I. INTRODUCTION
A. In John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
B. Presently, let us consider the following from John 6:
1. The occasion upon which Jesus presented His teaching on the bread of life;
2. The teaching of Jesus concerning the bread of life;
3. The reaction of those who heard the teaching.
II. THE OCCASION – JOHN 6:1-31
A. In verses 1-2, the multitude followed Jesus to the other side of the Sea of Galilee because they had beheld the signs that He had done.
1. The word “sign” is a key to properly understanding this chapter. This word means that an action or event indicates something. In this case, the signs were an indication of who Jesus was.
2. Notice that the multitude had already seen signs and would see more. Later, they would ask Jesus for another sign to prove Himself again.
B. Verses 5-10 prove the veracity of the miracle that Jesus was about to perform.
1. Jesus deliberately asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” He asked this to test Philip, for Jesus already knew what He was going to do (the Lord always had a purpose).
2. Philip’s answer and Andrew’s question indicate the impossibility of the situation.
a. Two hundred denarii (a denarius was a day’s wages) worth of bread was not enough to feed the multitude of people.
b. They had only five barley loaves and two fish to feed a multitude in which the men alone numbered about five thousand.
C. Jesus gave thanks and fed all of the people “as much as they wanted” (v. 11) from the small amount of food, and the leftovers filled twelve baskets. There was no denying that a great miracle had been done.
D. Verse 14 says that the people saw the sign and declared, “This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
1. The people recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-18, which in fact He was (Acts 3:22; 7:37).
2. Because of this, the people intended to take Him by force and make Him their king (v. 15).
E. Jesus withdrew from the multitude, and His disciples went on to cross the sea to Capernaum in the dark. This is the occasion when Jesus came to them walking on the water (vv. 15-21).
F. The next day, the multitude followed Jesus to Capernaum and found Him there.
1. These were the same people who had beheld the sign the day before (vv. 23, 26).
2. Signs had a purpose of producing belief in people, but these people had not believed (vv. 26, 36). Rather, these people came for food.
3. Consider what Jesus implied about “benevolent evangelism” in verse 26. Food and other physical or material provisions do not convert anyone to the Lord.
G. In verse 27, Jesus told the multitude that it was more important to work for the food which endures to eternal life than for food which perishes.
1. The people responded by asking, “What shall we do that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered that they were to “believe in Him whom He has sent.”
2. Note that belief is a work. It is not a work of the Law of Moses, nor a work of merit, but the work of God.
H. The multitude responded by asking for a sign. This revealed their continued motivation for food, for they had seen a great sign the day before and needed no further proof of who Jesus was.
III. THE BREAD OF LIFE – JOHN 6:32-59
A. The events of the day prompted the Lord’s great discourse on “the bread of life” in verses 32-59.
B. Notice in verse 35 that Jesus made two equivalent statements:
1. “He who comes to Me shall not hunger” is equivalent to “He who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
2. Therefore, coming to Jesus is equal to believing in Jesus in this passage.
C. Notice a few points from verses 37-40:
1. All whom the Father gives to Jesus will come to (believe in) Jesus, and Jesus will not cast out the one who comes to (believes in) Him (v. 37).
2. Jesus said that none of those who are given to Him will be lost (v. 39).
3. Jesus said that it is God’s will that everyone who believes in Jesus will have eternal life and will be raised up on the last day. Compare verse 40 with verse 36.
D. Certainly after considering the words of Jesus in verses 37-40, anyone should want to know who is given to Jesus by the Father. The answer is given in verses 44-46.
1. In verse 44, Jesus said that no one could come to (believe in) Him unless the Father draws him. How does the Father draw someone?
a. Verse 45 has the answer: Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to (believes in) Jesus.
b. Therefore, because coming to Jesus is equal to believing in Him, one must hear and learn from the word of God in order to believe. Notice the similarity of this to Romans 10:17.
2. The Jews present on this occasion demonstrated that they were not given to Jesus because they had not learned from the Father, and they had not come to (believed in) Him (vv. 41-42).
E. Verses 47-59 are a declaration of our great spiritual need to believe in Him.
1. These verses are often misapplied.
a. They are not about the Lord’s Supper, transubstantiation (the Catholic doctrine that the elements of the Lord’s Supper literally become the flesh and blood of Jesus), or cannibalism (as this multitude seemed to misunderstand).
b. This teaching is simply about believing in Jesus.
2. Compare verse 47 to verse 51.
a. In verse 47, Jesus said that he who believes in Him has eternal life. In verse 51, He said that he who eats of this bread shall live forever.
b. Because these two statements are equivalent, then believing in Jesus is equal to eating the bread. This truth needs to be remembered s the rest of the passage is considered (vv. 53-57).
F. As in many of His teachings, Jesus used a familiar, earthly application to teach a spiritual truth. Notice verse 63.
1. The “bread out of heaven” (v. 31) that Israel had been given was well known to the Jews. It was that bread which had sustained Israel and had given them life when they were in the wilderness.
2. This “living bread that came down out of heaven” (v. 51) was Jesus Christ the Lord. He is the bread which God has given to us to sustain us and give us life.
3. Jesus summarized the comparison in verse 58.
IV. REACTION – JOHN 6:60-71
A. While the teaching of Jesus was about believing in Him, the reaction of many was disbelief.
1. Verse 60 says that many had difficulty accepting His teaching. The same is still true today.
2. Jesus instructed them that His words were spiritual in nature in verse 63. He reminded them in verse 65 that no one can come to (believe in) Him unless it is granted (by hearing and learning) by the Father. These people had heard, but they had not learned.
3. They final result was that many of His disciples withdrew and followed Him no more (v. 66).
B. However, the reaction of the apostles to His teaching was belief.
1. In verse 68, Simon Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
2. Peter understood what had been said. He did not think that He needed to eat the literal flesh and blood of Jesus in order to have eternal life.
3. In verse 69, Peter said, “And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
C. What is your reaction?
1. Do you find the word of Jesus difficult to hear?
2. Or do you believe in Jesus, the Holy One of God? What does your life say? Do you walk with Jesus?