The Life of Jesus Christ - Chapter 6 - Who is Jesus? - Part 2
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An online Bible Study course by Barrie Wetherill about the life of Jesus. This book is in EasyEnglish Level B. Use the links below for other online Bible Study books and commentaries that will help you. Or go to the Word List, which explains words with a *star.
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After Jesus fed 5000 people by a *miracle, the *disciples left in the boat. But Jesus was not with them. He went up a mountain to pray.
On the lake, suddenly a storm began. A strong wind blew. The waves on the sea became very big. The *disciples were in danger. Jesus walked on the water to get to the boat. Immediately the *disciples were safe, and they reached the land.
But the crowd had seen that the *disciples left without Jesus. People then tried to find Jesus. They did not find him, and so they went to the other side of the lake themselves.
When the rest of the crowd found the *disciples with Jesus, they had a question to ask. They wanted to know how Jesus had got there. Jesus did not answer this question. Instead, he said this to them. He wanted them to think about him seriously. He said:
John 6:26, 27 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth. The reason why you are looking for me is not the *miracles. You are looking for me because I gave you plenty of bread to eat.
Do not work for food that becomes bad. Work for food that gives you eternal life. [Jesus used the word 'food', but he did not really mean food here. Read my explanation in the next paragraph. 'Eternal life' is the life that God gives to believers now, and which will continue in heaven.] The Son of Man [Jesus] will give you this food. God the Father has shown that he approves of him’.
They expected good things from Jesus, but he wanted to give them much better things. But first they had to trust him. The crowd then asked Jesus to prove who he was. They remembered that, for 40 years, Moses had given food to the Jews in the desert. Jesus told them that the food came from God. It did not come from Moses. Now God would give them the best food. By 'food', Jesus did not mean the food that you eat. This 'food' really meant Jesus himself. He had come to give the world the best way to live. He was here now, with them. The crowd did not understand. They asked for bread that they could put in their mouths.
Then Jesus made a series of wonderful statements.
John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the *bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry. He who believes in me will never need a drink’.
John 6:38 ‘I have come down from *heaven to obey God. I do not do the things that I want to do. I do the things that God wants me to do. He has sent me’.
John 6:40 ‘This is what my Father [God] wants. Everyone who believes in the Son [Jesus] shall have *eternal life. That person will be with me at the last day’. [The last day will be when Jesus comes back to the world. He has promised to do this in the future.]
Jesus declared that God sent him to this world. Jesus came to show people in the world how to live. He can satisfy completely those who believe in him. He also declared that they are safe for all time. They will be safe with him on the last day. [The last day will be when Jesus comes back to the world. He has promised to do this in the future.] And they will always live with him in heaven. Jesus, and only Jesus, can show us how to live in God’s way. People must believe and trust in him.
The Jews did not like this and they said so. They knew that Jesus came from Nazareth. So they did not believe that he came from heaven. They did not believe that God sent Jesus to this world.
Jesus had said some difficult things. He said that before his birth to Mary, he had already existed. That was before he came to earth (for example: John 8:23, John 3:13 and John 3:31.) Later the *apostle John wrote wonderful words at the beginning of his *gospel: John 1:1-5. These words explain this well. Men could understand what Jesus said later. Jesus died on the *cross and came alive again. After that it was easier to understand some things. When he died on the *cross, he gave himself for the *sins of other people. He died so that we can live in God’s way. Because he did this, God can forgive us. If we believe, God forgives us and blesses us.
Jesus then explained again what he had said.
John 6:47-51 ‘I tell you the truth. He who believes in me has *eternal life. I am the *bread of life. Long ago your people ate the manna in the desert, but yet they died. [Manna is the name of the bread that God sent to the people with Moses.] But here is the bread that comes down from *heaven. A man may eat it and not die. I am the *living bread that came down from *heaven. If anyone eats of this *bread, he will live for ever. This *bread is my body. I will give my body so that the world can have *eternal life’.
'A man may eat it and not die.' Jesus did not speak here about the death of a person’s body. He spoke about the death of the *spirit that is inside a man. He called this the ‘second death’. These verses in the Bible give a wonderful promise to those who believe in Jesus. But when he spoke these words, many people did not understand. They went away from him. Jesus turned to the *disciples. He asked if they also were going to leave him. Peter answered for them all:
John 6:68-69 Simon Peter answered him, ‘*Lord, we cannot go to anyone else. You have the words of *eternal life. We believe in you. We know that you are the Holy One of God’.
There were many things that the disciples did not understand. But they knew that the promise of *eternal life came from Jesus. One day, Jesus would give his body on the *cross so that people could have *eternal life. This whole event taught them this. Jesus fed 5000 people by a *miracle. Then Jesus taught them. This *miracle showed them a wonderful truth.
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