John 6 from Great Falls

I want to get you out of here at a proper time. I want to show respect for the folks taking care of kids. Tomorrow is school day, all the rest of that stuff. So if we can gather back together, I'd really appreciate it.

Time as I can get here, I started preaching there. Sorry, I wanted to get done a little earlier than I did, but I started preaching. This next text is between the reading that we just gave to the ninth chapter of Romans and the teachings of Jesus himself.

John 6 and the Feeding of the Five Thousand

And so I invite you to turn with me to the longest chapter of the Gospel of John, John chapter six. The sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, wherein we have the recording of the great miracle, the feeding of the 5 ,000.

We have Jesus sending the crowds away when they want to make him king. Then men see that the next day that Jesus has left so they get in boats and they are seeking after Jesus. These are Jesus seekers.

They go to the other side of the lake. I mean, look at these people. They are really putting themselves out to follow after Jesus. And in fact, in most churches today, I think they would have been made deacons almost immediately.

They were putting out so much effort. We can't get folks to come to Sunday school and these guys are rowing boats across lakes looking after Jesus. Is there not any greater evidence that these are Christians?

No. Jesus is going to demonstrate that they are not Christians, that they are, in fact, false disciples. And so, beginning of verse 25, when they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here?

And Jesus replied, I tell you truly, you are looking for me. You are searching for me, seeking for me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the bread and were filled. You saw a miracle.

You didn't understand what it meant, but you got some free food and you thought that was great. Work, do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.

This one, the Father has sealed, has put his seal of approval on him. So notice immediately, Jesus attempting to take the conversation away from physical food, physical things, and move it on to spiritual realities.

So they said to him, what must we do to work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God that you believe in the one that he has sent. Don't try to be doing work. So they said, what sign do you do that we might see and believe in you?

What work do you accomplish? Others ate to them the bread from heaven, but my Father gave to them the bread, the true bread from heaven, is giving to them, sorry, the true bread from heaven. He who came down from heaven and is giving life to the world.

Therefore they said to him, Lord, always give to us this bread. And Jesus said to them, the one coming to me will never hunger, the one believing in me will never thirst. Might have, there's a text that wrote a reference to what's called the Eucharistic sacrifice of the masses.

They will drop down to verses 50 and following and say, see, Jesus said, you eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. Please know that the first place where eating and drinking is mentioned here. Jesus himself says, the one coming to me will not hunger, the one believing in me will never thirst.

The hungering and thirsting and eating of John six is spiritual, not physical. It is a gross misuse of this text to read into it some type of Eucharistic theology that would not develop for another thousand years.

Besides that, Rome doesn't believe what's gonna come between now and verse 50 in regards to sovereignty of God and salvation beginning. I wanna begin focusing in at verse 36. Our time, unfortunately, is very limited.

The Father's Giving, Human Believing, and the Promise to Raise Up

But I said to you that you have seen me and you are not believing. You've seen me, you saw the miracle I worked yesterday. You saw me feed the 5 ,000. You're not believers. Now you see, from our perspective, we look at these folks, how can you say that?

Well, Jesus knows the hearts and minds of men. Remember in John chapter two, when men saw the signs that Jesus did, it said many believed in him. But it uses a form of believe that in the Gospel of John never refers to saving faith.

It's just a temporary thing. And there in John chapter two, it says Jesus did not entrust himself to them. He literally did not believe himself to them because he knew what was in the heart of man. He knows these men.

They don't truly believe. He says you have seen me and you are not believing. Why? Why do these who possess the scriptures, Jews here in the synagogue at Capernaum, wasn't Jesus, does Jesus say here, you know, my sermon yesterday really wasn't all that good.

I wasn't as clear as I could have been. The worship band was off. PowerPoint wasn't working. So let me try again. Is that why they weren't believing? I didn't work on my sermon long enough. And so let me bring a drama group in to help out.

Verse 37. All coming to me I will never cast out because I have come down out of my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me. In order that of all that he has given to me, I lose none of it.

One's looking upon the son and believing in him might have eternal life. And I myself will raise him up. The one coming to me will not hunger. They're the same thing. And so Jesus says, all that the father gives me will come to me.

Question of this in the language. Again, this isn't, oh, there's a difficult. The only reason people struggle with this is tradition. Think about it for a moment. All that the father gives me will come to me.

Which action comes first? The giving of the father or coming to the son? If I say, with a ticket to, we'll go into the foot. What comes first? This is not a difficult question. This isn't a trick question.

And no, we're not going to. I've taken them to the son. They think what the Jesus is saying is, all that the father sees will believe in me, he gives to me. Gives to me. Due to my having been given to him by the father.

It's clear. You see, a lot of folks like John 6, 37, but they don't like the last part of the verse. They love, and the one coming to me, I will never cast out. Oh, that's beautiful. Christ will never cast away one who comes to him.

And that is a tremendous promise.

But it's the second half of a sentence. Parents with teenagers.

No, the teenagers are good at cutting sentences up into pieces. Clean your room, and we'll go have pizza. To the teenager, he comes, brr, brr, brr, brr, go have pizza. When it results in disciplinary problems, that shows a disrespect for the parent, does it not?

When it's ongoing, when it's constant, aren't we showing disrespect for God's word when we cut his sentences up into pieces? The one coming to me, I will never cast out. Why is that? It's the second half of a sentence.

The first half of the sentence lays the foundation. All that the Father gives me will come to me. He's just said, you do not believe in me. Why? Because you have not been given to me by the Father. At the end of this discourse, think about John chapter six for a moment.

Remember the big story here. Beginning of John chapter six, 5 ,000 men followers, not including women and children, excited about the teachings of Jesus. End of discourse, John chapter six. 12 confused disciples, one of whom's a devil.

This is where Jesus founds the church shrinkage movement. But he did so purposely. Because Jesus does not intend to fill because there are many today. Please note something, that's present tense. Not the one who one time comes to me and tips his hat.

The one coming to me, ongoing, always going to Jesus, believing in this text, is ongoing, present tense. He's talking about true saving faith in this text. And the one coming to me, I will never cast out.

Strongest form of negation you can have in the original language. I will never cast that one out. Why? All because I'm just so loving that no matter how bad you might be, I'll just always accept you, that's what he says.

Here in John chapter six, for a moment, it's one of those tremendous places in scripture where for a moment, the very veil of eternity is drawn back and we are able to see communication between the Father and the Son.

In verse 38, we're told, because I have come down out of heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. Why will I never cast that one out? Because the Father has expressed his will for me.

I'm not doing my own will, I'm doing the will of the Father who sent me. And what is that will? Verse 39, this is the will of the one who sent me, that of all, I said none of it. There's something important to see here.

Instead of using the masculine to refer to an individual, a person, the text switches over to the neuter, to refer to a group. The whole group of those given by the Father to the Son. It is the Father's will that of all that he has given to him that whole group that as a group is entrusted to the Son, the Father's will to the Son is that he save everyone in that group perfectly.

He lose none of it. Redeemed heart, even ponder the possibility that the Son could fail to do the will. Such a thought should cause you to recoil in horror. The very idea that the Son could fail to do the Father's will would mean we have absolutely no hope.

But what's the corollary to that? God saves perfectly. What must be true of Jesus in light of verse 39? Jesus must be a perfect and powerful Savior. He cannot be one who depends on you and me for the success of his work because if my work has to be added in or if your Father's will that he save them, Jesus can save every one of those given to him by the Father perfectly.

That is the promise of Scripture. That's the very foundation of our only confidence. In the worst times of our life, in the darkest times of our life, that is a rock that will not move, but it stands only upon the firm foundation of the sovereignty of God.

For this is the will of my Father. In order that everyone looking upon the Son, that's present tense, just as coming and believing is a present tense participle, everyone looking upon the Son and believing in him would have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day.

Who are the only ones who look to Jesus as the source of their spiritual life? Who are the only ones who are believing in Jesus for eternal life? Those the Father has given to the Son. And what does mankind do here?

When the traditions get stomped upon, they skip over verses 37 to 39, jump down to verse 40 and say, see, everybody can look and everybody can believe and therefore there is no choice on God's part. I have never found that I have been looking for a number of years.

Any position that can start at the beginning of John chapter six and walk straight through in the context, in the original language to the end of John chapter six that does not teach the absolute sovereignty of God and salvation.

Oh, I've found some incredibly interesting ways to get around this text. Most of the time it involves reading it upside down. No, I don't mean hanging upside down, I mean reading it upside down. But I have never found and I have honestly sought for some kind of meaningful counter-exegesis interpretation.

You cannot walk through this text without hearing what Jesus is saying. The Jews heard it. I love the beginning of verse 41. The verse 41 begins, the Jews were grumbling concerning him. The word grumbling in Greek is gungusmu.

Doesn't that sound like grumbling, gungusmu? And so we'd be driving in the car and you know how kids are in the backseat. Stop gungusmu-ing back there. The Jews are gungusmu-ing concerning him because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven and they're saying, what?

Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and his mother. How is it that he's saying, I've come down from heaven? Jesus answered and said to them, don't gungusmu amongst yourselves. Stop grumbling amongst yourselves.

Isabel, who sent me, draws him, will raise him up. You don't need to grumble because no one can come to me unless the father who sent, verse, I believe it is 60. For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him.

So Jesus was saying, and literally it seems he was repeating this, because of this, for this reason I told you, no one can come to me unless the father has granted it to him. Unless it's granted him to the father.

Jesus knew that would be it, except something happens. What is it? The drawing of the father. Oh, good, because we know God draws everybody, right? I've seen people go, oh, oh, oh, but wait. And they jump out of John six and they jump six chapters into the future of John 12.

Now even before we look at that, as soon as you see someone who has to jump out of one text and go someplace else to interpret this text, that should raise a big warning flag in your mind. That's not how you interpret the Bible.

You don't go running off to someplace else and then read that back in here. Besides that, the people to whom Jesus was talking wouldn't have been able to follow what he was saying if that was the case.

Oh yeah, you're gonna say that in the future. Okay, yeah, makes no sense. But what do people, oh, here in John chapter 12, Jesus says I will draw all men unto me. When the Son of Man is unto me, I will draw all men unto myself, so therefore everything is okay because God draws everybody.

Well, there's a little bit of a problem. There's two problems. First of all, that ignores the context of John 12. John 12, Greeks, some Greeks, remember they come to Philip because they knew Philip had a Greek name.

They come to Philip and they want to talk to Jesus. You ever notice something? Jesus didn't talk to them, he didn't. And in Jesus said, and I will draw all men, any right Greeks, Gentiles coming to Jesus.

When I'm with God, Jews and Gentiles unto myself. What did Paul just say in Romans nine? Who are the vessels of mercy made of? Jews and Gentiles, those who are the called. Please me, how many people have said, oh yeah, yeah, John 12, 32.

That means every human being has ever lived. Really? The Amorites were drawn to the cross of Jesus? But since then, the cross of Jesus, really, is that what the New Testament teaches about the cross? What is the cross to those who are perishing?

Is it something that attracts you? Something that's beautiful?

Paul says it's the stench of devils,.

Those who are perishers of life, who are the called. The idea that John 12 is just this escape hatch makes no sense at all and it abuses John 12. So we come back to John six. There's a second problem.

Notice what it says, listen very carefully. No one is able to come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, raise him up on the last day. Now, we just saw being raised up on the last day is the same as eternal life.

Look at verse four. Jesus will raise up who on the last day? All those that the Father gives him. Who is it that the Father draws to Jesus? Those that he's given to him. But if you say, well, God draws everybody, but it's up to you whether you come to Jesus.

H-I-N-J-O-N 644. When it says, the Father draws him and I will raise him on the last day. It's the same, him. Whoever is raised up has been drawn by the Father. Whosoever is drawn by the Father will be raised up.

If you wanna say everyone's drawn, then you have to be consistent. Everyone's gonna be saved. You have to become a universalist. You have no way around it, I'm sorry. Or you have to recognize from the beginning, the Father gives a people to the Son, they come to the Son.

He will not cast any of them out. Why? Because the Father has given them to the Son and it's the Father's will that he save all of them and raise them up at the last day. All of this has been an explanation of the statement in verse 36.

You have seen me, but you do not believe. Hasn't given you to Christ. Jesus said that? No. It's amazing how many places in Scripture. Turn with me to John chapter eight. This theme comes up over and over and over again.

Unbelief, the New Birth, and Hearing the Words of God

In John chapter eight, remember, you had some false believers. Verse 30, while he was saying these things, many people believed in him, but that's the form of believe that does not, in John, mean saving faith.

It's a temporary thing. These are the same people who, by the end of the chapter, could pick up stones to stone him. And so Jesus offends them in verse 32. If you continue to follow my teaching, you are truly my disciples.

You will know the truth. The truth will set you free. And as soon as Jesus says we need to be set free, oh man, don't tell me I need to be set free. What do you mean I'm enslaved? And so the battle begins.

Jesus tells them, you individuals, you're doing the deeds of your father. And then verse 43, listen to what Jesus says. Why don't you hear? Why do you not understand what I am saying to you? Because you are not able to hear my word.

Why don't you hear what I'm saying? Why don't you understand? Because you're not able to hear my word. Doesn't mean they were deaf, but there was something wrong with them. They lack a capacity. They cannot hear.

Just as Paul said, the natural man does not receive the thanks of the spirit of God. They're foolish. They're spiritually discerned. And then, listen, the one who is of God or belongs to God hears the words of God.

For this reason, you are not hearing. And what would man's tradition say at this point? Because you don't choose to. Because by your free will, you've chosen not to. That's not what scripture says. Because you don't belong to God.

That's what Jesus said. Why don't you hear what I'm saying? Because those who are of God hear the words of God. You don't hear what I'm saying? Because you're not of God. Let's look at John chapter 10.

The Shepherd, His Sheep, and the Father Who Gives a People to the Son

Oh, the good shepherd passage. That's so wonderful. We like passages where Jesus is carrying little lambs around and stuff like that. And then Jesus says, in verse 24, so the Jewish leaders, it is replied, I told you and you do not believe.

The works which I am doing in the name of my Father, these testify concerning me, but you are not believing because you are not of my sheep. Voice, and I know them. This is why you don't believe. You're not of my sheep.

Next, what did Jesus say about he and his sheep? I give my life for the sheep. And then he says to the Jewish, John chapter 17, those you have given to me. I'm praying for who? You hear John six? Those you have given to me?

And he's gonna go on and talk about those who are gonna believe based on their time. Increasing prayer. Jesus recognizes there are certain people that the Father gives to him, and that's why they have saving faith.

It's a theme that runs throughout what we saw in Romans nine, we saw in Romans eight, Paul's statement, in 1 Corinthians, but to those who are the call, Christ, the power of God. Christ, the wisdom of God.

The offhanded comment of Luke, as many as were ordained to eternal life believe. The offhanded comment of Paul to Timothy, I endure all things for the sake of the elect. These aren't just a few scattered verses.

This is the very fabric of the recognition on the part of the inspired writers that God is sovereign in his creation. There are many people who don't mind the sovereignty of God as long as it's limited.

We'll allow God to keep the earth in orbit, that's shining, and he can take care of those big things. And we'll let God be sovereign over the affairs of men as far as the big macro stuff like nations rising against nations.

I mean, why would anybody pray to God that we would have peace in our land if God can't actually give us peace in our land? Ever wondered about that? There are a lot of people that will allow God to be sovereign out there.

To the single thing that God has done that most glorifies him. The single thing that the Trinity itself in eternity past has decreed to do to bring about the triune majesty's own self-glorification. Before time began, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit covenanted together to create and to redeem.

That it was decided before creation itself that the Son, not the Father or the Spirit, the Son would enter into his own creation so as to provide the one means of salvation. That a people would be united with him so that his death becomes their death, his burial, their burial, his resurrection, their resurrection.

So that throughout eternity to come, his grace and mercy would be glorified. That in that one central thing that God does insists with his traditions. He says, oh, can't be saved without grace. Everybody needs grace.

But you see, grace isn't enough. Resultant presentation, whether those who make it realize it or not. God the Father, the fount and source of salvation, decreeing salvation, entering into his own creation to provide it.

The Spirit coming to make it alive in the hearts of men and women. The triune God trying to save. About his own glory, sovereign creator, and he is the sovereign savior. We are to but bow down. That we love our sin.

We were enslaved to our sin. Before eternity itself, he set his love upon us. And when the right time came, his spirit was to Jesus Christ. It is by him that you are in Christ Jesus, first Corinthians chapter one says.

So that he who boasts, let him boast. I saw a copy of it yesterday here. Number of years ago, when I was responding to a very well-known evangelical scholar's presentation. And one of the most startling, shocking statements in that man's book had to do with the atonement.

He said, Christ's death did not save anyone. It made us all stable. Christ's death saved no one. It made us all stable. Is that what we saw in Hebrews chapter 10? Here in John six, John 17. Do we see that anywhere?

Traditions to overthrow the exegesis of the text description. The end of this chapter, I want you to see it in your mind's eye. Look at it once again at the end of 65. This is why I told you to look at each other.

Some walk away because it's pretty obvious there's not gonna be any free food today. He's pointing to himself. He's saying that we need to find our whole spiritual sustenance in him. Who does he think he is?

It's cool yesterday, but the crowd gets smaller and smaller. To find the last one walks away and they're the disciples. Chapter six, they were pretty high. They were pretty excited. They were pretty happy.

When they were passing out that supernatural bread and the supernatural fish. Yeah, I'm with Jesus. I've been with him for a long time. Enjoy it up there, hey? And they're going, as Jesus. Jesus said in 12, you don't wanna go away too.

And here is the difference. Free food. Whom would we go? Because he was smarter and better than all those other people who just walked away. Peter said that because that's why Simon Peter hears the words of eternal life.

It's not just Romans nine, Ephesians one. It's not just second Timothy chapter one. From Genesis to Revelation, God is sovereign in his creation. There is such tremendous peace. He is accomplishing his purpose.

This world is a scary place. Ahmadinejad's getting nuked, sure is a scary thing. Chronic plague in Europe looked like the whole world was going to an end, didn't it? And yet God has purpose. God was accomplishing his will.

That is our strength. Our foundation is one. And that is why we glorify him. Because salvation is up. It's revealed to us your glory, your majesty, your power, your holiness and your wrath against sin, which has caused us to flee from that.

So we thank you for your word. And we ask that you would cause us to truly have a heart that says, I must believe what God's word reveals. You would help us to understand your truth. Edify your people.

And may we rejoice in the glory of the gospel revealed in the scriptures. We pray in Christ's name. Time with you. Who knows, the Lord may bring me back up here sometime. I would only ask for some cold weather.

Thank you.