Well, I missed a day. My family spent the entire day at Disneyland yesterday because our annual passes expired today, and we wanted to get one more family day in. So, I will post two days today. Here's the first:
Wow! John 6 is a very powerful chapter. So many wonderful truths to consider. Jesus starts by demonstrating His power and greatness by two more "signs." He uses a young boy's 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed over 5,000 people and has 12 baskets of food left over! Only Jesus can take what you give Him and leave you with more than you started with! He further demonstrated His power not only by walking on water, but also by transporting the disciples and their boat immediately to the shore (6:21).
The reaction of the people is interesting. They are following Jesus because He fed them, not because of who He was (6:23,26). How tragic it is when we only go to Jesus to get our physical needs met and not because of spiritual desperation. Jesus wastes no time in pointing out what they really should be seeking--food that endures to eternal life (6:27).
Jesus listens to these people ask Him several questions, but He never gives them the answer that they are looking for. Instead, He tells them what they really need to know. First, they ask Him what they need to do to do the works (plural) of God. Jesus responds, not by telling them what they must do, but rather by pointing out what the work (singular) of God is--namely, to bring people to faith in Jesus (6:29). Second, they ask Him about the manna that God gave to Israel in the wilderness. Jesus responds by telling them of the true bread that came down from heaven--Himself (6:35). This really confuses them, first because He says that He came down from heaven, but they "know" that He came from His father, Joseph (6:41-42). They are also confused as to how they can literally eat His flesh (6:52). All along, Jesus has been using this imagery of "eating" and "drinking" His flesh and blood to stand for coming to Him to believe in Him (6:29,35,37,40,44,45,47).
All of this was just too much for some. It was a "hard" saying (6:60) and so some left Him (6:66). I love the response of Peter to Jesus' question, "Do you want to go away as well?" Peter says, "Where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life!" This is still true today!
The confusion and disagreement concerning Jesus continues into chapter 7. Some say He is good, while others say He is misleading people (7:12). They wonder how He knows so much since He never attended the religious schools of the day (7:14), and some explain this by accusing Him of being possessed by a demon (7:20). Some believed (7:31), while others sought to have Him arrested (7:30,32). Jesus once again makes a startling claim (7:37-38)--full satisfaction for those who come to Him by faith. The turmoil among the people really hits a fevered pitch. "He's a Prophet." "He's the Christ." "He' not the Christ." "None of the Pharisees believe in Him." What is interesting is that they all saw the same things. They all heard the same things, yet some believed and other did not. This just highlights all the more how necessary the work of God (see 6:29) is in the lives of people.
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