Bible Text: John 6:37-71 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: John, To Whom Shall We Go?

Recap of 4/15/12 (John 6:35-71):

1.  In John 6:1-15 Jesus feeds the 5,000+, the fourth of seven sign miracles in the Book of John.  In 6:22-71 Jesus explains the spiritual meaning behind the feeding miracle (in between 6:16-21 He walks on the Sea of Galilee to His disciples in the storm) to the crowds.  Jesus corrects the crowd’s wrong priorities, wrong opinions of the Messiah, and wrong understanding of the Old Testament.  Their priority should have been spiritual life/eternal life not just food that perishes.  They were seeking the physical not the spiritual.  Only Jesus could satisfy their deepest needs.

2.  In John 6:35 Jesus calls Himself the “Bread of Life,” the first of seven “I am” statements in the book of John.  They are significant because they are a clear claim of deity on Jesus’ part based on the Old Testament incident in Exodus 3:14.  Jesus identifies Himself as the Old Testament “Yahweh,” a title of deity.

3.  Jesus strongly affirms the security of the believer in this passage based upon the Father’s sovereign work in salvation and the repeated assertions that those who believe in Him will ultimately conquer death and be resurrected “at the last day.”  The doctrine of eternal security is taught in other places in the Book of John and throughout the New Testament in passages such as:  John 10:27-3,15:16; Romans 8:28-30,  31-39; 2 Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30; 2 Timothy 1:12; and Jude 1:24.  The believer is kept secure by the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (especially the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit).

4.  Ultimately the crowd, His “disciples,” turn away from Jesus as expressed by one commentator: “His rejecting their desire to make Him their political King; His demand for personal faith; His teaching on atonement; His stress on total human inability and on salvation as a work of God—all these prove to be unpalatable for many people.  They gave up being His disciples.” (Dr. Ed Blum)