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This sermon was preached on Sunday 16/12/2001 Am, by Kevin Matthews.
In our last message on John we looked at the truth of everlasting life as being a present possession of all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. This was something that the Lord Jesus Christ stressed, highlighting the truthfulness of this teaching by saying, ‘it is so, it is so, because I say it is so.’ He who is the truth has said it, there being no higher authority, so that really is the end of the matter.
In that message we discovered that when the Lord Jesus Christ said that those that eat His flesh shall have everlasting life, He was actually pointing to a spiritual reality by using a metaphor. People don’t have to actually eat of his physical flesh in order to obtain this everlasting life, but they do have to rest entirely upon the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, recognizing the death of the Lord Jesus Christ as being a substitutionary, sin-bearing sacrifice for sinners, and that personally for them. The current chapter of John clearly shows that this is the meaning of what Jesus is saying in this passage.
Yet this is not what Jesus’ Jewish hearers recognized in the statements of Jesus. In fact it’s difficult to know just what exactly they understood of Jesus’ teaching on everlasting life, for in that crowd you would have had a mixed bag of Jewish people, including Sadducees who didn’t even believe in eternal life, and Pharisee’s who sought deliverance through their own alleged good works. In both cases, generally speaking, were those devoid of spiritual understanding, being yet blinded by sin and spiritual ignorance. In short, they didn’t and couldn’t know the truth, for the Scripture says - ‘But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14).’
Having heard what Jesus had so far said, the Jewish response was that of unbelief and utter confusion. It was a response of astonishment, for surely this was an impossible thing to be done. I mean, how can you eat someone’s flesh? Surely this man must have little up stairs. ‘The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat (Jn 6:52)?’ You can almost hear the mocking and scornful debate of the Jews.
The Jewish leaders had heard what Jesus had to say with their physical ears, for the passage makes that very clear, but without the spiritual understanding needed to grasp the spiritual reality of what Jesus was saying they were left floundering in the dark. The word ‘quarreled’ here is a word that means strove, or strongly debated. What you have here is a picture of the Jewish hearers of Jesus involved in heated debate as they tried to make sense of just what Jesus was saying to them, with the conclusion seemingly being that what Jesus said to them was impossible and ridiculous. This my friends is the same conclusion that will always be reached when you attempt to wrestle with Scripture using human logic alone, and not Biblical or spiritual understanding. Human logic simply cannot get to grips with Biblical logic - they are totally different things.
This is the same sort of approach exercised by Roman Catholicism, even in their understanding of this very passage. They try to interpret this passage in a literal sense, so that when they come to the Lord’s Supper they make it into what they call the Mass with all its associated doctrines of transubstantiation and so on. In some way it must be necessary to allow sinners today to be able to feed on the actual body and blood of Christ or they will be miss out on everlasting life, and so you get the Romanist idea of the Mass, and the actual body of Christ being present in the wafer, and there being no salvation without participation in the Mass, and so on. Things that are completely foreign to this passage and all of Scripture. You see, they make the same error as the Jews did in this place, yet they are too blind in their sin to recognize it.
Both use human logic devoid of spiritual understanding to interpret the teachings of Jesus, trying to grasp spiritual realities with a spiritually blind and dead brain, and therefore falling woefully short of the spiritual reality and truth as expressed by Christ in this passage. To understand the Scriptures you must come to them without human logic, for you need a Biblical and spiritual logic if you are to understand them and the only way to have this is by being a Christian indwelt by the Spirit of God, prepared to hear what the Scriptures say without preconceived human ideas to which the Scriptures must conform. You must approach the Scriptures with reliance upon the Holy Spirit for understanding and armed with what you know of the Bible, and then you will be able to come to a right understanding of the Scriptures. But this is not what the Jews had, so they were enslaved to their human logic alone, being unable to discern the mind of God in the truth being spoken to them.
How many times do you still see this in operation today - this very same approach and error. You must come to the Scriptures with Biblical logic and not human logic. This is the chief reason why so many areas of historic orthodox theology are rejected today, because people approach Scripture with faulty human logic, not being prepared to accept what the Scriptures say in the areas of salvation, the end times, and so on. We must come to the Scriptures without preconceived ideas formed out of human traditions and teachings of men, coming armed with the Spirit and the Scriptures in order to understand the Scriptures. Friends don’t fall into the same errors of the Jews and Roman Catholicism.
Well, what does Jesus do in the face of this Jewish approach to His teaching? What does He do in the face of this Jewish ridicule? Does He water down His teaching? Does He offer them a more acceptable and logical undertaking? Let’s look at the passage before us.
‘Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day (Jn 6:53,54).’
Instead of accepting the unbelief of the Jews and their assessment that this whole eating the body thing was just crazy, what did Jesus do? He simply set about to reiterate what He had already said as the being the truth of the matter and then added to it the need to also drink the blood of the Son of Man. You see, it didn’t get any easier for His Jewish listeners. There was no watering down of the message to make it more acceptable to Jewish ears. He simply confirms His previous words and then adds to them something equally absurd to human ears.
No, the words of Christ were not impossible or mere craziness, but ‘it is so, it is so, because I say it is so, and not only that, for you must drink my blood also. Yes, I really did mean what I have previously said. What you have heard is the truth of the matter, and I will now reinforce that truth with a further metaphor expressing the truth of the matter.’
The Lord Jesus Christ is not giving them one option of many, but rather He instructs them in this certain truth, that regardless of how crazy what He teaches might sound to them it is still the truth of the matter. In fact it is absolutely necessary for them to eat the flesh of Christ and to drink the blood of Christ if they wish to enjoy everlasting life and to be resurrected unto life at the second resurrection. There is no other way whereby a person can enjoy or possess everlasting life but by this way of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ. You must come via this way or you will not come at all. Be not wise in your own opinion, hear what the Lord of heaven and earth says to you this morning - this is the way of salvation, take heed to the message of Christ and you shall live.
Now if the Jews had been able to approach this teaching of Jesus with Biblical and spiritual logic, the truth of Christ’s teaching would have appeared plain to them, especially given what He had already said in John 6:40, ‘And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ Clearly that is a parallel thought to the teaching of Jesus at this point. The metaphorical language that Jesus is using is really just another way of saying that same thing, that you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. He is using picture language to teach exactly the same truth.
These Jews knew the Old Testament Scriptures and what they taught regarding the sacrifices and blood, and therefore they should have recalled these Scriptures when Jesus said these things. Remember, these men memorised whole books of the Old Testament, so they could do that - BUT, they were devoid of spiritual understanding, so all their memorisation of the Old Testament Scriptures was a memorising of just words to them, there being no real understanding of the truth in their religion.
You see, what Jesus was in fact doing through the use of the eating and drinking metaphors, was painting a picture of a spiritual reality, illustrating just how a person was able to gain this everlasting life of which He spoke. There was no real difficulty in this teaching, it being a very simple concept to get a hold of - if you have spiritual understanding. Without spiritual understanding it was and is just foolishness, yet for those that believe it is the power of God unto salvation.
As we saw last week, Jesus is painting for these Jews a picture of His Substitutionary sin-bearing sacrifice for the sins of the world, that is to appropriated by the individual sinner for his personal salvation through the means of faith. The body and the blood of the picture illustrates His violent death as an atoning sacrifice for sin, His blood spilt for the sins of men, as He suffered in their place. The eating and drinking illustrates the means that were to be used in order to gain the benefit of Christ’s death for one’s self, even faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work for sinners.
But you must not think that this is a one off thing, as though by accepting Jesus’ work on the cross at some point in the past for yourself you can now forget about it - no, for this passage points to a continuing exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work for sinners as the way of salvation. Verse 54 points to this very idea, that it is the one that continues to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ that has eternal life. The idea that you make some sort of decision and then you’re OK for life is a soul damning error that is not supported by this passage or the Scriptures. It’s simply not there.
Yes, if you truly exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ you have everlasting life as a present possession, but Scripture also teaches that the children of God continue to endure and persevere to the end, there being not one moment when they do not continue to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. We must continually be looking to the Lord Jesus Christ as our salvation, continually resting in Him.
At no point does the Christian begin to exercise faith in His evangelistic efforts or his obedience as the method whereby he will be saved, and neither does he blend both faith in Christ and his merits as the method whereby he will be saved - no! But it is Christ at the beginning, Christ during, and Christ at the end of His walk that is the grounds of his/her acceptance with the Father. There is no room for anything else - it is Christ all the way, or you have no way to enter the kingdom.
Do you currently believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your only means of salvation - then you have eternal life. But if you are leaning toward your obedience, your service, your evangelism, or whatever it might be - then you do not have everlasting life. Only those that endure and persevere in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ have everlasting life. That is what this passage is telling us this morning.
I urge you to have a good look at yourself and to consider in what do you place your trust. Is it Christ, then rest assured of everlasting life, for the Lord will raise you up at the last day. Is it something else, or is it Christ and something else - then you my friend are in danger of Hell fire, for you are not currently trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, but have in fact rejected the only way of escape and are looking to another - a false bread, a lesser bread than that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be sure of where your trust is, and do not look to uncertain bread.
‘For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed (Jn 6:55).’
Yes, Jesus is the only way of salvation. He is the only true spiritual bread that gives spiritual life to the sinner. In Him alone you find satisfaction for your spiritual need. He is the answer to our sin problem, the true spiritual food for spiritual life. Why look to junk food that does not nourish, for here is the spiritual food that gives nourishment for everlasting and spiritual life. Look unto Him and live!
Dear ones, looking to other things, whether they be religious things, mundane things, personal merits, or whatever they be - all you are doing is to bring yourself famished and unfed to the doors of the celestial city and that is as far as you will ever get, for there will be no entrance gained by you to that place by such means. Christ is the food for spiritual life and the door of entrance to the Kingdom of God - enter by that way or you will never enter.
If you partake of other breads, then you will find those to be as effective as the manna in the wilderness for obtaining everlasting life, perhaps useful for some temporal problem, but utterly useless for everlasting and eternal life. ‘This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever (Jn 6:58).’ Only by eating the bread of life will you find real food for your souls and everlasting life - nothing else comes close, but leaves you desperate and wanting. The Lord Jesus Christ - He is the bread of life!
‘He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me (Jn 6:56,57).’
Here the picture that Jesus paints definitely moves into the area of perseverance in the Christian. Jesus talks of feeding on Him, thereby pointing to the exercise of a continual faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or of abiding in Him as the passage speaks. It is only he that continues to abide in Christ by faith that will live because of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, there is no free ticket to heaven given to sinners through a simple decision to follow Jesus, which can then be easily abandoned because you already have your escape from Hell sown up. No! Those that inherit life continue in faith, there being no other way for a Christian to live.
Daily, hourly, each second - we need to be resting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Never abandon faith in Him, for you will surely perish if you do so. To do so is evidence of never having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. To enter into life, there must be this perseverance in faith to the end. There will of course there will be times of doubt, times of backsliding - but you must finish the fight in faith, or you will not be there when the roll is called up yonder.
Through this continuing exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the believer is identified with the Lord Jesus Christ. Without such faith, a person is not identified with the Lord Jesus Christ. You have a picture of a close union between the believer and Christ here. Those that continue to abide or exercise faith in Christ are not only identified with Christ, but He is also identified as being with us, pointing to the reason why believers are able to in fact persevere in faith.
Have you ever wondered why it is that believers can so endure the pains of intense persecution and never forsake the Lord? Have you wondered if you would ever be able to do as they? Well here is the answer to your questions - abide in Christ. Continue to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, for He also will abide with you, with all that is necessary for continued life in Christ.
‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (Jn 15:4).’
Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ abides with believers, indwelling them by His Spirit, strengthening them, enabling them to persevere and to endure all things, making sure that they will continue to believe to the very end. How else do you think that the Lord will ensure that all the elect will be raised up at the last day? He has promised the Father that none will be lost, therefore He has set about to bring that promise to completion.
When a sinner begins to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ He has eternal life, and this he has immediately. This life begins to manifest itself in the believer by the exercise of faith and by the continuing exercise of faith. Indeed, this is part of his/her current experience of everlasting life. Perseverance in faith, or abiding in Christ, is part of this everlasting life that you enjoy as a believer.
Be assured believer of your possession of everlasting life. Your continuing exercise of faith is evidence of the possession of everlasting life and of the abiding of Christ with you and you with He. Christ is in you, the hope of glory!
The Lord Jesus Christ who has life in Himself, as given by the Father through eternal generation as the Son of God, has given us this everlasting life - and we now begin to live that life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believer, every step of salvation is marked by the work of God within you. Scripture is very clear on this point. The new birth comes as a result of God’s work, faith is the very gift of God, perseverance is the work of God within us, and everlasting life is because of God. Salvation is of the Lord. Let us continue to rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ who has given us this gift of everlasting life.
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