The Bible Recap - Day 291 (John 6) - Year 3

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap. Yesterday, we talked about how Jesus fed 15,000 people, then he sent his disciples off in a boat and stayed behind to pray alone. But around 3am, he saw that they'd hit a rough patch on the windy waters and decided to go out for a stroll on the waters he created. Today, when those 15,000 people wake up, they think Jesus is still with them. They saw the boat go out and he wasn't on it, but now they can't find him anywhere. They're starting to sound kind of like paparazzi, following him everywhere, doing little bits

Starting point is 00:00:38 of investigative journalism to find out where he is. I wouldn't be surprised if they were down by the shoreline measuring sandal prints to see if they were his size. This is one of the reasons why he's been trying to keep things under wrap. He knew that when Word got out about his power, the information would spread like wildfire. Eventually, some boats swing by the dock, and they convinced the fisherman to take them out on a manhunt for Jesus. When they finally track him down, they're like, hey, um, how'd you get here? And this is the moment we talked about a few days ago where he seems to rebuke them for following him.

Starting point is 00:01:08 He basically says, you're only following me because I fed you. Instead of being blown away by the man who can do miracles, these people just want the miracles. Like the kid who takes their Christmas gift off to play with it alone in their room, never thanking the parent who gave it to them. Jesus knows their hearts, and he knows that what they're after is the temporary thing. He's not interested in giving the temporary at the expense of the eternal, so he points out that he has a lot more to offer them that they're not

Starting point is 00:01:34 aware of. He says, do not labor for the temporary things work for the food that lasts. Being traditional Jews, they latch onto the word work here, and they totally miss his point. But in missing the point, they ask a very important question. And the way Jesus answers it tells us something crucial about our relationship with God. In verse 28, they ask, what must we do to be doing the works of God? Before we see how he responds, what do you think the answer is? What would you give as an answer here if someone

Starting point is 00:02:05 asks you? Because this is one of the most important questions of all time. What does God require? Then Jesus, who pretty much never gives a straightforward answer, actually answers plain and simple. He says, this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. The one thing God requires is belief in the gospel of Jesus. That's it. End of list. But to be clear, this isn't just a belief that he exists or even a belief that Jesus is God. As we've already seen more than once, the demons believe that. It doesn't make them Christians. The word used here for belief means to commit your trust, to place your confidence in. It's a heart-level belief, not just an acknowledgement or a cognizant ascent.

Starting point is 00:02:47 This isn't, sure, I believe in God, or yeah, I'm a Christian, I was confirmed when I was a kid, or even I go to church every Sunday. Some of those things are just an acknowledgement of God, and some of those things are other types of works, not the kind Jesus is referring to. He's talking about a heart-level belief and commitment, not an acknowledgement of the truth, a surrender to the truth.

Starting point is 00:03:07 The crowd doesn't get it, so they say, well, if we're supposed to believe in you, we need some signs, like the kind Moses did for our fathers and the wilderness. Moses gave them miracle bread from heaven. First of all, have you guys forgotten that that's exactly what Jesus did for you last night? And second of all, Jesus points out that Moses was not the point of origin of that bread. God the Father was. He sent them temporary bread, but now, back to the point again since they seem to keep missing it, Jesus says, there's an eternal bread available, and its name is me. I'm the way for your souls to never be hungry again. Then he segways into some really deep theological points that are also over their heads,

Starting point is 00:03:44 but I don't want us to miss them like the crowd did, so here are a few things to take note of. First, Jesus indicates that there's an authority structure within the Trinity as it pertains to God's relationship with mankind. This is what theologians refer to as the economic Trinity, the way God extends himself to the world. If you want to read more about this, we've dropped a link in the show notes. This is something we've seen a few times before, but He repeats it here. In verse 38, He says, God the Father. Just a quick note on this, the Trinity is the one unified Godhead comprised of three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. All three persons have always existed and still do, and none of them were created by the others, and they don't morph into each

Starting point is 00:04:34 other. The Trinity is one of the single most important doctrines in our faith. I know it can be confusing, so we're linking to a helpful book and two sermons in today's show notes. And we're also linking to a seven session Bible study I wrote for Lifeway called eSwear the Joy is, getting to know the captivating God of the Trinity. So if you really want to dig deeper, that's a great option for you. I cannot stress how important this is and how easy it is to misunderstand, especially because there seems to be very little teaching on it in churches, and much of the teaching relies on unhelpful analogies instead of just pointing to what

Starting point is 00:05:09 scripture says. So check out those links when you have a chance. So again, the first important thing Jesus mentions is the authority structure within the Trinity as it pertains to God's relationship with mankind, the economic Trinity. In this, God the Son submits to the Father's plan. And the second important thing he points to is the way that authority structure translates to humanity, which is that we are dependent on the Father's plan. In verse 37, he says, all that the Father gives to me will come to me. In verse 44, he expounds on that by saying, no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. And in verse 45, he says,

Starting point is 00:05:47 everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me. Our salvation starts with the father. Jesus says we have to hear and learn from the father and that the father is the one who draws us. Other scriptures will encounter, reveal that he uses the spirit as a means of drawing us, just like the sons is the means of redeeming us, but it all starts with the Father's plan, and he's working it out through all the persons of the Trinity.

Starting point is 00:06:10 They each have a role to play. One of the reasons I'm pointing all this out is because it's not uncommon to have a warped view of God the Father. In part, because so many people have terrible fathers, and it makes it hard to think rightly of that word. And in part, because many people prefer what they see of God the Son and the New Testament to what they've heard about God the Father in the Old Testament. If you're just joining us for the New Testament, again,

Starting point is 00:06:31 I would encourage you to stick around with us when we start the Old Testament again on January 1st, or whenever you wrap up the New Testament. And especially if you find God hard to love in the Old Testament. I believe it will help redeem your view of Him. But for now, hearing Jesus say that God the Father is the one who initiated our salvation, that He's been moving toward that all along, that alone should inform a view of Him that intersus to Him all the more.

Starting point is 00:06:55 All of this taught Jesus is doing, especially the part where He tells them to eat His body and drink His blood. It's hard for the Jews to stomach. That is clearly not kosher and it's definitely against Jewish laws. So they're like, Jesus, that's disgusting. They think he's talking literally, not spiritually. But he's almost always pointing to things on a deeper level. He just uses some tangible imagery to make his points, and that's what confuses them. So he just meets them in that moment and in verses 63 through 65, he basically says, you're right, it is hard. And the only ones among you who will get it will be the ones God reveals it to.

Starting point is 00:07:31 This sermon was a space maker for Jesus, a seat emptier. He lost a lot of people on this one because they couldn't handle the truth. And maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to make him sad. This is where my God shot showed up today. Jesus has these 12 apostles and two of the 12 are going to walk away from their relationship with him during the toughest moments of his life. Simon Peter and Judas Iscariot. Jesus knows it, but still he keeps them close, submitting to the Father's plan. This is how it has to go. He's going to share life with people who will wound and betray him.

Starting point is 00:08:05 It's probably always in the back of his mind. And in this moment, he asks them, are you going to leave me to just like the others? And Peter says one of the best things he ever says. Where else would we go? Only you have the words of eternal life. Yes and amen. Peter knows he's where the joy is.

Starting point is 00:08:28 When I first launched D-group, we met in the homes of members. A few years later, we started developing partnerships with churches, which means that some of our groups meet in churches as well. But over the years, people have come to us with an entirely different need. They're people who have unique life circumstances or schedules that make it challenging to meet in real life, or maybe they don't know anyone else who wants to join a D-group. So we've leaned into that need by launching online D-groups. If you want to see when and where D-groups meet near you, visit mydgroup.org-bordslash-map. And if there's nothing there that works for you, check out mydgroup.org-bordslash-online to see an online group network you instead. Whether in-person or online, we'd love to

Starting point is 00:09:09 have you join us, mydgroup.org. you

The Bible Recap - Day 291 (John 6) - Year 3

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