The Gospel According To John
by Richard St.James
The Bread Of Life
Bible 1611.Com / Old Paths Bible Ministries © 2008John 6:22 “The day following, when the people which stood on the other
side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one
whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his
disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;
23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place
where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)
24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his
disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for
Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said
unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek
me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the
loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which
endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto
you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the
works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye
believe on him whom he hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we
may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave
them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave
you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread
from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth
life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to
me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.”
1. Seeking For The Wrong Reason.
Verse twenty-four: “When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.” You would almost have thought by reading this that Jesus was POPULAR! On the surface of the thing, it appeared that THE PEOPLE wanted to be around Jesus Christ because they saw the miracles that he did. They were willing to pay for “shipping” in order to seek for Jesus for some reason. What was the reason? Here is my observation.Many times we are willing go out of our way for less than pure motives. We often have some hidden agenda that we want to orchestrate, all in a effort to promote SELF. It’s human nature! Getting ahead of others becomes too often the all consuming goal. The bottom line is this. The nature that we inherited from Adam almost six thousand years ago will always lead us down hill. [But it gets worse than this.]
2. Whose God Is Their Belly.
The proof is in the pudding! Verse twenty-six: “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.” There we have it! Jesus Christ sees [supernaturally] right through them, and sees the true reason why they [the people] are seeking him. No wonder … Jesus Christ is JEHOVAH! “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” [Hebrews 4:13] Amen!Those who seek earthly things are people marked for destruction. To put it bluntly, they are the people whose God is their belly. Now, do you think I am being too hard on the human kind? Well, do you think so? Then search the Scriptures! Read your Bible.
Turn to Philippians 3:19. Now READ it! “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” They [the people] are what they seem not. They love earthly things. They seem good yet they are not good. They [the people seeking Jesus in our text] are the very same people willing to use good words framed for the purpose of fooling the unaware as like a fox among the chickens. “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” [Romans 16:18] The archaic Elizabethan of the King James Bible nails it down this way in total precision unlike any other book in the world.
a. We are what we seem not.
b. We love earthly things.
c. We can play good but are not good.
d. We use good words to snare others for gain.
What people were like when Jesus Christ was on this earth two thousand
years ago is the way people are like today. Nothing has changed! We are
the people!!!!3. The Temporal Versus The Eternal.
Verse twenty-eight: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”There are people who have got to have it all now rather wait for it. This reminds me of two characters in John Bunyan’s book: The Pilgrim’s Progress. The name of the one was called Passion, and the name of the other was called Patience. Passion had to have all its good things now, and Patience was willing to wait for its good things in a time to come. This illustration in the Pilgrim’s Progress is based on what happened in the lives of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke sixteen.
[What is recorded in Luke chapter sixteen is not a PARABLE but rather is FACTUAL.] Abraham is shown here in this chapter to be [in Paradise] answering the rich man, who is across a great gulf, in Hell after he died. Passion in Bunyan’s book is likened to the rich man, and Patience is likened to Lazarus. Read verse twenty-five: “But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” The rich man had everything he wanted in this life and Lazarus was willing to wait to receive his reward in the next life.
• Passion wants it all now!
• Patience is willing to wait.
The rich man in his passion had put all his eggs in the basket of the
temporal, which he would loose at the end of his life. Lazarus had put
all his eggs into the basket of the eternal, which he will have keep for
all eternity.
• Lazarus had WISDOM.
• The rich man was a FOOL.
Which are you, my friends? What choice will you make … The TEMPORAL
things or the ETERNAL things? 4. The True Bread
Verse thirty-two: “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.” What is this TRUE BREAD? I will tell you what it is not. It is not the bread [MANNA] that God fed them [ISRAEL] in the dessert. And it is not the bread he fed them with … earlier in this chapter [John 6:1-13].Bottom-line: the bread we all eat to fill our bellies will only satisfy for a while, and then, will need more. No, the bread that is the TRUE BREAD is the [BODY] of Jesus Christ. Search the SCRIPTURE!!! Turn to: Hebrews chapter ten, verse five: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.” Then, come on down the page to verse ten: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” That’s it! This is the TRUE BREAD! This is the only BREAD that will give eternal life. Verse thirty-three: “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”
Then, what should our response be to Jesus Christ? Believe on HIM. Read verse thirty-four and five: “Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Do not mock him concerning this offer to you. Do not mock God like they did.
Verse thirty-six: “But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.”
What Is The Sum Of This?
1. Do not seek Jesus Christ for the wrong reasons. Be pure in your motives. Desire the true salvation found only in THE BIBLE.2. Do not let your BELLY be your god.
3. Do not trade the ETERNAL [THE PERMANENT] away to gain the TEMPORAL [THE MOMENTARY] .
4. Go for THE TRUE BREAD! Become an adopted son of God. Receive Jesus Christ as your SAVIOR and your LORD. [John 1:12] “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
I Should Lose Nothing!
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The Gospel According To John
John 6:1 After these things
Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
John 6:2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his
miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
John 6:3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with
his disciples.
John 6:4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
John 6:5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company
come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that
these may eat?
John 6:6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he
would do.
John 6:7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not
sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
John 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith
unto him,
John 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two
small fishes: but what are they among so many?
John 6:10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much
grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five
thousand.
John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks,
he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were
set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather
up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve
baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained
over and above unto them that had eaten.
John 6:14 Then those men, when they
had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that
prophet that should come into the world.
John 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and
take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a
mountain himself alone.
John 6:16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto
the sea,
John 6:17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward
Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
John 6:18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
John 6:19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty
furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto
the ship: and they were afraid.
John 6:20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
John 6:21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and
immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
John 6:22 The day following, when the people which stood on the
other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save
that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went
not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were
gone away alone;
John 6:23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto
the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given
thanks:)
John 6:24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there,
neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to
Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
John 6:25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea,
they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did
eat of the loaves, and were filled.
John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat
which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall
give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might
work the works of God?
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of
God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then,
that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
John 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written,
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
John 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you
the true bread
from heaven.
John 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven,
and giveth life unto the world.
John 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this
bread.
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that
cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall
never thirst.
John 6:36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and
believe not.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but
the will of him that sent me.
John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of
all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day.
John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one
which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting
life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the
bread which came down from heaven.
John 6:42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose
father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down
from heaven?
John 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not
among yourselves.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent
me draw
him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all
taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned
of the Father, cometh unto me.
John 6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of
God, he hath seen the Father.
John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me
hath everlasting life.
John 6:48 I am that bread of life.
John 6:49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are
dead.
John 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a
man may eat thereof, and not die.
John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any
man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I
will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How
can this man give us his flesh to eat?
John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you.
John 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal
life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
John 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth
in me, and I in him.
John 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the
Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as
your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this
bread shall live for ever.
John 6:59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in
Capernaum.
John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this,
said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
John 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at
it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
John 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he
was before?
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they
are life.
John 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew
from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should
betray him.
John 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can
come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked
no more with him.
John 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
John 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?
thou hast the words of eternal life.
John 6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the
Son of the living God.
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one
of you is a devil?
John 6:71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was
that should betray him, being one of the twelve.