John 6:30-40

THE BREAD OF LIFE, I

Text 6:30-40

30

They said therefore unto him, What then doest thou for a sign, that we may see, and believe thee? what workest thou?

31

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.

32

Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, It was not Moses that gave you the bread out of heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread out of heaven.

33

For the bread of God is that which cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

34

They said therefore unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

35

Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

36

But I said unto you, that ye have seen me, and yet believe not.

37

All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

38

For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39

And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.

40

For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Queries

a.

How could they have the audacity to ask Jesus to work a sign?

b.

What is the contrast between manna and the true bread out of heaven?

c.

Does John 6:37-39 teach eternal security?

Paraphrase

Therefore they said to Him, What wonder do You perform that we may see it and believe in You? What can You do to compare with what our forefathers saw? They ate the heaven-sent manna, as the Scripture says, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, nor was the manna the genuine Bread from heaven. My Father gives you the genuine Bread out of heaven, for the genuine Bread of God is He Who comes down out of heaven and gives Life unto the world. They replied, Lord, give us this Bread forever more! Jesus answered them, I am the Bread of Life. He who surrenders and follows Me will never be hungry for spiritual sustenance, and he who trusts and obeys Me will never thirst for righteousness. But as I told you before, although you have seen me manifest the works of God, still you do not trust and obey Me. All whom My Father draws to Me will come unto Me and I will never refuse nor reject one of them who comes to Me because I have come down from heaven not to do My Own will, but to do the will of Him Who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should not lose, through inability, any of those whom God has drawn unto Me. For this is also the will of My Father, that every one who continues to behold the Son with a trusting and obedient recognition should have eternal life; and that I should raise him up at the last day.

Summary

Jesus introduces Himself as the Bread of Life. He makes several claims to deity in answer to their misguided requests for a carnal sign. He further promises not to lose, through powerlessness or refusal, anyone drawn unto Him by the Father.

Comment

Why did the crowd ask for a sign? Had He not just given them one in the loaves and fishes? They seem to demand a sign directly from heaven. This is evident from Jesus-' answer. The crowd did not mention any comparison with Moses, but Jesus read their thoughts. He had claimed to be greater than Moses, yet He had not caused manna to rain from heaven. His sign had been merely to take bread and fish already supplied and make more bread and more fish. Moses gave us bread direct from heaven if You are greater than Moses, show us a sign directly from heaven,

In John 6:32-33, their evaluation is shown to be faulty. In the first place, it was not Moses who gave them the manna, but God through Moses. Secondly, the manna was perishable bread, feeding only the physical hunger, while the genuine Bread of God is the Son of God. He satisfies the hunger of the soul. He gives Life with a capital L to the world. The manna fed only the Jewish nation, and for only a limited time. The Bread of God feeds everyone who comes to Him for all eternity.

John 6:34 betrays these Galileans as being so eager to fulfill their materialistic desires that they do not sense the divine mysteriousness of Jesus-' answer, and they hastily interpret Him to mean literal bread.

The multitude is eager to get something from Christ, and He offers them Himself. This (John 6:35) is one of the great I am claims of Jesus. He has also said:

a.

I am the Light of the world (John 8:12)

b.

I am the Door (John 10:7; John 10:9)

c.

I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11; John 10:14)

d.

I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)

e.

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)

f.

I am the true Vine (John 15:1; John 15:5)

Christ claims to be, as the Bread of Life, the sustainer of all heavenly life. He communicates life to all who partake of Him. Compare all the other life-sustaining elements spoken of in the Scriptures:

a.

The Tree of Life (Genesis 2:9; Genesis 3:22; Genesis 3:24; Proverbs 3:18; Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:2)

b.

The Water of Life (John 4:14; John 7:38-39; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:1)

c.

Word of Life (1 John 1:1; John 6:63; John 6:68)

Notice the parallelism of coming to me and believing on me. To come to Jesus is to follow Him in trust and obedience. Jesus only introduces Himself as the Bread of Life here the process of assimilation is explained later.

In John 6:36 Jesus refers His listeners to His previous soul-searching statement in John 6:26. Although they had seen the miracle and its evident sign that He was deity, they would not surrender to His spiritual kingdom and His rule over their hearts, Their spiritual understanding had been darkened by materialism. They had seen Him work many miracles in Galilee, even to the raising of the widow's dead son (cf. Map No. 3, page 170).

But the unbelief of the multitudes, both in Judea and now here in Galilee, will not bring disaster and loss to those few who do trust and obey Him. His cause will not suffer ruin, neither will His followers be defeated. They will conquer through His victory. He and His are not dependent upon public favor or support, but are supplied with divinely eternal Power.

John 6:37 also considers the question, How does God give anyone to Jesus?

a.

He draws them to Himself and His Son by His love which has been shed abroad in our hearts (cf. Romans 5:5; John 3:16).

b.

He gives them to the Son through His drawing, and their own free choice. That the freedom of choice is man's prerogative is evident from all other Scripture and this context. Man exercises this prerogative until the end of his life on earth. Even after having become a member of the body of Christ (the church) he continually chooses to remain in the fold, or is consequently lost. In exercising this choice, man must continually show his faith by his works (cf. James 2:18).

Jesus will never refuse or reject any who come to Him and abide in Him (cf. John 15:1-10). Man's rejection by God is caused by man's rejection of God.

The reason Jesus will not cast any out is that He has come to be baptized (immersed) in the will of the Father. Not only so, but He has also sacrificed the glories of heaven, and has come down to earth to accomplish the Father's will.

In John 6:39-40 Jesus explains the will of the Father more fully. God foreknows who will believe and who will reject, in the sense of foreknowing what men will do. He sees all time as present. He foreknows who will be faithful and, by grace, gives the faithful to Jesus. But these verses are far from teaching any such notions as once in grace, always in grace. Quite to the contrary, the emphasis here is upon Jesus-' ability and willingness to save that soul, which of its own free will continues committed to Him. The emphasis is not upon an irresistible grace. Jesus is able to save to the uttermost all those that abide in Him of their own volition. There definitely is the possibility of falling from grace and being eternally lost even after having come into covenant relationship with God through Jesus (cf. John 17:12; Acts 8:14-24; Galatians 5:4). If there is no possibility of the elect ever falling from grace, why were all of the epistles of the New Testament written to warn the elect from falling from grace?! Such doctrines as irresistible salvation and eternal security are not taught in the New Testament!

The true interpretation of this particular passage can only mean that Jesus keeps only those who remain faithful, from being lost. The Greek participles theoron and pisteuon (beholding and believing) are in the present tense and can only mean continuing action. One must continue to behold and obey in order that Jesus may keep him from being lost.

Quiz

1.

Why did the multitudes ask for a sign in order that they might believe? What did they think about the sign He had just given them?

2.

Name five I am claims of Jesus.

3.

What is another way of saying, he that cometh to me?

4.

How does God give men to Jesus?

5.

Does John 6:39 teach once saved, never lost?