And I Will Raise Him Up At The Last Day

In the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus feeds the 5000 people, walks on the water, and has a conversation with the leaders and the people about the covenant with Abraham and Moses, and his place in all that. As seems to be usual, Jesus is inviting us to see beyond signs to a spiritual reality in Him.

Jesus knows as Lord and God that only He can satisfy, to lead us to rest in the Father. And the people say in v. 34, “Lord, give us this bread always.” Actually, it is perfectly acceptable for an enquirer to have said, “Sir” there. He has a way of drawing us out when we are ready. The exciting thing about encountering Jesus is that, so long as we don’t reject him, it may not be neat or tidy, but in God’s goodness it ends in faith, salvation, and glory. So let’s say, “Lord, give us this bread always” as our prayer as we go along.

Verse 35 begins what the scholars call “The Bread of Life discourse.” It consumes the rest of the chapter. Let our thoughts be consumed with Him, and later, Jesus will invite us to consume Him! Just look at what He says:

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. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

I can say that I have rarely if ever been dangerously hungry or thirsty. But we know it. If we don’t eat, we faint, or worse. If we don’t drink anything, we can die of dehydration; our kidneys and other organs may fail. Bodily, we are literally mostly water. We don’t want to misunderstand the physical and the spiritual, but Jesus is inviting us to imagine a state of being where we need for nothing. We have all we could want or hope. In St. Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 5, verse 6, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Jesus is not shy about receiving your adoration, your need. Our adoration and need.

Just the other day, I saw someone on social media saying, “The Council decided Jesus was God in 325! He never said it! His first followers never did!” On the contrary; he’s doing it here, and as recorded by St. Matthew. Earlier in this chapter, the disciples see him on the water; they are afraid. He replies, “It is I; do not be afraid.” It’s perfectly reasonable to translate it this way, but with the same words, (“It is I”) in chapter 8, v. 58, they are, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

Jesus doesn’t rebuke Thomas at the end of this Gospel, when he shouts out, “My Lord and my God!” (20:28). St. Paul didn’t miss it in 1 Cor. 1:30 as he calls Jesus “our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” In the hymn of Philippians 2:5-11 celebrating Christ’s death, resurrection, and exaltation by the Father, the Name that is above every name applies to the Father in Isaiah 45. Jesus is equal with the Father. Jesus is God!

In v. 36, Jesus makes us aware that he is aware that not all of his hearers will believe and be saved. Look at v. 37: “All that the Father gives me will come to me.” Faith and salvation in Jesus is a mystery of grace, given by the Father. He further says that if we come to him, Jesus will never cast us out. If the Father and Jesus can grant us the grace to forgive one another 70 times 7, don’t you think that if you need a grace of repentance, you will always get one? Let’s not waste time or energy worrying about God’s love for us. Fear for the justice of God, tremble at your failures, and their persistence, but never despair of His mercy! Indeed, we can only work out our salvation in grace and mercy.

Jesus is not self-willed; here as the Incarnate Word, He does the Father’s will. With his human will, he submits everything to the Father, v. 38. In Gethsemane, he hopes for something other than the Cross, but he wills to submit. In Isaiah 53:10, it says, “he shall see his offspring; they shall prolong his days.” By his life, death, and resurrection, he has “birthed” children of the promise for Abraham! “The joy set before him” in Hebrews 12 that drove him to the Cross is you! Your faith, and your love. By his grace, do not lose hope! The Spirit of Christ will refresh you. And if you are yet to believe, you can become the joy of God; you can become His child.

Jesus will lose none of those the Father has given Him, v. 39. I do not pretend to know where loving trust ends and where presumption ends, but I do understand that if we want to be near Jesus, if we truly want to abide with him, we will, and we are safe. It could not be plainer in the Scriptures.

Let’s end with v. 40. St. John is taking us right back to John 3:16ff, and to the text from Numbers in the Hebrew Bible. There was a plague, as a result of their idolatry. And Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole. This itself surely would break the commandment, but it is the only way to be healed. Jesus is lifted up on the Cross. All you must do is look, and believe. Everything else we do is just part of this looking and believing. It’s the Father’s will for it to be so simple. If you feel God pulling you, don’t resist. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. And there will be no shame at the resurrection unto glory. Amen.

Jason Kettinger is Associate Editor of Open for Business. He writes on politics, sports, faith and more.