The Truth about Priorities
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John 6:22-58
As we continue going through the Verily, verily statements from Jesus we are looking at the Truth emphasized by Jesus Himself.
This is a very difficult passage for many to accept, and it is no different today than it was in Jesus day, or in the early church.
This is a perfect example of… “if you get it, you get it.”
These verses are a classic case of Jesus separating the sheep and the goats.
This passage is often called the Bread of Life Discourse.
A Discourse is defined as a formal and orderly and usually extended expression of thought on a subject.
In other words Jesus was breaking something down for them about this idea in an orderly manner.
Have you ever walked away from a conversation, and thought… “wow that escalated quickly!”
This passage ramps up quite a bit…The disciples may have walked away from this discourse thinking just that!
But as we we look at this passage, we see, again, three Verily, verily statements.
Just prior to this passage, Jesus had fed about 5,000 men, and we assume even more when you consider women and children.
We know this is probably the case because of the Greek words used in verse 10.
Jesus asked the disciples to make the men (anthropos - mankind in general)..then it says the men (aner - male adults) sat down in number about five thousand.
So Jesus fed thousands of people, they gather up the fragments, they began to try to take Jesus by force and make him their king (He gives us food! He’s our king!)
So Jesus departed alone, the disciple went down and took a ship toward Capernaum.
A storm comes up, Jesus walks on the water toward the boat with the disciples, they take Jesus into the boat, and the Bible says in verse 21 that immediately the ship was at the land where they were going.
The next day the people who Jesus fed looked around and couldn’t find their King or his disciples..so they go looking for him.
They take boats across, and when they saw Jesus on the other side of the Sea, they said…They said…Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
“Teacher, When did you come here?”
And Jesus, as usual, hits the nail on the head…going straight to the real issue.
So in this passage we see Jesus emphasizing three truths.
First, we see Jesus sharing with the people there about...
I. True Works
I. True Works
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Jesus started out by telling them what was in their hearts.
They were not seeking Him because He was the Christ, or because of the miracles…they were seeking them because of their bellies.
They were only interested in what He could do for them.
They were not interested in following Christ.
So Jesus tells them you have the :
A. Right Person Wrong Motive
A. Right Person Wrong Motive
He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled.”
They were more interested in the temporary, materialistic things of this world than they were about the eternal, spiritual things of Christ.
Times have not changed!
People seek church, Jesus, Christianity for many different reasons:
financial help
community
feel loved
Find love
help with problems
to find clients for your business
To sing or play an instrument
to feel better about themselves
But you need to come to Jesus for Jesus!
Make sure your motives are right when you come to church!
Do you come to hear from God?
Do you come prepared to hear from God?
Jesus called them on their motives, and then he taught them where their focus ought to be:
B. Focus on the Eternal
B. Focus on the Eternal
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
the temporary fix will not do!
You need to focus on that which lasts forever!
View of Eternity - Rope
So focus on the eternal - then Jesus said they need to...
C. Focus on Jesus
C. Focus on Jesus
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
They shifted their questioning to ok, we aren’t to focus on our belly…the material things…Then what do we need to do?
What is it that God wants us to do?
Jesus answered them and said “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
ME! Believe on me! The one God sent to you - that’s what he wants!!
A lot would change if we would keep our focus on Jesus!
The true works that God wants from you is to focus on Jesus!
If you have not trusted Jesus and only Jesus as your SAvior today, it doesn’t matter
how many times you go to church,
what car you drive
how much money you give to the church
how often you take communion
how many times you have been baptized.
Get your focus off of your works…and get your focus on Jesus.
If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, then get you focus on serving Him!
WWJD
So first Jesus talks to them about their True Works, Then he moves on to the...
II. True Bread
II. True Bread
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
The people, as fickle and A.D.D. as you can get, changed the subject and said, Ok…show me a sign!
Our father’s gave us manna - Bread from Heaven.
Jesus corrects them and says…Moses didn’t give you any bread!
God did!
He points out that they were:
A. Looking for a Sign and Missed the Road
A. Looking for a Sign and Missed the Road
He corrected them in their thinking regarding who gave them the bread from Heaven.
Then he brings it back to Himself… “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”
They answer, “Lord, evermore give us this bread.”
They still are not getting it!
It seems like they are still looking for physical temporary bread.
They were...
B. Looking Right at Him but Don’t Receive
B. Looking Right at Him but Don’t Receive
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
If they would just look to Him…they would receive so much more than just a temporarily full stomach.
If they looked to Him, they would....
1. Never Hunger or Thirst
1. Never Hunger or Thirst
People all around us are starving for love.
They are thirsty for something that will satisfy them.
They fill the emptiness with
alcohol
drugs
promiscuity
shopping
even good things, but with the wrong reason
like marrying
starting a family
going to church, even...
But none of these things are going to fix the problem.
Remember the plastic ball or cube that had the shaped holes in it and you had to put the shapes in the hole?
I hated that game!
I always tried to get the square in the diamond because I was holding it crooked.
The hole in peoples heart is Jesus shaped, only He will fix it.
We just need to do like my mother would do, gently take my hand with the square, and turn it so I could see it was a square, and lead me to the right hole.
We need to lead people to Jesus!
If you find this True Bread - you will never hunger again!
If you find this living water - you will never thirst again!
Secondly, Jesus told them, if you take this True Bread, You will be...
2. Never Forsaken
2. Never Forsaken
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
The choir has a song coming up - Never Forsaken
Never forsaken, even when I’m alone
Never forsaken while I’m travelling home
He’s looking down, and I’m looking above.
I am never forsaken, I am safe in His love.
Jesus will never leave us or forsake us, he said!
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
He will in no wise cast out!
You are never forsaken!!
Then Jesus told them, If they will take this True Bread they will be...
3. Never Lost
3. Never Lost
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Jesus says, My arms are big…I’m not going to drop you!
And he’s going to have you until the day that we are Resurrected to be with him forever.
Jesus says - This is the Will of the Father!
You will never be lost again!
I once was lost but now I’m found!
Jesus talks to this crowd about their True Works, and says forget the temporary focus on the eternal, Me!
He tells them, if you want to be filled - eat of the True Bread.
Stop looking for a sign and look at the destination!
Then Jesus ramps it up even more, and causes quite a stir...
He talks about the ...
III. True Meaning
III. True Meaning
In verse 41, the Jews looked at him and began to murmur because he said He was the bread which came down from heaven.
They began to say, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?”
Jesus calls them on it…He says “Murmur not among yourselves.”
Quit talking about me behind your backs…I know what you’re saying!
He’s lost some already!
Jesus knew this, and said...
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
He had already lost some…but as he says here, He knew He would.
Not all of them were true believers.
A. Only True Believers Understand
A. Only True Believers Understand
Jesus began to say some difficult things for the average person to understand.
Is he talking about cannibalism?
I am the bread which came from Heaven…You have to eat this bread.
That was bad enough.. then he said, the bread that I will give is my flesh.
What?
The accusation then was the same as is still being said today!
Jesus and all these Christians condone cannibalism!
Catholics haven’t helped with the false theology of transubstantiation - the belief that the bread in communion turns into the actual body of Christ once consumed.
It’s obvious that Jesus is speaking in metaphor…He’s not a loaf of bread…why would they think it would be eating actual flesh?
But Jesus knew what He was doing…He was letting the chaff blow away in the wind.
He knew they would never get it.
They would never understand because they were not True Believers.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
So the Jews say, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus answer is to double down!
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
Jesus is speaking spiritually, but he knows that some will not see the spiritual aspect
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
What was the result?
Exactly what Jesus knew the result before he said the words.
B. Only True Followers Will Stay
B. Only True Followers Will Stay
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
The result was…those who followed him for the entertainment value…for the free food…left.
It was too hard for them to understand, because they could not understand the spiritual.
They were not open to the gospel.
when we serve communion we know we are celebrating the sacrifice that Jesus made.
He was the True Bread - and such the bread we eat is a symbol of His body which was broken for us.
The cup containing the grape juice is the symbol of His blood that was shed for us…and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.
We know we must accept this payment for our sins, the payment of his sacrifice on the cross.
If you are here today, and you have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, open your heart to Him!
Believe in Him!
There may be some who just don’t get it.
I understand, I’m sorry that you don’t get it.
We have tried to tell you as plainly as possible…it’s up to you now to believe!
For those of us who have believed…
We need to do the True Works of God and get your focus on Christ and the Eternal.
We need to Find our fulfillment and peace in the True Bread
and We need to remember the True Meaning.
next week we will take communion, and remind ourselves once again of this true Meaning!