Hunger and Thirst No More (Part 2)

Hunger and Thirst No More (Part 2)

C. Craig Wells

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 (ESV)

We have identified two of the three-part focus of John 6 in the first part of this article. The first two being Jesus describing who he was along with the purpose for which he had come and the unbelief of the Jews who had heard the testimony. I will discuss the third focus in this part of the article, which is why some did not believe. The interpretation of the rest of this chapter is what is so controversial. This is why I tried my best to lay out the foundation in the first part of this article to set the stage for the interpretation of the next part of the chapter. The context is so important for the interpretation. The Jews had heard the gospel presented to them by Jesus, which they did not receive. Now we get into where Jesus describes to the Jews why they did not believe.

I ended the first part of this article with John 6:35 and that is where I will start in this part. Jesus was explicit in stating that he was the bread of life, which he was describing in the previous verses. The Jews were seeking physical bread that perishes for their physical life, which will also perish. Jesus was offering himself as bread of life for eternal life. The Jews wanted what they did not need. They were blind to their need for salvation. They were more concerned for the physical world and not their need for atonement to bring them to the kingdom of God unto eternal life. They trusted in their heritage as a people chosen by God. They trusted their works to be made right with God. The whole time Jesus was telling them that he was the one to whom they were to trust for eternal life.

The next part of the verse is clear in its statement. Whoever comes to Jesus will no longer hunger and whoever believes in him will no longer thirst. Some will argue that this coming to Jesus is not the same as believing, especially concerning verse 44. However, these two words, coming and believing, occur in the same verse. It is stating the same thing two different ways. It is very clear in the statement that “whoever believes in me shall never thirst”. You will live eternally if you believe who Jesus is and for what purpose he came. You cannot live physically without food and water; therefore, you must also come to Jesus for the bread of life so that you shall not hunger spiritually.

The physical person cannot live without food and water. You can live for many days without food; however, you can only live for only a couple of days without water. You must come to Jesus for bread of life so you will not hunger. You come to Jesus for this bread of life because you believe that Jesus is the bread of life. You do not come to Jesus for food in a physical way, if you do; you will be sorely disappointed. You come to Jesus because you see that he offers true bread from God unto eternal life. You believe that he offers what you need; therefore, you come. You would not come to Jesus if you did not believe what he offered was bread of life unto eternal life. In fact, that is the very reason people do not come to Jesus, they do not believe who he is or for what purpose he came. Jesus was very clear in stating the reason they were seeking him in verse 26. They were seeking Jesus for the wrong reason. They did not believe who he was or for what purpose for which he had come.

Verse 35 states the first focus of chapter 6 and verse 36 states the second focus, “you have seen me and yet do not believe”. Verse 37 starts Jesus’ explanation as to why those that do not believe do not believe. Verse 37 starts out “All that the Father gives me will come to me”. I have stated above to what coming to Jesus means, but now we have a qualifier added. The Father gives the ones that come to (believe) Jesus. That is not some. There is none, which slips through. All that the Father gives will come. The word “will” is very important here also. There is no “may” here. The negative implies that no one believes in Jesus unless the Father gives them up to Jesus. In a couple of verses, it will be explicit.

I have stated that chapter 6 describes both total depravity and irresistible grace in part one of this article. However, the second part of verse 37 also describes perseverance of the saints. All that the Father gives will come and all that come, none will Jesus cast out. What hope, comfort, and peace we have in these verses! God cast Satan out of heaven; however, we who come to Jesus for bread of life, Jesus will never cast out of the kingdom of God! We came to Jesus for salvation because the Father first gave us to him. Once we are in the hands of Jesus, he will never cast us out.

Jesus states in verse 38 that he had come only to do the Father’s will. Verse 39 states what the Father’s will is, “that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day”. Did you get that? The will of the Father is that all that he gives to Jesus, he shall not lose; even to raise them up on the last day. The Father has a people to call His own that we wants raised up on the last day; therefore He gives them to Jesus so that Jesus will not lose any or even cast out, but will raise up on the last day.

Verse 37 says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me”. Verse 39 says, “that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day”. Verse 39 says nothing about coming to Jesus or believing. It clearly says that all that Jesus receives from the Father, Jesus will raise them up on the last day. Faith is the means by which salvation comes to us, for our salvation is through faith. However, according to verse 39, that is a guarantee when the Father delivers up to Christ those He has chosen.

Verse 40 is an exclamation point to verse 39. Jesus states again the will of his Father. Jesus says, “Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last days”. This verse is explicit in the fact that those believing in Jesus will have eternal life. That is faith unto salvation. The point I want to make is the fact that verse 39 has the same words, “I will raise him up on the last days”. These words tie verse 39 to verse 40. Verse 39 has these words in reference to Jesus not losing any that the Father gives him. The people that believe and have eternal life are raised up on the last day, which are the people the Father gave to Jesus from the beginning. Please do not overlook how these verses connect to each other and what they are saying. To have eternal life, you must believe in Christ. However, that will only come when the Father gives you up to Christ so that you will believe.

“That I should lose nothing of all that the he has given me” in verse 39 ties to verse 37 where Jesus says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me”. Can you see how Jesus says the same thing in all the verses from 37 through 40, but said 3 different ways? You must come to Jesus by believing in the person and work of Jesus. However, you will not come to Jesus until the Fathers gives you over to him. When he does, then you are secure in the hands of Jesus, for he will even raise you up on the last day.

You would think verses 35 through 40 were enough for them to understand. However, the Jews were grumbling over what Jesus was saying, indicating they did not understand and believe what he was telling them. Therefore, Jesus goes deeper into the truths of the reason they were not receiving the message and believing in verses 41 through 51.

Jesus tells the grumbling Jews “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him”. This verse says that no one can come to Jesus in believing that he is the bread of life unto eternal life unless the Father draws him. The word, draw, in this verse comes under fire from so many different directions. I agree with those that say it does not mean faith or believing. However, I do believe it indirectly describes our total depravity and we being in such a state cannot come to Jesus in faith that he offers us eternal life, unless the Father brings us to Jesus first. This describes the doctrine of God’s irresistible grace.

The second part of the verse, “And I will raise him up on the last day”, connects to verses 39 and 40 where it is previously mentioned. What do you think “And I will raise him up on the last day” means? Would you not think it means the resurrection in the last day where the Father will glorify us in heaven where we will inherit the kingdom of God for all eternity? The answer is obviously yes. If this is our hope, how do we get there? It says that the Father must draw us first. The middle part is missing. We must believe, but the truth is that the most important thing is our receiving eternal life along with the fact that God the Father initiated the entire process. We would not have ever believed in Christ in the offering of himself as the bread of life if the Father had not brought us to Jesus first.

What does verse 45 say and what does it mean? Jesus uses the Old Testament in the first part of the verse when he uses Isaiah 54:13 and Jeremiah 31:31-34. Our knowledge of who God is, our sinful condition, our need for salvation, and believing in Christ for that salvation is not achieved from our own understanding. The Jews in chapter 6 is a good example of this. We do not receive these truths from another human being and it sure is not from within. God himself must be the one that teaches us the spiritual truths that we must believe for salvation. Other New Testament passages such as, 1 Corinthians 2:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, and 1 John 2:20, confirm this truth.

The second part of verse 45 is crucial. “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me”. The coming to Jesus is the believing that he offers the true bread, the bread of life. All that heard and learned from the Father come. That means that no one will come to Jesus for the bread of life unless one has heard and learned from the Father. This is the work of the Holy Spirit on our heart to reveal to us the glory of God, our sinful nature, our need for salvation, and Jesus for our salvation. If you have not heard or learned from the Father, you do not come to Jesus in faith. Verse 47 makes it very clear that whoever believes has eternal life and that faith does not come before being taught by the Father.

Jesus states again in verse 48 that he is the bread of life. He also mentions the manna from heaven again to direct them to what he was offering. What was he offering? In verse 51, again Jesus says that he is the living bread. This bread comes down out of heaven also. This describes Jesus as God incarnate. The last part of the verse describes what he was offering. It is his flesh! Jesus was describing to them that he was offering himself to the world for the forgiveness of sin. He was describing that he would be the bread that would be broken and given to those whom the Father had given him for their salvation. This describes how Jesus was to die for the sins of the world.

Verse 52 describes again their unbelief and Jesus again describing to them who he was and for what purpose he had come. The Jews knew that there was no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. Jesus was describing to them in verse 54 how he would die and shed his blood for the forgiveness of sin. Whoever trusted in the sacrifice of Jesus, by feeding on his flesh and drinking his blood, would live forever. You are not to trust in anything else! If you want to live and live forever, you must trust in Jesus, feed on him and drink his blood for the life giving nourishment you really need, not the physical food that perishes.

Notice how Jesus focuses on his disciples in the last part of chapter 6. Even they were grumbling about what Jesus had said. Is it a hard saying? Yes it is! Jesus was the Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the World. It was his body that was broken and his blood that was shed for the forgiveness of sin. No one can know this and receive this in faith without the Father first teaching the person and then bringing that person before Christ. This saying was so hard that many left and no longer were disciples of Jesus. Many were following Jesus for the wrong reason.

You can see how the Trinity is involved in the salvation of sinners in verse 63. The Spirit is the one that gives life. The Father chooses and brings them before Christ. The Spirit gives life through speaking and teaching the heart the things spiritual making that person spiritually alive. Christ died on the cross and gave himself up by the shedding of his blood for the atonement of sin for those that the Father gave him. Our faith is the means by which our salvation is applied, even though our faith is not what initiates the process. Our faith would not be there if it were not for the work of God first. God is the initiator of our salvation.

Jesus made this clear in verse 65. I want to put this in context so that we do not miss this. Verse 64 says, “But there are some of you who do not believe”. Okay, the disciples were grumbling and Jesus came out and directly said that some did not believe. The next verse, Jesus says, “This is why I told you”. To what does “this” refer? Of course, it is the fact that some did not believe. Jesus is about to tell them exactly why some did not believe.

The second part of the verse, which says, “no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father”. I believe it is clear that coming to Jesus is the same as believing in him as the bread of life. Anyone can come to Jesus for many reasons as described in the first part of chapter 6. However, no one will come to Jesus and trust him for salvation before the Father first grants that person come to Christ.

There is much debate about what the word grant means in this verse. You read it and tell me what it means. The KJV may state better, for it says, “no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father”. We can say that the “come unto me” refers to believing or faith in who Jesus is and to what purpose he came. The “it” refers to this “come unto me” or believing. This faith or believing is what the Father gives to him. The word “given” means bestow, bring forth, deliver up, and grant. A person is not going to believe in Jesus unto salvation without the teaching first by the Father. John 12:37-41 is a great verse that confirms this very doctrine.

As you can see, chapter 6 is loaded with doctrine. The implication of total inability to believe in Christ unto salvation is described in how God the Father must first take the initiative. We cannot on our own. Irresistible grace is explicit in these verses, because it clearly states that all that God gives to Christ believe. Perseverance of the saints is also explicit when it is described how the Father gives a person up to Christ, that none is lost, and all are raised up on the last day.

May all glory be to God!