#20 John 6:25-33
Leader: Have your Student write down the Passage and the Questions then, give them a week to prepare.
Passage: John 6:25-33
Questions:
- 1) Jesus is asked three questions, what does He teach us with each answer?
- 2) What questions do you have?
Then, this week the Student will:
- Read the Passage every day!
- Handwrite the Passage
- Answer the questions
When you do meet again, you will go over this…
John 6:25-33
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Notes for Leader:
Open your time together with prayer. Be sure to ask the Holy Spirit to lead the conversation and teach what needs to be learned and heard during your discussion. He will give you the words that you need! May you grow closer together and closer to Jesus.
Briefly review what you learned last week. Now, let’s see what else we can discover about who Jesus is…
Here is what we noticed.
1) Jesus is asked three questions, what does He teach us with each answer?
First Question: v.25 “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus does not answer their question. He examines their motives for seeking Him out. His answer is a command to look for the eternal reward, not the temporal comfort.
v.27 “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.”
What does it mean to work “for the food which endures to eternal life” you ask?…
How are we to labor? There is but one answer. We must labor in the use of all appointed means. We must read our Bibles, like men digging for hidden treasure. We must wrestle earnestly in prayer, like men contending with a deadly enemy for life. We must take our whole heart to the house of God, and worship and hear like those who listen to the reading of a benefactor’s will. We must fight daily against sin, the world, and the devil, like those who fight for liberty, and must conquer, or be slaves. These are the ways we must walk in if we would find Christ, and be found of Him. This is “laboring.” This is the secret of getting on about our souls.
J. C. Ryle (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:347)
And the source of eternal life = gift of the Son
Second Question: v.28 “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus does answer this question, with the same basic answer.
v.29 “believe in the One He has sent” — the gift is available. You cannot earn it, only through belief can it be received.
This is similar to wanting to travel somewhere far away and so you fly there on a plane. You get on the plane and you trust the pilot completely to get you there. You don’t insist on doing something to help you arrive, you just trust. Jesus requires the same of us, to trust completely in Him and through Him, we will get eternal life.
Third Question: v.30 “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe?”
Jesus answers but not how they wanted. Jesus says the sign is what has come (Jesus) from heaven. God gave Moses the ability to feed his people with Manna, and now Jesus has fed the 5000 with bread. This is a sign of his authority given directly from God. Unfortunately, many Jews see this as a little sign in comparison to what Moses did (he fed a nation for 40 years, with bread from heaven; while Jesus only fed 5000 people once with earthly loaves.) They want to see something BIG! But, Jesus wants us to believe with our hearts, not our heads and so He requires us to lean into what he offers us, simply because we believe! Without Christ, we are spiritually starving, we need the bread of eternal life.
Ask God to open your eyes to your greatest need and through Him, you will never hunger nor thirst. He is the only one that can satisfy your soul and give you eternal life.
3) What questions do you have?
Don’t be nervous about this one… the Holy Spirit will help you answer. If you are discipling a young child (and most others!), remember that they are not expecting a doctoral dissertation when you answer, so keep it simple and true. And, it is ok to say, “I am not sure, let’s look into that together.” And then add that question to your study for next week.
Allow the Spirit to lead a great conversation!
Here is the passage and questions for next week’s study. Give your student the week to write out the passage and prepare for your discussion.
Passage: John 6:32-40
Questions:
- 1) Explain verses 32-37 and answer, How does Jesus describe himself?
- 2) v38 Why has Jesus come?
- 3) What is the Father’s will for Jesus?
- 4) What questions do you have?