^{To catch up, this next passage happens right after Jesus forgives the woman caught in the act of adultery. This whole scene was constructed by the pharisees to trip up Jesus, to cause him to make a mistake, and since Jesus thwarted them in that attempt and finished by saying}

¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

They came at Him directly,. John as has been noted writes his gospel in an entirely different way that Matthew Mark or Luke.   Matthew and Mark  write about the man Jesus ….who was also God.  Dr. Luke writes a thesis focusing on both the Man hood and Godhood of Jesus, but John focuses more strictly on the godhood of Jesus.

In Matthew and Mark they stress when Jesus referred to himself as the “Son of Man”  which is a role Jesus embraced, as the sacrifice for men.   But in John we here when Jesus expressed who he was….more than the other Gospels….again and again John relates to us the times when Jesus says  “I Am” as he did right here.

And so the pharisees come after Jesus and Jesus defends both who He is of Himself, and Who He is in the Father who sent Him

¹³ The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”

In simpler terms, “You’re a liar”   And Jesus answered this accusation.

Exhibit 1
¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.

This is a fascinating  start of the argument because there are many ways we can address arguments, and Jesus has used them all. You can quote scripture, you can  invoke the will of God, but here Jesus starts with the simple….I know who I am.  And Christians can borrow from this, when challenged on our faith “How do you know you are actually saved and not just wishful thinking”  our answer can be a simple, “I know who I am in Christ”  a simple statement of the facts sometimes is more effective than arguments.

With the pharisees specialization in legalism however Jesus goes on to further His case.

Exhibit 2

¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.

Who are you?  What authority, what knowledge do you possess that you can accuse me?  He places their own status in question, for while the pharisees had puffed themselves up, I think in their heart of hearts they knew they were corrupt and Jesus was not…for his mere presence convicted them of their sin.

Exhibit 3

¹⁶ And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.

“But even if you had the right to judge me, I have the authority and the backing of the Father”  Jesus is building His case here,   He first established His Identity, now He establishes His authority

Exhibit 4

¹⁷ It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. ¹⁸ I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

By tying everything He has said to the Law which the pharisees claimed to be their final authority, Jesus sealed the  argument and made it unassailable.  But as we often find when dealing with those people who are only using the word of God to back their personal agenda….they still will not accept the truth
¹⁹ Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

And at the end of His defense, when the argument was made, and sealed….Jesus did not let them engage Him past this point.  Again they knew who he was, and who they were…this was not an honest attempt to put down a false prophet by the pharisees, but rather an attempt to discredit Jesus, to cover Him with the mud they were soaked in , to ease the conviction they felt.
²⁰ These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

Many times in John we see that the Jews sought to harm Jesus , from stoning to accusation to incarceration, but none of that was possible  until it was allowed to happen in the time of God.

Because above all, from beginning to end, Jesus remained guiltless.

We take up with the challenge of Jesus to the established rule of the pharisees. A rule based on a desire to keep and maintain power, rather than to serve God. Jesus has just answered one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus , who we know to be an ardent seeker of God, while still numbering himself a Pharisee. Jesus has is still something of an unknown quantity to people as the day ends.

John 7: 53 And everyone went to his own house

John 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus as always, goes to pray to His Father. This must be a trying time for him. I know in my discussions with scoffers and unbelievers I am easily fatigued, and find it easy to lose traction. But getting alone with God, and praying and praising, has a away of restoring. To Jesus, this time with God was utter restoration.
2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

The people were still very interested in Jesus, anyone with an open heart could hear the world of God being spoken to them.  There are times when I wish I could be sitting there hearing His teaching. The pharisees, with their closed hearts had already made up their mind and set about to trap Jesus

3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

One always wonders exactly how she was caught in the act. Was this a set up, or something the Pharisee’s stumbled upon and decided to use to their advantage. I tend to think it was a set up from the word go, and in their bitter hearts set up this woman to sin, just to accuse Christ. This is how messed up our agenda becomes when we stray from God. ( And yes I know she could not do this alone….where was the man?) 

5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”

It is interesting to me here, that they referred to it as coming from Moses. This to is a sign of their disconnection from God, for they were not serving God’s law…but Moses’.  What is also interesting to me , is why this is a question. Why would they think Jesus’ answer would be any different from the law.  Yes it is true that was the penalty for such action. What was it about Jesus that would make them think, He would stry from the law? They must have, through His teachings, come to the conclusion that this new  law of Love Jesus was preaching was outside of God’s  law.  Which we know it was not.    So how do you answer a  setup?  You don’t.

6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

There is much ado about what it was that Jesus wrote, and how and if it applied to what was going on here. the bottom line is we won’t know until we get there, but as we will see later, it is what they heard from Jesus that convicted them.
7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

Jesus did not violate the law, he simply measured them by the same law.  Jesus said elsewhere , “judge not, lest you be judged, for with whatever measure you judge with, it will be measured back to you.” 

 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

And here he applied it to those who would accuse the girl, and each one was convicted in his heart that he was not worthy. The plain and simple truth of God penetrates into the most hardened soul. No one is beyond reach, but each responds in his own way.

10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.”And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Romans 8: 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

There was one man in that group that was worthy of passing judgement on this woman. He could have easily condemned her and stoned her. But Jesus’ purpose is never to condemn us. But to usher in a life of mercy and grace in Christ Jesus

Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve (The stoning)

Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve (Forgiveness)

While that woman was guilty of the sin, Jesus granter her Mercy and Grace. As He does to us. Do not ever live in guilt and condemnation, for if you are in Jesus (and you are beloved brothers and sisters) then it has no part of you.

So we continue with the Challenge of Jesus Christ, to the leadership of the Jews.

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.

In the previous verses and studies we have seen  Jesus explain and express His divinity to the Jewish people.  This was not received well by the Jewish leaders, who, instead of looking for the Messiah and embracing His arrival, were instead looking to save their positions of power.

33 Then Jesus said to them,“I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.”

He is of course talking about His upcoming death and Resurrection which will occupy the majority of the remainder of the book. He will eventually go to Him, but not yet. All of this was firmly in Jesus’ hand. Confirming that His life was not taken from Him, it was given to us. 36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
35 Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?

Again Jesus was talking about spiritual things and the Jews were (understandably) thinking in the physical world. The Dispersion (also known as the Diaspora) were the Jews who were not living in Israel. With Roman occupation life in Israel was a little rough so many moved into the area of  Asia Minor and surrounds
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

 Again Jesus goes against all convention here…..because He is God, and not merely man. And speaks to those gathered in the temple. He is expressing and identifying Himself as the Messiah, as the verse referenced here exclaims

39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

And now we get a glimpse into the future, into the relationship God wants to have with us.   For the Jews of Abraham and Moses’ time God was above them as he spoke to them. In Jesus time, God was no longer above the people, but much closer, God walked among the people and touched the people. And finally upon His death and Resurrection , Jesus sent to us, the comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would not dwell, above or among us….but within us. With each person of the Trinity….each expression of God, being closer and more intimate.
40 Therefore many[i] from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people because of Him.

And some listened with their hearts, and some listened with their heads.  And the ones relying on their knowledge, did not know the whole truth. They did not know that Jesus had in fact been born in Bethlehem. Again we see Jesus dividing, those who have an ear to hear, and those who won’t hear.

44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”
46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”

Here we have the second witness against the Pharisees, Surely they heard this same man speak…..but they closed their hearts to Him, Jesus is the first witness. Now they hear the words of the guards, who guilelessly appreciate the special nature of this man, an ability apparently foreign to the Pharisees
47 Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”

And now, to further incriminate themselves, they call accursed the entire assembly of people.
50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” 52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”

And finally the third witness against the pharisees, comes from among their own number. Nicodemus, who was by all accounts a seeker of the truth and who did have ears to hear.

It is easy for us to judge the Pharisee’s and find them guilty on the power of these three witnesses, for  they truly were guilty. But how many of us are also guilty of turning a deaf ear to Jesus so that  we may further our own agenda and interests…I certainly am one. So while I do not condone at all what the Pharisees have done, I number myself at least partially with them, and trust and believe  and HOPE that the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ will save me from my own hypocrisies.

We pick up from last week with a little review of Jesus expressing where His authority comes from. In the Jewish religion authority is often a great issue, for one speaking from their own authority were often disregarded.

16 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.

Jesus’ Authority was clearly The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob.

19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”

This was quite an indictment, to say that none of them keep the law, was an indictment against all of them, and yet when you look at their reaction….
20 The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”

Not one argues their innocence. Instead they engage in the age old trick of slandering your enemy to discredit his message. And yet there was a contingent among them , the Pharisees who were most certainly plotting His destruction.
21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?

The Pharisaical view of the law had become so slanted, so “missing the point” of God, they could not see past the narrow limits of their self imposed rules to see the work of God being done.   Nor could they….or would they see that the one doing this work was the son of God.

24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

What is a righteous judgment? It is using God’s standard, not our own to see if something measures up to  righteous in the eyes of God. Now at this point may I say, perhaps somewhat boldly, that there are more Christians running around doing more damage than the devil could ever hope to accomplish. These Christians take the opinions of their preachers (who, instead of preaching bible truths, preach their own opinions as if they were the truth) And bash other Christians and non believers about the head with these misinformed, misappropriated untruths.  We should never ever ever (ever) take anything that a preacher tells us as the Gospel truth….unless we KNOW it is the Gospel truth. Just because someone wears a robe, or (ahem) has a website doesn’t make them harbingers of truth. It is the responsibility of EVERY Christian to take what they hear and compare it to the bible and find out if it is the Gospel Truth.

    Acts 17: 10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Back to our Study
  
25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?

Oh Jesus had put the Leaders of the Jews on the spot, for apparently the people knew they were seeking to kill Jesus. More than that if Jesus knew that…what was he doing there? And why were the leaders not trying to kill him?  Again these people followed their leaders somewhat blindly and on every account here, Jesus’ and the Pharisee’s, actions seemed contrary to evidence.

27 However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”

This is not exactly the truth as they knew (through prophecies) the Christ would be born in Bethlehem and live in Nazareth
28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29 But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.” 30 Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

Again, in a place where others might equivocate or compromise to keep the peace, Jesus redefines, and sharpens His point, causing division. If he had only been a little less direct…he might have made more friends, and less enemy. Instead he drives home the point forever alienating those who stood against Him. It is so against out inclusive tolerant thinking today, to think that Jesus would purposefully be so blunt with the truth to force people to choose sides…..instead of holding hands on a mountainside singing the coke song.  Why?

31 And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”

Because those who would believe, were also brought to a decision point. The decision to follow Christ is not to be taken lightly , nor is it to be handled without much care. The gift may be free, but in the end it still costs you a life. For to be saved you must give up your will and your life, to take on His will and His life.

Jesus did not come to bring the whole world into a harmonious state of being.

In His own words He said:

Matthew 10: 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’[e] 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

As we have seen in the last few weeks, the truth of God brings us to a point of decision, where we either  decide to commit fully to Him, or when finally faced with a truth we cannot submit to, we walk away.  There is nothing out there dear brothers and sisters in Christ to walk out to, only despair and cold cold loneliness. We have all been there. Is there a lie so dear to us, that we cannot give it up for the truth? Let us pray when we are faced with our decision time, we remember the goodness of the love, grace and mercy of God our Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the precious Holy Spirit.

And so we find Jesus amidst the Jews in the synagogue of capernaum, close enough to his home town of Nazareth that he is a known commodity. Or at least the poeple thought He was. What we will see below is a perfect baraometer of how soft out heart is towards God, and how willing we are to change our perceptions, whem He speaks.  Many of us are so front loaded with expectations, or disapointments when God speaks, we dismiss Him because he doesn’t meet our expectations or disapointments. Let’s see what happened.
14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”

Here is a perfect case of expectation exceptions. They heard Jesus speak, with authority and with knowledge, and yet instead of accepting what He was saying they excepted it, because the man who was speaking in front of them was not a scholar trained under the tutalege of the schools of theology, Their expectations got in the way of hearing what God was saying.
16 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

Jesus’ source was much higher than any Pharisee or scribe. He , as always, was speaking the will of His Father.

17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.

“If anyone wills to do His will” If the first desire of our heart is the will of God, then we will immediately recognize when His word is being spoken. If we are puffed up in the pride of titles, or schooling or position and obtaining and retaining those is more important, we like the Jews before Jesus, will object.

18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.

Ah the seduction of power, the attraction of position.  How tempting is it to grasp the attention of people by calling yourself pastor, or prophet. How lovely is it to stand on the pillar or the pulpit and say “Look at me, I am a man of God, I will dispense God’s truth to you”. This is the devil’s kind of seduction.  He is a wily demon who knows our weakness, be they pride, envy, anger, or sloth and he will try to pull us away from the light of God’s truth, until when we hear it, we no longer even recognize it for what it is.

Let us keep a soft heart for the Lord dear children of God, my brother’s and sisters. Let us not be pulled away by the good or the bad from our center post of God’s will. God has given us all the power, the grace and the mercy to overcome the temptations that befall us. Let us not be duped by the enemy by anger or arrogance, pride of pity, but instead let us keep God in the first place of our hearts and march forward to the beat of his drum.

Let us accept the Invitation of Jesus Christ when He say in Matthew 11

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

I was going to go a bit further, but I am led to stop here, so that we may ponder, what exactly is first in our heart.

God bless you all this week, if any of you find you need prayer, email me and I will set your need before the family of God.

And now, we see a turning point In Jesus’ “Career”. At first accepted as a  good teacher and perhaps a wise man, Jesus has demonstrated and discussed his deity and his role  with the Jews and this has caused division, as the truth will often do.  It’s easy to gain great crowds and amass great influence when you speak in generalities and all positives. You will gain great appeal by appealing to everyone and offending no one, but this is not the way of God. God tells the truth, and the truth offends. Many people think that the gospel is solely about peace and it should not cause any upset, or any consternation. But let’s hear what the Prince of Peace says.

In Matthew 10 Jesus states:

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’^{[e] 37} He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Truly He is a Loving and peaceful God, but He is also a Just and righteous God. And if you are going to worship Him, you must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4).

So let us pick up the study. Jesus has seen half of his followers fall away in dismay at the truth He has told and he knows that the time of His sacrifice is coming….but not yet.

 ¹ After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.

The Jews referred to here are the pharisees and the Sadducee’s. The leadership to the Jews to whom Jesus was the biggest threat. They too were faced with a choice. They could bow down to the truth before them and give up their power, or they could kill the truth.

² Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

The Feast of Tabernacles was took place at harvest time and lasted 8 days, while it does not have an intense “holy” meaning like passover, it was a time of getting together and sharing for the Jewish people.

³ His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

The word brother here refers to any number of kin relations.  Brother, uncles cousins  et all.  His brothers were looking to get a boost from Jesus’ appearance. He was news and they were looking for angles.  They knew he did miracles, and perhaps they could profit from that at this feast. They did not yet believe that He was the Christ…..this was their older brother….not something sent from God.  Later at least some of them would believe and His half brother James would lead the Jerusalem Church
⁶ Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.

The time was evil, with evil intents and so were His brethren.  (Brother can’t even get a little home love)

⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.

The world (that being the population of the earth without faith in Jesus) is inherently evil  and it hates Him, and it will hate you because of Him. If you have someone who has given you a hard time because of your faith, then you are doing it right brothers and sisters.

⁸You go up to this feast. I am not yet^[b] going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.”

Jerusalem was going to be the place of Jesus’ death and He knew it was coming, but not yet. That time was about six months away at passover.

⁹ When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

For a little while, anyway
¹⁰ But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.

Interesting that at this point there seems to be no following of disciples. I don’t know the explanation but it is interesting

¹¹ Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” ¹² And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.”

Jesus was the buzz of the feast of tabernacles. Word of His words and His miracles had filtered through the land and they were talking about Him, as people do.

¹³ However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

For fear of the Jews….  For fear of what people will think   For fear of what people will say. These people were in no danger because of talking about Jesus. Only Jesus was in danger. And yet the people were afraid to discuss him openly because of social rejection.

It’s amazing how little has changed in the human condition in 2000 years

^{To Review:}

^{Jesus has Just laid down a hard truth.}

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 food indeed,^[h] and My blood is 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.”
⁵⁹These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

And the reaction to His word?

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

I don’t know about you, but on first reading of those words, this was my reaction as well. The words “so he who feeds on Me will live” seem both at once pretty graphic and pretty plain. But that was the purpose of Jesus…to cause them to think and to present them with a course changing truth.
⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?

Again Jesus is openly expressing to them that He is more than a man….that He is God. They are not dealing with an ordinary man, He is not a prophet, not a rabbi but much much more. This is a truth may be disturbing to some of them, they are comfortable following a man, it was a habit among the people of that time, to find a teacher who was impressive, or tickled your ear and follow Him. But Jesus is facing them now with the truth. That He is God.

 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.

He now defines what He meant. That he was, in fact, speaking in spiritual terms. But life, none the less. In the third chapter of this book when Jesus is talking about the need to be born again, he introduces us to the idea of spiritual life and death. Nicodemus a scholar and a pharisee had a difficult time figuring out the meaning then. I am not sure these people are having any easier of a time.  Many of us in fact want God to mold Himself to our way of thinking, when truthfully it is our job to mold ourselves to His.

     Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

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.”

And Jesus lays the truth down on the line.  You must transform your thinking to God’s thinking.  You must mold yourself to God’s truth, and not insist He follows yours.  This was a challenge, a line drawn in the sand. We cannot walk forever with Jesus in a compromised state.  We cannot “sort of” be a Christian forever. Sooner or later we are forced to make a choice that requires us to suspend our will, and submit to his.

I have met quite a few people who have said they USED to be Christians, but they stopped because iut didn’t make sense…or because they didn’t feel they had to do what the bible was telling them to do. They reached their challenge time, their point of decision when they FINALLY had to choose…..God’s way, or the highway. I would argue that these people never were Christians, That they had never made the requisite life change, that they had not sold out of themselves  and submitted to Christ,  They played the game for a while, but when the stakes became too high (giving up self rule, self determination) they cashed out…and blamed Christianity for their escape.

The same thing has occurred here.
⁶⁶ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. ⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

And so the ones who had not committed themselves to the truth..left
⁶⁸ But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”.

But good old Peter steps up to the place and states it plainly. You are the Christ…where else are we going to go? I can see the scene. People gathered around Jesus…. the devoted ones and the ones who have followed Him from the feeding. The ones who had seen the miracles, the ones who were following Jesus for the flash, and not the content.  Jesus lays this bomb of the truth in the middle of the crowd, telling them , they have to do more than follow the flash, they have to follow God, and half (or more or less) without another word…half turn..look back….and wander away.  Jesus looks around at the remainder, and Peter looks at him and says….”Whom shall we go to?  You are Christ”. Jesus answers, it what I can oly imagine is some kind of weary affection
⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹ He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

He loved the ones he had chosen even Judas…who did faithfully follow him for 3 and a half years, until finally his plan…his idea of what God should be doing….got the better of Him.

I want to stress here, that the commitment of Peter was one of devotion.  No one can fault Peter for his desire. He is the perfect example of he Christian Life.  Peter is an example of wanting to do the right thing, but not always making it. Peter denied Christ at his judgement, and yet when Jesus gave him the opportunity to recommit, he did so with fervor.   We too are always making mistakes, committing sin, but if we , in our commitment to God, come back to Him in repentance and commitment, he forgives us and sets us back on the path of righteousness.  Our lack of performance…can never invalidated our commitment.  God will never throw His hands up in disgust and give up on us.  Let us not ever give up on Him.

God Bless

^{To review where we are. Jesus has feed the five thousand, walked on the water and is currently expressing His deity to those who witnessed all of this and yet still don’t seem to get it.  He heard last time:}

⁴¹ The Jews then 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’?”

And so Jesus very plainly and honestly answers them. Now He had to know they were not going to accept him, more than that He knew that when you speak the truth to rejectors of the truth you inspire animosity, an anomosity that would soon lead Him to the cross.
⁴³ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “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.

Let it be firmly said that God calls and draws all, but not all answer. Jesus would echo this later when he said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except by me.”  With these statements we know that there are not many paths to God as some might have you believe, but rather there is only one way: Jesus Christ.

⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’(Isaiah 54:13) Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

And that is as simple as it is. We heard what Jesus has said, we have accepted it as the truth and we commit ourselves to it and Him…..and we are God’s. There is no effort, no work (though surely effort and work will follow our salvation) you simply belong.

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 in Me has everlasting life.

Bingo.

⁴⁸ I am the bread of life.

Jesus many times through the Gospel of John uses the phrases I Am.  I Am the good shepherd, I Am The Sheep Gate, I Am the way the truth of the Life.   With each use of this phrase He is reinforcing His deity. When Moses asked God’s name, He answered by saying  “I Am”  Yahweh and it’s Alternative Jehovah  both simply mean  I AM.

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.

Okay now Jesus did it….He’s messing with Moses. Abraham and Moses where two figures in the Jewish tradition which were Golden and untouchable, and here Jesus is saying His bread…the bread of life, is superior to that which was provided by God, in the presence of Moses.  This is NOT how we make friends here.

All kidding aside, this was the message He HAD to tell them. That “I Am” above Moses, I am above Abraham, I AM. Again speaking this kind of truth is guaranteed to make you enemies. The truth always makes enemies….because many people align themselves against the truth. Jesus said he did not come to bring peace, but rather a sword….separating those who will trust Him and those who will reject Him

^{Matthew 10:34} “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’^{[e] 37} He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

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.”

Okay what is life?  Is life the living and breathing and eating and sleeping that we do?  Well yes that is physical life. There is also spiritual life…the life we are reborn to (John 3:3)  in Jesus Christ. It is this life that Jesus is referring to, and it is only by Him that we can attain this life. Now does this mean we all our going to eat his actual flesh and drink his actual blood…physically as some of our Christian brethren think.  No because otherwise Jesus would be speaking about physical life as our reward, and our spiritual eternal life is what he is talking about, so we shall keep this context, that Jesus is talking about Spiritual Life, and our partaking of his Body and Blood ( a foreshadow of the last supper and crucifixion) as a spiritual undertaking, for spiritual purposes.
⁵² The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

Our Jewish friends, didn’t quite get that point. And so Jesus presses the point, and if your looking at this in a physical point of view what He says next is downright disgusting, so much so that it merely emphasises the fact that Jesus IS talking about spiritual things and eternal spiritual life. The breaking of His body on the cross, and the blood He spilt is indeed our salvation, our Bread of Life.
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 food indeed, and My blood is 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.

Keep the mind focused on spiritual things. Jesus IS everything that sustains us, everything we need. If we are looking for satisfaction or fulfillment from any other source then we are “feeding” on the wrong things. There is nothing we need in our spiritual life besides Jesus.   If you have found that you are not fulfilled, may I suggest, you need to “eat” more?

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.”

This is the plan our Father has for us. Eternal Life.  Surely this body we are in will die someday, but we who call Jesus Lord and rely on his mercy and grace, will never know death.
⁵⁹These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

From Capernaum to our computer, the words have no lost an ounce of their meaning or their promise. I encourage you to seek out the Bread of Life build it into yourself as there is an unending supply.

^{The attitude of ingratitude.}

^{To pick up where we left off, Jesus has fed the five thousand. After He performed this wondrous miracle people followed him across Galilee and were after him to perform more miracles.}

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.’”

^{After everything Jesus had done for them, the teaching was lost on them. They were chasing the flash in the pan, and unbelievably required more of Jesus than what He had provided  (We never do that….right?). It’s very interesting that they quote scripture to  press this point. Very few people approached Jesus with the word, many of them were not his “friends” notable among these are the Devil and The Pharisees. Of course there were those who honestly used the word  when talking to Jesus, and these He admired greatly.}

 
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.”

Jesus is reminding them who the source of every good thing is. The Father in heaven. Their question “What sign will you perform?” showed Jesus that they were not focused on God, but rather on their own selfish desires.
³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

And no longer able to contain themselves, they ask him for a everlasting bread supply, missing the point.  God did not give the Israelites manna to sustain them to live in the desert, but rather  to sustain THROUGH desert until they could accomplish what God had set before them, the taking of the promised land.  The purpose of God rarely ever focuses on making our life peaches and cream, but rather on the furthering of his kingdom and the salvation of souls. If you are seeking to enrich yourself in this life, to become powerful and rich…..well fed by the never ending bread of life, then you are missing God’s purpose.
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.

Jesus formulates His answer, and in doing so, many of the people will be alienated because it is NOT want they wanted to hear.   Everything a Christian needs comes from the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Mind you it does not promise steak dinners and Jaguars in the garage, but our needs will always be sufficiently met.

³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.

Was their disbelief based on an inability to believe, or an unwillingness?  And now begins one of the those passages, where Jesus lays it all down on the line. The bare and for some people bitter truth.  Jesus rarely ever sugar coated the truth, but rather, spoke it with the authority of God and in doing so, alienated everyone, who in their heart rejected God.  The same can be seen today. Were the people who promote tolerance and acceptance of many view points and lifestyles are lauded, and those who peskily insist on telling the truth that there is just one way, one Lord, one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and labeled as haters and scorned.

³⁷ All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

What a comfort to know that once we come to Jesus we are his forever, He will never cast us 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.”

The promise that we cling to, the hope of salvation, is in Jesus Christ and He will raise us up into everlasting life in that day. An everlasting life, which we hold even this day. We surely will never see death, even if the body dies.  Again Jesus points out that none of this is His doing alone, but rather it was done at the Father’s will.  Jesus points this out many times and it must be restated that while Jesus is God, while He was on earth, he walked , breathed and acted as a man. He set aside all expression and power of diety. The miracles He did, He did as a man through the will of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

   
⁴¹ The Jews then 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’?”

And finally. truth told, and knowing they we’re not going to get a life time supply of wonder bread, those who were chasing Jesus only for the splash and the flash, start grumbling and accusing.   They had no problem accepting that This son of a carpenter could provide them with an everlasting supply of Bread…but there is no way He could be sent from God.  If He was sent from God, then they would be required to acknowlege and , humble themselves in faith and commitment.  “Hey I just came from the bread….don’t ask me to change my life.” 

No matter how things change, things remain the same. To this day there are people hitting up Jesus for everything they want, for their desires, never caring that God grants the desires of His children’s hearts when their desires line up with His.  “Hey don’t get me wrong…I think God is cool and I like the singing at church……but don’t expect me to change my life around for this.”

The attitude of ingratitude. Take the cream and leave milk.

Following Jesus For the RIGHT reason

So Jesus has just finished the miracle of the loaves and the fishes and followed up by walking on the water to meet His disciples in a boat. As you can imagine this caused quite a stir among the people and  they followed Jesus….but were they following Him for the right reason?

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 that one which His disciples had entered,^[c] and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone—

So there was but one boat and it left without Jesus but  Jesus was gone as well, for as we know He just walked his way over the sea to get to Capernaum.

 ²³however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— ²⁴when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

We’re talking 5000 people that were fed….did they ALL get on boats from Tiberius?  (Probably not) But Jesus at this point had gained what we might today call “Pop Star” status. People were coming from all around wanting to see this miracle worker. And when they found this new new sensation they even thought to call Him by an appropriate title ” Rabbi”, but where were their hearts?

²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

And here comes Jesus keeping it real.
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.

“Oh Jesus don’t be like that….we’re having a party…..Let the good times roll” Some times the truth can be the ultimate party pooper.

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.”

 This theme is repeated over and over in the Gospels.  Where are you invested? Is your interest in this life, in gaining prosperity and fame, or recognition in this life?

      Matthew 6: ¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

What IS our heart motivation….why are we following Jesus?  For the free meal? For the glitz and the hype?  For prosperity or “the blessings”.  Is this why we are supposed to follow Jesus? Or is our focus , our desire, our goal is to follow Jesus Christ in the giving of himself to complete the will of God. 

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

Still thinking in worldly terms they thought what Jesus had as attainable at a price, little did they know how simple, and yet how complex that price was. 
²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

This one statement illustrates both simplicity and the complexity of Faith In Christ Jesus.  All you have to do is believe.  But if you truly believe then a complete life change is in order. Your priorities, your desires, your very life are all sacrificed to that belief in the faith and the hope that the life Jesus gives you in return will be much more complete and eternal. This is a faith and a hope that will never be in vain.
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.’”

“What sign will you preform then that we may see and believe” Oh what dense group of people we are.  He fed these people with a boys lunch, He walked on the water, and they want a sign so they will believe?

 —-This is somewhat of a awkward breaking point for the study, but this passage is so long that it cover it in one setting would be ponderous.  So for today lets take with us the thought; “Why are we following Jesus?”  Are out motives straight? Are our hearts pure, or are they muddled with selfishness and a desire to gain from this relationship more than the due blessings of God?  Is God our tag along buddy on your pursuit of self-gratification and self-aggrandizement? Or have we bankrupted our “self” and sold out to Jesus in complete submission, and thereby “storing up treasures in heaven?

Do we believe….truly?