You Are What You Eat – Pt. 5

Turn back to the gospel of John,
John chapter six. I know what you’re thinking.
If you went on vacation on July 17th, and we left off then in
John chapter six, verse 40, and you’re thinking, just now he’s
getting to John chapter 6 verse 41 well in God’s providence I
have been out of not only John chapter 6 but I’ve been out of
the pulpit three of those weeks two of those weeks we took a
look at some other passages just from a providential standpoint
and we find ourselves happily back in John chapter 6 and we
pick up really right where we left off over six weeks ago. Jesus, you know, had done this
astounding miracle, the feeding of the 5,000, and that provoked
a lot of interest in his ministry. He did another miracle, the walking
on the water with his disciples, and that led to a large crowd
following around the bottom of the sea, and not the very bottom,
around the tip of the sea, if you will, and to the location
where he was meeting with his disciples. As they approached,
they began to inquire about Jesus. Jesus knows their heart, and
he immediately challenges the very purpose for which they are
seeking him. We’ve been away from the passage
for a lengthy spell, so let’s go back in, if you would, We’ll
take a running start, and then we’ll zero in on those verses
that we’ll consider this morning, beginning in verse 41. But dip
back all the way, if you would, to verse 22 of John 6. 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. There came other small boats
from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after
the Lord had given thanks. 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. When they found
him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi,
when did you get here? 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. Do not work
for the food which perishes, but work for the food which endures
to eternal life, which the son of man will give you. For on
him, the father, God has set his seal. Therefore, they said
to him, what shall we do so that we may work the works of God?
Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God that
you believe in him whom he has sent. 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? Our
fathers ate manna in the wilderness. As it is written, he gave them
bread out of heaven to eat. 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. For the bread of God is that
which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. Then they said to him, Lord,
always give us this bread. 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. But I said to you
that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the
father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to
me, I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent
me. 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.
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. Therefore, the Jews were
grumbling about him because he said, I am the bread that came
down out of heaven. They were saying, is this not
Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How
does he now say, I have come down out of heaven? Jesus answered
and said to them, do not grumble among yourselves. 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 shall all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard
and learned from the father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen
the father except the one who is from God. He has seen the
father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he
who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your
fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This
is the bread which comes down out of heaven so that one may
eat of it and not die. 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. These so-called followers of
Christ, those who were interested, followed him around the edge
of the lake all the way to where he was meeting with his disciples
and essentially debriefing them on just an astounding miracle,
the walking on the water. Along comes this crowd and Jesus
discovers very quickly that they’re in it. They’re in it not because
of some astounding miracle. They were interested only in
free food. And Jesus challenges that. Jesus
challenges their fixation on earthly bread. Well, when he
challenges that, their immediate supposition is that Jesus has
in mind some more fantastic bread, not real bread, but God-given
bread, manna-like bread. Jesus challenges that too and
essentially tells them that it’s not even manna that he’s talking
about. It’s not a God-given bread even. Not literally bread, but it’s
the bread of life. that Jesus is talking about,
and He began to discuss that in verse 34. When they asked
for this bread, this fantastic bread that Jesus had mentioned,
the bread that comes down out of heaven, they appeal for it. Not just today, but from now
on, give us this bread. Always give us this bread. And
Jesus begins just an amazing declaration of the gospel. This
is where we left off six weeks ago, that in the face of their
willful unbelief, Jesus mercifully preaches the gospel once again.
And we saw the sureness of that gift that Jesus offers. All that
the Father gives me will come to me. There’s a certainty to
it. There’s a sureness to this gift. All that the Father gives
me will come to me. And the one who comes to me,
I will certainly not cast out. There is confidence there. There
is security there. There is an absolute certainty
that if God gives an individual to Christ in salvation, they
are absolutely sure they will not lose that salvation. We saw the giver of the gift
and part of the reason that this gift is so sure is because of
the giver himself, it’s God. Look at verse 38, I have come
down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him
who sent me. This is all God’s will. We saw the preciousness
of the gift. And we were reminded that many
times in life we have received or given precious gifts and how
valuable and dear they are to us. And because of the value
and because of the dearness, we keep them close. And so does
Christ. This is the will of him who sent
me, that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing. But I raise
it up on the last day. Jesus is in the midst of just
an amazing declaration of the gospel, isn’t he? There’s a fourth
point, not only the sureness and the giver and the preciousness
of the gift and the blessings of the gift. Look at verse 40. This is the will of my father
that everyone who beholds the son and believes in him will
have eternal life. That’s the benefit. That’s the
benefit that those who come to Christ, that they literally receive
and enjoy eternal life. Well, you would think that there
would be absolute silence, that there would be rapt attention. to Christ in the preaching of
this gospel, that there would be submission, that there would
be humility, that there would be absolute attention, and the
whole reason I bring that up is there wasn’t. It reminds me
of another occasion where Jesus was preaching, and two brothers,
obviously fighting over the family inheritance, they may not have
had a will, And because of that, they were squabbling and arguing
with one another. And in the midst of Jesus preaching,
one of them raises his hands and says, tell my brother to
be fair in the distribution of this will. Just a shocking scene
where Jesus is preaching the gospel, heralding the kingdom.
And all these boys can think about is their family inheritance. Well, the situation is is actually
much uglier even in this passage. Here is Jesus, mercifully preaching
the gospel, holding forth the hope of all mankind, that if
one would only place their hope and their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, their sins would be forgiven and they would spend eternity
with Christ. And yet, it’s not what we find
in verse 41. we find an ugly thing in verse
41. And as we begin to examine this
passage, there are really three phases, if you will, to the passage
that we’ll consider this morning. The first is this interruption
by rudeness. That’s how the interruption unfolds. It’s really rudeness. I remember
In seminary, one pastor said, whatever you do, he was encouraging
us to teach at various age levels. He said, teach the young children,
teach the senior adults. And he said, by all means, teach
high schoolers. Because high schoolers, if they’re
not listening to you, at least they will have the courtesy to
talk. Essentially, that’s what you
have here. You have an interruption by way
of rudeness. Probably a lot of rolling of
the eyes, a lot of tossing the head, grumbling under their breath. Who does this guy think he is?
Ha, Jesus, I know his parents. There’s ugliness in this passage. It’s an interruption by way of
rudeness. Look at verse 41. Therefore the Jews were grumbling
about him because he said, I am the bread that came down out
of heaven. They were talking in these low
tones. They didn’t dare audibly verbalize
their criticisms of Christ. They spoke under their breath
as it were. They were talking about Christ,
they were criticizing what He had said, what He was claiming
to do and to be. But they didn’t dare verbalize
it, not out loud. But to mutter it to one another,
to mutter it even to themselves was certainly acceptable to them. After all, this grumbling was
the national pastime of the nation. Grumbling the word there. It’s
a beautiful word. It’s a it’s a very it’s a very
graphic word gun good, so and It has that same onomatopoeia
Remember a word that sounds like what it is a rushing river well
gun good, so is essentially translated by murmuring which essentially
accomplishes the same thing and It sounds like what it is, murr,
murr, murr. And this, the nature of this
word doesn’t always have to be bad, but certainly in the context
here, what it points to is a discontent on the part of these so-called
followers. It’s that confused and confusing
kind of sound that runs through an audience when they’re not
quite clear of a concept. And so this murmuring was going
on among them, not openly expressed, but a dissatisfied grumbling
nonetheless, these low, sullen, grumbling tones. As one said,
with the true spirit of objectors, they do not regard what he had
said in his explanation. They completely ignore Jesus’
words, but instead they fasten upon the thing that is most difficult
for them to grasp. It’s not open hostility, it just
is grumbling. And what they grumble about is
this so-called statement that they essentially compile through
some of the things that Jesus said. I am the bread that came
down out of heaven. Jesus never used that specific
phrase. But if you glean from everything
that Jesus has said to this point, you can say that it’s reasonable
that they came up with it. Look at verse 33. The bread of
God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life
to the world. speaking third person there,
and then in verse 35, Jesus said to them in the first person,
I am the bread of life. And then in verse 38, he makes
another statement. I have come down from heaven.
So it’s not unreasonable that these Jewish critics now would
draw this conclusion and make a statement and pin it to Christ,
but I want you to notice what their statement omits. They said,
they criticized Jesus, they were grumbling because they said that
He said, I am the bread that came down out of heaven. And
I would say there’s nothing untrue about that statement, but I want
you to notice what their statement omits. First of all, From verse
33, it omits God, the bread of God. They conveniently edit down
the statement, distill down the statement. They don’t want to
have to acknowledge that this bread was the bread of God or
might be the bread of God. The second thing they omit is
from verse 35. They omit life. the bread of life. They don’t
want to have to admit that this just might be what Jesus is claiming
it is. It is the bread that gives life,
eternal life itself. And the end result, indeed, the
design of those omissions is to mute the claim that Jesus
Christ is God’s provision for eternal life. That was his claim. That is the gospel. And that
is exactly what Jesus is in the midst of doing. Preaching, heralding
the gospel of life, eternal life, by faith in Christ, God’s provision. Well, they might have in time
accepted this idea of heavenly bread. If Jesus could just somehow describe
it in such terms that they would understand, but instead they,
they go to where their forefathers had always gone before them to
grumbling. Verse 42 begins to paint the
picture. Their words and thoughts now
begin to spill out. They were saying, is this not
Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How
does he now say, I’ve come down out of heaven? They quote his words, but they immediately seize upon
those words and attempt to disprove them. by the facts as they knew
them. That Jesus had been born just
like any other human being. They have parents like any other
human being. That he grew up like any other
human being. They knew his parents. They knew
his upbringing. And they object to seeing Jesus
or seeing in Jesus anything. Anything divine. But he can’t
possibly be God in the flesh when he’s born, just like every
one of us. And so, and I want you to note
this, it’s subtle. Is not this Jesus, the son of
Joseph, whose father and mother we know? That statement there
betrays contempt. This fellow. I remember years ago, And I knew
as soon as I heard this statement that the man’s heart wasn’t with
me. When he referred to a brother in Christ as this guy, that’s exactly what they’re doing
with Christ. This guy. There’s disparaging contempt
there. Now they are beginning to break
rank and Essentially, they say, we know this guy’s parents. Who does he think he is making
these claims of coming down from heaven? This was a regular feature
of the criticism of Christ. Matthew 13, is this not the carpenter’s
son? Is his mother not Mary and his
brothers James and Joseph? Luke 4, all were speaking well
of him, wondering at his gracious words. And they were saying,
is this not Joseph’s son? John 7, later in this gospel,
we know where this man is from. That was their criticism of Christ.
How on earth When we know his parents, we know his family,
we know where he comes from, we think, we believe, we know
the facts of how he came to be. Who does he think he is claiming
that he’s come down from heaven? One pastor observing this passage
says, the thing that seems to have vexed and angered the Jews
was that our Lord should so openly declare his divine origin. They
were offended at the idea of one so lowly in dress and circumstances
and position, talking of himself to say that he was one who had
come down from heaven. Christ’s humiliation was the
great stumbling block. A Christ in poverty, a Christ
followed by none but poor fishermen and publicans, a Christ coming
to suffer and die, not to reign, such a Christ was always an offense
to many in this world and always will be.” That’s what they hated
about Christ. He was a nobody in their eyes,
just a commoner. And for Him to claim that he
had come down from heaven was grossly offensive to them. And though their methods are
rude, crass, talking even while he was talking, interrupting
him with their attitudes, even in the midst of him preaching
the gospel to them, it’s effective. They have now interrupted him And Jesus, in mercy, corrects
them. There’s a new phase to the dialogue.
Jesus begins to talk, but before he resumes the preaching of the
gospel, he will address their rudeness. He will address this
interruption, and he begins to do so in verse 43. Glance down
if you would. Jesus answered and said to them,
do not grumble among yourselves. It’s a digression. It is an interruption,
and Jesus takes it as a teachable moment. But this is a sidebar,
if you will. Jesus has to take pause out of
preaching the gospel to address their foolishness, their rudeness,
this interruption. And note, he doesn’t answer about
his parentage. He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t
say, look, you know, The angel came down overshadowed, you know,
as a virgin birth. He doesn’t address any of that. What he does is address their
habit, their rudeness. Do not grumble among yourselves.
You see, as God in the flesh, Jesus knew the nature of their
conversation. Jesus knew that they were grumblings. Jesus knew that it was about
him, about his theology, about his nature, about his preaching. Jesus knew. And he doesn’t address
the particulars. Note, all he addresses is the
fact of their grumbling. Stop grumbling, he says. And I want to show you why. Turn,
if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. You know the passage. We’ll spend a moment there. 1
Corinthians chapter 10. In 1 Corinthians 10, just a masterful passage where
Paul here takes a quick course through the history of the nation
of Israel And in all their misdeeds and foibles, missteps, they were
captured for one purpose, ours. Look at verse one. I do not want
you to be aware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the
cloud and all passed through the sea and all were baptized
into Moses in the cloud and in the sea and all ate the same
spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink For
they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and
the rock was Christ.” What an astounding thing. He says, look,
our forefathers all had these incredible experiences. Passing
through the Red Sea, watching the pillar of fire, the cloud,
all ate the same spiritual food, this manna. When Jesus brings
up grumbling, it immediately had to elicit the memory of this
this particular event. You want to talk about manna?
Let’s talk about grumbling. Watch this. Nevertheless, with
most of them God was not well pleased, for they were laid low
in the wilderness. Now these things happened as
an example for us. The whole reason they’re written
down, the whole reason Paul says that these things were recorded
is for all who would follow afterwards, including us, you and I. These
things happen as an example for us so that we would not crave
evil things as they also craved. Here’s what happens, watch. Do
not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written,
the people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play. Nor
let us act immorally as some of them did. And 23,000 fell
in one day. Nor let us try the Lord as some
of them did and were destroyed by the serpents. Some bad things
going on. Idolatry and immorality. And then this tempting or trying
of the Lord Himself. testing God’s patience and resolve. But you know what? There’s a
fourth thing there, and the fourth thing is what touches the passage
that we’re in, considering this is the very reason that Jesus
brings it up. Stop your grumbling. Do not be idolatrous, do not
act immorally, don’t try the Lord. Verse 10, nor grumble. as some of them did, and were
destroyed by the destroyer.” Do you see what list this grumbling
is in? Do you see how destructive it
is? Do you see how much God must
hate this sin? Sin of grumbling. Whether you’re
six or 65, it’s a gross sin. It is a… muttering under your breath because
you don’t care enough to address the one that you really need
to address. If you have something to say, say it. If you can’t
verbalize it, then really what must be done is to go on knees
to the throne of grace and confess it and plead for forgiveness.
These things were written for our instruction and in God’s
grace and mercy here What Jesus does with this crowd is say,
look, if you wanna ask me questions, ask me questions. If you wanna
render an indictment on what I’ve said, say it from the mountaintop. Stop your grumbling. No one’s gonna get anywhere.
Nothing’s going to get accomplished if they just sit and murmur and
backbite and criticize and talk under their breath. They could
have asked Jesus any question they wanted, and Jesus would
have offered the clearest and most gracious answer. But instead, just like their
ancestors had done, just like they had always done, just like
they had been steeped and trained to do, they mumble and they murmur
and grumble against Christ. Back to John’s gospel, if you
would. In verse 43, Jesus answered and
said to them, do not grumble among yourselves. No one can
come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. And I
will raise him up on the last day. Why does Jesus pursue this
tangent? Why does he take time out from
preaching the gospel to challenge their grumbling and to lay out
this theology lesson, really? Why does he look to correct their
doctrine, their theology? Because if there was even one
in the crowd, if there’s even one in the crowd who was in that
very moment being drawn by God Himself, The crowd, the crowd was threatening
to. Overwhelm. Those very thoughts. And Jesus
wanted that individual in the crowd, whoever he or she was,
Jesus wanted to instruct them. That even as he spoke, God was
at work. And that if God is at work, lives will be saved. It doesn’t
matter what the crowd does. Jesus looked to instruct and
as much as he looked to indict those who were already in the
process of rejecting him, he looked to affirm those who stood
silently with doubts in their heart as
to what the crowd was doing, with a gnawing in their soul
that there was something different about Jesus. There was something
in his words. There was something to the things
that he was declaring. These words were more for them
than anyone. No one can come to me unless
the Father who sent me draws him. Do you note the solemnity
of that? That’s what Jesus wanted to do, was to draw their attention
to the moral impossibility. And that if one in the crowd,
if that one sitting in the corner of the crowd wondering why the
hatred from this crowd, why the grumbling, why on earth in that
moment would we interrupt This one who is certainly appearing
more and more divine to me every moment, why on earth would we interrupt
Him? This individual sitting there
had already heard, and perhaps with hope welling in their heart,
all that the Father gives me will come to me. Verse 37. every single one that the Father
gives to me. And we looked at it. It’s a block.
It’s as a group of people that God gives the gift of humanity
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Not every single person. But
He gives them this people, this body of believers. All that the
Father gives to me will come to me. And we looked at that. And it said, not only does that
mean that you can’t just decide to barge in any time that you
choose, but every single person that God purposes to give to
Christ will come, without a doubt. And then the surety of that statement,
all that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who
comes to me, I will not cast out. Jesus isn’t going to somehow
decide to grade down some of those that the Father gives him
and decide at a later date, yeah, he just didn’t measure up. I’m
sorry, Father, but this one has to go. That’s not how it works. And then this statement, no one
can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. All that
are given will reach Christ. All that are given by God the
father will come to Christ. But the astounding thing that
Jesus declares here is none, nobody but those who are drawn
by God himself will come. Those are the facts. As one pastor said, our Lord
explained their skeptical attitude in a way which should have sobered
every unbeliever present. Remember, that’s what he’s doing.
He’s calling out believers from the crowd, or calling out those
who would believe from the crowd. Belief in Christ was shown to
be not a casual response, which one could offhandedly make or
not, depending on the whim of the moment, no one could genuinely
come to Christ unless the Father should draw him. You see, there
has to be God at work. God has to be at work in the
human heart or nothing happens. No one can come. No one comes barging in to the
throne room of God unless he’s being drawn by almighty God himself. And this, there’s no doubt about
it. How did this not just shock the
audience and stop the crowd from their foolishness? J.C. Ryle just hit the nail on
the head When he said, this is no doubt
a very humbling truth, humbling for you and I. If you are in
Christ today, if you have already placed your faith in Christ,
if you enjoy Christian fellowship, if you have confidence in your
heart that your sins are covered, that one day you will perish
and you will go and be with Christ in eternity. If that is true
of you this morning, it’s only because God himself drew you. He drew you. It is a humbling
doctrine. Ryle continues and he says this
is a humbling truth and one which in every age has called forth
the hatred and opposition of man. The favorite notion of man
is that he does what he likes. Repent or not repent. Believe
or not believe. Come to Christ or not come. It’s
entirely at his own discretion. His salvation is entirely in
his own power. Such notions are flatly contradicted
by the text before us. You see what he declares here,
does Christ, is that God must do a work And that goes back
to the nature of our condition. That our fallen nature, we are
sinful. We are dead and depraved. We
are corrupt at the core of our beings. We are not able. So that even when Christ is preached,
unless God is doing a work, drawing the man to himself. Whatever
we want to do is ineffective until God draws
us. Spurgeon preached on this verse
on a number of different occasions, but on one particular occasion,
he pointed out the difficulty. He spelled it out in graphic
terms. He said, through the fall and through our own sin, the
nature of man has become so debased and so depraved and corrupt that
it is impossible for him to come to Christ. He’s explaining John
6,44. It’s impossible for him to come
to Christ without the assistance of God and the Holy Spirit. Now, the reason why man cannot
come to Christ is because his nature is so corrupt that he
has neither the will nor the power to come to Christ unless
he is drawn by the Spirit. We declare upon scriptural authority
that the human will is so desperately set on mischief, so depraved
and so inclined to everything that is evil, and so disinclined
to everything that is good, that without the powerful, supernatural,
irresistible influence of the Holy Spirit, no human would ever
be constrained. to Christ, what he points to,
what he points to is the latent nature of our condition. As sinners,
we’re not inclined towards Christ, we’re not inclined towards God,
we’re not in a neutral position at all. We’re dead in our trespasses
and sins. And Jesus says, absolutely, categorically,
no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws
him.” It’s an interesting word. In
the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew
Bible, Septuagint uses this word to translate Jeremiah 31.3, the
Lord appeared to him from afar saying, I have loved you with
an everlasting love, therefore I have drawn you with loving
kindness. It’s that same kind of divine
effort in the heart of man. Jesus said this as he drew near
to the cross, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw
all men to myself. It’s not a harsh word, but it is a graphic word. You
know, this word was used of drawing a sword, John 18. The word is
used of dragging a net ashore. Don’t tell me that God had an
easy time with you, right? We were made willing by God’s
grace. When God opened our eyes to our
sinful and sin-sick condition, and we saw Christ for who He
was, our will was changed. We now longed for Christ. We
longed to be right with a holy God, and we saw only one way
to do that, and that was through Christ. In Acts 16, There’s another drawing
or dragging. They dragged Paul and Silas before
the magistrates. We put up a mighty fight, don’t
we, in our sinful condition. We don’t want to come to Christ.
We don’t want to acknowledge our sin. Not initially, we don’t. Not initially. Samuel Davies, a godly American
pastor said it this way, men are estranged from God, engaged
in rebellion. They love to continue. They will
not submit. They will not return their duty
and allegiance. Hence, there is a need of a superior
power to subdue their stubborn hearts. That’s what God used
on me. And if you’re in Christ, that’s what he used on you. There is a need of a superior
power to subdue their stubborn hearts and sweetly constrain
them to subjection, to inspire them with the love of God and
an implacable detestation of all sin. And for this purpose,
the Holy Spirit of God is sent into the world. For this purpose,
He is at work from age to age upon the hearts of men. It’s
God at work, drawing, convicting, constraining, and wooing the
center to Christ. That’s why I said, what great
news. If you’re in Christ, you have
great cause to rejoice that God was at work drawing you to himself
long before you even know knew that there was a savior. One pastor said it this way,
when Jesus refers to the divine drawing, he employs a term which
clearly indicates that more than moral influence is needed. The father does not merely beckon,
he draws. It indicates a very powerful,
irresistible activity. To be sure, a man resists, but
his resistance is in the end ineffective. What a blessing. Jesus says to that one in the
back, beginning to ponder Christ while all the crowd around him
is mocking Christ and drawing up charges against him. There’s
one that sits in the back pondering Christ and knowing that something
is at work in his heart. And now he begins to see what
it is. It’s God. No one can come to me unless
the Father who sent me draws him and what hope is his. I will raise him up that last
day. That little phrase is used four
times in this section. Jesus has already said it in
verse 39, but he’ll say it again. He’ll dwell on that issue over
and over again that in the last day, he will raise up his people. Jesus is proving his point. Jesus
is correcting their theology. Jesus is preaching the gospel.
But he wants even this crowd, this rabble, with perhaps a few,
smattered here and there, pondering the gospel. He wants them to
know the nature of the case. Look at the passage again. Jesus
answered and said, Do not grumble among yourselves. 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,
they shall all be taught of God. Now, because of our English,
we don’t tend to speak this way. To be taught of God is essentially
in our minds Sunday school. We’re going to go to Sunday school
and they’re going to teach us about God. They’re going to teach
us of God, that He exists. They’re going to tell us about
His attributes, His character and nature. It’s not at all what’s being
considered here. The passage itself is from Isaiah
54, 13. And what Jesus is doing here is essentially
proving his point. That all who come to the Father
are those that are drawn by God himself. God is the one, God
is the one teaching his people. God is the one who has access
to their hearts. God is the one that touches their
hearts with the truth of the gospel. And only those that are
really taught by God, reached and touched by God in his grace. Only those who hear God’s voice
will end up in the end being drawn. One pastor said, the words
do not mean that under the church or under the gospel rather, all
mankind or all members of a professing church shall be taught of God. It means that all who are God’s
children and come to Christ under the gospel are taught of God. God has access to their hearts.
He is speaking to them and drawing them. And then Jesus says this. Everyone. Who has heard and learned from
the father comes to me. You remember when he first said
that? He who does come will not hunger, verse 35. And then, all that the Father
gives me, in verse 37, will come to me. There’s absolute certainty
there. There’s certainty here too, isn’t
there? That if God is at work on the human heart, Everyone
who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. It’s far more than just intellectual
information. It’s not that God has somehow
poured secret information into their mind, their brain. It’s a transformation. It’s a
transformation of the entire heart and life. This is essentially
the proof that Jesus was offering, that God is the one that teaches,
God is the one that is drawing. And in closing, Jesus basically
says, as he wraps up this sidebar, this rabbit trail that they forced
him to take by interrupting his sermon, he says, look, you cannot
come to me unless God draws you, unless God is teaching your heart,
unless God himself is ministering to you with the truth of the
gospel, you cannot come. You will not come. And just to head off any foolishness,
Jesus says, not that anyone has seen the father except the one
who is from God. He has seen the father and Jesus
immediately begins to transition back into His sermon. It reminds them of the truth
of John 1 18. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten
God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
He’s talking about Himself. Jesus Christ had seen God. Jesus
Christ was there to declare God. But there would be no foolishness.
There would be no foolishness of suggesting that one would
take a course sitting at the feet of God the Father. What
Jesus points to is the secret work of the Spirit in the heart
of a child that draws them to faith in Christ. And so I say again, if you’re
here and you know in your heart, you just know. The gospel was
preached to you, by God’s grace you responded, You repented of
your sin. You’ve seen great signs of that.
Ugly things were left behind. Grace has come into your life.
The ability to change, talk differently, live differently, act differently.
Joy in your heart. You know that you believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that He has changed
you. You know that you’re a Christian. And if all of that is true, you
know because the Lord Jesus Christ Said it. No one can come to me. Unless the father who sent me
draws him, God was at work teaching and wooing your heart and bringing
you to repentance. We’ll pick up with Jesus sermon
next Lord’s Day. Let’s rejoice before him. Our
gracious God. We thank you. with hearts of
humility that though not one of us, regardless of our squeaky
clean upbringing or denominational affiliation given to us by our
parents, regardless of what Bible version we were reading from
when we got saved, there isn’t a single one of us who deserve
the salvation that we now enjoy. And Lord God, we think of that
crowd that literally interrupted Christ with their grumblings
and of the mercy of our Savior. To proclaim these truths for
the purpose of those who sat in that crowd that were already
pondering Christ and pondering his offer of salvation and pondering
their own faith. Lord, we know that there are
many in this room in whom you’ve already worked, you indeed have
taught them, you have taught their heart, you have drawn them
to Christ. But Lord, we know that there
are many in this room who have not come. They do not know the
Lord Jesus Christ. And for a convenient season,
according to them, they’ve put it off, kept you at arm’s length,
reasoned you away, But Lord, if they sense the gnawing
in their heart today that the Lord Jesus Christ is who he said
he was, that he’s real. That today, this very day can
be the day of salvation. The day where one of these sinners,
just like us who are already saved, puts their faith and the
only One who can save them. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord God, we humble ourselves
in Your glorious presence. We thank You for Your Word. It’s
in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen. If you would take your
bulletins, and as we close, we’ll stand in singing Christ Alone.