Help for Grumblers
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: John 1-12: Come, See, Live!
John 6:41-71 (ESV)
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
Sermon Outline
Jesus speaks words of life to a grumbling crowd, offering us a way forward where we normally get stuck.
1. Grumbling and Disputing
vv41, 43, 61 “grumbling”, v52 “disputed”
v49 “your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died”
v60 “This is a hard saying”, v61 “take offense”
v66 “After this many disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”
2. Descending and Ascending
v42 “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose mother and father we know?”
v51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven”
vv70-71 “Did I not choose you… yet one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas…”
v51 “the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh”
vv62-63 “what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending… it is the Spirit who gives life”
3. Flesh and Spirit
v44 “no one can come… unless the Father… draws… and I will raise…” (v65)
v52 “whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (v47 “whoever believes”)
v68 “to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”
Prayer of Confession
Our Father, our faith is weak. We are filled with fear, resentment, selfishness, and are otherwise under many influences that leave us grumbling and discouraged. We continually walk away from you. We think, say and do what we should not. Forgive us for our many sins. Feed us with spiritual food so that we abide in Christ. We give thanks for Jesus who came to earth to give himself so we could have eternal life. We rejoice in him who ascended and poured out the Holy Spirit and we seek life in his name. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
How do you deal with fear, discouragement, disappointment? How do you face difficult situations?
What are difference between facing difficulties honestly versus avoiding challenges to “stay positive”? What are differences between facing difficulties honestly versus getting caught up with cynicism and buried in discouragement?
How does boredom impact taking things for granted? What can we do to remain content and thankful?
How is “feeding on Christ” a way of understanding the kind of belief Jesus calls us to? What does it mean to eat his body and drink his blood? How is that related to abiding in him?
What kind of faith enables spiritual health to live in our world with the various challenges we need to face? What should you believe? How does faith work in terms of your feelings? Choices? Outlook? Expectations?
How does Jesus’ “descending” (incarnation, suffering, dying) help us in our weakness? How does his ascending and pouring out the Spirit help us?
Where else can you go, aside from Jesus, to confidently receive words of life?
When you are grumbling, how can you move it towards Jesus so you are not stuck with it or vent it on other people? How do you do that?