WEBVTT 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:11.840 Good morning everybody, nice to see you, we're awake, good, we're not sure, okay so we're 00:00:11.840 --> 00:00:16.180 continuing looking at the Gospel of John this morning, you remember that's the fourth account 00:00:16.180 --> 00:00:22.380 we got of the life of Jesus, we're in chapter six which is a bit of a huge chapter, okay this is a 00:00:22.380 --> 00:00:27.560 bit massive this morning, we've got 40 verses in about 20 minutes so that'll be exciting but also 00:00:27.560 --> 00:00:33.180 they cover some really big issues about why Jesus came and what he was about in a way that we haven't 00:00:33.180 --> 00:00:38.120 seen before as we've gone through the book of John so if you've got a bible with you please do turn 00:00:38.120 --> 00:00:42.600 to John chapter 6 but otherwise Graham if we can get the first set of verses on the screen that'd 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:47.480 be brilliant and the way I want to do this is just to go through reading a chunk at a time and talking 00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:53.240 a little bit about each of the words that that we read this morning this is a little bit like one 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:57.560 of those movies, do you watch those movies where you think you've got a handle on what's 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:02.160 happening in the film? You understand the main characters, you think you know what the 00:01:02.160 --> 00:01:07.060 plot's about, and then all of a sudden, something happens, and you think, what? I thought I 00:01:07.060 --> 00:01:11.500 knew what was going on here. And you pause, you press pause, right? And then you chat 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:15.740 to the person you're with and say, I thought this, who are they? What's going on now? I 00:01:15.740 --> 00:01:20.040 don't understand. And then you use the rewind button, don't you, to go back and watch it 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:24.780 again and think have I got this right have I got this right well this chapter and these verses 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:31.860 are all about that all right and we all we will all need to stop press pause rewind and reread 00:01:31.860 --> 00:01:36.240 it again to understand it and I would encourage you in your groups when you meet in midweek 00:01:36.240 --> 00:01:41.400 if you're looking at these what we talk about on Sunday mornings do this with chapter six because 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:47.560 it is so eye-opening for what we are about here and what's going on and what we're seeing in 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:53.700 this passage is Jesus being revealing what he's about and challenging the people who are listening 00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:59.820 to him about what he is really here for and it's exactly the same today people think Jesus is a 00:01:59.820 --> 00:02:06.120 myth people think Jesus is just a man and a lot of us here think Jesus is the messiah and what we're 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:10.880 seeing in this chapter is Jesus talks to his hearers as he's moving people from their in their 00:02:10.880 --> 00:02:16.480 limited understanding from what they think he's about to what he's really about and he Jesus is 00:02:16.480 --> 00:02:22.640 doing exactly the same today for you for me for the people in the community it's about moving us 00:02:22.640 --> 00:02:30.020 from one position to another and as we read this passage he starts to turn the heat up on who he is 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:37.040 why he has come and what our response to him needs to be and he starts to get a little uncomfortable 00:02:37.040 --> 00:02:41.200 as we'll see but the interesting thing i just noticed the passage we're going to read is from 00:02:41.200 --> 00:02:46.720 chapter 6 verses 26 onwards as you can see on the screen but just before we get here you will 00:02:46.720 --> 00:02:51.460 remember what's happened is we've had the feeding of the 5,000 at the beginning of chapter 6 we're 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:55.960 like that don't we it's a good story it's a great miracle and we love it then we have the walking on 00:02:55.960 --> 00:03:00.760 the water bit and we're like that because that's another great miracle of Jesus now we get what 00:03:00.760 --> 00:03:07.460 Jesus is doing here he's connecting those two events with why he has come and he's taking his 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:13.520 hearers from understanding what happened in the feeding of the 5,000 to actually why he has come 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:19.200 and the challenge of that on his life but after the feeding of the 5,000 all the crowds they want 00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:25.180 to find out where he is and so they're hunting for him and we read just in verse 24 once the crowd 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:31.200 realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were where they were they got into boats and they went 00:03:31.200 --> 00:03:36.040 to Capernaum in search of Jesus so all those people that have been fed from those five loaves 00:03:36.040 --> 00:03:40.560 and two fish those thousands they got into boats and must have been like an armada going across the 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:45.980 sea of galilee as they hunt jesus down and they're looking for him when we read they came in search 00:03:45.980 --> 00:03:52.440 of jesus then when we skip to after our passage and this is morning we get to verse 66 we read 00:03:52.440 --> 00:03:59.340 this from this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him so we go from 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:06.720 thousand searching for Jesus to a place where many are saying this is too hard I can't follow Jesus 00:04:06.720 --> 00:04:12.530 what has he said in the middle what has he done in the middle and that's what we're going to 00:04:12.530 --> 00:04:17.290 read right now so let's start when they found him on the other side of the lake they asked him 00:04:17.290 --> 00:04:24.430 rabbi when did you get here Jesus answered very truly I tell you you're looking for me not because 00:04:24.430 --> 00:04:30.630 you saw the signs i performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill do not work for food 00:04:30.630 --> 00:04:36.650 that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life which the son of man will give you for on him 00:04:36.650 --> 00:04:44.050 god the father has placed his approval and so jesus starts them on this journey of moving them 00:04:44.050 --> 00:04:49.230 from thinking about the practical things to understanding about spiritual things he starts 00:04:49.230 --> 00:04:54.170 them on a journey from taking something they use in their everyday life and they know about 00:04:54.170 --> 00:04:59.510 to actually using that to explain what Jesus is about. 00:05:00.110 --> 00:05:05.570 Because we all struggle to grasp issues of the eternal, don't we? 00:05:05.930 --> 00:05:07.370 It's not just me, please, is it? 00:05:07.610 --> 00:05:10.010 We all struggle to understand it. 00:05:10.090 --> 00:05:14.570 So Jesus has to take very common things that we do understand and we know 00:05:14.570 --> 00:05:18.410 and use those to explain what he is saying. 00:05:18.930 --> 00:05:20.530 But he's also saying this. 00:05:20.530 --> 00:05:25.850 he's saying don't spend your life being focused on the very physical things of this world. 00:05:26.170 --> 00:05:32.210 Don't spend your whole life pursuing food that spoils, clothes that wear out, houses that suck 00:05:32.210 --> 00:05:37.850 your money, savings for a rainy day, cars that rust. Don't spend your life pursuing stuff, stuff, 00:05:37.850 --> 00:05:46.490 stuff, the next fix, the next fix, the next fix. Why? Because they never ultimately meet the need 00:05:46.490 --> 00:05:53.390 of your life. They never ultimately meet the need that you think they are going to. Instead Jesus is 00:05:53.390 --> 00:05:59.410 saying here we need to focus on the food that Jesus is going to give us and he's going to explain that 00:05:59.410 --> 00:06:07.350 in the verses ahead. In other words we should be about pursuing Jesus and allowing him to change 00:06:07.350 --> 00:06:16.140 our life, to change our values, to change the way that we think about things. And what he's beginning 00:06:16.140 --> 00:06:24.020 to say is if you think that all that matters is actually these 70 years i'm on this planet or 00:06:24.020 --> 00:06:30.140 give or take then actually we're completely missing the point and what he's explaining 00:06:30.140 --> 00:06:37.330 to us here is there is an eternity which goes on and on and on and our life in comparison to 00:06:37.330 --> 00:06:45.090 eternity is smaller than that and we worry about what we're doing in this bit and yet what jesus 00:06:45.090 --> 00:06:50.440 is saying there's all of this to come and it's not just about length it's about quality as well 00:06:50.440 --> 00:06:57.980 and it starts the day we encounter him and he's challenging his hearers stop prioritizing so much 00:06:57.980 --> 00:07:03.760 on spending time thinking what happens in this little bit that you're on this planet and start 00:07:03.760 --> 00:07:09.720 thinking about eternity i think is it russell crowe in gladiator says what we do in this life 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:15.380 echoes in eternity it's not quite right but what we do in this life does affect what happens in 00:07:15.380 --> 00:07:19.680 eternity and that's what Jesus is starting to tell his hearers you know this crowd that have 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:24.780 followed him looking perhaps for another miracle and they're starting to get some harder sayings 00:07:24.780 --> 00:07:31.560 that Jesus is bringing to them so then they asked him what must we do to do the works that God 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:38.760 requires Jesus answered this he says the work of God is this to believe in the one he has sent 00:07:39.750 --> 00:07:42.090 You see, it's a classic question that they ask 00:07:42.090 --> 00:07:44.330 because they don't really understand what he's saying. 00:07:44.850 --> 00:07:47.690 It's a bit like, you know, I'm still like that when I'm following Jesus. 00:07:48.090 --> 00:07:49.150 I guess a lot of us are. 00:07:49.370 --> 00:07:52.970 We ask questions that really reveal we don't quite get it. 00:07:53.990 --> 00:07:54.870 And you know what? 00:07:54.910 --> 00:07:56.270 That's absolutely fine. 00:07:56.910 --> 00:07:59.930 Because with God, there is no such thing as a daft question. 00:08:00.590 --> 00:08:02.770 He loves us to ask the questions 00:08:02.770 --> 00:08:06.070 and then he takes us from where we are in our understanding 00:08:06.070 --> 00:08:09.090 and helps us to see what he is about. 00:08:09.150 --> 00:08:10.910 And that's exactly what's going on here. 00:08:11.350 --> 00:08:13.310 And so Jesus says the work of God is this, 00:08:13.310 --> 00:08:16.070 is to believe in the one God has sent. 00:08:16.570 --> 00:08:17.130 Who is that? 00:08:19.290 --> 00:08:20.610 Okay, good, we're in the right place. 00:08:20.710 --> 00:08:22.670 It's Jesus, yes, absolutely. 00:08:23.210 --> 00:08:27.930 But also, my question is, what does believe mean, right? 00:08:28.010 --> 00:08:29.630 Believe in the one he has sent, 00:08:29.690 --> 00:08:31.510 because the devil believes in Jesus, right? 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:34.200 And shudders, the Bible tells us. 00:08:34.680 --> 00:08:36.800 So when Jesus says the work of God is this, 00:08:36.800 --> 00:08:38.480 to believe in the one he has sent, 00:08:38.760 --> 00:08:40.240 what do you think believe means? 00:08:42.770 --> 00:08:43.630 Not quite so sure. 00:08:44.590 --> 00:08:45.670 Trust in him, yeah? 00:08:47.640 --> 00:08:48.960 What, trust his teachings? 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:56.280 Do you want to know how to do them well? 00:09:06.110 --> 00:09:07.790 And do those things, yeah, that's right. 00:09:08.190 --> 00:09:08.770 Anything else? 00:09:12.340 --> 00:09:15.560 Have faith, where faith is in action. 00:09:15.680 --> 00:09:16.220 Yeah, that's right. 00:09:16.540 --> 00:09:17.140 That's good. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:19.720 So we need to think beyond the immediate word, don't we, 00:09:19.880 --> 00:09:21.760 about what believe is really about 00:09:21.760 --> 00:09:23.880 because there are a lot of voices out there 00:09:23.880 --> 00:09:25.660 clamouring for our attention, 00:09:26.300 --> 00:09:28.120 but there is only one voice. 00:09:28.620 --> 00:09:30.660 That has been sent by God. 00:09:31.870 --> 00:09:35.530 And so we need to figure out how we believe. 00:09:35.650 --> 00:09:39.130 And actually, particularly in Western society today, 00:09:39.130 --> 00:09:44.210 we're so full of cynicism that it breathes a sense of cautiousness about anything 00:09:44.210 --> 00:09:45.850 and we hold anything back. 00:09:45.970 --> 00:09:51.630 And that's why we need to translate belief into action as we've just heard. 00:09:53.520 --> 00:09:55.140 Moving on, verse 30 then. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:59.900 So they asked him, what sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? 00:10:00.060 --> 00:10:07.200 what will you do our ancestors at the manor in the wilderness as it's written they he gave them 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:12.920 bread from heaven to eat i love it when people quote scripture to jesus it's great no jesus said 00:10:12.920 --> 00:10:18.180 to them very truly i tell you it is not moses who's given you the bread from heaven but it is 00:10:18.180 --> 00:10:25.190 my father who gives you the true bread from heaven for the bread of god is the bread that comes down 00:10:25.190 --> 00:10:32.310 from heaven and gives life to the world sir they said always give us this bread and Jesus declared 00:10:32.310 --> 00:10:39.430 I am the bread of life whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will 00:10:39.430 --> 00:10:46.310 never be thirsty so what's he talking about so again we've got questions from his hearers that 00:10:46.310 --> 00:10:51.910 reveal their lack of understanding still and their misunderstanding and again Jesus takes them 00:10:51.910 --> 00:10:56.810 from a place where they are and tries to bring them forward so that they get an understanding 00:10:56.810 --> 00:11:03.050 of what Jesus is about and of what God in heaven is about and he takes them from this thing they 00:11:03.050 --> 00:11:09.470 know about of God providing manna in the desert so as Jews in the first century they were totally 00:11:09.470 --> 00:11:14.470 aware of their history and how God had led them out of Egypt through the wilderness and 00:11:14.470 --> 00:11:20.590 miraculously provided this manna every morning they could collect which appeared on the ground 00:11:20.590 --> 00:11:22.610 and it would provide them enough food for the day 00:11:22.610 --> 00:11:24.910 and then they would start again the next day. 00:11:24.970 --> 00:11:26.270 And they were fully aware of that. 00:11:26.430 --> 00:11:31.310 And so Jesus, knowing that, uses that as a starting place to explain to them 00:11:31.310 --> 00:11:35.170 but the provision of God with that manna was temporary. 00:11:36.050 --> 00:11:38.430 It only lasted for a brief period. 00:11:39.990 --> 00:11:45.290 And so, but actually to Jesus being the true provision of God 00:11:45.290 --> 00:11:49.450 that is not temporary but he is life-giving. 00:11:49.450 --> 00:11:54.470 and so you know to us that that wouldn't be our starting place right we wouldn't start with that 00:11:54.470 --> 00:11:59.610 story about the altar we would start somewhere else but Jesus takes us to a place where he wants 00:11:59.610 --> 00:12:06.310 us to understand that he is the one who is life giving and he says I am the bread of life so he 00:12:06.310 --> 00:12:12.630 uses something from everyday life that is fundamental that people would understand that 00:12:12.630 --> 00:12:20.250 actually we rely on day by day he takes us some element of food that is normal in that time and 00:12:20.250 --> 00:12:26.090 is still normal today but actually it was even more fundamental then people got hungry they 00:12:26.090 --> 00:12:33.470 needed to eat they would have some bread but hey guess what you get hungry again it only momentarily 00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:42.030 satisfies and here's the deal that Jesus is homing in on he says we chase after things that momentarily 00:12:42.030 --> 00:12:52.650 satisfy all the time and yet we still end up hungering and thirsting for more but if if we 00:12:52.650 --> 00:12:59.050 come to Jesus if we believe in Jesus bearing in mind what we just said that means then there are 00:12:59.050 --> 00:13:05.550 longings in our lives that will be satisfied permanently he says if you spend your life 00:13:05.550 --> 00:13:10.410 chasing after the next thing and the next thing and the next thing you will never be satisfied 00:13:11.150 --> 00:13:12.590 He'll just get worn out. 00:13:13.010 --> 00:13:13.350 Why? 00:13:13.790 --> 00:13:17.630 Because God has set eternity in the hearts of men. 00:13:17.670 --> 00:13:21.850 What Jesus is teaching them is that all of us are made in the image of God. 00:13:22.310 --> 00:13:28.690 Whether we are a Christian, an atheist, an agnostic, a humanist, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Sikh, 00:13:28.710 --> 00:13:31.070 we are all made in the image of God. 00:13:31.070 --> 00:13:35.590 And what that means is we've all got something made within us to worship God. 00:13:36.560 --> 00:13:40.460 But actually, if we're not doing that, we look to fill it with something else. 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:45.480 all the time and that something else never works because it's made to be there to worship God and 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:51.240 what Jesus is doing here is teaching people that actually we need to come back to worshipping God, 00:13:51.920 --> 00:14:00.080 all of us, otherwise there is this gap in our lives that only he can fulfil that deep longing. 00:14:00.280 --> 00:14:05.800 Yes, of course we still get physically hungry, we still need to address those physical needs 00:14:05.800 --> 00:14:16.660 But actually, in terms of the priorities in our life and what we are about, the need to do that has been replaced by something bigger, something far more significant. 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:19.360 And this is about our priorities. 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:30.780 And he's teaching them that unless we turn to Jesus, if we do turn to Jesus and we find him as the bread of life, he will fulfill our needs. 00:14:30.780 --> 00:14:38.720 The pain, the disappointments, the letdowns, the loss of hope, the failed dreams no longer have to 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:46.080 define us, but they can all be brought to Jesus. And as we feed on him, he puts them in their proper 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:56.580 perspective. Moving on, verse 36. But as I told you, you've seen me and still you do not believe. 00:14:56.580 --> 00:15:03.420 all those the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive away 00:15:03.420 --> 00:15:09.000 for I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:16.060 and this is the will of him who sent me that I shall lose none of all those he has given me 00:15:16.060 --> 00:15:22.220 but raise them up at the last day for my father's will is that everyone who looks to the son and 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:28.840 believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. All that the 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:37.210 Father gives to me will come to me. It's the work of God to bring us to Jesus. Hallelujah. That is 00:15:37.210 --> 00:15:45.530 such good news. It is the work of the Father to bring you and I to Jesus. There is no, what I 00:15:45.530 --> 00:15:50.610 mean is there is no room when we come to Jesus, there is no room for doubt. There's no room to 00:15:50.610 --> 00:15:55.390 think am i a christian does jesus really want me would he accept me there's no room for that 00:15:55.390 --> 00:16:00.510 because if we have come to jesus it is the work of god the father that has brought you to jesus 00:16:00.510 --> 00:16:05.470 in the first place and as we sit here this morning worshiping him it is the work of god the father 00:16:05.470 --> 00:16:09.990 that has brought you into relationship with him it is the work of god the father that is at work in 00:16:09.990 --> 00:16:16.550 you causing worship and causing love for jesus and causing a desire to change your life for jesus 00:16:16.550 --> 00:16:24.480 it's the work of the father to do that and then in the very same sentence Jesus says 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:32.760 and whoever comes to me I will never drive away so I just love that Jesus in in one sentence says 00:16:32.760 --> 00:16:40.280 two things that our tiny human minds struggle to hold together it's God that's brought you to Jesus 00:16:40.280 --> 00:16:46.480 you've chosen to come to Jesus and scripture doesn't give us permission to say one of those 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:52.080 is more important than the other it just puts them both there and we have to handle that God 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:57.660 has brought you to Jesus but you've chosen to come to Jesus and he says whoever comes to me 00:16:57.660 --> 00:17:04.460 I will never drive away but when you do so so and again I just want to get hold of that 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:10.880 Jesus says to you when we come to him he will never drive you away that's such good news amen 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:15.780 thank you very much you know it's our choice to come to Jesus but we cannot say when we come to 00:17:15.780 --> 00:17:25.550 will he want me am i worthy no he will never drive you away and we live don't we in such a world of 00:17:25.550 --> 00:17:34.110 broken promises of broken trust of being let down by people of being disappointed by people and so 00:17:34.110 --> 00:17:40.790 we lower our expectation in relationships we put on masks to protect ourselves we hide behind things 00:17:40.790 --> 00:17:48.170 to protect ourselves and yet here is Jesus in openness saying if we come to him he will never 00:17:48.170 --> 00:18:03.670 drive us away what a place of security what a place of acceptance and love and Jesus does this 00:18:03.670 --> 00:18:11.250 because he is fully submitted to his father's will in verse 38 there that means Jesus has come to do 00:18:11.250 --> 00:18:15.850 his father's will it means it's the will of the father to come for people to come to Jesus it 00:18:15.850 --> 00:18:20.750 means when we do mission when we are a church when we are talking to people about Jesus we are not 00:18:20.750 --> 00:18:25.950 doing that because it just seems like a good idea or it's what Christians do but this is born in the 00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:30.910 heart of the father it's the father's heart for people to come to Jesus it's the father's heart 00:18:30.910 --> 00:18:37.210 for men and women to respond to the message of his son it's the father's heart that drives us to do 00:18:37.210 --> 00:18:39.130 the things that we do, because it's born in the 00:18:39.130 --> 00:18:40.750 Father's heart. It's not just our idea. 00:18:41.150 --> 00:18:43.130 We don't just do partly on the precinct because that 00:18:43.130 --> 00:18:45.170 seems like a good idea. But it 00:18:45.170 --> 00:18:46.410 is the Father's heart 00:18:46.410 --> 00:18:49.140 for men and women to come to 00:18:49.140 --> 00:18:51.120 Jesus. And what we're trying 00:18:51.120 --> 00:18:52.960 to do is join in 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.000 with what the Father is doing. 00:18:55.600 --> 00:18:57.040 And that's what he's challenging 00:18:57.040 --> 00:18:57.720 us to do. 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:01.180 Jesus isn't herding 00:19:01.180 --> 00:19:03.450 cats. Sometimes 00:19:03.450 --> 00:19:05.550 in pastoral situations, it's a little bit like 00:19:05.550 --> 00:19:07.570 we need to get that in, but we need 00:19:07.570 --> 00:19:12.600 we need to do this and it can feel a little bit like this but i don't get that message from jesus 00:19:12.600 --> 00:19:20.940 it's the father's heart to draw people to him and jesus is about doing the will of his father and 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:26.100 what that means is we can pray therefore with confidence for those that have wandered away 00:19:26.100 --> 00:19:31.520 from the faith we can pray with confidence for a younger generation that needs to pick up the 00:19:31.520 --> 00:19:36.520 baton and go for it in god we need to we can pray with confidence for those across jordanthorpe 00:19:36.520 --> 00:19:38.580 and bake more on low edges to see God move 00:19:38.580 --> 00:19:42.360 because it is the Father's heart to draw people to Jesus. 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:45.340 And we can pray with confidence for our families 00:19:45.340 --> 00:19:48.120 and for those that do not know Jesus 00:19:48.120 --> 00:19:51.100 because it is the Father's heart. 00:19:51.100 --> 00:19:55.260 And Jesus starts to reinforce the message 00:19:55.260 --> 00:20:00.820 by saying everyone who looks to the Son will come to him. 00:20:01.890 --> 00:20:04.090 Everyone who looks to the Son is accepted, 00:20:04.450 --> 00:20:06.330 has eternal life and will be raised to life. 00:20:06.330 --> 00:20:10.330 So this is like that rewind bit, only he just repeats, repeats. 00:20:10.450 --> 00:20:13.270 You know how good teachers often, they tell you what you're going to say, 00:20:13.470 --> 00:20:15.470 they say it, and then they told you what they're going to say, 00:20:15.790 --> 00:20:17.070 and then they've done it three times. 00:20:17.150 --> 00:20:22.910 And Jesus is doing that through this passage to try and get the reality of this message over to his hearers 00:20:22.910 --> 00:20:24.270 because it is life-changing. 00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:28.530 Verse 41, at this the Jews there began to grumble about him 00:20:28.530 --> 00:20:30.910 because he said, I'm the bread that comes down from heaven. 00:20:31.350 --> 00:20:35.650 They said, isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? 00:20:35.650 --> 00:20:40.970 how can you now say I came down from heaven stop grumbling amongst yourselves Jesus answered 00:20:40.970 --> 00:20:46.530 no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws them and I will raise them up at the last 00:20:46.530 --> 00:20:51.010 day it's written in the prophets they will also be taught by God everyone who's heard the father 00:20:51.010 --> 00:20:57.870 and learn from him comes to me no one has seen the father except the one who is from God only he 00:20:57.870 --> 00:21:04.170 has seen the father time to get in the way but I just quickly want to say on this bit you know 00:21:04.170 --> 00:21:05.630 This is the grumbling phase. 00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:08.290 Have you been through the grumbling phase with Jesus? 00:21:10.320 --> 00:21:11.220 I need a bit more honesty. 00:21:11.380 --> 00:21:13.140 Have we been through the grumbling phase with Jesus? 00:21:14.580 --> 00:21:16.200 Yeah, we're still there. 00:21:16.360 --> 00:21:17.360 We're still there, okay. 00:21:18.280 --> 00:21:19.680 We all do it, don't we? 00:21:19.860 --> 00:21:22.140 You begin to realize something about Jesus 00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:24.340 and he begins to challenge maybe something 00:21:24.340 --> 00:21:25.940 about the way you live your life, 00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:28.100 the way you think about stuff, 00:21:28.560 --> 00:21:30.880 the cost associated with following him. 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:32.360 And we just start to grumble. 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:34.720 And we say, I thought Jesus was just this. 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:41.180 you know in the story they thought Jesus was just the son of Joseph but we all have our own I thought 00:21:41.180 --> 00:21:45.800 Jesus was just this I thought he was just irrelevant I thought he was just a myth I thought 00:21:45.800 --> 00:21:50.380 he was just a man I thought he was just a good teacher and then as he works and reveals himself 00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:56.300 to us like he's doing here we begin to think oh my word if I want to follow this then it's going 00:21:56.300 --> 00:22:02.260 to mean this this this and there's a grumbling phase that takes place but Jesus reinforces us 00:22:02.260 --> 00:22:07.700 yet again it is the father who draws us to him we might think we see other things we chat to people 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:14.540 but it is God at work in our life drawing us to Jesus I'm going to skip the next one in the 00:22:14.540 --> 00:22:19.620 interest of time and go to this last bit because it's a bit of a challenging read but then the 00:22:19.620 --> 00:22:25.800 Jews began to argue sharply amongst themselves how can this man give us his flesh to eat okay 00:22:25.800 --> 00:22:31.100 bear with us on this Jesus said to him very truly I tell you unless you eat the flesh of the son of 00:22:31.100 --> 00:22:36.320 man and drink his blood you have no life in you whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has 00:22:36.320 --> 00:22:42.500 eternal life and i will raise them up at the last day for my flesh is real food and my blood is real 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:48.440 drink whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and i in them just as the living 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:53.720 father sent me and i live because of the father so the one who feeds on me will live because of me 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:59.060 this is the bread that came down from heaven your ancestors at manor and died spot the repetition 00:22:59.060 --> 00:23:03.600 again, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. He said this while teaching in the 00:23:03.600 --> 00:23:08.540 synagogue in Capernaum. Now, we've got to say up front, be really clear, this is not about 00:23:08.540 --> 00:23:14.600 cannibalism, right? So, well, you know, some people would read that and think, what is going on? 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:20.620 And we have to remember, this was written 2,000 years ago in a cultural context where this made 00:23:20.620 --> 00:23:27.760 a lot more sense than it does to a 21st century person today, all right? But to get a clue of 00:23:27.760 --> 00:23:33.680 what Jesus is talking about here we just need to go back to verse 51 verse 51 there Jesus I am the 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:39.180 living bread that came down from heaven whoever eats this bread will live forever this bread is 00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:47.570 my flesh which I will give for the life of the world you see Jesus is saying he's going to lay 00:23:47.570 --> 00:23:54.760 down his life for the world he's going to lay down his blood and his body his flesh if you like 00:23:54.760 --> 00:24:00.100 for the world. He's talking about for the first time here in John that he's going to the cross 00:24:00.100 --> 00:24:05.660 to be crucified and hang on a cross and he lays down his life for us at the cross, his flesh 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:10.160 and blood poured out for us. So when he talks about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:16.660 he's really talking about you and I identifying with him in his death. He's really talking about 00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:25.820 you and I coming to the cross and agreeing that he died for me and agreeing that the state of my 00:24:25.820 --> 00:24:33.780 life meant he had to die for me. It means coming to the cross and agreeing that actually that should 00:24:33.780 --> 00:24:42.570 have been me but Jesus has given his life for me. It means the cross is the gateway to everything 00:24:42.570 --> 00:24:47.750 he's talked about in the previous verses if we want that eternal life if we want that acceptance 00:24:47.750 --> 00:24:53.790 if we want that security in Jesus the only way to it is to come through the cross and the drawing 00:24:53.790 --> 00:25:00.710 of God to bring us to Jesus can only be via the cross where Jesus laid down his life there is no 00:25:00.710 --> 00:25:09.890 other way no other option his death on the cross for my sin but if we do that then what he's saying 00:25:09.890 --> 00:25:17.130 earlier becomes a reality for us we have eternal life we have acceptance with the son and we 00:25:17.130 --> 00:25:25.050 experience his love you see this means looking at the cross with the dead body of jesus on it 00:25:25.050 --> 00:25:32.830 knowing that he took my place that actually this means admitting that should have been me 00:25:32.830 --> 00:25:41.460 and however nice we want to think we are the reality is before our holy god my sin my selfishness 00:25:41.580 --> 00:25:46.680 My arrogance is an offence to God that deserves death. 00:25:47.490 --> 00:25:48.390 And it should be me. 00:25:49.580 --> 00:25:52.800 And what Jesus is saying in these verses 00:25:52.800 --> 00:25:57.700 is we are recognising that and agreeing with that 00:25:57.700 --> 00:26:02.740 and saying, thank you, God, you came and died on a cross for me. 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:07.000 I don't have to die because Jesus died in my place. 00:26:07.060 --> 00:26:08.620 And so there is this great exchange 00:26:08.620 --> 00:26:11.140 and it means full surrender, full submission 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:14.460 and laying down my rights and my attitudes, 00:26:15.080 --> 00:26:19.100 humbling myself under the enormous loving plan 00:26:19.100 --> 00:26:21.340 of a God who pursued me, 00:26:21.820 --> 00:26:23.860 who sent his son to take my punishment 00:26:23.860 --> 00:26:25.600 and to give me life. 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:27.080 Amen.