42 And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?"

1. (verse 42) Why do you think they started asking about Joseph and Mary?

Now we learn where the hearts of the people truly are. They are occupied with the physical, not the spiritual. They only see Jesus as a man. Some church-goers get caught up in the same kind of thinking. They see Jesus as a good man, even a prophet, but they don’t see him as God. Christ was God. He came from heaven. Although, he took on the form of man, he was fully God.

43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves.

44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

45 "It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

46 "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.

47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

2. (verses 44-45) Who draws us to Christ? Can we come to him on our own?

We don’t want to get into a discussion on free-will verses predestination, but verse 44 clearly tells us that it is God who draws us to him. We have to cooperate with the leading of his Holy Spirit, but it is God who reaches down to us to stir up our spirit to believe in his Son. This is why it’s so important for us to be praying for loved ones to be saved. They must be drawn to God by the Holy Spirit.

48 "I am the bread of life.

49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

50 "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.

3. (verses 48-50) What did Jesus mean by saying he is the bread of life by comparing himself with the manna?

Christ gives the people a simple illustration that they can understand. The manna was the heavenly bread that God sent to the children of Israel. But those that ate of the manna have been long dead. Whoever eats the bread of life that comes down from heaven will never die.

51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will

live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"

53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

54 "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 "For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.

56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

4. (verses 51-56) How were the Jews confused by Jesus’ statements? Why do you think he worded it this way? How would you interpret what Jesus said about eating his flesh and drinking his blood?

Jesus was speaking spiritual truths, but the people’s thoughts were still on the physical. It does seem that in verses 53-56 that Christ is purposely trying to test their understanding. Why would he do that? Remember, the day before this the people were ready to make him their king. Now we see how fickle they really are.

57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

58 "This is the bread which came down from heaven-- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."

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 hard saying; who can understand it?"

5. (verse 60) Why do you think the disciples had such difficulty understanding? How would you have responded to this saying?

They had difficulty understanding spiritual things because their hearts were far from God. Many people think that there are things that are too difficult to understand in the Bible. They want to re-interpret the Bible so it matches what they want to think. But sometimes Christ’s words are hard. They cut through us, through all our pretense, all our darkness, and all our love for the values of this world. It’s at those times that we may feel like these people – this is too hard for me to understand. But if we want to truly serve God, we need to walk in faith. When we learn to trust God in all things, we will find our life transformed. These people needed to have faith in Christ, but they failed the test.

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?

62 "What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?

63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

6. (verse 61) Does it seem to you Jesus went out of his way to offend these people? (verse 63) How does this verse help explain what Jesus is saying?

It does seem to me that Jesus wanted these people to make a clear choice. They were ready to make him king, but they were not ready to serve him. In spite of the people’s faithless reaction, Christ still gently explains to them that these words are of the spirit and not of the flesh, but they will not listen.

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 would betray Him.

65 And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."

7. (verses 64-65) Are there some in the churches who do not believe? How can they present problems to those who do believe?

This is always a dilemma for churches when there are people in the congregation who really don’t believe. Because of their lack of faith, they can be a real detriment to the spiritual growth of others. But instead of being mean and rebuking them, let us learn from Christ who patiently tried to teach them spiritual truths. Many of these who now left confused and bewildered may have returned to the Lord after Peter preached his sermon on the day of Pentecost. Some may reject God for awhile due to confusion, but the Spirit continues working in their heart until they begin to understand the things of the Spirit.

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

8. (verse 66) What does this verse tell us about the motives of the people who were fed the loaves and fish? What should have been their reaction to Christ’s words?

So we see the motives of these people in serving Christ were not from genuine love for him. They must have been very selfish to be so easily offended. No doubt they wanted Christ to be established as the King of Jerusalem for their own benefit. They were not seeking what was God’s plan for their lives. They only wanted what was best for them. If they had realized what Christ was teaching them, they would have gained a far greater benefit than the temporary political victory they thought he represented. They would have gained peace and comfort in their heart. They would have experienced a renewal in their mind. They would have witnessed a healing in their spirit. But they longed for the things of this realm instead of looking to the heavenly realm.

67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

69 "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

9. (verses 67-69) Why did Jesus ask the twelve this question? What did Peter know or understand that those disciples who left could not understand? Why?

I believe that throughout our Christian walk, there will be times when Christ gives us a chance to choose to serve him once again. There will come tests along the way which may make us want to give up, but we must be firm in our faith and choose to serve God in spite of our problems. That’s what I think he was doing here for his disciples. He was giving them a chance to take a stand for him. Peter stepped forward as the spokesman, but I imagine that he was expressing what the other disciples were also thinking. Peter’s spiritual eyes had been opened. Jesus wants our spiritual vision to also be opened. He wants us to see beyond the troubles of the hour or the day or the year. He wants us to behold things through spiritual sight. In order to teach us that, he may cause us to go through some times of difficulty so we can, as the disciples did, choose to stay and serve him, or leave and give up on him.

70 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"

71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

10. (verses 70-71) How do these two verses tie in with the previous verses? What do you think prevented Judas from having faith in Christ?

In a subtle way, Jesus is explaining the motives behind Judas’ eventual betrayal. Judas was more interested in the things of this world. Specifically, he was in love with money. No doubt that’s how he became the one who handled the money bag. He wanted to have part of it for himself. And that’s why he betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was just like the other people that left. He wanted to stick around Jesus to benefit himself. I’m sure he hoped Christ would become the king. Then he would be even more powerful. But he didn’t want to serve Christ spiritually. He didn’t want his heart broken and his spirit renewed. He didn’t want to change. Does this sound a lot like us? Maybe we need to learn a lesson from Judas, and from those who became discouraged because Christ’s words were too hard for them. Maybe we need to learn how to humble ourselves before God and learn obedience. Maybe we need to learn how to put aside our pride and learn humility.