Bible Reading of the Book of John CHAPTER 6, from Everystudent for those who may not have a Bible
John Chapter 6
Five Thousand Fed Verses 1-14
1.After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2. A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3. Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. 4. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5. Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?" 6. This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.
7. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little." 8. One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 9. "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?" 10. Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. 12. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost." 13. So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14. Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."
Jesus Walks on the Water Verses 15-25
15. So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
16. Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17. and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21. So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
22. The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23. There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You get here?"
Words to the People Verses 26-40
26. Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." 28. Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29. Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
30. So they said to Him, "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31. Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.'" 32. Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." 34. Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread."
35. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
Words to the Jews Verses 41-58
41. Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." 42. They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?" 43. Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 44. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45. It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."
52. Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" 53. So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."
Words to the Disciples Verses 59-65
59. These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?" 61. But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble? 62. What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64. But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65. And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
Peter's Confession of Faith Verses 66-71
66. As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67. So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" 68. Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." 70. Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" 71. Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.
37. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. ... 44. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
A passage that needs to be emphasized more today, for the church has by and large forgotten this truth. Notice first verse 44, and the fact that the same subject ("him") is being referred to in both clauses. This indicates that both clauses are true for the same individuals that they apply to:
- No one can come to Christ unless they are drawn by the Father.
- Those WHO are drawn by the Father WILL come to Christ.
This necessitates disqualification of a teaching that has soared in popularity over the last couple of centuries:
That the Father draws every individual, yet leaves it up to the individual to determine whether or not to accept what is being offered. No, the text is very clear here. Drawing, in this sense = salvation. Thus, God cannot be drawing everyone, lest we conclude Universalism, which is not Christianity. If those being drawn WILL in fact be raised up on the last day (this is not a statement of possibility, but guarantee), then the fact that only some are being saved must indicate that only some are being drawn. The rest (whoever they are) are being left to perish in their sins, and God has every right to do this, too, because no one deserving anything from Him in the first place.
We only see this truth emphasized throughout the book of John. Notice, for instance, John 17:9. Shortly before He was to be betrayed and murdered, Jesus explicitly says that He does NOT pray for the world, but for those WHO have been given to Him OUT OF the world. Christ has not come to save every person. He has come to save His chosen people. And those whom He has chosen will come to faith, not because they have within themselves the innate power and desire to do so (for they do not, as we saw in John 6:44 -- NO ONE CAN COME unless drawn; our sinfulness has so corrupted our nature that we are naturally inclined to rebel against God UNLESS He decides to change our hearts and make us willing to do otherwise), but because the Holy Spirit regenerates the heart and makes a man willing to believe (see Ezek. 36:26; John 3:8).
And all those who were appointed to eternal life believed - Acts 13:48
