Gospel of John, Chapter 6

Joh 6:1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
Joh 6:2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.
Joh 6:3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
Joh 6:4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
Joh 6:5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
Joh 6:6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
Joh 6:7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”
Joh 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,
Joh 6:9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
Joh 6:10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.
Joh 6:11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
Joh 6:12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”
Joh 6:13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten.
Joh 6:14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
Joh 6:15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Joh 6:16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,
Joh 6:17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
Joh 6:18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
Joh 6:19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.
Joh 6:20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
Joh 6:21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
Joh 6:22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.
Joh 6:23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
Joh 6:24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
Joh 6:25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
Joh 6:27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Joh 6:28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Joh 6:30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
Joh 6:31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Joh 6:32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Joh 6:34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Joh 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Joh 6:36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
Joh 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
Joh 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Joh 6:39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
Joh 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Joh 6:41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
Joh 6:42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Joh 6:43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
Joh 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me–
Joh 6:46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
Joh 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
Joh 6:48 I am the bread of life.
Joh 6:49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
Joh 6:50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Joh 6:52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Joh 6:53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Joh 6:54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Joh 6:56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
Joh 6:58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Joh 6:59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
Joh 6:60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
Joh 6:61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?
Joh 6:62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
Joh 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Joh 6:64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
Joh 6:65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
Joh 6:66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
Joh 6:67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
Joh 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
Joh 6:69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
Joh 6:70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
Joh 6:71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

1-14) This was a remarkable event in the life of Jesus in that it is that only event to be recorded by all four writers of the Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). John typically did not write about the same events as the other Apostles. His book was written last of the four, and perhaps we was well aware of the texts of the others, preferring instead to “fill in the gaps”.

God will bless and multiply physical resources if we honor God for the gifts we currently have, and dedicate them and ourselves to his service. This applies to everything from food in our pantry to funds in our bank account.

I spoke about tithing the other day. Once my wife and I truly committed our finances to the Lord, we have never come close to being short. Debts we accumulated before we came to the Lord are being paid off at a much faster rate than we imagined, and yet we still have enough for little things. It’s not like we get mystery checks in the mail - it all just seems to work out. God will do this for anyone, and much, much more.

This section where Jesus feeds the masses provides insight into God’s stewardship that goes much further than physical resources. God will honor our committment of any resources to him. How about an intangible resource like time? Do we have a great amount of tasks that “need” to get done? If we dedicate ourselves and our actions to the Lord, we will find the time. Yes, there may be some long days involved, but God refreshes us and lightens our burden by “making our paths straight” (Pro: 3:6), and

Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Jesus goes further into this subject in the book of Matthew:

Mat 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Mat 6:26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Mat 6:27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Mat 6:28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
Mat 6:29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Mat 6:31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Mat 6:32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
Mat 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Mat 6:34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

12) Two reasons for Jesus telling the disciples to pick up the fragments:

1. So that the miracle could be fully identified
2. So that we may learn to be good stewards even in times of abundance, not taking God’s favor for granted

15) Jesus is humble - he would wait for God to lift him up, not man. Man’s throne perishes with the grave, whereas God’s lasts for eternity in Heaven. Since Jesus is humble, that would mean God is humble…

Joh 5:19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

That still seems a bit strange to me (my flesh, actually). God is all-powerful, omniscient, and omnipresent. Yet, God is humble. Why else would God send Jesus to reach the poor, and the afflicted? We sometimes teach that God helps those who help themselves. That is true, but I forget that he is always reaching out to us first.

The world teaches us that you have to be strong and powerful to get anywhere in life. We have to be driving forces…

God tells us something different. I do not doubt that people like the Apostles were driven men. However, the were driven by the spirit of God. This appears much different - power through humility and service.

16-21) A slew of miracles here - we start with Jesus walking on the water. The other gospels delve deeper into this story, but John tells just enough to let us know that Jesus is with us even when we feel like we are alone. The disciples were several miles offshore in a rough sea, in the middle of the night. Jesus was nowhere around and they were in a bit of trouble. However Jesus (and God) is not constrained by what we see and feel. Fortunately God is not even constrained by our thoughts. God is here all along.

My wife and I are celebrating our Valentine’s Day tonight, so I would appreciate your prayers that we have a relaxing evening and that our love is refreshed by the Lord. We pray also for each of you visiting for any and all needs that you may have. God is listening. He is “in the boat” with us just like Jesus. We have a virtual prayer request room that you may visit by clicking here . Your prayer is shown to people all around the world. Remember…

Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

So be bold in sharing your prayer with friends around the world. Also maybe agree with some of the prayers you see cascading down the screen - technology and the Internet is such a blessing from God!!

26) What an interesting response by Jesus. Some people join a church and become affiliated with a particular religion so that their physical needs may be met. Actually, there are many. This is why the great percentage of people who become Christians fall away from God never to return. I’m not being cynical - a very large, well-known church here in the US did a study from obtaining cards after people had committed their life to Christ at a special gathering. One year later, barely any of those people were still in the church. There are many reasons for this, but the primary is that we are still thinking selfishly - what will God do for me.

The “Faith movement” catches some heat for this, which is not entirely justified. God gives particular callings to different ministries. Some are more like John the baptist calling out for repentance. Some attend to the poor and sick, while others teach God’s word. There are some preachers in the faith movement (most are ones we have not heard of) that treat God like a magic genie. Fortunately most of the prominent ministries are fairly responsible - sure they get a bit off now and then, but I go much further “off”.

We must be extremely careful to avoid love of money or things. They are simply a means to do God’s will. Sure, he will bless us with things to enjoy along the way, but when we are deliberately seeking them over God, we fall away and are open to serious danger in our lives.

This is what Jesus was trying to impress to these people. He knew their hearts and wanted to make sure that they did as well.

29-36) Jesus impresses upon us the simplicity of our salvation. We use religion to over-complicate our relationship with God - Jesus says for us to believe in his name, and to come to him. Believe in God and have a relationship with him. Everything else works itself out.

Why is the application of these truths so much more difficult? Pride - we are not satisfied with God’s timetable, so we make our own plans and then ask God to bless them.

37) Jesus says he will never cast us out - Chalk that one up for the “once saved, always saved”. Our sins do not keep us from Heaven once we are saved. We are forever justifed by our faith in the shed blood of Christ, but are continually sanctified. We don’t have to keep speaking the prayer of salvation, as I used to do in my early years. I would do something terribly sinful and think that I couldn’t possibly still be in the kingdom of God - like my salvation “didn’t take”. Fortunately God’s power over sin is much greater than ours.

44) This is a tough verse - some take it to mean that we are chosen by God, not the other way around. If this is true, then God would be creating people and then sending them to Hell. That is not the God we know, so there must be more to this. I’ll research this one a bit more and get back to you on it. Feel free to discuss your views in the comments section.

48-61) Jesus’ discourse on the bread of life. To those listening, it sounded absurd - Jesus was using metaphors to make this easier for them to understand. Unfortunately they took it literally. When we feed on something, we take it into ourselves. It is digested and our cells manufacture the food into our actual body.

When we “feed” on Jesus, we take him into our body, soul, and spirit. God is integrated into every facet of our being. Though the body eventually wears out and we die, our Spirit is still connected to God through the Holy Spirit. Through that we have the eternal life spoken of.

66) As spoken of earlier, many turned away. The Gospels do preach a difficult message for our flesh at times. If we are seeking God in spirit and truth, the message becomes easier.

Pro 1:23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

Proverbs, Chapter 6 (ESV)

Pro 6:1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger,
Pro 6:2 if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth,
Pro 6:3 then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.
Pro 6:4 Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber;
Pro 6:5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Pro 6:6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Pro 6:7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,
Pro 6:8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
Pro 6:9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
Pro 6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
Pro 6:11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Pro 6:12 A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,
Pro 6:13 winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger,
Pro 6:14 with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord;
Pro 6:15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
Pro 6:16 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
Pro 6:17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,
Pro 6:19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Pro 6:20 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
Pro 6:21 Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.
Pro 6:22 When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.
Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
Pro 6:24 to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
Pro 6:25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
Pro 6:26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life.
Pro 6:27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?
Pro 6:28 Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?
Pro 6:29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.
Pro 6:30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
Pro 6:31 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.
Pro 6:32 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.
Pro 6:33 Wounds and dishonor will he get, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
Pro 6:34 For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
Pro 6:35 He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

notes on Proverbs 6

1-5) My wife and I experienced this before we were married. An acquaintance was arrested, and we chose to pay the $1000 to bail him out. The guy turned out to be extremely dishonest - he kept pushing back his court date and we moved to Florida. We sure were hoping he would show up in court so we would get our bail money back. Of course he did not show up, but God gave us favor with the court personnel and they sent us the money anyway. Fortunately this turned out well, but it is a living example of what God says.

We can only control our own actions. When we put our person on the line for another, we must be prepared for them to fail us. That’s what God says we will do:

Rom 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

6-11) God despises the lazy - we reap what we sow. Fortunately God has gifted us with talents that we enjoy. Every day may not be bliss, but we can have the joy of the Lord as we toil for him.

16) I had to go through this list a couple times - whew, I’ve got some work to do!

26) These Proverbs are the way to life. For some it is a list of things we can’t do, while for others it is a list of things that we should avoid since they will destroy us. It’s all a matter of where we are in our walk with God.

The rest of the chapter speaks specifically of the dangers of adultery, but some of this may apply to other sins as well. In my life, if I even toy with sin, it will eventually lure me into it fully. When we move away from God (and towards sin), we move out from his protection. We can take a lesson from Joseph when his master’s wife was trying to seduce him. He ran out of the house so quickly that he left his cloak behind in her hand.

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Have a blessed day!

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