23
do not
35:24
believe.
35:27
So, the
35:28
reason I'm
35:29
pulling out
35:29
the idea of
35:30
coming and
35:31
separating it
35:32
from the idea
35:32
of believing
35:34
is I just
35:34
want to be
35:35
clear for a
35:36
moment.
35:36
It's, you
35:38
could think
35:38
that you're
35:38
coming, you
35:39
can think
35:39
that going
35:40
to church,
35:41
think that
35:42
reading the
35:43
Bible, think
35:43
that consuming
35:44
some social
35:45
media Christian
35:46
stuff, right,
35:48
watching online
35:49
sermons, whatever
35:50
it may be, some
35:51
way that you
35:52
think you're
35:53
coming to
35:53
Jesus is
35:54
salvific, but
35:56
if you don't
35:58
believe, if
36:00
you don't
36:01
take hold of
36:02
who he is
36:04
and what he's
36:05
accomplished,
36:07
coming, just
36:08
coming is not
36:09
sufficient for
36:11
the salvation of
36:11
your soul.
36:13
Verse 47,
36:14
truly, truly, I
36:15
say to you,
36:16
whoever believes
36:18
has eternal
36:20
life.
36:22
What must we
36:23
believe?
36:24
Both in his
36:25
person, that's
36:27
why I looped
36:28
in the divine
36:30
preexistence,
36:31
Jesus himself
36:32
is God.
36:35
He lived a
36:37
perfect life,
36:39
he died a
36:40
sacrificial
36:40
death, a
36:41
death that he
36:42
did not
36:43
deserve, raised
36:46
on the third
36:46
day, right, his
36:47
person and
36:49
his work.
36:52
And we must
36:52
go to the
36:53
Jesus of the
36:54
Bible and
36:54
believe in the
36:55
Jesus of
36:56
the Bible.
36:59
As a side
37:00
note, I'm so
37:01
concerned about
37:02
so much that we
37:03
see that's
37:04
wrapped in
37:05
thin candy
37:06
coating called
37:07
gospel.
37:07
people.
37:09
And it's
37:09
really just
37:10
moralistic,
37:11
therapeutic
37:11
deism.
37:13
Jesus is a
37:14
therapist.
37:16
He's not the
37:17
Lord of the
37:17
universe.
37:19
And I see it
37:20
happening and
37:20
it's happening
37:21
in these really
37:21
subversive ways
37:22
all around us.
37:24
Let's be
37:24
careful.
37:25
People who
37:25
use the same
37:26
language we're
37:27
using are
37:28
actually going
37:29
to the same
37:30
Christ.
37:32
Ask good
37:33
clarifying
37:33
questions.
37:34
Let's press
37:34
in on people
37:36
who are
37:36
professing faith.
37:37
in a Jesus
37:38
that might be
37:38
a Jesus of
37:40
their own
37:41
making.
37:42
We must go
37:43
to him and
37:44
we must believe
37:45
in his person
37:46
and his
37:48
work.
37:50
Verse 50,
37:51
this is the
37:52
bread that
37:52
comes down
37:53
from heaven
37:53
so that one
37:54
may eat of
37:55
it and not
37:56
die.
37:57
I am the
37:57
living bread
37:58
that came down
37:59
from heaven.
37:59
If anyone
37:59
eats of this
38:00
bread, he
38:02
will live
38:02
forever.
38:04
And the
38:04
bread that I
38:05
will give
38:05
for the life
38:06
of the world
38:07
is my
38:08
flesh.
38:09
He's talking
38:10
about the
38:11
sacrifice that
38:12
he will
38:12
make.
38:13
And this
38:13
is made
38:13
clear as
38:14
the text
38:14
goes on,
38:15
which we'll
38:15
get into
38:16
further next
38:17
week.
38:17
But note
38:18
in verse 52
38:19
and then
38:19
verse 53,
38:20
the Jews
38:21
then disputed
38:22
among themselves
38:22
saying,
38:23
how can this
38:24
man give us
38:24
his flesh
38:25
to eat?
38:27
So Jesus
38:27
said to them,
38:28
I'm going to
38:29
bring you more
38:29
clarity on the
38:30
matter.
38:30
He says to
38:31
them,
38:31
truly,
38:31
truly,
38:32
I say to
38:32
you,
38:33
unless you
38:33
eat the
38:34
flesh of
38:34
the Son
38:35
of Man
38:35
and drink
38:37
his blood,
38:40
you have
38:40
no life
38:41
in you.
38:43
If you
38:43
don't believe
38:44
that the
38:45
Messiah is
38:46
the one
38:46
who will
38:46
come and
38:48
he will
38:48
conquer,
38:49
not in the
38:49
way you
38:50
think,
38:51
but he'll
38:52
conquer by
38:53
taking on
38:54
the sins
38:54
of the world,
38:56
dying,
38:57
bearing the
38:57
wrath of
38:57
God for
38:58
them,
38:58
rising three
38:59
days later,
39:00
sending his
39:01
spirit,
39:01
building his
39:02
kingdom.
39:02
We find
39:04
ourselves in
39:04
that age
39:05
even now.
39:08
Let's pray
39:08
together.