John 6:30-51

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

John 6 · chapter mention

Amen.

There are seven places in John's Gospel that Jesus introduces himself as I am.

Harkening back to that first introduction of God by name, the self-sufficient one.

Then, followed by a metaphor.

So, I am followed by a metaphor.

Here he will say, I am the bread of life.

Verse 35 and in verse 48.

He'll go on in John's Gospel to call himself, I am the good shepherd, the vine, the way, the truth, the life, and the resurrection and the life.

This is the first of those seven.

This text also follows a literary theme in John's Gospel where a miracle is performed, in this case, two miracles, and then a discourse is recorded.

We call this the bread of life discourse, this portion of it, at least this morning.

We don't want to disconnect the words of Jesus from the activity of Jesus.

In this case, it brings much to life in it.

So, let's take our minds back to the beginning of the chapter for just a moment before we read the text together.

At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee and a great crowd follows him.

They're seeing him perform miracles.

They think, this guy's amazing.

They follow him to a remote place where Jesus miraculously feeds them from five barley loaves and two fish.

See, there's 5,000 men, which means there's a multitude more than that, women and children.

And there's two specific things I want us to remember from this text.

First, it's literary structure, which is chiastic.

It places verse 10 at the center of the episode.

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, I'll get to it.

I'll explain what a chiasm is.

But recall, back when we looked at this text together, verse 10, John 10, verse 10,

John 10:10

there Jesus says, have the people sit down.

And then John records, now there was much grass in the place.

So, the men sat down, about 5,000 in number.

And I drew your attention to this, this interesting little detail that John puts in there.

It's not odd and out of place, but what's he trying to accomplish?

What's he trying to picture for us as the entirety of John's gospel is chiastic?

Chapter 6 corresponds with chapter 10, where Jesus calls himself the good shepherd.

He's picturing for us Jesus as this one.

Psalm 23 is where your mind ought to go.

So, the psalmist says, the Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

So, there's this picture of this good shepherd, right, providing plentifully for his people,

giving him place of rest.

But the psalmist very quickly makes this about the soul, this restoration of soul.

So, it's being set up for us already.

Everything that Jesus is going to say about himself as the bread of life.

So, that's the first thing that's good to remember in this chapter.

Secondly, verse 13 records,

So, they gathered them up, the leftovers, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

So, there are twelve baskets because there are twelve apostles.

Each one of them has a basket.

And this may seem like a random bit of information, but I suggest to you, as I did in our previous study of this part of chapter six,

that it is a bit of information that adds punctuation to the bread of life discourse as we study into the next miracle.

Following the feeding of this great crowd, the disciples get into a boat and begin a journey back across the sea.

But Jesus has yet to join them.

He doesn't get in the boat with them.

And while they're out on the sea, they encounter rough weather.

And Jesus comes to them walking on the water.

Now, do I believe this happened chronologically?

Absolutely, I do.

But here we see, in chapter six, a miracle of Jesus feeding five thousand,

the emphasis being on the bread.

Notice that the fish aren't even acknowledged in the taking up of leftovers.

And then, he launches into the bread of life discourse.

But in between the two, John records this particular miracle.

Why? Why does he do that?

Is he a stickler for chronology?

I'd suggest not.

In fact, all throughout John's gospel, he jumps over some rather notable stories in Jesus's life.

So, why?

Why does he show us this one?

John chapter six, verse 20 and 21.

Again, I hear verse 20 is the center of the chiastic structure.

It's meant to draw our attention.

They're afraid when they see him walking on the water, understandably.

But he said to them, verse 20,

It is I.

And it would be a very fair translation.

In fact, I wish it was translated this way.

I am.

Do not be afraid.

It's the center of this story.

I am.

Do not be afraid.

And look at their response.

Then, they were glad to take him into the boat.

And immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Right?

Carried safely through the storm.

And I suggested to you, when we looked at the beginning of chapter six,

that what's happening here is that each one of them had just carried around this basket

and taken into it bread.

Jesus is drawing out this connection that he is the bread of life.

And they take him in the same way into the boat.

I think that's why John places this right here,

which I find very incredible.

If you don't, I can't help you.

So those two things, I think, are really helpful for us to remember.

Following their crossing, right?

The crowd is still seeking him, but they are not seeking him for him.

They are coming because, verse 26 tells us, they ate their fill.

They want to get what Jesus can give them, but they don't want Jesus himself.

And it's there that this discourse launches off.

Verse 27, John records Jesus saying,

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.

Then they said to him,

What must we do to be doing the works of God?

Jesus answered them,

This is the work of God,

that you believe in him whom he has sent.

Which brings us to today's text.

Let's pray just before I read it.

Father, help us this morning, we pray,

as we take up your word together,

that you'd find us grateful for it,

humbly coming to it,

to see what it is that we ought to know from it,

and more importantly,

that we would know you from it.

We want to rightly understand it,

and rightly apply it.

We humbly recognize it was written for your glory,

and our good.

We pray that you'd work it in our hearts.

Use my feeble preparation this week,

and my feeble ability now,

to work the great good in us,

that we would believe its promises,

and obey its commands,

and have affection for you, its author.

We pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

John chapter 6, beginning in verse 30.

John 6 · chapter mention

So they said to him,

Then what sign do you do,

that we may see and believe you?

What work do you perform?

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,

as it is written,

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

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.

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven,

and gives life to the world.

They said to him,

Sir, give us this bread always.

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.

But I said to you that you have seen me,

and yet do not believe.

All that the Father gives me will come to me,

and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

For I have come down from heaven,

not to do my own will,

but the will of him who sent me.

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.

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.

So the Jews grumbled about him,

because he said,

I am the bread that came down from heaven.

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?

Jesus answered them,

Do not grumble among yourselves.

No one can come to me

unless the Father who sent me draws him,

and I will raise him up on the last day.

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.

Not that anyone has seen the Father,

except he who is from God,

he has seen the Father.

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.

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.

Now, there is much to be unpacked here.

I was tempted this morning to turn this into a part one

and a part two,

but we're going to try to press on through.

I just won't hit every single thing that could be said here

or plumb the depths of this text.

It is worth revisiting.

In fact, these verses are the chiastic center of chapter 6.

It's good.

It's really good to understand it rightly.

But I think for us to try to unpack it helpfully,

we can note two prominent points

that are found throughout the text itself.

Now, as a little aside,

I don't think we've publicly acknowledged

just a sadness over the passing recently of John MacArthur.

I say recently.

I think it was in the middle of July at the age of 86.

We've really lost some notable contemporary men

these past couple of years.

This one, I think especially sad.

I'm very grateful for the 86 years he had.

I'm so glad that he finished well.

He's been helpful to many of us.

I'm going to rip off his outline for this text this morning.

I think it's John MacArthur that taught me to alliterate,

and boy, he's got some alliteration for this one.

You get bonus friend points with me

if you can tell me after this.

If you can tell me who wrote the line,

I got a backpack full of tracks,

plus I keep a Johnny Mac so I can pound it out.

Think of that later.

Two-point outline.

Number one, divine provision.

And number two, here's the P, human appropriation.

Divine provision.

Number two, human appropriation.

And we'll find some sub-points here as well.

So firstly, divine provision.

We see this throughout the text.

I mean, note it particularly in the first five verses.

Right?

So they're looking for a sign.

Right?

Oh, we're supposed to do this work of believing.

Well, then prove to us.

Right?

Which Jesus had already done.

They say, our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness.

That was a miracle.

Right?

Word is written.

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

And Jesus says to them,

that bread came from heaven,

and I, the true bread,

are given by the Father.

Into verse 32.

My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.

Now, understand when Jesus is talking about bread here,

he's talking about a staple food product.

Right?

Like, we live in a day where we're trying to avoid bread

all of the time.

But here, this would have been the normative way

that grain was turned into something edible.

So he's talking about sustenance.

He's talking about life itself.

Their heads are in the temporal, temporal life.

He is clearly talking about eternal life.

Your truest and greatest need is a spiritual need,

not a temporal need.

We too often, like them,

have our gaze fixed on the temporal stuff.

and not lift our eyes to the eternal.

I am quick to forget

how satisfied my soul should be

in the salvation of my God

when I look at the trouble that I experience day to day,

the pressures that are all around me.

And I think this is where they find themselves.

They say,

Sir, give us this bread always.

Misunderstanding.

Missing the point.

And Jesus says in verse 35,

I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.

And whoever believes in me

shall never thirst.

I think he's hearkening back to

previous teaching there in the text.

Fully satisfy the spiritual needs of our life.

And this is given from heaven.

It comes from the Father.

There's a divine provision

for our greatest of need.

Note some things about this provision.

Jesus, the bread of life.

Notice first,

his divine preexistence.

Divine preexistence.

Just briefly here.

Verse 33 says,

For the bread of God

is he who comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.

Right?

This is the very thing

that's troubling the Jews.

He's saying he is God.

And yes,

this is absolutely true.

If this wasn't true of Jesus,

he would be the most terrible of blasphemers.

Right?

Total liar.

Deceptive.

Perhaps a lunatic.

But in this case,

he's actually Lord.

This idea is repeated

both in verse 50 and in 51.

John begins this gospel account

with this very idea.

He's trying to convince us

Jesus is the Christ

and he starts in John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

In the beginning was the Word.

Jesus.

And the Word was with God

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning

with God.

And in case you doubt his deity,

he says in verse 3,

all things were made through him

and without him

was not anything made

that was made.

Right?

Jesus' very person here

is being put on display

as he calls himself

the bread of life

that has come down

from heaven.

Notice, secondly,

in this divine provision

that there is a divine purpose.

Jesus was sent.

He was sent

for something in particular.

And that was

to redeem

his people.

Notice verse 37.

There Jesus says,

All that the Father gives me

will come to me.

The Father

has something

he will give

to Jesus.

Jesus.

Who is he talking about here?

He's talking about

his people.

Everyone

who will repent

and believe

in

I will never

cast out.

I have not

come down

from heaven

to do my own will

but the will

of him

who sent me

to fulfill

a divine

purpose.

The salvation

of God's people.

And this is the will,

verse 39,

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.

See

God's people

all the way

to glory

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.

Now,

we as a church

hold to the doctrine

of

sovereign

grace.

Right?

Divine

election.

But I know

not everybody

in the room

holds to

this doctrine.

And I just want

you to know

that I am

sympathetic

towards you.

There's a lot

to think about

and a lot

to wrestle out

as we think

about these

things.

But I just

want to be,

for my own self

and for you,

I just want to be

really honest

with the text.

What does it say?

What does it

set down

in front of us?

Another text

says a similar

thing.

Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 1:3–5

1,

verse 3

through 5.

There Paul

writes,

Blessed be the

God and

Father of

our Lord

Jesus Christ,

who has

blessed us

in Christ.

What a couple

of words that

is.

In Christ,

with every

spiritual blessing

in the heavenly

places,

even as,

just like,

he chose

us in

him before

the foundation

of the world.

that we

should be

holy and

blameless

before him.

In love,

he predestined

us for

adoption to

himself as

sons through

Jesus Christ

according to

the purpose

of his

will.

It's there

and it's

plain.

And I just

don't want to

do logical

or grammatical

somersaults to

try to make it

mean something

other than

what it

means.

It's just

laid out

there.

clear for

us.

I think

of a lot

of our

problem

is that

we have

been brought

to this

kind of

teaching

in really

wrong ways.

But this

kind of

doctrine

should only

work in

us three

things.

Only three

things should

be happening

when we

take up

this kind

of doctrine.

First,

it should

make us

massively

humble.

humble.

It should

humble us

at every

level.

Too many

people,

when they

come to

understand

these

doctrines,

become

prideful

rather than

humble.

They've

unlocked the

mystery and

the key,

and I

think I

myself have

been guilty

of this in

past years.

Perhaps

maybe there's

a frustration

there against

growing up

in a way

that seemed

to make

God really

small and

not the

massive

sovereign

God that

he is.

I don't

know all

of the

mix there,

but it

ought not

ever make

us proud.

It ought

to only

make us

humble.

Why me,

oh Lord?

If God

were to be

entirely fair,

not a single

person would

be saved.

He would

withdraw the

wrath from

Christ,

because Christ

certainly did

not deserve

it.

And none

of us

would find

the blessed

state that

we have in

Christ Jesus.

It ought to

make us

absolutely

humble.

It ought to

also give

us great

confidence.

If we find

that we are

in Christ,

there's an

evidencing of

his spirit at

work in our

lives,

bringing

forth the

fruit of

repentance,

then it

ought to

ground our

faith.

Verse 39,

this is the

will of him

who sent

me, that

I should

lose nothing

of all

that he

has given

me.

Christ is

either powerful

to accomplish

this work,

or he is

not.

And I

want to

make much

of him.

Jesus can

do exactly

what he set

out to do,

and what

he set

out to do

was exactly

what the

father wanted

him to

do,

and that

gives me

great confidence

on my

most wretched

of days

to say,

yes,

because of

Christ,

in Christ,

not because

of my

merit,

but because

of his,

I have the

salvation

of my

soul.

So that's

the second

thing.

The third

thing that it

ought to do

is it

ought to

press us

out to

share the

good news

of Jesus.

And if

this to

your mind

is counter

logical,

it gives

us confidence

in our

going because

God has

a people,

and God

is saving

a people,

and we

want to

go and

declare the

good news

which he

has said

needs to

happen for

people to

be saved

so that

we be

part of

his

redemptive

work in

people's

lives.

It ought

to

drive us

out to

the very

ends of

the earth.

In fact,

all of the

significant

missionary

movements

have been

led by

people who

held this

doctrine,

who believed

it was true

that God

has a

people that

he's saving

and they're

going to be

numbered amongst

every tribe,

nation,

and tongue.

It ought to

press us

out

everywhere.

There's

divine

purpose in

God's

divine

provision.

Jesus says

down in

verse 44,

no one

can come

to me

unless the

Father who

sent me

draws him.

And I

know that

you could

go either

way with

this language,

right?

Maybe

everybody's

being drawn

and therefore

anybody can.

I don't

think it

fits contextually

with everything

else that

Jesus has

said,

but I'm

willing to

allow for

that there.

But I

do want

you to

know that

the word

here,

translated

draw,

is used

in

extra-biblical

Greek

literature

to refer

to drawing

water

out of a

well.

So forcefully

bringing water

up to

the surface.

No one

can come

to me

unless the

Father who

sent me

draws him

and I

will raise

him up

on the

last day.

I think

this is

why.

I think

this is

all on

either

side of

what I'm

going to

show you

is the

center,

the

chiastic

center

of this

text.

We're

structuring it

this way

to try to

understand

how is it

that these

people,

these people

who have

seen the

miraculous

provision

of Christ

in the

bread,

they've heard

tales certainly

of him

walking on

water,

why are

they

missing

him

in the

process?

Third point,

there's

divine

promise.

In the

divine

provision,

there is

divine

promise.

Jesus

says,

truly,

truly,

I say

to you,

whoever

believes

has

eternal

life.

There it

is.

That's

what the

provision

is for.

I've

mentioned

it

already.

It's

for

eternal

life.

Spiritual

life.

Now and

forever

more.

Jesus

calls

himself,

verse 48,

the bread

of

life.

Right?

Your

fathers ate

that manna

that you

mentioned,

and they

died.

Right?

It didn't

provide

forever

nourishment,

but the

bread that

comes down

from heaven

verse 50,

can be

eaten of

and a

person

will not

die.

They will

have

eternal

life.

Jesus

says,

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.

He will

give up

his very

body

so that

we might

have

eternal

life

in him.

John

records

Jesus

defining

what

eternal

life is

in John

John 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17

and

verse 3.

This

is

eternal

life,

that they

know you,

the only

true God,

and Jesus

Christ

whom you

have sent.

Beloved,

the great

joy of

the gospel

is that we

get to know

God and

that he

knows

us.

We don't

come to

Jesus for

what he

can grant

us in

this life.

We come

to him

for him

in this

life

and

forevermore.

So there's

divine

provision.

Found

in this

text.

Secondly,

let's look

at the

human

appropriation.

I think

the reason

I told you

the aside

about John

MacArthur

is I

just didn't

want you

to think

that I

came up

with the

word

appropriation

by myself.

This was

all his

doing.

I think

because of

the quick

strong

P in

the word.

Appropriation

means to

make one's

own,

right?

To take

possession

of.

So we

must

take

possession

of this

bread

of life.

And I

am happy,

really happy

with texts

like this

that we

see in

both

sovereign

grace,

God

working with

each other

whatsoever.

And I

think that's

how we

should take

it up

as well.

to show

you this,

I shrunk

down the

text very

tiny inside

your

bulletin.

I'm sorry

if your

eyes are

failing like

mine is.

I could

barely read

it myself

when I

shrunk

it down

that small.

That's

7.5

font if

you care

to know.

I just

want you

to notice

the

chiastic

structure.

Again,

so chiasm

comes from

the Greek

letter for

X,

chi.

So it

has a

shape to

it.

So I

put it

in that

shape for

you and

you can

see how

the beginning

corresponds

to the

end.

So A

and then

A

prime.

I'm

hoping you

can see

that.

That you

could

fold it

in the

middle

and it

would

fold over

on top

of itself.

I won't

walk you

through all

of these

because it's

not really

important to

do so.

But notice

like verse

31,

our fathers

ate the

manna in

the wilderness.

And then

verse 49,

your fathers

ate the

manna in

the wilderness.

Don't

these texts

seem so

incredibly

complicated

until you

start to

see this

happening?

I hope

that when I

read it to

you for

the first

time,

you might

have been

going,

I'm

starting to

see the

chiastic

structure.

I hope

this starts

to live

in your

head because

it's all

over the

book of

John.

There are

a lot

of other

places in

the Bible

and it's

incredibly

cool what

these authors

are doing.

Now,

did Jesus

say this

exactly this

way?

I don't

think so.

It's not

terribly

but I

think,

led by the

Spirit of

Christ,

John pins

it in

this way

to make

a careful

point to

us about

the teaching

of Jesus.

So,

again,

I'll just

show you

another spot

as we get

closer and

closer.

Verse 41

and then

verse 43.

So the

Jews grumbled

and then

Jesus,

verse 43,

do not

grumble,

which brings

us to the

center of

the text.

So you're

supposed to,

put on

verse 42

like as an

interpretive lens

to look at

the rest of

it.

Is not

this Jesus

the son of

Joseph whose

father and

mother we

know?

Like we know

where he came

from is what

they're saying.

How does he

now say I

have come

down from

heaven?

They don't

believe that

he is the

Christ.

So you have

this filter of

unbelief,

right,

as Jesus

is working

through this

teaching.

And the

structure of

it is meant

simply to help

us remember

it but also

to draw our

attention to

that very

fact.

So as he

has said

some massive

things about

sovereign grace

was meant to

have our

attention drawn

to the

rejection of

Jesus as

the Christ.

We must

appropriate the

bread of life.

we must

make him

our

own.

I included

in the

bulletin as

well a

quotation from

J.I.

Packer.

This is found

in a little

book he wrote

called Evangelism

and the

Sovereignty of

God.

A fantastic

read.

And there he

quotes Charles

Spurgeon.

So it's

old guy

quotation

inception.

C.H.

Spurgeon

once said,

was once asked

if he could

reconcile these

two truths to

each other.

I wouldn't

try, he

replied.

I never

reconcile

friends.

Friends?

Yes, friends.

This is the

point that we

have to grasp.

In the

Bible, divine

sovereignty and

human responsibility

are not

enemies.

They are not

uneasy

neighbors.

They are not

in an endless

state of cold

war with each

other.

They are

friends and

they work

together.

Now to

try to be

logicians and

work our way

through the

entirety of

all of that

is not

really the

point.

And I have

gone round

and round

with people.

I have read

countless

books on

the subject.

It's a

thing worth

thinking about.

But I just

want you to

note today that

they both

exist in the

text together.

There is a

mystery in

that.

I think

sometimes I

just want to

be a little

more simple

minded than

I often

am.

Just look at

the text and

go, yeah,

it's right

there.

I see it.

It's clear.

It says it.

And then go,

uh-huh, and

it also says

that too.

Trust that

God is

wiser,

certainly more

intelligent than

I am, and

he's given us

this book in

this way for

a reason.

So, there

must be a

human

appropriation.

There's a

responsibility for

people to

respond to

the gospel of

Jesus Christ,

to respond to

him, the

bread of

life.

We must

first come.

We must go

to Jesus.

Verse 35

says, I am

the bread of

life.

Whoever

comes to

me shall

not hunger,

and whoever

believes in

me shall

never thirst.

He indicts

them in

verse 36,

but I said

to you that

you have

seen me,

they had

come, and

yet you

do not

believe.

So, the

reason I'm

pulling out

the idea of

coming and

separating it

from the idea

of believing

is I just

want to be

clear for a

moment.

It's, you

could think

that you're

coming, you

can think

that going

to church,

think that

reading the

Bible, think

that consuming

some social

media Christian

stuff, right,

watching online

sermons, whatever

it may be, some

way that you

think you're

coming to

Jesus is

salvific, but

if you don't

believe, if

you don't

take hold of

who he is

and what he's

accomplished,

coming, just

coming is not

sufficient for

the salvation of

your soul.

Verse 47,

truly, truly, I

say to you,

whoever believes

has eternal

life.

What must we

believe?

Both in his

person, that's

why I looped

in the divine

preexistence,

Jesus himself

is God.

He lived a

perfect life,

he died a

sacrificial

death, a

death that he

did not

deserve, raised

on the third

day, right, his

person and

his work.

And we must

go to the

Jesus of the

Bible and

believe in the

Jesus of

the Bible.

As a side

note, I'm so

concerned about

so much that we

see that's

wrapped in

thin candy

coating called

gospel.

people.

And it's

really just

moralistic,

therapeutic

deism.

Jesus is a

therapist.

He's not the

Lord of the

universe.

And I see it

happening and

it's happening

in these really

subversive ways

all around us.

Let's be

careful.

People who

use the same

language we're

using are

actually going

to the same

Christ.

Ask good

clarifying

questions.

Let's press

in on people

who are

professing faith.

in a Jesus

that might be

a Jesus of

their own

making.

We must go

to him and

we must believe

in his person

and his

work.

Verse 50,

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.

He's talking

about the

sacrifice that

he will

make.

And this

is made

clear as

the text

goes on,

which we'll

get into

further next

week.

But note

in verse 52

and then

verse 53,

the Jews

then disputed

among themselves

saying,

how can this

man give us

his flesh

to eat?

So Jesus

said to them,

I'm going to

bring you more

clarity on the

matter.

He says 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.

If you

don't believe

that the

Messiah is

the one

who will

come and

he will

conquer,

not in the

way you

think,

but he'll

conquer by

taking on

the sins

of the world,

dying,

bearing the

wrath of

God for

them,

rising three

days later,

sending his

spirit,

building his

kingdom.

We find

ourselves in

that age

even now.

Let's pray

together.