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The Gospel According To Saint John - 3/28/2008 6:47:31 PM
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HansC
Posts: 535
Joined: 4/12/2005
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99.) Murmurs
There now appears to be a change of audience and location. Up until this point, Jesus had been speaking to large crowds out in the open, but now it seems that He is speaking to a leadership element most likely in the synagogue at Capernaum.
6:41
The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
It is an absolute certainty, that when the full Gospel is preached that there will be murmurings and mumblings of disbelief. Many people can accept that Christ is a great teacher, even one from God, but they murmur and complain when asked if He is the ONLY way.
In the current presidential race Obama says he is a Christian, but then adds that Jesus is not the ONLY way to God. Hillary Clinton, says she believes, but then adds that she is not sure that Jesus is the ONLY way.
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?
In essence, they were saying, “Don’t listen to Him, He’s a nobody from Hicksville, listen to us instead.” So many spiritual teachers want people to listen to them rather than listening to Christ.
Their big flaw was that they judged spiritual matters by external human values and external standards. They looked on the surface of things, rather than seeking God for the truth behind the surface. They did not really know Jesus’ father, they only thought they did.
The Jews of Jesus’ day understood exactly what he was saying, most of them simply rejected it. Today, theologians try to be craftier and dispute the interpretation of the obvious with more involved doctrines.
Many preachers even now teach that Jesus is one way, but not the only way to God. A good example of this is the United Church of Christ. I have heard several of its clergy teach that Jesus is just one way among many ways to God.
6:43
Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Murmuring is the low rumbling, confused and angry sound that ripples through a group when they are in opposition to something. We have to be careful not to reject a message from God just because it does not come packaged in the way that we want or expect it. We need to keep our focus on God and what is going on behind the surface. They rejected Christ because of a surface evaluation.
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.
It takes a divine tug to get us to receive Christ. Yet the Holy Spirit is a gentleman and while strongly urging us to receive Christ will not force Himself upon somebody that does not want Him.
I have often thought why is it that to some we can present the Gospel over and over and seem to get nowhere, but to others, they hear a little from the sidelines and totally give themselves to God.
Well, it takes God to draw man unto Himself, but man by his free will and obstinate resistance can thwart God’s purpose for their life, and God knows the heart.
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.
Jesus does not try to defend Himself on a personal level, but rather continues to stay on His message, that it is God that draws men unto Him through Christ.
Note how Jesus takes them back to the written Word. His detractors seemed so taken up with their own views and own thoughts that they never seemed to really search out God for God’s opinion. They were very eager to share their views on Jesus, but not so eager to search out God. Even today, lots of people are eager to give their views on spiritual matters, but reluctant to search out the Word for God’s opinion.
But in the end, it does not really matter what we think on a subject, but rather, what does God’s Word say, that in the end is all that really matters.
6:46
Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
Here again we see that Jesus is the ONLY way to God. There is no truth in the assertion of many preachers today that Jesus is just one way among many ways.
6:47
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
To miss who Christ really is, to accept the teaching that He is just one way among many is to miss real LIFE in this world and in the world to come.
Hans
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RE: The Gospel According To Saint John - 4/10/2008 2:37:56 AM
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HansC
Posts: 535
Joined: 4/12/2005
Status: offline
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100.) The Bread of Life, Reemphasized.
This is the second time in this chapter that Christ draws our attention to the first of His seven great “I Am” sayings. God intentionally repeated this assertion of Christ , and it is therefore extremely important for us to grasp the full importance of this revelation.
6:48
I am that bread of life.
This is the third of the great Old Testament shadows that Christ uses to give us a revelation of who He is. In John I, we saw that He was Jacob’s ladder, the only true access to heaven.
In John III, we saw that He was typified by the brazen serpent, and was to be lifted up as the offering for sin.
Now we see Him as the Bread of Life, of which the manna in the wilderness was only a type and shadow.
6:49
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Notice here how Christ says, “your fathers” rather than “our father.” This seems to be a clear, yet subtle indication by Christ alluding to His higher origin.
The manna of God in the wilderness, merely sustained the Jews physical life. It was a mere shadow and a type of the real heavenly bread. Jesus’ challengers put their time and energy on that which could not give LIFE, and they are dead.
Even today, those who challenge the claims of Christ, place their hope and confidence in things that can not give LIFE. Some place their confidence in technology, others place their confidence in science, while these things may be good in a measure, they can not secure man eternal LIFE, only Jesus can do that.
6:50
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
The Bread of God is the only means by which a person may partake of LIFE eternal, and that Bread is Jesus. The requirement however is that a man must actually eat of the Bread.
It is not good enough that he knows about the Bread, or that his family members eat the bread, but each individual must eat for himself.
In the world, there are many claims that promise our satisfaction. If I but this car, or that deodorant, or visit some exotic location, or eat some gourmet food, I will be happy. But the truth is that all the things of the world are only temporary, and the deep down soul hunger returns.
There are many that are chewing on the false breads of the world. Some are chewing on the bread of false religion, some are chewing on the bread of materialism, some are chewing on the bread of “I’m a good person”, some are chewing on the bread of pleasure. However, none of these can provide deep down eternal satisfaction.
Only the Bread of God, only Jesus, the Bread of LIFE can satisfy deep down and forever.
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.
Notice that Jesus did not say, “I have come to bring you the bread of eternal LIFE” But rather, “I am the bread of LIFE.”
He makes mention that He will give His flesh. In this Jesus is looking to the Cross. Many people admire Christ and believe that He was a great spiritual teacher, but the life of Christ alone, would not give us LIFE. That is to say, Jesus did not come to just teach us some spiritual truths, that alone would not do it, He came to offer His life on the Cross as an offering for sin.
Christ without the Cross would not have helped humanity in its fallen state. It takes more than just spiritual truths and spiritual knowledge to set men free from their fallen state. It takes the Cross.
This is the great error of Gnosticism. It believes that man can attain to God via an ever increasing amount of spiritual truth and knowledge. Gnosticism is essentially salvation via spiritual knowledge. Yet that will not work.
Salvation comes only through the atoning work of Christ on the Cross. Salvation comes only through partaking of the flesh and blood of Christ.
Hans
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RE: The Gospel According To Saint John - 4/28/2008 3:37:54 AM
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HansC
Posts: 535
Joined: 4/12/2005
Status: offline
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101.) Drinking Blood Indeed
6:52
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
These people seemed to be unable to rise above the natural and carnal way of looking at things. Things have not really changed that much, people still seem to have difficulty in getting away from a carnal way of thinking.
The teaching and preaching of Biblical truths will always generate opposition. The presentation of solid Biblical doctrine and truth will always stir things up, even in the church.
In fact, it is often the theologically trained that lead the charge against the plain simple truth of God’s Word. Some of the world’s best doubters are even seminary trained.
When the Spirit of God moves in a mighty way, you can count on the theologically trained to be in the forefront of seeking to stop God.
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.
Jesus shows Himself to be very deliberate, and now adds the drinking of blood to His doctrine. He essentially tells them that it is absolutely indispensable that they eat His flesh and drink His blood.
Notice that Jesus when He sees the turmoil and disbelief in His doctrine, did not try and tone things down and make it more palatable and easier to understand. He did the opposite, He responded to their disbelief by further complicating the situation and making it even harder to understand.
His language is very intentional, but seems to be designed to deepen, rather than to alleviate, the confusion of the disbelievers .
When people refuse to come to Christ, if they balk at coming to Him, He will often respond by telling them something even more difficult to believe. If people turn from God in disbelief, He has a tendency to give them even harder things to understand.
To the Jews, this must have sounded abhorrent, because in their law, they were forbidden to ever eat any form of blood, much less human blood. Jesus was challenging them, showing them that they were ignorant of what He was truly talking about and that they needed to come to Him for enlightenment.
He is also implying that people must go beyond looking to Him as a mere subject for theological debate and instead receive Him and then they will know the Truth and have real LIFE.
6:54
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Jesus is saying in a very graphic way that people need to take Him into their innermost being in order to have eternal Life. This is a hidden allusion to His death on the Cross, because of the reference of the spilling of blood but also a challenge to come into the most intimate relationship with Him possible.
The word used here for “eateth” is different than the normal words for eat. It is a word more commonly used to refer to eating loudly or noisy, similar to our words, such as “munch” or “crunch”. He is being very plain, graphic and even shocking to the crowd in His language.
Some people believe that Jesus is here speaking of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, but that can not be. The eating and drinking here, according to Jesus is unto salvation, while the Lord’s Supper is only for those who are already saved.
I do not know of anyone that would seriously promote the idea that the one essential for salvation is receiving Holy Communion.
The Lord’s Supper does not of itself produce the salvation that Jesus mentions. A multitude of people partake of the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis and yet they do not posses the gift of eternal LIFE that Jesus says that this feeding will produce.
So, if the Lord’s Supper is not this feeding and drinking that Jesus speaks of here, what is He talking about?
The essentials for salvation are faith and repentance. That is what Jesus is talking about. He is talking about the sinner, repenting and appropriating HIM.
6:55
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
His opponents had an altogether wrong idea of what constituted real food. They sought their nourishment apart from Christ.
Notice, in this chapter Jesus says that people must, “believe” in Him, “come” to Him, “look” to Him, “listen” to Him and “learn” from Him.
He is talking about being totally committed to Him. That is what He is talking about. To eat Christ’s flesh and drink His blood means to totally commit yourself to Him. Have you done that?
Real spiritual food for our deepest needs are to found in Christ, alone.
6:56
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Are you so committed to Jesus that He is as real to you as food? Is He as much a part of your inner constitution as that which you eat and drink. That is what he is talking about.
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.
When we commit ourselves to Christ, and receive Him via a confession of faith, we receive salvation and the assurance of that salvation. This verse here does not refer just to the life in the world to come, but also pertains to receiving the strength to live for Christ in our day to day walk with Him, here and now.
As we feed daily on the Word, we are partaking of Christ. As we feed on Him, He becomes an integral part of out inner constitution. Taking Jesus within ourselves, making Him a part of our own innermost being constitutes the “eating and drinking” that Jesus is talking about here.
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.
Jesus reminds them that while the manna was good and from God, it did not give LIFE eternal to the eaters and that they were dead.
6:59
These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.
Hans
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