John 6:51 I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. And the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.“

This is why we are required to take of the Passover.  

John 6:52 Then the Jews debated angrily with each other, asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

John 6:54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him to life on the last day,

John 6:58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not the kind that your ancestors ate. They died, but the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

There are 3 different responses to Jesus statement to the end of the chapter.

1)     Unbelieving majority (vv. 60-66):

Their primary response was one of unbelief.

2)     Believing minority (vv. 67-69):

“You do not wish to go away also, do you?” Peter answered, “To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”

3)     Professing Apostate (vv. 70-71):

The betrayer, who was identified one year before the act.

The Words of Eternal Life, Jesus spoke to the Disciples

1)     Unbelieving majority (vv. 60-66):

Their primary response was one of unbelief. 

John 6:60 When many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This is a difficult statement. Who can accept it?”

• This is a hard saying: This refers to that which is hard to accept, not to what is hard to understand.
• No doubt, they did find Jesus’ words somewhat mysterious, but it was the parts they did understand that were really disturbing.
• Hard saying about eating and drinking his flesh and blood. They did not understand. Jews were forbidden to even taste blood.

John 6:61 But Jesus, knowing within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you?

Jesus was saying. If ye are stumbled at what I have said, how will ye bear what I now say?”

John 6:62 What if you saw the Son of Man going up to the place where he was before?

• Jesus was asking, “If the thought of eating flesh and drinking blood offends you,
• Would you be further offended at the idea of My ascension to the Father where I was before sitting at His right hand.

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh accomplishes nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

John 6:64 But there are some among you who do not believe…” because Jesus knew from the beginning those who weren’t believing, as well as the one who would betray him.  {Judas betray Him}

Paul wrote that the crucified Messiah was a “stumbling bloc” to many

1 Corinthians 1:23 but we preach the Messiah crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to gentiles,

John 6:65 So he said, “That’s why I told you that no one can come to me unless it be granted him by the Father.”  {The father needs to call them}

John 6:66 As a result, many of his disciples turned back and no longer associated with him.  {Because of Jesus teaching, they stopped traveling}

• Once Jesus effectively discouraged every fleshly motive for following Him, many stopped following.
• Disciples: Here it refers to followers in general, not to the 12 Apostles;

• Is this what happen to the Worldwide Church of God and other churches.
• Churches encourage people to follow Jesus for fleshly motives, promoting Jesus as a “product” to “fix” our life – just like bread will fix our hunger.
• But those who come to Jesus under such a sales and marketing approach will either come to God in Spirit and in truth,
• or it will be revealed that it was never been granted to him by My Father to follow after Jesus.

Jesus spoke to the Twelve Disciples who became His Apostles 

2)     Believing minority (vv. 67-69):

“You do not wish to go away also, do you?” Peter answered, “To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”

John 6:67 So Jesus asked the Twelve, “You don’t want to leave, too, do you?”

• What a scene! Scores of disciples after the flesh leave Jesus,
• Jesus asks the twelve if they will go also.
• Jesus searches the motives of all that follow Him, including the twelve.

John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 

John 6:69 Besides, we have believed and remain convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” 

• Peter does much in the gospels to make us sigh; but here, as he speaks for the twelve, he shines brightly.
• Peter focus is where it should be – that Jesus has the words of eternal life, not “You have the bread that fills our stomachs.” 

3)     Professing Apostate (vv. 70-71):

The betrayer, who was identified one year before the act. 

John 6:70-71 Jesus answered them, “I chose you, the Twelve, didn’t I? Yet one of you is a devil.” (71) Now he was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, because this man was going to betray him, even though he was one of the Twelve.

• John’s Gospel does not record Jesus’ choice of the Twelve. He assumed his readers knew how it happen.
• Judas was the only disciple that was not a native of Galilee. He came from Judah, the country most hostile to Jesus.
• Judas was a tragic figure, influenced by Satan; yet, he was responsible for his own evil choices which makes this much more horrible.

Interesting side:  Jesus knew about a year before that Judas was going to betray him.

Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles 

John 7:1 After this, Jesus traveled about in Galilee, because he didn’t want to travel in Judea, since the Jews there were trying to kill him.

• The events of Chapter 6 was in Galilee about one year before the cross in April;
• The events in Chapter 7 occur about six months later in Jerusalem, in October, Feast of Tabernacles,
• Then 6 months later they killed Jesus on the cross at Passover.

John 7:2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

Remember, John was writing to the church, which the majority of the members was Converted Gentiles, so John called it the Jews, Feast.

John 7:3 So his brothers told him, “You should leave this place and go to Judea, so that your disciples can see the actions that you’re doing,

• They wanted Jesus to show His mighty powers and miracles in Judea, not in Galilee.
• These words were sarcastic because His brothers did not believe in Him. {Vs. 5}

The brothers of Jesus never seemed to be supportive of His ministry before His death and resurrection, but that changed after His resurrection

John 7:4 since no one acts in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you’re going to do these things, you should reveal yourself to the world!”

Jesus brothers just told Him: You can’t be famous when you hide like this! If you’re so great, prove it to the world!

John 7:5 Not even his brothers believed in him.   {sad}

• “His brethren”: Sons of Mary, too (Mt 12:46; 13:55, 56).
• From this we can infer that Jesus’ brothers were not believers (they were challenging him to show himself openly).
• Disbelief prophesied (Psalm 69:8 – I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children;).
• They became believers afterwards. James and Jude for sure.

His brothers ask Jesus to go with them to the feast.

Jesus appears to say “No.” 

Then He goes in secret and teaches in the Temple.

Jesus brothers did not understand that Jesus had to attend to observed the law (Deut 16:16 – all males shall attend 3 times a year).

John 7:6 Jesus told them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.

• Jesus said it is not His time to show Himself to the world.
• Jesus said the same thing to His mother in John 2:4 – “My time hasn’t come yet.”.
• He did say in John 12:23 – “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  

His brothers can go to the feast anytime they want to, their lives were not in any danger.

John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its actions are evil.

• Jesus said the world hated him because he rebuked and pointed out the world sins, injustice, its pride, and evil.
• His brothers were of the world and the world accepts and being part of them.
• The same reason for non-believers.

John 7:8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I am not yet going to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.”

Notice the little word “yet” in “My time is not yet come.” Jesus did not say that He would not go up to the feast at this time on His own schedule.

**John 17:1 – “Father, the hour has come. {Jesus time has come}

John 7:9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

John 7:10 But after his brothers had gone up to the festival, he went up himself, not openly but, as it were, in secret.

• He would not go up with his brothers, ascending to Jerusalem in secret to celebrate the Feast.
• Jesus did not want to attract notice.
• As Jesus popularity increase, the Jewish Leadership hatred Him even more.

John 7:11 The Jews kept looking for him at the festival, asking, “Where is that man?”   {looking for Jesus for no good end}

That man:  was it said in Contempt?  Was this asked to Jesus brothers.

John 7:12 And there was a great deal of discussion about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He is a good man,” while others were saying, “No, he is deceiving the crowds!”

• The people have two different opposing views of Jesus claims,
• His claims that Jesus were honest, or
• He deceives the people and is not a good man.

Some says Jesus is a man of a good principle, of a good life and conversation; and who is good, kind, and beneficent, both to the bodies and souls of men; preaches good doctrine, and does many good things:

While others says Jesus deceives the people; drawing them off from the law of Moses, teaching them to break the Sabbath, setting himself up as the Messiah, and asserting himself to be the son of God

John 7:13 Nevertheless, no one would speak openly about him because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.

• The people were divided in opinion, but dared not express themselves or speak openly until they saw what the Jewish leadership would do,
• They can remove people from the Temple worship, especially the members of the council, a total domination of the people.

We should not be surprised at differing views. It has been 1½ years since healing at Bethesda on the Sabbath. “Political correctness” pre-vails even today.

John 7:14 Halfway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began teaching.

This is the first mention in the Gospel of John of Jesus teaching in the Temple.

• Remember, Feast of Tabernacles is 7 days long, with a 1 day of the Last Great Day for a total of eight days.
• About the 4^th day He appeared in the temple.
• The Feast of Tabernacles sets before us the coming of Christ in His return to earth, to set up His Kingdom and we are changed.

John 7:15 The Jewish leaders were astonished and remarked, “How can this man be so educated when he has never gone to school?”

It must have been an impressive lesson. 

The Jewish rulers were astonished at his learning about the Scriptures, since he had never attended the great schools of their doctors or any place of education.   

What did the Jewish Leadership think about Jesus disciples 

Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

John 7:16 Jesus replied to them, “My teaching is not mine but comes from the one who sent me.

• Jesus indicates that He did not receive His teaching from the rabbis, nor did He fabricate it.
• Instead His teaching came directly from God.
• His knowledge came not from man, but from God.

This is the first of 7 statements that Jesus spoke only the Fathers words {See Joh_8:28, Joh_8:47; Joh_12:49; Joh_14:10, Joh_14:24; Joh_17:8}

John 7:17 If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether this teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.

• If we really want to determine to do God’s will, then we will certainly know whether Jesus teaching is from God or is merely His own.
• The Holy Spirit teaches us all things. {John 14:26}

John 7:18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.

They said Jesus is a Sabbath breaker.

John 7:19 Moses gave you the Law, didn’t he? Yet none of you is keeping the Law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

• Jesus gave God’s message; so did Moses.
• The religious leaders were breaking Moses’ Law by seeking to kill Jesus which they professed to keep.

John 7:20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?”

• Not “the Jews,” but the masses.
• They did not then know that the rulers and priests were seeking his death,
• People disagree with such a suggestion.

John 7:21 Jesus answered them, “I performed one action {or miracle}, and all of you are astonished.  {or marvel or amazed}

• Jesus healed the man a year before on the Sabbath.
• Jesus reminds them that on that occasion all, and not the rulers only, they were offended.

John 7:22 Moses gave you circumcision; not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers; and so you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath.

“Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision”: Circumcision required breaking the sabbath laws.  Fathers {Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob}

• The Jews obeyed this law, even if the eighth day fell on the Sabbath. Jesus asked why the leaders were angry with Him for making a man completely well on the Sabbath.

John 7:23  Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 

Jesus warns them against making superficial judgments

John 7:24 Stop judging by appearances, but judge with righteous judgment!“

Do we make Superficial Judgments or make righteous judgment.