Sunday School Lessons on Salvation

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Sunday School Lessons on Salvation

Introduction

A. The God Who Is

Exodus 3 records Moses' encounter with Godat the burning busts. Before this event Moses hadsacrificed his privileged position in the Egyptiangovernment in order to protect one of his He-brew kinsmen. As a result Moses fled the coun-try (Exodus 2:11-15). He became a shepherd.One day while tending the sheep on MountHoreb, he suddenly heard God's voice speakingfrom a flaming bush.

God had good news: He would rescue His peo-ple after years of suffering and slavery. Moseswould have the special privilege of leading the

people out of Egypt to the promised land. Thiswould be the fulfillment of God's ancient cove-nant with Abraham (Genesis 15:18-20).

One can easily understand why Moses wasshocked by this information (especially from abush!). He questioned his own ability to fulfillthe task. He pointed out that his name carried noweight with Pharaoh or the Jews. He was certainthat he lacked the skills needed for the job. Godassured him that He would empower him.Moses also raised another significant problem.The Hebrews had lived in Egypt for centuries,and the Egyptians worshiped many gods. Overthe course of time, the Hebrews had been ex-posed to this corrupt practice. They would there-fore want to know which "god" Moses wastalking about.

God replied "Thus shalt thou say unto thechildren of Israel, I Ant bath sent me unto you"(Exodus 3:14). to other words: "Tell them thatthe one God who actually exists—the one 'whois'—sent you to deliver them."

This one-and-only God delivered the Hebrewsfrom Egypt. He continues to work through Hispeople to reveal himself to the world.

B. Lesson Background

In the Gospel of John, we notice Jesus makingfrequent statements about himself that involveGod's sacred name, I Am. For the sake of conve-nience, we can call these "the 'l am' sayings."These sayings form an important distinctive inJohn among the four Gospels. For those inter-ested its statistics. Greek "I am" is used 5 times inMatthew, 3 times in Mark, 4 tittles in Luke, but30 times in John. If we take off the "am" part andjust consider how often Jesus refers to himself as"I" in an authoritative way, then the occurrencesare 29 times in Matthew, 17 times in Mark, 23times in Luke, but 134 times in John!

These sayings take two forms. We will exploreboth forms in our lessons over the next severalweeks. The first form occurs when Jesus simplyapplies God's divine name, I Am, directly to him-self. He does this to stress His complete unionwith the Father (John 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19). Forthose interested in technical things, this isknown as the absolute use of I am.

The second form occurs in instances whereJesus uses this phrase to start a sentence inwhich He compares himself to something else.Some examples are "1. am the vine" and "I am thegood shepherd." Technically speaking these I amstatements are said to have explicit predicates.Jesus' I am remarks in our passage today fol-low John's account of the miraculous feeding of he 5,000 (John 6:1-13). Impressed wills Hispower, the people sought to make Jesus king.Perhaps they hoped that He would lead them ina revolution against the Romans. 'to avoid this(taus first withdrew to a mountain (v. 15), thenCapernaum (vv. 16-25).

But the crowds found Him anyway. When*ley did Jesus advised them not to focus on thedread that they had eaten but rather on food thatit eternal (vv. 26, 27)

I. Feasting on the Bread(John 6:34-40)

A. Who Jesus Is (vv. 34, 35a)

34. 35a. Then said they unto him, Lord, ever-more give us this bread. And Jesus said untolimn, I am the bread of life.

The manna in Moses' day was food for thebody (see John 6:31, 32). Rather than focusing onthis kind of nourishment, Jesus' hearers need toreceive "the bread of God" that "cometh downfrom heaven, and giveth [eternal] life" (John 6:33). Of course Jesus' hearers want to eat thisbread. So they ask Jesus to give it to them.

Clearly, however, Jesus' audience does not un-derstand fully that Jesus himself is the source ofeternal life. Jesus uses an I am saying to showthat He is superior to the old covenant. WhileMoses fed people bread in the wilderness, andwhile this was an incredible miracle of God,none of the people who ate that physical breadlived forever as a result of ingesting it. Jesus, bycontrast, is the bread of life. The phrase of life hasimportant implications, as we see next.

BREAD

We often refer to bread as "the staff of life." Inour current culture with all the concern aboutcarbohydrates, perhaps that is not as true as itonce was.

But in first-century Palestine, bread was a cru-cial ingredient in the daily diet. The average fam-ily had meat only three times a month—it simplywas too expensive. People subsisted on milk,cheese, vegetables, and bread. Of these, breadwas probably the most important. Wheat flourfor making bread was expensive. So most peopleate bread made from barley (notice that in John6:9 Jesus fed the 5,000 from barley loaves).The Egyptians were the first to discover the ef-fect of yeast spores in raising the dough. The re-sult was a softer, lighter bread that most peopleconsidered a major improvement over the previ-ously flat, unleavened loaves. The Egyptianswere also the first to build ovens for bakingbread: this was an improvement over baking inthe open air and covering the dough with hotashes. The importance of bread throughout his-tory is demonstrated by how much attention hasbeen paid trying to improve it!

Comparison to bread is thus a natural way forJesus to illustrate truth. Throughout the Scrip-tures bread stands for food in general. "Breakingbread" stands for the entire meal. "Give us thisday our daily bread" refers to more than merelyloaves. When Jesus says He is the bread of life,He is making a major statement to the people ofHis time and ours. Our souls hunger for spiritualnourishment, and Jesus promises that He is thatfood. He is the "required daily allowance" in ourspiritual diet.

B. What Jesus Offers (v. 35b)

35b. He that cometh to me shall neverhunger; and he that believeth on me shall neverthirst.

The bread to which Jesus refers is "livingbread" (John 6:51). It's alive and standing right infront of them. (The two uses of me makes thisemphatic.) This kind of bread is most unlike theinanimate manna that God provided throughMoses! This bread gives life to those who acceptit—to those who believe in Jesus.

Because the bread (Jesus) is eternal, the lifethat He provides is also eternal. Anyone who be-lieves in Him will never be hungry or thirstyagain in a spiritual sense because Jesus will sat-isfy his or her desire for God forever. This too isquite different from the manna that Moses pro-vided, which quickly spoiled (Exodus 16:20).

C. What People Decide (vv. 36, 37)

36. But I said unto you, That ye also haveseen me, and believe not.

At first glance it seems odd that Jesus wouldsay this to people who have just tried to make Him king because of the miraculous feeding inJohn 6:14, 15. The crowd clearly is impressedwith Jesus, yet Jesus clarifies that their faith thusfar is inadequate. It is not enough simply to be-lieve that Jesus is a prophet or a great teacher:rather, one must accept that His miracles aresigns that He is God's unique Son.

Those standing before Jesus believe that Hecan feed them with miraculous bread. But theyhave not yet come to understand His true iden-tity as the one sent from Heaven. They do notgrasp that Jesus is so much greater than Moses(compare Hebrews 3:3).

37.All that the Father giveth me shall cometo me; and him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out.

This verse can be perplexing. Jesus seems firstto imply that only certain people receive a spe-cial, mandatory calling from God to believe inHim; then immediately Jesus insists that He willnot reject anyone who chooses to believe.

We can reach a reasonable solution by firstrecognizing that God knows the future. ThroughHis foreknowledge God is aware of who will andwho won't accept Jesus by their freewill choice.Those whom the Father knows will accept Jesusare the ones whom the Father give()) me.

Jesus' words thus provide assurance to thosewho believe to those who recognize that theone who does miracles is actually God in theflesh. Jesus will never relinquish His love forthem (us!). As Paul says, nothing can separate usfrom His love (Romans 8:37-39).

D. What the Father Wants (vv. 38-40)

38.For I came down from heaven, not to domine own will, but the will of him that sent me.Jesus now returns to a theme that we haveseen several times in this series: He does notcome to do His own will, but God's will. In thiscontext doing God's will relates very specificallyto His mission of providing eternal life to all whoaccept Him. This mission is explained in moredetail in the next two verses.

39. And this is the Father's will which hathsent me, that of all which he hath given me Ishould lose nothing, but should raise it up againat the last day.

The idea of "losing" refers to the separation ofa believer from Christ and, consequently, fromthe eternal life that Jesus provides. In Jesus' greatprayer in chapter 17, He will stress that He hasprotected His disciples so that none of them was'lost" except Judas, who betrayed Him. But even

that case wasn't really an exception (in the senseof Jesus failing at His task) since Judas Iscariotwas a "son of perdition" by his own choice Uohn17:12; compare 6:70, 71).

Jesus' assurance will be of great comfort aschurches are persecuted for their Christian faith(John 16:1-4). Such persecutions can create fearand discouragement. But Jesus reminds us thatthese experiences do not affect His love for us orour ultimate safety in Him.

Raise it up again refers back to theme of John5:25-29 (see last week's lesson). There Jesus as-sured believers that He would reward their per-severance with eternal life on the last day. Jesusis able to provide!

LOSE NOTHING

A friend of mine who went through medicalschool told me that many of his classes were likegetting a drink from a fire 'hydrant without beingable to spill a drop. I realize that's a bit of an ex-aggeration, but it points out how much he wasrequired to learn—and lose nothing in theprocess. I have known only one person in my lifewho claimed to have a photographic memory.I'm not sure he remembered absolutely every-thing he had ever read but his memory was awe-some, particularly for trivia.

I heard once that when Mozart was only abouteight years old, he attended a concert and wasfascinated by a ten-minute piece he had heard.Having heard it only once, he then went homeand proceeded to write it out—every note forevery instrument. He went back the next day tohear the piece again just to be sure he had tran-scribed it accurately. He had—every note forevery instrument. How incredible to remembereverything after just one hearing, and not lose asingle note!

Jesus said that out of everything the Fatherhad given to Him, He would lose nothing. If hu-mans can mentally remember vast amounts ofinformation and lose nothing in the process, itshould not be surprising that Jesus is able to domuch the same thing with all the responsibilitiesthe Father has given to Hint. We can be sure thatour lives and our souls are safe in His hands.

40. And this is the will of him that sent me,that every one which meth the Son, and believ-eth on him, may have everlasting life: and I willraise him up at the last day.

While many people the not accept Christ, thisdoes not reflect on God's will for them. John 3:16,17 stresses that God loved the world and sent His Son to save the world. This is clear evidence ofHis desire for all people to hove everlasting life.Regrettably, however, many people reject thisgift and refuse to accept Jesus' offer. Jesus thuschallenges His audience to see past the miracleof the bread itself and realize what the miraclepoints to: He is God's only Son.

Drinking from the River(John 7:37-39)

A. Come and Drink (vv. 37, 38)

37, 38. In the last day, that great day of thefeast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any manthirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He thatbelieveth on me, as the Scripture hath said, outof his belly shall flow rivers of living water.The feast here is the Feast of Tabernacles inJerusalem, where Jesus has been impressing thecrowds with His teaching. On each day of thiscelebration, a group of priests carries buckets ofwater from the pool of Siloam to the temple.They pour the water on the altar as an offeringwhile reciting Isaiah 12:3, "Therefore with joyshall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."Jesus uses this ceremony as a symbol of thenew life that is available to those who believe inHim. This feast lasts seven days, with a closingassembly on the eighth day (Leviticus 23:33-36).The phrase In the last day, that great day of thefeast could refer to either the seventh or theeighth day we're not certain.

Another uncertainty is the possibility of inter-preting these verses in two different ways. Jesusbegins with an invitation for those who thirst forGod to come to Him and be filled. The way ourEnglish text is punctuated suggests that the per-son who drinks from Jesus (that is, the one whobelieves in Him) will then become a source ofliving water. This rendering appeals to verse 39,making Jesus' words a promise of the indwellingSpirit: every believer will have the Holy Spirit asan inner spring of life.

Some say, however, that the period in verse37 should not come after and drink but aftercome unto me. Without getting too technicalabout English and Greek sentence structure, thisview promotes Jesus to be the source of thewater; it emphasizes His unique authority togive the Spirit to those who accept Him. Stated alittle differently this interpretation takes hisbelly in verse 38 to be Jesus' belly: Jesus as thesource of the Spirit that gives life to those who believe.

We should not be too concerned with the differences in these two possibilities. In either case

Jesus emphasizes the fact that the spiritual waterthat He provides is living. The Spirit that Jesusgives is active in the life of the believer.

The Scripture that Jesus has in mind could beIsaiah 58:11: "And the Lord shall guide theecontinually, and satisfy thy soul in drought,and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like awatered garden, and like a spring of water,whose waters fail not."

THIRST

Most of us live in areas where water is abun-dant. When I was a youngster, our neighborhooddid not have city water; each house had its ownshallow well that supplied all its water needs.The water had a high iron content that soonstained drinking glasses orange—but at least wehad water.

Not everyone is so fortunate. Areas of Califor-nia face water shortages. Much of the CentralValley of California was unable to sustain agri-culture until canals brought water from the snowpacks in the Sierras. When I lived in California anumber of years ago, we often had to endurewater rationing.

An abundance of water does not guarantee alack of thirst, however. Those stranded at seaknow this all no well. As The Rime of the An-cient Mariner has it, "Water, water, everywhere,Nor any drop to drink." Trying to drink seawateris a big mistake. The high salt content of sea-water will leach water out of a person's internalorgans. Then the thirst gets worse rather than better.

Desert areas are also dangerous. People wholive in the Near East are familiar with the acute

need for water. Witness the fame of an "oasis."Therefore when Jesus said that He could relievethe thirst of anyone who needed a drink, theyunderstood the significance of the imagery.Yet Jesus was talking about a spiritual thirstrather than a physical one. People might misun-derstand what He really was talking about, as didthe woman at the well in John 4. Is our compre-hension any better than those who originallyheard Jesus' words?

B. Promise of the Spirit (v. 39)

39. But this spake he of the Spirit, whichthey that believe on him should receive: for theHoly Ghost was not yet given; because thatJesus was not yet glorified.)

Jesus' glorification refers to His forthcomingdeath and resurrection. In John 14:15-19 Jesuspromises the disciples that the Spirit will come totake His place as their Comforter after His death.The Spirit will act as the ongoing source ofpower and authority for the church. He willbring to mind Jesus' promises so that His follow-ers may enjoy peace in the face of trial (John14:25-27). In this way Jesus continues to providefor our needs long after He leaves this world. Weenjoy this comfort until His return!

Conclusion

A. Bread and Water

In times past, and in many countries yettoday, bread and water was the food of criminals.Prisoners and captives in wartime were keptbarely alive on a sustenance diet of minimalamounts of these two. This fact reflects, how ever, the essential role that bread and water playin human life: they are things that we must haveto survive. Human beings can live a long, longtime on only air, bread, and water.

In our passages for today, Jesus uses bread andwater figuratively to stress that He provideseverything essential for our spiritual lives. Whenwe need to know God's will, we look to the onewho "came down fruits heaven"; when we seekstrength and guidance, His Spirit refreshes uswith "living water." And unlike physical breadand water, we never grow tired of the heavenlyfood that Jesus gives us. It tastes new and excit-ing every day.

But how do we communicate these facts to anunbelieving world? Bread is viewed with disdainby the low-carbohydrate diet plans. Bread ishardly a centerpiece of meals in the industrial-ized West. Many people let the bread sit un-touched in a basket off to the side of the tablewhen they go to a restaurant. We may even cau-tion ourselves "don't fill up on bread" before themain course arrives. The bread that most of usingest these days seems to come in the form ofpizza crusts.

Water imagery also causes problems. On theone hand pure, bottled water is all the rage insome quarters. This value enhances the image ofJesus as living water. On the other hand, we alsosee television commercials by companies sellingsports drinks that attack the adequacy of water.They say we should buy their products instead,so we don't miss out on electrolytes, etc. Softdrinks also attract our attention from every vend-ing machine we see. Water did not have thiskind of competition back in the first century An!Jesus spoke with images that were vital to thepeople of His day. It is not our prerogative tochange that imagery (as in "I am the pizza crustof life"). Our task, rather, is to explain that im-agery carefully. The Scripture will come alivewhen we do! This honors God.

B. Prayer

Lord, help us never forget that You alreadyhave met all of our spiritual needs throughChrist. Give us strength as we feed on the breadand water that You have provided. We ask forYour forgiveness for those times when we havenot been satisfied with what Christ provides. InJesus' name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

Christ is the source of everything that weshould long for.

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