John 6:41-51

THE BREAD OF LIFE, II

Text 6:41-51

41

The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, I am the bread which came down out of heaven.

42

And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how doth he now say, I am come down out of heaven?

43

Jesus answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.

44

No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day.

45

It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me.

46

Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he that is from God, he hath seen the Father.

47

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth hath eternal life.

48

I am the bread of life.

49

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

50

This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

51

I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: yea and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.

Queries

a.

Why did these people call Joseph Jesus-' father?

b.

If only those whom the Father draws can come to Jesus, how do we know who is drawn?

c.

How is it possible for Christ's flesh to be the Bread of Life? How may man eat of it?

Paraphrase

Because Jesus said, I am the Bread which came down out of heaven, the Jews muttered among themselves, saying, Is not this Jesus, the Son of Joseph, Whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, I have come down out of heaven? Jesus answered them, Stop muttering one to another among yourselves. The reason you cannot accept My claims is because of your trust in human knowledge and wisdom, for no one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him; and those drawn to Me by My Father I will raise up in the last day. Men will be drawn to me, as the prophets said, in this manner: And they shall all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard the Word of God and has learned in his heart is coming to Me. This, of course, does not imply that any mortal has ever seen God face to face. He Who comes from the Father has seen Him. I tell you most emphatically, He who is trusting and obeying Me is now possessing eternal life. I am the Bread of Life I am the source of eternal life. The fathers you so eagerly referred to before, ate the manna in the wilderness; yet they died. But this is the Bread that comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and never die. I am this living Bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. The Bread that I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh.

Summary

Again the Jews display their utter lack of spiritual insight, The way to spiritual knowledge is to be drawn of God unto His Son; the way to be drawn is to hear and learn the Word of God. The heaven-sent Food which gives eternal life is the atoning death of Christ. Men appropriate this Food by trusting and obeying the Son of God.

Comment

From the moment Jesus had declared Himself to be sent from the heavenly presence of God, the Jews began to mutter among themselves. One after another was saying, Isn-'t this Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Joseph the carpenter? why, we know His mother and father! How can He be from heaven? Preposterous! They were judging by human standards; they rejected Jesus because:

a.

They judged things by human values and external standards

b.

They were too eager to express their opinions and argue, while they were not at all interested in God's revealed will.

c.

They listened, but would not learn (cf. John 5:39-42).

These Jews sound just like our self-styled modernists of today who still stumble over the claims of Jesus to be heaven-sent. Today's skeptics also know Joseph (or some other mortal) to be the father of Jesus. The Galileans said this before (cf. Matthew 13:56; Mark 6:3). Most conservative scholars see strong inference for the virgin birth here. These Jews were well aware that, when Jesus claimed to be sent from heaven, He was claiming supernatural birth into this world. When they muttered about Knowing His father and mother the inference is strong that Jesus may even have mentioned His virgin birth at least He implied it. The Fourth Gospel complements the Synoptics in the doctrine of the virgin birth (cf. Introduction, page 14).

In John 6:44-45 Jesus explains the reason for their failure to grasp the significance of His teaching. Then He shows them the way to true spiritual knowledge and wisdom. There can be no true knowledge of God apart from His revealed Word. Some may gain partial knowledge of God through nature (cf. Romans 1:19-20). To know God in the inward man, however, one must hear His Word and learn of Him. Thousands hear God's Word but never learn it! It is as Jesus said, men must will to do God's will in order to really learn of God (cf. John 7:17).

The major discussion of these two verses (John 6:44-45) today, however, centers in the manner of God's drawing men unto Jesus. There is no excuse for all the abuse and misinterpretation to which these verses have been subjected. Jesus interprets His statement concerning the drawing with preciseness and lucidness. Men and women are drawn to Him through God's revealed Word. The drawing power comes from a knowledge of God's purposes culminating in the lifting up of the Son of man. R. C. Foster's comments on these verses are very appropriate here:

The coming is man-' part; the drawing is God's part; both work together. God draws men to Jesus by the death of Jesus on the cross. -If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.-' No man can come to Jesus as Saviour and King in the full sense until God has by His divine plan provided the mysterious drawing power of the cross. The statement of Jesus seems to be in sympathy for the crowd in their rejection of Him. They do not understand His spiritual message, but when He has been crucified before them and the gospel of the cross proclaimed if they do not come to Him then, there is no hope. The drawing is to be done by hearing -from the Father,-' i.e., hearing the Word of God and learning the Way of Life. The drawing cannot be irresistible, otherwise man would be but a machine and no one could choose whether or not He should come to Jesus. No one could accept and obey for himself, if he could not resist the drawing. No man could -come-' to God if he could not also -refuse to come.-' Jesus cites the teaching of God in the Old Testament as the very thing which should have helped to draw them and to cause them to come to Him.

The quotation from the Old Testament is not specific, but general (cf. Isaiah 54:13; Isaiah 60:2-3; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Joel 2:28; Micah 4:2; Zephaniah 3:9; Malachi 1:11).

Although we may learn of God through the Son Who has come from the Father's very bosom, we still do not fully comprehend His purposes and actions, for we are limited by finite restraints and physical hindrances (cf. 1 John 4:12; 1 John 4:20). Someday, however, we shall see God face to face (cf. 1 John 3:2). But until then we must behold Him by faith and trust in the incarnate Son.

In John 6:47-51 Jesus shows further that coming to God is done through faith in the Son. He is the Bread of Life. We are told that we must eat of the Bread of Life. How are we to do this? John 6:51 is the key. The act which truly makes Jesus the Bread of Life is His atoning death upon the cross. This atonement was done willingly (He gave His flesh. cf. Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2; Matthew 20:28). To believe (trust, adhere to, obey) is man's way to eat the Bread of Life. The Scriptures teach burial in baptism to be the culminating act where man appropriates the blood of Christ and His atoning death to man's sins (Romans 6:1-11; Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:10-13; Titus 3:4-7).

Quiz

1.

What is the significance of the statement of the Jews, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph. ? What is implied?

2.

How does one learn of God?

3.

How may we know the true interpretation of John 6:44-45?

4.

What is the drawing power of God (cf. John 3:14; John 8:28; John 12:32; 1 Corinthians 1:23-24)?

5.

Is this drawing able to be resisted? Explain.

6.

While we are in this world, how do we behold God?

7.

How are we to eat the Bread of Life? How do we appropriate Christ's blood to our sins?