John 6:46-50

John 6:46 (KJB)

Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.

 

Jesus is telling these leaders that no one has ever seen the Father. Jesus tells them that He is the only one who has seen the Father because He has spent eternity with Him. No human could ever see the Father or they would be consumed instantly. (2 Sam 6:6-7 KJV) And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. {7} And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. In 2 Samuel 6, we have an incident with a man named Uzzah. He tried to steady the ark of God with his hand and God instantly smote him and he died. The reason for this was the Ark represented the holiness and presence of God. No one can ever enter the presence of God unless they have been qualified to do so. The only reason that we can come into the presence of God is because we have been qualified through salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ who took upon Him all our sins. Uzzah died because he tried to touch the Ark which was akin to approaching God without a Savior. In verse 45 the Lord Jesus tells us that we have learned of the Father through the Scriptures and through Jesus who came down from Heaven. In the book of John we are seeing the close working relationship that Jesus has with His Father. The Father sent Jesus into the world to die for the Elect thus qualifying them to be in His presence. False religions which reject Jesus as the Savior believe, by their works, that they can actually enter into the presence of God the Father. They need to read the story of Uzzah before they teach that. No one gets to Heaven without the Savior.

 

John 6:47 (KJB)

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

 

Since no one has seen the Father except Jesus, He now states that those who believe on Him will have everlasting life. This is very important because the world religions reject the Lord Jesus Christ as being the only way to Heaven. By rejecting Him, they are rejecting the only way of salvation. In fact even the modern versions of the Bible reject Christ as the only way because they remove two important words from this verse, “on me.” Here is the rendering from the NIV which represents all modern versions. (NIV) I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. Now take a look at that verse. Believes on what? The NIV allows any religion to teach what they want and all their adherents have to do is “just believe.” Without the Lord Jesus Christ, there will be nothing but damnation awaiting everyone, even if someone has done many good works. Mother Theresa is the best example of this because she did not teach the true gospel and was a member of a false church which exalted tradition as equal to Scripture. As many good works that she did, she will still have to stand for her sins on the last day. Good works can never replace belief on Christ.

 

John 6:48 (KJB)

I am that bread of life.

 

In ancient times, bread was basically the staple food at all meals because it provided nutrients necessary for life. The same situation exists today because we find bread at every meal. In the previous verse, the Lord Jesus speaks about the only way to have everlasting life is to believe on Him. The Pharisees had brought the conversation back to bread and here Jesus is speaking about the fact that He is the bread of life. Now He is not speaking about physical bread but is using an analogy that just as physical bread can keep a body alive, those that believe on Him, will experience the everlasting bread of life for their souls. Those whom Jesus saves will have a soul which is alive toward God. The everlasting bread will keep the soul of the saved alive and nourished throughout all eternity. The bread of life is not religion nor is it good works but Christ alone.

 

John 6:49 (KJB)

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

 

God had given the Israelites the manna in the wilderness but they had to gather it every day except the Sabbath. Jesus is using this example that the manna was real and that it did sustain the Israelites, however, they were sustained only temporarily because as time went on, they all finally died. Jesus wants to emphasize the fact that earthly bread only sustains for a while and even if a person eats it every day, they will eventually die because the body gets old and eventually gives out. Let us bring that up to today. Even if a person takes vitamins and works out and is careful with what they eat, their body will still eventually die because of age. A person may escape major disease in their life but no one can escape the aging process.

 

John 6:50 (KJB)

This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

 

Now Jesus switches the theme of the conversation from the physical aspect of bread to the spiritual. Now Jesus makes the statement that He is the bread which comes down from Heaven and those that eat of that spiritual bread will never die. Of course, here Jesus is not focusing on the physical aspect of man because even the physical bodies of true believers eventually die. The evidence for this is cemeteries all over the world and in those cemeteries lie many true believers. What part of the believer is in the cemetery? It is their physical body. What is absent from every grave of the true believer in Christ is the believer themselves. (2 Cor 5:8 KJV) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. The physical body is there but the believer, in their spiritual essence, is at home with the Lord. Paul states it beautifully. Being absent from the body is being present with the Lord. Even though the body is decaying in the grave, the believer is way more alive in Heaven than they were on earth. So Jesus is definitely pointing to the fact that He, as the everlasting bread from Heaven, gives everlasting life to the believer.

Back