In Search of the Apathetic Believer - John 6:21-40

3:00Remember what Peter said? Lord, to whom do we go? You alone have the words of eternal life. That's why we're looking at next week in search of the authentic Christian, because that's what an authentic Christian would say. The signs that Jesus performed, John tells us, he tells us the reason he wrote the book of John, in John chapter 20, verse 20, verse 30, 31. He says that these things are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in believing you may have life in his name. So that's the purpose of his book. And so, as we said, Jesus, John, kicks off this chapter preaching to a lot of people, and at the end of it, only 12 are left. There's two harsh realities that stream from this chapter. Two of them. Well, there's many more than that, but just two that really stood out to me this week as I was preparing for tonight. And it's this: just because you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus doesn't mean that you're an authentic believer. He referred to a lot of these unbelievers that left him as disciples. He called them disciples. Second, just because someone identifies as a Christian doesn't mean that they're a genuine believer. You can put the name Christian on your forehead all day long, but that doesn't make you a Christian. We saw people following Jesus around from hillsides, over the seas, and following him and wanting to be near him, but that doesn't mean they were believers. They left him at the end of the chapter.

4:30Well, we know they left him. We know they didn't like his words. In fact, at the end of the chapter, close to the end of the chapter, they referred to his preaching as unkind. They referred to his preaching as cruel. They said that his words are cruel. There's a phrase in there that says, these things are hard to hear. These things are hard to listen to. And literally, it means it's cruel verbiage, cruel and unkind words. They concluded that the free food and the free health care was a great thing that was worth putting up with the unkind and cruel words, the message for a while, but at the end, they'd rather starve. They didn't want the free food anymore because that meant that they had to hear the gospel. We know from John chapter 2, verses 23 and 24, that Jesus was talking to people who said they believed in John 2, 23 and 24. But we also know in that same context that he referred to those people as those he didn't believe in. And out of that group of people was Nicodemus. And Nicodemus came to him late at night, and he was representing this crowd of people who believed in him, but the passage says he didn't entrust himself to them. It's the same word as believe. He didn't believe in them. So there was something about their belief that wasn't saving faith. There was something about this belief. That in John 6, that people followed Jesus around, but it wasn't a saving faith, save the 11 at the end, not the 12. We know that he mentions Judas in that. So why don't we just, I'll read and you follow along. I'm going to go from verses 22 through 40, and you can just kind of get a sense for where this section of Scripture is heading. He says this, Paul or John, writes these words, the next day, when he says the next day, this is the day after he did the feeding and the walking on water. So the next day, the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus had not entered with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples had gone away alone. There came other small boats from Tiberias near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks. So, when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here? And Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not do the work which perish. Do not work for food which perishes, but for food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on him the Father has set his seal. Therefore they said to him, What shall we do? So that we may work the works of God. Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, What then do you do for a sign? So that we may see and believe you. What work do you perform? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and as it is written, he gave them bread out of heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, Truly, truly I say to you, it's not Moses who gave you bread out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is this, that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. Then they said to him, Lord, always give us this bread. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst. But I say to you, that you have seen me, and yet you do not believe. All that the Father gives to me will come to me. And the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that you all, or that all of you, that he has given to me, I lose nothing, but I raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day. That's our section of Scripture. That describes what I think is the search for the Apathetic believer. And I would say that this is what I believe the Lord wants us to get out of this passage today. You'll notice on the screen, just some application, as we walk into this, you're going to see some of these things developed. And it's this. A true shepherd presents the message of salvation with such clarity that people are able to know with precision God's will for their lives.

9:26God's will for their lives. He covers God's will for their lives. And there's four ways to break this down. I call it really four scenes that paint a picture of an apathetic believer. Number one, apathetic believers search for Jesus. No doubt they're looking for him, right? They're following him over land and sea. People are coming from cities, surrounding areas to find him. Number two, a true shepherd tells the truth. Day before, he sent them away because they wanted to make him king. Today, he's telling them the truth about how to be saved. Three, false disciples are demanding. They demand their way. They want all they can get. Four, a true shepherd explains God's will. And you're going to see that in verses 35 through 40. I would say this. There's two scenes on the screen here that you can see that show us how bogus disciples treat their shepherd. And number two, there's two other scenes that we see that how Jesus shepherds apathy. Apathetic people or people apathetic to his message. He shepherds them. This is a message about discipleship and about shepherding, but how does he shepherd people who are resistant to him? He doesn't send them away before they hear the message. True enough, he sent them away the day before, but they're back and they want to hear some more, and so he's shepherding them. So let's deal with them one by one. Even apathetic believers search for Jesus. We know that from the text. We see there in verse 22, the next day, our natural question, we've already talked about this a little bit, but what happened the day before? Well, the day before, you know that he fed all these people, he preached to them, he healed them. All four gospels tell us that Jesus fed them, that Jesus walked on water. Maybe if you weren't here last week, you can go back and the message is online here from last week. It'll set up the stage a little bit better for what we're looking at, and that's in search of the authentic Jesus. It's on our website. John 6 shows us the compassion that Jesus has on the multitudes, people he identified as, you remember how he identified them? Sheep without a shepherd? Imagine all these throngs of people, like sheep without a shepherd, just wandering along the hillsides. He fed them, he healed them, and we know that the Father sent him to teach that message of repentance, to teach that message of the kingdom of God, to teach the message that the Father sent him.

12:00Well, after he fed these 20,000 people, they tried to force him to be their king. It would have been a very violent sort of a situation. They wanted him to be their king because he could feed them, he could take care of them. Well, in response to their politics, with one hand in Mark 6:44, he's shooing away the false disciples, and on the other hand, he's putting the true disciples, the 12, into a boat and sending them away. You can read about that in Mark chapter 6, verses 44 and 45. Well, they refused to believe that the Father sent him, and they refused his message about repentance and the kingdom of God, and so he sent them packing. Now we see in John 6:22 and following that apathetic believers they search for Jesus, true enough, to fulfill their self-centered desires. I've been referring to their kind of Jesus as a Santa Jesus, because it was appropriate last week with Christmas and all coming up, that the Santa Jesus is the one who gives everything to anybody, no matter whether they're naughty or nice, because it wouldn't be fair if he didn't give it to the naughty people, because that's just not how our culture does it. Well, so he was given everything to everybody, and they wanted that kind of Jesus. What they didn't want was the Jesus who shared the gospel with them. And so they end up leaving. Their purposes are different than his, and he gives them answers. That they don't ask. There's a couple of times that happens in this section of Scripture. Why wouldn't Jesus answer their questions? Why wouldn't he do that? Well, since their hearts were jolted by the bread miracle, why should Jesus explain the arrival time in verse 25? Do you see verse 25 when they found him on the other side of the sea? They said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Really? That's the question you have for Jesus? You saw him create food in his hands, in the hands of his disciples? You want to know when he arrived? Authentic disciples are quite the opposite. Authentic disciples in Mark 6:51 through 52 were utterly astonished at who? After he walked on the sea, do you remember who they were astonished with? Themselves. Not that he walked on water, not that he made bread. They were astonished with themselves because they didn't get the miracle that pointed to him. They didn't understand the bread miracle. They were shocked that they couldn't understand that Jesus performed that in their presence.

14:35Philip was given a test, and they were shocked that they didn't understand the bread miracle. So in verse 22, it's a new day. The same crowd that Jesus rejected the day before are found doing what apathetic disciples do: they reject Jesus' words. So now they're back on the beach, the same area that Jesus created all that food, where he did all that healing. In verses 22 through 24, and we would ask the question: what are they doing there? Why are they there? Remember, this was a remote place. The question that was asked of Philip the night before was, Philip, where are we going to get food for all these people? There was nothing close by, and now they're back looking for Jesus. Well, why would they do that? Jesus shooed them away. Did they expect to see him there? Apparently, they thought maybe he would be there. He didn't get in the boat. They came back to the same place, hoping to score some free breakfast. They had a good meal the night before, of course. They were looking for their Santa Jesus, you see, who gives away free food, but he's not there. Where is he? They're searching. Rather than believe in Jesus' words about repentance and God's kingdom, he's telling them to go away. They're hungry. So they're tracking him down because they need that breakfast chef to fulfill their desires for food.

16:03Verse 25. Verse 25 tells us they found him. It says this: When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Once again, they asked that the wrong question. Apathetic believers, they asked the wrong questions. So if you saw the guy making all this kind of food in the palms of the disciples' hands, this probably wouldn't be the question you would want to ask. It's like, maybe Jesus, how'd you create all that food? Or Jesus, tell me more about the message. But they want to know when he got there.

16:38They thought their question was brilliant. They were buttering him up, it seems. They respectfully addressed him as rabbi, as teacher. Jesus' primary mission was to teach, so they called him rabbi. That's what they were appealing to. They were appealing to the fact that he was a teacher. They knew Jesus considered his teaching far more important than the healing, far more important than making bread or fish. We know from Matthew 23 that rabbis loved that title. They loved being called rabbis. It would be as if everybody who has PhDs at AM, you could never call them anything but Dr. So-and-so.

17:23Even in your own families, they loved that title rabbi. They loved being called teacher. And so they were appealing to Jesus' ego. We know you're a teacher. You've been teaching us all along. And so we know that he's been teaching because they heard him teach, and so they call him rabbi. They call him teacher. Seems that they forgot that yesterday's teaching drove them away. And his teaching will drive them away again later in chapter 6. We know from 1 Corinthians 1:18 that the same effect of the gospel still drives people away. The word of the cross is what? Foolishness to those who are perishing. They don't want to hear it. Send them away. Jesus, he rejects their question and he cuts to the chase. He identifies why they're calling him rabbi. They called him rabbi. So Jesus does what good rabbis do. You see, good rabbis teach the truth. And so he's going to begin teaching them the truth again. And that really brings us to the second scene that pictures the apathetic believer. A true shepherd tells the truth. He's going to tell them what they need to hear. In verses 26 through 29.

18:40Look at verse 26. Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. While Jesus doesn't answer their question, he does something very remarkable. He demonstrates his deity. He knows exactly what's going on in their hearts. He knows exactly what's going on with their motives to approach him in such a way. He demonstrates his deity. He runs them through with his double-edged sword. We know it's a double-edged sword from Hebrews 4:12 and 13. He exegetes them. What does that mean? He explains to them who they are and what they're doing. He knows the thoughts of their heart.

19:26You're seeking me, Jesus says, for what you can get. I mentioned Hebrews 4.12 a minute ago. Listen to what Hebrews 4.12 says. For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to his eyes. I'm going to stop there for a second. All things are open and laid bare to his eyes. That is a reference to a sacrifice of an animal. When they sacrificed an animal, they cut its throat, and the throat was laid bare to those who could see it. It's a reference to that. It's the same kind of verbiage. And so he's talking to these people, and he opens them up. He lays them bare. He says this in verse 13 in Hebrews 4. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. He knew precisely the reason why they were there back on that beach. You see, Jesus knows your motives. He knows my motives. Though you pray to Asphanta Jesus in John chapter 6, the authentic Jesus, he knows what we're up to. He knows our motives. He knows what we're thinking. They toiled across land and sea. Can you just picture it? They're rowing and rowing. They're running across the beaches trying to find him.

20:54They're hunting Jesus down. But here in verse 26, notice what happens. The hunters become the hunted. Jesus is hunting them down. He knows precisely why they're there. Jesus lays them wide open. He sees down to the depths of their soul. Turn to Psalm chapter 39 with me. Psalm chapter 39. You see, David understood that he couldn't hide from God. These people around the area of Capernaum, they couldn't hide their motives from God. Jesus knows what they're thinking. God understands your thoughts. You can't hide your motives from him. Notice what David writes in Psalm 139. He says, This, O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You have known when I sit down and when I rise up. You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path, my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it.

21:58We can't hide from him. Verse 5, you have enclosed me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is too high. I cannot attain it. And he wraps it up in verse 7. He says this, Where can I go from your presence? Or excuse me, where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? God understands your hearts. He understands my mind. He understands my thoughts and your thoughts and our motives. There's no place to hide from him.

22:30They searched for Jesus because he was their soup kitchen. He was breakfast. He was bagels in the morning. They were hungry. He was their health clinic. Jesus understood their thoughts and he nailed them. He laid them wide open. Jesus, back to John chapter 6. We know that Jesus in John 6, verses 1 through 15, became their idol to whom they'd surrender everything if it weren't for the rest of the chapter. They would follow him sure enough as a king. But when he began to preach the gospel, no, they'll leave him. When they finally understood the gospel, they turned their backs on him and they kept walking away. We're going to really dig into that next week. For now, let's just pick up the narrative in verse 27. Verse 27, he says, Do not work for food which is perishing or which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal. Think about it. They just rowed for a few miles.

23:37They're rowing and rowing. They worked hard for this free food. They showed up on the beach and they're thinking, we found him. We're going to get something. They saw what he did the day before. They had a food obsession. And when they finally discovered Jesus, he tells them that they're rowing and all their laboring accomplished what? It's in the text. Nothing. He says, don't worry. Work for this kind of food that perishes. The authentic Jesus, he gives them two instructions in verse 27.

24:08First one, he instructs them not to work for spoiling food. He keeps the cookies down on the bottom shelf, make it really easy to grasp. Don't work for spoiling food, he says. It wasn't necessary for them to work so hard for spoiling food. They can get that at any food store, any drugstore, even in those days. He's talking about a different kind of food. Second, Jesus tells them to work for food and enduring to eternal life. That's the kind of food to work for, which is a gift from the Son of Man, the text says. So Jesus shepherds them. Did you notice what kind of language he uses? He's using metaphorical language. He's painting word pictures for them so that they could understand. Language like the bread, the fish, and the food are all word pictures about God's concern for eternal life.

25:04I used the metaphor myself, didn't I? Cookies on the lower shelf. These metaphors are like grandpa placing cookies on the lower shelf for his little buddies to grab with ease. That's what I'm going to do when I'm a grandpa. All right, Erica? Yeah. He wanted them to be in a place for them to get the information. The more the grandkids are apathetic about grandpa's love, Maybe the higher the cookies are going to be placed on the shelf. And that's what he does in John chapter 6. The metaphors get more difficult, not easier. He tells them exactly what he's driving at. They deny the truth, and he makes it more difficult for them. Isn't that fascinating? The more they reject the metaphors, the more he uses them to display the absurdity of their rejection of the truth. Notice the progression of Jesus' metaphors. You could just glance down and see this. And in verse 41, and in verse 46, he just says, I'm the bread of life. We get that. We understand that. But this is probably the first time that they've ever heard that. In verses 53, 56, and 58, it gets more difficult. He says, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.

26:19What's he driving at? Jesus addresses their apathy right where they are. A true shepherd guides people from their fixation on the temporal necessities of life. Here's the metaphor. Here's what he wants them to know. Jesus says, labor to get the gospel message that leads to eternal life. That's what he's driving at. In other words, go about sea and land to get the preaching of God's word, the word of life. If a church doesn't do expository preaching, you ought not to be there because they're not teaching the word of life. Find one that does. He wants them to work hard, to labor hard to get the message. John 14, 6, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. You know the verse, no one comes to the Father but through me.

27:07The food that endures to eternal life is Jesus' message. Notice verse 27. Verse 27. In that message is what he gives to people. He gives eternal life. You can't work for it. He gives it. It's a gift to those who, in verse 29, if you'll look at that, believe that the Father sent Jesus. It's a gift. Notice in verse 28 how apathetic believers, once again, they ask the wrong questions. They said to him, Therefore, what shall we do that we may work the works of God? They want to work for it. They're Pharisees, perhaps. They're people who have always worked for something. It's never free. And so they want to work for it.

27:56It's not a one-time work they're asking about. We know from the original language. It's something that they want to continually perform for God. They want to keep working for God. And so they ask the question. They want to work for God. So Jesus shepherds them to a task that they can perform to meet God's expectations. Notice Jesus' response in verse 29. Jesus answered them and said, He said, This, this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. This is the linchpin for the entire chapter. Everything about the entire chapter. Points to verse 29. All the metaphors, all the food, all the healing, it all points here. This is where he's going. The word believe is present tense. In other words, keep on continually believing in me, the one whom the Father sent. The one on whom God sent his seal, or set his seal. You look at the passage again, you say, well, whose work is this? Whose work is it? Jesus says it's God's work. Wow. They ask for a work that they can continually do, and he tells them, here's God's work. Believe. In other words, even your belief you exercise is a gift from God. We know that from Paul, don't we? Ephesians 2.5, Ephesians 2.8, salvation is a gift. Faith is a gift. Romans 3.28, man is justified by faith apart from works. John 6, 29 is the central focus of this passage, of this whole chapter. Whenever you read John 6, this is the focal point. All the healing, all the bread, all the fish, all the testing of Jesus' disciples point here. They should have repented. They should have embraced Jesus as the one sent from the Father, and the chapter could have ended right here. It could have just stopped, that they would have just accepted what he was saying, but they didn't surrender to Christ. In fact, they doubled down, didn't they? They asked more questions and had more demands of their sanctity. Jesus. Give us more stuff, Jesus. They came for breakfast, and all they got was preaching. Jesus tells them to believe something, so they demanded what? They demanded for him to prove his identity. He makes the statement in 629, right? To believe that the Father sent the Son. Now they want a sign. Well, this brings us to the third scene that pictures apathetic believers in verses 30 through 44.

30:28Apathetic believers are fixed on half-truths. They'll take anything that they can get from their Santa Jesus. Give me free food. They'll take that. They'll take the healing, but they're kind of, eh, when it comes to the message. They don't want the message. The message is this, that God sent Jesus. The message is repentance. The message is God's kingdom. But from verses 30 through 34, we see that apathetic believers arrogantly demand for God's obedience. Isn't that fascinating? They want God's obedience. Place your focus on verses 30 and 32. So they said to him, What do you do for a sign that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

31:15Isn't that interesting? The word apathy is really the hallmark of verse 30. It's a hallmark of it. It's apathy. Let's bring their question, their demand, into focus. I want you to see three critical parts of an apathy. Believer first. First, apathetic believers demand, let's talk about the demand itself. The second, the purpose behind the demand, and third, the justification for their demand. What's in that demand? What's the purpose of it? And how do they justify it?

31:48So, what can we discern from the demand itself? Jesus tells them in verse 29 to believe that the Father sent him, and so they want more proof. They say they came for breakfast, or since they came for breakfast, they want more proof. This is a classic, you know, fox-in-the-hole kind of prayer, isn't it, or fox-hole kind of prayer. Jesus, they say, You want me? You want me to believe in you? Then I need you to do some things. I need you to perform some things and get me out of this ditch, is the idea. John wrote this gospel in answer to apathetic believers' questions. John 20:31, these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ. You want reasons to believe that Jesus was sent from God? Here's all you need to know: the wedding at Cana. They would have known about that. That was quite a miracle. He turned water into wine, right? The clearing of the temple, he cleared thousands of people and animals out of the temple with a handmade whip. The woman at the well, the healing of the nobleman's son in John chapter 4, the healing at the pool of Bethesda. In John 5, 36, Jesus' works testify about him. John 6, 2. The multitude kept following him because of the signs that he repeatedly demonstrated in their presence. He walked on water. He created their dinner. Jesus already authenticated the message, but what is it they're asking? They want more barley bagels, Jesus. You feed us again, and maybe, just maybe, we'll follow you. There's a second critical part to their apathetic demands, which tells us the purpose behind their demands. Why did they ask this question? Look at verse 30 again. So they asked him, What then do you do for a sign? So that we may see and believe you. And what work do you perform? They asked.

33:41Look at those words right there in the text. So that we may see and believe you. Packed away in those words, may see and believe, is a significant message. It's a sinister expression of sarcastic doubt. In other words, what they're telling Jesus is this: entertain us, Jesus, with another miracle, and maybe, just maybe, we'll believe the Father sent you. Maybe we'll see. It all depends on what we see. Jesus, maybe we'll believe in you. Here's the third critical part of an apathetic believer's demands: it's their justification for their demands.

34:26We see that in verses 30 to 31. Apathetic believers abuse spirituality. Scripture to suit their own purposes. In verses 33 through 34, Jesus calls them out for it. Here's their justification to motivate their sent to Jesus to provide more food. If Jesus is really like Moses, then he must perform a miracle superior to Moses. Didn't he say here that our fathers gave us manna from the skies, from the wilderness? Jesus interprets what they're saying. He knows what they're saying. You think Moses gave you that food. You see, if Jesus is really a prophet like Moses, then he must perform a miracle superior to Moses. What did Moses do in the wilderness? Think about it.

35:16He fed an entire nation for 40 years. Manna out of heaven. So Jesus, they say, you need to come up with a better trick of feeding more than 15,000 people. You want to be like Moses. You need to feed an entire nation for 40 years. Moses' miracle was better than Jesus's. We want you to give us an unending stream of groceries, health care, and maybe, just maybe we might believe the Father sent you. It's a sarcastic way of addressing him. For some strange reason, they thought Moses gave them manna from heaven. A telltale indication that apathetic believers, or of apathetic believers, is that they intentionally. Twists scripture to suit their own purposes. But Jesus addresses this, doesn't he, in verse 32? Look at verse 32. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it's not Moses who has given you bread out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you true bread out of heaven. The word but in there is significant, and it shows Jesus' strong opposition to their understanding that Moses gave them bread. He's quick to fix their theology by telling them that his Father is right now continuously feeding them, even as they talk. He's feeding them now. At this very moment, God is giving you food. Metaphorically speaking, Jesus is right now the bread of life. And God's work is for you to believe that the Father sent him. So we need to watch carefully what Jesus does. Jesus isn't done correcting their theology in verse 33. Look at verse 33.

37:00For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. The word that is masculine. That's an interesting note. Interesting thing to think about. It could also read he who. He who is coming out of heaven. You see, Jesus takes the metaphor to another level and personifies bread to he who is coming down from heaven and is giving life to the world. The cookies are beginning to come within reach. They ought to get this.

37:30How much more clear could Jesus be? He's telling them that he himself is the one that's coming out of heaven into the world. The chapter should end here, but it doesn't. Verse 34, they command Jesus to cough up some more bread. Yet in verses 35 through 40, it indicates that despite all the signs that they continue to reject the notion that Jesus is from the Father, they continue to reject it. But maybe you're expecting God to solve some crisis in your life, like they are. Maybe you're asking God to solve some crisis, and you need to ask yourself the question, is your focus on yourself more than it is on the Lord? Such that your focus comes on your issues more than worshiping him? Because that's what their focus was. Are you treating Jesus like you're Santa Jesus? Like he's supposed to give me everything? Or are you truly believing, verse 39, like they should have been doing, that Jesus was sent by the Father and that you have life in him alone? That brings us to our fourth scene that pictures apathetic believers. A true shepherd explains the will of God. And I want you to remember that the true disciples are watching all this take place. They're learning how to shepherd and how to disciple people with the truth. Watch what happens in verses 35 through 40. Jesus lays out in careful detail God's will in terms of who will enter his kingdom. So in order to become an apathetic, Christian, there are four things that we need to understand from these concepts. First, they must know the identity of the authentic Jesus and their responsibility to believe that the Father sent the Son. Second, they must understand their rejection of the authentic Jesus. And third, they must understand the Father's role in salvation. And fourth, they must understand God's will and salvation. All right, so first, they must know the identity of the authentic Jesus and their responsibility to believe. We see it in verse 35. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger. He who believes in me will never thirst.

39:41Let's keep in mind the reason they're even listening to Jesus. They've rode for several miles. They've tracked him down for another massive food delivery. They want their breakfast and they want it now. So in verse 35, Jesus continues this word, this food metaphor, and he ideas himself as the bread of life. In the second part of verse 35, Jesus shepherds them to their responsibility in salvation. What is their responsibility in salvation? It's very simple. The words come and the word believe are synonymous. You demonstrate your faith in the Father, that the Father sent the Son, by coming to him and believing in him. Jesus uses A familiar double negative in the Greek language, which is actually a positive thing.

40:35When he uses a double negative in the Greek, it's telling them that there is in no way that you will ever thirst. There's no possible way that as you come to Christ and believe in him, you will ever thirst. And Jesus isn't done with his message. To become an authentic Christian, you must also grasp the rejection of the authentic Jesus in verse 36. Look at verse 36 again. But I said to you that you have seen me, and you do not believe. The words have seen and have not believed express present and continuous action. Look, you've been seeing me all along, you've been listening to me all along, and you're still not believing. You didn't believe me then, and you don't believe me now. Literally, here's what Jesus says to them: you have been seeing me all along, and you're seeing me now, and you're still not believing. Another way to put that passage: in order to become an authentic Christian, they must understand the Father's role in salvation. Yes, they have a role, but they also need to understand the Father has a role. And it's in verses 37 through 38. Jesus shifts from human responsibility side of salvation to God's role in salvation in verse 35. It's in verse 37 that Jesus presents to them the twin truths that run parallel throughout Scripture: man's responsibility to repent and believe in God and in God's sovereignty and salvation. We must first recognize that no comes to Jesus without the Father giving them to Jesus as a gift. That's God's role in our salvation. Those exercising their responsibility to come to Jesus must rejoice in the fact that he will never, ever cast them out. It's impossible. The Father gives you as a gift to Jesus and your salvation is eternally secure. John 10, 29, My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. They're secure. And in verse 38, Jesus comes to do the Father's will. You ever want to know what God's will is? Here's God's will. Verse 37, Jesus won't lose a single person that God has given to him. Why would he lose them? If it's the Father's gift, why would he lose them? So in order for apathetic believers to become authentic Christians, they must understand God's will and salvation. It's in verses 39 and 40. In these two verses, Jesus discloses more of God's will. First, Jesus says, I will not lose those that my Father has given to me. Second, Jesus says, I will resurrect them on the last day. You can bank on it. Now, watch how Jesus concludes the sermon in verse 40. Verse 40. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day. God's will is for you to behold the Son. He wants you to believe in him. So that you have eternal life. All of a sudden, the Santa Jesus is deemed irrelevant. It's about belief.

43:37It's about believing that the Father sent the Son. Who cares about breakfast when you have the bread of life right there in your presence? Who cares about the storms of life when the one who gives you eternal life and resurrection is right there to behold and embrace? Jesus' sermon could end here, but it doesn't. They grumbled and they griped at his preaching. They complained. And you'll have to come back next week as we look for the authentic Jesus, search for the authentic, excuse me, Christian. Here's what we've learned so far: a true shepherd presents the message of salvation with such clarity that the people are able to know with precision God's will for their lives. It's said right here: Behold the Son, behold the Father. And there's four scenes that really paint an apathetic believer, aren't there? Apathetic believers, they search for Jesus, sure enough, but in a lot of cases, they have the wrong one.

44:44That's why number two is so important. A true shepherd tells the truth, and so he leads them with the truth. He guides them with the truth. We find here that false disciples are demanding. They had seen Jesus do all kinds of miraculous things, but they were. Want one more. They want one better than Moses. And third, a true shepherd explains God's will. Again, this is a message about shepherding. It's a message about discipleship. And this is a message that we at Emmanuel need to be more familiar with: shepherding and discipling people so that they can grow in Christ, so that our church can be strengthened for God's glory.

45:22John chapter 6 is the thanks but no thanks chapter. Jesus, we like your healing, we like your food, but at the end of it, they all walk away. And we need to understand that because that question that he asks the disciples at the end is very important for us to comprehend. What's your will in the matter? Well, why don't we close in a word of prayer? And when I'm done, you'll be excused to enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening. Father, we're so grateful for this evening. We're thankful that you have given us the truth of your word, that we can understand these things, that we can look at it, and we can see what we were like even before we knew you. We came to you because we thought perhaps that you were something that you're not. And people had a heart and a passion for you and a passion for people to tell us the truth. And as a result, we heard the message of repentance. We heard the message of the fact that Jesus was sent by the Father, and we've embraced that message. And we give you thanks for that. Lord, would you use each one here to take this message and to use it in a way that leads others to know you and to know you? Understand you, that they can behold you and your Son as well. We thank you in Christ's name. Amen. And have a great rest of the evening.