NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 36
J ohn 6
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page 1810
26Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not
because you understood the miraculous signs. 27But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man* can
give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
28They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he
has sent.”
30They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What
can you do? 31After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’*”
32Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father
did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33The true bread of God is the
one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
35Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry
again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But you haven’t believed in me
even though you have seen me. 37However, those the Father has given me will come to
me, and I will never reject them. 38For I have come down from heaven to do the will of
God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39And this is the will of God, that I should not
lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last
day. 40For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have
eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
6:27
Matt 3:17; 17:5
Mark 1:11; 9:7
Luke 3:22
John 1:33; 4:14;
6:50-51, 54, 58
Acts 2:22
Rom 6:23
6:29
1 Jn 3:23
6:31
Exod 16:15
Num 11:7-9
Neh 9:15
†Pss 78:24; 105:40
6:33
John 6:41, 50
6:35
John 4:14; 6:48;
7:37-38
6:37
John 10:28-29;
17:2, 24
6:38
John 4:34; 5:30
6:39
John 10:28-29;
17:12; 18:9
6:40
John 12:45
The People Disagree That Jesus Is from Heaven (100)
41Then the people* began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the
bread that came down from heaven.” 42They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We
know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44For no one can come to
me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them
up. 45As it is written in the Scriptures,* ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who
listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46(Not that anyone has ever seen
the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)
6:41
John 6:33, 35, 51
6:27 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. 6:31 Exod 16:4; Ps 78:24. 6:41 Greek Jewish people; also
in 6:52.
6:45 Greek in the prophets. Isa 54:13.
6:46
John 1:18; 5:37
6:26 Jesus criticized some of the people who followed him because
they were only interested in the physical and temporal benefits he offered and not the satisfying of their spiritual hunger. Many people today
still use religion for the wrong r easons—to feel better about themselves,
gain prestige, or even garner political votes. But those are s elf-centered
motives. True believers follow Jesus simply because they know he has
the truth and the key to life’s ultimate purpose and meaning.
6:28-29 Many people would sincerely love to know what God wants
them to do. The religions of the world stem from people’s attempts to
answer this question. But Jesus’ reply is brief and simple: We must believe
in him whom God has sent. Pleasing God does not come from the work
we do but from whom we believe. We have plenty to do to serve him,
but the first step involves accepting that Jesus’ claims are true. Then we
can build our spiritual lives on this foundational affirmation. Declare to
Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16),
and embark on a life of belief that is satisfying to your creator and incredibly fulfilling to you.
6:35 People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical
life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only with a
right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder he called himself the
Bread of Life. But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Jesus must be
invited into our daily lives to satisfy our hungry souls.
6:37-38 Jesus did not work independently of God the Father but in
union with him. This should give us even more assurance of being welcomed into God’s presence and being protected by him. Jesus’ purpose
was to do the will of God, not to satisfy his own human desires. When we
follow Jesus, we should have the same purpose.
6:42
Luke 4:22
John 7:27-28
6:44
Jer 31:3
John 6:65; 12:32
6:45
†Isa 54:13
Jer 31:33-34
1 Thes 4:9
Heb 8:10-11
6:39 Jesus said he would not lose even one person whom the Father
had given him. Thus, anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe
in Jesus Christ as Savior can rest secure in God’s promise of eternal life.
Jesus will not let his people be overcome by Satan and lose their salvation
(also see 17:12; Philippians 1:6).
6:40 Those who put their faith in Jesus Christ will be resurrected from
physical death to eternal life with God when Jesus comes again (see
1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).
6:41 Some of the people grumbled in disagreement because they could
not accept Jesus’ claim of divinity. They saw him only as a carpenter from
Nazareth. They refused to believe that he was God’s divine Son, and
they could not tolerate his message. Many people reject Jesus because
they say they cannot believe he is the Son of God. In reality, though, it
is often the demand that he makes for their loyalty and obedience that
is hard for them to accept. So to protect themselves from the message,
they reject the messenger.
6:44 God, not people, plays the most active role in salvation. When
someone chooses to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she does so
only in response to the urging of God’s Holy Spirit. God does the urging;
then we decide whether to listen and believe. Thus, no one can believe
in Jesus without God’s help (see 6:65).
6:45 Jesus was alluding to an Old Testament view of the messianic
Kingdom, in which all people are taught directly by God (Isaiah 54:13;
Jeremiah 31:31-34). He was stressing the importance of not merely hearing
but learning. We are taught by God through the Bible, our experiences, the
thoughts the Holy Spirit brings, and relationships with other Christians.
Are you open to God’s teaching?
