WEBVTT 00:00:00.660 --> 00:00:08.359 We've just finished a series in Romans, and we are now going to start a new one from John's Gospel, 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:11.300 which is just simply entitled, I Am. 00:00:12.120 --> 00:00:18.539 Jesus said on a number of occasions, I am the bread of life, I am the good shepherd, 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.460 I am the light of the world, I am the vine. 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:25.699 So we'll be looking at some of those over the next few weeks. 00:00:26.060 --> 00:00:28.240 So Ralph is going to read for us. 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:31.879 John chapter 6, starting at verse 1. 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:34.879 John 6, verse 1. 00:00:35.579 --> 00:00:41.239 Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee, that is, the Sea of Tiberias. 00:00:41.619 --> 00:00:47.140 And a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:51.480 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:54.179 The Jewish Passover feast was near. 00:00:54.179 --> 00:01:00.000 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him, he said to Philip, 00:01:00.519 --> 00:01:03.159 Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:08.000 He asked us only to test them, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:13.739 Philip answered him, Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite. 00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:17.459 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 00:01:18.019 --> 00:01:24.500 Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many? 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:27.159 Jesus said, Make the people sit down. 00:01:27.899 --> 00:01:32.199 There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about 5,000 of them. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:39.479 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:41.379 He did the same with the fish. 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:45.399 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, 00:01:46.039 --> 00:01:48.019 Gather the pieces that are left over. 00:01:48.539 --> 00:01:49.619 Let nothing be wasted. 00:01:50.119 --> 00:01:56.879 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:01.459 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, 00:02:01.939 --> 00:02:06.039 Surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world. 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:14.099 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:16.620 And verse 51. 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:21.500 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. 00:02:22.060 --> 00:02:24.500 If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:28.840 This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world. 00:02:29.700 --> 00:02:32.580 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves. 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:35.060 How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:36.819 Jesus said to them, 00:02:36.819 --> 00:02:44.140 I tell you the truth, unless you can eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:50.400 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:54.300 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:59.199 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:07.119 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 00:03:07.619 --> 00:03:09.739 This is the bread that came down from heaven. 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:15.259 Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.679 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Pipernium. 00:03:20.419 --> 00:03:23.459 Thank you very much for reading. 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:26.139 So please keep your Bibles open. 00:03:27.399 --> 00:03:28.339 Follow along. 00:03:28.340 --> 00:03:33.879 There are notes, or you can use the back of the news sheet if you want to jot down anything. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.699 And if you do have any questions about anything, please do talk to me afterwards. 00:03:38.620 --> 00:03:44.960 There may be things you don't agree with, and that's perfectly fine, and you want to discuss them afterwards. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:45.860 Please do. 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:49.840 Or if you don't want to talk to me, you can drop an email. 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:52.860 Either way, we can discuss it. 00:03:52.980 --> 00:03:57.659 Well, let's pray together as we ask for God's help as we look at his word together. 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:07.180 Father, we thank you for the food and the drink we have just had. 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:08.180 something that nourishes us. 00:04:08.180 --> 00:04:14.580 Something that nourishes us physically and refreshes us. 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:26.199 And as great as that is for us, we long, Father, that we would be nourished and refreshed spiritually. 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:38.459 that we would be able to eat and drink your word so that it would change our lives. 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:44.739 that it would build us up into the people you call us to be. 00:04:44.740 --> 00:04:55.879 that as we feed on you, that we would see the wonder of the life that we can have in you. 00:04:55.879 --> 00:04:57.879 We ask for your help. 00:04:57.879 --> 00:04:59.259 We ask for your help. 00:04:59.259 --> 00:05:01.219 In Jesus' name. 00:05:01.219 --> 00:05:02.219 Amen. 00:05:02.219 --> 00:05:02.300 Amen. 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:15.060 Un Gorta Moore, for you Irish speakers, is the Great Famine. 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:24.959 That's right, which was responsible for a million deaths over a period of seven years from 1845 to 52. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:29.959 In 2002, the population in Ireland dropped by almost 25%. 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:35.959 A disease known as the potato blight killed off the annual potato harvest. 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:43.959 And at that time, over a third of the population was entirely dependent on the potato for food. 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:44.959 It wasn't like today. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:45.959 It wasn't like today. 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:50.959 If you run out of potatoes, well, you go to the cupboard or down to the shop and you get some rice or pasta. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:52.959 Not so during the famine. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:54.959 No shops about. 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:58.959 In fact, the potato was their diet. 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.959 There was no other food for most people. 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:09.959 For the vast majority of people, you had potatoes for breakfast, dinner and tea. 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:14.959 So quite simply, without the potato, people died. 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:16.959 And that's what happened. 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:26.959 Now, what the potato was to the Irish in the mid-19th century, bread was to the Palestinian in the first century. 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:29.959 Bread was the staple diet. 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:33.959 You had bread for breakfast, dinner and tea. 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:37.959 Sometimes you might get a little bit of fish or meat. 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:41.959 But primarily, you ate bread. 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:44.959 It was essential to life. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:50.959 And it was very simple that without bread, people died. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:55.959 Now, with that significance in mind, 00:06:55.959 --> 00:07:06.959 John 6 tells us that Jesus has just been feeding a huge crowd with five rolls of bread and two small fish. 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:12.959 In fact, we know from Matthew's Gospel, where the same story is recorded, 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:16.959 that the figure of 5,000 did not include women and children. 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:22.959 So when it says 5,000, here we're looking at a crowd of at least 15,000. 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:26.959 That's almost the population of Karagaline. 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:31.959 You could imagine the population of Karagaline all heading out to Karabini 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:36.959 and one man feeding them with five bits of bread. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:43.959 Well, on the back of that amazing miracle, Jesus says in verse 35, 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:48.959 I am the bread of life. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:54.959 And then over at the end of verse 58, he says, 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:59.959 He who feeds on this bread will live forever. 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:06.959 Now, could you imagine being in that crowd when those words were spoken? 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:11.959 In a society, in a culture, where without bread you died, 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:15.959 and somebody says, I'm the bread of life. 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:19.959 If you feed on this, you will live forever. 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:21.959 It was massive. 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:27.959 But what did Jesus mean when he said to the crowd, 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:30.959 I am the bread of life? 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:37.960 Well, firstly, Jesus was saying that he is the source of true life. 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:43.960 Because of this amazing miracle, Jesus was becoming quite an attraction. 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:45.960 Crowds were following him everywhere, 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:48.960 so he did his best to get away from the people. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:50.960 Look at verse 25. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:53.960 But when they found him on the other side of the lake, 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:55.960 they asked him, Rabbi, which means teacher, 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:57.960 when did you get here? 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:00.960 Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:05.960 You are looking for me not because you saw the miraculous signs, 00:09:05.960 --> 00:09:08.960 but because you ate the loaves and you had your fill. 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:11.960 Now, Jesus isn't stupid. 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:14.960 He understands what the people's true motive is. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:16.960 You don't want me. 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:19.960 You want more food. 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:22.960 And as we've said, bread was essential for life. 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:25.960 And in those days, 80% of your income 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:28.960 went on buying food. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:34.960 So if some bloke turns up one day and starts feeding you for free, 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:39.960 surely you'd want the same guy to do the same again tomorrow, wouldn't you? 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:44.960 You think of the amount of money you would have left over to buy everything else instead of food. 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:45.960 There's this guy down the road. 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:47.960 He's going to feed us for nothing. 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:51.960 So Jesus is on to them. 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:58.960 In fact, the miracles that Jesus is doing is not for their convenience. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:05.960 John calls them, do you see there in verse 26, a miraculous sign. 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:16.960 In other words, they are signs pointing beyond itself to who Jesus is and what Jesus has to give. 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:19.960 So he says in verse 27, 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:26.960 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:30.960 which the Son of Man, that's Jesus, will give you. 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:33.960 He's saying to the crowd, 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:37.960 Look guys, we can eat bread all day long. 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.960 And I can feed you bread all day long. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.960 But at the end of the day, you're all going to die. 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:50.960 So stop thinking about temporary things and start thinking about eternal things. 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:58.960 And 2,000 years later, I think we're all still the same, aren't we? 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:00.960 We're obsessed with the here and now. 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.960 We're obsessed with the physical. 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:09.960 The amount of programs and books and everything else there is on health and fitness and well-being. 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:14.960 As if we were going to be in our bodies for an eternity. 00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:18.960 And we're concerned for the material as well. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:24.960 Money, success, and the accumulation of gadgets as if we are going to be on this planet for an eternity. 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.960 And we have to entertain ourselves with all of these things. 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.960 And into the mix of all of this, Jesus comes along. 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:40.960 And to us, Jesus is just some kind of miracle worker who obeys our orders and does what we tell him to do to get what you want. 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:44.960 Do another miracle, Jesus, for my life. 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:54.960 But what Jesus wants us to do is to look beyond the present, beyond the physical and the material, to the future. 00:11:55.960 --> 00:12:00.960 He wants us to see beyond the miracles of all the different things that Jesus can do. 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:05.960 He says, look beyond it and look what I really have to offer you. 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:14.960 Stop thinking about filling your bellies today and start thinking about your eternal destiny tomorrow. 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:17.960 That's what really matters. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:23.960 But the point is for these people, and like ourselves, we're always thinking about the here and now. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:26.960 And they're thinking about food for their bellies. 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:30.960 How many of you are thinking about what you're going to have for lunch? 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:31.960 Are you listening? 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:33.960 Look at verse 28. 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:40.960 Then they asked him, what must we do to do the works God requires? 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:42.960 We'll do anything, Jesus. 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:46.960 Just tell us what we have to do so we can get what you've got on offer. 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:48.960 Verse 29. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:55.960 Jesus said, the work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:58.960 It's not about doing anything. 00:12:59.960 --> 00:13:00.960 It's all about me, says Jesus. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:02.960 He's drawing attention to himself. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:04.960 It's about faith in me. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:07.960 Verse 30. 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:12.960 So they asked him, what miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:14.960 What will you do? 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:18.960 Do you see they're still avoiding Jesus? 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:24.960 All they want is for this Jesus person is to do another miracle. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:29.960 But how many miracles do they actually need? 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:33.960 Back in chapter 6, verse 1, we read that he had healed the sick. 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:38.960 And if we read on from verse 16, we'll read that Jesus was walking on water. 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:44.960 And he fed the crowd with just a few loaves. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:48.960 How many more miracles do they actually need before they believe? 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:52.960 And now they want Jesus to do what Moses was doing before. 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:54.960 In verse 31. 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:59.960 They say to Jesus, our forefathers ate the manna in the desert. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:03.960 As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:12.960 If you can remember back to the story in the Old Testament of when Israel were rescued from Egypt, they ended up in the desert with no food. 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:18.960 So Moses, on behalf of the people, prayed out to God and God provided manna. 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:21.960 And manna was a bread-like substance. 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:29.960 Every morning and evening, manna would fall on the ground and the people would all go out, gather it up, and they would have enough food for that day. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.960 So they come to Jesus and say, come on, Jesus, do the same. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:35.960 Remember what Moses did? 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:36.960 You do the same. 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:39.960 Provide us with lots of food. 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:41.960 Verse 32. 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:50.960 Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread. 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:53.960 And he tells us who that is, verse 33. 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:55.960 Are they not getting it? 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:58.960 It is not about Moses, he is saying. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:00.960 It is all about me. 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.960 It is not about the physical and material. 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:06.960 It is about the spiritual and the eternal. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:09.960 It is not about physical bread to eat. 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:13.960 It is all about the true bread that comes down from heaven. 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:18.960 And he tells us who that is, verse 33. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:28.960 For the bread of God is he, that's Jesus, who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:32.960 You see, we need to get back to the source. 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:39.960 We need to get back to Jesus himself, to that which really matters. 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:50.960 As one writer put it bluntly, it is immensely stupid not to live with eternal values in view. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:55.960 We need to get back to Jesus and what he really has to offer. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:59.960 Well, what is it that Jesus offers? 00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:04.960 Jesus, well, he could repeat the feeding miracle. 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:07.960 There is no doubt about that, couldn't he? 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:11.960 He could take them all off again out and feed them with a few loaves. 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:15.960 But then, he would have to do it again the next day. 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:19.960 And they would eat again and they would be hungry again the next day. 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:21.960 And this would just go on all the time. 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:25.960 The bread that they would get would only be enough for the day. 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:31.960 What they want and what they need is very different. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:34.960 And I think it's true of us. 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:39.960 What we want from Jesus is very different to what we actually need. 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:42.960 Well, let's see what Jesus has to offer. 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:44.960 Verse 34. 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:49.960 Sir, they said, from now on give us this bread. 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:53.960 Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:56.960 He who comes to me will never go hungry. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:00.960 And he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:06.960 You see, the life that Jesus offers fills and satisfies. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:12.960 There's no need for us to go looking and searching for anything else or anyone else. 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:15.960 Because we have all that we need in Jesus. 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:23.960 Now, for most of our lives, we spend it trying to fill it with all kinds of things and all kinds of people. 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:25.960 We crave joy. 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:27.960 We long for happiness. 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:29.960 We want to be satisfied. 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:32.960 That's the nature of us as people. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:39.960 But whatever we have and whatever we do, never ever seems to be enough. 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:42.960 But look what Jesus promises. 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.960 Do you see it at the end of verse 35? 00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:52.960 Come to me and you will never go hungry. 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.960 Now, that's quite a promise, isn't it? 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:04.960 Jonathan Reid, who was speaking at our weekend last week, quoted from C.S. Lewis. 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:06.960 And I think it's worth quoting again. 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:07.960 You may remember it. 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:09.960 C.S. Lewis says, 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:21.960 We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us. 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:32.960 Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum, because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:37.960 We are far too easily pleased. 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:49.960 And so we fill our lives with things and people, instead of coming to Jesus, who has to truly offer something that will satisfy us completely. 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:54.960 So we don't need to go looking to anyone else or anything else. 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:59.960 But, verse 36, 00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:07.960 As I told you, you have seen me, and still you do not believe. 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:09.960 Why don't they believe? 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:12.960 It seems so straightforward and so simple. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:17.960 Well, we're going to come back to that, because that's a big question. 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:19.960 But let's see what else is promised. 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:23.960 It's not only life that satisfies, it is life that is secure. 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:24.960 Look at verse 37. 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:32.960 All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:40.960 Now, Jesus is giving a sure and solid guarantee that the life he offers is forever. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:42.960 See it there in verse 37. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:52.960 Everyone that is brought into Jesus will never be driven away from Jesus. 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:57.960 Well, how can we be so sure if we come to Jesus that we'll never be driven away from Jesus? 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:00.960 Well, look at verse 38. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:02.960 Jesus says, 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:11.960 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:24.960 You see, the eternal life, the life that Jesus offers, is based not on our performance, but the perfect obedience and performance of Jesus. 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:29.960 Jesus has come into this world to do the Father's will. 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:30.960 And what is his will? 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:31.960 Look at verse 39. 00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:43.960 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:49.960 That's his will, is to hold on to, is to keep all those that come to Jesus. 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:54.960 Now, does Jesus fail to obey the will of the Father? 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:55.960 Does he? 00:20:55.960 --> 00:21:00.960 Does he ever fail in doing what the Father asks him to do? 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:02.960 Absolutely not. 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:06.960 He obeys perfectly and completely. 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:07.960 Excuse me. 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:09.960 Therefore, the promise of eternal life is secure. 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:10.960 Verse 40. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:24.960 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:25.960 So it's absolutely secure. 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:26.960 So it's absolutely secure. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:31.960 It's based on the performance of Jesus who does the will of the Father. 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:42.960 So the life that Jesus offers not only satisfies us, it is not only eternally secure, he's not going to take it from us. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:46.960 He will lose none of those who come to Jesus. 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:57.960 Well, that brings us back to the question we were just asking from verse 36. 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:07.960 Why is it that it seems so simple and so straightforward, why is it that they still don't believe? 00:22:07.960 --> 00:22:11.960 Jesus is saying, believe me. 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:13.960 It sounds quite exclusive. 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:14.960 Come to me. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:16.960 I'm the bread of life. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:18.960 Well, why don't they do it? 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.960 Why don't they just come and why don't they just believe? 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:26.960 Well, they were having difficulties with what Jesus was saying and they started to grumble. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:28.960 Verse 43. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:35.960 Stop grumbling among yourselves, Jesus answered. 00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:38.960 And here's part of the answer why they don't believe. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:51.960 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:55.960 Now, if you find that hard, you're not alone. 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:56.960 Look at verse 60. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:00.960 That no one can come to the Father unless he is drawn. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:02.960 Do you find that hard? 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:03.960 I do. 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:04.960 And we're not alone. 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:07.960 Look at verse 60. 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:15.960 On hearing it, this is the teaching of Jesus, many of the disciples said, this is a hard teaching. 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:18.960 Who can accept it? 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:28.960 At one level, it's not difficult to understand, but it is hard for us to accept. 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:40.960 If you want this life from Jesus that he is offering, the only way it's going to happen is if the Father draws you. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:43.960 It's not dissimilar to what it says in verse 37. 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:48.960 All that the Father gives to me will come to me. 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:53.960 Salvation, the gift of eternal life, is ultimately a work of God. 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:59.960 God must enable us to come to Jesus, otherwise we never will. 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:03.960 Well, you're thinking, that can't be right. 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:05.960 There's another side to it, isn't it? 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:08.960 What about my decision and my choice? 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:12.960 Well, of course there's a decision and a choice on our part. 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:23.960 But that choice and that decision to follow Jesus is never possible unless God draws them in the first place. 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:25.960 Well, how does he draw us? 00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:26.960 How does that happen? 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:29.960 Well, let's go on in verse 45. 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:37.960 It is written in the prophets that they will all be taught by God. 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:42.960 Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:46.960 Now that's a quote from Isaiah. 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:47.960 Isaiah. 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:56.960 And in that whole section in Isaiah, it's looking forward to the day of restoration and renewal, 00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:59.960 when the Holy Spirit is going to come. 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:02.960 And the Spirit is God's teacher. 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:13.960 The Holy Spirit wakens up our minds, opens up our eyes, unblocks our ears to be able to see that we desperately need Jesus. 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:19.960 He speaks to us in the inmost part of our lives. 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:30.960 So we can say from this, if we are followers of Jesus, it's not because you chose him, but because God chose you. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:34.960 Is that difficult to understand? 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:41.960 It's not difficult to understand, but it's hard to accept. 00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:51.960 So, you're thinking, well, if I want this life of Jesus, and I've got to be drawn by God, is he going to draw me? 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:54.960 What about some of my friends and families? 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:56.960 Is God going to draw them? 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:00.960 Is it kind of just pick and choose randomly what's going on here? 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:04.960 Well, look at verse 46. 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:12.960 Jesus says, no one has ever seen the Father except the one who is from God. 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:15.960 Only he has seen the Father. 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:17.960 Of course, that's Jesus, isn't it? 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:24.960 Verse 47, I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:27.960 Now, we can't see God. We can't see the Father. 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:32.960 Only Jesus, who has been sent, has seen the Father. 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.960 So, as Jesus comes into the world, he comes to show us the Father. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:40.960 He comes to do what the Father does. 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:43.960 And the Father draws us. God draws us in. 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:47.960 And so, Jesus has come to draw us into the Father. 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:53.960 So, he's saying to this grumbling, unbelieving crowd, he says, you can't hear the Father. 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:55.960 You can't even see the Father. 00:26:55.960 --> 00:26:57.960 But you have me. 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:00.960 You can listen to me. 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:01.960 Here I am. 00:27:01.960 --> 00:27:02.960 Hear my words. 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:04.960 Accept me. 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:10.960 Verse 48, I am the bread of life. 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:16.960 So, God had sent his Son, God had sent him into the world. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:21.960 To be that drawing love of God. 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:29.960 The drawing love of God that would pursue us and chase us like a lover who's trying to get the one who's running away. 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:35.960 And try and bring them in, challenging us, inviting us, doing everything possible. 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:41.960 So that we might come and receive the life that he alone can give. 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:47.960 And as we read these words, he is still doing exactly the same. 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:50.960 Come to me. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:53.960 The invitation is open to everybody. 00:27:53.960 --> 00:28:08.960 And if we want to believe, and if we want our friends and family to have this same life, we must simply show them Jesus. 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.960 We must let them hear his words. 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:20.960 And as we let them hear the words, we must pray that God would teach them by his Holy Spirit. 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:27.960 And draw them in by his love that they may receive and know that life. 00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:28.960 And the truth is, we must say, is that God's words? 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:29.960 And the truth is, we must say, is that God's words? 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:30.960 Difficult to understand? 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:31.960 Difficult to understand? 00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:32.960 Not really. 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:34.960 We may have to think about it. 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:35.960 Hard to accept? 00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:37.960 Yes, it can be. 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:40.960 But this is God's words. 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:48.960 So how do the crowd and how do we respond to what Jesus has just said? 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:59.960 Well, if we think that's kind of hard to get our minds around, he says something else which really seems quite strange and almost grotesque. 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:01.960 Look at verse 51. 00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:03.960 Jesus says, 00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:07.960 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:12.960 If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:21.960 This bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world. 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:26.960 Now naturally, such a thought was going to create arguments and a whole heap of discussion. 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:28.960 Verse 52. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:31.960 So the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves. 00:29:31.960 --> 00:29:34.960 How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:36.960 He's telling us to eat him. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:41.960 What on earth does Jesus mean that we are to eat him? 00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:46.960 Well, a lot of people think that this is a reference to the Lord's Supper. 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:50.960 But that doesn't happen until John chapter 13. 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:54.960 So I don't think it's anything to do with the Lord's Supper. 00:29:54.960 --> 00:30:02.960 One commentator who's done an awful lot of work in John's Gospel, Don Carson, illustrates it very well like this. 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:04.960 It's a very helpful illustration. 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:05.960 He says, 00:30:05.960 --> 00:30:14.960 But if you go out to a nice restaurant and you order a gourmet burger, what are you eating? 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:19.960 Well, everything that you are eating is dead. 00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:23.960 The bread or the bun is dead wheat. 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:24.960 It's been harvested. 00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:28.960 It's been crushed, turned into flour, baked in the oven. 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:30.960 It's dead. 00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:34.960 The meat in the middle is a dead cow. 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:39.960 Somebody has slaughtered a clow, chopped it up, minced it up, fried it away. 00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:42.960 It's dead cow. 00:30:42.960 --> 00:30:46.960 The side chips are dead potatoes. 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:51.960 Somebody's picked them, harvested, cut them up, boiled them in 100 degrees of oil. 00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:52.960 They're dead. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:54.960 They're dead. 00:30:54.960 --> 00:31:01.960 So what we could say is, the food you eat died for you. 00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:06.960 In other words, unless the food dies, we would die. 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:07.960 We would have no food. 00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:13.960 Unless the cow dies, unless the wheat dies, unless the potatoes die, we wouldn't have anything to eat. 00:31:13.960 --> 00:31:17.960 And that's the point of Jesus' words. 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:26.960 He's saying to the people, either I die or you die. 00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:28.960 Verse 53. 00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:39.960 Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, unless you can eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:48.960 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:54.960 Jesus is driving us and the people towards the cross. 00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:56.960 That's where he's heading in John's Gospel. 00:31:56.960 --> 00:31:59.960 He's heading towards the cross. 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:02.960 He offers himself to us as the bread of life. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:08.960 But if we are going to eat the bread, he must first die. 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:10.960 He must die in our place. 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:16.960 He must die our death, so that we may participate in his life. 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:17.960 Verse 57. 00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:27.960 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 00:32:27.960 --> 00:32:33.960 Now, of course, it's not a literal eating of Jesus' body. 00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:36.960 We're not literally eating his flesh and blood. 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:44.960 To eat Jesus, his invitation here to eat of him, is to trust him completely. 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:49.960 It's to rely on Jesus' death for life, for eternal life. 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:52.960 Verse 29 said the same thing. 00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:58.960 The work of God is this, is to believe in the one he has sent. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:00.960 It's the same in verse 35. 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:02.960 He who comes to me. 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:06.960 It's an invitation to put your life, trusting yourself into his care. 00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:13.960 So unless we are trusting in Christ alone, we have no life. 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:21.960 And so Jesus comes to the crowds, and he comes to us. 00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:28.960 And through us, he speaks out into the wider community of Carigalline. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:32.960 And he says, you must taste of this bread. 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:34.960 You must eat of it. 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:42.960 You must trust in Christ if you are to have life. 00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:50.960 For the person living in the first century, without bread, you died. 00:33:50.960 --> 00:34:03.960 For us living in the 21st century, without Jesus, the true bread of life, we will die. 00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:07.960 Remember we said about the feeding of the 5,000. 00:34:07.960 --> 00:34:10.960 About 15,000 popular people there. 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:14.960 That's the population of Carigalline. 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:18.960 They'll all have their food to eat today. 00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:21.960 Nobody will be hungry in Carigalline. 00:34:21.960 --> 00:34:26.960 They could have the choice of about 50 different types of bread. 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:30.960 How many know the bread of life? 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:38.960 People must come to Christ to eat the bread so that they may live forever. 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:40.960 Let's pray. 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:55.960 Our Father God, we thank you for Jesus. 00:34:55.960 --> 00:34:59.960 We thank you for his amazing, miraculous signs. 00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:01.960 For his healings. 00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:03.960 For his walking on the water. 00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:10.960 For feeding so many people with just a small bit of food. 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:17.960 But yet all of this pointing to who he is and what he really has to offer. 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:19.960 Life in Christ. 00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:21.960 Eternal life. 00:35:21.960 --> 00:35:28.960 Life that satisfies and fills and completes. 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:31.960 Help us to be eating of that bread each day. 00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:35.960 To be taking in of Christ. 00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:40.960 And help us to offer the bread of Christ to the world. 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:42.960 That they too may know him. 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:45.960 And enjoy the life that he has to give. 00:35:45.960 --> 00:35:47.960 In Jesus name. 00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:48.960 Amen. 00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:57.960 Well, we're going to sing together. 00:35:57.960 --> 00:36:08.960 And this song is going to be used in a way of preparing and helping us to focus our minds afresh on the Lord Jesus. 00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:12.960 We are going to share together in the Lord's Supper in communion together. 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:23.960 And so this song is one that talks about sharing in the bread of life. 00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:25.960 And drinking of his sacrifice. 00:36:25.960 --> 00:36:30.960 It's about our trust completely in the Lord Jesus. 00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:33.960 We're going to sing the first three verses. 00:36:33.960 --> 00:36:35.960 And then we'll share communion. 00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:38.960 And then we'll sing the remaining verses afterwards. 00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:40.960 Let's stand together as we do this. 00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:51.960 Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away slain for us. 00:36:51.960 --> 00:36:52.960 We'll sing the first three verses. 00:36:52.960 --> 00:36:56.960 And we'll sing thekatach. 00:36:56.960 --> 00:37:01.960 Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away slain for us. 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:06.960 And we remember the promise made that all who come in faith. 00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:18.019 Remember the promise made that all who come in faith find forgiveness at the cross. 00:37:18.019 --> 00:37:36.260 So we share in this bread of life and we drink of His sacrifice at the sight of our bonds of peace. 00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:41.220 Around the table of the King. 00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:57.880 The body of our Savior Jesus Christ, torn for you. 00:37:57.880 --> 00:38:06.720 Heed and remembered the wounds that heal the death that brings us life. 00:38:06.720 --> 00:38:11.539 They look right to make us small. 00:38:11.539 --> 00:38:29.800 So we share in this bread of life and we drink of His sacrifice at the sight of our bonds of peace. 00:38:29.800 --> 00:38:33.880 Around the table of the King. 00:38:33.880 --> 00:38:50.880 The blood that cleanses every stain of sin shed for you. 00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:55.140 Drink and remember. 00:38:55.139 --> 00:39:04.980 He drained that cup that all may enter in to receive the life of God. 00:39:04.980 --> 00:39:23.240 So we share in this bread of life and we drink of His sacrifice at the sight of our bonds of peace. 00:39:23.239 --> 00:39:27.199 Around the table of the King. 00:39:34.699 --> 00:39:35.959 Please do take a seat. 00:39:36.059 --> 00:39:38.899 We're going to come back to that song in a little while. 00:39:40.419 --> 00:39:47.839 But here we are as God's people gathered around the table of the King. 00:39:48.419 --> 00:39:49.739 It was a supper.