Now, we have an indeterminate period of time.
Jesus was in Jerusalem when he was saying
these things.
They were as the result of this blind
man, or the lame man rather, who was
healed there at the Pool of Bethesda, and
the controversy that was stirred over that.
And so, John spends a whole chapter in
that little picture.
But it gives us marvelous insight into Jesus,
showing how that he equates his work with
the Father, and he is working in harmony
with the Father, he is actually here doing
the Father's work, and the works themselves testify
of him, as well as the Word of
the Old Testament testifies of who he is.
He is the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
Now, after these things, an indeterminate period of
time, we don't know how long it was
after, but John takes us back up to
the Sea of Galilee now.
He's left Jerusalem.
What events?
Others?
There transpired?
We don't know.
But back in the area of the Galilee,
Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which
is the Sea of Tiberias, also known as
Gennesaret.
And a great multitude followed him, because they
saw his miracles, which he did on them
that were diseased.
And so, by his miracles, Jesus was attracting
a great multitude of people.
People are drawn and attracted to Jesus for
various reasons.
Some of them legitimate, and some of them
not so legitimate.
But Jesus has an appealing force and power.
He always has had an appealing force.
And it's interesting to me how that Jesus
appeals to people in all walks of life.
It is interesting to me how that Jesus
appeals to people of all cultures.
It's interesting to me how Jesus appeals to
people of all ages, and how little children
are attracted to Jesus.
In fact, that to me is one of
the most beautiful things in the world, the
attraction that even a child has for Jesus.
Probably a stronger and greater attraction than we
who have become so complex and mixed up
in our thinking processes.
Oh, the beauty of Jesus that attracts men.
But men are attracted by different reasons.
These people were attracted because of the spectacular,
the miracles that Jesus was doing on people
who were diseased.
And Jesus went up into a mountain, and
there he sat with his disciples.
And the Passover feast was drawing nigh.
And when Jesus lifted up his eyes, he
saw a great company that were coming unto
him.
And he said unto Philip, Where are we
going to buy enough bread that these people
may eat?
And this he said to prove Philip, for
he knew what he was going to do.
And Philip answered him, Two hundred penny worth
of bread is not sufficient for them, that
every one might take just a little.
So, where are we going to buy the
bread?
Boy, I don't know.
Two hundred penny worth.
Now, a penny was a day's wage for
a laboring man.
If we had two hundred penny worth of
bread, I don't think that would be enough
to give everyone a little.
And one of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother, said unto him, There's a lad here
which has five barley loaves and two small
fish, but what are they among so many?
I mean, I'm sorry I said it because,
you know, what's that with this big crowd?
And so Jesus said, Make the men sit
down.
Now, there was a lot of grass in
that place.
Passover time, springtime in the Galilee.
Beautiful.
Absolutely glorious.
The Galilee in the springtime has to be
one of the most beautiful places you could
ever see.
Grassy fields filled with yellow daisies, red and
white and purple anemones, lupins, brodeas, just fabulous.
The beauty of the wildflowers and all around
Passover time.
There in the springtime in the Galilee.
A lot of grass in that area.
So Jesus said, Have the men sit down.
So the men sat down in number about
five thousand.
And Jesus took the loaves and when he
had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples
and the disciples to them that were sat
down.
And likewise the fish.
And they ate as much as they desired.
And when they were filled, the word in
Greek is glutted.
When they were stuffed, he said unto his
disciples, Now gather up the fragments that remain,
that nothing be left or lost.
And therefore they gathered them together and filled
twelve baskets with the fragments of the five
barley loaves which remained over, which was over
and above, that which they had eaten.
And then those men, when they had seen
the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is
of a truth, that prophet which should come
into the world.
That is a reference to the prophecy of
Moses that declared and another prophet likened to
myself shall come and to him shall ye
give heed.
So they were looking for that other prophet
likened to Moses.
And when they saw this miracle, they said,
This is the one Moses no doubt was
talking about.
That other prophet that should come.
And they recognized that Jesus was the promised
Messiah.
Now, they wanted to then make public acclamation.
They wanted to take him and to force
him to be the king.
To establish now the kingdom.
But this was not according to God's plan.
Jesus, rather than stepping in with the popular
movement at this point, just slipped away from
them and went into the mountain alone.
He did not allow them to prematurely acclaim
him as their king.
God had a special day to present his
king to the nation.
That special day we call today Palm Sunday,
for it was the Sunday that preceded his
crucifixion.
And that was the day and the hour
that God had prepared and had prophesied when
his promised Redeemer would come.
And that day, Jesus set up carefully, having
the disciples go into the city and get
the donkey, that he might ride into Jerusalem
on the donkey and thus fulfill the prophecy
of Zachariah.
That day, he allowed the disciples to cry
out that Messianic Psalm 118, hosanna, hosanna, blessed
is he who comes in the name of
the Lord.
Glory to God in the highest.
And he allowed them to cry out that
Psalm.
In fact, when the Pharisees objected, he said,
if they would at this time hold their
peace, these very stones would cry out.
That was the day he wept over Jerusalem
and said, if you had only known the
things that belong to thy peace in this
thy day, but they are hid from your
eyes.
So, here was a premature attempt to establish
him as king by the people.
This was a movement of the people.
Jesus rejected it because he was working in
God's time schedule and not man's.
Oh, God, help us to learn to work
in God's time schedule rather than our own.
It seems that we are always desiring to
prematurely do things.
God never seems to work quite as fast
as we would like him to work.
We would like to speed up the program
of God.
Well, if I could only have my way,
the Lord would have come a couple of
years ago.
But some of you would be in bad
trouble had he.
So, you can be thankful he's running things
and not me.
So, when Jesus perceived that they were going
to try and force the issue, and to
make him king, he departed into a mountain
by himself.
And when the evening was now come, his
disciples went down to the sea of Galilee.
And they entered into a ship and went
over the sea toward Capernaum.
Capernaum.
And it was now dark and Jesus was
not come to them.
And when the sea arose by reason of
a great wind, and when they had rowed
about twenty-five or thirty-four furlongs, three
or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on
the sea and drawing near to the ship,
and they were afraid.
But he said unto them, It's me, don't
be afraid.
And they willingly, eagerly received him into the
ship, and immediately the ship was on the
land where they were going.
They docked immediately at Capernaum.
Now the following day, when the people which
stood on the other side of the sea,
that is where he had fed the multitude,
saw that there was no other boat there,
except the one wherein the disciples had entered,
and that Jesus was not with his disciples
when they went in the boat, but that
his disciples were gone away alone.
However, there were other boats that had come
from the area of Tiberias, near to the
place where they did eat bread.
And when the people therefore saw that Jesus
was not there, neither with his disciples, they
also took ship, shipping, and they came to
Capernaum seeking for Jesus.
And when they had found him on the
other side of the sea, they said unto
him, Rabbi, how did you get here?
And Jesus answered and said, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Now he didn't tell them
how he got there.
He just said, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, you seek me not because you saw
the miracles, but because you did eat of
the loaves and were filled.
You are seeking me for the wrong reasons.
You are seeking me for the wrong motives.
You are only seeking me because you had
your stomachs stuffed with bread and fish.
And that's not the reason to seek me.
Jesus would not really accept those who were
seeking him with wrong motivations.
There are many people today who seek Jesus
with wrong motivations.
There are many ministers who encourage people to
seek Jesus, encouraging them with wrong motivations.
Encouraging people to do the work of God
with wrong motivations.
Now we're going to give a bicycle to
the one who brings the most new members
into the Sunday School in the next, you
know, five months.
And so we're motivating all these little kids
with carnal motivation.
Teaching them to do the work of God
through the carnal rewards.
God help us.
How far we've come from the straight and
narrow.
He said, Don't labor for that meat which
perishes, but for that meat which endures to
everlasting life.
Don't labor for the material things.
Don't strive for material things, but strive for
spiritual things.
The spiritual is superior to the material.
That was the constant claim that Jesus made.
And that is what men are constantly challenging
today.
And we in our own minds oftentimes have
the challenge.
Is indeed the spiritual life superior to the
material life?
And Satan is constantly holding up to us
the glitter and the glory of the material
realm and saying, Look, once you like this.
The Lord is constantly saying, Hey, don't strive.
Don't labor for the meat which perishes, but
for that which is life eternal for the
spiritual things.
That which endures to everlasting life for the
son of man shall, which the son of
man shall give unto you for him.
Hath God the Father sealed?
Then they said unto him, What shall we
do that we might work the works of
God?
This is a question that people oftentimes ask
when they become conscious of the spiritual dimension.
Well, what can I do to do the
works of God?
We remember the rich young ruler that came
and fell before Jesus and said, What good
thing must I do to inherit the kingdom
of heaven?
Good Master, what shall I do?
And I'm always looking for some work that
I might do for God.
Jesus answered in a paradox.
For he said unto them, This is the
work of God that you might believe on
him whom he hath sent.
Isn't that interesting?
What work can you do to be pleasing
to God?
The only work you can do is just
believe in Jesus.
That's what pleases the father.
This is the work of God that you
believe on him whom he hath sent.
They said therefore unto him, Well, what sign
will you show us then that we might
see and believe you?
What do you work?
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert,
as it is written.
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Moses gave you not that
bread from heaven, but my father gives you
the true bread from heaven.
Moses didn't give you the manna.
My father sent it.
But my father is now giving to you
the true bread from heaven.
Your fathers ate of that manna.
And they died.
For the bread of God is he which
comes down from heaven and gives his life
and gives life rather unto the world.
This is the bread of God.
He who came down from heaven and gives
his life unto the world.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the
bread of life.
And he that cometh to me shall never
hunger.
And he that believeth on me shall never
thirst.
These people had just eaten the day before
and were stuffed.
But they were hungry again.
They had eaten of the bread of this
world.
And though you can eat today and you
can be so stuffed, and I've eaten that
pita bread with those delicious sauces and salads
and all, until I was so stuffed, I
thought I can't eat another bite.
I get so upset with the cleaners nowadays
that shrink my coat so dreadfully.
This polyester, that's one problem.
It just shrinks.
But, though I push myself away from the
table and groaningly stand on my feet and
say, I never want to eat again as
long as I live.
The bus isn't very far down the road
until someone says, Can we stop for some
ice cream?
Yeah, it sounds like a great idea.
Hungry again.
It just doesn't satisfy them.
But Jesus said, I'm the bread of God.
I've come down from heaven.
If you eat of me, you'll never hunger
again.
And if you believe in me, you'll never
thirst again.
There is that area of man's life that
seems to never be satisfied, that always is
crying out for more, more, more.
And though a person pursues after the pleasures,
the excitements, the thrills of the world, one
thing about them is that they're just not
lasting.
It isn't long before you're thirsting again.
But Jesus said, I'm the bread of heaven.
God has sent me.
And if you eat of me, you'll never
hunger again.
And if you believe in me, you'll never
thirst again.
What glorious good news!
But I said unto you that you have
seen me, but you don't believe.
All that the Father gives me shall come
to me, and him that comes to me
I will in no wise cast out.
What a glorious word of Jesus to our
trembling, hesitating souls.
Because you see, Satan says to me, look,
there's no sense you going to God.
He doesn't want anything to do with you.
You're a failure, man.
Your life is a mess.
God doesn't want anything to do with you.
There's no sense you going because there's no
way he's going to open the door for
you.
And he would plant unbelief in my heart.
And if I believe that God won't receive
me, then God won't receive me because I
won't come.
But Jesus said, whoever comes to me, I
will in no wise cast out.
All that the Father has given me are
mine.
They'll come to me.
And him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise.
What encouraging, glorious words to your troubled spirit
tonight.
You who Satan has been hassling for so
long, trying to tell you that you're not
worthy, that God doesn't want you, God isn't
interested.
Let me tell you something, if you'll just
come to Jesus, there's no way, no way
he will cast you out.
For I came down from heaven not to
do my own will, but the will of
him who sent me.
The works that I do, I do not
of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in
me, he doeth the works.
I didn't come down to do my will,
Jesus said, but the will of him who
sent me.
And this is the Father's will.
Oh, that's what I've been wanting to know.
What's God's will?
That all which he hath given to me,
I should lose nothing, but should raise them
up in that last day.
And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which sees the Son
and believes on him may have everlasting life,
and I will raise him up in the
last day.
Those to whom the Father has revealed the
truth of Jesus Christ and who believe in
him, it's God's will that he save you
and raise you up in that last day.
Praise God for his glorious will for our
lives.
And the Jews then murmured at him because
he said, I'm the bread which came down
from heaven.
And they said, is not this Jesus?
Isn't this Joshua or Yahshua, the son of
Joseph or Yoseph, whose father and mother we
know?
How is it that he says I came
down from heaven?
And Jesus therefore answered and said unto them,
don't murmur among yourselves, for 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.
Here's an interesting statement by Jesus, one that
we need to make note of.
No man can come to Jesus unless the
Father draws him.
Now that takes the pressure off of me
in my witnessing because I sometimes get discouraged
when I witness to a person and I
can lay out the truth of Christ and
I would think that even a child could
understand.
And they just, you know, don't accept it.
It doesn't do anything.
And I try to argue and convince and
press and nothing happens.
Well, no man can come except the Father
draw him.
You say, well, I don't know if that's
fair.
Well, did the Father draw you?
Well, yeah.
Well then, what are you worried about?
It also follows that whosoever will may come
and drink of the water of life.
There are the two sides to the coin.
You can't come unless the Father draws you,
but anyone who comes can receive eternal life.
The door is open for all men.
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 comes to me.
God has taught us.
He's laid it upon our hearts.
Not that any man hath seen the Father
except he which is of God.
He hath seen the Father.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that
believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Notice these radical claims that Jesus is making
concerning himself.
Testifying now of himself, making radical claims.
I am that bread of life.
They said, how can you say he came
down from heaven?
He's Joseph's son.
He said, I am that bread of life.
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness
and they are dead.
But this is the bread which comes down
from heaven that a man may eat thereof
and not die.
Not hunger, not thirst, not die.
For I am the living bread which came
down from heaven.
If any man eat of this bread he
shall live forever.
And the bread that I will give is
my flesh which I will give for the
life of the world.
He took the bread and he broke it
and he said, take, eat.
This is my body broken for you.
The bread is my flesh that I will
give for the life of the world.
And the Jews therefore strove among themselves saying,
how can this man give us his flesh
to eat?
Then Jesus said unto them, you're having trouble
fellows, I'm going to make it a little
harder.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood, you have no life
in you.
You're dead.
You're dead in your trespasses and sins.
You don't have life in you.
Whoso eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life and I will raise him
up at the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed and my
blood is drink indeed.
And Jesus took the cup and he said,
take, drink.
This is the blood of the new covenant
which is shed for the remission of sins.
Eat of my flesh, drink of my blood,
partake of me that you might have life.
For my flesh is meat indeed, my blood
is drink indeed.
And he that eats my flesh and drinks
my blood dwells in me and I in
him.
And as the living Father hath sent me
and I live by the Father, so he
that eats me, even he shall live by
me.
And this is that bread which came down
from heaven, not as your fathers did eat
the manna and are dead.
For he that eateth of this bread shall
live forever.
And these are the things he said to
them as he was teaching them in the
synagogue in Capernaum.
And you that have been in that synagogue
of Capernaum can now sort of put it
together in your mind.
He was there in the synagogue of Capernaum
teaching them these things.
Now many, therefore, of his disciples, when they
heard this, said, Man, these are tough sayings.
Who can hear it?
And when Jesus knew in himself that his
disciples murmured at it, he said unto them,
Does this offend you?
What and if you will see the Son
of Man ascending up where he was before?
What if you don't see the kingdom established
right now?
What if you see me ascending up and
going back to the Father?
It is the spirit that makes alive.
The flesh profits nothing.
Now we're coming back.
You've eaten of the bread and that's why
you've come.
Your stomachs were filled.
But don't seek that bread which perishes.
But that bread which is everlasting life.
And so again, coming back to that thought.
It is the spirit that makes alive.
The flesh profits nothing.
Underline that.
The flesh profits nothing.
The words that I speak unto you, they
are spirit and they are life.
The word of God is alive and powerful
and sharper than any two-edged sword.
The word of God is spirit and the
word of God is life.
But there are some of you that believe
not.
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they
were that believe not and who would betray
him.
And he said, Therefore, I said unto you
that no man can come unto me except
it were given unto him of my father.
Again declaring, look, the only way you can
come is that the father draws you.
You can't come unless the father does draw
you.
Now from that time, many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him.
Couldn't handle it too much.
When he starts talking about the denial of
the flesh, when he starts talking about the
life of the spirit and the partaking of
spiritual things, too much for some people.
They can't handle it.
Many of them were following him because they
were desiring that he establish the kingdom now,
that he overthrow the Roman yoke of government
and that he bring to pass a kingdom
of plenty where everybody would eat and drink
to their full.
Every man neath his own vine and fig
tree would eat and not be afraid.
And they were wanting that kingdom of material
prosperity.
And he is denouncing it as secondary.
The primary thing is the spiritual kingdom.
Partaking of me.
Finding that life that comes from me.
The life of God imparted to man through
Jesus Christ.
The flesh will profit you nothing.
But the words that I speak, their spirit,
their life.
And so they couldn't handle it.
They went back and they walked no more
with him.
One time John sent a messenger and said,
Are you the one that we should look
for or shall we look for someone else?
These people despaired.
Because Jesus was talking of the importance of
the spiritual man rather than the physical.
Can't handle it.
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you
also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, To whom shall
we go?
Thou hast the words of eternal life.
Oh, blessed Peter.
You know, he had a problem.
He could get in trouble so much with
his mouth.
And yet he could also say some of
the most appropriate things.
Thou art the Christ, the son of the
living God.
Oh, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona.
Flesh and blood did not reveal this unto
you, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say unto you that you are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.
But you're going to see the Son of
Man betrayed and turn to the hands of
sinners, and they're going to crucify him and
slay him.
But on the third day he'll rise again.
Oh, Lord, be that far from thee.
And Jesus says, Oh, get thee behind me,
Satan.
You're an offense unto me.
You don't understand the things that are God,
the things that are man.
No, Peter, he could go so fast from
the top to the bottom.
But here, one of those grand moments in
Peter, when Jesus turns to the twelve and
says, Well, are you going to leave too?
Lord, where can we go?
You have the words of life.
Jesus said, My word is spirit, my word
is life.
Peter is testifying, Yes, Lord, that's true.
You have the word of life.
We believe.
And we are sure that you are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God.
Jesus answered them, Have I not chosen you
twelve, and yet one of you is a
devil?
And he was speaking of Judas Iscariot, the
son of Simon.
For he it was that should betray him,
and he was one of the twelve.
Interesting that Jesus says of Judas, He was
the devil.
Paul?
No.
Peter refers to him as the son of
perdition.
We will read in a few weeks where
Satan entered him, and he went out and
did his dastardly deed.
And we'll get into Judas Iscariot as we
move on in the gospel of John.
But from the beginning, Jesus knew who it
was that would betray him.
Jesus said, Have I not chosen twelve of
you, and yet one of you is a
devil?
So, next week we move on into chapters
seven and eight, and some very interesting.
Oh, don't you love John?
I just love the gospel according to John.
And these insights that he gives us into
Jesus.
The insights which show and prove that Jesus
is the Christ, the son of the living
God.
In order that you might believe and have
eternal life.
Father, we thank you for your word.
It is spirit.
It is truth.
It is life to those that believe.
Now may the entrance of thy word bring
life and light to us.
And may we walk in that light.
In Jesus' name, Amen.