Sermon Notes - John 6:41-59 - Littleby Baptist Church - March 5, 2023

 1.     Jesus fed 5,000 men and an untold number of women and children.

a.      Showing that He is able to provide more than enough.

2.     Then we saw Jesus walk on water, have Peter join Him, calm the storm, and move the boat to its destination instantly.

a.      The signs that day, helped His disciples see that Jesus truly is the Son of God.

b.     They worshipped Him.

c.      As we recognize who Jesus is, we too need to worship Him.

3.     Then Jesus tells the crowd that is following Him, that He is the bread of life.

a.      Kinda like telling the lady at the well that He has living water.

b.     She took it as a literal water that would quench her thirst and that she would not have to go to the well anymore.

c.      The crowd took the bread of life literally also.

d.     They thought it meant their bellies would never be empty.

e.      Jesus was trying to get them to see that if they followed Him, their fulfilment would come from doing the work of the Father not in what they eat or drink.

f.      He was trying to get them to believe that He is the one that the Father sent.

4.     Verse 40 summarizes the verses covered last week.

a.      John 6:40

b.     Those who do the work of believing the one the Father Sent, will be saved.

c.      They will have eternal life in Paradise.

d.     They will get to spend an eternity with the Father.

e.      Jesus has not given them all the pieces to finish the puzzle yet, but He has told them that He is one with the Father and that they are to believe in Him.

5.     John 6:41-42

a.      ‘Therefore’… because of all that Jesus has taught them so far in the chapter, the following is true.

b.     How is this son of a carpenter claiming that He has come from heaven?

c.      We know His parents; how can He be from Heaven?

d.     This makes no sense at all!

e.      The people heard Jesus speak, but they did not truly hear what He was saying.

f.      They could not get past the fact that they knew His family.

g.     They thought something was not right.

h.     They did not know what we know.

i.       We have the New Testament to show us that Jesus is God incarnate.

j.       Yes, Mary is His mother and Joseph was the father that raised Him.

k.     But, His true origin is from before time began.

l.       He is one with the Father.

6.     John 6:43-44

a.      Stop complaining.

b.     I get that you do not understand.

c.      You cannot believe without help from God.

d.     We cannot believe without help from our God.

e.      Some of the confusion is understandable, we cannot figure it out on our own.

f.      Thankfully our Father draws us to Jesus.

g.     John 12:32

h.     All people are drawn to God.

i.       Jew, Gentile, those who walked with Jesus, those alive today, and those who come after us.

j.       All are drawn to Jesus.

k.     Those that believe in the one the Father sent, Jesus, will be saved.

l.       Those who are saved will be raised up with Jesus on the last day.

m.   Those who are saved will spend forever in Paradise with the Father.

7.     John 6:45

a.      Issiah 54:13

b.     The teaching that God does is more than what we consider teaching.

c.      It is more than someone teaching and someone learning in Sunday School or during a sermon.

d.     This is more of how God teaches us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

e.      He helps us to understand the Word of God.

f.      He guides us to accept the truth that we need Jesus as our Savior.

g.     Jeremiah 31:34

h.     If we listen to God.

i.       If we let the Holy Spirit teach us.

j.       If we recognize that Jesus is God.

k.     If we see that we need a Savior and believe in the one that Father sent.

l.       We will be saved.

8.     John 6:46

a.      The only person who has seen the Father, is the one He sent, Jesus.

b.     We can only come to know the Father through the Son.

c.      What does Scripture tell us, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

9.     John 6:47

a.      Belief in Jesus, who He is, our need for Him, and the gift He is giving gives us eternal life.

10.  John 6:48

a.      Reiterating what He has said, Jesus is the way to Life.

b.     It is not some ritualistic system.

c.      It is not attending church or doing a bunch of good.

d.     Life eternal in Paradise comes from Jesus.

11.  John 6:49-50

a.      Manna from heaven was great, but those who ate it still died.

b.     It provided full bellies not an eternity in Glory.

c.      Jesus being the bread of life is greater than the manna that their ancestors ate.

d.     Jesus is the giver of life.

12.  John 6:51

a.      The people did not understand what Jesus was telling them.

b.     He wanted them to know that He is the bread of life and that belief in Him will grant them eternal life.

c.      Jesus is hinting at what is to come in that He will sacrifice Himself as the Lamb of God.

d.     He will give Himself so that all of those in the world will have an opportunity to be saved.

13.  John 6:52

a.      People did not understand.

b.     This is one of the harder to understand things that Jesus said.

c.      Some of His parables were hard to grasp, but this was hard to believe.

d.     How could cannibalism be part of faith in Jesus?

e.      Most of whom Jesus was talking to, did not believe and did not understand.

14.  John 6:53-54

a.      These words would be very hard for anyone to hear without understanding what Jesus was talking about.

b.     We have the benefit of hindsight to help us understand, they did not.

c.      When Jesus is talking about His blood and His flesh… He is talking about His sacrifice for us.

d.     It is the blood of Christ that pays for our sins.

e.      His sacrifice is what makes those that believe Holy and Righteous.

f.      Faith in His death and resurrection brings eternal life.

g.     Faith in His atoning sacrifice cleanses us from our sins.

15.  John 6:55

a.      Jesus is emphasizing His point.

b.     Good quality food and fresh water, are good for the body.

c.      Jesus is the true food; in that it is through His flesh and blood…

d.     Through His sacrifice that we receive eternal life.

e.      Nothing else will measure up.

f.      The sacrificial system they were used to would be like eating a white castle burger verses Jesus being that farm fresh ribeye steak.

g.     There is no comparison.

h.     The Law helps us to see that we are sinners.

i.       Jesus on the other hand is the only path to Salvation.

16.  John 6:56-57

a.      At a surface level, Jesus continues to sound like He is saying people need to eat His body and drink His blood.

b.     Today we know that is not the case, but to the original audience this had to be putting them over the edge.

c.      What Jesus is telling them, and us is that we are to remain in Him.

d.     We need to be connected to Him.

e.      We need to draw near to Him.

f.      In doing so, we have that relationship.

g.     We have security in knowing that our Hope in the Salvation He is offering is secure.

h.     In our remaining in Christ, our connection is restored to the Father.

i.       Like the Father and Son are connected.

j.       These words were hard to understand, but they are the truth.

k.     The truth that salvation is found only through our Jesus.

l.       Words that are still true today.

17.  John 6:58-59

a.      Manna filled bellies but did not give eternal life.

b.     The Old Testament law serves a purpose, but it does not grant salvation.

c.      One cannot sacrifice enough or do enough good to earn Paradise.

d.     As Jesus spoke in this synagogue, He was telling them that their ways were not enough.

e.      They needed to embrace what He was offering.

f.      They needed to trust in what Jesus was telling them.

g.     Trust that Jesus was sent by the Father.

h.     Trust that believing in the Son of God will grant them eternal life.

18.  The words were hard to digest, but Jesus was calling them to believe in Him.

a.      Belief in Jesus results in forever with the Father.

19.  For many today, the words of Jesus are hard to hear.

a.      In Jesus’ day people were focused on their OT practices.

b.     Today, they are more focused on the things they enjoy in life.

c.      Jesus’ original audience did not want to give up their rules, exclusivity, and faith in what they could touch.

d.     Today, we don’t want to let go of our control and those things that we enjoy.

20.  All people need to see that the only path to eternity is through Jesus.

21.  The only way that we can be saved from the sin in our lives, is through Jesus.

22.  It is through Him and only Him that we will be set free.

23.  Embrace Jesus, believe in Him, and give Him control of your life.

24.  Whether for the first time or in taking the next step, we need to give our lives to Jesus.

25.  We need to trust in the one the Father sent.

26.  We need to believe that Jesus is the path to an eternity in Paradise with the Father.

27.  Trust in Jesus.

28.  Give Him more of your life today than you did yesterday.