Reading the Bible Everyday – John 6

Joy: You’re listening to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Episode #74.  Today we’ll read John chapter 6 together:  A little boy shares his lunch; the crowd wonders how Jesus got to the other side of lake; and some disciples turn away.

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me as we simply read God’s word together.  Some things require discipline and sometimes that’s just not easy to muster by yourself, no matter how badly you want to do it or how much you know you should.  It’s just easier to do it with a friend.  So refill your coffee or tea, get comfortable in your favorite chair and follow along as I read aloud.  I’m so glad you’re here!

Just a heads up, there are what some might consider disturbing suggestions about Jesus’ body and blood in this chapter.  I would encourage you not to over-complicate it.  The key theme here is that Jesus is the Bread of Life.  Try to look beyond the language and search for the spiritual meaning – we need Jesus to live.  When encountering an especially difficult passage, I try to remember to say to myself something like this:  “Okay, I know that Jesus is good and I know that He has my best interests at heart. I know He isn’t trying to confuse, but I also know that what He describes is sometimes a carrot on a stick to entice me to dig deeper.  What does He want me to know from this passage?”   I would encourage you to refer to a good Bible commentator such as John MacArthur or Matthew Henry for explanation of some of these passages.  Don’t turn away as some of the disciples did.  Strive to understand.

John Chapter 6:  1 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 And a huge crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was performing on the sick. 3 So Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. 5 Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. 7 Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish-but what are they for so many?” 10 Then Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated-so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were full, He told His disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign He had done, they said, “This really is the Prophet who was to come into the world!” 15 Therefore, when Jesus knew that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain by Himself. 16 When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 Then a high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. 19 After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid!” 21 Then they were willing to take Him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading. 22 The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea knew there had been only one boat. [They also knew] that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone off alone. 23 Some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord gave thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “I assure you: You are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him.” 28 “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked. 29 Jesus replied, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the One He has sent.” 30 “What sign then are You going to do so we may see and believe You?” they asked. “What are You going to perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat. ” 32 Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always!” 35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again. 36 But as I told you, you’ve seen Me, and yet you do not believe. 37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” 41 Therefore the Jews started complaining about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’ ?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Stop complaining among yourselves. 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. 45 It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to Me- 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God. He has seen the Father. 47 “I assure you: Anyone who believes has eternal life.  48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” 52 At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves. 54 Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, 55 because My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your fathers ate-and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 Therefore, when many of His disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard! Who can accept it?” 61 Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were complaining about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 The Spirit is the One who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some among you who don’t believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning those who would not believe and the one who would betray Him.) 65 He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted to him by the Father.” 66 From that moment many of His disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. 67 Therefore Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, who will we go to? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that You are the Holy One of God!” 70 Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is the Devil!” 71 He was referring to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray Him.

Did you notice that John provides a detail in the story of the feeding of the 5000 men that we haven’t previously been given?  We did not know before that the five loaves and three fish came from a little boy’s lunch.  A little boy.  The lunch his mom probably packed for him before he ran off to listen to the prophet that everyone had been talking about.  Twelve disciples who had been under the tutelage of Jesus for quite a while now were scratching their heads wondering how in the world Jesus expected them to come up with enough bread for a crowd of 15,000 to 20,000 people to get even a taste.  Apparently, the little boy didn’t struggle too much with the problem.  He didn’t wring his hands because it wasn’t enough.  He didn’t lament how such a huge problem was going to be solved.  He didn’t even throw up his hands and deem it impossible.  He just offered what he had.  Let’s pray.  Oh, Lord, what do You think when you see us running around trying to solve problems?  It’s embarrassing – or should be – that a child knows intuitively what to do.  Forgive us for our spiritual blindness.  Help us to learn to just bring what we have, lay it at Your feet, and to have faith You’ll do the rest.  You never require from us what we don’t have.  We are poor in spirit, Lord.  Please help us.  We want to know You; we want to please You.  We praise You because You are the Bread of Life.  Amen.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray God will grow in you what has been planted and watered here.  In this time of unprecedented struggle worldwide, we can look to God for guidance and comfort.  Be sensitive to those in your circle of influence who need a word of encouragement and invite them to join us.  If you like this show, it would be great if you give it a five-star review.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you right here tomorrow.  Be well!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.