John 6:41-71 - Bread From Heaven - The Mysteries of God's Word

A crowd follows Jesus because they want bread for today, and Jesus answers with a claim that detonates the room: “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” From the synagogue in Capernaum, we work through John 6:41–71 and watch the moment shift from curiosity to confrontation. The religious leaders grumble because they understand what Jesus is implying, and they try to flatten His words with a familiar label: “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 

We slow down over one of the most debated lines of the passage: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him,” That leads to a practical and personal question, not just a theological one: if salvation is truly grace, what does that do to our pride, our excuses, and our confidence? We also connect Jesus’ teaching to the prophets and to the work of the Holy Spirit, because Jesus insists His words are “spirit and life” even when they offend human instinct. 

Then we tackle the shock phrase head-on: “eat My flesh and drink My blood.” We explain why a literal or ritualistic reading that focuses on fleshly things misses Jesus’ point and how the imagery presses for real, life-changing faith. The result is a turning point where many disciples walk away, and Peter answers with one of the clearest confessions in Scripture: “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” If this conversation helps you think more clearly about faith in Jesus, eternal life, and what true discipleship costs, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review so more people can find it.

Transcript

Setting The Bread Of Life Sermon

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Grace and peace to you, and thank you for joining me for the mysteries of God's Word. Last week we had learned that many people came to Jesus who had been with him at the feeding of the five thousand, and they found him in Capernaum, and when they found Jesus, they were asking him for more food, with a desire to fill their bellies. But Jesus pointed them to eternal life, and he pointed them to himself, telling them that he was the bread of life. Last week we had gotten through verse forty, which was about half of Jesus' sermon, and today we pick up in verse forty one. So the Jews grumbled about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?

Leaders Grumble Over Heaven’s Bread

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How does he say I have come down from heaven? In verse forty one we are introduced to the Jews in this setting. Prior to this, the people were referred to as the crowd or the people. The Jews here refers to the Jewish leaders. And as we will see at the end of this discussion, Jesus had been teaching in the Jewish synagogue in Capernaum. So all of this discussion or sermon of Jesus took place in the Jewish synagogue in Capernaum. But now we are introduced to this element of the Jewish leaders being part of this crowd, and these Jewish leaders are grumbling about Jesus. This reminds me of how the people once grumbled against Moses out in the wilderness. And now these Jewish leaders are grumbling against Jesus. And these religious leaders know that when Jesus is making a claim that he came down from heaven, he's making a claim of deity, which is why they say, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Whose father and mother we know? This is an argument that the Jewish leadership will level against Jesus more than once. Later in chapter seven, they say the same thing. Their argument is that we have known this Jesus his whole life. We know his mother, we know his father. How can he possibly have come from Father God? How can he possibly be the Messiah? While the Jewish leadership knew that the birthplace of the Messiah was to be in Bethlehem, there was a tradition that had developed amongst the Jews. The tradition said that the Messiah would appear suddenly, and that his origins would be unknown, he would suddenly appear and that salvation for the nation of Israel would come out of nowhere. So these Jewish leaders are playing off of that tradition. They're quick to point out they know Jesus' earthly father, Joseph. However, if these Jewish leaders would have done their investigation properly, if they would have gone with due diligence to investigate and question Jesus' mother, they would have discovered there was a virgin birth, and they would have discovered the incarnation. Jesus answers them, Do not grumble amongst yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.

The Father Draws And Jesus Raises

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It is written in the prophets, and they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except from he who is from God, he has seen the Father. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. In verses forty four through forty eight, Jesus begins by saying no one can come to me unless the Father draws him. An interesting note on this statement, when Jesus says no one can come to me, it means no one is able to come to me. Man is unable to come to God on his own will, through his own ingenuities, through his own perceived goodness. Man does not possess moral or spiritual capability to come to God. No one can come to Jesus without divine help. And the Father here represents sovereignty over all creation. And it is only through our submission to the divine will of the Father who originated, who ordained the plan of creation, who ordained the plan of salvation that man can come to God. And it is God that brings about salvation. And then Jesus says, And I will raise them up on the last day. Again Jesus points to his authority as God to raise the dead. Jesus then proclaims, It is written in the prophets, and they will be taught by God. What an amazing picture of truth. Jesus as God in the flesh, teaching these people face to face. Yet these people are grumbling against him. In perhaps a parallel way to how Scripture teaches us that God has shown all of mankind through creation who he is, and that men suppress this truth in unrighteousness. So now as God is revealing truth to these people face to face, these men suppress that truth in unrighteousness. But Jesus says that everyone who has heard and learned from the Father will come to me. As Jesus often said, those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, those who genuinely listen, and those who hear the message of God, those who accept the proclaimed message given by God throughout creation, throughout the special revelation of the gospel, and accept the will of the Father, will come to Jesus. Because Jesus is the Son of God, he is the one who is from heaven, he is the only one who has seen the Father. And then Jesus calls these people to salvation. He calls them to faith. Truly, truly, Jesus says, Whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Jesus again emphasizes that He is the way of salvation. He is the way to the Father. Picking up in verse forty nine, your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

Manna Compared With Living Bread

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I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. In verses forty nine through fifty-one, Jesus directly answers the argument that the crowd had made on him when they demanded another sign from Jesus. The scripture that the crowd had quoted was Nehemiah 9.15, which talked about the manna in the wilderness being bred from heaven. And Jesus here contrasts that manna. The manna that their forefathers ate and then later physically died to, he contrasts to himself. Jesus is the manna that is eternal. Jesus is the bread that brings everlasting life. Jesus says, I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Much like Jesus told that Samaritan woman that he could give her living water, he now tells these Jewish leaders and this crowd, he is the living bread. When people simply look to Jesus to fill their temporary hungers, their temporary needs, Jesus redirects them to look to himself for eternal life. And then Jesus says, if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Jesus is making this personal. He's saying that you have to partake of what he is giving you. Jesus isn't talking about eating literal bread. He's talking about believing in him, personally, partaking of eternal life. Just as he said in verse thirty five, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have our spiritual hunger satisfied. Just as we take physical bread for physical life, so a person must partake in Christ for eternal life. And Jesus says, The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Jesus foreshadows his crucifixion and how he will give his flesh for the sins of the world. Picking up in verse fifty two. The Jews then disputed amongst themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly I say to you, unless you

Eating Flesh As Faith Metaphor

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eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him, as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father. Whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread that the fathers ate when they died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. Jesus said these things as he taught at Capernaum. In verses fifty two through fifty nine, we are given clarification by Jesus to these spiritual things, but it has been my experience that it requires spiritual eyes to see. I have spoken with many people, still very confused about these verses. In verse fifty-two, some of the Jewish leaders are blinded to these spiritual truths, just like many people are blinded today. They don't understand what Jesus is teaching, and they're arguing with one another. They themselves are taking this metaphor literally. Some of them try to use Jesus' words against him, saying, Jesus is claiming that people must eat of his physical flesh, and this angered the Jewish leaders. The Mosaic law prohibited people from eating flesh or drinking blood. So these words taken by Jesus in a ritualistic sense can lead you down a wrong path. In response to these people arguing and their claims that Jesus is speaking of eating his physical flesh, Jesus responds with an even more shocking statement. But Jesus is doing so because he's being intentional, he's being purposeful. Jesus says, whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks of my blood has eternal life. Jesus had just foreshadowed his crucifixion in verse 51. And he continues down this line of thought. Now, obviously, to eat of someone's physical flesh is abhorrent. It is against what God teaches, perhaps even more so to the Jewish people, considering the Mosaic law. And then Jesus adds an image of drinking his blood, which is equally revolting to the Jewish leaders. But what Jesus is doing is communicating the need to believe in him for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Jesus is communicating that you must partake in a genuine and real faith. That belief in him isn't superficial, it is life-changing. Jesus tells us that to be a child of God means you must feast on something real. Faith in Christ isn't something mystical. This isn't a fake superficial religion. The living God has real substance, and he offers true life, true eternal life. And Jesus clarifies this by saying that when a person feeds on him, they will abide in him. Jesus once used a similar analogy of a grapevine, saying, I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, it is he that bears much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Jesus wasn't saying you are a literal branch and he's a literal vine any more than he's saying you must literally eat of his flesh. But he is saying in both cases, that faith in Christ is something real. Picking up in verse sixty, when many of his disciples heard it, they said, This is a hard saying, who can listen to it? But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling

A Hard Saying And Spirit-Given Life

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about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. There are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him. And he said, This is why I told you, that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. In verses sixty through sixty five, we once again see how difficult these very words of Jesus were, both to those who heard at the very time Jesus spoke them, and it reflects even to today. Many of the people who heard this, many of Jesus' followers, said this was too hard to hear. Now this isn't referring to the twelve, but it's referring to many of the disciples. The disciples in this case are people that followed Jesus. At this point in history, Jesus had become the latest fad in rabbinical teaching. He was very popular and he had many new ideas. Many ideas that contradicted all of those extra laws that the Jewish leadership had placed on them. But now they say to Jesus, This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it? It might be better translated who can accept it, or who can hear it, or who can submit to this. This was not simply a hard teaching, it seemed intolerable. Many of the people that had begun to follow Jesus as their teacher found what he was saying not only difficult, but dangerous. Their hopes for Jesus as a leader that would both feed their stomachs and set them free from the Roman oppression was suddenly coming to a halt. And Jesus knew that this was a stumbling block for them. Because the cross of Jesus Christ is a stumbling block, it is an offense to those who are self-righteous. The Apostle Paul said, We preach Christ crucified, which is a stumbling block to the Jews, and folly to the Gentiles. Jesus here point blank asks them, What if you were to see me ascending back to the right hand of God? Would you then believe? Most of these people who are gathered around Jesus heard his teachings. They saw his miracles, but they refused to believe. How many times in my generation have I heard people say, Well, if I could only see God, then I would believe him? My friends, clearly seeing is not believing. These people saw Jesus. They saw his miracles, they heard the words of life, yet they did not believe. And Jesus says it is the Spirit that gives life. The flesh is no help at all. Jesus directs us to how the third person of the Trinity, the Spirit, leads us into truth. It is the Holy Spirit that we must be born again of. But people refuse to listen, not only to the words of Jesus Christ, but they refuse to listen to the Spirit prompting their hearts. Jesus had spoken words of life to these people. Jesus directed them to stop trusting in the temporary things of this world and trust in the eternal Son of God. And Jesus even points to how the Holy Spirit is working in conjunction with his words. But despite the fact that life has been spoken to them, despite the fact that the Spirit was at work upon them, these people refuse to believe. And Jesus once again says, This is why I told you no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father. Although all people are commanded to believe, and while everyone is accountable for their unbelief, genuine faith is only given by the Father. It is testified to through the Spirit, through whom we are born again as we trust in the Son of God. Sinful man cannot come to God on his own terms. Rather we must submit to the will of the Father. And the will of the Father is this, that you might believe on the Son of God for eternal life. Picking up in verse sixty-six, after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, Do you want to go away

Many Walk Away Peter Stays

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as well? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you? The twelve? And yet one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him. In our last verses for today, we see that many disciples turned back. They no longer walked or followed Jesus. As we see, this is not the twelve disciples, but rather we see how many people had chosen to follow Jesus as their rabbi. And when so many people turned away, Jesus asks the twelve, Do you want to go away as well? Jesus is actually using this opportunity of great apostasy to encourage the faith of the twelve. Simon Peter answers Jesus, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Simon Peter both shows his leadership amongst the disciples and his great faith in Christ. Peter says what seems to be obvious to him, To whom should we go? Peter has believed on Jesus as the Messiah. He knows there is nowhere else to go. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the Christ. He is the only one to cling to, and he is the only one with the words of eternal life. Peter says, We have believed. We've come to know that you are the holy one of God. That title, the Holy One of God, is unusual in the Gospels. In Mark chapter 1, verse 24, a demon once addressed Jesus as the Holy One of God. And here Peter speaks for the other disciples when he says that he believes that Jesus is the Holy One of God. Peter shows that some, if not all of the other eleven, have begun to trust and place their faith in Jesus as the Messiah. And Jesus responds to them, Did I not choose you? Peter thought at this point all twelve of the disciples were believing in Jesus as the Messiah. But Jesus reminds Peter that all of them are in his personal service because of his calling on their lives. However, Jesus also makes it clear that his

Chosen For Service Not Saving Faith

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calling on your life does not equate to personal faith. Jesus' call to the twelve was not a call of election for salvation, for one of them was a devil. It might be better translated, one of you is Satan. Jesus is making it clear that Satan was at work behind the unbelief of Judas. Judas was giving in to the evil thinking and was coming under the control of the devil. This is the first mention of Judas as the son of Simon Iscariot in the Gospel of John. Thank you so much for joining me today, as Jesus finished up his sermon on how he is the bread of life that came down from the Father. God bless you this week.