John 6:52-59

Amen. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

Our text for today is John chapter 6 verses 52 through 59.

John 6:52–59

! While you're getting there, I want to talk to you a little bit about our upcoming preaching schedule through the end of the year.

Just to kind of give you a little bit of an idea of the trajectory that we are headed on.

First, this will be my last week preaching for some time.

So the next two weeks, we're going to finish out John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

And Francis Rojas is going to come and preach for us.

I'm really looking forward to that.

He is studying the chiastic structure.

So, pleased, really pleased with that.

The two weeks after that, we're going to take a little bit of a break from John.

And TJ Fisher and Alex Kohler, not as a tag team duo, but in two separate weeks,

are going to walk through the parable of the sower from Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

And then, if you can believe it, we're into Advent season.

It's already upon us, just four Sundays away after this Lord's Day.

So, as we have traditionally, we're going to preach through the Advent themes.

Hope, joy, peace, love, and various elders are going to take care of that.

Somehow, in the history of our church, it became a tradition that I don't preach those Advent themes.

And I'm happy for that, because December is a crazy month, isn't it?

And the guys really kindly jump in and give me a little bit of space for that.

I also want to let you know that I am going to be taking a sabbatical.

It wasn't planned to do so this year, but your elders really love me and care well for my soul.

They know how incredibly busy I am and thin I'm running.

So, I never take a break and do nothing.

There's always something going on in the service of the church.

So, I kind of want to call them planning sabbaticals.

Big step back, kind of out of the fray, taking a look at next year.

Lots of time in the Word and prayer, thinking about where the Lord may be leading us into 2026.

I'm going to be doing that mid-November into the beginning of December.

You'll hear more about it.

I won't be entirely gone, but a number of responsibilities I'll set aside for that time.

So, there we are. That's what we're up to.

Really happy that I could be here with you this morning and looking once again at John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

Before I pray and read the text, I want to remind you where we've been in this chapter.

So, there's a couple of miracles that take place.

And in John's pattern, we see the record of miracles and then teaching.

So, at the beginning of John 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000.

And to highlight these, I've been arguing to you that there's a particular literary structure used all throughout this book.

If you don't know what a chiasm is, I've outlined today's text for you in the bulletin so you can kind of see it.

The way the text can fold on top of itself, that corresponds.

And the central point of that particular section of Scripture is meant to draw our attention.

Give us an interpretive lens.

Help us to understand it a bit deeper.

So, when Jesus feeds the 5,000, the central verse is John chapter 6 and verse 10,

John 6 · chapter mention

where he says,

Have the people sit down.

And John adds,

Now there was much grass in the place.

Jesus being seen as the great shepherd,

as John chapter 10 corresponds to John chapter 6.

John 10 · chapter mention John 6 · chapter mention

Leaving this miracle,

The apostles go on across the sea.

And Jesus joins them later by walking on water.

And he calms that storm and takes them immediately to the other side.

And when they see him, understandably in verse 19, they're afraid.

And he says to them in verse 20,

Again, this is the central piece of that passage.

It is I, or you could translate that,

I am,

declaring himself to be God.

And then says,

Do not be afraid.

And it's after this that he arrives at the shore.

And he's in Capernaum.

And the bread of life discourse begins.

This mob that he fed on one side of the sea

has now come around to the other side of the sea.

And they're seeking him.

But he says in verse 26 and 27,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

you are seeking me not because you saw signs,

but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

They were coming to him for temporary, temporal food.

And then he says in verse 27,

Do not work 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.

And then the bread of life discourse continues,

which we looked at last week.

And the emphasis of that next section

is the rejection of Jesus as the bread of life.

The central part of that text is verse 42,

where 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?

We're going to see all of this continue on

in today's text and on through

the end of the chapter.

The rejection of Jesus by the Jews, largely.

And then some acceptance of him

toward the end of the chapter.

The section from last Sunday

concludes with the following words,

which will get us into our text for today.

So I'll begin reading in verse 48.

Jesus says,

I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,

and they died.

This is the bread that comes down from heaven

so that one may eat of it and not die.

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.

Which brings us to verse 52.

Before I read it, let's pray together.

Father, help us, we pray,

as we take up your word together this morning.

We want to rightly understand it

and apply it.

And we humbly recognize

that we absolutely need your help to do so.

This was written for your glory

and for our good.

And we want to believe its promises

and obey its commands

and have affection for you, its author.

So we ask that you would help us to this end.

And we pray it in Christ's name.

Amen.

John chapter 6, beginning in verse 52.

John 6 · chapter mention

The Jews then disputed among themselves,

saying,

How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

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.

Whoever feeds on my flesh

and drinks my blood

has eternal life,

and I will raise him up on the last day.

For my flesh is true food,

and my blood is true drink.

Whoever feeds on my flesh

and drinks my blood

abides in me,

and I in him.

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.

This is the bread that came down from heaven.

Not like the bread the fathers ate and died,

whoever feeds on this bread

will live forever.

Jesus said these things in the synagogue

as he taught at Capernaum.

So notice first,

before we get into our outline,

the structure of the text.

And again, I included that in there for you.

I won't spend much time on

walking through it detail by detail,

but I hope it helps you see

why is there repetition

repetition in the way that Jesus is speaking

and the way John records this dialogue.

It's important, right?

Again, drawing our attention

to a central point.

It doesn't mean the other parts aren't important,

but it's meant to help us think

as we think about the entirety of the text.

So notice verse 55,

For my flesh is true food

and my blood is true drink.

Something for us to meditate on

across the rest of today

and into the rest of the week.

What does Jesus mean?

My flesh is true food

and my blood is true drink.

I hope our bit of time together in this text

will help us comprehend

all that's contained therein.

So our outline today,

number one,

the offense of the invitation.

And we see this in verse 52, right?

After this statement,

this beginning of this discourse

that Jesus is giving,

the Jews then disputed among themselves,

saying,

How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

Now, no reasonable person

would think at this point

that Jesus is suggesting cannibalism

and offering up himself for a meal.

But this seems to be what they're doing.

I don't know the entire nature

of the dispute that they have,

but the question they ask is,

How is it possible

that this man can give us himself to eat?

The fact that they disputed

means that they argued sharply

with one another.

It's a very strong Greek verb.

They get into a conflict with one another

about what he means by this.

He's not at all being literal.

Of course,

he is speaking in metaphor.

Had anybody been paying any attention

to everything he said up to this point,

they would know it's a metaphor.

But what is it that he means?

They argue about this.

I think the thing that's most important

to note here

is the attitude of their unbelief.

Who do they turn to

when they don't understand

what it is that he is saying?

Not to him.

They're not seeking from the Savior

to understand what he might mean.

He says something difficult

for them to understand,

and who do they turn to?

To one another.

They do not ask him for clarification.

They turn to each other

in bitter conflict.

They dispute.

They argue sharply.

They philosophize about

what could be meant by such a thing

instead of listening

to the Savior

and seeking to understand

what he means

by having life in him.

This is the way.

This is the nature of the Gospel.

It's offensive to those

who don't believe.

How could this be so?

Don't find yourself

in this camp.

Perhaps the Gospel comes to you

and it strikes at your sinful heart.

Seek clarity from the Savior.

Find yourself offended.

Listen on.

Understand more.

There's such an offer given here.

So secondly, we see in the text

the necessity of saving faith.

verse 53 and 54.

In response to their dispute,

Jesus adds something on top.

How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

They say in verse 52.

So, John records,

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.

Whoever feeds on my flesh

and drinks my blood

has eternal life

and I will raise him up

on the last day.

The Jews of this narrative

had already found the idea

of eating Jesus' flesh

offensive.

But now Jesus expands the metaphor

to drinking his blood.

Why is this added?

Why is this compounding the offense?

The law of Moses did not allow

for the drinking of blood

or the eating of meat with blood

still in it.

You can reference Leviticus 17,

Leviticus 19,

Deuteronomy 12.

This was pagan stuff.

So this addition to the metaphor

just adds to the offense

when the point of the metaphor

is being missed.

So let's be very sure

that we don't miss the point

of the metaphor.

Now a small aside I think

is necessary here

at this point.

Catholics,

and some others,

but predominantly Catholics,

are quick to make these verses

sacramental

and use them

to argue

for transubstantiation,

which is the belief

that the bread and wine

literally become

the body and blood of Jesus

in the Lord's Supper.

This is their run-to,

go-to text.

Now I suggest to you

that there is some allusion

to the supper

in these verses.

We could get some understanding

of the supper,

but that's not

what's being taught

about here.

We should be very careful

not to read more

into the text

than the purpose

of the context

in which it sits.

It's a little hermeneutical

exercise that could be done

at this point,

which I'll spare you.

So what is

the point

of the metaphor?

Jesus,

in

suggesting that

his flesh and blood

must be

consumed,

is certainly

referring

to his soon-coming

sacrifice

and teaching those

who will hear him

that identification

with his death

grants the believer

life.

believing

that he

is the Christ

and that his body

will be broken

and his blood

will be

spilt.

Listen to the

preceding verses.

Just a few.

John 6,

John 6:28

verse 28 and 29.

Then they said to him,

what must we do

to be doing

the works

of God?

How do we

please

God?

Jesus answered them,

verse 29,

this is the work

of God

that you believe

in him

whom he has sent.

Don't separate that out

of the context.

There it is.

The work is

believe.

Eat the flesh

and drink the blood

is the metaphor

to help us understand

what it is

we're to believe

in.

Another place,

verse 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.

Don't overcomplicate

what the metaphor

means.

Identify,

believe in

Jesus'

sacrifice

on your behalf.

Previously,

I read,

leading into this text,

verse 48

through 51.

Listen to it now

with verse 47

added.

So this is John 6,

John 6:47

verse 47

and following.

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

whoever believes

has eternal life.

I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate

the manna

in the wilderness

and they died.

Temporal,

temporal provision

and they died.

This is the bread

that comes down

from heaven

so that one may

eat of it

and not die.

I am the living bread

that came down

from heaven

and in your eats

of this bread

he will live forever

and the bread

that I will give

for the life

of the world

is my flesh.

And this is what

causes

the commotion

amongst them,

the unbelief

and the conflict

that follows.

All of this

need not become

more complicated

than this.

our souls

will hunger

and they will thirst

until they find

their full

satisfaction

in Christ.

Our souls

long

to be restored

in relationship

to the Father

and this comes

through

the sacrificial

work of Jesus

on behalf

of his people.

We just have to believe

that that's true.

this happens

when we take

hold

of who he is

and what he has

accomplished

for all

who will believe

in him.

That's what Jesus

is teaching

in the Bread of Life

discourse.

A quotation

that I included

in your

bulletin

on this text

this is

Charles Spurgeon

talking about

this text

he said

God be thanked

for the simplicity

of the gospel.

The longer

I live

the more

I bless

God

that we have

not received

a classical

gospel

or a mathematical

gospel

or a metaphysical

gospel

it is not a gospel

confined to

scholars

and men

of genius

but a poor

man's gospel

a plowman's

gospel

for that is

the kind

of gospel

which we can

live upon

and die upon

it is not to us

sorry

it is not

to us

not the luxury

of refinement

but the staple

food

of life.

You want

life

and eternal

life?

It comes

by being

sustained

by Jesus

himself.

So we see

in verse 53

and 54

the necessity

of saving

faith

justified

by grace

through faith

in Christ

alone.

But praise

God

it doesn't

end

there.

Our justification

is a wonderful

thing

to glory in

but he goes

on

verses 55

through 57

we see

thirdly

the union

of the living

the union

the uniting

of

the living

here we see

the

for my flesh

is true

food

and my blood

is true

drink

again

temporal food

providing for

temporal life

but Jesus

providing for

eternal

life

and then

he presents

the most

precious

of ideas

it's an idea

that I just

love

to ponder

and John

uses a word

he is rather

fond of

to help us

to understand

this

idea

Jesus says

verse 56

whoever feeds

on my flesh

and drinks

my blood

and you can

insert there

whoever believes

in me

abides

in me

and I

in him

it's the Greek

word

meno

m-e-n-o

abides

remains

dwells

it's the idea

of a fixed

place

of

belonging

the one

who believes

in Jesus

belongs

in

him

and

likewise

Jesus

takes up

residence

in the

believer

this is an

extraordinarily

special

relationship

union

being

united

with

Christ

so I said

the union

of the living

right

Jesus

lives

and we

live

in

him

let's look at

some other

places that

John uses

this word

to understand

just how

special

this relationship

is

you turn

back to

John chapter

John 1 · chapter mention

1

and verse

32

he records

there

John the

Baptist

bearing

witness

it says

and John

bore witness

he quotes

him

I saw

the spirit

the holy

spirit

descend

from heaven

like a

dove

and it

remained

abided

remained

dwelt

on

him

so you

see

the picture

of

the

son

God

the

son

and

God

the

spirit

being

united

together

now turn

past our

text

to John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

and verse

10

John 14

and verse

10

there Jesus

says

do you not

believe that

I am in

the father

and the

father is

in

me

the words

that I

say to

you

I do

not

speak

on my

own

authority

but the

father

who

dwells

in me

does

his

works

again

same

same word

being the same

Greek word

being used

there

we saw

it translated

remained

in chapter

1 verse

32

we see it

here in

John 14

John 14:10

verse 10

as

dwells

we see it

in our

text

as

abides

we're going

to see it

in a moment

in the same

way

God the

son

and God

the

father

united

dwelling

together

you're getting

the specialness

of this

relationship

this is what

we're being

invited into

if we believe

in Christ

one more

place

go a little

bit further

John

John 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

and verse

10

there

Jesus

says

if you

keep

my

commandments

you

will

abide

in my

love

just as

I have

kept

my

father's

commandments

and

abide

in his

love

dwell

remain

belong

forever

what is

Jesus

teaching

us

in

these

few

words

whoever

feeds

on my

flesh

and

drinks

my

blood

abides

in

me

and

I

in

him

life

is

ours

by

faith

in

Christ

because

we are

united

to him

in his

death

and in

his

resurrection

not just

in his

death

but also

in his

resurrection

when God

looks at

us

he sees

Jesus

if we have

placed our

faith

in him

the idea

of being

clothed

in Christ's

righteousness

this

little

phrase

in

Christ

appears

again

and again

and again

it's such

a beautiful

beautiful

idea

Jesus

goes on

in verse 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

why

because

we are

united

to him

look at

the same

idea

not using

that same

Greek

word

but look

at the

idea

elsewhere

in

John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter

14

again

verse

18

through

20

there

Jesus

is talking

about

departing

but he

says

in

verse

18

I

will

not

leave

you

as

orphans

I

will

come

to

you

yet

a little

while

in

the

world

will

see

me

no

more

but

you

will

see

me

because

I

live

you

also

will

live

in

that

day

you

will

know

that

I

am

in

my

father

and

you

in

me

and

I

in

you

united

to

Christ

by

belief

in

him

Paul

teaches

the same

different

phrase

I mentioned

it already

two

sweet

words

in

Christ

he

writes

in

Romans

Romans 6:23

chapter

6

verse

23

for

the

wages

of

sin

is

death

but

the

free

gift

of

God

is

eternal

life

in

Christ

Jesus

our

Lord

and

in

Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter

8

and

verse

1

there

is

therefore

now

no

condemnation

for

those

who

are

in

Christ

Jesus

but

not

only

are

all

who

believe

in

Jesus

in

Christ

but

also

he

is

in

us

mentioned

already

John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter

14

and

verse

20

let's

know

what

Paul

says

in

Colossians

Colossians 1:27

1

verse

27

to

his

saints

God

chose

to

make

known

how

great

among

the

Gentiles

are

the

riches

of

the

glory

of

this

majesty

which

is

Christ

in

you

the

hope

of

glory

so

we're

united

to

him

we're

positionally

in

him

we belong

to

God

in

Christ

and

he

dwells

in

us

by

the

spirit

it's

an

astounding

reality

hard to

comprehend

all that

it means

look for

these

phrases

that are

again

and again

and again

placed

all throughout

the text

to help

us wrap

our little

feeble

minds

around the

blessing

that is

ours

by belief

in

Jesus

D.A.

Carson

who

wrote

a

wonderful

commentary

on

John's

gospel

says

this

quote

the

mutual

indwelling

pictured

here

is

obviously

not

precisely

reciprocal

!

That the

believer

remains

in

Jesus

means

he or

she

continues

to be

identified

with

Jesus

continues

as a

Christian

continues

in

saving

faith

and

consequent

transformation

of

life

that

Jesus

remains

in

the

believer

means

that

Jesus

identifies

with

the

believer

but

not

in

the

reciprocal

trust

and

transformation

that

would

be

absurd

Jesus

doesn't

need

to

trust

in

me

I

need

to

trust

in

him

but

in

help

blessing

life

and

personal

presence

amen

what a

thing

what a

thing

to be

united

with

the

living

and

then

notice

lastly

the

last part

of the

text

verse

58

verse

59

just

places

us

back

in

the

chiastic

structure

they're

arguing

in

the

synagogue

and

he's

teaching

in

the

synagogue

verse

58

notice

the

superiority

of

the

savior

superiority

of

the

savior

jesus

says

this

is

the

bread

that

came

down

from

heaven

not

like

the

bread

the

fathers

ate

and

died!

that

manna

that

was

provided

as

god's

people

were

carrying

after

the

exodus

in

the

wilderness

to

provide

for

their

temporal

need

jesus

says

whoever

feeds

on

this

bread

will

live

forever

jesus

is

revealed

throughout

the

old

testament

in

types

and

shadows

they

abound

they're

all

over

the

place

the

old

testament

is

constantly

meant

to be

saying

to

us

not

this

not

this

not

this

not

this

not

this

look

to

a

coming

one

who

is

the

greater

the

superior

to

all

of

these

things

he

is

seen

in

events

like

the

exodus

in

people

like

Melchizedek

and

David

Joshua

Moses

in

places

like

the

tabernacle

place

where

God

dwelt

amongst

men

and

in

objects

like

Noah's

ark

the

Passover

lamb

the

bronze

serpent

and

the

manna

the bread

from

heaven

right

jesus

picks this

up

in a

metaphor

right

to

say

temporal

bread

I

am

the

superior

version

of

that

right

that

was

just

a

shadow

of

me

he

indicts

the

Jews

in

John

John 5:39

chapter

5

verse

39

where

he

says

you

search

the

scriptures

because

you

think

that

in

them

you

have

eternal

life

and

it

is

they

that

bear

witness

about

me

but

they

failed

to

come

to

him

Jesus

is

the

substance

of

all

the

types

and

shadows

search

the

scriptures

and

have

them

lead

you

to

the

one

whom

you

can

have

life

eternal

life

in

by

belief

in his

person

and his

work

on

your

behalf

a

couple

of

quick

applications

and

we'll

close

our

time

firstly

Jesus

must

not

be

merely

admired

!

We've

talked

about

this

Jesus

can't

just

be

a

good

moral

teacher

this

is

what

the

world

wants

to

do

with

him

all

the

time

right

he

must

be

Lord

he

must

be

received

!

He

must

understand

all

that

he

is

on

behalf

of

his

!

Jesus

was

not

!

speculation

in the

bread of

life

discourse

he

wasn't

asking

him

to

start

philosophizing

about

what

he

could

possibly

mean

he

was

pressing

belief

we

must

draw

our

very

life

from

him

place

absolute

trust

in

his

saving

work

if

you

have

believed

in

Christ

second

point

of

application

rest

in

Jesus

work

on

your

behalf

it's

a

completed

task

it

is

finished

the

work

of

God

is

to

believe

in

his

son

we

sang

just

some

moments

ago

a song

that's

new

ish

to

us

introduced

last

Sunday

we sang

again

this

Sunday

called

all

sufficient

merit

and the

point

is

that

the

merit

is

not

ours

but

it's

given

to

us

verse

4

says

all

sufficient

merit

firm

in

life

and

death

the

joy

of

my

salvation

shall

be

my

final

breath

when

I

stand

accepted

before

the

throne

of

God

I'll

gaze

upon

my

Jesus

and

thank

him

for

the

cross

yes

I'll

thank

him

for

the

cross

and the

chorus

it is

done

it is

finished

no

more

debt

I owe

paid

in

full

all

sufficient

merit

now

my

own

rest

in

Jesus

finished

work

on

your

behalf

and

then

as a

loop

back

to

my

random

aside

as

we

take

the

Lord's

Supper

together

as

a

church

we

do

this

each

Lord's

Day

we

call

it

our

members

gathering

it

happens

before

this

time

take

the

Lord's

Supper

as

a

sign

of

Christ's

saving

work

help

it

draw

your

mind

to

this

great

reality

of

what

it

means

to

feast

on

Christ

Spurgeon

once said

there is

no

magic

in

bread

or

wine

but

oh

there

is

infinite

grace

in

Christ

crucified

let's

pray

together