“Do You Want to Leave Too?” | John 6:25-69

Show Notes

Episode 717:
In this episode, Chris and Jeff dive into a substantial passage from John 6, where Jesus speaks about being the "bread of life." The conversation delves into the significance of this metaphor, emphasizing that Jesus is not referring to physical bread but rather to a spiritual sustenance that offers eternal life. They explore the reactions of the crowd, who are initially drawn to Jesus for the miracles and physical provisions he offers, but struggle with the deeper implications of his teachings.

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You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Jeff, I am blessed and highly favored. How are you today? I am doing great. Yeah. The reason why I'm blessed in highly favored is yesterday's podcast. We were Matthew seven and then this podcast, which happens, you know, right after we record right in a row the next day. The next day. So I actually took my Bible and I just flipped and it went directly to the page. Yeah, that's exactly right. So you are blessed and highly favored. Yes, yes, I turned to the exact page. So if that's how you want to use today's blessings, go ahead. No, that starts. That is the tip of the iceberg. What if that's the only one you're getting today? Now? Are you kidding? Are you kidd I'm blessed sitting next to you, Jeff, I'm blessing. Right now, both of them. Then you got both your blessings already five minutes into the day. Here, Wow, the day I'm all used up. Well, Hey, welcome to the guys. I'm Christ this is Jeff, and we are excited that you've joined us. Today, we are in a series what if Jesus had a podcast covering the famous sayings of Jesus? And today is this is the saying called do you want to leave too? That's a pretty that's oh, this is a big story. That's a big, big question. Yeah. Yeah. But before we get into that, we have a segment by Desiree and it's one of my favorite segments, Who's most likely? Who's most likely? I like these because it just forces us to pick. We should have like a who's most likely likely? I like you think everything is that voice with you? Though? Yeah? I know, yeah, it's like you like Stomp the pastor Yesterday everything. Every commercial I would do would always sound like a truck pull right right, a monster truck. Sound like a movie trailer in the world where people are most likely to do things? So who's most likely? Yeah? So anyway, I like the would you rather? And I like the Who's most likely because it forced you to pick a choice. Yes, so here's the first one. Who's most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse with style? Oh? Yeah, that'd be you. I don't know with style? You have better style than me. I might have the style part, but I don't have any guns. Well there's that, and you have multiple guns, well yeah, and so I and not not to mention, you have more survival skills, uh, in the outdoors, and I'm assuming that you're gonna have to run. You're not going to be you know, bolted up in your gun room, right, you probably have to be on the go, right, walking dead and such out in the wood, yes. Yeah, or growing food, yeah, finding something? Yeah. Who's most likely to crash a wedding and give a toast? That is definitely you? Well I used to, did you used to? Yeah? So this is the honest, goodness truth, Me and my buddy Jeff Miller, who you know who's listening right now? By the way, Hi Jeff, Hi Jeff. We invented the movie Wedding Crashers. We invented that concept when we were teenagers, fifteen. Years before the movie because nobody else was even doing it. Well I'm sure they were, but I remember. You just came up with the idea on your own. O. That's right. We didn't read about it. We didn't hear about it. We just said hey, and because my girlfriend was working at a place that did weddings and so at the time, and so I remember literally one night in particular where Jeff says, hey, get dressed up, we're going out, and so he actually invited Julie, I invited Sharon. We all got dressed up. I was in a suit. I was only sixteen. We picked him up and they're like, hey, where are we going? We're going out to fancy dinner. We went to the Mayrinight Center on Meridian Road and there's a there's three weddings happening, and so we went from wedding reception to wedding reception to wedding reception. And in Youngstown they're really big, you know, weddings with big Italian families with all these great food, right, and we were going there. We would dance and Jeff literally caught the garter. No, he caught the garter in a mafia wedding. It was a mafia wedding. And then he put the garter on the brine. Oh no, and then they asked who are you and we had to run through the kitchen and we had to run out and escape crazy. Did you guys give a toast? No, we didn't give a toast, Okay, but I've done everything but the toast. There you go. I let a congo line in a dance. Yes, I let a congo line, which is great. This is this is the difference between the two of us. Yes, yeah, most likely, yep. This is why I don't mind talking about obeying the laws of God and why you only only depend on the grace and mercy of. Say that is not why I would argue to say those things are not connected whatsoever. But but yeah, real breakers. Crazy man, Yeah for sure. Okay, who's most likely to deliver a TED talk that accidentally goes viral? That's going to be you us. Oh yeah, you're a way better speaker than me. Yep, but you have you're the content guy. How about this? How about this? You would help me develop the content of a TED talk that I might deliver. I wouldn't. I'm too busy. You would do it. You're on your own. Good luck with that. You're going to do great. I appreciate you saying that, though I'm I'm not. Sure that's true, But no, I have no doubt. All right. Number four, who's most likely to turn a five minute story into an epic trilogy? That is definitely both. Of us, both of us. That's going to say, yeah, but I honestly think you have the slight edge. Oh yeah, I will take a story and make it much longer. Yeah, I would take you have a slight edge. But by the way, I would say barely. But when when we start telling stories, what happens is I tell a story and then you go that's nothing. And then you tell the story and I go, that's nothing. So that's how we would get the trilogy, would be both of us. That's funny. That is really funny. Well, we are definitely like that. Yeah. So if we're at a dinner, oh man, it's dangerous. We just did this. We did this. Yeah, we sort of went back and forth, didn't we. Yeah, that's that's sort of. We had a dinner at my house. We had some other friends over, and you and I got to telling stories and and. It turned into it that's nothing. Yeah yeah. Yeah. So then we had to kind of change shift gears a little bit and get it back to the people that were And it. Was so obvious. I'm like, hell, so do you guys own a boat? Yeah? I was like, so, so talk about yourselves a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Look how awesome. We are. By the way, do you do anything interesting? I know that, I know that. I don't mean it that way, but that is probably how it comes across. It's probably across, all right, go ahead. Number five. Who's most likely to win an argument using Shakespeare quotes? Well, you just you just read them. I was just reading some Shakespeare quotes. Too literally, right before we started recording. I kept typing in different quotes to just make sure, like the lady doth protest too much? And yes those kinds, yes, yes, so that be you. It was that when much ado about nothing. One of the quotes was I will eat his heart in the marketplace. Yes, yes, he's going to devour that guy publicly. Yeah, that was great. And then the one from Julius Caesar. Oh, I remember you just quoted it. You said a coward dies many deaths, but the valiants only die once. That's right, It's great. Isn't that a great quote? It's a great So that's great. So yeah, so that's you. But anyways, you win Number five. I have the of Julius Caesar of Shakespeare in a leather bound book on my shelves. I had to read a lot of Shakespeare in high school. That's great, and re reading Shakespeare in the King James Bible. They were both written in the sixteen hundreds and so it's very very similar. We grew up to King James Bible. So reading Shakespeare was easy. You know that these and the dows wasn't a hard thing. Really, it was easy to kind of track along. I read Shakespeare through a mediator called cliff. Cliffs Notes. Yes, cliffs notes, just. A quick summary. Yeah, and now it's chet GTP chet gbt A summarize Julius Caesar for me. Yeah, and then read it to me. Yes, yeah, out I sleep, Yeah, oh mercy, Okay, So hey, we're gonna move on to our sigma or to our scripture for today. So we're gonna leave that conversation. Woh, there it is. U huh, there it is, and go to another conversation. And do you think we'll leave that one too? Uh? Well that's the question Jesus is gonna ask, do you want to leave too? Yes, there's the terrible transition. It was horrible. Yes, So we're gonna read quite a few verses here, but this is a really powerful story. In verse twenty five, it says they found him on the other side of the lake. John chapter six, John chapter six, Yes, you didn't say John six. John six, verse twenty five through sixty nine. Sorry, go ahead. Yes. They found him on the other side of the lake and ask Rabbi, when did you get here. Jesus replied, I tell you the truth. You want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous science. But 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. They replied, we want to perform God's works too, What should we do? Jesus told them this is the only work God wants from you. Believe in the one he has sent. They answered, show us a miraculous sign. If you want us to believe in you, what can you do? After all, our ancestors ate mana while they journeyed through the wilderness. Scriptures say Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus 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. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Sir, they said, give us that bread every day. Jesus replied, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven't believed to me, even though you've seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And 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. For 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 that last day. Then the people began to murmur and disagreement because he had said, I am the Bread that came down from heaven. They said, isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. How can he say I came down from heaven. But Jesus replied, stop complaining, about what I said, For 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. As 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. Not that anyone has ever seen the Father. Only I, who was sent from God, have seen him. I tell you the truth. Anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate man in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from Heaven, whoever, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. And this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh. When the people began arguing with each other about what he meant, how can this man give us his flesh to eat, they asked, Jesus said again, I tell you the truth. Unless you eat the flesh of the Sun of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise up that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the Living Father, who sent me in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true Bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did, even though they the man of but will live forever. He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Many of his disciples said, this is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it. Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, does this offend you, then, what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again. The spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe me. For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn't believe, and he knew who would betray him. Then he said, that is why I said that people can't come to me unless the Father gives them to me. At this point, many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, are you also going to leave? Simon Peter said, Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe and we know that you are the Holy One of God. I love that question, Lord, to whom shall we go? Yeah? You have the words of a life. It reminds me of the Old Testament scripture is what God is as great as our God? You know? To whom shall we run? To? Right those concepts? He looks and says, do you want to leave too? And that is the title of the segment. That's the famous phrase, That's the famous question. And I love their answer And their answer is where else are we going to go? Get point to one God that is greater than you. Your words hold eternal life. Do you want to leave too? And what Jesus is asking is actually an extremely relevant question because whenever there is a truth that offends, then then the question is, Okay, are you going to love me, believe me, follow me enough? To continue on or are you going to get offended and leave? Think about how many Christians you know they're in for all the they're in for all the you know, they do the Bible buffet, they love all the happy truths. And then you know they take what they want and then right, and then you say. Like this and this and this, I just don't like. That or that, right, right, right? And then and then you haven't. Read the Bible with an eraser in your hand. Yeah, And then you have a verse that says remain sexually pure, and they go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, not that one. I don't want any of that. I'll pass on that. And and it's like, hey, does this offend you? Are you gonna do? You want to leave? Also? Right? And so the and there's a couple of different things about this passage number one. He says some of the disciples turned and left, and on the on the surface, people may think he was referring to the twelve disciples, right, But then he says he turned to the twelve, which means the twelve are still there, right. And the word disciple is actually used for anybody who's a follower of Jesus so sometimes there may be hundreds of followers, and he referred to the crowds the followers as disciples. That's why you and I could be referred to as disciples, but the twelve were actually the title was apostles. So so not every disciple is an apostle, but yet every apostle is a disciple. That's correct. So so it's it's a little confusing sometimes because sometimes he'll say the twelve disciples because they were disciples. Well they started off his disciples. They weren't apostles until. Until later on, right right, but they were the twelve in this case, there was twelve capital T right right. So anyway, that was something that stood out to me. And and then I have a lot to say here, go ahead. I used to work for a guy that he used to quote this verse all the time, and and I and I believe that he used to use that out of context. And consequently a lot of the staff used to quote it and use it out of context all the time. Where Jesus looked at the disciples and said, the only thing that God requires of you the work, the only work of God that you require to do is to believe. Oh right, Remember that, and he says, he says that that's the only work, because because what did he say? The disciples said, hey, uh, we want to do many great works in your name, right right, and so and then Jesus goes, hey, hey, there's one thing only that's required of you. You ready believe now the way that I take this, and by the way, I don't just take it as in my own interpretation. You take that scripture and you combine it with every other scripture that Jesus talks about of what is required of the follower of Christ. And so the Bible is its own best commentary. So my old boss used to say, hey, the only thing required is just to believe. That's it. You don't have to do anything else. And all of a sudden, it was translated, is in like you don't have to do anything, right, like, as long as you believe, you know, it's almost like as a Christian, you're not required to evangelize, you're not required to do this, you're not required to obey, you're not required to do it. He used to say, it's the only thing that's really required. And I'd say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, that is not how Jesus meant it. What he is saying is if a person truly believes, then everything else will naturally come. Because if you don't believe, you're not going to act right. So if you believe the chair is going to hold you, then you're gonna sit. But if you don't believe the church is gonna hold you, you don't sit. So belief is the only thing that's required, true belief, because if you have true belief, everything else comes later. And what Jesus was saying is, listen, you want to know the only special ingredient that you have to have, it's true belief. And once you believe truly, I won't have to talk to you to doing anything right. You'll just naturally do all the things that you believe are true. You believe, you'll have the right perspective, you have the right faith, you have the right you know the priorities, you'll have everything in place because the only thing that's required belief. Because what happens the rest of the chapters, he said he knew who didn't believe, and he knew who believed. He knew that some would walk away, he knew that some would follow. He knew their hearts. And so he's saying, the only thing that's required is belief, But that does not exempt. Us belief in the one he sent. Yes, I believe in God or. Believe in Christ? Yeah, the one that God the Father sent? Yes, yes, yes, yes, And anyway, all that to say, I just if you've ever heard somebody say, hey, the only thing that's required for me is belief to get off my back, that is not an application to what Jesus was trying to say. Well, if I truly believe what in Christ, the one who God sent, then what does that mean? What does it mean to really believe Jesus? Right? At this point, Jesus hadn't died. Now he's talking about his death, he's talking about his blood and his body, right, So he's talking about his death later. But when he made that sentence, he hadn't talked about that yet. And so believing Jesus means I believe your words. I believe what you say. I believe you are who you say you are. I believe you're going to do what you said you're going to do, and I believe that I'm supposed to do what you tell me to do. Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments right. So so this belief goes beyond just just a belief that I believe Jesus existed. You know, the Bible tells us the devil believes right, right, the devil believes that Jesus existed. So surely Jesus saying, believe in the one he has sent right, that belief is more significant or has a different meaning than the fact that James tells us that the devil also believes right, right, right, right. So it's not just a mental assent that, oh yeah, I believe that he was a real person. There's this I believe that he is the Messiah, the son of the Living God. This is where Peter begins to head towards in that statement here when he says, well else are we going to go? Later on, Jesus said, who do you guys? Say I am, and Peter says, you are the You're the Messiah, You're the son of the Living God, right, And Jesus goes there you go, buddy, yeah, right, that's a whole other thing from what the devil was saying, you know, believes And then and I. Think that other big thing that's in this passage that is so glaring that needs to be addressed. What's that is, yeah, is drinking blood and eating flesh. You know, it's so interesting how Jesus uses metaphors throughout the whole entire Bible. Just last podcast we said, uh oh no, two podcasts ago, we said, he says I'm the gate right, right, but we know that Jesus wasn't a physical gait, right, that's pretty weird. Jesus said I'm the rock. Jesus said, I'm the door. You know. Jesus said, I'm the bread. Jesus, I'm the light, I'm the shepherd. He wasn't a shepherd. Jesus wasn't any of those things, right, But he but the metaphorically, Well, here's what he's saying. He's saying, just as the children of Israel in the wilderness has physical salvation from the miraculous provision of the bread. Actually the mana, which is sort of like a what is it bread like substance, yet literally translates into what is it? Which is great? But you love that translation. The word mana literally means what is it? Anyway? But we assume it's something like bread, right, but anyway or to bully right. It could be well, Jesus is referring to it as bread. That's right, that's right. And then he's saying and then he's saying, in the same way, the sacrifice that I'm going to give you on the cross is the bread of life for spiritual salvation. So there's a physical salvation and then there's a spiritual salvation. By the way, not very much different than him saying I have living water to the woman at the well. Right, Hey, if you drink this water, you'll be satisfied, but you'll thirst it again eventually. That's temporary. But if you drink of the living water, you'll never thirst again. It doesn't mean that Jesus was water. It doesn't mean he's literally saying I'm gonna grind up my flesh and blood and turn it into water and have you drink it. And so Jesus was not, I repeat not, saying that there has to be a physical consumption of physical flesh and blood. And the reason why I'm emphasizing that so much you already know the reason why, because some people interpret that as communion. When Jesus broke the bread and he says, this is my body, and he pours the cup and says this is my blood. And they're like and they're like, oh, okay, well I was taught that you know that that that the religious figure had the power to literally, uh transform the Eucharist into uh uh actual flesh and actual blood. And by the way, this is a staple for an entire world religion. Yeah, I mean, this is the thing that they say differentiates them from everybody else. And uh and yet what we understand is is that Jesus, you know, all the way throughout the New Testament, uh didn't did not listen. It's just it's just it's a little silly to believe I shouldn't say that that sounds disrespectful I have, I have. It's a misinterpretation of yes, so it's a it's a false connection between this passage and the Last Supper passages. I didn't mean to say silly. I have tried. Everybody who knows me knows I have tremendous respect, Yes, tremendous respect for different world religions and the good that they have brought. Right, but this is a very big differentiation. So you know, so Jesus is saying here that your my life has to become yours. That's right right. The life is in the blood is what the Book of Deuteronomy says. It's what Hebrews quotes. He's saying that my life has to become yours, and that is received by faith. He's already doult that. Another passage where he references eating bread with the devil, he said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from in the mouth of God. That's right, right. Let me tell you you still need to eat physical bread or you're gonna die, right right. So he's talking on a spiritual level. There's a spiritual conversation about bread. There's another time when they come and they tell Jesus, hey, why don't you come and eat with us? And Jesus has been spending time with the Father, and he says, I have bread that you know, not of what's he's been hiding bread? Right, he's sneaking out My brother, my brother when we were we had bunk beds, and my brother used to steal Swiss cake rolls, the whole boxes and hide underneath the bed. He'd have cookies under the bed and I'd be like, hey, Mark, Mark, can I have some cookies? He's like I don't have any cookies, Like what, I know you got cookies, right, And he's like, I don't have the cookies. I said, that's it. I'm going to tell mommy, Oh I got these cookies. I have bread that you know. What was Jesus hiding out on bread or is he talking about something spiritual? Hey, Napoleon, Napoleon, give me your tots, right exactly. So when he's talking to the devil and he says, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God, he's talking about a spiritual When he's talking about I have bread that you know not of he's not talking that he's got secret bread somewhere, that's right. He's talking that he has a spiritual connection that's feeding his soul. Right, And so this is the same. This is what he's saying is you have to have a spiritual connection to my life, right, And and that's that's the issue. And so then we receive communion and remembrance of right, this spiritual connection, that's what first is eleven tells us, right, Right, So where Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me, it's a it's a spiritual connection that we're remembering because of what Jesus did, uh in his body and with his blood. That's right, and no, and nowhere in the scripture does that line up with anything else. So the so you know that that there's no transubstantiation transforming, uh, you know elements there there is a symbolism of Jesus saying, and by the way, that's not the one last observation. And let's not forget that when they were eating the last supper that was that was the passover feast, right, right, And when you had the passover feast or any meal for that matter, Uh, it meant something for you to accept an invitation by somebody's house. It meant that you approved of them. It meant that when they give you something, if you had disrespect for that person, you refuse to eat. Even to accept something is to accept that person that household. All of all of the eating with somebody, you know, inviting somebody over all, that was very significant. And so therefore when Jesus says, eat of the bread that I give you, is it is an accepting of who's offering it as the host. And Jesus is saying, this is my gift of salvation, and once again, it lines up with the symbolism of every other scripture that Jesus uses. So you know, this is the reason why we believe that communion. It remains bread and it remains the cup because that's what Jesus said. And so the famous quote for this podcast today is the do you want to leave? Too? So they start off saying, hey, Jesus, give us some more food. He said, you're only following me because I fed you last time. And they're like, hey, let us do some magic tricks like you do. We want to do miracles too, And he's like, if you believe, what are you guys doing right? And then finally at the end, they all leave, So many of them leave, and Jesus is disappointed, and he's kind of challenging the twelve that stay and some of the other followers. You know, why are you really following me? And I think that that's a challenge to every one of us. That's right. Am I following him because of the cool stuff he might do for me? Or Am I following him because I genuinely don't have anywhere else to go. Jesus is my only way to heaven? That's right? And he's the Lord. He's the Lord, right, So whether he says good things are bad things, things that a like or don't like, to whom else shall we go? Right? Right? So it's a great question do you want to leave too? It's a question everybody should ask themselves. That's right, all right. Well, hey, that's a good place to end, and we are out of time for sure, so we'll see you next time on the Bible. Guys,