JOHN LESSON 18
We will begin this lesson in John 6:45, but first let me mention
again part of verse 43 and 44.
V-43, "Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not
among yourselves."
V-44, "No man can come to me, except the father which hath sent
me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
Now we will pick up in verse 45.
V-45, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all
taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned
of the Father, cometh unto me."
It is written in Isaiah 54:13, "And all thy children shall be
taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children."
Jesus is saying in all of this, "If you really know the Scriptures as
you say you do, then you will accept me. The prophets of the Old
Testament have predicted my coming." Notice that those who hear and
those who learn from that hearing are separated here. Many hear, but
few understand and learn. If they had heard the words of the Old
Testament and understood what they heard, they would receive Jesus
with open arms.
V-46, "Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of
God, he hath seen the Father."
Jesus is speaking of Himself here. Jesus has seen the Father.
Even Moses saw His presence in the bush that was burning and did not
burn up. He also met with God on the mount where he received the Ten
Commandments, but he did not see God's face.
V-47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me
hath everlasting life."
In Romans chapter ten we see this also, Romans 10:10, "For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation." Jesus is saying if you really
believe on Him, you will be saved. All of the other things are like
icing on the cake. Our belief is what saves us.
V-48, "I am that bread of life."
In Luke 4:4, "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That
man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." The
Word of God is really a Christian's bread. The Passover bread is
symbolic of Jesus' body and the fruit of the vine is symbolic of His
blood. In verse 48 above, Jesus is saying that He alone can bring you
eternal life.
V-49, "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are
dead."
This manna in the wilderness sustained these Israelites' needs
for food for one day at a time and on Sabbath for two days. It did
not bring eternal life to those who ate it. Jesus is Life. When you
partake of Him, ye shall never die.
V-50, "This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a
man may eat thereof, and not die."
This manna, spoken of in verse 49, was a symbol of the true Bread
(Jesus Christ) which would come down from heaven and save the world.
In the same sense, the male lamb which was sacrificed each year at
Passover was symbolic of the true Lamb which would be crucified for
the sins of the world for all time.
manna .........................temporary food
Jesus Christ ..................eternal Bread
Passover lamb .................one year
Lamb of God (Jesus Christ) ....eternal life
V-51, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any
man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I
will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
In I Timothy 3:16 we read, "And without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, received up into glory." This just says that Jesus gave His
flesh on the cross that we might live forever. The Spirit of God
hovered over Mary and she conceived by the Spirit of God. Jesus means
Jehovah Saviour. Jesus gave Himself that we might have life by just
partaking of Hi m. When we receive Jesus into our lives, it is
symbolic of partaking of His flesh.
V-52, "The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How
can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
These Jews are not looking with spiritual eyes. First of all,
they see Jesus as a man, not as their Messiah. Some of these Jews
believed one thing and some others believed another. They are not
ready to accept Him as the Lamb of God. They hear Hi s words, but
they do not understand.
V-53, "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you."
This is the very thing we are doing when we take communion. We
eat the unleavened bread in memory of Jesus sacrificing His body on
the cross for us; taking our sins upon His body, nailing really the
sins of the world to the cross. Some people say Jesus spilled His
blood for us, but that isn't true. It was no accident that Jesus'
blood was shed for us. His blood washes us white as snow. When we
take the fruit of the vine, we are remembering that He freely shed His
blood to do away with our sins. The only way we can inherit life
eternal is to believe that the sacrifice of His body and His shed
blood was for us. In believing this and acting upon it, we receive
eternal life.
V-54, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal
life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
V-55, "For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink
indeed."
We see from this, again, that the only way to receive life
everlasting, is to partake of Jesus. If we receive His blood to
cleanse our heart and accept His flesh as the perfect Lamb sacrifice,
then and only then, will we be saved. In Revelation 7:9 we read of
those who have fully partaken of Jesus, "After this I beheld, and, lo,
a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and
kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." Read
verses 10,11,12, and 13, then see the answer to who they are in verse
14, "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These
are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Read verses 15,
16 and 17 to see the wonderful things they have in store for them.
V-56, "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth
in me, and I in him."
When we receive Jesus as Saviour and Lord, He takes up His abode
with us. He lives in us. It explains it beautifully in Galatians
2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself
for me." In other words, if I belong to Jesus, my life is conducted
in such a manner that others can see Jesus in me.
V-57, "As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the
Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me."
Jesus Christ is the living Bread. Jesus Christ in His divine
humanity gave His body so that we might receive the fulness of God.
His power is the power of the Father, our power is in the name of
Jesus the Christ. The life within us was breathed in by God. Our new
life is breathed of God, as well. We are nothing without Him. Our
total being is because of Him.
V-58, "This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as
your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this
bread shall live for ever."
The manna which came down from heaven was a type and shadow of
the true Bread (Jesus Christ our Lord). The shadow could not bring
eternal life, only a temporary taking care of needs. The shadow was
done away, and the real Bread came down who was the Word of God (Jesus
Christ) which gave eternal life to whosoever will.
V-59, "These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in
Capernaum."
We know that it was much harder for them to believe at Capernaum.
He was too close to home.
Notes
John 18 Questions
1. No man can come to me, Jesus said, except when who drew him?
2. Every man that had learned of _______________________ _________
came to God the Son.
3. In Isaiah 54:13, who shall the children be taught of?
4. Who had predicted the coming of the Lord Jesus?
5. Who had seen the Father?
6. What had Moses seen of the Father?
7. Who hath everlasting life?
8. Romans 10:10 says what?
9. Who called Himself the Bread of life?
10. What is a Christian's bread really?
11. In verse 49, Jesus reminds them that their fathers ate manna in
the wilderness but are
_____________________________.
12. What happens to those who partake of Jesus?
13. Compare manna to Jesus and Passover lamb to Jesus?
14. What type of Bread is Jesus?
15. What does the communion bread symbolize?
16. What does the fruit of the vine symbolize in communion?
17. What must all Christians do to have life within?
18. Who will raise the Christian at the last day?
19. In Revelation 7:9, how were the multitude of all nations dressed?
20. Who was the multitude?
21. What do we learn from Galatians 2:20?
22. If I belong to Jesus, others should see what in me?
23. What did Jesus say He lived by?
24. Who shall we live by?
25. What does the power of the Christian lie in?
26. What was the manna a type and shadow of?
27. What synagogue was Jesus teaching this message in?
Notes
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