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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
John chapter six. We work our way through John's 
gospel. We are in the bread of life discourse. 
I'll pick up reading in verse 26 and read to verse 59. So John chapter six, beginning 
in verse 26. 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 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 
said 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. The Jews then complained 
about him because he said, I am the bread which came down from 
heaven. And they said, is not this 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. 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 us pray. Our blessed God and Holy Father, 
we thank you for this gospel. According to John, we thank you 
for his presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the word who was 
in the beginning, the word who was with God, the word who was 
God. And that word became flesh and dwelt among us. And Lord, 
we pray now that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to 
receive your truth and cause us to reflect upon this bread 
of life, this blessed one who has brought salvation to us. 
As Paul says in Ephesians 1, In Him we have redemption through 
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches 
of His grace. And certainly we see that in 
this passage, and we see Your glory manifested in the cross 
of our blessed Savior. We ask now that You would fill 
us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit. We pray that You would 
forgive us and cleanse us from all sin and unrighteousness. 
And for any and all who've come here today that have not come 
to the bread of life, that have not believed on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, We pray that today would be the day of salvation, that 
you would open hearts and cause them to see this one who is altogether 
lovely and chief among 10,000. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as I said, we are 
in the bread of life discourse. We're going to conclude it this 
morning, verses 48 to 59. Jesus is in a synagogue in Capernaum, 
and he is speaking truths that are hard. We'll see that when 
we come back to the passage in a week or two. But when we see 
that people fell away or stopped following him, because he emphasized 
the sovereignty of God. Two instances he highlights their 
lack of faith, but then he demonstrates God's sovereignty. Verse 36 he 
says, you do not believe, but then in verse 37 he says, all 
that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes 
to me I will certainly not cast out. He does the same thing in 
verse 44. Notice in verse 43, 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. Jesus is saying that the bread 
of life will not be frustrated. The bread of life will not be 
thwarted. The bread of life gives life 
to all those who by grace come to him in faith. So let's look 
at verses 48 to 59. We kind of cut it short last 
week. So basically what we have beginning 
in verse 41 is the rejection by the Jews. So this isn't strictly 
monologue on the part of the Savior. He's not just teaching, 
but he is answering there their rejection. He is answering their 
unbelief. So the rejection by the Jews 
in verses 41 to 42, and then the rebuke by the Lord Jesus 
in verses 43 to 51. So he rebukes them properly in 
verse 43. Notice, do not murmur among yourselves. And then he gives reasons in 
verses 44 to 47. And then he reiterates what he 
has said to them concerning his identity as the bread of life. 
And there is a lot of repetition in this bread of life discourse. 
Christ says on several occasions, I am the bread of life. He encourages 
them to believe in him, and he uses this language, very vivid 
language in verses 53 to 58, of eating his flesh and drinking 
his blood. Cyril of Alexandria makes this 
observation concerning the repetition. He says, since this statement 
is hard, this whole concept of eating his flesh and drinking 
his blood and believing in him, coming to him as the bread of 
life, he says, since this statement is hard for the most uneducated 
to understand, demanding the understanding of faith rather 
than investigation, he spells it out with various approaches 
by going around and around the same material. But I would also 
note that this is an act of mercy. Christ knows who they are that 
will come according to his divinity. According to his humanity, he 
evidences and expresses this mercy by continuing to going 
around on the same theme. He is calling upon them, those 
particular people that are rejecting him and despising him and not 
believing in him, to come to him, to believe on him, to take 
this bread of life. to ingest it by faith and to 
know the joy of everlasting life. So he reiterates again in verse 
48, notice, I am the bread of life. The metaphor underscores 
that Christ brings eternal life. The metaphor as well is consistent 
with what he speaks to the woman at the well in John chapter four, 
And it's consistent with that prophetic statement of Isaiah 
in Isaiah 55, one and following. Oh, everyone who thirsts, let 
him come to the living waters. So it is a very consistent metaphor 
that we find in biblical revelation. And then it highlights or underscores 
what is in view in verses 53 to 58. It's not calling upon 
us to be cannibals. He's not calling upon us to ingest 
blood. The Old Testament obviously forbade 
that. What this is is a metaphorical 
way of saying to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice verse 
40. 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. The idea of ingesting his blood 
and eating his flesh is simply a metaphorical way of expressing 
what he says there in verse 40. So in verse 48, he again gives 
this statement that he is the bread of life. Verses 49 and 
50, he makes the contrast with the people of Israel in the wilderness. 
Notice in 49, 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. Remember, that was their challenge 
to him. In the previous section, they 
basically said Moses fed our fathers in the wilderness for 
the space of 40 years. Just giving one meal, we see 
it in chapter 6 at verses 1 to 15, is not enough. Show yourself 
powerful. So he is picking up on that contrast 
that they themselves suggest, and he shows how they ate that 
bread and they died. But those who eat the bread that 
Jesus gives will not die, but will have everlasting life. So 
this is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may 
eat of it and not die. And then he explains this in 
verse 51. Notice, I am the living bread, 
which came down from heaven. Two things they continue to reject. Two concepts they continue to 
just cast out are the two concepts that he continues to reiterate. 
He comes down from heaven by the Father, and he is in fact 
the bread of life. So while they reject it and refuse 
it, he nevertheless doubles down on it, and in verse 51 he gives 
this explanation. 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. If 
you go back for just a moment to John chapter 1. John chapter 
1, after a lengthy prologue introducing us to the word made flesh. We then see the beginning of 
his public ministry. And John the Baptist makes this 
statement in verse 29. The next day, John saw Jesus 
coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away 
the sin of the world. Remember, He is giving us something 
that is consistent with biblical history. There was a lot of sacrifice 
in the Old Testament. There were bulls, there were 
goats, there were sheep offered up in that Levitical system. 
Why? Because sinners can't just wander 
in to the presence of a holy God. They needed to be taught, 
they needed to learn that the way to Yahweh is through a bloody 
knife and a smoking altar. In other words, there must be 
atonement, there must be sacrifice, sin must be dealt with before 
sinners can be in the presence of God. So they had that Levitical 
system with all of the sacrifices in play, and then when the Baptist 
sees Jesus, he says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the 
sin of the world. How does Jesus take away the 
sin of the world? By giving himself up, by going 
to the cross, In our place, condemned, He stood. He took what we deserve 
in terms of penalty, in terms of God's wrath, in terms of God's 
curse. In order for us to be forgiven, 
in order for us to know something of Ephesians 1, 7, in Him we 
have redemption through His blood, His blood must be shed. And now 
he is underscoring that in verse 51. Notice, he says, and the 
bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for 
the life of the world. Again, it's not a call to cannibalism. It's not a call to anything that 
is contrary to biblical revelation. He is showing, He is demonstrating, 
He is telling them how it is that He will affect the salvation 
of all those who believe on Him as the bread of life. He does 
it by giving His flesh. He does it through His sacrificial 
death. He does it through shedding His 
precious blood so that we can be cleansed from all of our sin 
and unrighteousness. And then notice what He says, 
which I shall give for the life of the world. John the Apostle 
has a theology of the world. It's not strictly confined, this 
redemptive mission of the Messiah. It's not confined to Israel, 
but consistent with the servant songs of Isaiah, chapters 42 
and 49. It's too small a thing. for the 
Messiah to come simply for the lost tribes of Jacob. But God 
says, I will give you as a light to the Gentiles. John 3.16 is 
no joke. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten son. John 4.42, the Samaritans confess 
that Jesus is the savior of the world. Jesus himself says he 
gives his flesh for the life of the world. Later on in John 
12, you can turn there, we see some Greeks that want to come 
and see Jesus. And this alarms the religious 
leaders at that time. Notice in John 12 at verse 18, 
for this reason, the people also met him because they heard that 
he had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said 
among themselves, you see that you are accomplishing nothing. 
Look, the world has gone after him. It's not a reference to 
all men without exception, it's a reference to men without distinction. John the Apostle defines or describes 
world in Revelation 5-9. It is men, women, boys and girls 
from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Notice verse 20, 
now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship 
at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who 
was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we 
wish to see Jesus. So going back to John chapter 
6, he underscores the mechanism, the means by which he will give 
life to the world. It's through the self-sacrifice. It is through his giving of himself 
in life, in death, and at resurrection for the sins of his people. Now 
notice, we then have confusion concerning his words in verse 
52. The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves. And I don't 
think they're quarrel. was among themselves about the 
veracity. I think it was quarreling among 
themselves in disagreement with him. And notice what they say. The Jews therefore quarreled 
among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh 
to eat? This really shouldn't have been 
lost on them. You see, grandmothers like to 
eat up their little children. This is a metaphor that is utilized 
very often, even in the Bible itself. And the context makes 
it very clear, he doesn't mean cannibalism. He means faith in 
him, faith in the bread of life, receiving that one who is altogether 
lovely. Matthew Poole says eating Christ 
in this text signifies no more than believing in Him. So often 
before mentioned under the notion of coming to Him, believing in 
Him, and etc. And believing is fitly expressed 
by the notion of eating because as eating is the application 
of food to our stomachs for the sustenance of our bodily life, 
so believing is the application of Christ to the soul. It's a 
very appropriate metaphor. It's a very appropriate metaphor 
because it underscores the necessity to come to him for life, but 
it's an appropriate metaphor because it underscores the necessity 
that he alone gives life. The fathers ate the manna in 
the wilderness and died, but whoever eats this bread will 
live forever. Now notice, this brings us to 
the final section, the explanation of his words in 53 to 59. There's 
three things that the Savior capitalizes on here. First, the 
necessity of Christ, verses 53 to 55. The necessity of eating 
his flesh and drinking his blood. Secondly, the communion with 
Christ that we have in verses 56 and 57. And then finally, 
he ends on the power of Christ in verses 58 and 59. But notice, 
first of all, the necessity of Christ. Verse 53. And if you're 
not a Christian here this morning, may I encourage you, pay attention 
to what Jesus says here. Not because I'm saying what Jesus 
says here. This is the word of the living 
God. This is truth for sinners. There's a lot of issues and problems 
in the world today, but the biggest issue and the biggest problem 
in the world today is our enmity with God. The fact that we have 
sinned against the High King of Heaven. The fact that we are 
under His wrath and His curse. That we are justly liable to 
both hell and pain and suffering for an eternity to come. So it 
is most important and imperative that we give ears to hear what 
our blessed Savior says. Notice His emphasis on coming 
to Him. Verse 53, 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. See 
the necessity? Unless you come to Him, you have 
no life in you. You may be a champ of an individual. You may be loved at work. You 
may be the best performer at work. Your kids may think you're 
the best thing ever. Your spouse may look at you with 
longing eyes. But if you don't come to the 
Lord Jesus Christ in faith, If you don't eat his flesh and drink 
his blood, which means to believe on him, you have no life in you. You have wrath abiding over you. And that is for this world and 
that which is to come. So the necessity to believe is 
underscored. I say to you, unless you eat 
of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have 
no life in you. Notice as well who he's addressing. You. He knows, again, that they 
are rejecting Him. He's listening to their unbelief 
expressed through their words. He sees and hears them quarreling 
among themselves, saying, who does this man think he is to 
claim that he's come down from heaven, to say that he is the 
bread of life, and then to say that we have to eat his flesh 
and drink his blood? Who does he think he is? So at 
that point, instead of backing off and saying, okay, you guys 
just go ahead and headlong into hell. No, he continues to press 
them. He continues to press the claims 
that he has been making throughout the discourse. Unless you eat 
the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no 
life in you. Unless you, it's not enough that 
your father believed the gospel. Has anybody ever gone out and 
done tracts and you've met somebody who says, oh yeah, I'm okay religiously 
because my great uncle taught Sunday school in an Anglican 
church. Oh, well, there you go. You should 
be fine on that day of judgment. You should be willingly embraced 
by God for the fact that your great uncle taught Sunday school 
in an Anglican church. It's about us and Christ. It's about our sin. It's about 
our transgression. It's about our rebellion. It's 
about the reality that apart from Christ, apart from that 
precious blood, we will die in our sins. And He presses them 
with that reality. Unless you eat the flesh of the 
Son of Man. Turn to John chapter 20 for the 
same emphasis that we've seen several times as we move through 
this Gospel. Notice in John 20 at verse 30, 
the purpose for the gospel. And truly Jesus did many other 
signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written 
in this book, but these are written, notice the next couple of words, 
that you may believe. There's a sense where we hear 
sermons and we go, boy, I wish so-and-so could hear this. Typically, 
it's a sermon on a wife submitting to her husband and the husband's 
wishing that his wife is paying close attention, or it's a sermon 
on husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and the 
wife is elbowing her husband to make sure he gets this. We 
often do that with sermons. I hope somebody else is getting 
this. I hope somebody else is receiving this. Where are you 
at today? Have you, by grace, believed 
on the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you come to Him? Have you 
received Him? Have you eaten His flesh? Have 
you drank His blood? Do you know something of the 
Son of God who came down from heaven to save sinners? This 
is the emphasis in the gospel. He says, these are written that 
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and 
believe that you might have life in his name. So Christ is pressing 
this upon his hearers in this discourse. So back to John chapter 
6. He makes the declaration, but 
then he underscores a promise in verses 54 and 55. Verse 54, 
whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and 
I will raise him up at the last day. Again, brethren, this is 
a metaphorical way of saying what he has said literally in 
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. He's saying the exact 
same thing. He's just expanding the metaphor. 
and underscoring the response to him is this eating of the 
flesh and this drinking of the blood. John Dill makes this observation. The words design a spiritual 
eating of Christ by faith. To eat the flesh and drink the 
blood of Christ is to believe that Christ has come in the flesh 
and is truly and really man. That his flesh is given for the 
life of his people and his blood is shed for their sins. And this 
with some view and application to themselves. It is to partake 
of and enjoy the several blessings of grace procured by him, such 
as redemption, pardon, peace, justification. That's the language 
that he's employing. When we look in the context, 
we have this coming to him, we have this receiving him, we have 
this eating the flesh and drinking the blood. All of these are metaphors 
for belief. Look back at verse 29. Verse 
29, well, verse 28, 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. 
That's how he starts the discourse, brethren. Think he's gonna end 
the discourse by saying, I didn't really mean believe, I meant 
you have to engage in cannibalism. I meant you have to engage in 
some blood right where you actually take my liquid from my body and 
ingest it into your being. No, it's about faith. It's belief. The scriptures say that we are 
dead in our trespasses and sins. Scriptures say that our works 
can never be accepted by God because we're dead in Adam. The 
best that we do are like filthy rags in the sight of a holy God. 
God must awaken us. God must quicken us. God must 
regenerate us. That's what Jesus taught Nicodemus 
in John 3. And when God regenerates us, 
He grants us the graces of faith and repentance, so that we may 
lay hold of Christ, so that we may believe on Christ. That's 
the emphasis in the section that we are dealing with. So verse 
29, that you believe in Him whom He sent. Notice in verse 35, 
I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never 
hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. Notice 
in verse 36, but I said to you that you have seen me and yet 
Do not believe. Again, verse 40, we've seen that, 
and then verse 47. Most assuredly, I say to you, 
he who believes in me has everlasting life. The accent is on faith. How do I become saved? How do I enter into that blessed 
state? It is grace alone, through faith 
alone, in Jesus Christ alone, and that's what the Bible everywhere 
celebrates. Because we cannot work our way 
to heaven, because we cannot do enough good things for God 
to say, oh, well done, good and faithful servant. That pronouncement 
of well done, good and faithful servant upon us is based on our 
union with Jesus Christ. Because there is nothing good 
in us. There is everything excellent 
in him. The bride describes him as altogether 
lovely and chief among ten thousand. The psalmist says, I'm going 
to compose a song of love concerning this one. The Lord Jesus Christ 
alone has the righteousness that brings sinners into salvation, 
and it is received by faith. So he makes this statement in 
verse 54, and then he underscores it in verse 55. For my flesh 
is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. So that little 
brief section, as he ends this particular discourse or sermon, 
he is saying there is a necessity about this. Unless you eat, Unless 
you believe, unless you come, unless you receive, then you 
have no life in you. But then notice the accent upon 
communion with Christ in the next section, verses 56 and 57. He says, He who eats my flesh 
and drinks my blood, notice the language, abides in me, and I 
in him. That concept of abiding in Him 
and He in us is replete in John's gospel. And it underscores that. Brethren, what does Paul say 
in Colossians chapter 2? You are complete in Him. What 
have we seen in working through Ephesians 1, 3 to 14? That long 
sentence where the apostle is expressing praise to God. It's 
all connected to us being in Him. This idea of union with 
Christ, this idea of communion with Christ. Again, throughout 
John's gospel, it is an emphasis. Turn back to John 3 at verse 
36. John 3.36, he who believes in 
the Son has everlasting life. And he who does not believe the 
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. So 
what's the implication? If you have the Son, then the 
Son abides in you and you abide in him. And then turn over to 
Upper Room Discourse, John chapter 14, to see this abiding, this 
concept of communion. John 14, specifically at verse 
21, he who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who 
loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my father, and 
I will love him and manifest myself to him. Now, this is not 
works righteousness. This is the outflow of those 
who, by grace, believe the gospel. Remember, faith is justification 
through faith alone, but that faith is not alone, but it's 
always accompanied by all other saving graces. And what follows 
on the heels of justification by faith is sanctification, doing 
the will of the Father as expressed through the Son. Notice as well 
in John 14 at verse 23, Jesus answered and said to him, if 
anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love 
him and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whatever 
misery you happen to be going through today, Whatever problems 
happen to face us in this world today or tomorrow, we have the 
promise of 1423. It says, if anyone loves me, 
and again, we do because he has conquered us by his sovereign 
grace, he has drawn us affectionately to the son of his love, he has 
given us new hearts, he has given us faith and repentance, and 
the reflex of that is that we love him. He says, if anyone 
loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him. 
and we will come to him and make our home with him. And then notice 
in chapter 15, chapter 15 at verse 4, abide in me and I in 
you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides 
in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am 
the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in 
him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. And then 
that's repeated again in verse seven. If you abide in me and 
my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it will 
be done for you. And then in verse 10, also, if 
you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as 
I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. So back 
to chapter six. Just real quick here. What is 
there better in life than communion with our blessed God? What is 
there better in life than communion with our blessed God? Being in 
that state or sphere for which he created us. He created us 
to serve him. He created us to worship him. 
He created us to speak well of him. He created us to engage 
in blessing his awesome name. But because of Adam, in Adam 
we die. And so we don't do that. By nature, 
we are children of wrath just as the rest. So when God comes 
to save us, and restore us, and redeem us, we now have this abiding 
in Christ, and Christ abiding in us. Communion with the blessed 
God. Brethren, that is something the 
genuine saint craves. We don't have it like we want, 
we don't have it like we will, but we have it like we never 
did before, and in this we rejoice. the abiding in Christ-ness of 
this salvific plan. The fact that the Father and 
the Son abide with us. Brethren, it is an amazing declaration 
concerning the fruit of redemption. Yes, your sins are forgiven. 
Yes, you receive a righteousness that avails with God. But yes, 
you come into communion with this blessed God. The one, again, 
who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. It is a most 
blessed expression of His kindness to His people. And then notice, 
in this section, He gives the reason with reference to this 
communion. He gives the promise, verse 56, 
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in 
Him. Now notice in verse 57, this is the rationale or the 
reason for this. As the living Father sent me 
and I live because of the Father, he who feeds on me will live 
because of me. The living Father is the Father 
who sent the living bread. Jesus refers to himself in verse 
51 that way. I am the living bread which came 
down from heaven. Verse 57, as the living Father 
sent me. How does the living Father send 
him? Well, John Gill says, into the world, to be savior of it, 
not by local motion, but by assumption of human nature. There's not 
local motion going on, but it's the verse 14 of chapter 1. The word became flesh and dwelt 
among us. How did he do that? Just by coming 
from heaven to earth? No, it's by the assumption of 
our humanity. It's taking on man. It is becoming 
like us in all points and yet without sin, so that He may live 
for us, so that He may die for us, and so that He may be raised 
again for us. Back to verse 57. As the living 
Father sent me, and He says, and I live because of the Father. 
This could go one of two ways. In the first place, it could 
be a reference to Christ according to his divinity. If you go back 
to chapter 5 at verse 26, we see that. Chapter 5, verse 26, 
for as the father has life in himself, so he has granted the 
son to have life in himself. How does he do that? through 
eternal generation, the only begotten Son of the Father. So in chapter 6, he could be 
making reference to that in verse 57, or he could be referring 
to himself according to his humanity. The Word became flesh and dwelt 
among us. He comes into this world to offer 
or to give his flesh in order to save the world from their 
sins. It's probably the latter, and 
I think the point is simple. As the Living Father sent me 
and gave me everything necessary to function as the mediator of 
the New Covenant, where I have the office as a prophet, priest, 
and king, I have this ability to confer life upon everybody 
that comes to me. So the reference to living Father 
communicating life to the Son, again, whether eternal generation 
or whether incarnational, Christ comes and He's equipped to bring 
the goods. In other words, there are resources 
to be had in Him by virtue of the fact that He is the Son of 
God, by virtue of the fact that He has come into this world for 
this specific ministry and mission. And dare I say, no one here ought 
to think, well, there's not hope for me. Oh, there's hope for 
sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's another thing you get sometimes 
when you go out and you pass out chaps, reflecting on some 
seasons way back when, when Steve Lawson and I would go out and 
you knock on people's door and you ask them questions. And one 
time, once in a while, we met a guy right across the street 
years and years ago. And he said, oh, I'm too sinful. Oh, God wouldn't 
have such a wretch like me in heaven. we were able to tell 
him that's exactly who God receives into heaven. The Son of Man did 
not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. See, 
the resources available in our blessed Savior, as He has flesh 
that is food to eat, as He has blood which is drink to drink, 
As He has these resources, He gives them. He conveys them. 
He is merciful. He is approachable. The very 
reason today that we gather together is based on Matthew 28. Go therefore, 
make disciples of all the nations. I saw a tweet by a girl that 
I follow on Twitter. She's a Christian girl and she 
says, hope today is in the pulpit. I don't think she meant only 
in the pulpit, but hope today for a lost and dying world, for 
a world where our government has gone rogue, a world where 
our government is starting to act like we're enemies of them 
and they're treating us accordingly. Christ has the resources that 
are requisite for every needy sinner. There's nothing that 
you need that Christ doesn't have. Remember Ephesians 1, 3, 
blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
has blessed us with what? With every spiritual blessing. 
See, it's not like you come to Christ for just that first portion. We'll all believe the gospel 
and he'll take about, you know, 75% and convey the goods on me. And then that last 25%, I have 
to sort of work it out in my own way. No, that's not it at 
all. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness 
of sins according to the riches of His grace. If you're a wretched 
sinner, our blessed Savior is rich with grace. He is rich with 
bounty. He is rich with efficacy. He 
is rich with the ability to justify you, to sanctify you, to glorify 
you. He is, in fact, the Savior for 
sinners. That's his job. That's his mission. That's his focus. That's what 
he specifies in verse 51. The bread that I shall give is 
my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. Verse 
57, as the living Father sent me and I live because of the 
Father, so he who feeds on me will live because of me. He's 
not a dead Savior. He is the Savior who lives. He 
comes from the Living Father. As a result, when dead sinners, 
by grace, look to Him in faith, when they eat His flesh and drink 
His blood, what happens to them? They're made alive. They're resurrected. They're born again. They're born 
again and then do that, but they're a new creature in Christ Jesus. It's a blessed transaction. Now 
notice finally what he says in terms of his power. He ends the 
sermon where he began, verse 58. Notice, 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. He continues to emphasize this. 
See, brethren, if you and I get into debates with people and 
they keep hammering us, I'm pretty much chicken enough to say, okay, 
that's about it for me. I'm gonna tap out, okay? Cam, 
you take up the next round here. If they keep coming with the 
same rejection, the same expression of unbelief, the same sort of 
a rebuff of what I'm trying to say, I'll back it down. Christ 
doesn't back it down. Again, because of the hardness 
of their hearts, their lack of understanding, a la Cyril of 
Alexandria, but because of His mercy, because of His grace, 
because of His kindness, because of the fact that He is the Savior 
for sinners. This is what we celebrate as 
God's people, as His church. We're not here today because 
we're good. We're here today because He's 
good. We're here today because He's merciful, he's gracious, 
and he's kind. 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. Thus ends 
his discourse. We'll see the response of those 
who claim to be disciples in the following section, and then 
we'll see the response of his true disciples. It's embodied 
by Peter. When Peter says, Lord, to whom 
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. In other words, 
we have learned that you are the bread of life. We, by grace, 
have eaten that flesh and drank that blood. We, by grace, have 
everlasting life. So where else would we go if 
all the world should forego, if all the world should forsake, 
if all the world should say, oh no, I'm done with him, not 
the genuine believer? not the saint, not the blood-bought 
child of God. And whatever our problems, whatever 
our trials, whatever our heartaches, whatever our afflictions, we 
continue going forward. Why? Because He's the living 
bread who came down from the living Father to convey life 
upon us. And as those who now live by 
grace, we live perseveringly through whatever circumstances 
we may face because the end game is our blessed Savior. Well, 
in conclusion, there is no lack of persons in the Roman Catholic 
Church that would say, this is all Eucharistic. This is the 
language of the supper. This isn't the language of the 
supper, though it's pretty easy to see how persons could think 
it is the language of the supper. One of the most helpful quotes 
I have is from a man by the name of Maurice. He says, if you ask 
me, I think that's his last name, we're not on first name basis. He was an Anglican, I think in 
the 1800s, may have had problems. If you Google him or look him 
up, I think he sort of got Christian socialism going or popularized 
that. So please do not think I am telling 
you to go read him on Christian socialism, which is an oxymoron. But in terms of the Eucharistic 
application, He says, if you ask me then whether he is speaking 
of the Eucharist here, that's what, you know, a reference to 
the Lord's Supper or communion. If you ask me then whether he 
is speaking of the Eucharist here, I should say no. If you 
ask me where I can learn the meaning of the Eucharist, I should 
say nowhere so well as here. Right? This whole idea of eating 
his flesh and drinking his blood. We're going to do that tonight. 
Not literally. When Jesus says, this is my body, 
he's speaking metaphorically. When Jesus says, I am the true 
vine in John 15, when Jesus says, I am the door, we understand 
that he's speaking metaphorically. We should understand that when 
he says that he is the bread of life as well. But nevertheless, 
as we come together tonight, as we eat the bread and drink 
the cup, we muse on the reality that He is in fact the Bread 
of Life. Secondly, we see the sovereignty of God in this passage. We see the sovereignty of God 
in this Bread of Life discourse. In the first place, the objects 
of salvation are totally depraved. The objects of salvation are 
totally depraved. And I'm not commenting on the 
Jews' rejection of Jesus. I am commenting on the condition 
of mankind since Adam. Why was it necessary for the 
Son of God to come into this world, sinners to save? Because 
we're messed up. We're bad people. Now, you may 
be offended by that comment or statement, but I'm gonna stick 
to it. We've got issues galore in Adam. And when it comes to 
this particular passage, he says very unequivocally in verse 44, 
no one can come to me. So that's a statement not only 
of total depravity, but of total inability. We don't have the 
wherewithal in our own strength to come to him. We learn secondly 
in this passage that the objects of salvation are elected unconditionally. Why is it that God chooses some 
to come and doesn't choose others? Well, that's up to God. It's 
according to His good pleasure. The rest of the Bible tells us 
it's not because we chose first. It doesn't tell us because we 
were good. No, God elected, God chose us in Him before the foundation 
of the world. Ephesians 1, 4. Romans 9, speaking 
of the twins, before they did good or ill. God said, Jacob 
I've loved and Esau I have hated. It is a demonstration of the 
absolute sovereignty of God in terms of unconditional election. 
Thirdly, the objects of salvation are particularly redeemed by 
the work of Christ. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no 
means cast out. You mean there was a giving by 
the Father to the Son? Yes, absolutely that is what 
is meant. And Christ goes to the cross, 
not for the reprobate. Christ goes to the cross not 
for the the heathen and the pagan that reject and resist, Christ 
goes to the cross for his people. You see that in two ways. The 
old covenant system, when that high priest went into the Holy 
of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he offered up blood for the sins 
of Israel. And then there was a second goat, 
and that high priest took his hands and laid it on the head 
of the goat, and he confessed the sins of Israel. He didn't 
confess the sins of the Hittites or the Hivites or the Jebusites. 
He confessed the sins of Israel. So there was a particular atonement 
in that old covenant scheme. But then notice Jesus' high priestly 
prayer in John 17. John chapter 17. We see this particularity. Verse 
two, as you have given him authority over all flesh, that he should 
give eternal life to as many as you have given him. And then 
dropping down to verse nine, I pray for them. I do not pray 
for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they 
are yours. There is this class of sinners 
given by the father to the son, and it is those for whom the 
son gives his life. Fourthly, the objects of salvation 
are irresistibly drawn to Christ. You see that in verse 37. All 
that the Father gives me might come to me. All that the Father 
gives me may come to me. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me. Why? Because when the Holy Spirit 
works upon the heart of a sinner, he doesn't resist. He doesn't 
go kicking and screaming. God changes the heart and makes 
him willing in the day of his power. But the Spirit of living 
God who comes to make application the redemptive work of the Lord 
Jesus cannot be thwarted, cannot be resisted, cannot be stayed 
or bypassed. And then finally, we see the 
objects of salvation are preserved by God. The emphasis in verse 
40, I will raise them up on the last day. The emphasis in what 
we've seen here, I will raise them up at the last day. The 
hymn we sang before the preaching of the word is accurate. It is 
absolutely bang on. Those for whom Jesus died are 
not going to be lost. Those who have come by grace 
to the bread of life will never go hungry. Those who have been 
blessed with every spiritual blessing are not cut off. And then thirdly, and finally, 
with reference to the glory of Christ in the passage, the glory 
of Christ is seen in the metaphor. We need bread each and every 
day to eat. We need bread each and every day or we will die. 
Now, again, you can fast for a period of time, you can go 
up to 40 days perhaps without food, but eventually death is 
coming your way. Right? It's just gonna happen. 
I've never met anybody who stopped eating. We're all addicted to 
that. That's why inflation is such a concern. It's not like 
it really affects anything seriously. Come on, it affects everything 
seriously. So we understand this metaphor 
all too keenly when it comes to our own physical being. But 
with reference to spiritual things, we need the bread of life. And 
Jesus is that bread of life such that whoever eats him will have 
everlasting life. We see the glory of Christ seen 
in the incarnation. Remember what they said in verse 
42. They said, is not this Jesus, 
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it 
then that he says, I have come down from heaven? The surface 
level sort of consistency about that complaint. They hadn't read 
Augustine on the Trinity. They hadn't read John 1.1. They 
hadn't read John 1.14. They certainly didn't believe 
Him when He says that He had come down from the living Father. But the reality is, is that the 
Word did become flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, 
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace 
and truth. The glory of Christ shines in 
the incarnation. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead 
see. Hail the incarnate deity. Pleased as man with men to dwell, 
Jesus our Emmanuel. Isn't that outside of the Bible 
and some of the fathers and guys that write good stuff, that in 
song or that in hymn is a wonderful expression of incarnational truth 
that the people of God cherish. How much does Jesus love me? 
Jesus came into this world, took on my humanity, not mine personally, 
but took on humanity because whatever is not assumed is not 
redeemed. And he became in all points like 
us and yet without sin. Brethren, we should celebrate 
the incarnation year round. It should be something that we 
find great joy in, in terms of understanding our blessed Redeemer. 
Third, the glory of Christ is seen in His power to save. Remember 
verse 47, Most assuredly I say to you, He who believes in me 
has everlasting life. He's got the power. Hebrews chapter 
7, it tells us that he is able to save to the uttermost. Listen 
to the language of the apostle Paul there, that he is able to 
save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through him. He doesn't say partially. He 
doesn't say just a little bit. He saves to the uttermost. As 
well, the glory of Christ is seen in his origin from the Father. 
In the two ways, according to His divinity as the only begotten 
Son of the Father, and according to His humanity, that the Word 
became flesh and dwelt among us. We have in the person of 
our Lord Jesus Christ something very unique. We have in the person 
of our Lord Jesus Christ two natures, one human, one divine. And we have this union, hypostatic 
union. And He is fit, therefore, for 
the task that was given to Him to save his people from their 
sins. Fifth, and I wanna close here, 
the glory of Christ is seen in the repetition in the bread of 
life discourse. The glory of Christ is seen in 
the repetition in the Bread of Life discourse. Sometimes it's 
challenging as a preacher when a passage of text says exactly 
what the passage of text said the week before. You don't want 
to bore people to death. You don't want to cause them 
to say, you know, we've already heard this. We could have just 
stayed at home and listened to last week's and pretty much got 
the same. Think of it as a mercy. These 
people along the way are rejecting him. These people along the way 
are challenging him. Moses fed our fathers in the 
wilderness. Brethren, they were not just 
sort of making the observation. They were laying down the challenge. You wanna outperform Moses? You 
wanna do more than feed the fathers in the wilderness for 40 years? 
Then we will submit. Then we will believe. Then we 
will come. Christ doesn't back off. Christ 
continues to highlight the purpose for which he came. He continues 
to underscore that purpose using the metaphor, I am the bread 
of life. And he says to sinners over and 
over and over again, believe in him and you will have everlasting 
life. It is the most joyous, most blessed, 
and most wonderful relationship you will ever have. Certainly 
what we have with wives and husbands and children and fellows and 
friends is great and glorious to be sure, but to have communion 
with the Creator, to have that intimacy with our blessed Redeemer, 
to be in union with the one who is altogether lovely and chief 
among 10,000, to be in union with that one who has come to 
save his people from their sins is most excellent and most glorious. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for Jesus Christ, the bread of life. And 
we pray that all over the earth today, people would eat his flesh 
and drink his blood. They would come to him in faith. 
They would believe the gospel of our salvation, that they would 
know the joy of being found in him, not having their own righteousness, 
which is from the law, but that righteousness which is from you 
and received by faith alone. And here, Father, we pray for 
your blessing upon sinners. We pray that you'd open the heart 
We pray that You would set before them Christ and His offices to 
save, and that You would be pleased to draw them as You do effectually 
according to our Savior in John 6, 37. We ask that You would 
continue to bless this day, help us to rejoice in Your lovingkindness 
and in Your goodness, and we pray these things through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, you can turn in your 
hymn books to 568. We'll close by singing the doxology 
in praise to our triune God. ♪ Is one of the God-blessed's hope 
♪ ♪ Praise him, all creatures, here below ♪ ♪ Praise him, how high he heav'nly goes ♪ ♪ Praise Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ The Lord bless you and keep you. 
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 
Father, thank you for these blessings. Thank you for your grace. Thank 
you for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and bless her ministry 
today. As this word goes forth, we pray 
that it would run swiftly and be glorified, that you would 
conquer sinners all over this earth today, that you would save 
to the uttermost from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. And 
we ask this in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.