In this episode, we move from John 6 into John 7 and watch the tension around Jesus begin to rise. After many false disciples walk away, Jesus continues His ministry under the Father’s timetable—not the crowds’, not the religious leaders’, and not even His own brothers’.

We recap the contrast between false disciples and true disciples from John 6, then step into John 7:1–5 to see Jesus refuse His brothers’ pressure to “go public” at the Feast of Booths. Along the way, we explore the theme of God’s sovereign timing, the danger of living by sight instead of faith, and how modern hopes in technology and AI echo the ancient temptation to trust anything but God. The episode also touches on the mystery of Christ being fully God and fully man, His pattern of slipping away to pray, and how all of this brings real comfort as we face uncertain futures, politics, economics, and personal plans.

• Quick recap of false vs. true disciples in John 6

  • False: demand signs, grumble, take offense, look only at the physical, and ultimately walk away

  • True: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life… we have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

• How what we know (doctrine, truth) should shape what we feel—not the other way around

• Transition into John 7 and the rising hatred toward Christ

• The six-month gap between Passover (John 6:4) and the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles (John 7:2)

• Deuteronomy 16 and the meaning of:

  • Passover – rescue from Egypt and the blood of the lamb

  • Feast of Booths – remembering God’s provision in the wilderness

• Jesus’ brothers’ unbelief and their pressure:

  • “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may see the works you are doing.”

  • “If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”

• Seeing the works of Christ but not believing – seeing is not the same as faith

• Biblical faith as trusting what we cannot see (future glory, our place in the kingdom)

• Jesus’ answer: “My time has not yet come” – anchored in the Father’s will, not human PR or safety

• Jesus’ pattern of withdrawing to pray and staying locked on the Father’s mission

• The mystery of Christ: fully God and fully man, truly tempted yet without sin

• Why we must resist the urge to water down doctrine just so it fits our categories

• Modern parallels:

  • AI, abundance promises, and technology as a functional “savior”

  • How this mirrors Revelation-like dependence on systems instead of God

• Comfort in God’s timing: nothing—from world leaders to our retirement plans—sits outside His ordained purposes

Primary Text

• John 7:1–5

Context & Supporting Texts

• John 6:28–69 (false vs. true disciples)

• Deuteronomy 16:1–8, 13–17 (Passover & Feast of Booths)

• 1 Chronicles 29:11–12

• Romans 11:36

• John 2:3–4 – “My hour has not yet come”

• John 8:20 – “His hour had not yet come”

• Galatians 4:4–5 – “When the fullness of time had come…”

• Revelation 13:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4

1. Truth Over Feelings Our emotions swing, but doctrine is steady. What we know about God—His sovereignty, His character, His promises—must lead and correct what we feel, not the other way around.

2. Faith Is Trusting the Unseen Jesus’ brothers want proof in the public square; Scripture calls us to faith in what we cannot see yet. Our future glory, our place in the kingdom, and God’s timing are all realities we trust without visible evidence.

3. Christ Lived on the Father’s Clock, Not Man’s “My time has not yet come” shows us a Savior who is never manipulated by pressure, fear, or popularity. He is entirely governed by the Father’s will and timetable—an anchor for us in a chaotic world.

4. God’s Timing Rules Over History and Our Lives From the incarnation “in the fullness of time” to the cross “according to the Scriptures,” nothing is random. World powers, technological trends, economies, and our personal plans all unfold under God’s sovereign hand.

In this episode, we finish John chapter 6 and watch a massive turning point in Jesus’ ministry. After His hard teaching about being the true bread from heaven, many who had called themselves “disciples” decide they’ve had enough. They grumble, take offense, and ultimately walk away from Him. Jesus doesn’t soften the message or chase them down—He lets them go and turns to the Twelve with a piercing question: “Do you want to go away as well?”

Peter’s answer, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” becomes the backdrop for a careful look at the difference between false disciples and true disciples, the importance of knowing truth versus living on feelings, and the ongoing struggle of the believer’s heart as described in Romans 7. We also wrestle honestly with the tension between God’s sovereignty in salvation and our responsibility to preach the gospel, and then pivot into John 7, where opposition escalates and we see Christ moving according to the Father’s perfect timing.

• Recap of John 6:63–65 – the Spirit gives life, the flesh is no help at all

• Why people reject the gospel: not lack of information, but unbelief and hard hearts

• Verse 66 as a turning point: many “disciples” turn back and no longer walk with Jesus

• Jesus’ question to the Twelve: “Do you want to go away as well?”

• Peter’s confession:

  • “Lord, to whom shall we go?”

  • “You have the words of eternal life.”

  • “We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

• Knowing vs. feeling: why Christian faith is rooted in truth, not emotional highs

• How doctrine sustains us in trials (cancer, job loss, betrayal, persecution)

• Romans 7 and the believer’s ongoing battle with remaining sin

• Contrast between false disciples and true disciples in John 6:

  • False: demand signs, grumble, take offense, and ultimately walk away

  • True: come to the end of themselves, cling to Christ as the only hope

• Wrestling with election and human responsibility: God grants, we still must preach and believe

• Encouragement for evangelism when family and friends reject Christ

• Transition to John 7: opposition intensifies and Jesus moves according to the Father’s timing

Primary Texts

• John 6:60–71

• John 7:1–2

Supporting Texts

• John 6:22–63 (context of the Bread of Life discourse)

• Romans 7:22–25

• James 1:2–4

• 1 Chronicles 29:11–12

• Philippians 2:12–13

• Romans 10:14–17

• The gospel is rejected not because it’s unclear, but because hearts are hard.

• “Lord, to whom shall we go?” – there is no alternative Savior.

• Our assurance is anchored in what we know about God and His promises, not in how we feel on a hard day.

• True disciples may stumble (like Peter’s later denial), but they ultimately return to Christ because He holds them fast.

• We are called to hold together two truths: God sovereignly grants and we boldly preach and believe.

• We dare not boil the gospel down until it fits comfortably inside our limited understanding—its power is greater than our categories.

1. True Disciples Stay Because They Have Nowhere Else to Go False disciples follow Jesus as long as He fits their expectations. True disciples, like Peter, recognize that Christ alone has the words of eternal life—even when His teaching is hard and the crowd is walking away.

2. Truth, Not Feelings, Carries Us Through Trials When suffering hits—diagnosis, loss, betrayal—it’s not spiritual “vibes” that hold us; it’s what we know about God’s character, Christ’s finished work, and His promises in the Word.

3. God is Sovereign, and We Still Preach No one comes unless the Father grants it, yet God commands us to proclaim the gospel to all. We rest in His sovereignty, but we do not retreat from evangelism or missions.

4. Jesus Walks According to the Father’s Timetable As we move into John 7, we’re reminded that all opposition, timing, and outcomes fall under God’s rule. Christ is never rushed, never late, and never out of control.

In this episode, we stay in John 6 and walk through Jesus’ shocking words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Far from softening His message to keep the crowd, Jesus intensifies it—pressing hard on their unbelief, their fixation on physical needs, and their confidence in external religion.

We look at the four promises Jesus makes to those who “feed” on Him, clarify why this passage is not teaching Roman Catholic views of the Eucharist, and see how manna in the wilderness points to Christ as the true bread from heaven. From there, we move into the rich doctrine of union with Christ—Christ in us and we in Him—and think through how that reality should affect our view of sin, suffering, the future, and the chaos of our current world.

• Recap of John 6 and the escalating confrontation with the crowd

• Jesus’ hard saying: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you”

• Why Jesus doesn’t dilute His message to keep people comfortable

• James Montgomery Boice on doctrine that leads to true peace vs. peace at the expense of doctrine

• Four promises tied to eating His flesh and drinking His blood:

  1. Without Christ, there is no life

  2. With Christ, there is eternal life and a promise of resurrection

  3. His flesh is true food and His blood true drink

  4. Those who feed on Him abide in Him and He in them (union with Christ)

• Why John 6 is not about the Lord’s Supper granting salvation

• Manna vs. Christ: temporary provision that ends in death vs. true bread that gives eternal life

• “You are what you eat” spiritually – absorbing, not just skimming, the Word and the gospel

• Union with Christ in John and Paul:

  • Christ in us, we in Christ, and Christ in the Father

  • New creation, Christ as our life, the hope of glory

• Examining ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5): what does union with Christ look like in real life?

• How this doctrine shapes:

  • Our view of the future and end times

  • Our response to political upheaval, cultural decay, and rising anxiety

  • Our grief over sin and our joy in Christ’s finished work

Primary Text

• John 6:53–59

Supporting Texts

• John 5:24

• John 10:10

• John 14:20

• John 15:5

• 2 Corinthians 5:17; 13:5

• Galatians 2:20

• Colossians 1:27

• “Doctrine leading to genuine peace versus peace at the expense of doctrine.”

• Our flesh is never satisfied; Christ alone is true food and true drink.

• “You can read the Bible all day, but if you don’t absorb it, you won’t be changed.”

• Union with Christ means Christ in us, we in Him, and our lives re-centered around Him.

• We should be broken over our sin and yet deeply comforted that Christ’s blood truly covers it.

• We mourn the state of the world but do not live in panic—God wins, and Christ holds His people fast.

1. No Neutrality with Christ Jesus doesn’t leave room for half-hearted, external religion: if we do not truly partake of Him—trusting, feeding on, and embracing Him by faith—we have no life.

2. Union With Christ Changes Everything Being in Christ and Christ in us reshapes how we see our sin, our trials, the future, politics, and the decay of culture. We test ourselves not by feelings, but by what our lives revolve around.

3. Peace Flows From Sound Doctrine, Not From Softened Edges Real, lasting peace comes from the hard but glorious truths of the gospel—God’s sovereignty, Christ’s sufficiency, and the believer’s secure union with Him.

In this episode, we continue our walk through John 6 and focus on Jesus’ claim that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them, and that He Himself is the living bread who gives His flesh for the life of the world. We connect John 6 with Matthew 13 and John 12 to understand why people can see Jesus’ works and still not believe: hardened hearts, dull hearing, and a refusal to let go of religious pride and human glory.

We also explore what it really means that believers are “taught by God,” how that gives us courage and clarity in evangelism, and why Jesus’ language about eating His flesh and drinking His blood is spiritual, pointing to intimate union with Him—not sacramental ritual or cannibalism. Along the way, we contrast biblical teaching with Roman Catholic views of the Eucharist and consider how this passage speaks into our present culture, politics, and the resistance of both Jews and Gentiles to the true gospel.

• Review of John 6:44 and why no one can come unless the Father draws

• Why Jesus teaches in veiled language (parables, bread imagery) – Matthew 13 and Isaiah’s prophecy

• The sobering reality of seeing and hearing but not truly perceiving or believing

• John 12: signs, unbelief, and hearts hardened in fulfillment of Isaiah

• Being “taught by God” (Isaiah 54:13; Hebrews 8:10–12) and how that anchors our evangelism

• The comfort of knowing that all whom the Father gives to the Son will come and will be raised up on the last day

• Jesus as the true bread from heaven vs. manna that led to physical death

• Transition from “bread” to flesh and blood – pointing to Christ’s atoning death

• Why John 6 is not teaching Roman Catholic transubstantiation or salvation through the Eucharist

• “You are what you eat” applied spiritually: taking Christ in, union with Him, and a life that overflows with rivers of living water

• Practical application: perseverance in sharing the gospel with resistant loved ones, staying laser-focused on Christ in a chaotic, politically charged world

• Primary Texts

  • John 6:44–54

  • John 6:27, 35, 37–40, 48–51

• Supporting Texts

  • Matthew 13:10–15

  • John 12:37–43

  • Isaiah 6; Isaiah 54:13

  • Hebrews 8:10–12

  • John 7:38–39

  • Romans 1 (as cultural backdrop)

• “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

• “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”

• The manna in the wilderness fed Israel for a moment—and they died. Jesus is the living bread from heaven; those who “eat” Him by faith will live forever.

• Being “taught by God” means our confidence in evangelism rests not in our eloquence, but in God’s sovereign work by His Spirit.

• If John 6 were about the Eucharist granting eternal life, it would be teaching salvation by a sacrament—contradicting the gospel of grace.

1. Sovereign Grace and Human Hardness People don’t disbelieve because Jesus is unclear; they disbelieve because their hearts are dull and hardened. Yet even this unfolds under God’s sovereign plan, and those He draws will certainly come and be kept.

2. Hope and Freedom in Evangelism Our job is to bring a clear gospel, not a clever presentation. God does the teaching, drawing, and saving. This frees us from paralyzing fear and despair over resistant family, friends, or culture.

3. Christ, Truly Received, Changes Everything To “eat His flesh and drink His blood” is to receive Christ Himself—His person and work—by faith in a deep, intimate, life-shaping way. The result is a life that overflows with “living water,” not superficial religiosity or mere tradition.

In this episode, we continue our study through John 6, where Jesus declares Himself to be the Bread of Life. The crowd seeks Him for physical provision and signs, but Christ redirects their focus to eternal truth. We examine how the people misunderstood Him, clinging to Moses, manna, and heritage, while Jesus reveals Himself as the true bread from heaven that brings eternal life.

This conversation dives into the tension between human responsibility—“come and believe”—and the sovereignty of God in salvation. We also wrestle with how easily we look for signs, proof, and earthly satisfaction instead of trusting Christ Himself.

• Why the crowd followed Jesus after the feeding of the 5,000

• The danger of seeking signs and physical satisfaction over eternal truth

• Jesus’ first great “I AM” statement in John’s Gospel: “I am the Bread of Life”

• The contrast between Moses and Christ: law, heritage, and true glory

• Human responsibility to come and believe versus God’s sovereignty in salvation

• The comfort of knowing Christ will never cast out those who come to Him

• How this doctrine speaks to our fears, doubts, and questions about loved ones

• John 6:25–44

• Nehemiah 9:15

• Hebrews 3:3

• John 5:38–40

“Whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.” – John 6:35

Earthly circumstances fade, but the bread that Jesus gives leads to eternal life. The sovereignty of God in salvation is not something to fear but a source of profound comfort and assurance.

📌 Episode Summary: In this episode, we dive into Jesus’ powerful teaching in John 6, where He challenges the crowd’s motivations for seeking Him after the miracle of feeding the 5,000. Instead of focusing on the physical bread they received, Jesus redirects their attention to the true bread from heaven—Himself.

We explore key themes, including:

• Why Jesus calls out the crowd's misplaced motives

• What it means that Jesus is "the bread of life"

• The difference between temporary satisfaction and eternal life

• God's role in drawing people to faith

• A challenge to modern ministry: are we feeding people’s hunger for truth, or just their desire for comfort?

Whether you're a church leader, a growing believer, or someone curious about Jesus' claims, this passage offers deep insight into how we approach Christ—and what He truly offers.

🧠 Main Takeaway: Jesus isn’t interested in quick fixes or surface-level belief. He invites us into a deeper, lasting relationship—one that satisfies our soul, not just our earthly life.

🙏 Encouragement: Stay rooted in the Word. Reflect on what truly draws you to Christ. And don’t settle for bread that perishes—seek the Bread that gives life.

In this episode, we explore the remarkable scene at the pool of Bethesda, where Jesus heals a man who had been disabled for 38 years. Far from just a miracle of compassion, this act serves as a turning point in John’s Gospel—one that ignites direct persecution from the Jewish leaders.

We unpack how Jesus confronts both religious legalism and cultural expectations by healing on the Sabbath and commanding the man to carry his mat. The reaction from the religious elite reveals hardened hearts, more concerned with man-made rules than divine mercy.

Jesus then delivers one of His most profound theological defenses. He makes bold claims about His equality with God the Father—declaring that He does nothing apart from the Father, has authority to give life, and has been entrusted with all judgment. In these verses, Jesus unmistakably affirms His deity and demands the same honor as is given to the Father.

• Jesus heals with purpose, not just compassion: He singles out one man among many, not randomly but sovereignly, to spark a deeper confrontation with the religious leaders (vv. 1–9).

• Religious legalism blinds people to mercy: The healed man is rebuked for carrying his mat—an invented Sabbath violation—while the miracle itself is ignored (vv. 10–13).

• Sin has physical and spiritual consequences: Jesus warns the man, “Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you,” showing that while not all suffering is due to sin, some is (v. 14).

• The Jewish leaders respond with persecution: Rather than praising God for the healing, they escalate hostility because Jesus defies their rules and claims divine authority (vv. 15–18).

• Jesus openly declares His deity: He claims unity with the Father in will, power, love, judgment, and honor—leaving no room for viewing Him as merely a good teacher (vv. 19–23).

• To reject Jesus is to reject God: Jesus states that whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him (v. 23), confronting all religious systems that exclude Christ.