The True Bread Out of Heaven

John chapter 6 just resonates with me.

It's a pivotal chapter, an important chapter.! We're going to start in verse 1. We won't cover every verse, but let me start by saying the word there says,! After these things.

Well, okay, Lord, after what things? Just in the last few days before the Holy Spirit recorded those words, the Lord had healed the nobleman's son.

He had healed a paralytic man. He had healed on the Sabbath, which infuriated the Jewish leadership, of course.

He declared himself to be equal with God. He proclaimed the message of equality with the Father.

He declared himself to be equal with God in power and authority.

Again, that infuriated the Jews. He had the witness of John the Baptist. John said, this is what Jesus pointed out.

John testified to me and about me. And then he said, you know, if you don't want to believe John, believe the works that I do. Well, what was he doing?

He was healing. Making eyes out of mud balls. Most intricate organ, I guess, in the human body. He had the witness of the works, but he had the witness of the Father.

And then he says, I have the witness of Scripture. Scripture talked about me. That's all chapter 5. And then we come to chapter 6, and it says, after those things, after all those things, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias.

Now, Galilee, it's Galilee if you're a Jew and Tiberias if you're a Roman. Pretty simple. Same body of water. A large crowd followed him.

Why were they following him? Well, the Scriptures say because they saw the signs which he was performing on those who were sick.

You know, some theologians believe Jesus for three years stamped out illness in Israel. Everybody that came, he healed them. I don't necessarily hold to that, but that's an interesting thought.

They had seen the signs that was going on when people came to him who were sick. And now Jesus goes up on a mountain. He did that a lot, didn't he? We talked about that a little bit this morning.

And there he sat down with his disciples. By the way, that was the customary way rabbis taught. Seated. He sat down.

And now the Passover, the feast of the Jews was near. And we understand the Passover, right? Go back to Exodus and Cecil B. DeMille, the Ten Commandments, Charlton Heston.

I mean, you know, we know all about the Passover. And it was near. And Jesus lifts up his eyes and he sees this crowd.

If he were in Oklahoma, he would say there was a gaggle of people there, a bunches. And he sees all of them. And, of course, Philip speaks up and says, Where are we going to buy bread so that these may eat?

And Jesus gives Philip a test. And he says, And Jesus knew what he was going to do, by the way. And Philip answered him and said, We're going to need 200 denarii worth of bread.

And that won't be sufficient. Everybody will just get a few crumbs. They're not going to get full. Well, one of his disciples, and by the way, in another book he says, Will you feed them?

Impossible. But another disciple, Andrew, that was Simon Peter's brother, said to him, Verse 9, There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish.

And then he adds, But what are these for so many people? I meant to bring a little basket. Diane's got all kinds of baskets. And you could put those in a little basket.

The barley loaves were like that thick, and they were circular, and then two little fish. And Jesus said, Have the people sit down.

And I love how John does it. He says, There was a lot of grass there. They had a cushion. There's the grass there. And so the men sat down, and they numbered, the men numbered 5,000.

Now, what does that mean for us? There was about 20,000 people there. They didn't mention the wives, which is typical in a Jewish writing.

They didn't mention the children. You figure one wife and a couple of kids, there's about 20,000 folks here that are going to listen to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And they sat down in the grass. And Jesus then took the loaves, and he gave thanks. If you ever wonder, Why do we always give thanks when we go out and eat?

You know, or we eat at home. Well, he gave thanks. And he distributed to those who were seated, likewise also the fish, as much as they wanted.

Now, what went on there? As he did in Genesis 1-1, in the beginning God, and I've always said, if you can get past those four words, everything else makes sense.

It all fits together. Here we have the creator God of the universe. He's creating food.

He's creating. He's doing what we can't do. Ex nihilo, out of nothing, he's making it. We said, well, wait a minute, he had two fish and five barley loaves.

That was nothing. That wouldn't feed me. And he gives thanks, and he begins to distribute the food, and I'm sure he was using the disciples, and then the Lord, not wanting to waste anything, he tells his disciples, after everybody had eaten their fill, he says, gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing is lost.

And they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. They're going to have breakfast.

How many disciples were there at this time? Twelve. They're going to have a really good breakfast. Therefore, when the people saw the sign, what sign?

Feeding 20,000 people out of nothing. And they saw the sign which he performed. They said, this is truly the prophet who is to come into the world.

Now, what they've basically done there is they've said, hey, this guy's almost as good as Moses. We're going to get to that. This guy's another Moses.

He's come into the world. And Jesus, who knows every thought of everyone down to the subconscious, that doesn't bring me a lot of comfort and peace, but he knows all our thoughts.

He knew the thoughts and he knew what the people were thinking at that moment. We're going to seize this guy and we're going to take him by force if we have to and we're going to make him king.

He knew that's what they were thinking. Why did they want to do that? They just went on welfare. I'm sorry, entitlement.

That's what we call it today. They are on welfare. We don't have to work anymore. This guy is our meal ticket. That is precisely what they were thinking.

And the scriptures tell us when they were thinking, take him by force, make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself alone.

That's a pretty definitive description. By himself, that would have been enough, but alone. He goes up on the mountain. He's going to spend time with the Father. So he goes up on the mountain and when evening came, and I'm sure by predesign from the Lord, his disciples, I'm around verse 16 now, his disciples went down to the sea and they got into a boat and apparently there was just one and they started to cross the sea to Capernaum.

And it had become dark and Jesus hadn't shown up. And of course, we know the story, don't we? They get out there, the sea begins to be stirred, a strong wind comes, and that, by the way, is typical in that part of the world.

I mean, deadly winds come down on the Sea of Galilee. Deadly. And it's blowing. It's like Oklahoma in the springtime. And these guys are rowing and when they rowed three or four miles and they weren't winning, they look and they see Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat and they were frightened.

Do you think? I would be. You got flashes of lightning going off and the wind blowing and they see Jesus walking on the water.

And it says they were afraid, but he said to them, it is I, do not be afraid. And they thought in another gospel that he was a ghost. He says, it's me.

Don't be afraid. So they were willing to receive him into the boat and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. And we know John left some things out that the other writers put in.

Remember Peter walking, started to drown, saved me, the Lord saved him. There's other things there. But he gets into the boat and now he has demonstrated his power over nature.

He can still the winds and it's kind of like Star Trek. He can transport them. He gets in the boat, the wind stops and they're at their destination.

They're in the middle. They were only three or four miles out and now they have arrived at the land to which they were going. Well, the next day, verse 22, the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea that were there, when they only saw the one boat that the disciples got in, they knew Jesus wasn't in that boat.

He'd gone up the mountain. There was only one boat and Jesus had not entered and the disciples went away and while the crowd is there, they want Jesus.

Why do they want him? They're hungry. They're hungry. And they want Jesus and now a bunch of boats show up.

How'd that happen? The sovereignty of God. He sends a bunch of boats down there and they pile in and they'd come near the place where they had been given the bread and where the Lord had given thanks and when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they got into these boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

Sounds good, but they were seeking breakfast. And they find him now on the other side of the sea.

He'd walked four miles out walking on water, transported them there and they say, Rabbi, when'd you get here? We saw you going up the mountain, the disciples get in one boat, they left and you're here.

When did you get here? Well, Jesus has an answer for them. And Jesus says to them, truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw the signs.

I started by reading you a bunch of signs, right? Including feeding 20,000 and healing the sick. you were seeking me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.

Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.

For on him the Father God has set his seal. Well, you know, that gets their attention. And because of what he said, and we know that is the response because it says, therefore, and you always had to figure out what therefore is therefore.

It's what they just said. Therefore, when the Son of Man said, the Father had put his seal on them, they said, what shall we do that we may work the works, plural, of God?

What a question. Hey, we want to do the works that are pleasing to God. Tell us what those are. And Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God, singular.

This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. That's what we're required to do to be saved, aren't we?

We have to believe. Greek word pistouo from pistis, it means trust and commit your life from the moment you're saved to your called home or till the Lord comes back for you.

it's much more than the English word believe. I believe those pews are probably going to hold you all up. I believe that that ceiling is not going to fall on me, but that's intellectual knowledge.

This goes beyond that. This is trust, commitment, a high, high level of commitment. commitment. The work of God singular is that you believe in him whom he has sent.

So they said to him, what then, you've got to love this, what then do you do for a sign that we may see and believe you?

What work will you perform? are you kidding me? What has he been doing? Raising the dead, making eyes, feeding 20,000 people out of a little basket, 12 baskets left over, healing the sick in their presence.

and no doubt some of these people ask themselves, how did he get across the water? They walked on the water and they say, give us a sign, perform a sign and we'll believe.

And then they have the audacity to say this in verse 31, our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and as is written, he gave them bread out of heaven to eat.

Do you know what they just said to Jesus? You fed us one meal. Moses fed us for 38 years.

You've only given us one meal. You're going to have to do better than that. That is what they are telling Jesus. You've got to do better if we're going to follow you. So keep giving those signs, especially at breakfast, lunch, and dinner time.

That would be the perfect time for the signs, right? That's what they're saying. That's precisely what they're saying. Moses fed us for 38 years and now you think we're going to follow you for one meal.

Not going to happen. They're going to want more. Well, Jesus says to them, and it's important because he says, truly, truly. When he says that, we need to pay attention, don't we?

We need to pay attention to him anyway. Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is my father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.

I mean, Jesus says, cut out the foolishness. You've been giving Moses credit for that for 1600 years. Moses is in heaven embarrassed every time he hears you say that. My father provided that.

And then he says, for the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. And then they said to him, Lord, always give us this bread.

Oh, we're going to get full. Don't have to work. What a life we're going to live. that's when Jesus reveals the great spiritual truth about himself.

I am the bread of life. By the way, any time Jesus said I am, the Jewish hearers understood what he was saying because he's using the sacred name of God.

It's the same thing he said in the burning bush. He said, tell them I am have sent you. I am that I am. It's the sacred holy name of God.

They get furious any time he, at one point they picked up stones to stone him because he said I am. When the guards came to arrest him and they said, he said, whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.

Your Bible and mine says, I am he. Didn't say that. He is in italics. He said, I am. Infuriated him. Jesus says, I am the bread of life who comes.

He who comes to me will not hunger. He who believes in me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

And they didn't. It was materialism. Feed us. Feed us and we'll believe as strongly in you as we do in Moses.

All you got to do is feed us. And then Jesus gives a great revelation and he's going to do this three times in the remaining verses of this chapter.

And he gives this marvelous revelation. Verse 37, all that the father gives me will come to me.

And the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. Boy, that's comforting, isn't it? You are a gift from the father to the son.

and the son will receive you as a gift from his father and he tells the father, I won't cast them away.

I will keep them by the power, my sovereign power and love. They will be kept. You are a grace gift from the father to the son.

All that the father gives me will come to me. And they will certainly not be cast out. And then Jesus says, for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

Then he says, this is the will of him who sent me, not to feed you three meals a day, but the will of the father who sent me is this, that all he has given me, I lose none.

but raise it up on the last day. And then he says, for this is the will of my father, that everyone who beholds the son and believes in him trusts, commits, everyone who believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day.

That's pretty comforting, isn't it? when you wake up at three o'clock in the morning and you're all worried, go ahead and read these, study these. Well, look at the Jews' reactions.

They loved him, they embraced him, and they said, you're our Messiah. No, they didn't at all. Verse 41, therefore, what's it there for? What he just told them, what he just told them, the Jews begin to grumble.

Aren't people great? The Jews were grumbling about him because he said, I am the bread that came down out of heaven, and then they're starting to talk among themselves, and a couple of them are saying, hey, wait a minute.

This is Jesus. He's the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. we grew up around this kid.

How does he now say, I've come down out of heaven? His mother, Mary, went to visit Elizabeth, and she got in some trouble and came back pregnant.

That's what they're saying. We grew up with him. Now, Jesus didn't hear any of this. They're out whispering to each other. Jesus didn't hear audio with his ears, but he says, don't grumble among yourself.

That'd get my attention. He knows what they're saying. Why? He's the omnipotent God. Don't grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him.

That's another great truth we're talking about this evening. All that the father gives me will come to me, and no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day.

And you know, that's the most confusing verse for people in the 21st century. Because you know what they picture that as? Jesus standing at the doors of the church's arms folded and said, you're not coming in.

But we want to come in, Lord. No, you're not coming in. Father didn't give you to me. That's not what it is. Jesus flings those doors open and says, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, I'll give you rest.

And you know what? Most people don't come. Look around. People are going up and down 75 right now that will never set foot in this church or any church. And they'll stand before the Lord someday and say, well, I was more good than I was bad.

I tipped the scales, I think. That was my theology for the first 30 years of my life. life. And Jesus says to them that no one has seen the Father except the one who is from God.

And he who believes that I'm the bread of life will have eternal life. That's the bread that comes down. And they begin to argue with one another saying, how can this man do this?

How can he do this? And then Jesus gives what is arguably a very confusing statement. He says in verse 53, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. I will raise him up on the last day for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and die in him.

As the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will also live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven not as the fathers ate and died.

The wilderness was full of bleached bones, wasn't it? They ate manna for 38 years and all of them died, all the adults. The one who eats this bread will live forever.

these things he said in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. You know, to this day there are Islamic clerics that say Christianity is a cannibalistic religion because of this.

Of course, it had nothing to do with that. Jesus is giving us a spiritual metaphor. We have to take him into our life. He has to take us into his life. We become one with him.

Precisely what he is saying. We're to apply this spiritually. Of course, these people are still focused on bread and fish.

And it's breakfast time and now their stomachs are really grumbling. And when his, it says disciples, don't picture the 11 true disciples, followers.

That's a word for followers. therefore, many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, this is a difficult statement.

And interesting, they didn't say who can believe it, they said, who can listen to it. They went another level, didn't they? They didn't want to hear it. They didn't want to listen to it, much less believe what he was saying.

Who can listen to the such talk? talk. And Jesus knew what was on their mind and heart. He was conscious that his followers were grumbling at this, and he said, does this cause you to stumble?

And you know, the short answer is, yeah, it did, for most of them, the vast majority of them. It caused them to stumble, and Jesus says, if you can't get past this point of being my true follower, eating my bread, drinking my blood, inculcating me in your life, what will you do then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

What are you going to see if you see me be raised up back up to heaven? It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing.

The words that I've spoken to you are spirit, and they are life, but there are some of you who do not believe. You still don't trust me, and I've done all these things, and I've been healing, and I've been raising the dead, and I'm feeding you, and I did all these things, and you still don't believe.

You still want a sign. And he'd been given signs ever since the wedding in Cana to authenticate his claims to be the Messiah.

Messiah. But there are some of you who do not believe, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and he knows it to this day, and who it was that would betray him.

When he chose Judas, he knew Judas was the betrayer, didn't he? And then he gives another startling revelation.

For this reason, I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father.

No one. That's pretty exclusive. The Father must give my children as a love gift.

And then we come to the saddest verse in the Bible. Verse 66. As a result.

As a result of what? As a result of Jesus saying, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. Jesus said, unless the Father who sent me draws you, you can't come to me.

And then Jesus says, for this reason I've said to you, no one can come to me unless it had been granted him from the Father. And it says, many of his disciples withdrew and were walking with him no more.

They walked away from the one person that could save them for eternity. The rich young ruler walked away, they walked away.

The one person that can save them, give them eternal life, and they turned, that's got to be the saddest verse in all the scriptures. Think what they had just seen in the last couple days, what they had participated!

The food and the healings and all this. And then they have this audacity, show us a sign. And it says they walked no more with him.

Jesus turns to the twelve and he says, you don't want to go away, do you? He asked him a question, you want to leave? Simon Peter was always good to answer, wasn't he?

Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Where do we go? You have the words of eternal life.

We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. You're God's anointed, you're the Messiah, the Christ, Son of God.

And Jesus answered them and he said, did I myself not choose you, the twelve? And then he says, and yet one of you is a devil.

One of you is a devil. I always remember when C.I. Schofield, back in his day, he preached revivals, you didn't fly, you took a train. Took a three-day train ride from Dallas to North Carolina to preach a revival.

A young pastor, church that he'd been called to in the mountains of North Carolina, this young preacher went all over the villages and said, C.I.

Schofield's coming, Schofield Bible. C.I. Schofield's coming to preach, Dr. Schofield's coming. And Sunday morning, Dr. Schofield walks in, young 25-year-old preacher sitting in his office crying.

25 people had shown up for the great C.I. Schofield. And Dr. Schofield put his arm around and said, son, when Jesus was on earth, he had 12 and one of them was a devil.

It's presumptuous for me to have twice as many as the Lord had. That's the right attitude. He said, I chose you 12 and one of you is a devil.

And he meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the 12, was going to betray him.

What a portion of scripture. And when you come to that verse 66 and it says, they withdrew. After all he'd done for them, they withdrew and they believed at a certain level because the Lord refers to them as disciples.

It wasn't saving faith, but they had believed a certain level. They withdrew and walked with him no more. That's sad.

And I'm going to summarize it by saying this. There are whole denominations and there are men and women today when they hear those words, you can't come to me unless the Father draws you.

You did not choose me, I chose you. All the things we've read, they still walk away. People still walk away. They don't like that.

They want to know, I want to know what's my part here. Surely I've got to do at least 50% of this, don't I? Or 10%? Or 1%?

I'm working on a song, I'm going to finish it to a name, Jesus paid it all. He did it all. And all to him we owe. Thank you.