Note John’s gospel was written 70 years after the actual events therefore unless he had a fantastic memory then he can’t have remembered each thing that occurred each word that was said precisely what is likely however is that he was divinely inspired writing the true meaning of what Jesus said as apposed to the actual words themselves.

John 6:25-34

“Spirituality”

John 6:26

Sometimes we chase after the bread rather than God because it is all we can see.

Miraculous signs—signs from God, achieved through Jesus to show his power; spiritual=miraculous signs

Loaves—earthly, you can eat the loaves until you are fill and you will hunger again; loaves=earthly

John 6:27

Do not chase after that which does not last for though it may satisfy at the time but in the end they will leave you craving more to fill/satisfy the hunger once more. Compare with Exodus 16:19-21, the food which did satisfy at the time is was required no longer would perform its task if not used at the correct time and when the heat was on it turned out that the ‘bread’ was not lasting. Rather, says Jesus, chase after that which will satisfy forever cf John 6:50 ‘But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which man may eat and not die.’ What farmer would choose a crop that could go rotten over the chance to have one which lasts forever.

“food that endures to eternal life” it is like the choice of planting a daffodil or an acorn. The daffodil does its job very well but if no one would plant one for shade. The oak might take longer to produce a result but it will last far longer than the daffodil and will provide sufficient shade.

Jesus is the source of eternal life and it is his choice to give it to us. We take it for granted that we are redeemed but we are living in a post-resurrection era so that we can be certain of this but we must remember it was his choice to go up to Calvary and we should be ever grateful for this.

In those times a seal was like a bond giving your agreement (like a signature) but more than that it also was a guarantee of quality. God placing his seal on Jesus guarantees his truth and it also guarantees his favour from God.

When they asked for what works they were to do they were asking on Jesus’ to give them his ‘spin’ on the law given in the Old Testament. Jesus gave them not what they asked for but rather exactly what they asked for; what God truly required. God desires for us to just believe in him nothing more nothing less; he desires the fear of him but not abject terror of the law but rather reverential fear which subjects would give their kings, but as well as that he required faith, and the teachers had drifted from that principle. I was talking to a friend recently that he had recently joined a new club for a sport which he loves. He told me how the instructors were teaching the group the first principles of the subject and since my friend was experienced found it remarkably tedious. He said it was good in one respect because it reminded him that certain things which he did per functionally were actually important, but they spent most of the time doing so and they had made it more about the rules than pure enjoyment of it; back to the roots of why you did it all.

The crowd then got riled at this and began to challenge Jesus to prove that he had any authority from heaven to backup all that he claimed. With thoughts still on bread, they challenged Jesus to perform the same miracle that Moses had done in the desert. Read Exodus 16:11-15 ‘The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

‘That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

‘Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat…”’; he provided manna to help them survive the desert.

Jesus then reproves the leaders by telling them by saying it was not Moses who provided with life-giving bread but rather that it was through God’s grace. He also tells them that the bread that was given to them was not bread from heaven but was just as the bread on earth; it only satisfies for a time. The bread from heaven will be for the whole world to partake of not just the chosen people. Of course the people still ask for this bread to be given to them as apposed to the bread they were originally after.

“Jesus the Bread of Life”

John 6:35-59

Pre-destination—John 6:39-40 God desires for every single person in the world to be saved. We should then attempt to convert the whole world so that as many people can come to God. God however cannot accept anyone who will not accept the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

—John 6:44 God is the one who converts people we can speak as many Words of Wisdom as possible, Prophesy, and speak in Tongues but if God does not convict the person it would like trying to convert a brick.

John 6:50-59

Blood cf Leviticus 17:10-12 ‘Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood—I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.”’ Jews were not allowed to eat of the blood of any animal or eat of the flesh of any animal whose blood was not entirely drained was breaking the law of Moses. Nb all of the blood was drained from Jesus on the cross making sacrifice pure.

“The ideas in this section would be quite normal and usual to anyone who had been brought up in ancient sacrifice. In ancient sacrifice the animal was very seldom burnt in it’s entirety. Usually only a token was burnt on the altar, although the whole animal was offered to the god. Part of the flesh was given to the worshipper wherewith to make a feast to make a feast for himself and his friends within the temple precincts. Now at that Feast the god himself was held to be a guest. He was there sitting with his people and his worshippers. More, once the flesh had been offered to the god, it was held that the god had entered into the flesh; and therefore when the worshipper ate it he was literally eating the god, taking the god into his inmost being, nourishing himself with the very life and strength of the god. When people rose from such a feast they went out, as they believed, literally god-filled…To people who were used to that kind of experience a section like this presented no difficulties at all.”

Communion-Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-20

Note that John does not have a version of the Last Supper and he was Jesus’ favourite disciple yet he ignored one of the greatest things in the current church and possibly in his time also (his gospel was the last to be written approx 70 AD). He did however include a very similar passage just after a picnic on top of a mountain, was he suggesting that the location/time does not affect the significance of communion but rather the heart at the time, each meal that we sit down to no matter how small is to remember Jesus.