John 6:25-51 | Come and See Many Reject Jesus | Shaun McGregor

Jesus is the bread of life, but what is no one eats him? 

Transcript

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Page one hundred seven oh of the Bibles in the pews. John chapter six verses twenty-five to fifty-two fifty-one. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Jesus answered, Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw the signs I performed, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered, The work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent. So they asked him, What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manor in the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Sir, they said, always give us this bread. Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But, as I told you, you have seen me, and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that every one who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. At this the Jews there began to grumble about him, because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, Is not this Jesus, the Son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say I came down from heaven? Stop grumbling among yourselves, Jesus answered. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God. Only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manor in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which any one may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

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Come and see, John says. Come and see Jesus, and chapter after chapter it's been a real feast. A feast of Jesus' words and words about Jesus. The word become flesh. The one who's come down from heaven to reveal the Father. The Father loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. A feast of words about Jesus, so you should come and see him. And a feast of signs as well, to take him seriously. He turned water into wine, he saved a boy who was near death, he raised a man who was disabled for 38 years, and he fed a crowd of over 5,000 people with a few loaves and a few fish. A veritable feast of words and signs that say, Come and see Jesus. So by this point you'd have to be asking, why would anyone not eat? The feast about Jesus, who Jesus is, is so good, why would anyone not come to him and believe? And that's a question we need to ask, isn't it? Because we all know people. We all know people in our friends, family, our neighbors who do not come and eat, who know about Jesus, but as yet have not come to him and believed. Why is that? Well, today in John 6, that is the very question that Jesus is answering as hundreds and thousands of people are in the process of rejecting him. We're going to see just two things this morning. We should expect many to reject Jesus. But be assured that everyone the Father has given to Jesus will come. And Jesus will lose none, but raise them at the last day. Firstly, expect many to reject Jesus. Jesus makes an open invitation. He wants everyone to come. Verse 35, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Whoever believes will have eternal life. And a lot of people have come. At the beginning of this story, this account, five thousand men, plus women and children, have come. They saw the signs of Jesus healing the sick and so on. They pursued Jesus around the lake, but they wanted to choose their own Jesus. We saw that a couple of weeks ago if you were here. A political Jesus, a prosperity Jesus, a religious Jesus, a miracle machine Jesus. Anything but the real Jesus. And those who were left, as they hear his claims in this passage today, they reject him. Just have a look down, verse 41. At this the Jews there began to grumble about him, because he said, I'm the bread that came down from heaven. Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? It gets worse. Verse 51, we saw he is going to give his flesh for them to eat, but they can't handle that. Verse 52. Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? They go from grumbling to arguing, and by verse 66 we'll see next week, from this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Thousands of them rejected Jesus. And these were Jewish people. They knew and believed the Old Testament that looked forward to Jesus. They had seen his signs, they had eaten the bread, they declared that Jesus was the prophet sent from God. And they rejected Jesus. There were even those who knew better than the crowd, the leaders who were experts in the Old Testament, they rejected Jesus too. So much so they killed him. As John says in chapter 1, Jesus came to his own people, but his own people did not receive him. So we shouldn't be surprised, should we, when people, many people, reject Jesus today. Even good and clever people, influential people. In fact, get this, even church leaders, even in our own denomination, organization around the world, who say that they believe in Jesus, but actually reject what he says. It's more personal than that, of course, isn't it? Our friends, our parents, our children who reject who Jesus is. In a sense, when someone admits that they reject Jesus, it's positive. As Jesus is sifting the crowd, it's a positive process that is happening. They're actually showing who they really are and what they really think of Jesus. It's better than people pretending, I think. And when church leaders pretend, that is a shame. Far better to admit you don't believe anymore and resign and do something else. But when people reject Jesus, it hurts, doesn't it? It's very discouraging. And John wants us to know that Jesus knows that. That Jesus understands rejection because he experienced rejection on a big scale. And John wants us to have right expectations. Because if you don't expect many people to reject Jesus, it can really shake your faith, can't it? Many people, even those who are well taught, even those who are close to us, even those that we have taught, will reject Jesus. But why is that? If Jesus really is God's Messiah, God's Son, why could it possibly be that informed, clever people we respect and love would reject him? You must ask at that point, have I backed the wrong horse? Is there something wrong with Jesus? Is he not really God's Son, God's Messiah? And even if he is, will his mission fail with so many people rejecting him? We should expect many to reject Jesus, but be assured that everyone the Father has given to Jesus will come. What does Jesus say about this? How does he explain it? The people are grumbling when he says that he's come down from heaven. Jesus says, verse 43, stop grumbling among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. These are shocking words, so let me read them again. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. At face value, Jesus seems to be saying here, doesn't he, that no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them. They are the very words that he says. That no one can, that it's impossible to, that it just does not happen. No one can come to the Fat to Jesus unless the Father draws them. And we want to say, yes, we can. I can choose. I have free will. Well, over the years, most Christians, and probably most of us here this morning, and I've done this, have tried to understand this and explain this away. After all, Jesus says, Whoever comes, come, all you who are weary and burdened, come. It's an open invitation. Surely you can come. So perhaps no one can come unless the Father draws them, but thankfully the Father draws everyone. Or at least draws many. But the final part, the decisive decision, is left to you and me. You know, like we say, lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink coming up on the screen. You can build a bridge, says God, but it's up to us to cross it. Is that simply what Jesus means? No. Jesus really means what he says. No one can come to the Father unless, come to Jesus unless the Father draws him. Let me give you three reasons. The word draws here is a strong word. It's the same word used in chapter 21 when the disciples are dragging, draws, dragging a net full of fish with great force to bring the fish into the boat. Secondly, verse 37 puts the same thing positively. So verse 44, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. He's talking about the same thing in verse 37. All those the Father gives me, gives me, draws them, will come to me. Do you see how definite it is, how certain it is. All those the Father gives me will come. If you are given to Jesus by the Father, if you are drawn by the Father to Jesus, you will come. And thirdly, understanding Jesus' words in the very sense that he says them just fits the context. They are grumbling about Jesus' words. Jesus says, stop grumbling. Why? Well, you're not going to believe unless the Father draws you. We naturally think, we want to believe that the Father draws us, but in the end it's up to us. It seems like that. It feels like that. And that fits with what we think about ourselves. I have a will, I can choose, and my will is free. We don't like the idea that there are some people that the Father will not draw to Jesus. But Jesus says clearly, all the Father gives me will come to me, and no one can come unless the Father draws him. Does this mean that those who do believe are forced to believe? That we are coerced to believe, that we lose our power to decide. That perhaps there are some who want to come to Jesus, but there is a force field set up by God to make sure they don't do it. Well, no, have a look at verse 44 from 44, because Jesus explains how the Father draws them. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, the Old Testament, they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard the Father and learn from him comes to me. How is it that the Father draws people? In Isaiah and in many other prophets, they will all be taught by God. God promised in the new covenant he would give people a new heart, a new spirit. He would write the law on their minds, he would teach them not just externally, but internally, so that everyone who he was drawing would hear the Father and learn from him and would want to come. Is it that people who believe are forced or coerced? Now imagine this. A man is blindfolded, and he is there sitting with a bowl full of breadcrumbs. He's happily eating because, as far as he knows, that's all the food that is in the room. He cannot see the feast that is behind him. But imagine I take off the blindfold, tell him to turn around and show him the feast. I walk him around the tables pointing out the beautiful, delicious food, and inviting him to smell their wit their rich aroma. Do you think he will choose to eat the feast? Or go back to his breadcrumbs? If he does choose to eat, am I forcing him to eat? Is he being coerced somehow? Does he no longer have a will where he is choosing to eat what he wants? No, of course not. The Bible says we are blind to Jesus. And the crowd, even with the signs that they see and the bread that they eat, they cannot naturally see Jesus without the Father drawing them. What does the Father do? He removes a blindfold. He shows people Jesus, the bread of heaven. He changes their hearts so that they want to come, but they freely want to come because Jesus is so good. When someone comes to Jesus, drawn by the Father, they are not forced. In fact, you've never been more free in your life to make the best decision and to choose the best person you could ever choose. Of course, no one can come without the Father drawing them, because we are all blinded by ourselves and by the world. But when the Father draws you and you see Jesus, you freely come. Everyone who the Father draws will come because the Father draws them. When I was 15, I just started at a new church down here at Chatswood. And some people had a big impact on me. There were teenagers who loved Jesus. There was a student minister who challenged me about trusting in Jesus. And I had come having experienced a tragedy in my family a few years before. I desperately wanted an answer to death. I was going to find one. And as an idealistic teenager, I wanted to change the world. And so I investigated. I found out about Jesus and I chose freely when I saw him clearly. But looking back and hearing Jesus' words, that no one can come unless the Father draws them, I see it clearly now. The Father gave me to Jesus. Many reject Jesus because no one can come unless the Father draws them. But be assured every Everyone the Father has given to the Son will come. Now, how do you feel about this teaching from Jesus? We are here talking about predestination that God chooses people. We are here talking about effectual calling, irresistible grace. They will come, those who've been chosen. But for most of us, these are hard teachings, aren't they? They are unfamiliar to us and we feel uncertain. Even if you've grown up in a Christian family and you've gone along to Sunday school as a child, you probably weren't taught about this. And we don't naturally believe this sort of thing. It's the sort of controversial topic you might bring up at youth group because you like debating things. These words from Jesus conflict with what we naturally believe. And so, like the people in this very passage, the crowd, when Jesus' words conflict with what we naturally perceive and think, we don't want to believe them. We can make up our own Jesus who says different things. We can grumble about what Jesus says, we can argue with what Jesus says, and we might even reject him. This truth that no one comes to the Father unless the to the Son unless the Father draws him is not easy. And it takes time to come to terms with. You may have been wrestling with this for years. I want to ask you this morning to keep wrestling with it. Perhaps this is a totally new idea. This is foreign. You thought it was simply up to you. And can you see this is what Jesus is saying? I beg you to wrestle with it. Why? Why not simply put it in the too hard basket? Why not treat it as just some theological idea that other people can talk about if they're interested? Because you need to believe this. If you do not believe this, that people will only come to Jesus if the Father opens their eyes, then you will be shaken by all the people who reject Jesus. The majority of people in the world reject Jesus. The majority of the people who've heard of Jesus reject Jesus. Do you believe in democracy? You do. So why wouldn't you apply it to Jesus and stop believing in him? We respect people who are informed and clever and have university degrees, and lots of them, the majority, reject Jesus. So why wouldn't you give up on Jesus if it's just freely choosing? It would have to make you question and doubt, wouldn't it? You will be shaken in your believing in Jesus if you think it's just up to people. You need Jesus to explain why many reject him. So please wrestle with this and believe what he says. But positively, there's some wonderful fruit that comes when you believe that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws them. Firstly, what fruit does it produce in your life? It makes you humble and thankful. If Jesus died for you and the Father draws you, but the final decision depends on you, then you get to take some of the credit, don't you? At least you made the decision. My brother and I obviously grew up in the same family. We went to exactly the same school. We both grew up going to Sunday school and learning about Jesus. And yet I belong to Jesus and he is far from Jesus. Why is that? Was I cleverer? No. The Father draws those he has chosen to Jesus. He may yet choose my brother and draw him. Yes. But it makes me humble to know it's got nothing to do with me. Humble and thankful. Secondly, it makes me prayerful. More than anything, what is it that we want for other people? We want them to know and love the Lord Jesus. For when you come to Jesus and believe in him, you have life forever. We saw that at Easter. And God uses us, doesn't he? He uses our words, our lives, our invitation to church or to Alpha. But in the end, people will only be able to come to Jesus if the Father draws them. And you know, don't you, that the Father loves to hear and answer your prayers. And so this makes us prayerful. It was so encouraging at Easter. After the sermon, we had response cards, and we asked you to respond. And there was a place to put comments or questions or prayer requests. And a number of people, without me prompting, without me asking, wrote a prayer request, and it was this please pray for my brother or sister, parents or child that they might see Jesus and come to him. Because the Father can do that. This makes me want to be more prayerful. Do you see it's worth wrestling with this? It'll save you from being shaken when many reject Jesus. And it will make you humble and thankful and prayerful. But there's one more fruit. One more fruit that comes from knowing that everyone the Father has given to Jesus will come. And it comes from Jesus' promised. Be assured everyone the Father has given will come to Jesus, and Jesus will lose none, but raise them at the last day. Have a look again, finally, at verse thirty-seven. Again. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me, and this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. Do you think for a moment that Jesus being a meal mere male might be given people by his father? What a precious gift. And lose some of them. The US military says, no man left behind. And we've seen they go to great efforts to keep that promise. The Father has given people to his son. All will come to the Son, but will they continue and make it to the end? For the Christian life is hard. There's all the normal things of life: the ups and downs of life, of relationship, of marriage, parenting, sickness and pain, addictions, grief, cancer, dying. And then add to that as a Christian, the striving to serve Jesus and serve him with others and the persecution you receive because of Jesus. The Christian life is hard. What gives you confidence that you will make it to the end? Because you're that sort of persistent person who doesn't give up. Well, that's not much confidence. No, Jesus says, All those the Father has given to me, I will lose none. What does he mean by I lose none? It will mean I will keep every single one of them. No one can snatch them out of my hand. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Every year, every day, every moment, every good part, every bad part in your dying and when you are dead. Jesus will not lose you if the Father has given you to him. Why is it worth wrestling with this? Humble and thankful, prayerful and confident. We should expect many to reject Jesus, but be assured. Humble and thankful, prayerful and confident, you need to wrestle with this so that all the glory goes not to you, but to God. In the book of Jude, it closes with this to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you before his glorious presence without joy and with without fault and with great joy. To the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority. Through Jesus Christ our Lord before all ages, now and forevermore. Please wrestle with this. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you that in your goodness you've chosen to give a group of people to your Son Jesus. And Father, we thank you that you promise in these words of Jesus that all those that you have given will come, for you will draw them. And that Jesus promises that he will lose none. Father, you know that we find this difficult. Anything that seems to take away our self-determination, our will. Father, for those of us here today who you have brought to Jesus, we have come to believe in Jesus. Help us to look back and to see that that was solely because you drew us. Help us to be prayerful and thankful. Humble and yet confident. And Father, in this way we pray that you might get all the glory as you deserve. Amen.