Eternal Life

Bible, please open it up to John chapter 6. Some of you might be wondering, why are we

John 6 · chapter mention

still in John chapter 6? Well, Jesus has a lot to say in John chapter 6, and so we don't

John 6 · chapter mention John 6 · chapter mention

want to just rush past that too quickly. We want to take our time and listen to what Jesus

is saying and really take it to heart. So let's remind ourselves of where we are in

this conversation. Jesus is talking with a crowd of people, and many of this crowd were

at the feeding of the 5,000 just yesterday, and this is quite the conversation. Jesus

has urged them not to work for food that spoils, but for food that lasts. We heard Jesus tell

them that God wants them to believe in the one that he has sent. We heard the crowd ask

Jesus, do something amazing, do a sign, then we'll believe. Something like the miracle

of the manna in the wilderness, maybe. We heard Jesus tell them that God is doing a similar

kind of thing. Right now, he is giving you the true bread from heaven. We heard the crowd

ask for this bread from heaven. And then we heard Jesus declare that he is the bread which

God has sent down from heaven. Last Sunday, we heard the crowd grumbling about Jesus claiming

to be from heaven. It's a pretty lofty claim to make, to be from heaven. And this morning,

we're going to look a little more closely at another lofty claim of Jesus, or we might say

a lofty promise, an amazing offer that Jesus is making to people here in this conversation.

It all starts with Jesus' statement back up in verse 26 and 27.

Very truly, he said, I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw the signs I performed,

but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils,

but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.

If there's two words that really stand out in that directive that Jesus gives to them,

it's the words eternal life. We all know that ordinary food gives life. If you don't eat,

eventually you will die. We need food to live. And so in a sense, food is life-giving.

And yet it seems as though Jesus is saying that there's a kind of food that is eternal life-giving.

Like if you eat it, you will live forever.

Now we don't know exactly what the people were thinking as they heard this.

Perhaps some of them were thinking that that just sounds too good to be true.

That there's this kind of food that when you eat it, you will live forever.

To many today, it might sound very much like the stuff of mythology.

I was reading this week about some Japanese mythology where apparently there's a story of a girl who came across a mermaid-like creature

and ate the meat of that creature and became immortal.

In both Greek and Norse mythology, it was believed that the gods and the goddesses, they were immortal.

They could live forever because they were eating these golden apples or drinking this sweet drink called ambrosia.

Even the phrase eternal life for many today is probably a trigger in their minds.

Like as soon as they hear those words, eternal life or immortality, we must be talking about fantasy or mythology

or something in the latest Marvel movie or television series.

When's the last time you heard someone who doesn't believe in Jesus or frequent church gatherings use the phrase eternal life in everyday conversation?

Probably not recently.

And so I wonder if even as we as Christians sometimes might hesitate to say those words outside the church circle,

maybe you've thought about it or had that come up in conversation and maybe you felt that.

You know, if I say the words eternal life to them,

am I going to be losing some credibility or respect in their eyes?

But Jesus did not shy away from using this phrase.

In fact, we've already seen Jesus use this phrase a few times up to this point in the Gospel of John.

He first spoke of eternal life that we know of to Nicodemus.

To Nicodemus, you'll remember that he said,

But as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,

so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

He spoke of obtaining eternal life to the Samaritan woman at the well.

He said to her,

Sometime later, when Jesus was in Jerusalem,

back in John chapter 5, verse 24,

John 5:24

we heard him saying to the religious leaders these words,

Truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life

and will not be judged, but is crossed over from death to life.

So Jesus has already been speaking about eternal life,

and he's been speaking of it as something that's very much attainable.

He's not telling fantasy stories here,

or talking about some ancient legend of somebody who ate or drank this or that

and then suddenly became immortal.

No, he speaks about eternal life as if it's real, attainable,

and not just for those rare few who happen to stumble upon the secret,

but for anyone, for all who will believe.

To Nicodemus,

So the Son of Man must be lifted up,

that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

To the religious leaders,

Whoever hears my word and believes has eternal life.

Whoever.

And now to the crowd that he's talking with,

he makes it clear that eternal life is not just for

one group of people.

It's not just for that one fortunate person

who happens to stumble into that hidden cave

and find this secret chalice with this nectar of the gods in it.

No.

Chapter 6, verse 3,

For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.

Eternal life is for anyone who will believe.

It's for the world.

On the lips of Jesus,

eternal life is no fairy tale.

It's no legend.

It's no fantasy.

It's a real, attainable thing

for all who hear the words of Jesus

and believe.

Those who truly believe him.

It's quite a thing,

as you think about it,

to look someone in the eye

and offer them

eternal life.

And let's not miss

where this eternal life comes from.

Jesus told the religious leaders

back in chapter 5, verse 21,

For just as the Father raises the dead

and gives them life,

even so the Son,

this is Jesus referring to himself,

the Son gives life

to whom he is pleased to give it.

So Jesus is not just someone

who knows the secret way

to eternal life.

He himself is claiming

to be the one who gives eternal life

to people.

That's the way Jesus has talked

throughout this gospel.

It's Jesus that must be lifted up,

as we just read,

so that whoever believes

might have eternal life.

It's Jesus who offers the woman

at the well living water,

which he says he has

to give to her,

which will result in eternal life.

In this very conversation

with the crowd here,

Jesus tells them

where the food

that lasts to eternal life

comes from.

He says,

which the Son of Man

will give you.

The very plain sense of all these

is that Jesus is saying,

you get eternal life

from me.

He's not just a spiritual guru

who has found the way

to become immortal.

He himself has the power

and the authority of God

to give eternal life

to people.

And this is a big part

of what this whole conversation

about the bread of life

is about.

Just like you live

a little longer

by eating this ordinary

earthly bread,

Jesus has been saying

in the same way,

you can live forever

by eating the special

heavenly bread,

the bread that God

has given from heaven.

And then we heard

a couple weeks back

as Jesus said it plain as day,

I myself am

the bread of life.

In other words,

eternal life

doesn't just come

from me

as something external

that I carry

outside myself

and give away

to people.

No.

Eternal life

comes through me

and in me.

Let's listen to the words

of Jesus

in verse 47.

Very truly,

I tell you,

the one who believes

has eternal life.

I am the bread of life.

Your ancestors ate the manna

in the wilderness,

yet they died.

But here is the bread

that comes down from heaven,

which anyone may eat

and not die.

I am the living bread

that came down from heaven.

Whoever eats this bread

will live forever.

This bread is my flesh,

which I will give

for the life of the world.

Now next Sunday,

we'll find out

how the crowd responded

to these words.

But for this morning,

I want to focus

on this offer of Jesus,

this gift of Jesus,

eternal life.

Jesus has one more thing

to say

to make it clear

what this eternal life

refers to.

In mythology

and legends

about immortality,

you probably know

how the story goes.

There's some character

who eats

or drinks something

or does something special

that causes them

to become immortal,

to live forever.

and generally,

they are,

from that point on,

unable to die.

It makes for some

great fiction.

It makes for some

good movie plots

as someone tries

to go after

that character

who's immortal

with whatever weapon

they have

only to find out

that they simply

cannot kill him.

He's immortal.

He's unable to die.

It makes for some

entertaining stories

as we think of,

you know,

kind of the

fantastic notion

that some one person

who has found

this secret

could have lived

for centuries.

They were there,

that one character

in the story,

and fought as a young man

in the First World War

and they were there,

a young man also,

back in the days

of Napoleon

and then they're

still here today

in present day

but nobody really

knows their secret.

Is this the kind

of eternal life

that Jesus is talking about?

I think we all

know the answer.

It's not.

He's not saying

that we will never

physically die

here on earth

kind of eternal life.

Let's hear it

from Jesus

in his own words.

John chapter 6

John 6:38

verse 38.

For I have come down

from heaven

not to do my will

but to do the will

of him who sent me.

And this is the will

of him who sent me

that I shall lose none

of all those

he has given me.

And then here it is.

But raise them up

at the last day.

That's the key phrase.

But raise them up

at the last day.

I'm not saying

that I'm here

to give you

immortality

in your physical body

right here

right now

such that you'll

never die.

No.

The eternal life

that I give

when it comes

to your body

happens when I

raise you up

from the dead

at the last day.

And let's not move

too quickly

from this statement.

Jesus wants us

to hear these words.

And we know this

because he says

this exact phrase

almost word for word

four times

in this conversation.

I will raise them up

at the last day.

He says it in verse 40

again.

For my father's will

is that everyone

who looks to the son

and believes in him

shall have eternal life.

And I will raise them up

at the last day.

He says it in verse 44.

No one can come to me

unless the father

who sent me

draws them

and I will raise them up

at the last day.

And he says it again

in verse 54.

Whoever eats my flesh

and drinks my blood

has eternal life.

We'll talk about that

next Sunday.

I know that probably

tweaks some of you.

and I will raise them up

at the last day.

Four times he says it.

I will raise them up

at the last day.

Which kind of brings us

to this question.

So when does

eternal life begin?

There's a sense in which

eternal life begins

now

when we believe in Jesus

because

our status with God

changes

when we believe in Jesus.

Our eternal destiny

changes

from

death

to life.

In the words of Jesus

we have crossed over

from death

to life.

There's a spiritual

element to it

here and now.

We come alive

to God

where we were dead

to him before.

God's spirit

of life

comes to live

inside of us

and joins us

to Jesus himself

so that we become

one with Christ.

We are in

him.

So there is a

here and now

aspect

to eternal life.

We could say

in a very real sense

that eternal life

begins

the moment

that you truly

believe in Jesus

and are born again

by the spirit

of God.

But there's also

a very real sense

in which eternal life

does not begin

fully

until the last day

when Jesus returns

and raises us up

from the dead

to live forevermore

never to die again.

I will raise them up

at the last day

those who believe

whoever believes

in me.

so what's the

significance

of this?

I think it's

important because

we need to know

that this good

gift of eternal

life

is something

that we can

receive today

in the present

even as Jesus

is speaking

the words

to people

will they believe

today?

but the full glory

of course

of this gift

awaits

the last day

when Jesus returns

and as I was thinking

about it this week

I was imagining it

like the gift

of a brand new car

from a father

to his 13 year old son

at Christmas.

Can you imagine

the delight on his face

as he opens up

a little box

and inside

are a set of keys

to a brand new car

that's now

he's discovered

is parked

in the family garage

and this gift

doesn't come

with any strings

attached

it's not his dad's

or mom's

to drive

until he's

old enough

to drive it

it's his

it belongs

to him

he may have

to wait

until

a future day

when he's able

to reach the pedals

or a future day

when he gets

his driver's license

to fully enjoy

this gift

but it belongs

to him now

and one day

he will have

the pleasure

of backing it

out of the garage

and taking it

for a spin

for the first time

eternal life

is a gift

like that

a gift

that we can

receive today

by believing

in Jesus

and yet a gift

that we won't

fully enjoy

until the last day

when Jesus

comes

and raises

us up

from the grave

with the rest

of our

time this morning

I want us

to think about

those words

eternal life

I've said them

a lot

we've probably

heard them a lot

as Christians

even before

this morning

what do they

mean

life

without end

life

that goes

on forever

life

of infinite

length

days

without

number

never

to die

again

after the

resurrection

we could

say it

in a number

of ways

but so often

I think

as we hear

those words

eternal life

it just kind

of passes

through our

heads

and doesn't

really land

in our

hearts

so how

long

is

eternal

how long

is

forever

if life

is eternal

after we

are raised

up

at the

last day

when will

our bodies

or our

organs

fail

if life

is eternal

after the

last day

when will

our ears

stop hearing

properly

or our

eyes stop

seeing

clearly

or our

joints

wear out

if life

is eternal

when will

our hearts

finally beat

the last

beat

just give

up because

they've

had too

much mileage

put on

them

if life

is eternal

when will

we hear

the number

of days

that we

have left

from the

doctor

because of

sickness

or disease

cancer

injury

how long

is

forever

there are

some benefit

for our

imaginations

to reading

those fanciful

stories about

people who

lived for

a thousand

years

it gets

us thinking

what would

it be like

to live

for a

thousand

years

of unbroken

life

to love

to have

all kinds

of family

and friendships

for a

thousand

years

uninterrupted

to grow

in wisdom

to learn

new things

year after

year for

a thousand

years

can you

imagine

that

to have

a life

so full

as the

men

did

when the

world was

first created

now take

that and

think about

this

how about

ten thousand

years

can you

imagine

what it

would be

like to

live for

ten thousand

years

what it

would have

been like

to live

from the

dawn of

this

world's

creation

up until

this

present

day

all in

one

continued

span

of life

can you

imagine

that after

ten thousand

years

you're still

as young

and strong

and able

as you

were

at the

beginning

can you

imagine

having all

the time

in the

world to

do all

those good

things that

you otherwise

just wouldn't

get to do

to read all

those books

to play

to learn to

play that

instrument

and become

fully expressive

in it and

master it

and in fact

why just one

instrument

how about

nine or

ten

a thousand

years is

plenty of

time to

master a

whole bunch

of them

can you

imagine

what it

would be

like to

live for

ten thousand

years

of unbroken

life and

then when you

come to the

end of that

to find out

that you

will live

that span

that length

over and

over and

over again

without end

without aging

as we know

it without

the body or

the mind

growing weak

or frail

or weary

as time

goes on

without

sickness

without

disease

without

death

how long

is forever

I know

some of you

have been

wondering what

this string

is all

about

this string

every inch

on it

represents a

hundred years

and so if we

start at the

creation of the

world by the

most conservative

accounts

years

you know

we go

along

and we

get to

about here

there's

six thousand

years

that's kind

of the

most conservative

estimate

from

Christians

as to the

age of the

world

but then some

people have

issue with

the you know

the gaps

and the

genealogies

and stuff

so let's

add another

four thousand

years just

for fun

let's say

that this

is this

is how long

since the

creation of

the world

till now

there's your

life

right there

a little

blip

I colored it

red but you

probably can't

see it from

here

if you make

it to a

hundred years

that's your

life

at some time

a little bit

down the line

we don't know

exactly when

the day or

the hour

will be the

last day

that Jesus

is talking

about there

when he will

raise us

up

and then

starts the

full sense

of eternal

life

and it

goes on

and it

goes on

and it

goes on

can you

imagine

living this

full length

of life

that we

know here

over and

over and

over again

this string

the other

end of it

is out by

the alley

on the

sidewalk

outside the

front doors

of the

church

down by

the alley

represents

a total

of about

330,000

years

about

3,000

ish

of

lifetimes

of 100

years

but in

reality

there will

be no

end

to that

string

it will

just keep

on going

all the way

around the

world

again and

again and

again

forever

forever

that's

how long

eternal

life

is

that's

the kind

of life

that Jesus

is offering

to you

and to me

as an

undeserved

gift of

grace

and if

that's

what's in

store for

those who

believe in

Jesus

then suddenly

it makes a

lot of

sense when

Jesus says

do not

work for

food that

spoils

but for

food which

lasts

unto eternal

life

don't spend

all of your

life so

focused in

everything you

do on

this when

there's all

of this

store up

treasure in

heaven not

on earth for

this little

blip here but

for all of

this seek

first his

kingdom said

Jesus and

when it

comes it's

going to

last forever

don't worry

about what

you need in

life your

food your

clothing all

that stuff

God's going

to look

after that

and take

care of

you

eternal

life

John

Newton had

it right

when he

penned those

famous words

when we've

been there

10,000

years

bright

shining

as the

sun

we've no

less

days

to sing

God's

praise

than when

we'd first

begun

let's pray

father in

heaven

even just

to think

about the

magnitude of

that gift

blows us

away

we're not

worthy of

that

we don't

deserve

that

we hear

the

words that

you spoke

to

our

great

ancestor

the day

you eat

of it

you shall

surely

die

what

mercy

and what

grace

you've

given

us

I pray

and ask

that all

of us

would

believe

that we

would hear

the words

you are

speaking

and that

we would

receive

and believe

eternal

life

in Jesus

name

amen

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