THE OF JOHN Small Group Discussion Guide

Text: :41-71

Theme/ Big Idea: Some grumble for the bread that leads to death while others feast on the bread of life.

Context/ Background Information: John 6:22-71 is often referred to as the . It is an extended commentary on ’ identity and mission. It comes immediately after Jesus’ miraculous provision of bread in the wilderness (John 6:1-15), his display of power in walking on water, and his remarkable compassion in rescuing his disciples from a storm (John 6:16-21). Beginning in verse 22, Jesus goes after the fundamental root issue within the crowd. The issue is not that they are hungry, but that they are far too easily pleased and hungry for something that will never satisfy. They initially followed Jesus to see signs and experience miracles (John 6:2). By verse 26, they merely want the miracle bread. Jesus leverages their hunger for bread to redirect their desire towards the only thing that will ever truly satisfy their souls.

Jesus repeatedly emphasizes that what they are chasing requires considerable effort, is perishable, unsatisfying, and ultimately leads to death. On the other hand, what Jesus offers is free, all-satisfying, and leads to life. Jesus is clearly using the metaphor of bread and hunger in order to teach that he is the only one that can satisfy our souls and give true, eternal, and abundant life. The rest of the discourse forces the audience and the reader to ask the questions, “Which person am I? Am I one who grumbles for the bread that leads to death, or am I one who feasts on the bread of life?”

GRUMBLING FOR THE BREAD THAT LEADS TO DEATH Despite the obvious reality that Jesus has all power, is the king they desperately need, and the only one who will ever satisfy, verse 41 says, “the Jews grumbled.” Throughout the , “the Jews” is a reference to the religious leaders who oppose Jesus. The word “grumbling” in this context means they were murmuring under their breath, complaining, and discontent. It was not just the religious leaders who grumbled but also the surrounding crowds, referred to as disciples (John 6:61). It is reminiscent of Israel in the wilderness who grumbled at nearly every turn. They grumbled over the water they received when they reached the wilderness (Ex 15:24). They grumbled that they did not have bread or water in the wilderness (Ex 16:2; 17:3). They grumbled about their circumstances and the bread that they were given (Num 11:1). And they grumbled about the difficulties they faced in obtaining the promised land (Num 14:1-3). At every turn, they were dissatisfied and wanted more.

In John 6 their primary complaint is that Jesus claimed to be, “the bread that came down from heaven” mentioned twice in verses 41 and 42 and ten times overall in chapter 6 (cf. John 6:31; 32 - 2x’s; 33; 38; 41; 42; 50; 51; 58). However, as so often is the case in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ audience is thinking in physical, temporal, and earthly terms. Their secondary complaint is that Jesus is claiming to be the one to satisfy their souls, to be living bread, and the one that gives life to the world through his flesh (v 51-52). Taken together, Jesus claimed to be the true king of heaven and the true bread from heaven who can save and sustain their lives. They are appalled by his blasphemy and confident he cannot fulfill such promises. They think they know everything there is to know about Jesus. In essence, they ask, “Isn’t he just that kid from down the street; the son of Joseph? How can he claim to have come down from heaven? How can he claim to satisfy our souls?” (vs. 42). What are they ultimately complaining about? They are complaining because he is not the king they want; he is not the savior- they want; he is not the bread they want; he does not act the way they want; and more importantly, he does not give them what they want.

Like Israel in the wilderness, the Jews and the larger circle of followers begged for something from God, and when God provided, they complained about what they received. In the broader context of the Gospel of John, the crowds wanted the promised prophet predicted (Deut 18:15). They wanted a Messiah. But when God provided and his provision did not meet with their expectations, they complained. At root, they think they know best what they need. They think they know best what will satisfy their souls. They are acting as functional saviors and gods and refusing to listen to the Savior God has provided and even God himself. Their complaint is not that the bread of life has been withheld from them or that the bread of life is unsatisfying. They simply do not want the bread of life that has been given to them. They want a different bread. They want the bread of this world, a messiah of this world, a kingdom of this world. However, what they think will bring them life actually leads to death.

The Jewish leaders and the larger circle of disciples are simply revealing the heart of man. Every person was created to be full and satisfied in God alone. However, as a result of the fall in Genesis 3, we now desperately shop for things in this world to satisfy and fulfill our soul-deep longing for purpose, meaning, value, identity, hope, happiness, and joy. We attempt to squeeze something out of earthly things that was only ever intended to be found in God alone. In addition to that, we live in a fallen world that fuels our self-centered bent towards rebellion by repeatedly telling us to seek our joy and fulfillment in things that will never satisfy. That recipe results in a fog of distraction and disappointment where we run from one thing to another for fulfillment and miss the only One who can ever truly satisfy.

Jesus says as much in verses 44-45 when he quotes Isaiah 54:13, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” While there is significant theological weight and debate regarding these verses, Jesus is providing a reason for why the Jewish leaders and larger circle of disciples refuse to receive and believe him as the Messiah that he is.2 The reason they do not understand, the reason they do not see Jesus for who he truly is, the reason they reject him is because they refuse to listen and be instructed by God himself. This is not the first time Jesus leveled this charge against the Jewish leaders. He said something similar in John 5. They do not believe, despite clear and undeniable evidence, because they reject the evidence and refuse to listen to the Father himself (John 5:37-38). Specifically, they refuse to truly listen to the word of God, which testifies about the identity, reality, and mission of Jesus (John 5:39). Similar to Paul’s words in Romans 1:18-21, though the truth is plain and obvious, “by their unrighteousness [they] suppress the truth.”

FEASTING ON THE BREAD OF LIFE What then is the cure for our aching hearts? What is the thing that will quench our thirsty souls and satisfy our hungry longing? What is the answer and proper response we must give to Jesus? Jesus says no less than ten times that we must take in and feast on him (John 6:48-58). If Jesus is the bread that has come down from heaven, then the only proper response is to “eat” and “feed on” him. Jesus is clearly using the metaphor of consuming physical bread to illustrate how we are saved and sustained. We use this metaphor in numerous ways in daily life. We say of little babies, “I just want to eat you up.” We don't mean we want to literally consume them but that we want to pick them up, squeeze them tight, and enjoy them. We “take in” movies; we “chew on” ideas; we “devour” books. In all of these, we mean that we consume, take in, and enjoy something. In the Gospel of John, it is another way of saying that we must take in, receive, and believe on Jesus. Staring at bread does nothing for our bodies. Thinking about bread has no nutritional value. Understanding how bread is made does nothing to give us energy and life.1 No, we must eat, take in, and consume bread for it to fill and satisfy us physically. The same is true of Jesus. We are intended to take him in and stake our lives upon him. We are intended to receive him gladly, believe on him fully, and hope in him completely as though our lives depended on it.

In contrast to the Jewish leaders and the crowd, there is one group that responds differently. There is one group that did not grumble or complain. Instead, they were grateful, they received, they believed, and they feasted on and took in the bread that came from heaven. In verse 67, Jesus turned to the twelve and said, “Do you want to go away as well?” Jesus’ question is telling. The language of his question means, “Do you want to go astray, abandon, and withdraw to die?” Jesus is revealing the painful reality of all those who reject the heaven-sent Messiah. But Jesus is also probing the hearts of the twelve. Peter answered, “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” (John 6:68-69). Peter’s answer for the group is a profound confession, “Abandon you? Go astray from you? Where else would we go? To whom would we go? You are life! All else is death! All else might taste good, look good, and appeal to all our senses, but only you satisfy our souls for eternity! Only you are the Holy One of God!” And with this confession, we are forced to ask, “Is this my confession and my daily practice? Have I taken Jesus into my soul and feasted on him for salvation? Do I regularly feast on him as the one who sustains and satisfies?” The question that started the chapter, “Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’” is now answered. Jesus is the bread that we need. Jesus is the one who fills up and satisfies our souls. Jesus is our life. If we do not have him then we do not have life (John 6:54, 58).

QUOTES TO CONSIDER: • “If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” —John Piper, Hunger For God • “Ah! how many professors in these days have for a time followed hard after God, Christ, and ordinances; until the devil has set before them the world in all its beauty and finery, which has so bewitched their souls that they have grown to have low thoughts of holy things, and then to be cold in their affections to holy things, and then to slight them, and at last, with the young man in the Gospel, to turn their backs upon them. …The world, siren-like, sings to us, then sinks us! It kisses us, and betrays us, like Judas! …Oh let your souls dwell upon the vanity of all things here below, until your hearts be so thoroughly convinced and persuaded of the vanity of them, as to trample upon them, and make them a footstool for Christ to get up, and ride in a holy triumph in your hearts! …True happiness lies only in our enjoyment of a suitable good, a pure good, a total good and an eternal good! God alone is such a good—and such a good can only satisfy the soul of man. …A man may have enough of the world to sink him—but he can never have enough to satisfy him!” —Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Why did God allow the people of Israel to hunger according to Deut 8:3? 1. What was their hunger supposed to point them towards? 2. Yet what resulted from their hunger according to Ex 16:2-3; 17:3? 3. Where Israel failed in the wilderness, how did Jesus respond according to Matthew 4:1-4? 4. Jesus looked to God over bread in Matthew 4. What is Jesus teaching the crowds in John 6? 5. How does Peter’s confession in John 6:68-69 2. Read and discuss the two quotes above. How do these challenge and convict? What “small things” do you regularly nibble on that water down your affections for Christ? What are you regularly feeding on that might be causing “low thoughts of holy things?” 3. How can we feast on Jesus daily and grow in our affections for Christ? What does this look like in your own life? 4. What have you learned about Jesus as a result of studying John 6? Summarize in a statement or two.

Footnotes: 1. Matt Carter and Josh Wredberg, Exalting Jesus in John (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2017). Kindle Locations 3462-3464. 2. NOTE: John is not concerned with alleviating the tension between God’s saving activity and man’s response. He never attempts to fully unravel or fully explain the two. Instead, he holds these two realities in tension throughout his Gospel, teaching us that we are in desperate need of God’s sovereign activity to enable us to voluntarily respond (cf. :10-13, 3:7-8; 3:14-15; 6:37; 44; 45; and 65). In this context, we are given an answer for why so many could see Jesus’ miracles, and yet reject him, including Judas (John 6:64 & 71). From a human perspective, though they are in close proximity to Jesus, they refuse to hear, learn, and be instructed from the Father (John 5:37-39; 6:44-45).