Passage To Study:

John 6:30-40

[30] Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? [31] “Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”  [32] Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. [33] “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” [34] Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” [35] And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. [36] “But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. [37] “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. [38] “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. [39] “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. [40] “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

What are the facts of the passage?:

  • The people ask Jesus for a sign to demonstrate His authority to say as He had said.

  • They appeal to Moses as their authority.

  • Jesus responds that they misunderstand what the provision of manna to Moses is about.

  • Jesus tells them that the bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives His life to the world.

  • Jesus reiterates that, once again, they have seen and yet not believed.

  • Jesus then tells them that there is more than meets the eye with regard to believing. All that are given will come and believe. All who do come, He will in no wise cast out.

  • This is because it is the desire of God that it be thus.

  • If they believe in Him, they will have eternal life and will be raised up on the last day.

What do those facts mean?:

It is almost comical that Christ has just rebuked them for seeking after signs and they ask for another. It is the mentality of the Law that is the problem. Their concern with rights and signs prevented them from seeing the obvious truth of Christ's situation. This can happen to us all. It is a failing of human nature to want to know the whys and wherefores of anyone who is contradicting our understanding of the truth. Care must and should be exercised to be sure that we are open to all that God desires to say and Rat just to what we want to hear.

They make much the same appeal  that the Samaritan Woman made. The implication is that Christ is not qualified and they are. They are appealing to the authority of tradition. They can't be wrong because they are Moses' disciples and that would mean that Moses is wrong.

Jesus tells them that they misunderstand what God's dealings with Moses were all about. This end runs their protest. Their argument is invalid because they misunderstand what the intent of the provision of manna was. It was not the bread from heaven, it pointed to the bread from heaven, the Lord Jesus Himself.

Just a note about the choice of grammar in the last phrase in verse 33. Christ doesn't say that He gave His life for the world, but that He gave His life to the world. I don't know how significant the difference us, but I cannot believe that it is insignificant. The difference is that the later gives the sense of the giving of a gift. Further thought is needed to make sense of the matter.

We just note that the theme of hearing and seeing and yet not believing is continued. It suggests the question of how someone does, indeed, believe. This question is addressed next. 
The Father gives the gift of a soul to the Son. All that are a part of that gift will come. Christ will receive all who come, because God's desire is that not one of those given be lost. Christ will do so and see to it that the will of God is completely done.

How do those facts apply to my life?:

This is central to all meaningful theology, especially that regarding soteriology. The pillar of God's role in salvation is the foundational support of all other theological thought.

What should I do in response?:

Incorporate it into my thinking as consistently as possible.

 

Day
27

 

 
I Am The Bread Of Life

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