John 6:52-59

JOHN 6:52-59 PODCAST 

52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. John 6:52-59

The Jews turn from arguing with the Lord Jesus to arguing among themselves. According to the Law, the Jews were not permitted to eat any meat that had not had all the blood drained from it. Thus the thought of drinking blood was most offensive to these Jews. They were offended because they didn't realize the Lord Jesus spoke in figurative language. 

These Jews did not think, as most do today, that they were all that bad. Thus, they couldn't accept the fact that the Lord Jesus was sent to die for mankind's sin, partly because they thought they were pretty good people. Yet everywhere in Scripture, there is this emphasis upon the necessity for blood to be spilt, in order to render God's forgiveness and deliver us from the evil grip of sin and death. This is why the Jews were arguing among themselves.

In addition, the Lord Jesus largely taught and spoke in metaphors. A metaphor is a figure of speech used to describe, illustrate or apply something to a lesson that it does not usually denote. And these "religious leaders" lacked the ability to think deeper, to think metaphorically. As a result, they did not come close to understanding what the Lord Jesus was teaching.

The Lord Jesus used metaphors in His teaching all the time. He did this because He knew that we learn best when we are able to move from what is known to what is unknown. By using metaphors, He made the complex simple and easier to understand. He used figurative language because He knew that we tend to think in terms of comparisons which enables us to see far more deeply than is natural for us. 

According to Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus spoke in metaphors in order to require His hearers to think more deeply about what He was saying. And, if they were not willing to think more deeply, they didn't get what was being given. He shaped truth in ways that people could picture it in their minds and contemplate on its depth. In fact, He taught forgiveness by giving us the story of the Prodigal Son. To bring the point home, the Lord analogized the forgiving father to our heavenly Father who forgives those who turn back to Him for restoration and life.

The Lord Jesus used metaphors because He spoke to people in terms of how much they could understand. He knew just how much to present based on real level life. He realized that many people were not at a high enough level of spiritual maturity to comprehend what He taught. However, when He was alone with His own disciples, He explained everything. 

Most of the time, most people find the teaching of the Lord Jesus difficult to understand. In Scripture a mystery is a truth which cannot be known by the normal exercise of human wisdom and knowledge. It is a truth about life which, if we are to know it, God must tell us about it, because it could never be discovered by the exercise of human intelligence. That is why these religious leaders never understood, they needed God's help.


These religious leaders were too proud to humble themselves for help. They thought themselves to be superior with a special ability which others did not have, therefore, they missed the most important person ever.

This underscores the most important lesson we could ever learn, for without this lesson, we miss God. The lesson is captured in a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “A great man is always willing to be little.” James puts it this way, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Or, as C.S. Lewis put it, “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.”

Nebuchadnezzar went from I, to ME, to MY, to MOO.

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John 6:41-51

JOHN 6:41-51 PODCAST

41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” 43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 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. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 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.” John 6:41-51

These Jews who were conversing with the Lord Jesus illustrate they had so quickly lost sight of the feeding of the five thousand which had taken place just a day earlier. In fact, some of them had eaten the loaves and the fish. Now, they see Him as an ordinary man.

We live in a culture which is much the same. In our history, we have been influenced by the truth of God's word, and we have forgotten its impact. We live among a people who are skeptical of Christianity and its teaching. The reason for this is a lack of personal involvement. The average church has bowed the knee to the plans of man rather than the God of the Bible. Often, at the center of American Christianity is entertainment and we have to strain to see God and a clear declaration of His word. The average American Christian is poorly taught today.

In v.41 the people grumbled at the words of Jesus, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” Had they encountered God, their outlook would have been different. They had a hard time understanding, understanding that God chose to come to earth as a man to enable us to know Him and His ways. They had a hard time squaring up the fact that the Lord Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. Their response in v.42 illustrates this point.

The words of the Lord Jesus in v.44 underlines the fact that it is not enough merely to hear the facts about Jesus or to believe that He was a miracle worker. There is more to it and that something more is the involvement of the Father in the opening of our eyes.

There must be an inner opening of the eyes and the ears of the soul, so that we begin to understand that He is the ANSWER, our ANSWER. This begins most often when we have been marched into the arena of the desperate. We will never be convinced the Lord Jesus is all we need until He is all we have. And, part of being "taught of God," of being "drawn by the Father" is that we see that we are involved in this process. 

In v.45, the Lord Jesus tells how it happens: He calls it, "being taught of God." It is an opening of the understanding. It may happen suddenly, or it may happen slowly. It may happen very painfully. It happens not only to non-believers in order to draw them to the point of faith and conversion, but it happens also to Christians who need continually to be taught of God. Many have had the experience of hearing something they had known for years but had never really understood until something suddenly opened their eyes and they saw what it meant.

In v.46-51, we discover a two-step process by which God brings us to Himself. He draws us through painful experiences sometimes, through hurt and damage, through loss and disappointment, but also through joys, through unexpected blessings and pleasures. Some are drawn through the process of years, while others seem to be awakened suddenly, dramatically. It is all in the control of God. But having been awakened, then our responsibility is to believe, to give ourselves to Him. 

The problem with these Jews was they attributed the provision of the manna to Moses. They thought as men and not as God. Although that manna kept them alive physically, it could do nothing for them eternally. These people were still hung up by ineffective symbols which they were relying on for faith.

Many trust the fact that they were baptized, that they joined a church, that they were confirmed as a child or hoping their goodness outweighs their bad. The answer is coming to the Lord Jesus and believing and depending on Him for time and eternity. 

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John 6:30-40

John 6:30-40 PODCAST 

30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 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.” John 6:30-40

The Jews weren't satisfied with one miracle, they needed a second. The fact is they would never be given to believing in Him after He had performed many more miracles. The real question is: how many miracles constitute belief in our hearts? 

So, the Jews asked the Lord Jesus to match the miracle of Moses during the Exodus. The Lord Jesus responds, "It wasn't Moses who gave you the manna. No, My Father did that."  They say, "manna tastes like frosted corn flakes, like ground coriander seed mixed with honey." The word "manna" itself means, "What is it?" The Jews ate, "what is it" for forty years. 

The Lord Jesus told them manna was not the true bread from heaven, it was only a symbol of it, a picture of the real thing. He told them, "the real bread from heaven is me! I came down from heaven, sent by the Father, to feed the restless hunger of the masses for meaning and fulfillment and satisfaction and excitement and glory in their lives."

In response, the crowd the Lord Jesus, “Sir, always give us this bread.” Jesus responded by saying, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

The Lord Jesus uses hunger and thirst to get His point across: "Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." He is saying, when we come to Him and believe in Him, it is tantamount to eating and drinking. It means to see Him as "the essential" in our lives. The way to lay hold of the gift of bread from heaven, life that is real life, is coming to Him on a habitual basis.

But, as is noted in v.36, not all who see the miracle, will come. These Jews had seen the miracle, yet they did not come to the Lord Jesus. This experience the Lord is speaking of is not an intellectual assent, it is about trusting Him, committing ourselves to Him, being vulnerable to Him.

In v.37 we see that God is sovereign over the work of our salvation. We learn that we are gifts to the Son from the Father, "and whoever comes to me," Jesus says, "I will never drive away." It is true, we would have never come to Him and believed in Him had God not enabled us to believe, but as these Jews illustrate, we can refuse the free gift of salvation by not coming to the Lord Jesus. In this verse we have divine sovereignty, "All those the Father gives me" and human responsibility, "will come to me."

According to v.38-39, this process produces in and for us, life, it puts us into a new and dynamic relationship with God, wherein He becomes our intimate friend. This invitation is to all, the bread of life is ours for the receiving. In the last analysis, the one thing which derails this process, is the defiance of the human heart. Life is there for the receiving or the refusing.

According to v.40, the goal of the Lord Jesus is guaranteed eternal life for the believer. This eternal life begins the moment we come to Him and believe on Him. Central to our relationship with Him is His salvation which will involve, one day, our eventual resurrection from the dead.


Finally, the Lord Jesus Christ will never allow any soul that has come to Him and believed on Him to be lost and cast away. He will keep us safe, in spite of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Not one of His, will ever be abandoned. God blots out His people’s sins (Isaiah 44:22), but not our names (Revelation 3:5).

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John 6:22-29

JOHN 6:22-29 PODCAST

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “Very truly 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. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” 28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” ~ John 6:22-29

The spotlight now turns from the disciples, learning through the storm, back to the crowd who had "benefitted" from the little boy's small meal. The Apostle uses an interesting word in v.23 that is key to the performing of the previous miracle of the feeding of the 5000 on the hillside north of the Sea of Tiberias. The word is "thanks" which illustrates a vert important principle of God.

The ways of God are most profoundly discovered in the insignificant and seemingly unimportant. This one little word, "thanks", is integral to the realization and the recognition  of God's miracles. What is it about giving thanks for something that unleashes the activity and power of God? Whenever we give thanks to God, despite the most difficult of circumstances, the enemy loses. When we give thanks in the midst of difficulty, we bring, we invite God's involvement in the situation. When we do this, the enemy no longer has the ability to hold or manipulate us and our circumstances. Thanksgiving invites the power and presence of God in our lives, in a more profound way.

The large crowd, who had been fed by the five loaves and two fish of the little boy, boarded boats and traveled across the lake to Capernaum. Note: there was no storm. The disciples were being discipled through the storm. Interesting, trials are 1/2 of that which causes our faith in the Lord Jesus to grow. The other is hearing His spoken word (Romans 10:17). There, in Capernaum, the unfulfilled found Jesus and asked Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  

In His reply, the Lord Jesus asks why they came to seek Him. The Lord Jesus could read the motives of their hearts, and He tells them plainly, "you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill." Notice He says they were motivated by their emptiness ... "had your fill." Again, we see the emptiness of man. But, we do not know how to truly address our emptiness. It is very clear these people greatly misunderstood what the Lord Jesus was doing. And, I'd say, we most often miss Him and His ways, too.

In order to help these people understand, He says to them in v.27, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Food is important. It is necessary for life, and we have to have it. But, we must not let food be the sole reason for our working. Rather, "Work for the food which endures to eternal life."

These people felt that the most important thing in life is to stay alive, to be healthy, strong and economically sufficient. That was what life was all about, they mistakenly thought. 

In addition, these people were mistaken about the Lord Jesus. They thought He was just another prophet. They thought He was a man whom God would use to deliver the nation from the Romans, a man who would feed their bellies and keep them satisfied and happy and comfortable. But the Lord Jesus corrects that, saying, "Work for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

God's seal of approval is a reference to the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Believers in Christ are "sealed by the Spirit," according to Ephesians The presence of His Holy Spirit was a mark of the Father on the Lord Jesus. There has never been anyone like Him, before or since, in all of history. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had the Spirit in His fullness. This is, in part, the means by which He fulfills His followers.

In v.29, we arrive upon the answer: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” This means the gospel is more than merely going to heaven when we die. It means the Lord Jesus is alive, right now, and is available to us. "Believe in him" means to learn to look at our situation through His eyes, to see life as He sees it. That means we must listen to what He has to say; we must pay attention to His words and understand His point of view. 

"Believe in Him" means we must get into the habit of expecting Him to be involved in all of our lives, the good and the bad. Our responses of faith in all of these circumstances in our lives, be they good or bad, is what the Lord Jesus refers to in v.29 as "the work of God." 

John 6:16-21

John 6:16-21 PODCAST 

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. John 6:16-21

The Apostle John wrote his gospel some 30 years after the other gospels had been written, therefore he did not see the need to repeat many of the details that the other gospel writers had given. This is one reason why his gospel is different from Matthew, Mark and Luke. 

In today's text, the disciples were on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In order to row back to the town of Capernaum, they had to parallel the shore all the way back. They rowed across the northern tip of the lake and were not very far from shore for they expected the Lord Jesus to meet them on the shore somewhere along the way.

It was so late (around 3:00 in the morning) and it was so dark the rowing disciples could not see the shore. To make matters worse, "a strong wind was blowing." To this day, in that area, the wind blows suddenly out of the north, from the mountains, down the valley and across the lake toward the south. 

As darkness settled in, the disciples were rowing across to Capernaum, but the wind was driving them southward and they lost sight of the shore and all possibility of picking up the Lord Jesus. Matthew writes at three o'clock in the morning the disciples found themselves right in the middle of the lake, far south of their intended target.

The disciples were frightened for they thought the Lord Jesus was a ghost. The Lord Jesus immediately answers the disciples' fear with, "It is I; don’t be afraid" which is the most repeated command in the Bible, repeated 365 times in the Bible.

This trial in the lives of the disciples teaches us that the Lord Jesus is the One whom we should find peace in amid our turmoil. The disciples were glad that the Lord Jesus got into their boat. Their fear was immediately relieved when they realized it was He who was walking on the water, and was in control of the wind and the waves. The wind not only stopped, but also the waves which speaks more deeply to is power.

The Lord Jesus deliberately caused or allowed this trial in order to bring about the miracle in the lives of these disciples. He had sent them off into the dark night and deliberately delayed His coming so that they might learn what He can do in such a time of trouble. If our faith responds, as these disciples did, we will look for Him and welcome Him into our unique circumstances.

Jesus is always saying to His followers, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”  In fact, He always accompanies these words with, "I am with you." That is why we should not fear, because He is with us and He is in control of all things and we can trust that He knows best. When the storms come, as best as we can, we place our eyes on Him and hold on to His truth. The strange thing about the truth is that it seems to leave its deepest imprint on us through the most turbulent moments of life. It is through the storms of life we learn it is the truth that is gaining an increasing hold of us. Such is the purpose of our trials.

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John 6:10-15

John 6:10-15 PODCAST

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.  John 6:10-15

Today, we continue in our study of the twentieth miracle performed by the Lord Jesus, the feeding of the five thousand. Mark's account of this miracle tells us how the Lord Jesus did it. Mark says that Jesus "blessed, and broke" the bread (Mark 6:41). Then He gave the bread to the disciples to distribute to the hungry people. Here again, the fullness of Christ and the emptiness of man is accentuated. There was a continual supply until the whole multitude of five thousand men were fed.  

I direct your attention back to the one who provided this meal. No one in the crowd would have imagined that this little boy was carrying the means for this miracle, not even the boy. This was one little boy in the crowd, with a little meal, but he had been chosen by God to be a significant piece of the Messiah's redemptive plan not only for that day, but for the rest of human history.

We will never know how God will use us despite the fact that we have so little to offer. The Lord Jesus knows how impotent we truly are, yet with Him in the equation, our impotence is not a deterrent.. He is the One who is writing our stories. He can do eternally amazing things with the little fragments of our lives. The key for us is to be available and willing to be used by Him.

It was a Wednesday night and I went to Food Lion to purchase a few things for the remainder of the week. As I turned from one isle to another, the Lord gave me a message for the man at the end of the isle. I balked for what seemed to be an eternity. I told the Lord that this man would probably think I was crazy. To make a long story short, I finally fearfully obeyed. I said to the man , "the Lord is aware of your discouragement, don't give up."  No sooner had I told the man that message, he began to cry and then told me that he was a Pastor of a local church and he had just told the Lord that he was quitting after that night's Deacon's meeting.

Needless to say, I went away amazed at how the Lord Jesus works in this world. I tell you this true story to encourage you to step out and do His bidding. Like the little boy in this true story, you will never know how you will be useful to the God of all creation until you step out in faith.

After the hungry people had eaten, the Lord Jesus commanded the disciples to gather up all the leftovers. Wouldn't you know it, there were twelve baskets of leftovers, one for each of the twelve disciples. 

In those days every Jew who traveled carried a basket. These were the full baskets after this miracle had been performed. Like the miracle of turning the water into wine, this miracle was primarily for the disciples. When the people saw the sign which he had done they said, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."

Once the people reached the obvious conclusion, they immediately wanted to set Him up as the King. They wanted to use God to work for them according to their ideas. Their idea of a King was different than what the Lord Jesus had in mind. This story is given to teach us that this is not the kind of relationship that we are to have with God.

I find it very instructive that the Lord Jesus would not consent to being lauded as a King by these people. Like the Lord Jesus, our greatest privilege is to see ourselves as His instruments, doing what He wants, not using Him to do what we want to do.

John 6:1-9

John 6:1-9 PODCAST 

1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,  9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” John 6:1-9

Our text today is couched in the spring of the year. The multitudes were following Jesus everywhere despite the fact that it was the Passover season, when the Law required them to have been on their way to Jerusalem. Due to the signs and miracles that the Lord Jesus was performing, they followed the Lord Jesus to the Sea of Galilee. 

But miracles do not change hearts. Throughout history, people’s hearts haven’t changed because they see or experience a miracle. Pharaoh is the perfect example of this truth. Miracles simply reveal if we are hard-hearted toward God or if we have placed our faith in Him.

The Lord Jesus, along with the disciples, according to v.1, boarded a boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As the boat left to cross the lake, the people ran along the northern shore to get an idea where the boat was heading. Jesus and His disciples went up on the hillside together. The Lord Jesus uses this occasion to teach the disciples. At this point, the disciples had been with Him for two years. 

Now, according to v.5-6, as the crowd is approaching, the Lord Jesus addresses Philip who was the quiet, and deep disciple. The Lord Jesus said to Philip "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Philip immediately thinks of money. As he estimated the resources available, he made known they could not feed all of the people who were there. Some estimate there was as many as 15,000 people. Philip essentially says, "We don't have enough money. We can't do this. It takes more money than we have to buy bread." 

The principle being illustrated here and throughout all of the Scripture is this: ministry comes first, then the resources follow. I have been the joyful observer of this principle over the last year and a half. As you already know, I coached baseball and football and taught the Bible for thirty-one years at a local Christian school here in Columbia, South Carolina. When I decided to leave that ministry, I met with two different individuals, asking them if they would help me do BYM financially. Both of them said, "no." I was blown away, but the Lord had something special for me. In fact, after I left the second guy, I asked the Lord, "what am I doing wrong?" The Lord responded with, "let me do the asking." Well, I agreed and He has not missed a beat. He has provided in some of the coolest ways, and through these experiences, He has granted to me a deeper walk with Him. I have discovered His goal isn't the provision, His goal is the relationship.

According to v.8-9, Andrew identifies a boy who had five small barley loaves and two small fish. Andrew is always bringing people to the Lord, he brought his brother Peter to the Lord. In addition, Andrew brought the donkey to the Lord upon which He rode into Jerusalem. 

I love the accentuation of "small" in v.9. The smallness of these fish and loaves is accentuated with the mention of the word "great" in v.2,5. The great crowd is quite challenging in the light of such lack. Of course, small is all the Lord Jesus needs. He never asks us to start accumulating more before we begin to minister. All He wants is what we have right now. As soon as he found out what was available in the crowd, that is all He needed; just one boy's lunch was all it took.

The Lord Jesus performs miracles, pointing us to the spiritual realm, and how often do we miss what He is really doing. His aim is the growth of our faith in Him, so He highlights both the deadness of unbelief and the greatness of faith in Him. We will only be able to see that the Lord Jesus is full of grace and truth when He is all we have. It is not until we see the Lord Jesus crucified for sinners and risen from the dead that we taste and see that that the Lord is good.

John 5:39-47

John 5:39-47 PODCAST
39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” John 5:39-47

We continue today with the conversation between the Lord Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders, just after He has healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. These religious leaders had spent their whole lives counting every word of the Old Testament and memorizing great sections of it, committing themselves wholly to it, because they thought the knowledge of Scripture would give them life. And, the Lord Jesus Himself declares, "These are the very Scriptures that testify about me."

Jesus is the main subject of the whole Bible, Old and New Testament! If we want to have an exciting experience with that book, start reading it with the object of looking for Jesus. We will find Him on every page because He is there. The whole of the Old Testament is filled with subtle references to the Lord Jesus. This is why the Lord Jesus says in v.39, "These are the very Scriptures that testify about me."

So, we can study the Bible from cover to cover, and never encounter Him. In v.40 the Lord Jesus gets to the crux of the issue, "Yet you will not to come to me." He is saying to these religious leaders, "You choose not to come to me that you may have life." 

In v.41-44 we are confronted with stubborn unbelief. These men who were poised to see Him, to encounter the God of the Bible, yet they did not have the love of God in them. His love was first expressed toward us through His creation. The Psalmist rightly asks of God “what are human beings that you are mindful of us, mere mortals that you would care for us?” God created the heavens with so much design that He screams to us His existence. Then He sent His Son to underscore His love for us by hanging on a tree to deal a death blow to our greatest enemy, sin and death.

The Lord Jesus said it best in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." If these religious leaders had the love of God in them, their ambition would have been to bring glory to Him. The hymn writer penned it best, when he wrote, "The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win. His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin."

These religious leaders loved the praise of men so much they were unwilling to set it aside to allow God to define them. The danger of rejecting truth is we open ourselves up to anyone who comes along speaking disguised lies. The opposite is true: when we are defined by the truth, we recognize the false very easily.

When we are looking for our own advancement, we are denying the Father who loves us, and as a result, we will not follow the Lord Jesus. As the Lord Jesus points out in v.46, if we follow Moses, he will lead us to the Christ. And, as the Lord Jesus says in v.45, from this point of view, Moses is our judge, not the Lord Jesus.

These religious leaders had the witness of the Father, the witness of John the Baptist, the witness of centuries of Old Testament believers, yet they chose not to believe in the God of the Bible.

It is amazing that we can get so close to knowing God and yet miss Him. You see, the Bible is like a pane of glass, designed to help us to see God through it. The religious leaders didn't get beyond the printed page.

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John 5:31-38

John 5:31-38 PODCAST
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. 33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. 36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.  John 5:31-38

Our text provides the continuation of the conversation the Lord Jesus had with the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem after He had healed the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda. In this part of the conversation, the Lord Jesus is making the point that although He was validated through John the Baptist, His greatest validity comes from God the Father.

These religious leaders had heard the testimony of God the Father through the entire Old Testament scriptures for years and years, and when the Son stood before them, they did not believe in Him. Yet, the Lord Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda for the benefit of anyone who was willing to have their eyes opened. 

In v.31, the Lord Jesus brings our attention to His testimony about Himself, that He is the Messiah. He isn't saying that His testimony of Himself isn't true. No, He is saying His testimony isn't true to the religious leaders, because they refused to believe the evidence.

In v.32, the word for "know" means "to know inwardly, instinctively." He knew inwardly, instinctively what He was boldly proclaiming was true. On the other hand, these religious leaders should have had this same kind of confidence in the Lord Jesus since they had spent a lifetime studying the Father's for testimony of the Son, but they were hard-hearted. Until we have given up ourselves to the Creator of all, we will lack confidence and authenticity.

In addition, according to v.33-35, John the Baptist testified the Lord Jesus to be the long-expected, long-predicted Messiah, the One of whom the prophets wrote. Also, John announced Jesus to be "the Lamb of God" (John 1:29), the "Baptizer with the Holy Spirit," (John 1:33), and "the Son of God," (John 1:34). 

According to v.34, the main theme of all of the Bible is the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ came to provide salvation to all of mankind. And, according to v.35, John was a lamp that shined the light, a witness pointing us in the right direction so that we could see, hear and know the light.

In v.36-38, the Lord Jesus returns to His greatest witness: His Father in heaven. In v.36, the Lord Jesus refers to the works the Father sent Him to do. One of these good works was the healing of the impotent man at the pool at Bethesda. 

The Apostle John wrote this Gospel so that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His name. This life is a gift from the Father, given to the willing, through the Son. In v.38 the Lord Jesus identifies the means by which we experience this gift, this life: His word dwells in you. This word, this logos, is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. This is eternal life that we know the Father, and it is the Son who takes up His abode within us who enables us to know the Father.

The religious leaders stood to lose not only power, if they believed in the Lord Jesus, they ran the risk of losing their comfortable lifestyles. Being a religious leader meant you received a handsome salary every month. This is most largely why they resisted the Lord Jesus, and, do you know what?, this is why we most largely resist Him, too. The reality is this: We are either in the process of resisting God's truth or we are in the process of being shaped and molded by God's truth.

On April 10,1963, a submarine named the Thresher sank during deep-diving tests about 220 miles east of Boston, Massachusetts, killing all 129 crew and shipyard personnel aboard in the deadliest submarine disaster ever. When the investigation was completed it was discovered that the Thresher imploded due to faulty welding. 

This illustrates the utter importance of being bolstered within by the truth of God's word. This bolstered conditioned is only the result of the hiding away of the truth of God's word, God's definition of things within. This condition begins by responding to the Lord Jesus as Lord. C.S. Lewis said it so well so many years ago when he said, "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'" 

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John 5:24-30

John 5:24-30 PODCAST
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. John 5:24-30


Our text for today makes clear that "whoever hears the word of the Lord Jesus and believes him who sent me has eternal life." It is clear, according to v.24-27, that mankind has a responsibility to believe before being made right with God. It is our faith in Him as the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior that bridges the gap between us and God. Otherwise, we will remain in our debilitating sin and we will spend an eternity apart from Him and all that is good.

Anyone who is willing to listen to Christ's claims about Himself, and believe His Father sent Him to deliver eternal life to all who believe, will cross over from death to life. This is not arbitrary on God's part. He does not choose some to go to heaven and others to not. It is simply up to us to believe He is our Messiah, our Christ, our Savior.

We were all born condemned to eternal separation from God by our sinfulness. We were conceived into sin, and, as a result, we are all bound for this lonely eternity apart from all that is good and substantive. Unless we receive the free gift of eternal life through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are hopeless. Thus the most important question is whether we have believed in the Lord Jesus and received from Him the gift of eternal life.

Every person who has or will ever live on this earth will experience resurrection. And, as a result, this said resurrection will be met by damnation or will lead to life. The resurrection is the subject of this passage as we can easily see.  And it is in this passage that the Lord Jesus makes the disrupting claim that He is the One who raises the dead and judges all.

According to v.29, "those who have done what is good will rise to live." It appears that our good behavior factors in on whether we are made right with God and subsequently have a personal relationship with Him, resulting in us spending eternity in heaven with Him. But this is not what this verse is saying. "Those who have done what is good" means to have received eternal life. Only those in whom the life of God is dwelling can "do good" in God's eyes. 

According to v.29, what does "those who have done what is evil" mean? Obviously this is referring to those who have refused His life, turned their backs on truth, and shut their ears to the offer of grace from God. Those are the ones who have all their life "done evil" even though there were times when they thought they were doing good. These "will rise to be condemned."

Our text informs us that "all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out." Consider the power of the Son of God. One day, He will speak, and everyone who has ever lived in all of human history will rise from the dead to face Him. Only God’s equal is qualified to judge in this way. Only God’s equal is able to raise the dead in this way. Why didn’t the Jewish authorizes believe that Jesus was God’s equal and that He would judge the world and raise the dead? They had every reason to believe, based on the evidence that Jesus puts forth, but they refused.

We live in a world that is no longer capable of being afraid of God. As a result, we have ended up with a me-centered gospel that attracts many, but changes no one. This American god of comfort must be revealed for what it is, full of meaningless stuff and empty of substance. The God of the Bible must be embraced once again by a people who once knew Him. And, as has always been the case, the God of the Bible must crush us of self, so that His Son is exalted to draw all who would come to His healing resource to drink and be satisfied aright.