The Bread of Life part 1 Bread from Heaven (continued)

Well take your Bible this morning turn with me to the Gospel of John, John chapter 6. John chapter 6. We are in our series through the Gospel of John and that series is called Christ the Son of God, Believe and Live. And we are in this teaching time, this teaching moment, this teaching time in the ministry of Jesus where he really is declaring Christ as deity. He was God in the flesh and we are going to see this portion of the series title Believe and Live really fleshed out in these verses this morning. I hope that you're taking notes this morning.

Hope that you always take notes for your own personal study that you would pray over what God's teaching us and let it not just assimilate into your mind but assimilate into your heart. Now our verses this morning will be verses 41 through 51. 41 through 51 and we are in this two-day event in the ministry of Jesus. Now remember day one started on the north, in the north, on the barren side, those hillsides on the Sea of Galilee and that is where he fed the 5,000. Of course the next day Jesus had traveled over into Capernaum and that day involved, the second day involved his teaching, his preaching ministry.

Remember I have said this is a two-day event. The first day miracles, miracles on end of the night and then the next day he is preaching and he's teaching to this crowd. Now remember last week I said that some get caught up on the miracles. Now there are lots of people in the life of the church, they love the miracles, they love the signs and I think there's some that really get hung up there and they fail to see the purpose of the miracles.

The purpose of the miracles were to direct people to Christ and ultimately Christ was sitting down during his earthly ministry declaring truths about the kingdom, preaching and teaching the Word of God and that's where we are in this portion of chapter 6, Jesus preaching and teaching. Now we must realize that Jesus purposefully performed these miracles. I use that word and I want you to listen. He purposefully performed these miracles to reveal himself both to his disciples and to those crowds or those people who were following him. This miracle of feeding the 5,000 really was a setup.

It was a setup for his teaching and his preaching on being the bread from heaven, the bread of life. So the miracle was nothing more than a vehicle. It was a vehicle for the Word of God. Now I don't know if you realize it but a lot of the things that we do in the life of the church are nothing more than a vehicle as well. I made the comment about and I told you about how on April the 3rd we're gonna allow our children to sing. Some of the children we've been ministering to in the community they're going to sing.

We're gonna have a time of fellowship and we're gonna invite those family members and parents of some of those children to come worship with us and that is purposeful. That is a vehicle to expose them to the work of the church and the preaching of the Word and real Christianity. That is purposeful. We're going to use those things to invite them to be a part of what God's doing here. And that's what Jesus did with these miracles. They were on purpose and he was preaching and teaching behind that vehicle of feeding the 5,000.

Now last week we started into this portion of Scripture with the Bread of Life Part 1 and it was called Bread from Heaven. Remember we looked at three truths from verse 30 to verse 40. Jesus was the true bread from heaven. Jesus was the great I am. Now I've already told you that there were several I am statements and we will see them as we proceed through the Gospel of John. That was the first of the I am statements. Jesus was hearkening back to what God said to Moses. God said to Moses you tell them I am has sent you and Jesus was saying I am. I am God and I'm the bread that has come down from heaven.

And then also the third truth was we saw the work of the Father there all the way down to verse 40. Now this morning's verses are really a continuation of this teaching. Truthfully verses 30 all the way down to verse 51 are one block of teaching from Jesus concerning this theme the bread of life of the bread that has come down from heaven. So this morning's message is really a continuation. It is the bread of life part one bread from heaven and I've just called this continued because it's really one message that we had to break down because of time and our ability to to retain all that we would have in one sitting.

So this morning we're looking at verses 41 through 51 and in your notes you can just jot this title down Jesus the bread of life part one bread from heaven this is continued it goes with last week's message. Now we're going to look in these verses at three main truths that I want us to see. We're going to develop them as we get into the text. The Jews they were grumbling out of verse 41 and 52. Then the work of the Father continued verses 43 through 46 and then the true bread from heaven which is continued.

This is verses 47 through 51 and you will begin to see that really these verses are all tied into last week's message the last week's verses. Really one big message. So we're looking at the bread of life part one bread from heaven and we're going to look at verses 41 through 51. Let's go to the verses together. Let's read them together and then we'll break these down and see what the Lord wants us to see.

Verse 41 the Jews therefore were grumbling about him because he said I am the bread that came down out of heaven and they were saying is not this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know how does he now say I have come down out of heaven Jesus answered and said to them do not grumble among yourselves no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day.

It is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught by God or taught of God everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me not that any man has seen the father except the one who is from God he has seen the father. Verse 47 truly truly I say to you he who believes has eternal life I am the bread of life your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died this is the bread which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat it and not die and then verse 51 I am the living bread that came down out of heaven if anyone eats of this bread he shall live forever and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.

So you have these truths that we're going to explore out of these verses and so first truth number one we're going to look at the Jews they were grumbling the Jews they were grumbling look back at verse 41 and 42 the Jews therefore were grumbling about him verse 42 and they were saying is this not Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary we see that they were grumbling against Jesus now if we look into this teaching portion of the text we will see a pattern has developed these Jews would react to what Jesus said and in so doing they would reveal again and again their spiritual condition we should notice that these were crossroads of decision for these Jews go back to the text verse 30 they said therefore to him they're questioning him verse 34 they said therefore to him then verse 41 now they're grumbling see that's that pattern developing as they are interacting with Jesus and revealing themselves and each time along with the way they are revealing that there are a crossroads a crossroads of decision and we will see it is obvious that they went the wrong way every time and every word that he said and every deed that he performed they rejected him they rejected him and they rejected him and now we see they're grumbling first out of verse 41 and verse 42 we see the their reaction to Jesus teaching now notice this word grumbling the English Standard reads grumbled the King James uses the old word murmured that that all means the same thing and this word means that they were mumbling or whispering complaints about Jesus now a question why this grumbling why were they complaining why were they mumbling maybe under their breath maybe to each other in each other's ears they were complaining about his claims it's very interesting to see this this word is used all throughout other portions in the scriptures let me give you an example you might not be familiar with it but there is such a thing called the Septuagint the Septuagint was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible in Jesus day the Jews did speak Hebrew but they also spoke Greek it was a Greek culture they had been in infiltrated by Greek thought in Greek culture and they had what's called a Septuagint it was a translation of the the Hebrew Old Testament Bible and all throughout the Septuagint this word grumbling this word murmuring is used to describe the Jews the nation of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness between coming out of Egyptian slavery and going into the promised land I don't know if you know that story but for 40 years they grumbled and they complained prior to being told to turn around and wander in the wilderness what did they do they grumbled and they complained they murmured and they whispered behind Moses back and they fought against the work and the plan of God for them they just complained from day one go all the way back to when they were going through fixing to go through the Red Sea they complained against Moses they complained against God they complained against the food that they had so what do we see this is none other than a habit that the Old Testament Jews had and now we see that these Jews they are grumbling against Jesus that's the reaction remember they had crossroads of decision starting with this miracle starting with the even the miracles that they might not have seen but they heard of they grumbled and they complained against Jesus and what he said second I want us to see I want us to see that that his teaching was repeated look at verse 41 and verse 42 verse 41 and 42 the Jews therefore were grumbling about him because they said he said I am the bread that came down from heaven they were saying is this not Joseph and is not is this not Jesus Jesus excuse me the the son of Joseph and Mary and then then they go on to say what he says I have come down out of heaven what are they doing they're repeating what Jesus is taught this is a repeat of what he been saying starting in verse 32 on down truthfully it is the crowds that are repeating what had been previously taught and they're complaining against what he had said and in their repeating they're grumbling and they are complaining again go back and look at their reaction they grumbled they even brought up the fact that they said we know his parents we know his his parents Joseph and Mary they could not see the spiritual origin of Christ and now they're repeating what Jesus had said this is the Jews complaining this is a continuation of what they've been doing all along they have been missing Jesus teaching they have been focusing on the physical I've already said it but in verse 30 you see it verse 34 you see it verse 41 and 42 you see it and if you continue on in the text in the verse 52 you will see the same thing and what does this do this reveals the condition of their hearts this reveals the condition of their hearts this is the proof that they do not know Jesus they do not have Christ Jesus they are following him for what they can get they were following because they had use our faith what were they saying show us another miracle feed us again prove to us that you are who you say that you are and all this does is show us who they really are now for us for me for you I want us to see that sometimes in the life of the church we can see a grumbling murmuring element in the life of the church let me repeat that this same attitude this same grumbling and complaining spirit can be found in the life of the church even today let me tell you two things that can bring out this grumbling and murmuring attitude in the life of the church or in people's lives first of all when the Word of God the truth of God is preached you know there are a lot of people in the life of the church they do not want to hear the truth they will say that they want the truth but they really have a desire to have their ears tickled they want to be built up in who they want to be and in many times when the preacher comes when the pastor comes and preaches the Word of God they will come to crossroads of decision and they will either have to adjust their their lives and adjust themselves to the Word of God or they will grumbling complain and adopt this same mindset I've seen that in the life of the church I've met with people who had a problem with things that I've preached and taught now I don't want to set up here and act like I'm perfect if I ever preach something from the Word of God if I ever preached from the Word of God and I preached to the left or to the right of what the text says the first person that would address me would be brother Keith and then there are some of you that would come to me justifiably so but I have preached the Word of God and I have taught the Word of God and I have had some people come and affirm me in that and affirm the work that God had done in them while I have had others come and grumble and complain I've even seen people leave the church because they did not want to adhere to the truth preached see we either accept it or we reject it there's no middle ground there are people who have literally left the work of the church they've gone and found them a church that meets their needs and fits them and will not make them feel uncomfortable now we're not perfect I know but I've seen it I've seen the truth affirm some and grow some but yet the there are other people who get mad and they grumble and they complain I'll tell you another thing in the life of the church that will cause people or bring this grumbling to the surface if it's in their heart is when the leaders in the church begin to make changes see many people fail to realize that the ministers are elders they're supposed to be elders they are to govern the affairs of the church not lording over you not lording over the people but serving serving unto the Lord brother Keith and I are not here to lord over you we're to here to serve you and yet we are called to govern the affairs of the church and as we grow we change and there are a lot of people they just don't want to see the church house change and then when the ministers of the gospel begin to change as they grow begin to make changes maybe in Reformation there are a lot of people they'll just begin to complain and grumble I've seen that I remember my years as a layman and my home church I remember watching people begin to complain there were even certain leaders that would mumble and complain and and just create these rumblings in the life of the church and ever so often brother Dennis would just have to preach and deal with it ever so often brother Dennis would go have to meet with them and deal with it why because they were grumbling now what am I showing you these people were grumbling they were grumbling and you know I ran across something that a commentator said and I really liked it these people had to decide if they were going to accept Jesus as the son of Joseph and Mary or they were going to accept Jesus as the son of God you know we have to do the very same thing if we'll accept Jesus as the son of God and all things and that pertain to the life of the church in our own lives you know what we'll do we'll say yes Lord yes Lord even if it hurts yes Lord they couldn't do that good day they just had a grumbling grumbling spirit and I've seen that praise the Lord we don't have that here and I'm thankful for that now let's move on and let's notice truth number two I want us to see the work of the Father and that is continued the work of the Father and it's continued we're gonna see it's continued from last week's message let's look at verse 43 on down to verse 46 Jesus answered and he said to them do not grumble among yourselves no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day it is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught by God everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me not then any man has seen the father except the one who is from God he has seen the father now Jesus picks up here where he left off in verses 37 through verses verse 40 it's almost like verses 41 and 42 that we had last week I mean earlier it's almost like this record of their grumbling was an interruption of Jesus teaching think about that look at that it's almost like there's one message here about the work of the father and they just buddy in and they begin to grumble and complain you will notice that I'm calling this the work of the father continued because I see it as a continuation of what we looked at starting in verse 37 but let's notice four things out of these verses first Jesus calls out their grumbling look at verse 43 Jesus answered and said to them do not grumble do not murmur among yourselves he literally calls the crowd out for their memory murmuring they're complaining I like what da Carson says he said it was insulting to Jesus and that it was a dangerous thing for this crowd to begin to sort out this divine revelation in trying to reason and talk matters over what Carson is saying is it was dangerous because they should just accept it by faith you see so he calls them out he calls them out this is literally an insult to his deity second I want you to notice the father's drawing the father's drawing I really want you to look at verse 44 because we're gonna learn a lot here no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and then he goes on to say and I will raise him up on the last day now this verse is a fundamental truth which must be understood here now we're going to see that this verse really does tie into previously what Jesus said Jesus is saying that no person can ever come to him in salvation unless they are first drawn by the father let me repeat that Jesus is saying that no person can ever come to him in salvation unless they are first drawn by the father now we must understand the meaning of this word draw and I want to take some time here so we can understand this word and we can come to an understanding of this word by seeing where else it is used in the New Testament take note of this this word drawing it is used in the New Testament six times once it is applied to a compulsion a compulsory drawing of Paul and Silas into the marketplace in Acts 1619 twice this word is used to denote a drawing of the net talking of spiritual things in John 21 6 and John 21 11 once on the drawing of a sword in John 18 10 and once in a very similar sense the gospel of John chapter 12 verse 32 and in John 12 32 it best illustrates what is meant here what does Jesus say John 12 32 and if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me what do we see here this is a drawing this is a compelling by the father of man unto Christ and we can see the meaning of this word this drawing is God the father compelling individuals are pulling people to Christ now what is the motivation the motivation behind this is love I ran across something this week that the reformer Martin Luther said talking about this word and Martin Luther said the drawing is not like that of an executioner who draws the thief up a ladder to the gallows but it is a gracious allurement such as that of a man whom everybody loves and to whom everybody willingly goes I like how he emphasizes the love of the father here and what do we see the father draws the father compels the father woos and the father moves people to Jesus and he is motivated by love third I want us to see the father's keeping look at verse 44 no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day simply simply these that come to Christ are kept they are kept to the judgment they are kept to the last day this is a wonderful promise that all believers who are eternally secure in Christ they will be kept and then fourth notice that Jesus reiterates that he is God we see that Jesus is God we see that in verse 45 and 46 it is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught by God now now this is a reference to Isaiah 54 verse 13 and what is Isaiah saying God will teach them speaking of the Messiah here he summarizes these prophecies concerning the Messiah and this is Jesus now go back to the text and they shall all be taught by God everyone who is heard and learned from the father comes to me simply these two verses are Jesus declaring his deity and he is continuing to make his connection to God as his father he's done this all along and that was one of the first complaints that the Jews had he said God is my father so we see in these verses Jesus presents himself as God now the major teaching in these verses just like verses 37 through 40 in these verses we see the work of a sovereign God in men coming to Christ Jesus for salvation let me go back and I want you to look with me in the text go back to verse 37 the beginning of verse 37 all that the father gives me shall come to me that's a work of a sovereign God the sovereign father verse 39 the beginning of the verse and this is the will of him who sent me that of all that he has given me I lose nothing again the work of a sovereign God back to our verse this morning verse 44 no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws them what am I showing you starting in these verses verse 37 to 40 and in these verses this morning we see an emphasis on the work of a sovereign God bringing men to Christ in salvation now in application I want you to take notice some things here in these verses these verses verses 43 to 46 and the previous verses verses 37 on down to verse 40 we see one of the great theological debates that is raised throughout the centuries and that is the debate between God's sovereignty and man's will now let me show you something there's some from a certain theological position who stress the sovereign work of God in drawing people to Christ then there are some from a different theological position who stress a person's need a person's belief a person's opportunity to respond and believe in Christ now I want us to see that neither position can be stressed here to stress one point is to force that position on the text the solution to the problem is best found in a modified position and what that is is a position which maintains a tension between a work of a sovereign God and the responsibility of man you see the proper approach is to if I can use this language in a proper way to straddle the fence because we see a work of a sovereign God and the responsibility to man and if we stay to one side of the other we do the text and injustice now we'll revisit this as we continue and I will illustrate to you both sides a little more from the scripture let's move on and I want you to notice a quotation that I dug up that helps us understand this the new American commentary that I study from one of the writers that's involved in that work says salvation is never achieved apart from the drawing power of God and it is never consummated apart from the willingness of humans to hear and learn from God you see what is he saying dealing with both and he goes on to say rather than revolve resolving the tension the best solution is to live with the tension what do we see God's sovereignty man's responsibility and like I said we will address this more in the message let's move on to truth number three I want us to see the true bread from heaven it is continued the true bread from heaven that is continued verses 47 through 51 truly truly I say to you he who believes has eternal life I am the bread of life your father's ate the man in the wilderness and they died this is the bread which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat it and not die I am the living bread that came down out of heaven if anyone eats this bread he shall live forever and the bread also which I shall give for the for the life of the world is my flesh now again this is picking up with what Jesus had taught earlier now I want you to notice something out of this verse beginning in verse 21 47 excuse me Jesus again underscores what he is about to share this word truly truly is nothing more than Jesus emphasizing the importance of what he is saying he is underscoring it he is elevating it he's saying this is very important it needs to be listened to three things out of these verses first notice man's opportunity look at verse 47 truly truly I say to you he who believes has eternal life this this is man's opportunity this word believes is the key here this word believes is key to understanding the text and in understanding all that is being taught here the English standard is the same as the King James in saying the word believe but I want you to notice something about this word believe it's in the present tense and what that means is it is saying that those who believe are in Christ and they are currently possessing eternal life this is not a future but a present go back to the text truly truly I say to you he who believes they're in a position of belief they possess eternal life and this is an opportunity an opportunity look at let's let's continue second Jesus the bread from heaven verse 48 49 I am the bread of life and your father's your father's ate the manna in the wilderness and they died now what do we hear what do we see here here in these verses Jesus is restating that he had previously what he had previously taught in the verses verses 32 33 and 35 again he contrasts himself with the manna that the Israelites received and they ate as they wandered in the wilderness but notice in the contrast the Jews in the Old Testament they received physical life from manna but notice those who receive Christ they received spiritual life see the difference the contrast Jesus is saying your forefathers receive bread from heaven and it brought physical life I am bred from heaven and I bring spiritual life that's the contrast Jesus the bread from heaven and then third Jesus the living bread look at verse 51 I have the living bread that came down out of heaven if anyone eats of this bread he shall live forever and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh here we see that same truth is taught as in verses 48 and 49 Jesus provides spiritual life while the Israelites only receive physical life you see they were quick to bring up that their forefathers ate manna in the desert but what he is saying is I am the living bread those who have me have spiritual life now here in these verses we see a continuation of what had been previously taught back in verses 30 through 33 but with more teaching added here Jesus is more evangelistic here Jesus seems to offer almost an invitation to those who would believe in him look at these verses look at the word believe in verse 47 what do we see here truly truly I say to you he who believes and then in verse 51 we should we go on and we see the words if anyone I am the living bread that came down from heaven if anyone eats it's almost like there is an invitation the Bible commentator that I read DA Carson says that this is a definite invitation to believe and it is also a definite warning against those who don't believe now an application I think it's important for us to make an emphatic statement here Christ offers the invitation to mankind to come to him for salvation now let me repeat that Christ offers the invitation for mankind to come to him for salvation but under one condition the only ones that can come of those who the father brings you see it you see the tension you see that seeming contradiction what is Jesus saying he is saying in verse 47 truly truly I say to you he who believes has eternal life verse 51 I am the living bread that came down out of heaven if anyone eats of this bread he shall live forever and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh this this invitation but there's one condition no man no young person no woman can come unless the father draws them to Christ and notice the order notice the order the father draws people to Christ and then they have the opportunity to believe in the trust by faith in the promised Messiah it's in very very important for us to notice here there are those who miss the sovereign work of God and there are those who miss the responsibility of man and right tucked there in the middle now notice is a supernatural unexplainable work of conversion let me repeat that it's important for us to see that there are some who miss the sovereign work of God in conversion and some miss the responsibility of man and then some miss right in the middle that supernatural work that mysterious experiential work of conversion you see there are churches that they throw out the sovereign work of God any person they teach can come to Christ at any time all they have to do is pray this prayer all they have to do is repeat after me are you sincere in your heart that is a violation of the text you cannot come to Christ at any time you cannot give your heart and life to Christ and believe by faith in any time you will only do that when you have an invitation a drawing the Spirit of God works in you to bring you to that point and there are those who propagate this easy believism they proper propagate this prayer prayer tight mentality and they negate and overstepped and relegate the sovereign work of God out of the picture but then there are some who just miss the fact that man has an opportunity and a responsibility listen based on the authority of God's Word I can look at you and command you to trust by faith to believe in Christ to commit your life to Christ by faith but then I can hold up my hand and say the only way you can do that is if God is working in you that's the supernatural experiential work that only we see the results of you hear me I don't know what God's doing in your heart I don't know what God's doing in your life I don't know supernaturally what God is doing among us but yet we preach and we teach and we command by faith and then lo and behold God saves and then we hear people tell of what God has been doing you know I've seen this happened before time and time again I've seen people come to Christ and they opened up their mouth and talk about how God was working God was keeping them up at night God was calling them truth was being revealed and all along we could not see this work they just sat there and looked at us they talked with us they acted as if nothing was going on and then when they come and they respond and they declare that they've given their heart and life to Christ they open up their mouth and talk about how God worked all this time and then we see the supernatural work of God you see that is this true bread from heaven that has been given and the true bread from heaven right here at the end it's almost like he's given this invitation come believe come and trust but you can only come if the father draws you now I want to begin to conclude by restating the title of the message and what is that the bread of life part one because we're gonna venture after Easter into the second portion and we're gonna see some new truths about this bread of life how we can come and experience this bread of life but what we've looked at for two weeks bread from heaven and go back to the text with me and what do we see all through here what is Jesus saying I am the bread of life in verse 35 and all the way down I'm the bread that came down in verse 41 I don't the bread out of heaven in verse 42 and then verse 50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven who talking about himself because Christ presented himself as the bread from heaven an open invitation to come but only for those that the father is drawing only for those that the father is supernaturally working in their life and that is where the invitation comes God is drawing if the father is working if the Spirit of God is wooing if God is arranging the circumstances of your life if God is intervening in your life and opening up your mind and your heart to who you are and who he is that is God the father drawing listen a testimony an evidence to God working is the fact that you're here today and if you're here today in God is drawing and God is working I can say to you trust and believe and receive this bread and what did Jesus say last week to us those who come those who receive and those who possess him what did he say they never thirst and they never go hungry why because they receive what only God can do in it wonderful to see Jesus the bread of life and then right in here some of the deepest theological mysteries that we could ever see and see it's not my job to explain it it's just to proclaim it it's not my job to pick one side to be on my job is to declare it and my job listen is to believe by faith that we will see this work out and your children and my children and your family and my family and in our neighbors and in our friends let's pray and then we'll close the service Lord Jesus thank you for this lesson thank you for this this message thank you for this time together