Sun, Sep 28th - 10:52PM
Book of John Chapter 7
This chapter of John is a brief pause in the revelation of who Christ Jesus is. It shows the reactions of a variety of groups of people to the claims of Jesus.
"After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews tried to kill Him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said to Him, Depart and go into Judaea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You do. For there is no man that does any thing in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world. For neither did His brethren believe in Him. Then Jesus said to them, My time is not yet com: but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but Me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. You go up to this feast: I do not go up yet to this feast; for My time is not yet fully come. When He had said these words to them, He abode still in Galilee." (7:1-9)
The very first reaction came from His half brothers. They had mocked, ridiculed, and been sarcastic towards Jesus. We are taught how to answer such behavior. We do so by proclaiming the same three facts that Jesus proclaimed. I will talk of these later on. Jesus decided to withdraw to Galilee at this time to avoid the Jews who were wanting to arrest Him and kill Him. The religious groups had reacted violently against Him. "Sought" means continuous action.
How long Jesus was away from Jerusalem and Judaea is not known. Perhaps six to eighteen months. On His last journey into Jerusalem He was attending the Passover and in this chapter it is time for the Feast of Tabernacles. Please notice that Jesus did not withdraw from ministry, nor become idle. He continued to teach and preach the gospel. To live was to minister.
Jesus' brothers response to Him was full of unbelief and outright mockery. The four brothers names were James, Joses, Simon, and Judas. Also there were some half sisters but who remained unidentified by name. Their attitude was one of extreme concern and embarrassment. They thought He was mad or insane. Jesus did not, of course, listen to the urgings of His family to stop making such outrageous claims. Jesus had to proclaim the truth: He was the Son of God, the very Bread of Life, the only One who could satisfy people, giving them abundant and eternal life.
His brothers challenged Jesus to go up to Jerusalem and let everyone see these marvelous works. They claimed that Jesus was failing to help and strengthen His disciples there by not going. Now, did they know that the leaders of the Sanhedrin sought to kill Him? Probably. They were being deliberately hurtful. How hurt must Jesus have felt by His family treating Him this way in public? His mother believed and I am sure Joseph did as well. But His siblings did not believe they were skeptical. This just one more example of how Jesus knows what kind of hurt and embarrassment each of us experiences at some point in our lives. In verses 6-9 we get to see Jesus' responses. He tells his brethren that it is not time for His acclaim, not time for the world to accept and acknowledge His claims and works, just not quite yet. You see, God the Father had this all planned out. There were God appointed times for everything Jesus did. So Jesus took their mockery and turned it into a teaching moment! There would be a time, a day when He would be acclaimed, but it was not now. The time for human mockery was right then, Jesus told them that it was the time for the world's acclaim of itself. It still is that time today.
Some people claim that "time" means "the opportune time." Kairos does stress opportune time and is different from the word usually used for Jesus' "hour." (John 2:4). Three things support the interpretation that Kairos means "Jesus' hour" in this particular passage. There is the contrast Jesus makes between His time and His brothers' time; the context of verses 7-8; and the emphasis given to Jesus' answer. If He was only waiting for the opportune time to go up to Jerusalem then His reply is rather trivial.
Jesus also points out that it is time for the world's reaction against Me, that it is time for Christ to point out the sin of the world, the false religion, the depravity, the corruption, the world's need, and the destiny of the world. Because He proclaimed the Truth, the world hated Him and would not accept Him. People accept one another. People love the world, serve the world, participate in its doings, approve of its behavior, and in general go along with it. The world receives those who mock and ridicule Jesus and His followers. This is the time and the day when the Truth must be proclaimed, that the world is evil! Truth must be preached and proclaimed by every minister of God. How else can the world be saved unless it's evil be acknowledged and corrected. It must, however, be proclaimed the way that Jesus proclaimed it: in love, appealing to the desperate needs of people.
It was not time for Jesus' full revelation. Consider the words "full come." His predestined hour to die for the world was not yet upon Him. So, our answer today to mockery, ridicule, sarcasm, and unbelief is the same as Jesus' answer. This is the time for the world's works to be proclaimed as evil. It is not yet time for Jesus' full revelation for the climax of human history is still a future event. The day approaches when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord of all(Philippians 2:9-11; Rev 15:4; Isaiah 45:22-2). Hallelujah!!!
Next time we look at what the response of the Jews was for Jesus did eventually go up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.
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Wed, Sep 24th - 11:14AM
Book of John Chapter 6
"These things He said in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is a hard saying: who can hear it? When Jesus knew that His disciples murmured at it, He said to them, Does this offend you? What if you shall see the Son of man, ascend up where He was before? It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who should betray Him. And He said, Therefore I said to you, that no man can come to Me, unless it were given to him of My Father. From that time man of His disciples went back, and no more walked with Him. Then said Jesus to the twelve, Will you also go away? then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that You are that Christ, the Son of the living god. Jesus answered them, Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he was the one who should betray Him, being one of the twelve." (6:59-71)
Everything that Jesus has said in previous verses was done in the synagogue at Capernaum. This passage today is important for believers today. If people became offended by what Jesus said to them 2000 years ago why do we think that they won't be offended by His words today? Of course they will be offended. Charlie Kirk spoke about Jesus and the crucifixion and the resurrection and the need to repent of sins and it offended people to the point that they accused him of being divisive, hateful, bigoted, racist, etc. He was doing what Christ has commended all believers to do. Many believers were present when Jesus had been speaking, many of them stopped following Jesus when they heard what He had to say about the bread of life. Isn't this what happens today when a pastor begins to really preach what Jesus said? At some point they become offended, usually at the shed blood of Christ because that is just too gruesome and gory. Believers need to preach and teach Christ crucified, the blood of salvation, of redemption, of transformation into a new creation. Why is the Jewish Passover so important? Because it foreshadowed the coming mission of the Messiah and the Lamb of God. The Old Testament foreshadowing what was to come in the New Testament.
People are offended by the claims of Christ Jesus and the idea of of eating His flesh ad drinking His blood. They will call Him a grotesque god. A god who came to earth and impregnated a young girl and became incarnated in human flesh, being born half man and half god. They will call Christianity a bloody religion or a religion of cannibalism.
1) Jesus was fully man and fully God. He was not born of a human father; He was born of God. God spoke the Word and a miracle happened. Jesus was was born by the Word of God and by human flesh. 2) The cross or the blood of Christ is offensive and repulsive just as some people feel it is. It represents the horrible shame of sin and the death of Jesus Christ, God's very own Son; therefore, it is bound to be repulsive. However, it also represents salvation and deliverance from sin and its terrible guilt. Thus the cross is also the most attractive symbol in all of the world. Christ's words of "take and eat" are not cannibalism. They simply mean that a person is to spiritually receive Christ into his/her life, into their whole being, making Him a part of them. The person must spiritually receive, partake, consume, absorb, and assimilate Christ into his/her life. Christ must become engrafted into the person. Then people are also offended by the ascension and exaltation of Christ. Why is this? Easy. If they accept the ascension and exaltation they must surrender the control of their lives to Christ. They can no longer control their own life and do whatever they feel like doing.
Notice these three things: 1) People are unwilling to see Jesus as the Ideal/Perfect Man, as the Pattern for everyone to copy. They would have to pattern their lives after Christ by trying to live as Christ lived. 2) God exalted Jesus as Lord and Master. People are unwilling to submit themselves under the control and dominion of Jesus. They adamantly refuse to pattern their lives after that of Christ. 3) Jesus is eternal, He was preexistent: God of very God. thus people are to believe and surrender to Him as Lord.
People are also offended by the teaching that the Holy Spirit quickens the flesh. Our flesh can't quicken and make us alive. Our flesh can't profit us. People do not want to consider the reality that anything that we do in the flesh is very temporary and not eternal. We came into this world naked and we shall leave this world naked. All of the cosmetics, clothing, and efforts to remain looking young and physically attractive are a waste of time and money. Each of us eventually reaches the point when no amount of effort or money can camouflage the effects of our body aging. Each of us is simply at a differing stage of dying. Once our physical bodies die they are no more. The truth offends people. They love the world and their flesh. They love its pleasures and feelings; they want more and more good feelings and material pleasures. They stroke their egos, love to receive recognition, praise, fame, honor, and wealth. Only the Holy Spirit can quicken a person and make them spiritually alive, giving abundant and eternal life. Receiving the Words of Christ means to receive spirit and life.
But we can't ignore Jesus when He said, "There are some of you who do not believe." There are some who follow Jesus today who do not accept His words; therefore they do not have His Spirit living within them nor do they have eternal life. They physically exist but do not live abundantly and eternally. They doubt and wonder if there are other means to salvation and heaven.
As we have already seen in previous passages, people are offended by the fact that God draws and saves people, people can't do it by themselves. Most people believe that if they are good enough and do enough good deeds they will be acceptable to God. Few recognize that they are lost, hearing it preached offends them greatly.
There were exactly three responses to Jesus message. First, all of those who heard and decided "no thank you" and turned away from following Jesus anymore. Why? They felt the cost was too high. It meant accepting the cross and complete denial of themselves. Second, There was the disciple who believed Jesus was the Lord. He declared that His words were the words of eternal life. Third, there was the disciple who would betray Jesus. Judas was a chosen man, chosen not only to be saved but to be a minister of Christ. He was identified to be a devil, a false accuser, and adversary, an enemy of Christ. Judas was a professed believer but a hypocrite. Profession of belief is not sufficient, one must also demonstrate said belief every day. Judas did not.
That is all for chapter six. Next time we begin looking at chapter seven where we get to see the reactions of various groups of people to Jesus' revelations and claims. Have a most blessed day!
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Fri, Sep 19th - 9:46AM
Book of John Chapter 6
What are the results of taking the Bread of Life?
"The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Who ever eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eats My flesh and drinks My blood dwells in Me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats Me, even he shall live by Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live forever."(6:52-58)
Aren't their questions just like ours today? Is Jesus talking about actually eating His physical flesh? "Strove" (emachonto) means to argue, debate. They debated what in the world Jesus meant. Some obviously interpreted Him speaking in a parable, in a figurative or symbolic way. Others probably had no idea what He meant but they did understand that He was claiming to be the most important person in the entire world. As materialists and humanists they were perplexed. Perhaps a very few understood the connection between the manna and Jesus. This conversation had been going on for some time here, Jesus repeating the claim that He was the Bread of Life come down from heaven.
Jesus proclaimed a more shocking thing: unless a person ate, or received Him, that person had no life dwelling in them. "Eat" and "drink" are in the Greek aorist tense which meant a once-for-all act. Jesus spoke of a one time event. A person is to eat and drink of Christ one time for all time. Before a person does this they are in essence "dead men walking." Physically the person is in the process of aging and dying. Spiritually the person is already dead, having no life with God. This person is is doomed to eternal death and separation from God.
Here are five things a person receives upon receiving Christ: 1) Eternal life, conquering death and being resurrected. 2) True satisfaction. 3) Supernatural companionship and fellowship with God. 4) Life that is full of purpose and meaning. 5) Incorruptible food received within the heart.
Christ was telling these Jews that just as they consumed food and drink to nourish themselves they must "consume" Christ in order to be spiritually nourished by God. "Trogon" means to eat with pleasure, to eat eagerly. It pictures a hungering after Christ, eagerly wanting to feast upon Him. It is in the present tense, meaning nourishing oneself daily.
The things of this world do not spiritually feed a person. There is no lasting satisfaction, thus people continually feel they need more and more. Many reach middle age and end up thinking, "Is this all that there is to life?" Charlie Kirk obviously found the purpose for his life at least as young as 18 years old.
Having the companionship/fellowship of Christ daily means that the person never feels like they are totally alone. Christ has said that such a person is in Christ and Christ is in them.(Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.")
The manna eaten by Israel in the wilderness did come from heaven, but it did not give eternal life to those people. They were all dead. The Bread of Life, Jesus, also came down from heaven but in a slightly different way and different purpose. Christ energizes and quickens the person to live forever. Christ has the authority, the power, and the substance to provide eternal life.
So the manna in the Old Testament was a foreshadow of the coming of Christ as the Bread of Life. The manna only satisfied physical hunger while the Bread of Life satisfied spiritual hunger for ever. The brazen serpent on the tall pole in the wilderness also was a foreshadow of Christ. Back then anyone who gazed upon the brazen serpent lifted up high on the pole would be saved from the venomous bites of the vipers. Once Christ was lifted up high upon the cross all who gaze upon Him there and accept Him for Who He claims to be will be saved from eternal death. I urge anyone reading this who is not a believer, please gaze at that cross and consider the implications for your life if you decide to take Jesus at His words. I would very much like to meet you in heaven one day!
Next time we consider some reasons why people are offended by Jesus.
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Thu, Sep 18th - 10:22PM
Book of John Chapter 6
"The Jews then murmured about Him, because He said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that He says, I came down from heaven? Therefore Jesus answered them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to Me, except the father which has sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to Me. Not that any man has seen the Father, save He which is of God, He has seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believes on Me has everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. this is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which will give for the life of the world." (6:41-51)
The religionists of Jesus day rebelled against His claims. They questioned His origins, they misunderstood the incarnation. People today continue to do the exact same things. Jesus continues to emphasize the importance of a person being drawn by God to Jesus. This helps us to understand the difference between those who verbally claim to be a Christian and those who have entered into an intimate relationship with Christ because they have heard the call of God for them to come to Jesus.
The religionists radically opposed and disagreed with Jesus' claim to be from heaven. Because they knew where He had been born, who His mother and father were, who His grandparents were, they assumed that He must be just like them: a mere man. Their struggles came from their ignorance of the incarnation and thus lost sight of His mission. Jesus told the crowd of Jews to stop murmuring and just listen to the truth. Today we all need to just be still and know that Christ is God.
The truth of predestination in the Bible is more a message that speaks to the spiritual experience of the believer. IF the pure logic of philosophy and theology is applied, then predestination says that God chooses some for heaven and some for hell. God means here for us to take heart, for He has assured our salvation. A man does not act alone and come to Christ by his/her own effort and energy, not by his/her works, whether mental or labor. A person is a dead spirit; therefore the person can do nothing spiritually just as a dead body can do nothing physically. A person must be acted upon and drawn by God. God's part is to draw a person. This action has the idea of both pulling and resistance. No person comes willingly, there will be the natural resistance of their sinful flesh. The act of drawing may be the reading of Scripture, or from the voice of a preacher, the observation of nature. But in any and all of these the Holy Spirit is actively at work in the human heart. He uses the Word of God to open up the person's spiritual blindness so that they finally begin to see God's truth. The Holy Spirit also convicts a person of their sin, of righteousness, and of coming judgment. The Holy Spirit attracts people to the cross of Christ through its divine and glorious provisions. He also stirs a person to respond, to come to Christ. A man's part in salvation appears to be threefold. He must hear the voice of God when God draws him. When that pulling, tugging at his heart is felt he must listen to the conviction of the Spirit. He must learn about God. This is accomplished through Christ Jesus. He must come to Christ. Jesus clearly stated the requirements: No one comes to the Father but through Me, no one has seen God, Christ alone is of God, Christ alone has seen God. A person must yield/surrender to the drawing power of God. But being self-centered and rebellious, people like to feel independent; and so people resist the quickening pull and drawing power of God.
The person who who believes has eternal life. Jesus calls for every reader to pay very close attention to what He is saying next. They must believe that Christ is that Bread of Life: the bread that feeds and nourishes spiritually. A person must believe that Christ is from out of heaven. A person must believe that Christ is the Living Bread, the One who gives life to man forever. A person must believe that Christ gave His flesh for the life of the entire world. Christ came once, the incarnation had never happened before and will never happen again. The offer of eternal life is conditional: IF any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.
The phrase "My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" points out that Jesus came in the flesh. He did not come as a spiritual being without physical body. It was necessary for He came to give His flesh(life) for the life of the entire planet. "For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lives subject to bondage(Hebrews 2:14-15)." "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3)." "For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit (I Peter 3:18)."
So we see that God moves first to create the means for us to become reconciled with Himself. It is up to each individual to decide, to choose, to respond to God pulling at their heart.
Next time we will consider the religionists' difficulty dealing with what Jesus claimed. Much of their difficulties still occupy the minds of very many people still today.
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Wed, Sep 17th - 4:48PM
Book of John Chapter 6
God's Predestination
"All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and him that comes to Me I will in no way cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father's will which has sent Me, that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." (6:37-40)
We find assurance here for every believer. The first is God's predestination. Those whom "the Father gives" come to Christ Jesus. But here is a critical fact. Stress is upon assurance, not predestination. Christ wants believers to be assured of their salvation. God Himself has drawn believers, who has moved and stirred spiritually, to come to Christ. There is a predestination thread that does run throughout John's gospel. Things are controlled and happen as God means them to happen. God's purpose is being done. He rules and controls all things(John 10:27-29; Romans 8:28-30; I Peter 1:3-5).
Second assurance is Jesus' Word. He clearly said that anyone who comes to Him will not be cast out. "In no wise" is a double negative, a strong forceful promise. Jesus claimed the authority to accept and reject people. He accepts those who come to Him, those who turn away from the world/flesh to Him. Since God can not lie, our assurance and security are as good as Jesus' Word.
Third assurance is Jesus' purpose. He came to do God's will, not His own. He declared His origin: I came from heaven. As the Son of God Jesus could will and act separately from the Father if He so chose. In Matthew 26:29 "Not My will, but Yours be done." One time Jesus willed something different than the Father: that the cup be removed, for some way other than the cross to be chosen for man's salvation. But in the end, Jesus submitted to the Father's will.
Fourth assurance is God's will for those whom He gives to Christ. God's will is akin to the will of a father for his children: wills only for good and loving things. God willed that Jesus be the first, the most preeminent Person among many brothers and sisters. The believer can rest assured that they have been chosen by God to follow Jesus; they will not be lost, not ever. This means that Jesus will not lose anything, not any part of what God has given to Him. Jesus shall save every true believer through everything. No matter how great the trials, persecutions, the hurts, the heartaches of loss, or attacks of unbelievers, Christ Jesus will save His dear believer.
Fifth assurance is God's will for each believer. Verse 40 centers upon those who see and believe on Jesus. Verse 39 stressed God choosing those who come to Christ. People must also make a choice upon being called by God to come to Christ. That is why it says a person must "see and believe". The word "see" means to behold, to grasp. A person must grasp that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, that He was sent to spiritually feed and nourish them. If a person does this God then wills that they have eternal life. This process results in being raised up from the dead. Jesus said, "I will raise him up at the last day." The use of "I" is emphatic, Jesus and no one else can raise a person who is dead. This assures us of eternal life, of victory over death, of being resurrected. (John 3:16-17; Hebrews 2:14-15; I Thessalonians 4:16).
Next we take a further look at Jesus claim to be the Bread of Life.
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Tue, Sep 16th - 12:22PM
Book of John Chapter 6
"They said to Him,What sign do You show then, that we may see, and believe You? What work do You do? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Moses did not give you that bread from heaven; but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He which came down from heaven, and gives life to the world. Then they said to Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to Me shall never hunger; and he that believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you, That you also have seen Me and do not believe." (6:30-36)
These people demanded a sign from Jesus, their belief hinged upon seeing some miracle. People today demand to see God or Jesus before they will believe. Seems to me like people have not changed much in the past 2,000 years.
Jesus had just made some pretty phenomenal claims: I am the Son of Man, the One who feeds man, the One whom God had sealed, the One upon whom men were to believe. He claimed to be the Bread of Life, the true bread, able to satisfy peoples' hunger and thirst. The peoples' demands for proof reveal a few things about our human nature. 1) We focus upon the physical and material. We ignore all of the signs even the miracles of God. We are so immersed in the earthly that we can not observe the spiritual. We willingly accept the physical pleasures and material goods of our world for they meet the needs of our senses. We want more and more of the same. Moses had fed Israel for forty years in the wilderness. Forty years! Jesus fed them just once. Moses had fed them with manna falling out of the sky from heaven. Jesus merely multiplied bread and fish in His hands. 2) We demand to see first then we will believe. But this runs contrary to true faith. We must first believe then see (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is a matter of the heart, of how the heart must relate to others. God relates to us just as we relate to others. If people do not believe in us, they do not see; they may ask all that they want but it is unlikely that we will do what the ask. However, if they believe and trust us we usually do what they ask, and they see their desires and requests fulfilled by us. We must therefore believe God, then He sees and fulfills our requests. Faith must precede sight. Always.
These people complained that Jesus had not fed them enough, not so that they would be convinced that He was who He said He was. According to them He had not fed them in the right way, not given them manna from heaven. People never seem to have enough, always wanting more. We crave, and crave, and crave. We become restless, empty, lonely, feeling as if we are in a vacuum, lacking in purpose, meaning and significance. It these feelings that employers must fill in the workplace so that their employees will be productive and loyal. The unbeliever in dealing with God never has enough evidence or proof to believe. Here's another thing: people always seem to want to tell God how to act and deal with them and their life. Like they know better than an infinite being. People want their needs met only in certain ways. People want their needs met as they will and desire. They try to dictate how God must act and behave towards them. Too many of human religions are nothing more than this, trying to spell out how God is to act and behave towards them.
We need to admit and accept the fact that Jesus is the true bread. Only Jesus can fill that gnawing hole deep inside each of us. We want to be known. We want to feel recognized. We want to be loved. We want to be accepted. We want to feel that we are complete. Moses was not the one who provided the manna. God provided the manna. You and I must look beyond other people and the things of this world. They can not meet the gnawing hunger that we have within us. They can not give us true satisfaction. But let's notice three things here. Christ called God "My father", the bread that God gives is "true" bread, this bread is not physical/material. It is spiritual. God does indeed promise to supply all of our needs physically(Matt 6:24-33). The physical bread only lasts momentarily. But Jesus spoke about spiritual bread which is for the soul. It will fill the void inside of us, it will give us renewed purpose in life, new meaning, new significance, and eternal life. (John 6:50-51; 6:53-54; 6:57-58)
As the manna came down from heaven for Moses to give to his people so too did Jesus come down from heaven to meet the spiritual hunger of those who believed in Him. A person can not possess the bread of God unless He gives it. So unless God gives you Jesus Christ, you can not possess the bread of life. The Bread of God is a person, notice the personal pronoun "He". The word for bread is masculine(ho artos). Thus this person came down from heaven, from the very presence of God the Father. (John 3:31; 6:38; 8:23; 8:42; 16:30; I Cor 15:47)
Bread gives life by nourishing and sustaining, satisfying, energizing, creating desire for more, and by being consumed regularly. Christ does exactly the same things spiritually. God's desire is for the entire world to believe in Christ and be able to receive the Bread of Life. It is why He came to sacrifice Himself, to feed and save a spiritually starving world. Now Jesus' coming as the sacrificial Bread of God was foreshadowed by the sacrifices of the Old Testament tabernacle and then the Temple(Leviticus 21:21-22).
So what shall people today do? Continue asking in vain for more and more physical proof that Jesus is real? These people in our scriptural passage today saw Christ, talked with Christ, were physically fed by Christ in miraculous fashion, and yet they still rejected Him. They were without excuse. People today are without excuse. Those people of long ago could have easily come to Christ yet they simply sat there hearing the glorious news, not choosing to believe(John 1:11, 3:36, 8:24, 12:48) People today hear all of the accounts of what Jesus did when He was physically here on earth. They generally choose to not believe. If He was here and doing them in person, they would still choose to not believe. They would choose to believe the scientists and the influencers on social media rather than their own personal experience. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Who is influencing your faith?
Next time we look at a thorny issue. Predestination. So many feel that this eliminates all free will.
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Wed, Sep 10th - 6:56AM
Book of John Chapter 6
The Answer to Every Person's Great Hunger in Life
"The following day, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, save that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus did not go with His disciples in the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone; (However there came other boats from Tiberias close to the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither His disciples, they also took ships, and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus. And when they had found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, You seek Me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures to everlasting life,which the Son of Man shall give to you: for him God the Father has sealed." ( 6:22-27)
It did not take the multitude very long before figuring out where Jesus had gone. They got on ships and sailed across the sea to Capernaum to find Him. They pursued Jesus. Why? Mankind has a gnawing hunger for both the physical and the spiritual. Hungry for both food/material things and for God/spiritual things. Hungry for love, joy, and peace. So most of humanity's time and energy is spent in seeking to satisfy this hunger. Here in this passage of scripture that I am looking at today is the answer.
#1 First, we must recognize the hunger really exists within us. The multitude of people wanted more food, they were hungry again! They knew their need for Jesus. They were hungry! They noticed the absence of Jesus. One boat had been docked the night before and the next morning it was gone. They had lost track of Jesus. Their physical hunger was not going to be satisfied unless they could find Jesus again. Humanity has a great need for Jesus. It must acknowledge its need. It must observe to see if Christ is indeed present. Too many people today do not see Jesus present and so their need goes unmet, unsatisfied. People are unable to see the Unseen Christ at work in our world.
The multitude did what they should have done, they went seeking. People today should search diligently to find Christ. Not some half-hearted search but to desire to do what ever it takes to find Him. Seek until He is found. Once the multitude found Jesus they wanted to know when He crossed the sea. Notice Jesus never answered their question here. Instead He points out that the only reason they want to be near Him is so that He can feed them, just like Moses fed their ancestors manna in the wilderness during the exodus. The question comes up today, "Why does Jesus do often seem absent and far away, especially during times of trouble and war?" If there is a God, why is the world in so much conflict and trouble? Why are there so many suffering people? Doesn't He care? Why does He refuse to step in solve the problems and end all of the suffering and death?
A. Our motives are corrupt. We ae interested in getting our needs met, whether by someone human or divine. We are interested in ourselves, not acknowledging and honoring Jesus to be Lord, and not in serving Him and making Him known to a lost world. The multitude was focused on how wonderful it was to be saved from hunger. Jesus could provide them with everything and deliver them from all of their enslavements and enemies. He could bring utopia to earth. Please understand that people today are no different. Our thoughts often are on the earth, on material possessions, on our body and its satisfaction, and on the carnal desires of our bodies and minds. B. We should be interested in Jesus for who He is and not for what we can get out of Him. Jesus wants us to seek Him and to love Him for who He is, not for what He can do for us in this world. Not prosperity gospel. The multitude stood before their Messiah and did not fall down in all humility. They should have recognized and acknowledged Him to be the Son of God. They ought to have worshipped and praised Him for who He is. They should have offered their very lives to Him, all they were and all that they had. They should have seen that all things belonged to Him and were due Him. They should have apologized to Him, He ought not to be the One giving to them but to be receiving from them. It is still true today. Too many of us do not realize that all that we have in this world is His and not ours. Even within God's Church, too many of us think that what we have is really ours. The reality is that it all belongs to God/Jesus.
"Then they said to Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent." (6:28-29)
Finally the multitude of people ask the correct question! Now what were they thinking when they used the term "works of God"? Spiritual? Or physical? I believe they were still thinking in terms of doing good works, that they could win the approval and acceptance of God that way. Why should they think otherwise? They had sort of been taught that since they were kids. If they did enough good and lived a life that was moral and just, God would save them and give them the food that satisfied, that was both abundant and eternal. Can you see any similarities to what is preached by some churches?
We could easily see people in three categories. Those who are good, who do plenty of good works. They live good, moral, and just lives and thus are acceptable to God. There are those who are bad people, who do mostly bad works. They live immoral and unjust lives; thus unacceptable to God. Or, there are compromising people, who do both good and bad works. They live both moral and immoral, just and unjust lives. They are close to securing god's approval but not quite. They feel by doing just a few more good works and living just a little more morally God will accept them. This is salvation by works. Jesus corrected their misunderstanding.
They could receive God's favor and acceptance by doing a work, singular. The work of God is only one: believe on Him whom God has sent. We see this belief in Christ in John 2:23, Gal 2:16, and Eph 2:8-9. Jesus tied this truth to what He had said to them previously about working for the food that endures into eternal life. All people want an abundant life, none desire to be always wondering where the next meal will come from or where shall they sleep in order to be safe and out of the weather. All people want to be loved, to experience joy and peace. But an eternal life, a life that survives, that is not snatched away by someone else, does not come from just doing good works and living a moral life. It only comes from believing on Christ Jesus whom God the Father sent to earth to pay our sin debt.
Jesus said that He was the Bread of Life, the Living Water. He also said that the Son of Man was sealed, guaranteed by God. Jesus is the Messiah, the One who can give food that is abundant and lasts eternally. "But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."(John 4:14) "For the bread of God is He which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world. Then said they to Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to Me shall never hunger; and he that believes on Me shall never thirst."(John 6:33-35)
Church people, stop yourselves and consider this. Am I just trying to be a compromising person? Do I believe that if I can just do a few more good works versus the bad works that God will accept me into heaven? If so, you need to reevaluate your belief system. There is only one good work that you must do in order to be acceptable to God: believe on Christ Jesus. So simple and yet so hard for so many people.
Next time we shall look at Jesus as the Bread of Life. What does that mean?
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Sat, Sep 6th - 8:57AM
Book of John
Chapter 6:16-21
"And when evening was now come, His disciples went down to the sea, And entered a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not coming to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about twenty five to thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing close to the ship: and they were afraid. But He said to them, It is I; do not be afraid. Then they willingly received Him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land which they went."
Recall how in verse 15 Jesus avoided the multitude from making Him a king by going to a mountain alone. It implies that Jesus vanished so that the people could not follow Him. Now in verse 16 the disciples get on a ship and begin to row across the sea towards Capernaum. As frequently happens on this body of water, a wind storm forms and causes choppy seas. They had managed to row about 3 to 4 miles because of the wind and very large waves and swells.
The disciples obviously had been told by Jesus to take a ship and go to Capernaum without Him. They were experienced sailors/fishermen and knew that this type of storm could appear unexpectedly but they still had to work hard to keep the ship from capsizing in the rough seas. Those disciples who might not have been used to being out on the open sea during such a storm most likely were panicking. It was dark and that can cause a measure of fear in people. We can not see very far at all in the dark. These men couldn't clearly see the waves that approached them. This caused emotional stress. A person in spiritual darkness can't see. That blindness is a threat and strain upon them for they can't know what lies ahead of them; whether it be sorrow, loss, death. Being in darkness that person definitely will face some difficult times, be caught unprepared. Fear will eventually engulf that person with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.
Being without Jesus causes fear. These disciples did not have His presence and help. They had to fend for themselves, relying upon each other to keep the ship afloat. But their strength was limited and would eventually give out. These men had launched out from shore when the sea was calm but then the storm struck. This is how it is with the great violent storms of life, life will be calm and peaceful and then the storm strikes unexpectedly. Trouble, trial, sickness, death, financial difficulties, imprisonment and many other storms strike everyone. Usually these storms strike us when we are least prepared to deal with them. The result: fear, emotional upheaval, and immense stress.
The disciples were tired after rowing for several hours and dealing with the storm. They may have begun feeling like this was not such a wise decision to cross the sea at night. Then they spot Jesus coming towards them, walking on the water! They were scared thinking perhaps that they were seeing a ghost. And why not? They were exhausted and mentally drained from fighting the storm. Maybe they thought that the death angel was coming for them all. Point is, the storms of life can cause a sense of horror, of impending death, of doom and destruction.
But the answer to fear is Jesus Himself. Jesus spoke to them, "It is I!" The Word of Christ delivers from fear. Receiving the presence of Christ Jesus delivers from fear. It is insufficient having Christ present and hearing His Word, one must willingly receive Him. Deliverance for the disciples only happened after they had received Him into the ship. Revelation 3:20 speaks to this fact: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice and open the door I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." The result of receiving Jesus into the ship? deliverance from fear and the calming of the storm.
"It is I." This is one word in the Greek, eimi, which is simply "I AM." Jesus said that I AM has come, fear not. He reminded them who He was, the Son of God Himself. He possessed all power, all authority, all knowledge. This was the same message God gave Moses at the burning bush and it is what Jesus said in His defense against the Sanhedrin and it is the same message we find in the Book of Revelation.
We need to remember that we need to receive Jesus, not just have Him present or just hear His Word. The Holy Spirit must be within us so that we can deal with the storms of life as they come at us.
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Thu, Sep 4th - 3:42PM
Book of John
Chapter 6
"After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased." (6: 1-2)
This chapter begins by revealing why throngs of people followed after Jesus. They saw the miracles He did and they either wanted to experience a miracle themselves or else they just wanted to see more miracles. Jesus is revealed to be the Provision for every human and material need. First He demonstrated the truth, then He began to preach and teach it. No matter how small the need or how stormy the problem, Jesus is the Provision. He is the Bread of Life.
The sea of Galilee is about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. The crowds saw where He was headed and they raced on foot around the lake by foot. It was about 9 miles of walking for them. Many of these people had been following Jesus for quite some time and kept on following Him.
"And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come toward Him, He said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread, that these people may eat? And He said this to prove Him: for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, There is a lad here, which has five barley loaves and two small fishes; but what are they among so many people? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. And Jesus took the loaves; and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to the people sitting down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would." (6:3-11)
Jesus was tired from the constant pressure of the crowds of people day after day. He tried to escape the crowds by sailing across the sea. He went up onto a small mountain to be alone. But not for long, the crowd made its way around the shoreline to find Him again. We need to remember that this scene took place in the closing days of the Galilaean ministry of Jesus.(Matt 4:12 - 14:12). The apostle John focused more on the Judaean ministry, thus the use of the words "After these things."
Jesus chose to use this moment in time to teach the disciples more about God's concern with every little need in the lives of people. He would provide more than enough food to satisfy the hunger of these people. Jesus taught here that there are four ways to respond to the needs of people: a pessimistic faith, a questioning optimistic faith, a positive unswerving faith, and a materialistic faith.
Philip showed pessimistic faith for he said that 200 denarii would not feed everyone. Either that was all that they had in their treasury or else Philip pulled a number out of the air to stress that even such a large number was insufficient. All that he could see was the available resources He saw the impossibility of their situation. Philip's tone reveals his feelings of hopelessness. He could not see God nor the power of God. His faith professed belief that Christ had the power to meet the needs of men but when faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem, all he could see was the problem and not the power of God. In the crises of the problem the power of God seems to be forgotten. We too often today deal with our "insurmountable" problems the exact same way. We forget God's glorious power demonstrated in the past. We tend to think that our problem is too big for God to solve. Or we think that if God tries to solve our problem He might fail and we will lose our faith in Him. We give thanks and praise for what we have but fail to to trust God for the miraculous. We too often look to others for help instead of looking to God and depending upon Him alone. We fail to understand that God is glorified when He provides and meets our needs (Philipians 4:18-20).
Andrew shows us the questioning optimistic faith. This type of faith loves God and is committed to Him. He heard the need, went and searched for food, gathered all that he could find. Such meager provisions weren't cast aside by Andrew, he brought them and laid them at the feet of Jesus. He offered the boy and his food to the Lord. But this kind of faith can spiral down into complaining about the problem, becoming anxious about the meager resources, grumbling over the small provision, and griping over the poor quality of the food available. It questions instead of just believing God to provide. It may be the need for food, health, rent money, deliverance, or housing. The fundamental need is to simply trust God and not question or doubt Him.
Christ demonstrates to us a positive, unswerving faith. This is the faith that He desired of His disciples back then and of us today. Jesus took what He had and gave thanks to God for it. Then He gave what was in His hands and trusted that the Father would multiply it to meet the needs of these people. He had no doubt. We are to give what we have and then trust God to he rest. Too often we hold and grasp after more and more rather than meeting needs of people. Jesus used other people to help meet the needs of people. He gave to the disciples and the disciples gave to the people. This was essential. The disciples were the ones made responsible for feeding the people. God did not skimp either.
"When they were filled, He said to His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above what the people had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did said, This is of a truth that prophet should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain, alone by Himself. (6:12-15)"
5,000 plus people ate of the loaves and fish. Twelve baskets full of bread fragments were left over. God does not skimp! One basket for each of the twelve disciples!
Of course, there is the materialistic faith. People profess Jesus to be the Messiah but....they think of an earthly materialistic king, someone who can meet both their personal and community or national needs by defeating their oppressors. There are people who still want Jesus to provide them food for their hunger, healing for their sickness, deliverance from their tribulations, comfort for their sorrows, plenty for their wants, victory over their enemies. Of course Jesus can help any person through anything. The problem arises from the desire for earthly and worldly satisfaction. From thinking in terms of physical and materialistic which are temporary. Christ's concern is primarily spiritual; strength and blessings, that which lasts forever. This is why so many people forsake Jesus. He demands denial of self.
Next time we shall look at Jesus walking on water.
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Name: Eric Rajaniemi
