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John chapter 6 begin reading
at verse 22. And on the following day, when
the people who were standing on the other side of the sea
saw that there was no other boat there except that one which his
disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat
with his disciples, but his disciples had gone away alone, However,
other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate
bread after the Lord had given thanks. And when the people therefore
saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they also
got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they
found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi,
when did you come here? And Jesus answered them and said,
most assuredly I say to you, you seek me not because you saw
the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which
endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give
you, because God the Father has set his seal on him. Then they
said to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of
God? Jesus answered and said to them,
this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he sent.
Therefore they said to him, what sign will you perform then that
we may see it and believe you? What work will you do? Our fathers
ate the manna in the desert as it is written, he gave them bread
from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them, Most
assuredly I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from
heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For
the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life
to the world. Then they said to him, Lord,
give us this bread always. And Jesus said to them, I am
the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never
hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I
say to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All
that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes
to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from
heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent
Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has
given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the
last day. And this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone
who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life,
and I will raise him up at the last day. But then the Jews then
complained about him, because he said, I am the bread which
came down from heaven. And they said, is this not Jesus,
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it
then that he says, I have come down from heaven? Jesus therefore
answered and said to them, do not murmur among yourselves.
No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws
him and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in
the prophets and they shall all be taught by God. Therefore,
everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the father except he who is from
God. He has seen the father. Most assuredly, I say to you,
He who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead.
This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may
eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. The
Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, How can this
man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them, Most
assuredly I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever
eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed,
and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks
My blood abides in Me, and I in him. And as the living Father
sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on
me will live because of me. This is the bread which came
down from heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and are
dead. He who eats this bread will live forever. These things
he said in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. Amen. Well, let's go to our God in
prayer. Well, Lord God Almighty, Though we hunger, though we thirst,
we thank you for the bread of life, Jesus Christ, that those
who eat, those who feast, those who believe on him shall have
everlasting life. Father God, we thank you that
you are pleased in your sovereignty. We are pleased in your counsel,
according to your will, to call forth your people. For no one
believes, no one comes to you unless you draw them, O Father
God. We pray that you would continue to draw your people even this
day, that you would work by your spirit with the word that they
might come to saving knowledge in Jesus Christ, that they might
believe, be raised on that last day, and know that they have
eternal life this time. Father God, we thank you that
this is true for this bread of life. We thank you for this food
that does not perish. We thank you that is found only
in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man in
one person. This great mystery, even as he
comes to reveal something of the great work of the triune
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to save sinners in Christ the
Lord. We thank you for this truth,
O God. May you cause us to think of these things, cause us to
be in awe of your truth, to be in awe of your great mercy and
grace, and that you're the one who draws your people. And Father
God, we pray that you would work in the hearts of your people.
As we see, O God, that it is you only who draws your people,
that you'd work in the hearts and lives of people today, that
they might come to saving knowledge, that they might believe on the
bread of life and be satisfied, O God. Never hunger, never thirst,
knowing they have everlasting life. For those that know Christ,
O God, may we meditate on the bread of life often. May we pray
to the bread of life often. May we realize that we have the
present possession of everlasting life now, O God. May this cause
us to give you praise and honor. May this cause us to sing praises
that resound to you, O God, for you have saved us according to
your great grace, great mercy, and your sovereignty. We thank
you, O God, that you are pleased to do this through the preaching.
And we pray that your spirit would be with us now. Help us
to understand these things, O God. Give us eyes to see and ears
to hear the words that you would say, O God, that you would work
in the hearts and lives of your people, and that you'd even be
pleased to save sinners. And Father God, we pray in all
things that you would be glorified. In the name of Christ, amen.
Well, just like 1 John, John also gives us the purpose for
why he writes the Gospel of John. In John chapter 20 verse 31,
John says he writes these things concerning the Christ that you
might believe in Him. You see, in 1 John, John is assuring
his hearers that they are saved, that they have faith, that they
have the true and the living God. But when it comes to the
Gospel of John, John is calling sinners to believe. calling sinners
to look to this Christ and find everlasting life. And it's one
of the ways that, highlighting who we should believe and one
of the ways John does this is through this I Am Statements.
There are seven I Am Statements with a predicate that describes
something concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's several
statements that just have, I am. You see that in 620, when Jesus
is walking on the water, he says, it is I. Or perhaps best rendered,
it is I am. And in other places, in John
8, he says, before Abraham was, I am. That is, he is Yahweh of
Israel. He is the true and the living
God. He is God. He is the all-sufficient one.
And this perhaps has in the background Exodus 3, 4, 314, where God says
to Moses, I am who I am. And so Jesus is saying, I am,
I am God, I am Yahweh. And then in several statements
in John, we have recorded several metaphors that describe something
concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. And today we're going to look
at I am the bread of life. You see, there's a problem that
we see in John 6. People are thinking with their
stomachs instead of their hearts. People are thinking with their
guts instead of looking to Christ in faith. They are hungry, they
want something, they're seeking something to fill their lives,
but they're looking to temporal things instead of looking to
eternal things. Looking to the Lord, something
that can satisfy. You see, temporal things only
satisfy for a moment, But eternal things satisfy for everlasting
life. And so perhaps we can ask, is
there something or in someone where we will never hunger and
thirst? And the answer to that question
is yes, it is in Christ. I am the bread of life. And so we will look at John 6,
43, verses 43 to 51 under three headings. We'll look first of
all at the participants of the bread of life in verses 43 through
45. Secondly, we'll look at the identity
of the bread of life in verses 46 through 48. And lastly, we'll
look at the benefit of the bread of life in verses 49 through
51. So the participants, the identity,
and the benefit, or perhaps we could say, who participates,
what they eat, and why they should eat it. And so let us look then
first at the participants of the Bread of Life, who feasts,
who eats. But we have to set the context
for us a little bit, because you see, John 6 is all tied together
with respect to what's going on. In John 6, 1 through 14,
we see the feeding of the 5,000. Christ gives them temporal bread,
temporal food, but it is a great miracle because they do not have
very much food. So nonetheless, Christ engages
in this miracle, and then he crosses the Sea of Galilee, he
walks on water in another miracle, John records for us, and then
we see the people seeking after him. They want him. They want
more of what he's given, but they seek temporal things. They
even want to make him a king, according to John 6, 15. It's
kind of even like today. Even back then, people wanted
someone who gave them things. They wanted a leader who gave
them things. Like, pretty much like today. We want governments
that give us handouts. The same was true then as well. So they seek after Christ and
they find him in the synagogue, and we know that according to
John 6.59. And Jesus says to them in John 6.26, most assuredly
I say to you, you seek me not because of the signs you saw,
but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. John Fesco summarizes
this well. He says they wanted food in their
bellies rather than Christ in their hearts. That's what they're
seeking after. But Christ says in John 26 verses
26 to 27, do not labor for the food which perishes, but for
the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will
give you, because God the Father has set his seal upon him. Then they ask further. in the
following verses will give us this. And he says, you must believe.
And then he tells them about this food that never ends. And
then he describes how he is the bread of life, the one who's
come down from heaven. But then we see in John 6, 41,
some Jews grumbling and complaining to themselves. Now, Jews here,
I think, describes the religious leaders. You see, there's three
people that he's speaking to in the synagogue. He's speaking
to the crowd who's seeking after him to fill their guts. He's
speaking to the Jewish leaders who want to seek and kill him.
And he's also speaking to his disciples. You see, he's going
to repeat things often throughout John 6 to three different audiences. So he says he comes down from
heaven, and then John 6, 41, they mumble and grumble to themselves.
The word carries with it the idea of grumbling amongst one
another. Perhaps if someone says something interesting, or you're
at a concert, or you're at a speaking engagement, you don't like what
someone says, perhaps you look to the neighbor next to you and
you grumble to one another. You whine and complain about
what he's saying, and they're grumbling and complaining. He
says, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they say,
who is this? Is this not Jesus, the son of
Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it that he says
he can come down from heaven? You see, He says, I am the bread
of life, yet they do not believe Him. They grumble and mumble
and complain. And perhaps these Jewish leaders would have participated
in some of the temporal blessings He's given. Yet they don't believe. They whine and grumble and complain,
which is the response that we should expect from the people
of Israel. You see, perhaps you've been
paying attention in 1 John. In 1 John, John alludes to the
Old Testament often. And even here in John 6, he refers
back to the Old Testament explicitly. So when he talks about mumbling
and grumbling and complaining, that hearkens back to the people
of Israel in the wilderness. They're given manna from heaven,
yet they mumble and grumble and want to go back to Egypt, back
to bondage, back to slavery. They hunger and thirst with their
stomachs, but they do not believe by faith. And so they mumble
and grumble and complain. I think John is showing us and
reminding us back in Exodus and even Numbers 11 as well. This is the expected response,
perhaps we could say, for the natural mind. They cannot understand
the things of God. God says, Christ says, I am the
bearer of life. I came down from heaven. How
is it that He came down from heaven? You see, they had a tough
time with Him being God, don't they? Isn't this like today? People have a tough time with
man being God. It highlights the natural man
cannot understand these things. And so Jesus responds to them.
He says in verse 43, Jesus therefore answered and said to them, do
not murmur among yourselves. Then he goes on in verse 44 to
describe why it is they don't understand. You see, they don't
understand and they don't get the idea that he's coming down
from heaven. They have a tough time with that. But the reason,
the theological reason is found in verse 44. Calvinist. And this
is evident right here in verse 44. No one comes to me unless
the father who sent me draws him. When he talks about the
idea of coming, this is the idea that's tied to the idea of faith. No one believes, no one looks
to Christ in faith, unless the Father draws him. Faith is a
gift given by God. We see that in Ephesians 2.8,
and we see that also in Philippians 1.29. For it has been granted
to you, not only that you believe, but that you should suffer for
righteousness' sake. As John Gill says, he says, because
they had neither power nor will of themselves, being dead in
trespasses and sins, and impotent to everything that is spiritual,
and whilst men are in a state of unregeneracy, blindness, and
darkness, they see no need of coming to Christ, nor anything
in Him worth coming for. They are prejudiced against Him,
and their hearts are set on other things. Don't we see this with
the religious leaders? And besides, coming to Christ
and believing in Christ being the same thing, it is certain
faith is not of man's self, but is the gift of God and the operation
of His Spirit. As one brother said, what does
a dead person do? Nothing. Nothing. We need God, the Father, to draw
us to the Son that we might believe. You know, it's interesting, this
phrase, this language is repeated in the context. to the crowd
in 637, all that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to me I
will by no means cast out. To these Jewish leaders in 44,
no one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
And also 665, with respect to speaking to his disciples. And
he said, therefore I have said to you that no one can come to
me unless it has been granted to him by my Father. He's repeating it several times. Brothers and sisters, they should
understand this, but as you're reading this, do you understand
this? Do you see what's going on here?
Do you see what the writer is doing, what John is doing, what
Christ is doing? You see, Christ is a master theologian,
but he's a master rhetorician. He's a master speaker as well.
highlighting and showing and pointing out why these people
don't understand. He's pointing out for us why
they don't believe. They don't see it. They don't
know. They don't look to Christ because they have not been drawn. And he's highlighting that for
us here, brothers and sisters, as readers, as we read it three
times in a row. Do we understand what's going
on? No one comes to the father unless or no one comes to me
unless the father draws him. Notice what he says further,
I will raise him up at the last day. Again, repetition in this
chapter. In verse 39, this is the will
of the Father who sent me, that of all he has given me, I should
lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. Verse
40, and this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who
sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life,
and I will raise him up at the last day. Then we see it in 44
and also 54. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day. He's repeating it again. He's
repeating something else again, that we might understand what's
going on. If you believe on Christ, if you look to Christ, if you've
been drawn by the Father, you will be raised up on that last
day. You see, there's an intimate
connection between what we call predestination in eternity, faith
in history, and glorification. You see, those whom God predestines
before the foundation of the world are those who will believe
in history. And those who believe and have
faith will be raised at the last day and have everlasting life. So he repeats it several times.
And again, the crowd doesn't understand, the religious leaders
don't understand, and some of the disciples do not believe.
There are examples in the text for us of those who do not understand. He's pointing this very serious
thing out for us. So perhaps we should ask the
question, who is it that participates in the bread of life? It is those
whom the Father draws. And he further highlights this
or draws upon this using the Old Testament in verse 45. Notice
he quotes Isaiah 54. He says, it is written in the
prophets, and they shall all be taught by God. Therefore,
everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
You see, the blessing of the New Covenant is it's not based
on external things. It's not based on external recognition,
but it's based on the internal work of God the Father. You don't
need to teach people concerning God, for they shall know God.
You see, if you look at Isaiah 54, 13, describing the messianic
age, perhaps even falling on the heels of Isaiah 53, where
it talks about that suffering servant, the one who would come,
the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, then describes this
covenant of peace. And then he says in verse 13,
all your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall
be the peace of your children. This is very similar with what's
said in Jeremiah 31-34 concerning the coming new covenant. Again,
I shall write the law on their hearts, and no one else shall
have to teach concerning God, for they shall know me. What's
the point? It's not based on external recognition. It's not based on your ties ethnically
to Judaism or to the Jewish, to Israel. But it's based on
God's work internally. It's based on the Father who
draws him. And God the Father is the one
who draws him that they might believe, that they might know
him. Those who know God, those who believe on Christ, are those
who are internal, those who are eternal, those who are part of
the New Covenant. And what's interesting here,
these Jews, these leaders, should have known this. They should
have understood what was going on. What Jesus is saying here
is the last days have arrived. The Messiah has come. The days
are here, and I am going to bring in Jew and Gentile, for there
is no discrimination in the people of God. That's what Christ is
saying, and they don't understand, they do not see it, because they
are unwilling to learn from God. They do not see, they do not
look, they have not been taught by God, even though they think
they know the things concerning the Lord God. But those who participate
are those who know God. Therefore, everyone who has heard
and learned from the Father comes to me. Believers know God. Believers who have been predestined
before the foundation of the world know God. Believers shall
have everlasting life. And you see, this highlights
for us the sovereignty of God in salvation. That's liberating,
isn't it? God is the one who saves people. God is pleased to work through
means, but God is the one who draws forth His people through
the Word, through the teaching of the Word, through His Spirit.
You see, there are some today that say they would believe if
they saw a sign. The crowds show us that that's
not true. The crowd saw a sign. John records for us two signs
that we might see, yet they did not believe. Because it doesn't
matter where signs come about, whether pulpits levitate, or
whether pianos levitate, or some other sign that comes about,
people will not believe unless the Father draws them in. You see, you want proof that
Christ exists, you want proof that Christ is God, you want
proof that you must believe. Look to the word of God. You
don't need a sign. You don't need some sort of miracle
to happen. You need the word of God. And
it's right here, right before you. I am the bread of life,
Christ says, and you must believe on this one that's recorded for
us in the word of God to have everlasting life. You don't need
no sign. You need the word of It's God
who's sovereign, who draws His people through the Word of God. So those are the participants
of the Bread of Life, namely those whom the Father draws,
namely those who have faith. Let us then look secondly at
the identity of the Bread of Life in verses 46-48. Notice
what Christ says. Not that anyone has seen the
Father. except he who is from God. He has seen the Father. You see, this language I think
refers back to John 1.18. John 1.18, no one has seen God
at any time. The only begotten Son who is
in the bosom of the Father has declared Him. You see, perhaps
we should even think back further in the biblical record to Exodus
33.20, because I think that's what's in the background. Can
anyone see God and live? What's Christ saying here? Can
anyone see God and live? No one can see God except he
who is from God. He has seen the Father. Jesus
is describing, asserting for us that he is God. He is truly
God. He is in the bosom of the Father,
according to John 1. He is fully God and fully man. He is the one from everlasting
to everlasting. He is, I am, Yahweh of Israel. He is this one. And even in John
7, 29, You both know me, and you know where I am from. I have
not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do
not know. But I know him, for I am from
him. He sent me. He is fully God and fully man. He is the one to believe on and
to look on. And again, this is repeated for
us in the text. Notice in 629, Jesus answered
and said to them, this is the work of God that you believe
in him who he sent. In 635, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never
hunger. He who believes in me shall never thirst. And then
also verse 40, and this is the will of Him who sent me, that
everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting
life. Excuse me, then verse 47. Sorry, verse 40, and then further
on, notice verse 47, most assuredly I say to you, he who believes
in me has everlasting life. John 6, 60, therefore many of
his 60 and following, notice especially in verses 62 and following. What then if you do not see the
Son of Man ascend where he was before? It is the Spirit who
gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak
to you are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you
who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were who did not believe and who would betray him. Again,
he's repeating things, isn't he? No one comes to me unless the
Father draws him. But you must believe to have
everlasting life. You must believe to be raised
up. That's exactly what he's saying. You must believe in the
one whom the Father has sent. You must believe in one whom
you shall never thirst, never hunger. You must believe that
Christ is the Son. You must believe in me, according
to 647. And you shall be saved. That's the thrust, that's the
point. You see, when he talks about eating, when he talks about
feasting, it's synonymous for faith in Christ. That's the point. That's the thrust, to believe
on Christ and be saved. To never hunger, never thirst. That is the focus and language
of the bread. You see, people try to satisfy
their hunger with other things of the world, but those things
perish. And thus Christ describes again
for himself, I am the bread of life in verse 48. In him you
shall never hunger, never thirst. In him there is eternal sustenance. That is not saying you're never
going to have trials in this life, but you have everlasting
life. And what's interesting too, I
don't think sometimes we understand the reality of hungering and
thirsting, do we truly? Wal-Mart and Save-On and all
those wonderful places that we get to go to and food stocked. You see, in the ancient world
that would have been different. So when Christ says, I am the bread
of life, see they're even coming after him because they hunger
and thirst. You see, bread was the primary source of nourishment
in that day. So when he says, I'm the bread
of life, he's describing himself as the only sustenance. Using
that language. They were hungering and thirsting.
So we don't think understand it as greatly as these brothers
and sisters or these crowds would have. It would have been very
significant for him to say that, yet they still do not look by
faith. They still think with their guts. And the whole point,
again, is to believe on the bread of life. That's what he's saying. No one comes to me, but you must
believe on him. He's showing how the Father draws
them through preaching, through teaching, through the call to
repent and believe on the truth. You see, some of you here hear
the call every Sunday. You are like the crowds, friends.
You are like the crowds, the Jews and the disciples, hearing
the same call each and every week, to believe on the truth.
And you should believe on the truth. You should look to the
Lord in faith and never hunger and never thirst. Perhaps some
of you only want what the Son gives than the Son himself. Isn't
that true sometimes? Even for believers in our daily
battles and struggles, we want Christ Gives rather than Christ
Himself. We want the feelings that are
attached, perhaps, with the things that Christ Gives and what actually
communing with the Lord of Heaven and Earth. We should want the
Christ, the Bread of Life, and just the satisfaction that comes
with that. You know, even here we can think
of this belief on the bread of life. We need to think even of
what is offered. Not just temporal, tangible things,
but eternal things. This is offered in the bread
of life. Believe and you shall never be hungered. You shall
never be, you shall be satisfied. Never hunger, never thirst. If
you believe on this Christ, this bread of life. And that really
is the benefit, is eternal life, everlasting life, which leads
us to our third and final point. The benefit of the bread of life
in verses 49 through 51. Notice how he contrasts the manna
that was in the wilderness with the true manna, with the true
bread of life. Notice in verse 49, your fathers
ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. That's what he's
highlighting, that they died, that they ate this and did not
live. And this is again repeated, this
comparison with the bread of life, with the manna, is even
found in verses 30 through 33. They come to him and said, what
sign will you perform? See, they still want a sign that
you may see and believe. What work will you do? Our fathers
ate the manna in the desert. As it is written, he gave them
bread from heaven to eat. They're actually taunting him
here. What they're saying is Moses was a better leader because
he provided for us. But what's John doing? He's saying
Christ is the better Moses. Christ is greater than Moses.
Christ has the bread from heaven. Even that's what Christ says
in verse 32. Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give
you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you true bread
from heaven. For the bread of God is he who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. This manna
is a type, it's an example that points to the true bread of life.
It points to the true bread that never hungers, that will satisfy. As John Fesco says again, he
says, when God rained bread on a rebellious people, he was giving
not only an act of kindness and grace, but also a shadowy portrait
of sending his son to sinful humanity that they might eat
of this heavenly bread and live forever. That's what Christ is
saying, this bread in the wilderness is perishable. It dies. They
eat of it and are dead. But if you eat of this bread,
the bread of life, the bread of Christ. You shall have everlasting
life. And notice he goes on to say
in verse 50, this is the bread which comes down from heaven
that one may eat of it and not die. And then in verse 51, I
am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats
of this bread, he will live forever. He is the bread that has come
down from heaven. Notice, this is still a response
to what those Jewish leaders said in verses 41 and 42. Notice
he doesn't soften what he says. He just reiterates the truth. He just says it and enhances
it further. I am the bread that came down
from heaven. Whether you believe it or not, that is true. And
the reason you don't believe is because you have not been
drawn. And he's even further highlighting that, drawing that
out that they do not believe because he's reiterating it.
Brethren, do you understand what he's saying? He's saying, I am
the bread of life. He's saying, I am God Almighty.
I am the one in whom you shall find satisfaction eternally. That is what he is saying. These
ones, they mumble and they grumble, but he reiterates that he is
still the one who came down from heaven, whether they believe
it or not. Christ reiterates that truth
for them. And the benefit really is, as
he said, is this everlasting life. As Fesco says again, faith
is the mouth of the soul. And we must look to Jesus by
a God-given faith that we may have eternal life. And this bread that is given,
Christ highlights for us, the bread that I shall give is my
flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. The Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, according to John 1.14. And He came to give His body
that you and I might never hunger and never thirst. He came to
give His body that you and I, though we do not deserve to be
fed and satisfied, that we might be satisfied. He came and offered
himself to die for his people. The language of world here describes
perhaps Jew and Gentile. Perhaps this ties in with what
is said in John 6 45 when he quotes Isaiah 54. As Pastor Cam
read this morning in Isaiah 55, that's an instance where he talks
about the nation's coming. And then further in Isaiah 56,
calling the Gentiles in. So world here does not refer
to every single person without exception, but every single person
without distinction. We do not discriminate. Jew and
Gentile can come and believe. Come all you who are weary and
heavy laden. and you shall find rest. Come,
you who are thirsty, and you shall be quenched. Come, you
who are hungry, and you shall be satisfied." As Christ came
to die for his people. But notice further the response
from his disciples in 660 and following. He says, therefore many of his
disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard saying.
Who can understand it? And Christ further in 65, 64,
for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe
and who would betray him. And then even further in 66,
from that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him
no more. This isn't referring to the 12,
but referring perhaps to some other disciples expanding outside
the 12. They hear these sayings. They hear these things. They
have a difficult time with it. Because they want the temporal
things instead of the eternal things. You see, this really
isn't a church growth type of conference from our Lord Christ.
It really is to preach and teach the truth. Preaching Calvinism,
and yet they go away from it. They desert him, they leave him,
but nonetheless, his closest disciples remain. Simon Peter
answered him in verse 68, Lord, to whom shall we go? For you
have the words of eternal life. You see, in Christ is eternal
life. In Christ is that everlasting
life. As John says at the end of 1
John, Christ is the true God, the everlasting life. And so the benefit for us is
everlasting life. The hope is if you're not a believer,
you might believe and have everlasting life, but if you're a believer,
Realize you presently have everlasting life, you presently have the
bread of life, for he says, whoever believes in me has everlasting
life. Sometimes it's difficult to think
of eternal things, isn't it? We really are tangible beings,
beings at sea, but thankfully God in his mercy shows us and
helps us and aids us to think of those eternal things. So the
hope is that we meditate and pray and think about the bread
of life. Ponder it. Ponder our Lord often. Do we meditate as often as we
should? The hope is that as we think
about our Lord, that would stir us on to pray. As Ryle says,
he says, the subject is one which it much concerns our peace to
understand, and one about which errors abound. How many seem
to think that forgiveness and acceptance with God are things
which we cannot attain in this life, that they are things which
are to be earned by a long course of repentance and faith and holiness. Things which we may receive at
the bar of God at last, but must never pretend to touch while
we are in this world. It is a complete mistake to think
so. The very moment a sinner believes
on Christ, he is justified and accepted. There is no condemnation
for him. He has peace with God. and that
immediately and without delay. His name is in the book of life,
however little he may be aware of it. He has a title to heaven,
which death and hell and Satan cannot overthrow. Happy are those
who know this truth. It is an essential part of the
good news of the gospel. Our present possession of the
Bread of Life, as we think of the Bread of Life, as we feast
on the Bread of Life. In many ways, this text is focusing
primarily on salvation. We talked about eating, coming,
believing, it is synonymous with faith. But nonetheless, as we
participate in the Lord's Supper this evening, don't we participate
by faith? Don't we feast on the Lord Christ
by faith? We don't believe the elements
become the body and blood of Christ, but we feast by faith.
It is more than a memory, brothers and sisters. It is spiritual
nourishment for our souls. It is, as our confession says,
a means of grace by which we grow. We really shouldn't absent
ourselves from it. It's the place where we come
and think of the Lord, meditate on the Lord, preach Christ crucified
until he returns. We believe and think and ponder
the true bread of life in that moment. Again, I don't think
John 6 is highlighting the sacramental aspect of this. It's primarily
salvific. But nonetheless, we can still
make that application with the Lord's Supper as we ponder and
think of the Lord Christ, the true bread of life. Well, in conclusion, how shall
our everlasting hunger be satisfied? It is in Christ alone, who is
the bread of life, in whom those whom the Father draws will neither
hunger or thirst. If you believe on the Lord, you
will be raised on that last day, and you will have everlasting
life. And if you know the Lord, you
have present possession. You shall never hunger and never
thirst. Feed me till I want no more. That bread of heaven, bread of
heaven. And the hope is for unbelievers
that you will believe on the bread of life. That you will
look to this one and find everlasting life. Look to this one and have
hope. He said the way in which the
Father draws his people is through the preaching and teaching of
the word, through the gospel by his spirit. The hope is you
would look and believe. Look and live or you will hunger
for eternity. You will thirst for eternity.
You will hunger and never be satisfied. You will thirst and
never be quenched. Believe on this one, and your
thirst shall be quenched, and your hunger shall be satisfied. Believe on the bread of life,
and you shall have everlasting life. Well, let us go to our
God in prayer. O Lord God Almighty, we thank
you, O God, for Christ, the bread of life. We thank You that He
is the One we can never hunger and never thirst, that we can
look to Him and find everlasting life, that He is the One who
came down from heaven to save sinners, that He is the One in
whom we shall never hunger and never thirst, that we shall never
perish because of Him. We thank You for the everlasting
life that is offered in the Gospel, O God. We thank you that you
are the sovereign Lord. You draw your people. You work
with the Spirit to bring your people. And we pray that you
would continue to work by your Spirit, that you would draw sinners
out of darkness to believe on this truth, that they might see
the Lord Christ. And for those that do know Christ,
O God, may this be a comfort and a reminder of who our Lord
is. We thank you, O God, that He came in the world to die on
behalf of sinners, to give His life for the world, that His
people may live, that His people who would hunger and thirst would
not. Father God, we thank You for
this, our Lord. Thank You for this great plan of redemption.
We thank You that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are involved
in this great plan of redemption. We thank You that it is the work
of the triune God to save sinners in the Lord Christ. We thank
You that the Father plans, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit
applies these things. May You give us comfort, O God,
this day concerning these things. For we thank You for Your Word
as You've revealed Yourself to us in Your Word. We pray, O God,
that you would be glorified now in the name of Christ. Amen.
We will close with a brief time of meditation, then you're dismissed.
