John 6:39-46
Sunday Morning Bible Study
November 5, 1995
Introduction
Jesus had just done an incredible thing, feeding a huge multitude, at least five thousand men, not to mention the women and children.
And He did it all with five small loaves, and two small fish.
The next day, Jesus had showed up over in Capernaum, 5 miles away, having gotten their on foot, walking on the water.
He got into a discussion with the people about how they weren't seeking Him because they were seeking after God, but only because He had fed them.
Then He told them:
»John 6:35-AV And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
:39-40 God wants you saved
:39 this is the Father's will
The word for "will" is:
thelema - what one wishes or has determined shall be done
It expresses God's desires, what God wants to see happen.
:39 that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing
We talked last week about how the Father has picked each of us out, and given us to Jesus:
»John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
In a way, a way of seeing it is like Jesus being the ultimate first baseman, and the Father is the shortstop.
He never misses a ball that comes to Him.
Lesson:
Eternal security.
There's a lot of you that from time to time go through the agony of wondering whether or not you are still truly saved.
I've been there too.
I remember plenty of times as a young Christian wondering if I was really saved, or whether I had lost it.
I remember wanting to go forward at every altar call, just to make sure.
God wants you to know
The Bible says:
»1John 5:11-13 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
It really comes down to believing in Jesus.
If we have believed in Jesus, then we can KNOW that we have eternal life.
Many of the cults keep the people on the edge of their seat, as if they could at any moment slip off the precipice into oblivion if they fall away from the cult.
What about my sin?
I think one of the main issues that we struggle with in this is sin.
We know that sin causes separation from God.
And when we sin too much, or commit a particular sin that we consider to be the most horrible of them all, then we feel like we must have lost our salvation.
You may lose your intimacy with God, your fellowship with Him, but you haven't lost your salvation.
Did you come to Jesus in the first place because you took care of your sins?
I hope not.
It was only because of His death on the cross, in paying for your sins, that you were allowed to come in the first place.
»Heb. 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
And it has never changed.
»Gal. 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
How many of your sins had not been committed when Jesus paid for them on the cross?
Only the ones after October 1, 1995?
No, all of them.
Even the ones you haven't yet committed.
Can I wriggle out of His hand?
Some suggest that maybe it's possible to wriggle out of Jesus' hand.
I say the issue isn't whether you're strong enough to be able to wriggle out of His hand, but whether or not He's strong enough to keep a hold of you.
Jesus also said:
»John 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Illustration:
When I'm walking my sons across the street or through the parking lot of a store, they cannot wriggle out of my hands.
They try.
But I'm not letting go.
I know how dangerous it would be to have them running and jumping through a parking lot.
»Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
The point:
God wants you past the place where you are worried about your salvation, and He wants you to just enjoy walking with Him.
Our salvation was never based on our own works, and it never will be.
It's based on our simply trusting Jesus to save us.
Illustration:
Last week while I was studying, David came in to give me a great big hug.
I told him that I was just going to hold on to him for the rest of the night.
David said, "Good, then you can't work anymore because you're using your hands to hold me."
That's it!
We shouldn't worry about working, just holding on to the Lord!
And we should rest in knowing that He's holding on to us.
:39 but should raise it up again at the last day.
We call this "resurrection".
When a person dies, their spirit goes immediately to be with the Lord, but their body goes into the grave.
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Cor.5:6-8).
But there will be a time, very shortly, when the Lord will be giving all those who have died, a new body. (1Thess.4:13-18)
Two weeks ago on Sunday night (Daniel 12:2-3) we did a rather detailed look at the various resurrections that are going to take place, so you can get that tape if you want to explore the subject further.
:40 this is the will of him that sent me ... everlasting life
Remember what Jesus said back in verse 36 and 37?
He had chastised the people because they had seen Him, and were not believing in him.
Then He told them that everyone given to Him by the Father would come to Him.
Now Jesus puts a little different slant on it.
You might have gotten the idea that Jesus was trying to tell them that since they were not coming to Him to believe, that they must not have been chosen by God.
But now He tells us clearly what God's desire is, for them to see and believe.
Is it possible for it to be God's "will" for them to believe, and they still not come to believe in Jesus?
Yes, because the word used in the Greek (thelema), which simply expresses God's desires, not particularly what He's going to force on anyone.
Lesson:
God's heart is for people to be saved.
It's a common question for people to ask, "What is God's will for my life?"
Not a bad question to ask.
»2Pet. 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
If you have not yet come to know Jesus and to receive His eternal life, I can tell you right now what God's will is for you.
Come to Jesus!
Receive the new life He has for you!
Then you will begin to discover the rest of what God's will is for you.
:41-46
:41 The Jews then murmured at him ... I am the bread
gogguzo - to murmur, mutter, grumble, say anything against in a low tone; of the cooing of doves
This complaining of the Jews kind of makes me think of something else, another time when God had been providing bread in the wilderness, and sure enough, the people complained:
»Numbers 11:1-6 And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. 2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. 3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. 4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
God had been providing His manna for the people.
But it wasn't enough for them, they wanted more, they wanted some of the old life, so they complained.
And God was a little upset with the people, and the fire fell.
It's kind of like us and Jesus.
He's our manna.
And He's enough, He's all we need.
We read a few weeks ago:
»John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
It's hard for us because our old sin nature just keeps wanting more and more:
»Pr 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Illustration:
A woman was married to a miserly man. She had to fight for everything she got. One day, she told him she was going window shopping. He said, "Look, but don't buy."
A few hours later she came home with a new dress. "What is this?" her husband fumed. "I thought I told you to look but not buy."
"Well," she explained, "I saw this lovely dress and thought I'd try it on, and when I did the devil said, 'It sure looks good on you.'"
"Right then you should have told him, 'Get thee behind me, Satan,'" her husband exclaimed.
"I did," she answered, "but when he got behind me he said, 'It sure looks good from the back, too.'"
Lesson:
Complaining or contentment?
We need to learn the secret of contentment in Jesus
»Philippians 4:10-13 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
:42 Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph ...
Jesus was a real, historical person.
The Jews are commenting on the fact that they know Him as a regular guy, and they know his parents as well.
Note:
They are currently in the city of Capernaum.
Nazareth, the home town of Jesus, is only about 20 miles away.
:42 that he saith, I came down from heaven?
I've said this before.
Jesus doesn't leave room for you to call Him a "good teacher".
He doesn't allow for you to call Him a "nice guy".
He's claiming to be from heaven.
He's either a liar, a lunatic, or He's really the Lord!
Illustration:
A few days ago I was channel surfing on the TV set. I've been reading articles about the crazy TV talk shows, and I thought I'd look at a few of them.
I found a show where they had a guy on who was claiming to be an alien. He was claiming that he wasn't totally human.
Nobody took him serious.
One guy in the audience asked, "When was the last time you took drugs?"
Everybody in the audience, including the host was laughing at him.
Keep in mind that this is kind of like the claim that Jesus was making.
You have to believe that Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or He was really who He said He was.
Maybe Jesus was really a lunatic! Aha!
The problem is that lunatics don't do things like feeding five thousand people with a few loaves and fish.
Lunatics don't really heal anybody.
Lunatics don't die and raise from the dead.
Of course the Jews aren't aware of Jesus' miraculous birth, and that Joseph was only kind of a step-father, since Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit while still a virgin.
:44 except the Father which hath sent me draw him
We talked about this last week.
God has picked us out before we ever chose Him.
And here we see that it was God who was drawing us to Jesus all along.
:44 raise him up at the last day
Again, talking about the resurrections.
:45 they shall be all taught of God
This is an Old Testament quote:
»Isa 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
The Jews have looked at this passage of Scripture and said that it applied to the times of the Messiah.
And now Jesus tells us what this verse means.
He says that to be taught of God means that God is going to be speaking to you in a way that will lead you to Jesus.
How does God teach us?
One of the primary ways is through the Scriptures:
»Ga 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Another way is through the ministry of the Holy Spirit:
»John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Lesson:
If you aren't getting to know Jesus, then God isn't speaking to you.
That's what Jesus is saying here.
There are many, many groups out there that are telling you that they know God.
Just look at the flood of eastern mysticism in the U.S. today.
They tell you to meditate
They tell you to give up eating meat
They tell you to follow "the Path to Enlightenment"
But if they don't tell you to follow Jesus, they're not telling you the truth.
That's a pretty radical claim for Jesus to be making!
:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father
Gill: This is said, lest it should be thought from the above words, that our Lord meant that men should be so taught of God, as that they should visibly see the father, and vocally hear his voice, and be personally instructed by him; for his voice is not heard, nor his shape seen.
When Moses asked to see God's glory, God replied:
»Exodus 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
Even though Moses was known as one who spoke with God "face to face", in reality, all Moses ever saw was a covered up version of God's glory, so Moses wouldn't die.
:46 save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father
Jesus, on the other hand, had seen God face to face.
If you want to really know what God the Father is like, you better go to the best authority, and that's Jesus.