Lesson 8: Why Many Do Not Believe (1)

Opening Questions:

1. Why did the same crowd who proclaimed Jesus to be “the Prophet” and tried to make Him king (vss. 14-15), turn on Jesus and stop following Him?
2. A major emphasis of this passage is that Jesus is “the bread of life.” What does that mean and why is it important?
3. What questions do you have from the text?

The Work of God (vss. 25-34)

One might assume that the people’s search for Jesus demonstrated a sincere desire to know and follow Him. But Jesus, knowing the hearts of man (2.24), knew that the people had not looked past the “signs” to discover the deeper truths about Himself. They had come to be filled with food, not filled by Him. Thus, Jesus challenged them to not work for temporary food, but for the food only He could offer: “the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you…” (vs. 27).

The people seized on Jesus’ use of the word “work” and asked how they could do the works of God, i.e. tell us what God wants us to do so we can do it (vs. 28). This was probably tied to their conclusion that Jesus was the Prophet (vs. 14). Moses had given them the Law, now they wanted Jesus to tell them what works God required.

Jesus has been pointing the people to Him, but they did not grasp His point. So, He spoke plainly: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (vs. 29). But belief in Jesus is more than mental acceptance of who He is, for if that were the case many would have been on the way to salvation (cf. 2.23; 6.14). True belief in Jesus is full acceptance of Him, trusting that only through Him can eternal life be found (note vss. 68-69). Belief in Him prompts one to do all that He asks (14.15).

Jesus asked for true faith in Him, but the people responded by asking for a sign. Some rabbis had predicted that the Messiah would call down manna from heaven, just as Moses had done. Perhaps, if Jesus performed this sign the people would believe in Him. However, Moses had not given the people manna from heaven. That gift had come from God, and now the Father had sent “true bread from heaven” and this bread “gives life to the world” (vss. 32-33). Just as Jesus offered living water to the woman at the well, He now offered bread that gives life. The offer in both cases is Himself, the One who has life in Himself (1.4; 5.26). While the people requested for Jesus to “always give us this bread” (vs. 34), by the end of the discussion they will have rejected the true bread from heaven (vs. 66).

Rejecting The Bread of Life (vss. 35-71)

After Israel left Egypt the Lord provided manna from heaven for their physical sustenance (see Exodus 16.15; Numbers 11.7-9). However, while manna could sustain their physical bodies, it could do nothing more. By contrast, Jesus identified Himself as the “bread of life” (vs. 35). He offers true sustenance:

• He satisfies both hunger and thirst (vs. 35).
• He came to keep all of those given to Him. Not even death would cause Jesus to lose those who belong to Him, because He will “raise it up on the last day” (vs. 39).
• Jesus came to fulfill the Father’s will, “that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life” (vs. 40).

Jesus is much greater than the bread Israel ate in the wilderness, yet He knew that the people did not believe in Him (vs. 36).

The Jews were not willing to accept Jesus’ claim to be the bread of life. After all, wasn’t He the Son of Joseph? How could He be from heaven? (vss. 41-42). Jesus urged them to not grumble, but to come to Him in faith. Vs. 44 has been a much contested passage, used by some to mean that man has no part in his salvation; he can only be saved if God irresistibly draws him. However, that takes the verse out of both its immediate and general context. Jesus had already urged the people to do the true work of God: “believe in him whom he sent” (vs. 29). They had the choice to believe or not; they were forced into either belief or disbelief. Also, vs. 45 clarifies exactly how the Father “draws” people: “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me” (see also 5.39). They had the opportunity to partake of the bread much greater than the manna which their fathers ate in the wilderness (vss. 48-50); they had the opportunity to partake of Jesus’ flesh (vs. 51)!

The Jews could only wonder, how could Jesus give them His flesh? But Jesus boldly asserted that unless one eats His flesh and drinks His blood, he cannot have eternal life (vss. 53-56)! But what did Jesus mean? “Verses 54 and 40 are closely parallel: ‘Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day’ (v. 54); ‘…everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day’ (v. 40). The only substantial difference is that one speaks of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking Jesus’ blood, while the other, in precisely the same conceptual location, speaks of looking to the Son and believing in him. The conclusion is obvious: the former is the metaphorical way of referring to the latter.” If the people would truly believe in Jesus, they would be taking Him in as their true sustenance; they would have eternal life (vss. 57-58).

The crowd complained because of the difficulty of Jesus’ message. However, even harder truths were coming, including Jesus’ ascension… by means of the cross (vs. 62)! Jesus was trying to impart a spiritual message, one that would result in life (vs. 63). Tragically, many were still hung up on physical food and signs, thus they departed and no longer followed Jesus (vs. 66).

In contrast to the multitude, the apostles would not leave Jesus so quickly. Speaking for the twelve, Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (vss. 68-69). Yet, Jesus knew that among the twelve there was one who would betray Him (vss. 70-71). The stage was being set for the sacrifice of Jesus.

Textual Notes:

• Vs. 25: note that the people refer to Jesus as “Rabbi”, but they are about to dispute His teaching.
• Vs. 34: harkens back to the wilderness where manna was given daily. What they don’t understand is that the true bread (Jesus) was given once and for all.
• Vs. 35: “Jesus is the bread of life, but it is the person who comes to him who does not hunger, not the person who eats him; similarly, it is the person who believes in him who does not thirst,113 not the person who drinks him. Thus, when the language becomes more rigorously metaphorical in vv. 49ff., and we read of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood, the meaning of the metaphors has already been established.” (Carson)
• Vs. 37: see vs. 45 for how the Father “gives” them to Jesus.
• Vs. 40:  “Notice that here the result (having eternal life and being raised up at the last day) is produced by looking on the Son and believing in him. Compare John 6:54 where the same result is produced by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. This suggests that the phrase in 6:54 (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood in terms of the phrase here (looks on the Son and believes in him).” (NET Notes)
• Vs. 41: they “grumbled” just like their ancestors in the wilderness (see Exodus 16.2,8-9; Numbers 11.4ff).
• Vs. 51: note John 1.14. The Word became “flesh”. That “flesh” is now shown to be how the world could receive life.
• Vs. 60: “They had sought Him for the wrong reasons (v. 26); they had challenged His authority by the wrong standard (v. 30,31); they had rejected Him as being from heaven by the wrong logic (v. 42); therefore they objected to the truths of His spiritual lesson (vv. 52,60).” (Harkrider)
• Vs. 63: note the contrast between Spirit and flesh in John 3.6.
• Vs. 66: “many of his disciples went back to what lay behind.” (NET Notes)
• Vs. 69: see Isaiah 12.6; 30.12,15; 41.20; etc.