John 7:1-2; Deut. 16:13-16, The Feast of Tabernacles

“Sukkot” (Feast of Tabernacles/Booths) is a wonderful time to be in Israel.  It comes in the Fall (September/October).  “Booths” are set up all over the country.  The campgrounds are filled with tents of Jewish families.  It is quite the celebration.

Also called the “Feast of Ingathering” (e.g. Ex. 23:16; 34:22), Sukkot was one of several holy days in the seventh month (Tishri): the Feast of Trumpets (7^th month, 1^st day; Lev. 23:23-25, today called Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year), the Day of Atonement (7^th month, 10^th day; Lev. 23:26-32, Yom Kippur) and then the Feast of Tabernacles (7^th month, 15^th-22^nd days; Lev. 23:33-43; Num. 29:12-38, Sukkot). 

There were some special celebrations of Sukkot in the Bible, including the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Ki. 8:2), the return from Babylon (Neh. 8:13-18), and the one with Jesus in John 7.  In the future Kingdom of Messiah Sukkot will be the centerpiece of worship by all the nations (Zech. 14:16-19).

For Sukkot, the people of Israel built “booths,” temporary dwelling places, to remind them of how they lived, and how God took care of them, in the wilderness.  They got the branches of leafy trees (palms, willows, etc.) for this and lived in these for a week.  Today, people build structures like this on their apartment balconies, on the sidewalks, in their back yards, or, as we noted, in campgrounds.  We have seen hotel dining rooms decorated with palm branches during Sukkot.  Today the idea is that a family will eat at least one meal a day in the booth.

Further, being in the Fall, Sukkot was the time to celebrate the Lord’s provision of the harvest.  That’s why it was also called the “Feast of Ingathering.”  The point was the same: a celebration of God’s provision now that they were in the land.

There was also an emphasis on reading the Law during Sukkot.  Every seventh year (the Sabbatical year, when there was less harvest work to be done) they were to read the entire Torah during Sukkot (Deut. 31:10-13).  Today in Israel, the day after Sukkot is “Simchat Torah” (rejoicing of the Law, Genesis to Deuteronomy) when, in many synagogues, they come to the end of Deuteronomy, reroll the Torah scroll (with great celebration), and read the first reading in Genesis. 

One last thing about Sukkot was that it was the feast when Gentiles were permitted to join in the celebration (Deut. 16:13-16; unlike Passover, Ex. 12:43).  That is why it is so significant for the entire world during Messiah’s kingdom.  Everyone should celebrate God’s abundant provision.  If you read the Numbers 29 listing of the sacrifices that were offered each day, you would understand that Sukkot was like a week-long camping trip with a daily national barbecue.  It was massive and it was a joyful time for all!

We do need times when we regularly celebrate God’s provision and get reminded of the Bible.  The first step away from God is failure to glorify Him as God and to give Him thanks (Rom. 1:21).  Let's learn a lesson from Israel’s calendar.

John 6:53-71; 1 John 1:1-4, Jesus is the Bread of Life (3)

In the “bread of life” sermon we have heard Jesus:

·       Call men to believe in Him, v25-29.  This is the “work of God.”

·       Present Himself as the One to believe, v30-35.  He is the “bread of God … who came down from heaven to give life to the world.”

·       Identify the problem with those who did not believe, v36-45.  They had seen Jesus but did not believe in Him because they weren’t drawn by the Father. 

·       Present Himself again as the One to believe, v46-51.  He is the bread of life, offering Himself to men that they might be fully satisfied with His life.

·       Call men again to believe in Him, v52-59.  Believing in Him, the bread of life, means partaking of His life, spiritually eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

Jesus’ use of the idea of eating His flesh and drinking His blood was to the Jews.  It’s not just the graphic terminology.  His choice of words was designed to make it clear that He and He alone was and is the source of eternal life.  The point is that Jesus’ flesh and blood are true food and drink (v55).  The way that physical bread and drink nourish our physical bodies, so Jesus’ spiritual bread and drink nourish our souls.  When we believe in Christ, we receive the gift of eternal life; then we also nourish that life day by day through our fellowship with Christ.

After the feeding of the 5,000, the crowd had intended to make Jesus their political leader (6:15).  Then the crowd found Jesus the next day, hoping they would be fed again (6:26).  In this sermon, Jesus made it clear that they did not have the right idea about who He was and why He had come to earth.

Many of Jesus’ disciples, not just the Twelve but the larger group of those who followed Him, struggled with this.  You might think Jesus would back off a little bit, lest He begin to lose the crowds.  But that was never Jesus’ approach.  He told the truth.  And when people struggled with the truth, He told them more truth. 

Does this offend you?  What a question.  Perhaps you are reading this and find it offensive that Jesus claims to be the only One who can satisfy your soul, the only One in whom you must believe in order to end the search for eternal life.  Jesus did not back down.  He made sure they understood that the issue was not the flesh, but the spiritual reality of His flesh and blood (v63).  He was all about the truth.

That day was a turning point.  Jesus knew some of His “disciples” did not believe in Him.  Perhaps they were looking for a king or some other earthly benefit.  Many of them left and walked with Him no more.  The work of the Father had not been accomplished in their lives (v65).  The Twelve may have been struggling, but as Peter said, where else are we going to go to get the words of eternal life?  We cannot be saved apart from the words of Christ: I AM the bread of life!  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 

John 6:36-59, Jesus is the Bread of Life (2)

Jesus presented Himself to the crowd as “the bread of life.”  They could have eternal life, but only if they believed in Him.  In v36, Jesus was likely referring to the great feeding the day before.  He had actually given them the sign they asked for, and they had been part of it, and yet they did not believe in Him. 

In v37-40, Jesus adds some important truth.  He’s not worried that some have not believed in Him.  He assures them, All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.  The ones the Father gives to Christ are further described in v40 as everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him.  We see that a person cannot believe in Christ apart from God’s work in their lives.  Jesus said this to Nicodemus when He said, “You must be born again.”  The new birth is the work of God.  At the same time, those that the Father gives to the Son must “see” and “believe” in Christ.

We also see something wonderful about the Lord Jesus Himself.  Those that the Father gives to Him, He will not “cast out.”  In addition, He will never lose them but will raise them up in the last day.  They will be resurrected.  They will be part of the resurrection of life (John 5:29).  What a wonderful Savior is Jesus our Lord.  All this is the will of His Father; He does what the Father desires.

As wonderful as that is, the Jews didn’t like it.  They complained because Jesus made Himself the object of faith.  After all, this is Jesus, son of Joseph.  We know His family.  So how can He be the one who came from heaven?

Again, Jesus says:  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.  Jesus makes this point by quoting the prophet Isaiah, And they shall all be taught by God (v45, from Isaiah 54:13).  In Isaiah, God was telling Israel that even though they are chastised by Him for their sins, He will still have mercy on them and will teach their children so that they can come to Him.  This gives us an idea of what it means when Jesus said that God must “draw” a person to put their faith in Him.  They must hear the gospel.  The result will be, as Jesus said, Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me (v45).

Having said this, Jesus again states the truth which they, and we, must believe: I am the bread of life.  And then He “doubles down” on this by telling the crowd, if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever, and the bread that I shall give is My flesh (v51).  The Jews didn’t like this either.  Again, it was because they were thinking in “fleshly” terms rather than “spiritual.”  Jesus made many “I Am” claims: I am the door of the sheep, the light of the world, the way and so forth.  He never was saying that He was a literal door or a star or a road.  These all tell us about why He alone is the means by which we have eternal life.  So here.  To believe in Christ is akin to eating His flesh and drinking His blood.  It is taking part of His life so that we can have eternal life.  He is, truly, the bread of life!

John 6:22-35, Jesus is the Bread of Life (1)

The most important quest is the search for eternal life.  The rich ruler asked Jesus, “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life” (Matt. 19:16)?  A lawyer asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life” (Luke 10:25)?  The crowd, when Peter confronted them with their sin, cried out, “What shall we do” (Acts 2:37)?  The jailer pleaded with Paul, “What must I do to be saved” (Acts 16:30)?  This is the essence of Jesus’ “Bread of Life” sermon in John 6.  The crowd asked Jesus, “From now on give us this bread” (v34).

Jesus had returned to Capernaum in the night, joining His disciples in the midst of the stormy sea.  Therefore, the people made their way around the Sea of Galilee to find Him, asking a logical question: “Jesus, when did you get here?”  Jesus had no time for their question.  Instead, Jesus answered a different question, “Why are you people here.”  He confronted them with the truth: they followed him because He fed them and they wanted more?  Their question was frivolous.  His answer got to their hearts.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you. 

We need to think about this.  Our days are filled with things that are fairly meaningless compared to the issue of eternal life.  Why do we do the things we do?  Jesus challenged them, and us, to deal with the most important question in life.

The crowd responded: What shall we do that we may work the works of God? To this Jesus said: This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.  As with Nicodemus and the woman of Samaria, Jesus put Himself out for them to consider.  It’s interesting.  To believe is the absence of work; faith in Christ cannot be earned.  Yet, the hardest thing for us to do is to do nothing but believe in Christ and to lay aside the thought that we can somehow earn eternal life.  We want to know: what must I do?  Jesus said the “work” is to “believe.”

The crowd responded with a third question: “What sign will you perform for us?”  They really followed Him to get more bread.  But they tried to justify it by referring to Moses.  “Moses gave us bread every day in the wilderness.  The Bible even says, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.  In essence, the crowd is asking Jesus, “What will you give us?”

Jesus’ answer is the point of this conversation: He presents Himself as the bread from God that gives true life.  The crowd responded as you would expect: “Lord, give us this bread always.”  The word “always” tells us they were expecting something like Moses, where every day Jesus would provide for them. 

Jesus’ response sets the stage for all that follows: I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst!  There is no eternal life apart from faith in Jesus.

Psalm 137

This Psalm, in three equal stanzas, presents a discouraging picture of God’s people in Babylon but shows God’s people in all ages that hope is bound up in clinging to the promises of God.  Let us learn from this personal testimony.

·         137:1-3: How strong is Israel’s discouragement as they are on the way to Babylon?  Arriving at the border their captors torment them requesting some of their music.  They want songs about Jerusalem, the location of the temple (Ps. 76), of the Messiah’s rule (Ps. 2), the city that was a great refuge (Ps. 46), the place where praise is made to God (Ps. 65) and that brought joy as they sang the many songs of pilgrimage on their way to the city of God.  The Babylonians want to ridicule God’s people because their confidence in the LORD was not well-placed; they are just interested in mirth.  “Sing us one of the songs of Zion, the city we just burned.”

·         137:4-6: But the captives have no desire to sing of Jerusalem while they are in captivity in Babylon.  Jerusalem is the source of all blessing for Israel.  In Zion is the house of David; on the mount of the LORD (Moriah) is the house of God.  Those thoughts were meant to bring joy and to encourage pilgrimage (Ps. 122).  But now pilgrimage is out of the question.  To sing songs of joy about Jerusalem would be to join in the mirth of their captors.  Thoughts of Jerusalem bring no joy as they remember the last they saw of it.  Furthermore, the reason for all this cannot be laid at the feet of the Babylonians.  Jerusalem on fire is a reminder to Israel of her sin, her idolatry, her back-slidden hard-heartedness against her God.  Is there no hope?

·         137:7-9: These words are imprecatory.  It is a prayer against enemies.  Against Edom, Jacob’s brother (Israel’s brother), who proudly rejoiced in the destruction of Jerusalem.  As Obadiah 1 and Ezekiel 35 tells us, they could hardly wait to take the land of Israel for their own as soon the Babylonians hauled them off.  But those passages also made clear that God promised He would punish Edom.  Even as God promised He would punish Babylon after Israel’s 70 years of captivity (Jer. 25:1-14).  Yes, Israel was being punished for her sin.  But this punishment was not the end; the day would come when God’s people would return, be saved, and restored in the land.  So as the 70 years began, discouraged Israel found hope in the promises of God. 

Discouragement is not unexpected for God’s people today, partly because we and our loved ones are also sinners.  God disciplines us as a father does his children.  And as we follow Christ, bearing our cross, we also experience trouble; Jesus made us that promise (John 16:33).  But we have the promise of God: a hope that this is not the end of the story, that a place is being prepared for us (Jn. 14:1-3), and that Jesus has overcome the world!  Therefore let us sing, even in this foreign land (Jn. 15:19; 17:16).  Hope in God’s promises!

John 6:15-24, Calming the Rough Waters

We now come to the second miracle in John 6: Jesus calming the storm.  This also had a special emphasis on His disciples as they were the only ones to actually witness this miracle.  Nevertheless, we will see that this miracle is also a call to believe in Jesus, the Son of God, that you might have life.

“Rough waters” are often a picture of trials.  Job said his trials were like “water that wears away stones and torrents that wash away the soil” (Job 14:18-19).  The Psalmist, speaking for the Messiah, says “the waters have come up to my neck” (Ps. 69:1; see also Song of Solomon 8:7, Lamentations 3:53-54). 

The Bible often speaks of God helping us in “rough waters.”  David said the Lord drew me out of deep waters (2 Sam. 22:17).  Again in Psalm 69, the Messiah calls out to God to deliver Him from deep waters (69:14-15).  God the Redeemer promises Israel that when they pass through the waters, “I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:1-3).  All of this tells us that Jesus’ coming to the aid of His disciples on a stormy night on the Sea of Galilee is a great setting for Him to reveal His glory.

If you have ever been to Israel, you undoubtedly know that the “Sea of Galilee” is not very big.  It’s not a Sea.  It is a good-sized lake.  But regardless of the size, it still has a reputation of being potentially treacherous at night.  It sits 600 feet below sea level in a “cuplike depression.  When the sun sets, and the air cools, and then the breeze from the west rushes down the hillside, it often churns up the water.  There is a sign on the Promenade in Tiberias about a 1930’s storm on Galilee that destroyed the promenade.  Those are rough waters.

John tells us that Jesus had gone up on a mountainside to pray.  This was after the crowd had tried to make Him their king.  It wasn’t time for that, so Jesus had gone off by Himself.  At dark the disciples, several being experienced fishermen, had boarded and started back to Capernaum.  They were out in the middle of the lake when the storm got rough, dangerously rough.  Then, what did they see but Jesus walking on the sea, coming near the boat.  John 6:19 says, “and they were afraid.”  Yes.  That makes a lot of sense.

In John’s account, Jesus first calmed the disciples, saying, “It is I; do not be afraid.”  Then He got in the boat and we are told, “immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.”  By the way, if you have heard that Jesus enabled Peter to walk to Him on the water, that’s in Matthew’s account (Matt. 14:22-29.)

The picture of salvation is not hard to see here.  Our lives are being battered by the rough waters of sin.  There is only One who can save us, and that is Jesus.  The life He offers is one where there is calm in the midst of the storms of life.  And faith in Christ involves receiving Him into the boat you are using to navigate life.

John 6:1-14, Feeding the 5,000

John 6 contains two of Jesus’ miracles: feeding the 5,000 and calming the stormy sea.  The first one is recorded in all four of the Gospels.  Why was it so important?  The large number of witnesses made this miracle significant, for sure.  It was another “Creation” miracle, creating bread as He had created wine at Cana.  That is interesting when we think about the bread and wine representing Jesus’ body and blood given for us on the cross.  In the other gospels there is a strong emphasis on this miracle being an important training time for Jesus’ disciples.  They would be sent out to serve Him and they needed to know that He, Jesus, would be their sufficiency, as He was in the miracle (we see that here, in 6:6, that Jesus was testing His disciples).  In John’s account, there is a special emphasis on the fact that the Passover feast was near (6:4), the two miracles are followed by the great “I Am the Bread of Life” sermon (6:22-59).  And, of course, in John’s Gospel, the miracles are recorded that we might believe in Jesus (20:30-31).

A large crowd followed Jesus.  It was Jesus who raised the question, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”  He knew what He was going to do, but He wanted it to be a teaching situation, an opportunity for His disciples to grow in faith.  We ought not run from difficult situations in our lives.  God is always at work, seeking to build us up in the faith.

In response, there were two problems as far as the disciples were concerned, problems that made this impossible.  First, the job was too big (from Philip, v7; “Lord, don’t you see how many people there are?”).  Second, the supply was too small (from Andrew, “we have five loaves and two fish; what good will that be”). 

Nevertheless, Jesus proceeded to show His glory.  He provided through the obedience of the disciples, who had the people sit down even though they had to be a little worried.  He provided through their orderliness, while they were resting, and in the end, He provided beyond the bare essentials: they had more left over than they had in the beginning.  What God did was to provide for the massive crowd through His Son.  Jesus blessed the bread (He trusted His Father) and then multiplied it abundantly.

It was an important lesson for the disciples.  But, as with the other miracles John recorded, there was a lesson about who Jesus was (the Creator, God Almighty, God the Provider).  The Jews knew of God like this, but here they were seeing the Man who was God, revealing His glory.  There was a lesson about faith.  The people had to prepare themselves for a feast when there was no evidence of a feast in front of them.  They had to take Jesus at His word.  And the bread, the most basic of foods in Israel, spoke of the eternal life that Christ came to give.  The sermon later in the chapter will make this clear.  What a day this was for a lot of people!