Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Today is 2-for-1 Friday!
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The Questions
1) What did Jesus know about the crowd that they didn’t know, or wouldn’t admit, about themselves?
2) What was the reaction of many of the Jewish followers who heard Jesus’ proclamation, “I AM the Bread of Life” in verse 35?
3) How does this passage of Scripture fit with John’s purpose for writing the book?
John 6:27-35
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 ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
32 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true 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.
Original Intent
1) What did Jesus know about the crowd that they didn’t know, or wouldn’t admit, about themselves?
In verse 24 we’re told that the crowd was looking for Jesus. The day before, He had fed the large crowd of thousands with just a handful of food. As soon as they found Him, they had a question. In Jesus’ response, we see how He fully “saw” the crowd and knew the intentions of their heart. He always did. John observed this characteristic of Jesus many times. (John 1:38, 47-50, 5:6, 6:5, 11:33, 9:1, and 19:26 ). The crowds often sought Him because of His miracles and Jesus saw them and had compassion on them. On this occasion, however, it wasn’t the miracles they had witnessed which prompted their search. Jesus revealed it was because they selfishly desired Him to meet their physical needs.
This desire to have Jesus provide only for their physical hunger indicated a lack of understanding about His purpose. Jesus had come to give them Himself, the Bread from heaven. (verse 51) The people were so absorbed with food, needs they could see, they missed their Messiah offering them redeemed life. They had just observed a miraculous feeding (verses 1-14), but they sought more (verse 30). Jesus’ response in verses 32-40 likely shocked and confused them. He said what they thought they wanted was not what they needed. They didn’t just need bread to temporarily fill their stomachs, but the Bread that gives eternal life.
2) What was the reaction of many of the Jewish followers who heard Jesus’ proclamation, “I AM the Bread of Life” in verse 35?
This is an extraordinary declaration! The crowd knew the importance of bread for physical life. By asserting that He Himself was bread, Jesus declared Himself to be essential for life. Beyond the physical, Jesus was claiming He was the source of eternal life. Jesus wanted the Jews to grasp more about Himself than the eye (or stomach) could perceive. Jesus contrasted what He had provided the day before (physical bread that perishes) with Who He really was (their Messiah offering eternal life). As a test, Jesus made some provocative statements that resulted in an argument. His proclamation would invariably elicit a public rejection of His teaching, providing Jesus with an opportunity to speak the hard truth to the crowd. He told them about His coming, even predicting His death. “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (verse 51) Jesus proceeded to talk about eating flesh and drinking blood! When they became offended by this grisly talk, their unbelief was thoroughly exposed. This kind of message, as well as His not-so-subtle pronouncement of Himself as deity, would be the last straw for many who “no longer accompanied Him” (verse 66). In contrast, Peter spoke for the twelve disciples, acknowledging they had nowhere else to go but Jesus. Judas was the only one who would not follow Him the rest of the way.
3) How does this passage of Scripture fit with John’s purpose for writing the book?
John 1 starts like the very first book of the Bible, Genesis. “In the beginning … was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Throughout the book, the author (John) describes himself as “the one Jesus loved.” John was a close friend to Jesus and had been called as a disciple by Jesus with his brother James (Mark 1:19-21 ). He walked with Jesus, learned from Him, and came to believe the One he called Master was indeed the Messiah. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John’s purpose in writing was to testify that he had watched Jesus carefully and had come to believe that He was in fact God in the flesh, just as He had declared to them He was. “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)
Jesus performed many miracles in John’s presence, but it was the “I AM” message of Jesus that John wanted his reader to most grasp. John referred to it seven times in his gospel. (John 6:35, 8:12, 10:7, 11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:5) Verse 33 reiterates, “For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Everyday Application
1) What did Jesus know about the crowd that they didn’t know, or wouldn’t admit, about themselves?
It’s not difficult to imagine the scenario found in this passage. We likely personally know people who are seeking religion with the same self-satisfying motives Jesus exposed. Maybe we recognize it so well because we’ve been there. Most likely, we’ve all searched for Jesus, thinking the blessings He offers will in themselves sustain earthly happiness. Other times, we seek Him hoping He’ll provide escape from suffering. Some think that finding Jesus simply means acknowledging belief in His existence and that doing so is the way into Heaven. All of these demonstrate a kind of selfishness. John Piper says: The critical question for our generation—and every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there? We’d do well to ask ourselves this question. Too often we settle for ‘loaves and fishes’ to satisfy us. But it’s a temporary filling!
2) What was the reaction of many of the Jewish followers who heard Jesus’ proclamation, “I AM the Bread of Life” in verse 35?
The Jews asked for a sign, but Jesus gave them a Word – HIMSELF! (John 1:1 ) Jesus offered an invitation to “come” and “believe.” We see this invitation throughout the Gospel of John, and verse 35 is one of the key verses in the book. When Jesus told the crowd He was the “Bread of Life”, He was providing them with the opportunity to receive life through His death (John 6:47-51). The crowd was being given a choice to forsake the world and follow Him. Putting our faith in Jesus is much more than believing He is able to meet our needs, it is placing our full weight on Christ Himself, the One who is exactly who He says He is, and will do exactly as He says He will do … forever. Jesus wanted them to understand what He offered was not merely an alleviation of physical hunger and thirst. Jesus had told a similar crowd that “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6 ) It’s doubtful the people who were hearing Jesus’ declaration fully comprehended all He was saying, but they most certainly recognized His claim of deity and understood He was calling them to believe He was God. Jesus calls us all to a life of surrender and faith, though it continues to be a stumbling block to many who want Jesus to make their lives easier. (Matthew 21:42-45)
3) How does this passage of scripture fit with John’s purpose for writing the book?
John wanted his readers to know the Jesus he knew. John 3:16, possibly the most universally well-known Bible verse, is often used in evangelism efforts to reach others with the hope of Jesus. John also includes stories of Jesus engaging with Nicodemus and the woman at the well (John 3-4) to show us why Jesus took on flesh. Jesus’ compassion as a man was genuine, but the most important message of John’s teachings concerned His deity. The entire book of John contains a clear revelation of who Jesus is: He’s fully God and fully man. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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