Opening Questions:
Highs?
Lows?
What have you been learning from Scripture?
John 6:22-59
22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave 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.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, 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 feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on 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 whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread [1] the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus [2] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
What do you see? What stands out to you?
v25-26
- Jesus doesn't answer the question, he has more important matters to speak about
- People came looking for Jesus because they saw a physical need filled but Christ points out the fact that they completely missed the true purpose of the miracle. A miracle is a sign that points to God. This is choice that Christ sets up throughout the rest of the passage. What do we seek Christ for: to give us nice clothes, a good job, a great girlfriend, and an easy life or to fill our spiritual need and to quicken our soul?
v27
- labor for food that is eternal; means we seek after it and chase after it
- food is necessary for our physical existence, true, but Christ is the eternal bread that is necessary for our spiritual existence. Food fuels us and gives us energy. Christ gives us the ability to love and see the truth. What are we working for? Where do we spend most of our time: Spending time with God and serving him or are we doing things that satisfy our most carnal urges to serve and glorify ourselves?
v31-33
- Manna foreshadows Christ. The Israelites in the desert (read Exodus 16) received manna, or bread, from heaven. They were told only to gather what they needed for the day, trusting in God to give them more tomorrow. This was a sign of dependence on God. While in the desert, there is no food (certainly none for a whole nation) and without God's grace, they surely would have died. They were completely dependent on God for their life. Are we this dependent on God daily? Do we really see him as the source of our life? We can answer yes all we want, but do our lives reflect this?
- Also, Christ is beginning to attack what is keeping them from depending on God: their religion. Just as God attacked the greatest strengths of Egypt and its gods, Christ doesn't look for a backdoor, he attacks at what they rely on the most. The people he was speaking to relied on their own works to justify themselves. So throughout the rest of the passage, Christ is challenging the people to make a choice: are they going to rely on their own works (labor for bread that perishes) or fully on Christ (bread of life)? We have that same choice. Are we going to dedicate our lives to being cool, becoming rich, or the greatest in a particular sport or are we going to depend fully on Christ?
v48-51
- Christ is the bread of life. Where as physical food only postpones death, the bread of life gives true life. By depending on the bread of life, Christ, we have eternal life. By eating it we won't die. This continues the contrast that Christ set up earlier between the spiritual and the physical. Which is more important to you? What about to Christ? The physical clearly exists and is important--how else are we to serve in this life--but it means nothing without being spiritual alive. Without Christ, we are dead. By feeding on the bread of life, we will have TRUE life. If the true life is spiritual. Then the physical is lesser.
- Jews revered Moses. They thought the manna from heaven was incredible. Christ is telling them that he is greater than that miracle, which surely offended their ideals.
v53-58
- Communion/Eucharist incorporates a piece of bread of a cracker (representing Christ's body) and juice/wine (representing Christ's blood). When we take part in this privilege, we are affirming the fact that we are fully dependent on Christ, renouncing our own efforts to justify and glorify ourselves. This is a serious matter because we are literally eating the body and blood of Christ. This is not something to be taken lightly.
v59
- He said all these things in the synagogue, the very heart of the religious system the people relied on.
Christ asks us a question that demands a response. What are we depending on? Where is our identity? Are we fully depending on Christ or ourselves?
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