John 6:44-50 “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: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.”
 
AS the Lord has arranged it, this comes to you on a Sabbath Day. This is a good day to consider your Lord’s eternal teachings.
   This passage includes for the third and fourth times in John 6 Jesus saying, “I am the bread of life.” And a second time he is “the bread that comes down from heaven.” Jesus’ bread metaphor is to teach he is the eternal food for all in the world who believe.
   As you go to church or consider you are the church of Jesus Christ today, think of people around the globe doing the same thing. Know that the Bread of Life is feeding you and millions of people throughout the nations. Through the Holy Spirit, God the Father has spoken to you. Heaven’s Word has come down to you. The Father has drawn you and countless others to the Son to be the church. This, my friend, means you are participating now and forevermore in the miracle of everlasting life.
   Savor this truth: As a Christian, the Father, Spirit and Son have fed you the Bread of Life. Your soul will live in heaven, and you will never be hungry, thirsty and in need. The Word became flesh: “(I) prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (I) anoint (your) head with oil; (your) cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5) Yes, the Father has invited you to, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (Psalms 34:8) In joy, you can always know, “There remains, then, a Sabbath – rest for the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9)
   I pray as you, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8), you will see Jesus’ church as God’s Bread of Life come down from heaven to you. And I hope you remember his gift is to be used to his glory. Participate in your church’s worship. Pray for your church’s leaders. Proclaim your church’s good news message to your community. Produce good work for your church, so it will be secure. Provide for your church’s funds to feed the bread of life near and far.
   Remember Jesus, the Bread of Life, on this Sabbath. He is the Lord of the Sabbath, the testimony of God the Father, Son and Spirit to feed you forevermore.
 
Prayer: I pause to think of you today, God, and I rejoice you have so lovingly fed me the Bread of Life. Amen.  

John 6:41-43 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” 43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.
 
A group response to the gospel can be life-changing or life-stopping. We see a life-changing response to Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5-7. Then at the end of this sermon we read in Matthew 8:2 When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. The Lord had spoken life into their souls, and they wanted more. The Word, who is God, drew people to him with His words.
   But here in John 6, the Jewish leaders did not believe Jesus. Their words represent the world’s unbelief today. Jesus was born of a woman. Was he really born of a virgin? He’s Joseph’s son and has lived among the Jews in a very average family. How can he be the son of God? Certainly no sign of heaven’s blessings was exhibited through this common man Jesus.
   Yes, they were incredulous that Jesus claimed he had come from heaven. But did they not see? Had they forgotten the power of his words? Cripples walked. Blind saw. Deaf heard. Winds stilled. Thousands fed. Why did the Jewish authorities negate the miracles and refuse to raise Jesus from “Joseph’s son” to “the Bread of Life”?
   Jesus gave to them a first step to belief, “Stop grumbling among yourselves.” Grumbling is complaining and generally focusing on our own opinions. Certainly, we know it all! We grumble when the teacher assigns a paper, or the preacher speaks to our sins. We grumble against God when the prayer seems unanswered. Grumbling against Jesus’ church is epidemic and often a reason for its demise in a community. What’s wrong? Don’t we believe the power of Jesus’ words?
   The Jews could have remembered how John the Baptist affirm Jesus’ as the anointed Savior. They needed to be quiet and open the Scriptures to see how God prophesied the Savior would come to them. This “son of Joseph” had done remarkable things. How could they explain that?
 
Prayer: Remove any grumbling from my heart, Lord, so I have a clear mind to know you more. Amen.

John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
 
JOHN speaks often of Jesus, the Son, ministering in the Father’s will. This is evidence of Jesus’ deity, an important reason for John’s gospel.
   Jesus has taught the Father has sent him from heaven. Believing in him, Jesus assures, will erase hunger and thirst from our souls forever. Then Jesus further guarantees our eternal life: 1) The Father will give believers to the Son. 2) These believers will remain forever with Jesus. 3) The believers’ bodies will be raised up to heaven on Judgment Day.
   Step-by-step, from the distribution of some loves and fish, to the miracle on the sea, to the teachings in Capernaum, John 6 records how Jesus has drawn the Jews to see has come in the authority of the eternal Lord God Almighty. YHWH, who is Provider and Deliverer, has sent the Messiah to show the world the way to heaven.
   It’s as if Jesus is a powerful, clarifying telescope into the heavens. He invites people to look at him and see the Father of heaven and earth. People who see Jesus will gaze into the Lord God’s unending majesty and wonder. People who stop to see and even persistently view Jesus will forever see the magnificent wonder: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
   And why has Jesus done this? He did the will of God on earth. Consider the prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13 “Our Father in heaven, holy be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give to us our daily bread. Forgives us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.”
    Jesus lived on earth to do this prayer. He obeyed the Father’s will on earth to forgive us, feed us and deliver us. The Father’s will is to draw his chosen believers to himself. Then he holds and protects each treasured soul for eternity. No believer is ever lost to unbelief. The chosen are never “unchosen”. Jesus on earth come from heaven is the Father’s will done on earth.
   I pray you joyfully celebrate Jesus’ eternal guarantees. This is the Father’s will for your life. Do you believe? Will you pray for and help others also believe?
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father for sending Jesus. Thank you Spirit for empowering Jesus and opening my mind to believe. Amen.
 

John 6:36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
 
LET’s try to be in the crowd as Jesus teaches. In the past few minutes, he has transformed bread, mankind’s most basic food, into “he”. With stunning, unbelievable language, this miracle-working rabbi from little Nazareth has said, “The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Wow! God’s bread is “he” from heaven? Is this “he”, Jesus, going to feed the world? Then Jesus stretches your ability to believe even more, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” It seems the more he says, the more reasons you have to say, “I don’t believe!”
   What would you do in that circumstance? You were at the “5,000 Feast” the day before this. You watched each of his closest disciples distribute bread to you and the others. The bread was real bread. And none came from the heaven or the sky. What’s more, you’re hungry again today!
   How would you respond to Jesus that day? How do you respond today? Perhaps you can understand why the gospel is difficult for new ears to hear. No one, including the Twelve that day, even remotely understood his teachings. Yes, how would you have responded?  
   The Jewish authorities and the crowd needed to do what Jesus closest disciples did. They stayed with him. Again, the discipleship lesson we have seen in John 6 is to 1) Acknowledge Jesus – “It is the Lord!” 2) Invite Jesus into your presence – “Come in, Jesus.” 3) Learn from Jesus. “I’m listening, Jesus.” 4) Act into what he says. “I’m eager to get up and go with you, Lord.”
    Our limited minds require steady steps to grasp God’s unlimited essence. That’s why each rising of the sun must stir a rising hunger for the Lord God, satisfied only with the Bread of Life.
   Be consistent to seek your Lord’s truth. Hunger for understanding. Savor his eternal goodness. Live nourished in Jesus, the Bread of Life.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Holy Spirit, for placing the Bread of Life on my heart. I pray I consume him daily to know and savor the sweet taste of his salvation on my soul. In Jesus’ name, amen.  

John 6:34-35 “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”  
 
A few lessons back, I wrote that one could title John 6 “The Bread Speaks”. Here’s why. This passage is central to the narrative in this chapter. Remember we have read of Jesus’ miracles to feed the 5,000, to walk on water and to calm the storm on the sea. He also left the crowd to avoid their forcing him into political leadership.
   When Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” he asserts he is sovereign. He has authority over nature, and he is not the Jews’ earthly leader. He is mankind’s Savior. The eternal “I Am who I Am” (Exodus 3:14) now more specifically defines himself. He is the self-existent, eternal God come to earth to proclaim God’s authority. He is the Creator, who spoke, “Let there be…” to form the universe. He, who spoke to the Jews without form in the desert journey from Mt. Sinai, has come in the form of a man to His chosen people. His will is to form their lives anew in him as they feed on the truth of the Bread of Life.
   The eternal I AM has set a banquet on earth, and his name is Jesus. God’s human form is a means to re-form mankind from Eden’s death to the New Heaven and earth (Revelation 22). The Bread of Life came. The Bread of Life taught. The Bread of Life was broken on the cross, raised and ascended, so you and I could consume his salvation. Jesus fed the 5,000, as an appetizer for the Jews to desire God’s eternal Bread.
   Through Jesus’ life is God’s nourishing forgiveness of sins. We sit in prayer when we eat of the One who taught us to pray. We minister to others because Jesus’ servant life feeds us a servant’s heart. He is Bread who nourishes our love for God and one another. Receiving the Bread of Life, we savor ministry to the broken. Sharing the Bread of Life, we welcome people to our home for a meal and pray with them. Filled with the Bread of Life, we offer to a hungry world the eternal food of God’s blessed commands.
    Hunger for the Bread. Feed your life from now on to become more as Jesus.  
 
Prayer: Lord, from now on give me this Bread. Amen.  

John 6:31-33 “Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who 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.”
 
SURELY Jesus’ “5,000 Feast” was a sign he is the Messiah. Some believed God would deliver to them their daily bread in the new kingdom as He did during the 40 years Desert Journey. They know their ancestors ate daily. Won’t they eat in a similar way as God’s Messiah leads them as Moses did?
   But they did not understand the Scriptures. When they say to Jesus, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” They referred to Moses as the giver. But Moses had explicitly written that God was the one who gave the bread. Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.” To know God and the ways he reveals himself to us, we must read the Bible carefully. Furthermore, we must credit God as our sole source of all we have. Yes, we have knowledge and ways to produce and distribute enormous quantities of food. But consider that the land, plants, water and technology originate with the Creator.
   Then Jesus teaches, “I tell you the truth.” so the Jews will know.   But still his words are a radical truth that many today still cannot consume. How did the Jews hear? “The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” We all must hear, “The bread of God is he.” Bread is a person. Bread was in heaven. Bread has come to earth. Bread gives life to the world. Bread is One who is Life. The Lord’s truth requires our ears to open. Our minds must awaken. What we hear we are to learn.
   Jesus’ words are the truth of God’s will to move the Jews’ minds from the past of Moses and the limited dispersion of mana. God’s will is for the Jews to look into the future to see Jesus is the Messiah, whose life will feed them forever. Heaven’s bread is not manna on the ground. Heaven’s Bread is life staked to a cross, buried in a tomb, risen forevermore. Heaven’s Bread is enthroned at the right hand of God Almighty.
   Our Lord did not feed physical bread that day. He fed His profound, life-changing, eternal truth. The Jews needed a hunger for God’s Bread.         
   How about you? Does Jesus’ truth stir your appetite? Does he fill you? Are you filled with his salvation?
 
Prayer: Lord God, I hunger to listen to your truth.
 

John 6:28-30 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” 30 So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” 
 
IN various scriptures, Jesus connects love with action: “If you obey (d0) my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” (John 15:10) Truly loving God, you will actively do Jesus’ love. Jesus set the example. Our Savior’s life on earth was an active picture of the Holy Trinity doing His love onto mankind.
   Now Jesus essentially says, “Do your belief.” He is teaching the crowd to seek eternal food as opposed to the next meal. Urgently he says, “Work for food that endures to eternal life.” The crowd then asked a good question, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” They must have been surprised at his response, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” How is work – something you do – connected with belief – something unseen in your heart and mind?
   Let’s consider. What happens when you believe Jesus’ teachings? What you think will increasingly become what you do. We return to the lesson on John 6:16-21. Jesus went to the disciples in the storm. What did they do? They acted into their belief to welcome Jesus into the boat. Then they gave up their terrified minds to receive the Lord’s peace.
   When Jesus comes to you, your work is to believe and confess, “It is Jesus, my Savior!” Your belief in his truth will truly renew and change your life if you begin to do as Jesus did. Doing your belief sound simple. Hear. Go. Do. Right? Not for our natural, sinful hearts. See how Jesus’ “students” that day said in effect, “We’re not doing this, Jesus.” Yes, they asked a good question. In a sense they welcomed him into their presence. But they did not invite the Lod God in completely. Their response reeked with sin’s deadly inaction and unbelief. Imagine, they implored Jesus to give them a sign just one day after the sign of feeding 5,000! They had followed him because of that sign, only to say, “Show us a sign that we might believe.” What more did they want?
   How often we respond the same. The Lord says, “This is what you do: Believe me.” His creation says, “First, what will you do, God? Prove yourself!” Tragically, we say it again and again and again. “Heal my friend. Give me a job. Find me a wife. Give me what I want. You do it first, God. Then I’ll believe you.”
   Believe this: God is not on your wait staff. Yet, his love is great; he has done everything necessary for you to live an active life of doing your faith now and forevermore. Remember this is why Jesus said: John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. Do your belief. Get out of the darkness. Live in the Light.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus for doing your work on the cross, so I would follow the signs of life into your presence forevermore. Amen.

John 6:22-27 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
 
VERY quickly, the news of Jesus’ miraculous “5,000 Feast” had spread into Galilee’s cities and towns. Boats came from Tiberius, a city inhabited primarily by Gentiles, and there were some Jews who were living outside of God’s law. The new arrivals and those who feasted the day before came in anticipation of another meal. They hoped and even expected God was about to repeat the miracle of manna in the desert during the 40-year journey of the Jews to the Promised Land. Surely, the kingdom of God has come in this man Jesus.
   Then the crowd learned of Jesus and his disciples’ return to Capernaum. They, too, traveled across the sea and found Jesus to ask, “When did you get here?” You have to credit them with their persistence to keep following him. And John hints they may have wondered if Jesus had miraculously traveled home.
   But what did they want? According to Jesus, who certainly knew their hearts, their focus is food. Even though Jesus had also fed them God’s Word at the “5,000 Fast”, they cared not to feed their souls to know God. Many were living apart from God’s laws. They didn’t know God and had no desire to learn. Instead, they wanted an instant, stomach-filling meal, good for only a few hours.
   Odd, isn’t it that food is a symbol here of a lack of faith? What’s wrong with wanting a good meal? A good meal, though, becomes a sinful lust when it is held above God’s Word. You will see this truth in Jesus’ reply to Satan’s temptation in Matthew 4:3 “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  Then Jesus responded, quoting from Deuteronomy 8: Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” God fed his people in the desert and on the mountainside to teach them, “I believe God’s Word is life.”
   The sinful heart always puts temporary gratification over God’s eternal truth. Just ask Eve, David and Solomon. They saw how the lust for the “now” satisfaction took them away from intimately knowing God. Such desires keep us from desiring God.
 
Prayer: Teach me, Spirit, to rejoice in your everlasting commands. I pray for a BIG – Believing In God – appetite to rejoice in you each day. Amen.

John 6:18-21 A strong wind was blowing, and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
 
JOHN has some very understated faith statements. A few lessons back as Jesus fed the 5,000, we paused to see how Jesus “distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted”. Were there some unwilling to sit with Jesus? When the Lord invites us to the feast, we must faithfully respond to sit and receive his nourishing Word.
   Let’s now consider “Then they were willing to take him into the boat.” Why would the apostle John, one of the men on the boat, write this? Notice he didn’t say, “They eagerly welcomed Jesus.” Can we not assume Jesus’ disciples would immediately, joyfully take him into the tossing boat? Surely, they would expect to be safe with their miracle-working Master. Why would they have hesitated?
   Let’s understand their state of mind. “They saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified.” Yes, the storm disturbed them, but some are experienced boatmen. Rough waves were challenging but not terrifying. What terrified them was something beyond their experience. Imagine! What would you think if you saw someone walking on turbulent water? The storm you can handle. But the supernatural image would terrify you.
   Perhaps they thought the man on the waves was some demonic force coming to destroy them. They certainly would not have expected Jesus to walk on water! The disciples’ terror came from false assumptions. They would know peace only when Jesus spoke his truth, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” The hope of heaven had come to care for his own.   
   But still, three things needed to happen, so the disciples could experience Jesus’ peace. First, they had to believe their Lord, didn’t they? To Jesus, “It is I.” their faith would say, “It’s Jesus!”. Second, the disciples had to act into their belief. “Come in, Jesus!” It is useless to believe, “It is Jesus.” if we neglect to invite him into our presence. Third, they needed to give their terrified minds to receive the Lord’s faithful promise, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10a). How often do we invite Jesus to, “Come in.” then ignore his blessed assurance?
   As you encounter life’s turbulent and even terrifying moments, welcome the Lord God Almighty into our life. Be faithful to say to Jesus: 1) “It is you, Lord!” 2) “Come in, Jesus.” 3) “I will be still in you, Jesus.”  
  
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for your calm, still voice, assuring my heart, “It is I.” Amen.
 
 
 

John 6:16-17 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.
 
THE day had been another extraordinary time in the disciples’ lives. The one they called “Master” “Teacher” “Rabbi” and “Lord” had done remarkable work on a mountainside in Galilee. Had they truly seen with their own eyes that a few loaves and several fish fed some 5,000 men plus thousands of women and children? How thrilling to watch Gods miracles! Each day something new and wonderful demonstrated Jesus’ power over sickness, demons and nature. Surely, this is YHWH in the flesh, isn’t he?
   With such thoughts likely on their minds, the disciples began to row across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had left them to be alone in an unknown place. Perhaps, they thought, he had found a way back across the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida or Capernaum, where most of the disciples lived. It was time for them to go home, too. They could easily cross the sea. Some had spent many hours on these waters and knew how to handle a boat if any storm or obstacles would arise.
   As we’ll see in our next lessons, the disciples will need some help through a sudden storm. In the storm-savaged, deep waters, they will experience and even deeper understanding of Jesus’ power and his peace.
   Each day most of us travel on pathways we know. We understand the best way to get to a destination or to complete necessary work. We can even navigate through challenges that arise.
   But what happens when threats against our well-being and security arise? Do we become frustrated or even afraid? What would be our emotions, though, if we pursued Jesus’ power and peace in those situations? Might we consider the depth and breadth of Jesus’ extraordinary love is greater than any threat, any barrier? Would personal conflicts and family arguments stop, for example, if we remember Jesus’ humility before his accusers? Might our hearts remain at peace amid life’s storms if we trust the Holy Spirit is our Comforter?
   The disciples would discover they needed Jesus even on the familiar waters. So do we. Storms are always ready quickly arise. Let’s keep God our Father, Son and Spirit on our minds, hearts and tongues as we journey through each day. He will help us securely journey toward our heavenly home.
 
Prayer: God, my Father, Jesus, my Lord, Holy Spirit, my Helper, keep my mind on you. Amen.