John 6:60-66 Tragic verses in The Bible

John 6:60-66

Tragic verses in the Bible.

There are many joyful verses in the Bible, yet there are many tragic ones as well. Genesis 3 and the fall of man. The flood of Noah in Genesis 6. The crucifixion Psalm 22.  Judas betrayal of Jesus in The Gospels. The oppression and persecution of the church in Acts and countless multitudes whose names were not found in the Lamb’s book of life in Revelation. Tonight, we are going to discuss a tragic and often overlooked verse in John.

⁶⁰ Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a ^[a]hard saying; who can understand it?”

⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples ^[b]complained about this, He said to them, “Does this ^[c]offend you? ⁶² What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

⁶⁶ From that time many of His disciples went ^[d]back and walked with Him no more.

We are nearing the end of John Chapter 6! I told you this would take a few months when we started back in September! Jesus fed the multitudes, and everyone rejoiced! Jesus calmed the storm, and everyone rejoiced. In fact, they loved Him so much they wanted to make Him King! Whether He wanted to be King or not. Things are going great!

Then the next day not so much. Jesus didn’t want to be a temporary earthly king. Jesus wasn’t here to just saw temporary recurring problems. In fact He wasn’t here for our physical needs at all. He went out of His way to tell them this repeatedly.

Matthew 6:31-33 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

The crowd objected to this and complained. The synagogue objected to this and complained. Last time Jesus finishes speaking in Synagogue trying to explain to them the eternal while they were still focused on the temporary.

Verse 60 picks up shortly after all this with a third group of people. It’s important to note who these people are described as in the scriptures. Disciples. It’s the same word throughout all the gospels used to describe the disciples. Now the word here does not exclusively refer to the 12.  The word means leaner or follower.

This is not the crowd, the bandwagon fans that were happy as long as the bread and healing as flowing but were done when it stopped. They wanted the blessings but not the blesser. This is not referring to the religious folk either. Those that were offended in the synagogue. These were like what we would refer to “good people” that went to church, kept the law, said their prayers and took their vitamins. There are many people in the church that know about God but don’t know God.

These are disciples, followers, believers! They openly and outwardly identified with Christ. They hear Jesus teaching on communion, on the crucifixion and they are offended. Jesus was trying to get everyone, especially His followers, to look beyond the physical aspects of life and ministry and to focus on the spiritual, the eternal. They were murmuring and complaining among themselves just as everyone else had been. They had been swayed by the crowd. Negativity is powerful and infectious. It is our default setting. A rotten apple spoils the entire bunch.

Jesus tells them are you offended by me? Pastor Dave mentioned Sunday if you haven’t offended someone with the gospel then are you presenting it correctly? In fact, if you haven’t personally been offended by Jesus then how much have you studied the gospels? The gospel is offensive, and the cross is hard to believe.

Jesus understood the offence many of His listeners took at His teaching, yet He didn’t change the teaching or feel it was His fault. Jesus didn’t preach just to please His audience. If that was His concern, He would have instantly taken back what was just said, seeing His audience was offended. Jesus didn’t take it back. He challenged and confronted them even more.

He says if you are offended by this? What will you do on judgment day? Jesus claims the title Son of Man here. This is a messianic title. He’s declared Himself the bread of life, that His blood grants eternal life, and here He is claiming to be the Son of Man, the right hand of God. The one that executes final judgment on that day. If you can’t handle what I’m saying now. What will you do when you come before Me in my glory. When you have to answer to me in judgment.

The flesh profits nothing. The things of this life are temporary. I’ve experienced many wonderful moments and many tragic ones. They all had one thing in common. They were temporary.

Luke 12:16-21

¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

²¹ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

The flesh profits nothing but The Spirit gives life. Once again Jesus is trying to get people to understand that life is more than our temporary circumstances. Those that seek eternal life will find it, but only in Jesus Christ.  

In verse 64 we see how Jesus as the God-Man knew the hearts. He knew who believed and who didn’t. He also knew who would betray Him. It’s likely at this point in His ministry that Judas himself didn’t know he would betray Christ. That was still a year to a year and a half down the road. He then says another offensive, controversial statement.

And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

Beloved, we could spend years on this verse alone. We could go way into the weeds here. We could study election, pre-destination vs. free will, the total depravity of man and the perseverance of the saints. I personally, think that would be fun. However, we are divided on enough things right now no need adding fuel to the fire.

Any good minister will tell you only two things change people’s hearts. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. In that sense yes no one comes to the Jesus except those that were granted to Him by the Father. Does this mean that God just looks as us and goes Yes, no, yes, no, definitely no, yes, yes, maybe. Does this mean that God gave us Scripture and unleashed the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and in that sense we come to Jesus via the ways that The Father gave us access to? I don’t know.

What do I know? That I was saved by Grace through Faith not of works, lest any man should boast. Don’t get to stuck in the weeds on this. Just be grateful for the grace God shows in our lives daily.

These disciples, they are stuck in the weeds. They cannot get past it. They walk away. They made the final decision to walk away from Christ.  This chapter then is the story of the disciples who were following Jesus and then abandoned him.  Keep in mind this is after a lengthy ministry in Galilee in which He has done miracles on a daily basis, and in which He has taught the principles concerning the kingdom of heaven, which He has vindicated all of His claims by His work and His words, and their final decision is to walk away, and it’s not a few.  It’s the many.

There is an aspect of this that I find more tragic than anything I mentioned at the beginning of this message. I know how miserable these people were the rest of their lives. There is no more miserable person in the world than the one that once walked with Christ and no longer does. To much of the world to be happy in Jesus, to much of Jesus to be happy in the world. I know of countless people in that situation across the last 22 years. I see the conflict in their face every time they look at me.

Hebrews 6:4-6

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ^6 [c]if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

The reactions of the crowds who came to hear Christ teach show that His life and actions had gripped them. Whether they were responded with belief or disbelief they all responded. No person hears the Gospel and remains the same.

At the crucifixion most had abandoned Him. Even those closest to Him Why did so few follow? Because we naturally want to earn praise through our works. Christ’s invitation is a stumbling block to our pride and stubbornness. Scripture calls us to give ourselves up and follow Christ faithfully and completely. This is what we must do, not in our own strength but His!

 

John 6:41-59 Complaining to myself

 

John 6:41-59

Complaining to myself.

I haven’t wrestled with preaching a Chapter of scripture like I have wrestled with John 6. I think this sermon had about 4 different titles. It also had a fully typed out intro that fit at first but as I continue to dig into the text, I decided to delete it. Finally, I just have this rambling opening about how hard a time I’ve had with this chapter. I spent a lot of time just staring at my laptop hoping the words would appear! Alas, that was not the case. I had no one to complain to but myself and then thus came tonight’s title. Complaining to myself.

The Jews then ^[g]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴² And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

 Last time Jesus refused to feed people a second time. They got mad. Then they left. Verse 41 starts with some time passed between verses as best we can tell. We know this from Verse 59. It tells us that verses 41-59 happen in the Synagogue at Capernaum.

It starts with a verse that could have been pulled straight from the headlines “Then they complained about Him.” We complain about everything these days don’t we? Pastor Dave called us all out Sunday with our tendency to just look for a reason to complain. I can guarantee you In the next two months there will be at least one news story about someone being offended because someone told them Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays and another where someone got upset because they were told Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. If you find yourself doing either know that becoming upset because someone wished, you well is a terrible way to witness. Show some love and grace to other especially now in a year that is devoid of both.

Why do we complain? First, we want attention. The squeaky wheel gets the great!  Second, it gives us a certain moment of power. Part of the appeal of the cancel movement is that normal everyday people like us can get someone important fired. For a brief moment we can feel like we are in control and have power. Thirdly, it allows us to remove responsibility for our actions. I don’t have the time, it’s impossible to do that, someone else got in the way, etc.

Social Media has been designed with all of this in mind. It easily and quickly allows you to do all three of these. The more you complain, the more you’ll click and the more you click the more you’ll complain. There’s nothing new about this.

What is the crowd mad about? That Jesus did not give them a humongous free meal for a second time! Imagine someone staying late at your house one evening because you were going out of your way to help them with something. It gets late so you offer them dinner. Then they go on about their way. The next day while you are out at work they show up and go Hey, I’m hungry. Cook me something. When you like any reasonable person says “No. I’m at work” They flip out and insult you. The next week you here a whole crowd of people complaining and insulting you at church.

This is essentially the situation Jesus finds Himself in. What would your response be? What will be His?

⁴³ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ^[h]“Do not murmur among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who ^[i]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ⁴⁶ Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes ^[j]in Me has everlasting life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

No matter how they set Him up, Jesus never takes the bait! Can you imagine the patience and mercy on display here! Literally every breathe they take is an act of mercy from Jesus. He created them, knows them better than they know themselves, He loves them! Yet, He gets nothing in return but scorn and hatred. His response? Grace!

Stop complaining among yourselves! Your still upset you didn’t get a second free meal. Stop thinking about your stomachs! Stop thinking about yourselves. Before you is what really matters. What you all need and have been waiting for. Yet, you refuse to see it.

There is a lot of shock about that, but I just want you to notice they understood exactly what He was saying.  The Jews are grumbling because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”  In verse 42, they are wondering how this man whose parents they know can say, “I have come down out of heaven.”

Verse 46, again says, “Not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God.”  He has come down out of heaven.  Verse 50, “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven.”  Verse 51, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven.”  Verse 58, “This is the bread which came down out of heaven.”  Every time you see that, and it’s repeated again and again, you are hearing a statement affirming the incarnation of a preexistent person.  He didn’t come into existence.  He came down out of heaven.  Anyone who claims that falsely is a lunatic or a deceiver, who would have a hard time convincing people.

Over and over and over Jesus speaks of His preexistence.  John began his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God,” the Word meaning Christ.  Therefore, Christ was there preexistent with God, coexistent with God, self-existent with God eternally.  You cannot ever reduce Jesus to a created being.  Yes, His body was prepared by God for Him, but as a person He is the eternal Son of God.  He existed everlastingly in the presence of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  He is God of very God.  That’s why John 1:14 says, “We beheld His glory and it was the same glory as the Father.” 

Despite the way they are treating Him, talking about Him, He is still offering them eternal life.

⁵² The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is ^[k]food indeed, and My blood is ^[l]drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Yet, they still do not get it. In fact, they look for a reason to be offended! The find it easily. For the Jews to even touch blood was an unclean and disgusting thing. Jesus is not advocating cannibalism or vampirism here. This is the context of the Passover seder, this is in the context of what would soon be instituted as the Lord’s Supper.

You have to be able to eat His flesh in the sense that you take Him as the one who nourishes the soul.  And you have to be willing to drink His blood in the sense that you accept his sacrificial death.  This is all way too much, way too much for the people to handle, and you can see their reaction later in the chapter. 

Jesus tells us that He is the bread of life who fully satisfies our hunger and thirst (John 6:35). He does this through our faith in Him, for He says that we gain eternal life only as we look on Him and believe in Him.  We receive grace and strength to help us persevere as we believe that Jesus endured the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood for us. Our souls are sustained unto eternal life as we affirm that Jesus will never cast us out if we come to Him in faith and repentance (v. 37). At our conversion, we make a decisive break with sin and come into the safety of Christ’s fold. Still, there is a sense in which we must continue to come to Him every moment of our lives. As we actively believe in the gospel each day, we are sustained unto eternal life. One way we tangibly confirm and express our belief in Jesus is through the Lord’s Supper, and we can come to Him for all our needs by faith alone.

 

 

 

John 6:35-40 Bread of Life

 

John 6:35-40

The bread of life

Tonight’s message is one of those passages that is a bit confusing. This is understandable especially once we see how the crowd responds to it. I thought about including this in the previous Wednesday’s message or even making it a part of what will be next weeks message. Yet, understanding these 5 verses are key to us as Christians. They tie directly into both Passover and the Lord’s Supper.

³⁵ And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will ^[f]by no means cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6 starts with Jesus miraculous feed of the 5K. Everyone is so excited to be healed and filled that they immediately try to force Jesus into being King. Jesus exists stage right. The disciples head out to cross the sea. They end up in a deadly storm. Jesus shows up, walking on water, and calms the storm. The next day or so the crowd finds Jesus after looking all over for him. They want more bread. Jesus tells them that they are seeking the temporary when they should be focused on the Eternal.

In verse 34, the crowd still focused on their bellies, tell Jesus “Give us this bread always.” Jesus says I am the bread of life! He who comes to me shall never hunger or thirst. Ok, This statement sounds poetic but also confusing. I came to Jesus in early 1998 and I’ve been hungry and thirsty plenty of times. What is he talking about?

To understand what Jesus is talking about we also have to have an understanding of Passover.

John 6:4 “Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near”

What is Passover? Passover is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It is named Passover after the 10^th plague, the death of the first born of all of Egypt. The Israelite families sacrificed a lamb and smeared its blood on their doorposts and the destroyer “passed over” their houses.

 It is a weeklong festival that as part of it is a dinner called The Seder. The annual Passover commemoration is celebrated by nearly the entire Jewish community, bonding families and communities to their Jewish roots. Each year Jewish people, religious and nonreligious, celebrate the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by gathering and experiencing the Passover Seder. They celebrate the same time we celebrate Easter and that is not coincidence. There are a lot of elements to the Passover Seder. These elements feature bread and wine rather prominently.

In fact, Passover is also referred to as the Feast of Unleavened Bread per Deut 16:3. The bread in the Passover seder is called Matzah. It is an unleavened flat bread.

The matzoh is placed in a bag called an echad, which means “one” in Hebrew. But this one bag has three chambers. One piece of matzoh is placed into each chamber of the bag. The matzoh placed in the first chamber is never touched, never used, never seen. The second matzoh in the bag is broken in half  and pierced at the beginning of the Seder; half of the broken matzoh is placed back in the echad, and the other half, called the Afikomen, is placed in a linen cloth. The third matzoh in the bag is used to eat the elements on the Seder plate.

After the dinner is over the second piece of Matzah, the one that was broken, pierced and placed in a linen cloth is hidden until one of the children finds it and brings it back out again.

The crowd has one main thought on their mind, bread. However, the crowd prior to the day before with the huge bread and fish meal would have had one other thought on their mind, Passover. It was the big Jewish holiday. People traveled from all over the world back to Jerusalem to celebrate it. They would spend a week celebrating and hosting this feast of unleavened bread and then yesterday they ate all the bread they could eat! Bread was on their minds.

Jesus here in saying “I am the bread of life” is connecting His life and His ministry directly to the Passover seder. A dinner that was all about commemorating God’s deliverance of His people from bondage.   

While it might be lost on us not being Jewish the imagery was not lost on this crowd. Jesus is the Passover. There are 89 chapters across the 4 gospels. The make up the most read portion of the Bible. In those 4 Gospels only 10 things repeat themselves across all 4 gospels. 9 out of those 10 have to do with Jesus being the true Passover. The true eternal deliverance from bondage.

That is a whole lot of information to come out of 5 simple words. I am the bread of life.  

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will ^[f]by no means cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 

Let us now look at some of the promises. I think they are more relevant now than ever! Verse 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me and the one who comes to Me I will be no means cast out! You ever been kicked out of anywhere? I have been kicked out of plenty of places. That did not really start though until I met Pastor Dave. In fact, when we were in the youth, he taught us to say, “I’ve been kicked out better ____ thank this!”  It works with almost anything! Better laser tag, better Toys R Us’, better bowling alleys, better McDonald’s play places, better horse statues and of course, my personal favorite, better churches rooves.

Not only are we all on equal ground at the foot of the cross, there is always room for one more. As Jesus invited them to come to Him, He also reminded them that He was safe to come unto. He was not interested in His own agenda, but in His Father’s will.

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Proverbs 16:4 “4 The LORD works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.”

As discussed in Chapter 5 Jesus is all about the will of the father. ³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

 

Jesus tells us that He is the bread of life who fully satisfies our hunger and thirst (John 6:35). He does this through our faith in Him, for He says that we gain eternal life only as we look on Him and believe in Him.  We receive grace and strength to help us persevere as we believe that Jesus endured the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood for us. Our souls are sustained unto eternal life as we affirm that Jesus will never cast us out if we come to Him in faith and repentance (v. 37). At our conversion, we make a decisive break with sin and come into the safety of Christ’s fold. Still, there is a sense in which we must continue to come to Him every moment of our lives. As we actively believe in the gospel each day, we are sustained unto eternal life. One way we tangibly confirm and express our belief in Jesus is through the Lord’s Supper, and we can come to Him for sustenance in the sacrament by faith alone.

 

 

 

John 6:22-34 Bread and The Gospel

 

John 6:22-34

Bread and The Gospel

I love bread! Who’s with me? Typically after a trip to the grocery store I arrive home with various types of bread. Loaf bread, biscuits, English muffins, flour to make bread, Bisquik to make pancakes which is essentially bread with syrup on it. The average American will consume around 53 pounds of bread in a year. Bread is a staple food around the world and one of the world’s oldest foods. You can see this in the various religions that have incorporate bread into their scriptures and religious ceremonies.

Also, never eat the last roll the first you go to dinner at your new girlfriend’s house because she’ll break up with you shortly after that. That did not happen to me but a friend of mine. People take their bread seriously!

Tonight, we are going to talk about the importance of Bread and the Gospel.

²² On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except ^[d]that one ^[e]which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— ²³ however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— ²⁴ when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

Earlier in the chapter Jesus had fed the multitudes and then ducked out when they tried to make Him king. Then He sent the disciples out in a boat while He had some quiet time with the Father. The disciples ended up in a storm that may have cost them their lives if not for Jesus coming to them in the middle of the night. They get safely to the other side.

Now it is the next day and the same people that were fed, the same that wanted to make Jesus King have not given up. The crowd has been looking all over for Him. Where they ate bread, Tiberias, Capernaum and they finally find him! Distance covered from Tiberias to Capernaum was a little over 6 miles. Our equivalent for us is from church to Bojangles. Keep in mind most of this was on foot or slowly by boat. It took time and effort to find Jesus.

Now that they have found him, they try what I call buttery small talk. This is small talk with the purpose of buttering someone up. When I was 19 years old, I loved Bojangles. However, I didn’t have enough money to purchase Bojangles as frequently as I would like. What to do? In between classes at PCC I would go visit my loving father at work.  I would walk in, around lunch time, and go “Dad! How are you? How’s it going?” being the loving son that I was. Dad would look at me and go “You want some money for Bojangles don’t you?” He always saw right through me!

Jesus sees right through the crowd. He knows how long they have been looking for Him. He knows what they want. He knows what is in their heart. This is why we tell you just to be respectfully honest to Jesus in prayer. He already knows what you want and what you need. He sees right through to the core of our hearts.  

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

Jesus, as He always does, gets right to the heart of the matter.   He knows that they are not their because they want to follow him. They are there because they are following their stomachs. They are more interested in what He can do rather than who He is. When we seek Jesus merely as a source of earthly blessings then we will ultimately be disappointed. People who preach Jesus as merely a source of earthly blessings are not preaching the Gospel. It’s a guaranteed path to disappointment, pain and in many cases Atheism.

Jesus warns against this. He says you are chasing the temporary but right in front of you is the eternal! I will give you the food that leads to eternal life. I have the seal of God the father!

This year we have discovered a newfound appreciation of seals. When you get takeout or delivery, which I know most of us have this year, that seal is a mark, a guarantee of the contents. This was a time in which you communicated at a distance by letter. A letter was sealed with a wax seal to show authenticity of the contents. Christ is the seal of the Father! He speaks with full proxy power and authority of God the Father. This is how He can offer eternal life to us all!

²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

The crowd doesn’t get it. Jesus just said, “Don’t labor” and then they ask “How do we labor?” What can we do so that we can get some bread? They tried flattery, now they are bargaining. We try to bargain with God all the time. God if you’ll do X then I’ll do Y . 1) Never ever do that. 2) When you ignore rule #1, make sure you keep your end of the bargain. It is better not to make the vow, than to make the vow and not pay.

²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

He repeats Himself. Believe in Me. Jesus teaches things that are easy in concept and difficult in application. Believe in Me. Love God, Love your neighbor as yourself.

³⁰ Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³² Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

They can’t see this. They can’t get this. They can’t do this. They are so focused on their bellies that nothing else matters. They want to eat for free again. They have tried buttering him up, bargaining, they ask for another sign as if they all did not just get miraculously fed. They know about the miracles that brought them to Him in the first place. To paraphrase David they are streaming from the Y-O-U app.

In verse 34 they say “Yes, give us this bread always!” There’s a scene in the original Ghostbusters movie where Winston Zeddmore is applying for a job as a Ghostbuster. The receptionist asks him if he believes in all these supernatural theories and he says “If there’s a steady paycheck in it. I’ll believe anything you say.”

Jesus offers us eternal life yet we are satisfied with and seek out the most temporary trivial things. We can buy food at the store but only Christ can meet our deepest need, that of a Savior who provides us with purpose, guidance and love.

John 6:15-21 Weathering the Storm

 

John 6:16-21

Weathering the storm.

Anyone in here like thunderstorms? I do. I have found associations of summer thunderstorms as a child growing up in the 80s. These were the times when the power always went out with every thunderstorm. I can remember playing marbles with my cousins at my uncles’ house. Sitting at the kitchen table playing cards with my parents and my sister at my grandma’s house.  

Yet, I have also been caught outside in storms as well. Those are not so fun. Trying to run for shelter. Trying to drive home from Durham in the middle of a storm and having to pull over in a parking lot somewhere because it was raining so hard my wipers could not keep up.  It is no fun being caught in a storm. Tonight, Jesus disciples are caught in a storm on a boat with no shelter. I want you to turn to Matthew 14:22-33. I know we are in John 6:16-21 and I am going to read that but for our purposes tonight I need you to turn to Matthew 14:22-33. We are going to study Jesus calming the storm. This happens in Both John and Matthew. Matthew gives a more detailed account and that is the one we will be going through tonight since it is the same event.

Matthew 14:22-33

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.

 

We know from last time in John 6:16 that the people were getting ready to try and make Jesus king and why not? This is a guy who just fed everyone to the full and it didn’t cost them anything. It would make a catchy campaign slogan “Vote for me and eat for free!” However, Jesus knowing that His kingdom was not of this world sends the disciples away into the boat and then sends the multitudes away as well.  

 

23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

So what does he do next? Go and join the disciples? No He goes up to the mountain by Himself to pray. Why does He do this? Well this is actually his second attempt at doing this on this particular day. He tried earlier in the morning and that was when the multitude tracked him down. So now He finally has His alone time. Brethren, If our Lord took time away from everything to commune with the Father in prayer why do we think we don’t need to do the same?

 

Specifically what was Jesus praying about? Scripture doesn’t record but I got a good idea of what. You see at the beginning of Matthew 14 Herod has John the Baptist executed. John’s disciples take the body, bury it and then go and tell Jesus. When Jesus hears it he departs to a deserted place to mourn and pray and that is when the multitudes track Him down.

 

Three early martyrdoms are recorded in the New Testament: John the Baptist in ca. AD 31, Stephen in ca. AD 35 and James the apostle in ca. AD 44. So, John the Baptist, friend and cousin of Jesus becomes the first Christian martyr to die for his faith, and for his unwillingness to compromise that faith. Jesus gave testimony of John when He said in Matthew 11:11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” Jesus mourns for this loss, Jesus mourns knowing that John is the first of many who will lay their life down for their testimony of Him.

 

We should note that not only does Jesus take time to be along with the Father but that Jesus takes time to mourn. In our immediate society we want to speed through everything. We should never rush our mourning or those that do. However, we do not grieve as they who have no hope according to 1 Thess 4:13

 

24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea,[a] tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

 

The Disciples were sent out on the boat at evening time. This would have been around 6pm. Jesus goes to them during the fourth watch of the night which was between 3-6AM in the morning. They have been out on sea, tossed by the waves all night long. So tossed by the waves and the wind was contrary doesn’t seem that bad I mean who hasn’t been on a boat and it bounced around a bit? Well this is where the English is sorely lacking.

 

Greek for tossed is basanizo = to vex with grievous pains, to torture. Contrary = enantios = hostile & antagonistic in feeling or act. So it better translate the disciples had been out at sea for almost 12 hours and they were tortured by the waves because the wind was hostile towards them.

 

The Sea of Galilee location makes is subject to sudden and violent storms. When cool air from the east drops over the warm air coming from the sea it can make for quick and furious thunder storms in a short time. The disciples were caught in one of these storms and they faced imminent death because of it.

 

 Jewish people of the time feared the Sea of Galilee; they described it as “an abyss, a fearsome place of darkness, chaos and hell.” Now being caught in a terrible storm in his horrible place they are seeing ghosts and they know that death has come for them. At the end in their fear and despair they cry out. Beloved take note here it is at this very moment that Jesus speaks to them. This is when He speaks to us in our brokenness, in our fear, in our despair.

 

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” The

So what does He say to them? Be of good cheer. It is I! Do not be afraid. Now minus any of you that are secretly British does anyone here go around saying be of good cheer? No? Thought so. It’s pretty close to our use of “Cheer up!” Now when do you use cheer up? When someone is sad over something trivial like your favorite team lost, your favorite band broke up, it’s raining and you wanted to go outside, or you just found out that Burger King no longer offers the Angry Whopper. It’s typically not something you use for someone who’s in a life threatening situation.  Why should they cheer up? The storm is still going, the boat is about to sink. Is His presence enough to cheer them up? Is His voice enough to calm them down? Is it for us? Should it be?

 

The entirety of 2020 has been in unprecedented territory. Fear has a tendency to reign supreme in the face of the unknown. Fear crouches in our hearts, hollows out our insides, breaks down our defenses. It gnaws and eats away at all the ties that bind us to God and to one another. When we turn on each other in fear God weeps and hell rejoices.

Nothing makes us so conscious of the reality of powers opposed to God in our lives than this loneliness, this helplessness, this fog spreading over everything, this sense that there is no way out, and this raving impulse to get everything you can for yourself and who cares how it effects anyone else? Fear takes away our humanity. This is not what a person made in the image of God looks like.

This passage tell us that it’s normal to fear!  Yet, we don’t have to be afraid, we shouldn’t be afraid. This is what makes us as Christians stand out from everyone else.  In the midst of every situation where there is no way out, where nothing is clear, where it is our fault, we know that there is hope. We know our redeemer lives!

Jesus is Lord over all and that makes Him Lord over fear; it knows him as its master; it gives way to him alone. We must look to Christ when we  are afraid, think of Christ, keep him before our eyes, pray to him constantly. When we keep our eyes on Jesus we can walk on water. Jesus saw Peter’s fear and spoke 3 simple words.

“It is I.”

 

There’s a lot of debate over those 3 words. I think it’s a declaration of deity. It’s the same phrase used in Exodus 3 when Moses says “Indeed, [when] I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What [is] His name?' what shall I say to them?" And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."

 

28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

 

Peter encouraged by these steps out of the boat! Mind you the storm is still going on. He has been brought up to be in fear of Sea, and it’s very unlikely that he knows how to swim. He starts to walk on water and then the wind becomes too much and he starts to sink. Many of us look down on Peter for doubting and sinking but how many of us would have stepped out of the boat? How many of us are ok with following Jesus until the storms come? Until the wind is boisterous? Until we actually have to make a change or confront the sin in our lives? . There are daily chances to roll over and play dead. So here is Peter, scared and sinking and He cries out the wisest words He will ever say “Lord, save me!”

 

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” What is the Lord’s response? The same one He offers us. Immediately. Immediately. Jesus saves him. He could have calmed the storm that very moment. He could have let Peter float. He could have waved his hands or blinked his eyes and Peter would be standing on the water like it was ground. What did He choose to do? He reached out His hand and caught him.

 

John 10:28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” Later on in life I bet Peter had many occasions to doubt and I bet he recalled these words and remember when the Lord reached down and brought him up.

 

32 -33 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

What we’ve yet to consider is the entire point of this passage. When Jesus sent them out on the boat they were following his orders. They went into an area they were afraid of, that they knew was dangerous and that they knew that the Lord had sent them too. Jesus being God knew that He was sending them into a storm, knowing that they would tried and tested. Yet He sends them anyway. Why is this? Why does God do this to us? Why does He knowingly, willingly send us into the storms of life? Look at the end result brethren.

 

Those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him saying “Truly, You are the Son of God.”

Now! Now we’ve got some good solid Christology! This is a watershed moment for the disciples. Prior to this the only time any disciple had referred to him at the Son of God by that specific title, is when Nathan does so in John 1 upon first meeting Him. Which is rather funny when you think about it. It’s more along the lines of them saying “Oh! You really are the Son of God!”

 

Prior to this they had seen miracles of healing, they had seen miracles of feeding and they had just watched Him walk on water, calm a storm and teleport them to dry land in a boat.

 

In addition to that they knew Satan had referred Him as the Son of God, Demons had called Him the Son of God, and God The Father had called down from heaven when he said “This is my beloved Son!”

 

Yet, it’s not until this moment that they finally submit themselves fully to this truth! How do I know this? Because of what it says “and worshipped Him.” They had been with Jesus and been part of his ministry close to 2 years at this point. Yet, now is the moment it clicks. How could they be so stupid? How Could I be so stupid?

 

If you were talk to 10 year old Glen I would tell you that God was real, The bible was His book, Jesus was His Son. I could have told you about his death, burial and resurrection and that church was a good thing.  17 year old Glen would give the same answer. Yet, while I knew that truth and I believed that truth, I still had not bowed my knee to that truth.

 

We can know the truth, we can believe the truth, but it is in worship that we bow our knee to that truth. We acknowledge who is God and who isn’t and that’s the only successful way to weather the storm.