John 6:41-51

John 6:41-51

41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OFGOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 “I am the bread of life. 49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

There were and continue to be a wide variety of reactions to the teachings of Jesus.  The miracles He performed attracted people to Him, but the message He taught chased people away.  Those who had come looking for Jesus looking for more bread were being confronted with the message of Christ and most of them did not like what they were hearing.  They wanted to understand how they could get more food; while Jesus was striving to show them who He truly was and how they could find eternal life.  The people and Jesus had far different goals and priorities.  This same tendency continues to be true today.  Most people in the world are looking for comfort, pleasure and prosperity.  Instant gratification is the desire that drives today’s society.  God wants our focus to be on that which is eternal.  He offers salvation from sin, holiness and communion with Him for all eternity.  We are faced with a choice as to which of these desires will drive our lives and determine our eternal destiny.  We see in today’s passage how the people responded to Jesus.

THE PEOPLE REJECT JESUS: Many of the people rejected the message of Jesus being the Bread of heaven that could give them eternal life.  The reason they rejected this message was simply because they knew of His simple background.  They saw Him as simply being the son of Mary and Joseph.  They knew this family was not anything special and could not understand how Jesus could claim to be Bread that came down from heaven that could give eternal life.  He was claiming to be Messiah and they were rejecting this claim based on the information they had about His family.  His miracles were well received because they gave them immediate help and relief from suffering.  His message was rejected because they were not willing to accept His identity.  Many people continue to see Jesus as a historic figure and influential leader.  They refuse to identify Him as the Son of God and their Savior from sin.

THE FATHER REVEALS JESUS: Jesus explains this rejection on the part of men as being a rejection of God’s call on their lives.  God has revealed Jesus as His Son.  He declared it publicly, He sent John the Baptist to prepare the way, He inspired the prophets to describe Messiah and He sent Jesus to fulfill all those prophecies and perform countless miracles.  There was no lack of proof or revelation from God.  He had faithfully and clearly taught the people all they needed to know about who Jesus was and what He had come to do.  The Father is actively drawing people to Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ.  The only means by which men can be saved is through the work of God on our behalf through the Holy Spirit and the sacrifice of Jesus.  Men do not seek God.  God draws men to Himself.  The Father has revealed Jesus as His Son and our Savior.  He has sent His Spirit to convict us of our sin and draw us to Himself.  Every man must decide how He plans to respond to this information and invitation.

THE BELIEVERS RECEIVE JESUS: Those who respond to the Father by believing in Jesus receive eternal life.  They see Jesus as the Bread of life that has come down from heaven just like the mana came down from heaven in the days of Moses.  Just like the children of Israel in the wilderness had to gather that bread and eat it in order to for it to sustain them physically; Jesus insists that they need to “eat” Him as the Bread from heaven.  Salvation is not automatic for all who hear the Gospel.  Seeing the mana on the ground did not fill anyone’s stomach.  They had to pick it up and eat it.  Hearing the teachings of Jesus would not save the people from sin.  They must believe what they hear and place their absolute trust in Him in order to have eternal hope of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The same continues to be true today.  We must respond to the message of the Gospel in faith.  We must receive Him into our lives like we receive bread into our stomach.  Hearing His Word or admiring His Word will not save us from sin.  Our only hope for forgiveness is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, trust in His sacrifice as our only hope for salvation and receiving Him as the Lord and Savior of our lives.

APPLICATION: Don’t reject the message of Jesus by simply recognizing Him as an influential man who impacted History.  Respond to the clear revelation of God about Jesus by trusting Him exclusively for salvation.  Receive Him into our lives as the Bread from heaven that will grant us eternal life.