AM John 6

[0:00] section now and then we'll sing and then we'll read the second section later in the service. So John chapter 6, which is page 1074 in the Pew Bible.

[0:22] After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

[0:40] Jesus went up on the mountain and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes then and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?

[1:04] He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.

[1:20] One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?

[1:36] Jesus said, Have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down, about five thousand in number.

[1:47] Jesus then took the loaves and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

[1:59] And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost. So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

[2:18] When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world. Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

[2:39] When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them.

[2:51] The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near to the boat.

[3:04] And they were frightened. But he said to them, It is I, do not be afraid. Then they were glad to take him into the boat. And immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

[3:18] On the next day, the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.

[3:33] Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

[3:51] When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

[4:12] Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.

[4:26] For on him God the Father has set his seal. Then they said to him, What must we do to be doing the works of God?

[4:37] Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, Then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you?

[4:54] What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

[5:20] For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always.

[5:35] And we'll break the reading there for the moment. Let's turn, before we turn to the word again, let's bow in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we want to bring before you the needs of one another, the needs of this congregation, the needs of your wider church at this point in our service.

[5:59] We thank you that you have given to us this great privilege of being intercessors and in sharing in the priesthood of all believers and in the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[6:14] We thank you that when we pray, he takes our prayers and perfects them and offers them up as our great high priest before your very throne of grace.

[6:27] And so we pray for one another, for those who are in any kind of need. We pray for those who are suffering in body or in mind or in spirit.

[6:40] Oh God, our Father, we commend them to you and pray that your hand might be upon them for good, that you might relieve their physical distress, that you may speak peace to the troubled heart and that you would bring release and freedom and cleansing for those who are troubled in conscience.

[7:06] We praise you that in the Lord Jesus Christ we have a great physician, one who will one day heal and restore and resurrect our physical bodies.

[7:22] But we thank you that even now he is able to apply his own medicine to the various ailments that our souls suffer from in this world.

[7:36] And so we commend our friends, our loved ones, our brothers and sisters in Christ to those, to our Lord Jesus and pray that they may find in him all that they need, that he might indeed be there all in all.

[7:58] And as we think of our, the wider church, we pray your blessing upon the Free Church of Scotland. We pray for all the gatherings of your people that will take place across the country today.

[8:10] we pray that your servants who will lead the services and bring your word to the people may know the ministry of the Holy Spirit and his anointing upon their labours.

[8:24] And we pray that the word might go forth in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

[8:34] may it bring change and transformation. May it lead to conversions. Oh, that we might aim for conversions in our preaching and in our praying.

[8:46] Oh Lord, give us children or we die. We pray that you would fill our church's empty seats and pews with men and women and boys and girls who have been awakened to their sense of need of salvation.

[9:05] May they come with hungry hearts and souls seeking the bread of life, the bread of God, the bread that has come down from heaven and that gives life to the world.

[9:19] We pray for the great need of pastors and teachers in our congregations and churches. We pray for the work of the Edinburgh Theological Seminary and for those who are preparing even in these months and years for a life of service in the Church of God.

[9:38] Bless their studies. May they be profitable and useful and we pray that these years may also be time of spiritual growth, maturing and development.

[9:49] That the things learnt, that the lessons imbibed, that the experiences felt and known may stand them in good stead to be tender-hearted pastors and teachers.

[10:08] As tender and compassionate as a mother caring for her children and as devoted as a father providing education and training and provision for his children too.

[10:25] O Lord, raise up men who will fill our pulpits and pastor your people. Men after your own heart who love you and your word but who love your people just as much.

[10:45] As we think of the wider world, we think of our own country and its needs. O Lord, we pray that you would arrest the decline that we see in our nation morally and spiritually.

[10:59] We pray for leaders who will not cause controversy because of criminal accusations being brought against them but if they do cause controversy, we pray that it might be because they stand for Jesus Christ and for the principles and standards of your law which is holy and righteous and good.

[11:31] O that we might know where goodness is to be found as a nation and that we might seek it with all our heart. we pray that you would give wisdom to the King, to those in positions of responsibility under him, to our members of Parliament, to the members of the Scottish Parliament, to the representatives of the parliaments and assemblies and the devolved nations.

[12:03] O that we might as a nation be brought back from the precipice, that we might be brought to safety, that we might walk in your ways.

[12:19] And we do pray for the world in its turmoil and conflicts, remembering the situation in Ukraine, remembering the situation in Israel and Gaza.

[12:34] O Lord, we see so much that breaks our heart, and causes us great sadness. But we see also the enmity that exists in the hearts of men and women for one another.

[12:52] How can this be remedied? How can it change? O we pray that you would send forth your light and your truth.

[13:03] We pray that the Prince of Peace may rule and reign in these parts of the world and those who were once implacable enemies might be reconciled first to God and then to one another.

[13:23] Bring peace, we pray. We don't know how, but we commit these situations to you, praying for those in need, that you would be merciful and gracious and bring an end to these conflicts and that you would establish peace.

[13:42] Remember our brothers and sisters in Christ in Gaza and Israel, in Ukraine and in Russia and various other places around the world where they are facing persecutions of various kinds.

[13:56] Lord, sustain them, we pray. may they know that they are in your hands and may you comfort their hearts when everything around them seems to be falling apart.

[14:14] Remember them, we pray, and bless every effort that is being made to bring help and relief to those in suffering.

[14:26] Bless the aid agencies and the work that they do and protect those who do it, we pray. So hear us, Lord, we ask. Continue to meet with us, we pray in Jesus' name.

[14:39] Amen. So let's sing together from the same psalm, but the last two stanzas, from verse 31 to the end of the psalm, Psalm 104 in St.

[14:53] Psalms. May the Lord's majestic glory always last and never fade. may the Lord rejoice and triumph in the works that he has made. When he gazes on creation, earth begins to shake in fear.

[15:07] At his touch, the mountains tremble, smoke and flames of fire appear. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[15:18] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[15:28] Amen. Amen.

[16:28] Amen. Amen.

[17:18] So let's turn again to John chapter 6. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life.

[17:33] Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe.

[17:46] All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

[17:59] And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

[18:23] So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?

[18:36] How does he now say, I have come down from heaven? Jesus answered 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.

[18:53] It is written in the prophets, and they will all be taught by God. 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.

[19:08] He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manor in the wilderness, and they died.

[19:21] This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

[19:33] If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

[19:44] The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

[20:00] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

[20:13] Whoever feeds on 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 whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

[20:31] This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.

[20:43] Jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, This is a hard saying.

[20:55] Who can listen to it? But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

[21:12] It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh is of no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.

[21:25] For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him. And he said, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.

[21:43] After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, Do you want to go away as well?

[21:58] Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.

[22:16] Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

[22:35] Amen. This chapter begins with our Lord's miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and afterwards he crosses the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum and the following day an exchange takes place between the Lord and those who followed him.

[22:59] One of the striking features of the passage is the reaction of people to Jesus Christ. The reaction is strong. Indeed, it's almost violent.

[23:13] The reaction both for him and against him. Those who were fed by the Lord Jesus want to take him by force, we're told, to make him king.

[23:25] Verse 15. Why? Because they saw in him quote, the prophet who is to come into the world. Verse 14, which is a reference to the prophecy that Moses made in Deuteronomy 18 about God would one day raise up a prophet like unto me whom you must heed and obey.

[23:46] And yet within 24 hours, such a small space of time, the same people are offended by Jesus because of his teaching about himself and about the will of God for their salvation.

[24:03] And they begin to turn away from him in their droves. So this passage reminds us that there is nothing new about strong and violent reactions to Jesus Christ.

[24:21] In fact, I think the passage in a way gives us an assurance that we follow the same Jesus today who was opposed in the days of his earthly ministry.

[24:34] He is the one who was despised and rejected by men yesterday. And the same is by and large true today.

[24:45] This Jesus in whom we trust is the Jesus of the scriptures, the Jesus of the Bible because he produced the same strong reactions then as we see his name produces in people today.

[25:02] But the big question is why is it or what is it about the Lord Jesus Christ that produces this strong reaction in people?

[25:14] Now the passage that we've read together from John chapter 6 goes a long way to providing an answer to that question, that mystery. John chapter 6 divides really into two sections, both of which are about bread.

[25:29] Verses 1 to 15 is the account of the miracle of Jesus multiplying bread to feed the hungry multitude.

[25:42] From verse 16 to the end of the chapter that section is about the meaning of the bread which the Lord Jesus Christ gives to the hungry.

[25:55] The feeding of the 5,000 by our Lord is a truly wonderful miracle. The crowd gathers, verse 3, on what we believe to be the Golan Heights, just south of Lebanon and the north of Israel.

[26:11] And they gather to listen to the teaching of the great Rabbi Jesus Christ. Christ. There are so many in the crowd that Jesus has to go up on the mountain side to be able to preach to such a great number of people so that his voice will carry to all who have gathered to hear him.

[26:31] And as the story of the event proceeds, he later provides a meal for them all, using as his ingredients just five small barley loaves and two fish, a young boy's packed lunch.

[26:44] And as I said to the children, perhaps there was as many as 20,000 people, 20,000 mouths to feed. The multitude was so great that when Jesus asked them how, where are they going to buy bread to feed the multitude, one of the disciples said, you know, eight months wages wouldn't be enough to give them even a mouthful.

[27:10] and when Andrew brought the boys lunch to Jesus, he said, what is this among so many? And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ feeds and satisfies them all.

[27:30] And there are 12 baskets full of leftovers. leftovers. This feeding of the 5,000 was an event in which Jesus Christ was quite deliberately replaying an episode from Old Testament history.

[27:54] And that's one of the great lessons or reasons why the Apostle John later on describes the people's reaction to Jesus' teaching as one of grumbling. Do you notice that word grumbling is mentioned a couple of times in relation to the reaction of those who were hearing Jesus' interpretation of the miracle, the significance of the miracle of the feeding of 5,000?

[28:19] He uses the same term as is used to describe, you remember, the response of the children of Israel to the manna, the bread from heaven which God provided to his ancient people following their exodus from Egypt as they passed through the wilderness.

[28:38] Back in the day, the Israelites grumbled against the Lord, didn't they? And they complained about the manna, God's provision, God's miraculous provision of bread from heaven.

[28:52] And here the Apostle tells us that they grumbled against the Lord Jesus Christ and his teaching following his provision of bread for the hungry.

[29:11] And did you also notice that the Apostle tells us that there were 12 basketfuls of leftover 12? Is that not a reminder of how the Lord provided a sufficiency for the 12 tribes of the Israelites in the wilderness?

[29:25] There's all these illusions between what Jesus was doing and the Old Testament history of the people of God. And as we think about the passage and the little reference, did you notice the little reference where Jesus commands the crowd to sit down and John says, because there was much grass there?

[29:45] You think, the shepherd, the flock, the much grass, the green grass, says Mark, the grass was green, it was just before Passover, so the grass was still green at that time of the year before the sun burnt it brown?

[30:04] Is it not conjuring up the imagery of Psalm 23 in which the Lord looks after his people as a shepherd looks after his sheep and how he makes them lie down in green pastures and how he feeds them, how he spreads a table before them in the presence of his enemies?

[30:24] This is the Lord. shepherd. This is the Lord, the good shepherd. But the great thing that both John and the Lord Jesus want us to focus our attention on is not the fact of the miracle or on the super abundance even of the miracle's provision, but on the person who performed the miracle.

[30:54] All of this in a sense is managed by Jesus in order that through this sign, his people then and now might recognize his true identity.

[31:09] Who is this man who has performed this miracle? what is the significance of the miracle in relation to the identity of this man?

[31:28] You remember how we read that the people said to Jesus, Moses gave us a sign. What sign do you give us? And Jesus replies, it wasn't Moses who gave the bread.

[31:42] It was God who gave the bread. And you see how Jesus is drawing them into the implication that it was in fact God who gave their ancestors bread in the wilderness.

[32:01] And if that is true, then who is the person who is giving the hungry bread in the wilderness then?

[32:14] My friends, this is the first place in the gospel of John where we're introduced to the whole series of I am sayings. You remember how the phrase I am is tied to God's special name, the meaning of which was revealed to Moses at the burning bush just before the exodus out of Egypt in Exodus chapter 3.

[32:35] When Moses asked God, who shall I tell them sent me? God says, tell them, I am has sent you.

[32:50] Meaning, I am the sufficiency, I am the saviour of my people, I am the one who will provide for all of my people's needs.

[33:02] And through this miracle recorded in John chapter 6, Jesus is wanting the people to see and to understand who he truly is. This is the lesson this passage teaches over and over again.

[33:16] I am the bread of life. And you notice the response of the people to this. At first they respond by saying, this must be the prophet, verse 14, the prophet that Moses told them that God would one day raise up, to whom the people must give their full attention and obedience.

[33:41] And then they said, let's make this man, this prophet, the king. And at that point we've got to pause for a moment and remind ourselves the truth of the matter that yes, Jesus is indeed God's prophet promised way back in Deuteronomy 18.

[33:57] And he is also God's king. But why then does Jesus react so strongly to this suggestion that he may be king? Because he understands the way to his kingship is by the cross, not by popular acclaim.

[34:20] That Jesus, the true prophet, that Jesus, the true king, is also Jesus, the true priest, who must offer the one final sacrifice for sin forever, by his death upon the cross.

[34:43] And this is why later on in this passage, Jesus tries to help the people understand that this is the bread of God that is before them, who will give his life for the world.

[34:56] God has come into the world not just to speak and teach God's word, he has come into the world not just to exercise God's kingly authority in these wonderful works and miracles, but they must understand who he truly is and see and appreciate his true identity, that he has come into the world to give his life a ransom for many.

[35:31] And the tragedy of the situation here is Jesus goes on to say in verse 26, truly, truly I say to you, you're seeking me not because you saw signs, not because you understood the significance of the miracle, but you're seeking me because you ate your fill of the loaves.

[35:53] Do you understand the point that Jesus is making here? He has done this amazing thing, this miracle, and all they see is bread and the 12 basket fulls of fragments.

[36:13] But they have not understood the miracle as a sign. It's really a signpost pointing away from itself to someone else, to Jesus who alone can satisfy our deepest needs and who can give life by his death to our souls.

[36:41] John's way of speaking about the miracles of Jesus is so different, isn't it, from the way that Matthew, Mark, and Luke speak about the miracles in their gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke talk about them as works of power, works of might, mighty works.

[37:01] But in John's gospel, he speaks about them as signs, as signs. And what is important about these mighty works is their significance.

[37:16] things. Nicodemus was on the right track earlier in the gospel of John when he said, we know that you're a teacher come from God because no one can do these signs that you do unless God was with him.

[37:33] Yes, Nicodemus was on the right track. He saw something of the significance of the signs. This man who has done these things has come from God.

[37:44] God is with him. But Nicodemus had to go further down the track to come to the full realization about the truth with regard to Jesus.

[37:57] And for centuries, John chapter 6 has been thought to refer to the Lord's Supper by many in the church. So when they've read this passage, all they can think about is the Lord's Supper and the bread that's given in the Lord's Supper.

[38:11] Now it's not possible this morning to give you the reasons why I don't believe such a view is correct but suffice to say this passage is not about the Lord's Supper.

[38:22] It's about the Lord of the Supper but not the Supper of the Lord. But the Lord's Supper does, I think, illustrate the point that Jesus is making in this chapter.

[38:38] So if we ask the question, what do you get at the Lord's Supper? two answers are possible. You could say, I get a piece of bread and a sip of wine.

[38:56] And to a certain extent that's true. But you could also say, answer two, I get the Lord Jesus Christ by faith at the Lord's Supper.

[39:12] If you come for the bread and wine at the Lord's Supper, then you have missed the significance of the sign altogether. And that, I say, was the tragedy of these people who had had their stomachs filled with bread and fish the day before.

[39:33] They had pursued the Lord Jesus Christ across the lake. They had followed him through the wilderness to get more bread, to get another good feed into them. And they missed, sadly, tragically, the whole point of the miracle of the sign.

[39:51] Isn't it amazing that we can get that close to Jesus Christ and to his benefits? We can appreciate what Jesus does.

[40:04] and yet we can still miss out on the main thing. And you notice in verses 26 and 27 how Jesus warns the people by saying, Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

[40:28] Now you might think, isn't it great that all these people are so interested in Jesus Christ? They follow him across the wilderness, across the Sea of Galilee. They come back again seeking him again.

[40:43] Well, yes, at one level it is encouraging, but we have to realize that there is more than one reason why people may be interested in Jesus Christ.

[40:54] You can be interested in Jesus Christ for the wrong reasons. for reasons that will do you no ultimate everlasting good.

[41:10] Because all you saw was the loaves and the fish. And Jesus goes on to say, and what a word this is to us all, do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.

[41:42] Do not work for the bread that perishes. there is an echo here, isn't there, of the words of Isaiah chapter 55 verse 2 that says, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

[42:05] These people were seeking bread that couldn't ultimately satisfy. Had they not eaten their fill less than 24 hours earlier? Yes, they had.

[42:16] And yet, they came back hungry again for the same bread that could not give lasting satisfaction. The bread they were seeking was the bread that perishes.

[42:31] And the great question that they should have been asking was this, Jesus, Lord Jesus, where can we get the bread that does not perish?

[42:44] And again and again he says to them, I am that bread. The bread of life, the bread of God, the bread that God sent down from heaven.

[43:04] And if you're to be truly satisfied he says, you must take this bread and eat and eat it. Take and eat.

[43:22] And then in the passage you see the same kind of misunderstanding of Jesus' words that we saw or can see in John chapter 3 with Nicodemus, in John chapter 4 with the woman at the well.

[43:37] verse 34 they say, well give us this bread always. In effect, so that we don't have to buy our daily provisions at the local baker's shop.

[43:48] they don't realize that the only way to take and to eat the bread of life is by faith. By faith.

[44:01] Faith, what is it? Here's a wonderful picture. Faith is the open mouth that takes in and eats the bread of life.

[44:18] it's not the open mouth that saves us, it's the bread that's put into the mouth that gives us life and strength.

[44:32] Verse 64, the Lord Jesus makes it so simple and clear and plain. He says, there are some of you who do not believe and that's the problem.

[44:43] And he goes on in this passage to make the devastating point that you're called to believe. Yes, you are. But that belief is not something that you can do by your own decision.

[45:00] Because in order to believe, you need the Father to draw you. You notice how the Lord Jesus also quotes a passage from the Old Testament.

[45:12] They shall all be taught of God. It's when God teaches us by his spirit in our hearts. That's the way he draws us by teaching us by his spirit in our hearts.

[45:26] And when that takes place, then we see in Jesus someone that we want to take, that we want to receive, that we want to believe in, and that we do believe in.

[45:38] God will be in. But it's in this context that people say, I'm finished with you, Jesus. Because what you have just said is something I cannot stomach.

[45:54] It's a hard saying. Who can listen to it? Who can stomach it? Jesus is daring to say to me that there is nothing that I can do to get the bread of life that satisfies forever.

[46:07] that because I'm a powerless sinner, I need the sovereign, mighty power of God to draw me to Jesus and to the place where I can have my deepest spiritual needs met.

[46:19] Well, I'm sorry, I just cannot accept that. And that's really the crisis point of this chapter. When our human depravity, our human powerlessness, our human helplessness is exposed and we are told God must save and God alone, then this is either the best news ever or it comes as a kick in the teeth to our human sinful pride that we are offended by it and we turn away from God and Christ.

[47:02] Christ. But the passage ends with what is Simon Peter's greatest moment, I think, in the Gospel of John. They have left Jesus in their droves.

[47:16] Think of the multitude that was fed, perhaps 20,000 and most of them have left, turned their back on Jesus because of this hard saying that magnifies the grace of God and lays the sinner in the dust.

[47:29] most have gone away from Jesus, only a few are left and Jesus, his words are so poignant for us today as we feel so few and small in number and so isolated in a society that has so largely turned its back upon the Son of God and Jesus says, what about you?

[47:59] what about you? Do you want to go away as well? And Simon Peter says, Lord, to whom shall we go?

[48:11] You have the words of eternal life. We believe and we know that you are the Holy One of God.

[48:27] In conclusion, my friends, I have three questions that will help apply the lessons of this passage and we've kind of taken a helicopter ride through it this morning but three questions that will help to apply this passage to ourselves that will help us I think also to discover the true state of our souls.

[48:46] What state is our soul in? Question one, where are you looking for lasting satisfaction? Is it the Lord Jesus Christ?

[49:00] Question two, what do you see in Jesus Christ? Is he the bread of life without whom you cannot live?

[49:14] And question three, have you somewhere else you can go to to find life eternal? Is there?

[49:28] Where can we go? To whom shall we go? That's the answer of the true believer, Peter's words.

[49:40] There's no alternative. Peter was absolutely right. let his words speak for us all. You have the words of eternal life.

[49:53] You and you only. This passage then both reveals Jesus to us and shows us his real true identity.

[50:06] And at the same time it searches us out and places us in one camp or the other. either among those who hear Jesus or offended by his teaching and turn away from him or in the camp of those who hear Jesus know and believe that he is the son of God who has the words of eternal life.

[50:34] love. And that last second group, the group of Peter and all the true disciples of Jesus Christ are those who can sing with William Gadsby the words of the hymn that we'll sing shortly.

[50:48] immortal honors rest on Jesus head. My God my portion and my living bread in him I live upon him cast my care he saves from death destruction and despair he is my refuge in each deep distress the Lord my strength and glorious righteousness through floods and flames he leads me safely on and daily makes his sovereign goodness known.

[51:27] My every need he richly will supply nor will his mercy ever let me die in him there dwells a treasure all the vine and matchless grace has made that treasure mine.

[51:45] And a response if you're a believer this morning I trust these words will be the accurate vehicle of your heart's desire to God this morning.

[51:58] Oh that my soul could love and praise him more his beauty's trace his majesty adore live near his heart like John the beloved apostle upon his bosom lean obey his voice and all his will esteem.

[52:25] Which camp are you in this morning? In the camp of those who turned away or in a camp of those who stick by the Lord Jesus Christ Christ because you believe in him and you know him to be the holy one of God and in the light of this wonderful miracle the one who generously and abundantly provides for your need.

[52:59] May God bless his word to us this morning. We're going to sing in closing the words of that hymn. a Lord Jesus cozy words tell you towię heater