Automated Transcript:
Okay. Hey, now there’s audio. I knew I’d forget something. So a few things that obviously I need to do is turn all the ringers off on the phone though. I do greatly appreciate my wife calling me to let me know there was no audio because I had forgotten that I’m gonna try and juggle a few things as we go through this, just because I don’t have Tommy Laster here.
So I’m going to have to try and, you know, do it on my own, but we’re going to go through a few of the questions from Sunday. And as a result of that, we’ll have those on the screen and I’ll swap between them and, and whatnot. So we’ll, we’ll make a go of it and we’ll see how it goes.
Got another couple of minutes before we get started Delisa, you are welcome. Glad I can do it, going to try and kind of keep an eye on the comments on the Facebook feed. Specifically my Facebook feed, just where somebody can let me know if something stops working or, or whatnot. Or if, for instance, I put up the, the wrong thing.
We’ll get started here in just a minute or so, Trying to make sure all of the screens are set properly and audio set properly. Somebody definitely let me know if you can’t hear me at any point. So text me. I’m I’m trying to keep my, my phone where I can see it though. It is on mute. And then if, if anything goes haywire,
well, we’ll do the best we can. Okay, We’re gonna go ahead and get started. We are going to be in John chapter six this evening, but we’re going to begin with the questions from less than two 53, less than two 53 came from Mark chapter six. So we’ll begin with those questions after a word of prayer, Let us pray.
Our gracious father in heaven. We bound before you grateful for the day that you’ve given to us grateful for the life that we have, and that blatant Ben blessed with grateful for the beauty of the earth and the majesty of the things that you have created. We see the magnificence of your glory and the magnificence of all that you do in just the things that we see around us,
especially right now, as the snow is falling outside. And we’re able to appreciate the uniqueness of every single piece of snow that falls from the sky. We pray that you will be with all those who may be in countering difficulties because of the weather because of power outages, or because of other reasons, we pray that people will be safe and warm and able to stay warm.
In this time, we pray that you be with those workers in the utility companies and others necessary jobs like that. We pray that they have safety as they’re doing the things that need to be done, to make sure that everyone stays safe. We pray that you will be with us as we go through this period of study, may the things that we do and the things that we say,
be in accordance with your will. We ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory and watch out for us care for us, protect us, keep us in your love and care. All this. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. All right. So let’s see if I get this, get this right here. First question we have from a Sunday’s lesson,
how busy were Jesus and the apostles during the second year of his ministry, it’s comes from Mark chapter six, verse 31. And since I don’t have an audience in front of me to kind of have the feedback here, I’m just going to read the passage and then we’ll answer it from there. Verse 31 says, and he said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile for there were many coming and going and they did not even have time to eat.
So one of the things that we see here is that there were so many people coming and going that the apostles didn’t even have time to stop and to eat. The second question. When Jesus saw the multitude who had followed his boat, he felt compassion calling them a blank without a blank. This comes from verse 34 and Jesus. When he came out,
saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So he began to teach many things. Okay? So Jesus saw them had compassion on them, but he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. Next question, in question, number three comes from verses 38 through 42. And the question is how did Jesus feed the 5,000 men who had followed him to a desolate place,
verse 38 says, but he said to them, how many loaves do you have go? And see, of course, this is to the disciples. And when they found out, they said five and two fish, then he commanded them to take them all, sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down and ranks in hundreds and in fifties.
And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before them. And the two fish he divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. Jesus takes the five loaves, the two fishes. He prays to God. And then the food is distributed to the 5,000 question four was any food left after Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000 it’s comes from verse 43.
They took up 12 loaves or 12 baskets full of fragments and of the fish. So the answer was yes, there was excess, there was leftover and it was plentiful enough that there were 12 baskets full. I’m going to try and rearrange my windows here just a little bit better to where I can look more at the camera and less way up there. Next question is,
let’s switch back to the right screen after feeding the 5,000, why did Jesus send the disciples in the boat without him go to verse 45 immediately. He made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side to Bethsaida while he sent the multitude away. And when he had sent them away, he departed to the mountain to pray. So this is one of those occasions where Jesus sends the disciples ahead and he stays behind to pray verse or sorry,
question number six from verse 52. Why were Jesus’ disciples hearts hardened after seeing the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 verse 52, they had not understood about the loaves because their hearts were hardened. And one of the things that we talked about is at least my judgment, my understanding part of the reason why they didn’t understand these things in their hearts were hardened is because of the success of the things that they had encountered.
He sent them out into the cities and the region teaching and preaching and the miracles they were able to do there. And perhaps that pride being lifted up in them, they, they didn’t get everything that they should have from this event. Then question number seven, verses 48 through 51. Why were Jesus’ disciples frightened when they saw him walking on the water and then describe the weather on this occasion,
verse 48. Then he saw them straining at rowing for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea and would have passed them by. And when they saw him walking on the sea, they supposed, it was a ghost and cried out for, they all saw him and were troubled,
but immediately he talked with them and said to them, be of good cheer. It is, I do not be afraid. Then he went up into the boat to them and the wind ceased, and they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure and marveled. So why were the disciples frightened? When they saw him, they supposed, he was a, a ghost or a spirit.
Describe the weather. The weather was a tempestuous. It was windy and it was blowing the opposite direction of where the disciples were trying to row to. Okay. So that covers our questions. We will head over to John chapter six And we’ll switch to this screen for the rest of the time. John Chapter six is where we will be for our study this evening,
John chapter six, beginning in verse 20 To John chapter six, Beginning verse 22. We read this 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 that one, which his disciples had entered. And that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but his disciples had gone away alone.
However, other boats came from Tiberius near the place where they ate bread after Jesus had given. Thanks when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples. They also got into boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, rabbi, when did you Come here?
So the people witnessed the get in the boat. They witnessed the disciples leave and they knew that Jesus was still there because he was present. He was the one who sent them away. Now they come back and Jesus has gone and the disciples are gone and they’re looking, they’re examining. They’re trying to figure out what happened that they’re, they’re looking to see if there’s,
if the disciples came back, if there’s an, there was another boat that would have taken Jesus and there was no indication of one. So they finally in essence, just go, well, let’s go to Capernaum. Jesus is often in Capernaum and they will, they will travel to Capernaum and there, they will find him. But they’ll ask the question.
When did you come here? How did you get here? You, you didn’t get in a boat. You didn’t leave when we were there and you were still there. When we left, how did you get here? And Jesus will answer them. Verse 26, he answered and said, most assuredly. I say to you, you seek me not because you saw the signs,
but because you ate of the lows and were filled as is often the case, people ask one question and Jesus answers another Jesus answers concerning their motivation. Jesus makes it clear that their motivation for coming and seeking him out, wasn’t their desire to hear his teaching. It wasn’t that they had had seen his miracle and realized that there was one in their presence who was greater than Moses.
And that what he had to say was the most important thing as we get into John chapter six, one of the things that you’re going to see is this analogy moving forward of Jesus to Moses, Moses would feed Israel in the wilderness, but it wasn’t really Moses who did it was it, it was Moses asking God and God providing for Israel in the wilderness.
Well, now you’re going to have Jesus providing for people in the wilderness. And the people are going to look at that. And they’re going to understand a connection. They’re going to understand the connection between Moses and Jesus and their motivation is going to be physical things. They’re understanding and motivation is going to move forward based upon their desire for physical food. So notice what he says.
He says, you seek me now because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled, then he says, this verse 27, do not labor for the food, which parishes, but for the food, which in doers to everlasting life, which the son of man will give you because God, the father has set his seal on him.
Jesus says, your focus is off. Your focus is off of what it means to be. And you need to correct your internal motivation for being here. You need to correct what it is that you have done done in essence, to say, it’s good that you’re present, but the reason you’re present has destroyed the value of your presence. The reason you’re here is going to work against you.
Instead of being for you. Sometimes we have a mindset that says, you know what? It’s best that people be at worship no matter what. And the motivation and mindset behind that has often driven. Even parents to cause older children to go, you’re going to be at worship no matter what you want, because you’re in my house. I understand the motivation for that.
But Jesus, his point here is if your reason for being here is wrong, then it doesn’t matter what, what you’re doing here. And it doesn’t matter. The fact that you are here because what’s inside has ruined the value of your presence, your heart, and your motivation for being there or your desire to be somewhere else has notified your presence. So Jesus tells them not to labor for food,
which parishes he says, go look at your reason for getting up every day. Go look at your reason for being in a particular place. You go to James chapter four and James talks about an individual deciding he’s going to travel to another city and stay there a year and buy and sell and get gain. And James admonishes him to S to change his outlook,
to go, if the Lord wills, I will go here and do this or that. And he calls him a fool. If he thinks he knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, your life is a vapor. It appears for a little while and then vanishes away. He says, all of this is tied directly to the statement of Jesus. Jesus is,
do not labor for the food that perishes James says, if your motivation is profit and gain and nothing more than that, if God’s not in the picture, if the value you’re looking for is not spiritual value, but monetary value as the highest priority, then you’re going to miss what God has to offer you. And you’re not going to get what Jesus has provided.
He says, do not labor for the food, which parishes, but for the food, which in doers to everlasting life, which the son of man will give you because God has set his seal on him. Jesus is the thing you need to be searching for. You’ve you’ve left the wilderness. You’ve come searching for me. You found me in Capernaum.
And the reason you did it was because you ate and were filled, but the reason you should have done it, and what you should be doing is looking for the meat, the food that I’m teaching you, the words that I speak, those are what they should be striving for. Verse 28. Then he said, or then they said to him was,
shall we do that? We may work the works of God. Okay? Jesus. If you’re saying that we need to be striving for spiritual things and not fleshly things. If you’re saying that we need to be looking out for, for spiritual works and not fleshly, what is it that we need to be doing? What must we do that? We work the works of God.
Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God that you believe in him, whom he sent. Jesus said the thing you ought to be doing. The thing you need to be focusing on is believing in the messenger. Why would he say that? Remember the connection to Moses in the situation with Moses, Moses would plead on behalf of Israel.
They would have a need. Moses would God to provide for their need. God would provide for their need. Moses would speak to them. But every time they were unsatisfied with their physical situation, they wouldn’t go to Moses and say, teach us more about God. They would go to Moses and say, solve my physical issue. Or I’m hungry. Provide me food.
Or I’m thirsty. Provide me drink. Every time they became disgruntled with their physical situation, they want a God to solve it. But would they go to God for their spiritual needs? No. Would they listen to God’s messenger about his God’s desires for their lives and obedience to him? No. How many times do you find in those latter years with that first generation where God tells them vowels shall not covet.
Thy neighbor’s house thou shall not commit fornication, thou shalt, not covet the neighbor’s wife and yet all of the 10 commandments. You find them breaking in the text. Here they are. They’re bowing down to other gods. Why? Because they didn’t believe Moses because they didn’t believe the messenger because they didn’t hear and obey. You say, well, well,
but, but, but they, they didn’t know yet. Yes they did. God spoke the 10 commandments in chapter 19 from the mountain. They didn’t want to hear it. They wanted Moses to go get it. And so they send Moses up to go get the commandments. But when the messenger comes back, did they then live out the message? No,
Aaron’s own sons. When they’re, they’re performing the duties of a priest on the very first day, the very first consecrated day of the feast. The very first time the priests are serving on a Holy day are struck down by God. Why was it? Because they were ignorant about God’s word? No it’s because they didn’t believe. So then notice what we read.
He says, this is the work of God that you believe in him, whom he sent. Now, some will say that we’re not saved by works. We’re saved by faith. Only the problem with that is the Jews asked Jesus, what work must we do? And Jesus says, the work you’re supposed to be doing is believe nowhere in all scripture.
Does it say that we’re saved by faith only saved by belief only instead Jesus identifies that their faith is to cause them to do the works of God. And so the very first work that they have to do is believe he identifies the fact that they’re missing the very first thing they’re missing. The fact that they do not yet believe in him, can’t do anything else until they correct that problem.
So then notice what we read verse 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? Did didn’t he just feed 5,000 men plus women and children in the wilderness. And now they’re going to ask, well, if you’ll just show us a sign, if you’ll just do a,
a work, if you’ll just show us and prove to us that you are who you claim to be, then we’ll believe our fathers verse 31 ate the manna in the desert. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. 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 for the bread of God, is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The same Moses who gave them bread also told them they needed to obey God. They needed to hear God love God and keep his commandments. And here they are. They’ve seen the miracle. They know what they were told.
They listened to him, teach, and then they determined that that wasn’t proof enough. So when he says you came here because of the bread you ate. And when he says your first work is your faith and obeying God, they respond with, well, we’ll believe in you, but first show us another work. And when he presents this to them,
they say, we’ll believe on you. If you first show us another work and Moses fed people in the wilderness. So they’re suggesting they’re implying well, here’s what you could do fetus again. Then we’ll believe the audacity of the statement of course is they didn’t believe. After the first time he fed them. Why would they believe? After the second time he fed them?
There’s no reason at all. So Jesus says, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven. They go back to the old Testament, said he gave them bread from heaven to eat. This is Exodus chapter 16, verse four, verse 15, Psalm 78, verse 24. He gave them bread from heaven. Yes, but not the bread. He caused them to eat manna.
Yes, but the true bread, Jesus is going to identify as not food. In the physical sense. It is food in the spiritual sense. And specifically him notice what he says. He said for the bread of God, is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. What is bread do well in this instance, in this context,
you’re dealing with the daily bread necessary to sustain the children of Israel in the wilderness. Every day they could have had bread from heaven manna, or they could have had nothing. And eventually they’d starve. They’d die. Their life would be gone. Jesus said the true bread that sustains you in life, the true bread that provides for your needs and allows you to continue in life.
Isn’t physical. It’s me. So then notice what else we read. Then they said to him, Lord, give us this bread. Always. You see how mental assent belief only puts a person in the position of saying, yes, that’s exactly what I want until God turns around and says, and this is what it will cost you. And that’s what’s happening here.
He says, God is giving you me. I am the bread from heaven. And the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. And they say, yes, give us this bread. We believe, but what’s it going to cost them? 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. You remember over in John chapter four when he’s there with a woman at the well in some area. And he tells them, tells her if you drink of the water that I will give you, you will never thirst again. That analogy is here as well. Jesus is carrying that whole concept forward. And again,
in her situation, she understands him to say, Oh, if I drink your water, I’ll never be thirsty. I’ll never have to draw water from this. Well, again, all of these things are physical in her mind. And yet when Jesus helps her to understand that the water he’s offering her is not physical water, but instead spiritual life through him,
she hears it, believes it obeys and then goes and tells others. Hmm. Isn’t that the example of exactly what Jesus would expect of the Jews? Yeah. Is that what he got from the Jews? No. So notice he said, but I said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe all that. The father gives me will come to me.
And the one who comes to me, I will, by no means cast out. Now some will come to this passage and they’ll say here, Jesus gives us the understanding that once you’re saved, you’re always saved. Is that what Jesus said? No. Let’s exemplify this. A, an Israelite in Moses’s day comes and goes through. The wilderness, goes to Sinai is alive there at Sinai.
Heres the word that God commanded him. Heres the commandments that God commanded him. And then come the Sabbath day, goes out and picks up sticks on the Sabbath labors on the Sabbath day. Now, what was the commandment? Observe the Sabbath day to keep it Holy. Did he do it? No. What happened to him? Because this is an actual event in the old Testament,
they inquire the Lord. What are we supposed to do with this person who broke the Sabbath? And God said the entire congregation comes out and stones him to death. Well, wait a minute. What did he do wrong? He violated the law. He heard what God said. He heard the commandments and yet did something different. Jesus is not here teaching that the person who hears and believes will never fall.
That’s not what he’s teaching. He’s here teaching that the one who hears and believes and never turns away, but lives his life provided for by the daily bread that God provides. That is the word of God. The word from him, the life he provides that is in Christ. That person will never be cast out. His salvation. His eternal presence in the kingdom is a shirt.
This is the same thing that Peter teaches over in first, Peter chapter one that as long as they’re faithful, their inheritance is secure and cannot be taken away. But in that self, same passage, Peter says, if you do these things, you will never fall. The imply implication being. If they don’t do these things, they can fall. There’s nowhere in the new Testament that teaches that it wants a person saved.
There’s no way for them to lose their salvation. As a matter of fact, the substance in the whole of the new Testament teaches that if a person doesn’t continue to obey God, whether they were lost or saved to begin with, they will be lost because they didn’t do what God said. All right. So verse, verse 38 for, I have come down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 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. Jesus says, I’m your life? I’m the bread of life. I’m the person who, if you have me,
you’ll never thirst. I’m the one who’s going to sustain you. And when this life is over, I’m going to resurrect you on the last day, I will raise them up. But then the next verse says this. 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.
And again, someone in the religious world will say, see, he just said, yeah, but is that all he says? No, because in the entire context, the requirement is not just here and believe the requirement. And the entire context is here, believe, and then do something about it. That is obedience. And they’re missing step one,
the discussion. Shouldn’t about faith. The discussion about belief here in this context, isn’t about all that’s necessary to gain eternal life and to have eternal life. When this life is over, it is about step one. They don’t yet believe. Even though they’ve seen the miracles, even though they ate of the food, they still don’t believe verse 41 then,
and notice the contrast. He said, believe, and I’ll raise you up. Verse 41. Then the Jews complained about him because he said, I am the bread, which came down from heaven. They’re not willing to accept what he says. As a matter of fact, they’re going the opposite direction and going. He’s claiming to be from God. Now,
as we’ve mentioned before, in our studies of the book of John, John usually indicates by the reference, the Jews, a specific reference to the Jewish leadership scribes, the Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests, and others. That’s generally who he’s talking about with his reference to the Jews and not just the general population, not just the common people who were present,
not everybody who’s there. Whether that’s the idea here in this context or not, I’m not certain, but you do see a clarity here that is this gut reaction. He just claimed to be from God. He just claimed to have come from heaven. How can that be? Okay. So Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Oh, verse 42,
I Skipped verse 42. And they said is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother, we know how is it? Then he says, I have come down from heaven. And we noticed in the other passages, when Jesus stood up there in the synagogue and taught them that they, those in Nazareth, they rejected him. Why?
Because they saw him growing up. They saw him being raised by Mary. They saw his brothers and they knew his brothers and his sisters. And they said, this, this camp, this person can’t be from God. This can’t be the, the Messiah. We’ve seen him from his youth. And so they rejected him. Now here, again, they’re reference comes back to,
we know as mother and father, how was it? Then he says, I have come down from heaven. They can’t move past what they’ve seen. What they’ve always believed, what their understanding of reality is to even ask the question with an open mind and with a desire to learn what he means by this. Instead, they’re shutting down. They’re rejecting what he has to say because they don’t comprehend what it is.
That is the fact of the matter. You know what they could’ve done. First of all, they, they already said, we know his mother. We know his father. What could they have done? Well, they could have gone over to Nazareth and asked his mother about his birth. They could have asked his mother, where did he come from?
And she’d have been able to tell them they could have, if Joseph was alive. I know we had that discussion on Sunday, whether he’s alive at this point or not, but they could have asked Joseph, if he’s alive, where did he come from? Joseph knew. But did they do that? No. Jesus therefore answered and said to them,
do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me. Unless the father who sent me, draws him and I will raise him up at the last day, it is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught by God. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the father,
except he who is from God. He has seen the father. Most assuredly. I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. So Jesus tells them no man can come to me. Unless the father who sent me, draws him and I will raise him up at the last day. What is it that draws people to Jesus? Oh,
I know that this is Jesus talking about the miraculous working of the Holy spirit, the Holy spirit descends down upon those who God has already chosen to be saved. And he causes their heart to be able to believe because they’re they’re sinners from, from birth. No, I don’t know what John Calvin was thinking when he was reading the scriptures, but he wasn’t understanding them because his doctrines are atrocious.
Jesus is not saying the Holy spirit needs to come down and miraculously draw him to me. Any tells you that in the context, because he then says it is written in the profits. They shall all be taught by God and Jeremiah. When he is telling them, this is not telling them that God’s going to miraculously teach them what needs to be known.
He’s contrasting the old covenant, where they were born into a relationship with God, a covenant with God, by birth, by flesh, by blood and contrast that with a new relationship with God that God was going to create, that began with the heart. And Jesus said, you’re going to have to believe first before you can come unto me, verse 48.
I am the bread of life. Your father ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven. That one may eat of it and not die. 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 show give is my flesh,
which I shall give for the life of the world. Those in that first-generation ate of the bread. They consumed the bread that came from God, the manna, but it changed their lives that it caused them to be obedient to him. Did it cause them to not suffer the wrath of God? No, it didn’t protect them from God and from death and from judgment.
They’re in that wilderness just because they ate the bread. But if they were to consume the real bread, the true bread from heaven, that is if they were to consume him, if they were to hear and obey and believe him, then no judgment would come upon them. No death, no destruction will come upon them. Not that they wouldn’t die physically.
Cause again, context, Jesus has already said, I’ll raise you up. How could he raise them up? If they never died physically, it’s not what he’s promising them. He’s promising them a, a life which doesn’t end in judgment by God. But he also says that he came to give his life or that he shall give life to the world.
Verse 52, the Jews therefore quarreled among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flight Eat? As usual. He speaks with spiritual things. They understand only physical things. 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.
This is one of those times. Very much like the parables where Jesus could have said, Oh man, you misunderstood. Let me make this a little easier for you. Let me, let me simplify this for, for those who can’t put forth, any effort to understand, understand spiritual matters. That’s not what Jesus does. Jesus doubles down on their lack of understanding.
Jesus takes their misunderstanding and pushes it further. Why would he do that? Doesn’t he want people to believe in him. Yes he does. But He wants them to decide to first put aside their own, understanding their own fallacious ideas that they have built up through all these traditions and all these years and hear God, because they’re not hearing him. They’re rejecting him every time he says anything.
So he’s not going to make it easier on them. He’s not going to dumb it down for them. And he’s not going to give them an excuse where they can just, Oh, okay. I misunderstood. No he’s Going to allow their own bias to cause them To walk away. Sometimes people have to walk away because Again, it all goes back to the very beginning.
Why Were they there? They weren’t There for the right reason. They weren’t there because they believed him. They weren’t there because they witnessed the miracle and understood the significance of him spiritually. They were there To eat again. And that wasn’t good enough for Jesus. So He’s going to, in essence, drive them away. 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. Whoever eats his flesh and drinks, his blood has eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day for my flesh is food indeed. And my blood is drink, indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him as the living father sent me,
I live because of the father. So he who feeds on me will live because of me. 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. These things he said in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum, therefore many of his disciples when they heard this said,
this is a hard saying who can understand it? Who could understand Person who decided not to walk away, not to depart, but like the disciples to stay until they understood it. But that’s not what they’re going to do. Notice what we read when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples complained about this. He said to them, does this offend you?
What? Then, if you should see the son of man ascend, where he was before, if the spirit who gives life, the flat, it is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits, nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. I said, well, If this bothers you w what would happen if you saw me ascend to heaven,
would that solve the problem for you? But it won’t. It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits, nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life, but there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were, who didn’t want believe, and who would betray him.
And he said, therefore, I have said to, to you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by my father. Now there’s a significant point here as we’re wrapping up. And that is, he doesn’t say the one verse 64, who would betray him. This context is not a context of bout Judas as an individual.
This is a context about a group of people who would claim. He’s the Messiah just a year from now in Jerusalem. They’re going to shout Hosanna, Hosanna to the King. And within a week after that, they’re going to cry out, crucify him, crucify him. Why? Because They would reject his words. Verse 66. From that time, many of his disciples went back and walk with him no more.
Then Jesus said to the 12, do you also want to go away? But Simon, Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the son of the living, God. He said, we’ve reached a point where we know who you are.
We believe who you are. So the fact that we don’t always understand what you say, isn’t going to cause us to depart because we know who you are. Jesus answered them. Did I not choose you? The 12? And one of you is a devil. Now we’re to Judas. Now we’re in the context where yes, there’s Judas, who will betray him individually,
but there were many who would betray him as a whole. And Jesus identifies. I still know one of you is a devil, and they’re not going to understand either, by the way, as with many things that Jesus said, he spoke of Judas, Iscariot, the son of Simon for it was he who would betray him being one of the 12.
So that’s John chapter six, the latter portions. I appreciate your presence this evening though, remotely virtually, Hey, you know, you’re, you’re seeing the, the inner workings of my little room in the house. So if you thought, where is he? The answer is we have a small room at the back of the garage and that’s where all my stuff is.
For those of you who know me and know my computers and technology stuff list is where all the stuff is. And so sometimes you’ll, you’ll find me as Saul did hiding amongst the stuff, but appreciate everyone’s presence this evening, for those who watched it in person live, those who will watch it later. Don. Good, good to have you on hope you’re doing well.
And, and your wife is doing well. Also. We’ve had a few from, from some other locations and some other pastimes who’ve hopped on as well. Good to see them. Let’s end with a word of prayer and just know this in everything that we do and everything that we teach, we want to teach what God’s word says. We want to go back to the scriptures every time and hold fast to the truth.
And sometimes we’re going to read the truth and it’s not going to be what we’ve always been taught. Sometimes we’re going to read the truth in black and white, right in front of our eyes. And it’s not going to be. We always believed it’s not going to be what we always thought was true. And when that happens, we’re confronted with a choice and it’s the same choice those Jews were confronted with when we’re coming.
When we come to realize that what we have always believed is not the same as what the Bible<inaudible>. We either choose to accept what God said in the form of scripture or to accept what we’ve always believed. And the ones who walked away from Jesus and the ones still today, they who walk away from Jesus are the ones who said, I don’t understand why that would be true.
And since I don’t understand it, my choice is to reject it or accept it. And because I don’t understand it, I’m going to reject. And the person who rejects God, the person who rejects the bread of life, the word that I speak to you is life. When you reject the word, you reject the life that God offers you reject eternal life,
and you might be a Christian all ready and then learn more about what God says and still rejected. What were these people? His disciples, what did they do? They walked away. So can, and you be a disciple of Christ and then lose your salvation. Yes. Those disciples did say all of that to say this. If you’re struggling with understanding,
God’s word. If you’re reading God’s word and saying, I don’t think that’s what I’ve always been taught. I’m not sure that’s true. Don’t reject the word, reject what you’ve always been taught. And if you don’t understand, God’s word, contact us. We’ll help you. We’re not going to teach you what we think. We’re going to teach you what God’s word says.
And at any point where God’s word disagrees with what we teach, you should reject what we teach and do what God’s word says. If you’re outside the body of Christ, don’t stay there and don’t buy into the religious worlds. Teaching that all you’ve got to do is believe in call on the name of the Lord. And you’ll be safe because you cannot find that anywhere in all of scripture,
which might cause you to wonder why they’re teaching it. If you need to know more about God’s word, if you don’t understand God’s word, contact us, reach out to us. We’ll help you learn more. Let’s pray. As we close a gracious father in heaven, We are humbled by your son By what he was willing to leave behind and heaven to come to this earth,
to provide life to mankind. And we are admonished to believe in him, to partake of his flesh and his blood to eat of that, which gives eternal life and help us to understand what that really means. Help us to not only believe, not only here, but do what it is that he has commanded us to do. We ask that you watch over all those who may be struggling,
may have difficulties. We are mindful of those who are in hospital, and those who are having a hard time at this moment in time, we pray for their full recovery. Pray that you watch over us and keep us, help us to daily. Be closer to you and live in faith and obedience. All this, we pray in Jesus name, amen.
By way of announcements. I only know of one that was sent to me. And let me just double check and make sure I didn’t miss any that may have come through. If you have any announcements by way of our members, if you have any announcements, please send those over and let me know. Well, now I can’t find the one Paul sent me.
I want to read it correctly. Okay. Here it is. Okay for our members by way of announcements. Dorothy Wilson is in Germantown Methodist. ER, she’s been there since around Noon today. Doctor said her heart is very stressed and they will be admitting her to a room to night. So her cardiologist can treat her. She had burning in her chest and a spot on her head was numb.
ER, doctor said she could have had a stroke, but he was unable to detect it for sure. This is the only new announced that’s Paula’s comment. This is the only new announcement she had. So keep Dorothy and that family in your prayers. And if there is anything else that needs to be mentioned or announced, get it to Paula, get it to me and we’ll make sure that it gets sent out an email,
but keep Dorothy in your prayers and have a good evening, stay warm and safe.