Proverbs: Kingship, Household Wisdom, and Warning

Seeking Jesus Christ

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2021-07-04

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver examines John 6 to show that many people seek Jesus Christ for wrong reasons—for excitement, miracles, or material gain—rather than for salvation from sin. He emphasizes the urgency of seeking the Lord while He may be found, in repentance and faith, and explains that true seeking means consuming Christ as the bread of life, resulting in His life permeating every aspect of the believer.

[John Weaver] If you will open your Bibles today to John chapter 6, John chapter 6, and the title of the message is Seeking Jesus Christ. I think however you might learn something a little unusual today about this subject. Notice if you would John chapter 6, and just let's read the first five verses. We will be looking at a number of verses in John chapter 6. But look at verse 1, John 6 verse 1, After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

[John Weaver] And a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles, which He did on them which were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. And the Passover feast of the Jews was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?"

[John Weaver] And of course you know that this is going to be the feeding of the 5,000. Let me just begin by saying that seeking Jesus Christ is a very important truth. In fact, it is a life and death situation in the strictest sense of the word. Many seek Him, but never find Him, because they seek Him in the wrong way and at the wrong time. However, there are others who seek Him, find Him, love Him, and serve Him. Seeking Jesus Christ should be the priority of everyone's life, since, of course, He alone is salvation. And the truth of the matter is that we are commanded to seek the Lord. For instance, in Hosea chapter 10 and verse 12, The Bible says, Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground, it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and reign righteousness upon you.

[John Weaver] Now, listen carefully to that again. Sow to yourself in righteousness, reap in mercy, listen to what He said, break up your fallow ground, it is time to seek the Lord. And then the passage, of course, that everyone knows In Isaiah 55, verses 6 and 7, where the Bible says, So let me give you some implications very quickly just of these two verses. The first one is this.

[John Weaver] We are commanded to seek the Lord. It is a direct order from God. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. The second implication is this. There should be an urgency, and we should understand the absolute necessity in seeking the Lord, because the Bible says there is a time when he cannot be found, and a time when he is not near. That's why it said, seek ye the Lord while he is near. Call upon him, Now, in other words, if we're not going to be seeking the Lord in His time, then it's certainly not going to be in our time. So let me just point out the fact, in the book of Hosea chapter 5 and verse 6, Hosea 5 and verse 6, many people tend to think that they can just seek the Lord anytime they want in any way that they choose, which is not true. But the Bible says in Hosea 5 and verse 6, they shall go with their flock and their herds to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him, he hath withdrawn himself from them."

[John Weaver] So notice they're going with their flocks and their herds. That is, they're going prepared to sacrifice. But God said, they're going to seek me, but they're not going to find me because I've withdrawn myself.

[John Weaver] Now, if you'll hold John 6, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. And I want you to look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 24. Here's the same truth again. This is why I'm saying that there should be an urgency in seeking the Lord. Proverbs 1 and verse 24, here's what the Scripture says,"'Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out My hand and no man regarded.

[John Weaver] But you have said it not, all My counsel, and would none of my reproof. Now look what God says, I will also laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer, and they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.

[John Weaver] Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices." So here again in Proverbs chapter 1, God says there's a time when people will seek Him, but they certainly will not find Him. And then in the book of Micah chapter 3 and verse 4, let me just quote it. The Bible said, Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but He will not hear them. He will even hide His face from them at that time as they have behaved themselves ill in their doing. So that is why in Isaiah 55 He said, Seek ye the Lord while He may be found and call ye upon Him while He is near. You see, many presume upon the Lord.

[John Weaver] Many tend to think that somehow that salvation is in their hand and they can be saved whenever they need to or whenever they want to. But that is certainly not true. And the Scripture tells us that there is a time to seek God, there's a time to plead with Him, there's a time, but there's also a time when it is too late to call and too late to seek Him. Many sometimes think they're going to wait until they're almost at their deathbed, and then before they die, they're going to turn to the Lord. And yet, they're going to find sometimes that they're not in a condition to call upon the Lord. It's kind of like this, some people who plan to be saved at 12 midnight die at 1130. So a lot of times we just simply presume upon the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now here's a third implication. When the Bible says, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he's near. He said, let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. In other words, when we actually seek the Lord, we must seek him in repentance and faith. We cannot expect God to have mercy upon an unrighteous, rebellious, belligerent, unrepentant, and unbelieving sinner. He's just not going to do so.

[John Weaver] That is why in Hosea 10 and verse 12, which I quoted earlier, he said, break up your fallow ground. It is time to seek the Lord till He come and reign righteousness upon you. But notice what he said. He said, sow to yourself in mercy, reap in righteousness, break up your fallow ground. Everyone knows if you're ever going to have a garden, if you're ever going to plant anything, the ground must first be broken up. Because seed falling on a hard-packed ground is not going to do anything. And so our Lord is implying in this passage that there must be a breaking up, there must be a confessing of our sins and a breaking of our hardened heart. Because a seed that falls on hard-packed ground will not flourish.

[John Weaver] The truth so far that I've tried to enunciate must go together. There is a proper time to seek the Lord and there is a proper way to seek Him. There must be a proper time and there must be a proper approach. So, having given that as an introduction, let me ask a question. Have you ever wondered why some people seek the Lord? The reason I'm asking that question There are some that seek him for the wrong reasons and they are rebuffed You remember it's just reading the New Testament the stripes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and Herodians sought him but only to accuse him and Entrap him and betray him and ultimately kill him And then of course it was King Herod as well in Matthew 2 in verse 13 who sought Jesus But the only reason he sought him was so that he could murder him Clearly then, when you read a passage like Mark 1 verse 37, which says all men seek for Him, it clearly indicates that not all men are seeking Him for salvation.

[John Weaver] Not all men are seeking Him for the right reasons. Many times people seek Jesus Christ for just purely fleshly and selfish reasons.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to stop and think with me, please. If hell is as awful as it is described in the Bible, and punishment is eternal, why would anyone want to go there? I mean, any sane person would abhor such an idea. And yet at the same time, many who do not wish to end up in eternal punishment, do not wish to turn from that which will send them to eternal punishment.

[John Weaver] Let me explain what I'm talking about. You can find tracks everywhere you turn that says, do you want to be saved from hell? Well, the truth of the matter is, who does not want to be saved from hell if hell is as real as it is expressed in the Bible? And it is. But the question is not, do you want to be saved from hell? The question is, do you want to be saved from that which sends you to hell or sends you to judgment? And what is that? that is sins.

[John Weaver] In fact, you remember the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Matthew 1 and he said this, he said, thou shalt have a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. So salvation is basically from sin. being saved from eternal punishment is a byproduct from being saved from your sins, which would send you to that punishment. So many then are only seeking Jesus Christ as a far escape. They do not wish to perish, but on the other hand, they really do not want to repent of their sins either. What they want to do is to have their sins, enjoy their sins, and then not suffer the consequences of their sins, which is an absolute impossibility.

[John Weaver] because God has decreed that we're going to reap exactly that which we have sown, and He's going to judge the unsaved by their works. So since this message is on seeking Jesus Christ, I want to show you from the book of John chapter 6, particularly, why some folks sought Him. And I hope that you can find out the totally inappropriate reasons. So look, if you would, please, in John chapter 6 and verses 1 and 2. Here's the first thing. After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased." Now note, if you would, a great multitude followed Him. Why? Because they saw His miracles.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. Would you not have liked to have seen Jesus Christ perform miracle and the answer of course is yes who would not but here's another question why would you want to see Jesus Christ perform a miracle I want you to think about that question and try to imagine the answer if you were alive during John chapter 6 and you were unsaved would you like to see Jesus Christ perform a miracle as a display of of the greatness of His power, the evidence and manifestation of the fact and reality that He was indeed the Son of God and sent by the Father.

[John Weaver] Would that be the reason? And the answer would be, for most people in John chapter 6, no. You say, why would that not be the answer? I'll show you momentarily. So let me ask you another way. Would you love to have seen a miracle of Jesus Christ, especially on the diseased? when they were instantly and miraculously healed, and then you could see the joy and the rejoicing in their lives and the blessedness in them glorifying and giving God all of the praise. And you say, yes, I would like to have seen that. But would those people back then want to see that miracle for that reason? And the answer would be no. And I'm going to show you why.

[John Weaver] Remember now in verse 2, the Bible says, This crowd followed him because they saw his miracles." So I want you to turn back to the book of Mark, if you would, Mark 2, and let's begin reading there in verse 3. There are several things that we need to see concerning this crowd that followed him because of the miracles. So in Mark 2, verse 3, watch carefully. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was born of Thor. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

[John Weaver] But there were certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in His Spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, He said to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up his bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look at verse 12 again, the latter part. insomuch that they were all amazed." Jesus Christ has just healed this man with the palsy. And they said, they were all amazed, and then they said, we never saw it on this fashion.

[John Weaver] Now, the word amazed is from the Greek word, ek, istemi, and it literally means to be amazed, to be astonished, to be thrown into wonderment, to be thrown out of one's mind, and to be beside oneself." And when you look at the last word there, fashion, they said, we've never seen it on this fashion. The Greek word there is hutos, which literally means in this manner, or on this wise, or in this fashion. So literally what they were saying is, we've just never seen anything like this.

[John Weaver] So let me put this in a phrase that everyone can understand. They were literally blown out of their mind when they saw this miracle. In fact, we could say it like this. All of our Lord's miracles were merely mind-blowing. He was working miracles that had never been seen before, never done before, and they were definitely extraordinary.

[John Weaver] Now, when our Lord healed the blind man in John chapter 9, the man had been born blind. And do you remember verse 22? The Bible says this, So here was a supernatural miracle. Our Lord opened the eyes of a man who had never seen in his entire life. He was born blind. So these people were literally blown away, so to speak, by our Lord's miracles. Now, I want you to turn to the book of Luke, chapter 5, and Luke, if you would please, at verse 26. It's the same story as you found in Mark, but Luke is going to use different words, and he is going to give us a better explanation in one sense of the word, or at least help us to understand a little bit better what was going on. So in Luke, chapter 5 and verse 26, it's the same miracle, but notice, if you would please, And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today." Now, the word amazed is a very interesting word.

[John Weaver] It is from the Greek word ekstasis. Now, if that sounds familiar, it is where we get our English word ecstasy from. And I want you to listen to the definitions that you will find in a Greek lexicon of this Greek word. Number one, any casting down of a thing from its proper place or state, displacement. So, again, it was mind-blowing. Number two, a throwing of the mind out of its normal state, alienation of the mind, whether such as makes a lunatic, or that of a man who by sudden emotion is transported, as it were, out of himself, so that in rapt attention, although he is awake, his mind is drawn off from all

[John Weaver] the surrounding objects and wholly fixed on other things." Number three, amazement, the state of one who either owing to the importance or the novelty of an event is thrown into a state of blended fear and wonderment. So when you look at verse 26, and they were all amazed, they were thrown out of their minds in wonderment and in fear. Now, here's another thing. In verse 26, they said, we have seen strange things today. The word strange is from the Greek word paradoxes. Yes, we get our English word paradox straight from that Greek word. But the word paradox means that which is incredible, that which is uncommon, that which is unexpected, that which is wonderful. So literally what they're saying is they were blown away, they were in wonderment and fear, and they were perplexed because they had seen something absolutely incredible.

[John Weaver] They could not really, really comprehend it. Can you imagine, just for a moment, the excitement, the exhilaration, and the experience of seeing Jesus Christ perform these miracles? Ah! Wow! Do you realize, even His disciples, those who were closest with Him, were astonished at his power. You remember when they were on the sea, and there was a tremendous storm, and the Lord was asleep, and they went to our Lord and said, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

[John Weaver] And what does the Bible say? He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. And then the Bible says, Mark 4 and verse 41 talking about his disciples, and they feared exceedingly and said one to another, what manner of man is this that the wind and the sea obey his words? Oh yes, it was mind-blowing. So I can assure you in one sense of the word, things have not really changed.

[John Weaver] Some men, some people, want to see Christ merely for excitement, exhilaration, or an experience. They're not really interested in the person of Jesus Christ. They're interested in themselves. They want an experience, and they want an experience at any cost. This perhaps explains why many of our churches have turned into entertainment centers. Because entertainment centers always produce excitement, exhilaration, and experience. I've talked to thousands of people over the years about church, and I've had various comments from individuals as I was discussing the Word of God with them. And here are some of the expressions that I have received when folks were talking about their church service.

[John Weaver] They said, quote, we had a good time. Or, it was fun. Or, boy, what a ride. Or, what a really great experience. And my response would always be, really? Let me ask you, did you worship the Lord Jesus Christ? Did you worship in spirit and in truth? Did you hear the Word of God expounded, explained, and applied? Did you hear anything that would enable you to bring your life into greater conformity to the Word of God?

[John Weaver] And then I make this statement, and it may be absolutely astounding to some people, but it is true. Worship is not about you. It's not about your feelings. It's not about your emotions. It's not about your experience. It's not even about you having a good time. Worship is out giving to the one true and the living God the glory and the praise that is due unto His name through the Lord Jesus Christ for His so great salvation. Worship is you bowing before Him, acknowledging Him, submitting to Him, and praising Him for His forgiveness and His great, great sacrifice in giving His only begotten Son.

[John Weaver] And let me point something out. If you're just seeking Jesus Christ for an experience, if you're seeking Him for excitement, exhilaration, you're seeking Him for the wrong reasons. And you're not going to find Him. Now, you may find an imitation Christ, and you may find an imitation gospel, but you're not going to find the real one. You see, even the Apostle Paul talked about a counterfeit gospel and a counterfeit Jesus Christ. But look at the people who want an experience. They want excitement. They really and truly do not want Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. You may not know the answer, but I'm going to ask you anyhow. Do you know the only man in the entire New Testament to whom the Lord Jesus Christ would not even speak? He would not speak to him. The man was a king. But the reason our Lord would not even speak to him was because he wanted an experience. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in Luke chapter 23, Luke 23, and let's begin reading there with verse 6. Luke 23 and verse 6. Jesus Christ has been standing before Pilate. And the Bible says, when Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man, that is Jesus, was a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, He sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, now watch this carefully, when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see Him of a long season, because he had heard many things of Him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. Then he, Herod, questioned him, Jesus, with many words, but he, Jesus, answered him nothing."

[John Weaver] Our Lord would not even speak to him. All Herod wanted was an experience. All he wanted was a little excitement. He wanted to see Jesus Christ do something. Isn't that astounding? If you want an entertainment, if you want excitement, if you want an experience, If you want special feelings, if you want emotions, if you want sensations, if you want wonder, then you're seeking Jesus Christ for the wrong reasons.

[John Weaver] You will not find Him. Our Lord said to the Jews in John 8 in verse 21, Then said Jesus unto them, I go my way, and you shall seek me, and you shall die in your sins. Whither I go, you cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will He kill Himself? Because He saith, Whither I go, you cannot come. And He said unto them, You are from beneath, I am from above.

[John Weaver] You are of this world, I am not of this world. I said therefore to you, you shall die in your sins. If you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins." Notice He said, you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sins. Not everybody who seeks Christ seeks Him aright.

[John Weaver] Now let me give you another shocker. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 12. As marvelous, as wonderful, as miraculous, and as great as our Lord's miracles were, here is an astounding truth. Here is a shocking truth. Miracles in and of themselves will not save anyone. Well, here it is. Look in John 12 and verse 37. Watch. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. The miracles did not produce faith.

[John Weaver] The miracle certainly demonstrated who he was. But unless you come to Jesus Christ and come to Jesus Christ right, no matter how many miracles you see, it does not mean that you are a true believer in Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, I think it's pretty crass and pretty bad in itself just to follow Jesus, to be entertained, to have an experience, to be excited, to see something you've never seen before, But it really gets worse than that in John chapter 6. Because if you look at verse 24, and I'll fill in the details a little bit later. Look in John chapter 6 verse 24. When the people, and I'll explain who these people were momentarily. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus.

[John Weaver] And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, They said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Here are people that are now seeking him not because of the miracles, but because they got a free meal. Yeah. What is really, really interesting to me is when you take note of the fact that these people took shipping.

[John Weaver] That is, they had a little expense, they had a little energy, expended to find our Lord. And then in verse 25, they ask, Rabbi, listen to this, when camest thou thither? I like to try to paraphrase that and ask it the way it should be asked. Are you trying to get away from us? When did you come here? Well, of course, our Lord was not fooled. They may have expended a little money and they may have expended a little energy, but He knew their hearts.

[John Weaver] They were not seeking a spiritual blessing. They were seeking a temporal blessing. Here is evidence of the fact that they did not even understand His miracles. These are the same people that followed Him for the miracles originally.

[John Weaver] Now they're following Him because they got a free meal. They're not interested in giving to Him. They're interested in getting from Him. They're not interested in giving Him glory. They're interested only in what they can get.

[John Weaver] Now, in John chapter 6, you have the feeding of the 5,000. The feeding of the 5,000 on two fish and five loaves of bread. And the 5,000 were just the men, not counting the women and the children. So look in John 6 beginning with verse 9. So Andrew tells our Lord in verse 9, there is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, But what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down, and likewise to the fishes as much as they would.

[John Weaver] When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together and filled twelve baskets of the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself, alone. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to just think about this. If Jesus Christ can take two fish and five loaves, and probably these were small little things. If he could take two fish and five loaves and feed 5,000 men, not counting women and children, you'd probably talking about 10 to 20,000 people. If He can do that one day, He can do that every day. And if we make Him king, these people are thinking, why we won't even have to work? I mean, He can just provide for us over and over and over.

[John Weaver] Now, you see what they're doing? They are reversing what our Lord taught in Matthew 6 and verse 33. Because there He said, but seek ye first. the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all these things shall be added unto you." Well, what they wanted was the things. They didn't care about the kingdom of God. They didn't care about Him. They just simply wanted the things. May I point out, that is exactly where most people are today. Most people really don't care about Jesus Christ. We care about church buildings, stained glass windows, deep-throated organs, We care about all those things, but we really don't care about Jesus Christ. And it seems like more people are interested in what they can get from Him than what they can give to Him.

[John Weaver] And so these people exposed not only their fleshliness, their foolishness, but also exposed their hypocrisy. So if you look in verse 37, here's what our Lord told them. Verse 27 it is. Look in verse 27. He says,"...labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for Him hath God the Father sealed."

[John Weaver] Now, this statement has to be understood comparatively speaking. When He says,"...labor not for the meat that perisheth," He is not saying, do not work. Obviously, God has commanded us to work and to earn our living by the sweat of our brow. So he is not saying do not work. But what he is saying is this. We need to put the emphasis on that which is spiritual and not that which is physical. And the word labor means that which is intensive, that which costs, that which is exhausting. And so he is saying then that you should be giving your main emphasis and your main strength to that which is permanent, to that which is found only in Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is where the intensity of our labor should be. So the meat that Jesus Christ gives is eternal. It is real life.

[John Weaver] All other food is what you and I would call temporal and transitory. Look if you would, in verse 31, because after our Lord tells them to labor not for the meat which perisheth, in verse 31, here's what they say. Our fathers did eat manna in the desert. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, But my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life into the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

[John Weaver] But I said unto you that you also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note, our Lord said, I am the bread of life. He said that manna that was given in the Old Testament was not the real bread. He says, my Father sends the real bread, And that is me. So I want you to understand what our Lord is telling these people. In order to obtain the bread of life, they must not only come to Him personally, they must believe in Him, they must understand that He was sent by the Father, He came to do the Father's will, and He was obedient to the Father and obeyed the law of God perfectly. Therefore, He is the true bread of life because He is salvation. and there is no salvation in any other. He is our nourishment.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out. Many think that they really truly want and desire the bread of life, but in reality, they do not want it. It's kind of like years ago we had a concert pianist come to our church, and he gave a concert. He was a missionary. And he sat down at the piano and for an hour he played, not a sheet of music in front of him, he just played. And it looked like the music was just flowing out of his fingers. And when he got through, when the concert was over, I walked up to him, I said, David, I said, I would give anything to be able to play the piano like that. He said, really?

[John Weaver] I practice eight hours a day, six days a week. All of a sudden, I didn't want to be a concert pianist anymore, you know? So I'm just simply pointing out the fact, you know, here's a lot of people thinking, boy, I would really like to have this bread of life. Well, no, not really. They think that. So skip down, if you would please, to verse 41. Once he told them that he is the bread of life, look at verse 41. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. Now look, and they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it, then, that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day. Now look, if you would, what they said. What he said, I am the bread of life, and I came down to do the will of my Father.

[John Weaver] What? How could He be the bread of life? How could He come down from the Father in heaven? We know His Father. We know His Mother. We know His brethren. Why? He's one of us. He's just a common everyday man. You see, that's what a lot of people think. It is true that Jesus Christ is a man. But He's more than a man. He's a perfect man. And He's more than a perfect man. He is the God-man.

[John Weaver] The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16, And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, seen of angels, preached on in the world, believed on by the Gentiles, and received up in glory." Did you hear what I said? And without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That's the same truth as John 1, 14, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

[John Weaver] So Jesus Christ is not just simply man. He is indeed the God man. And consequently he is indeed life. There are many people who want to follow Jesus Christ as a good example, as a moral individual, but they do not want to bow before him as God incarnate. And consequently they really and truly do not want him.

[John Weaver] Now look, if you would, beginning with verse 47, Look what our Lord tells these people. Remember now, some followed Him for the miracles, some followed Him for the food, what they could get from Him. Now watch verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread, talking about Himself, which cometh down from heaven, that if a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, watch carefully, you have no life in you.

[John Weaver] Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, And I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

[John Weaver] This is that bread which came down from heaven. None of your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever. These things saith he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum."

[John Weaver] Now watch, many therefore of his disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note something. Our Lord said, I am the bread of life. He said, you have to eat my flesh, you have to drink my blood. Listen to me very carefully. Eating his flesh and drinking his blood has nothing to do with cannibalism, and it has absolutely nothing to do with communion. What does it have to do with? Well, look back at verse 56. Look what he said. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. Now watch verse 57. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so that he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. In other words, here's what our Lord is saying.

[John Weaver] If we come to Him savingly and seek Him savingly, we consume Him and He consumes us in the sense that the same thing happens when we eat food and drink liquid. When we eat our food and drink our liquid, what does it do? It permeates every part of our body. It goes to every cell. So our Lord is saying, whoever comes to Him and really partakes of Him, His life is now in them, and He permeates every aspect of the heart and mind and life and soul.

[John Weaver] It should be said of us, just like it was said by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2 and verse 20. Listen carefully. He said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." What did he say? I'm crucified with Christ. I'm dead. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but it is Christ who liveth in me.

[John Weaver] That's what he's talking about in John chapter 6. In other words, when we come to Him and we seek Him savingly, when we seek Him the way that we understand that He is the bread of life. We consume Him, He consumes us, spiritually speaking, symbolically speaking, and then He permeates every aspect of our life, so whatever we do, in word or deed or thought, it is all about the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] So if you're seeking Him for experience, if you're seeking Him for exhilaration, if you're seeking Him for excitement, if you're seeking Him just for what you can get out of Him or from Him, you're seeking Him for wrong reasons and you will never ever find Him. But if you come to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith and seeking to have Him in your life and you in Him, then you will find Him. The one who really seeks Jesus Christ savingly is the one who comes to Him and desires to live in Him and through Him and by Him and for Him.

[John Weaver] That is exactly what He's saying. Now, when many of the disciples heard what He said, I am the bread of life, they said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? Who can put up with this? If you're seeking Him for miracles, you can't put up with it. If you're seeking Him for what you get out of Him, you can't put up with it. But if you want Him, you can certainly put up with it.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. Look in John chapter 6, beginning there in verse 63. John 6, verse 63. Here's how it is all tied together. Our Lord said, It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not."

[John Weaver] Now notice if you would, some is more than one. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should be trained. So He not only knew who Judas was, He knew the people who followed Him for the miracles. He knew the people who followed Him just for the food. He knew they were not true believers.

[John Weaver] And He said, Therefore said I unto you, That no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my father. Now watch, from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you go away also? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. You see, without bread and water, we die physically. Without Jesus Christ being our bread of life, we die eternally. The true Christian And what Christianity is all about is Jesus Christ living in us and through us and from us. What did He say? As I live by the Father, so he that eateth me shall live by me.

[John Weaver] Our union and our communion with the Son of God should be expressed in every area and every sphere of our lives. Many seeking, but for the wrong reasons. That is why in Matthew 7, he said, many in that day shall say to me, Lord, Lord, have we not done many things in your name? Have we not cast out devils? Have we not done this? Have we not done that? Then shall I say to them, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. I never knew you."

[John Weaver] It's not miracles that we're interested in. It's not what we can get that we're interested in. What we should be interested in is the Lord Jesus Christ being exalted and honored and glorified in all of our lives. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You above all, Father, for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] and His so great salvation. Help us, Lord, even as Christians, to have the life of Jesus Christ made more evident in our lives. May we live in Him and He live in us. And as He lived by the Father, so, Father, may we live by Him. Give us grace to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

[John Weaver] so

Seeking Jesus Christ

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	zI9La-ckmXk
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: Kingship, Household Wisdom, and Warning
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-07-04
Dictation Name
Book	Book 084: Proverbs: Kingship, Household Wisdom, and Warning — Chapter 11
Source Timed Segments	77

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Command and Urgency to Seek the Lord

Weaver introduces the topic by reading John 6:1-5 and stresses that seeking Jesus Christ is a life-and-death matter. He cites Hosea 10:12 and Isaiah 55:6-7 to show that God commands us to seek Him, but there is a limited time when He may be found.

If you will open your Bibles today to John chapter 6, John chapter 6, and the title of the message is Seeking Jesus Christ. I think however you might learn something a little unusual today about this subject. Notice if you would John chapter 6, and just let's read the first five verses. We will be looking at a number of verses in John chapter 6. But look at verse 1, John 6 verse 1, After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles, which He did on them which were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. And the Passover feast of the Jews was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?

And of course you know that this is going to be the feeding of the 5,000. Let me just begin by saying that seeking Jesus Christ is a very important truth. In fact, it is a life and death situation in the strictest sense of the word. Many seek Him, but never find Him, because they seek Him in the wrong way and at the wrong time. However, there are others who seek Him, find Him, love Him, and serve Him. Seeking Jesus Christ should be the priority of everyone's life, since, of course, He alone is salvation. And the truth of the matter is that we are commanded to seek the Lord. For instance, in Hosea chapter 10 and verse 12, The Bible says, Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground, it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and reign righteousness upon you.

Now, listen carefully to that again. Sow to yourself in righteousness, reap in mercy, listen to what He said, break up your fallow ground, it is time to seek the Lord. And then the passage, of course, that everyone knows In Isaiah 55, verses 6 and 7, where the Bible says, So let me give you some implications very quickly just of these two verses. The first one is this.

We are commanded to seek the Lord. It is a direct order from God. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. The second implication is this. There should be an urgency, and we should understand the absolute necessity in seeking the Lord, because the Bible says there is a time when he cannot be found, and a time when he is not near. That's why it said, seek ye the Lord while he is near. Call upon him, Now, in other words, if we're not going to be seeking the Lord in His time, then it's certainly not going to be in our time. So let me just point out the fact, in the book of Hosea chapter 5 and verse 6, Hosea 5 and verse 6, many people tend to think that they can just seek the Lord anytime they want in any way that they choose, which is not true. But the Bible says in Hosea 5 and verse 6, they shall go with their flock and their herds to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him, he hath withdrawn himself from them.

The Danger of Presuming Upon God's Timing

Using Proverbs 1:24-31 and Hosea 5:6, Weaver warns that many assume they can seek God whenever they choose, but Scripture shows there is a time when God will not be found, and people will seek Him in vain.

So notice they're going with their flocks and their herds. That is, they're going prepared to sacrifice. But God said, they're going to seek me, but they're not going to find me because I've withdrawn myself. Now, if you'll hold John 6, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. And I want you to look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 24. Here's the same truth again. This is why I'm saying that there should be an urgency in seeking the Lord. Proverbs 1 and verse 24, here's what the Scripture says, "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out My hand and no man regarded.

But you have said it not, all My counsel, and would none of my reproof. Now look what God says, I will also laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer, and they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 1:24-31

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices."

So here again in Proverbs chapter 1, God says there's a time when people will seek Him, but they certainly will not find Him. And then in the book of Micah chapter 3 and verse 4, let me just quote it. The Bible said, Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but He will not hear them. He will even hide His face from them at that time as they have behaved themselves ill in their doing. So that is why in Isaiah 55 He said, Seek ye the Lord while He may be found and call ye upon Him while He is near. You see, many presume upon the Lord. Many tend to think that somehow that salvation is in their hand and they can be saved whenever they need to or whenever they want to. But that is certainly not true. And the Scripture tells us that there is a time to seek God, there's a time to plead with Him, there's a time, but there's also a time when it is too late to call and too late to seek Him. Many sometimes think they're going to wait until they're almost at their deathbed, and then before they die, they're going to turn to the Lord. And yet, they're going to find sometimes that they're not in a condition to call upon the Lord. It's kind of like this, some people who plan to be saved at 12 midnight die at 1130. So a lot of times we just simply presume upon the Lord.

Seeking the Lord Requires Repentance and Faith

Weaver explains that seeking the Lord must be done in repentance and faith, not in rebellion. He references Hosea 10:12's call to 'break up your fallow ground' as a picture of confessing sin and softening a hardened heart.

Now here's a third implication. When the Bible says, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he's near. He said, let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. In other words, when we actually seek the Lord, we must seek him in repentance and faith. We cannot expect God to have mercy upon an unrighteous, rebellious, belligerent, unrepentant, and unbelieving sinner. He's just not going to do so. That is why in Hosea 10 and verse 12, which I quoted earlier, he said, break up your fallow ground. It is time to seek the Lord till He come and reign righteousness upon you. But notice what he said. He said, sow to yourself in mercy, reap in righteousness, break up your fallow ground. Everyone knows if you're ever going to have a garden, if you're ever going to plant anything, the ground must first be broken up. Because seed falling on a hard-packed ground is not going to do anything. And so our Lord is implying in this passage that there must be a breaking up, there must be a confessing of our sins and a breaking of our hardened heart. Because a seed that falls on hard-packed ground will not flourish.

The truth so far that I've tried to enunciate must go together. There is a proper time to seek the Lord and there is a proper way to seek Him. There must be a proper time and there must be a proper approach. So, having given that as an introduction, let me ask a question. Have you ever wondered why some people seek the Lord? The reason I'm asking that question There are some that seek him for the wrong reasons and they are rebuffed You remember it's just reading the New Testament the stripes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and Herodians sought him but only to accuse him and Entrap him and betray him and ultimately kill him And then of course it was King Herod as well in Matthew 2 in verse 13 who sought Jesus But the only reason he sought him was so that he could murder him Clearly then, when you read a passage like Mark 1 verse 37, which says all men seek for Him, it clearly indicates that not all men are seeking Him for salvation.

Wrong Reasons for Seeking: Excitement and Miracles

Examining John 6:2, Weaver shows that the multitude followed Jesus because they saw His miracles, seeking excitement and experience rather than the person of Christ. He uses Mark 2 and Luke 5 to illustrate that miracles alone do not produce saving faith.

Not all men are seeking Him for the right reasons. Many times people seek Jesus Christ for just purely fleshly and selfish reasons. Now, I want you to stop and think with me, please. If hell is as awful as it is described in the Bible, and punishment is eternal, why would anyone want to go there? I mean, any sane person would abhor such an idea. And yet at the same time, many who do not wish to end up in eternal punishment, do not wish to turn from that which will send them to eternal punishment. Let me explain what I'm talking about. You can find tracks everywhere you turn that says, do you want to be saved from hell? Well, the truth of the matter is, who does not want to be saved from hell if hell is as real as it is expressed in the Bible? And it is. But the question is not, do you want to be saved from hell? The question is, do you want to be saved from that which sends you to hell or sends you to judgment? And what is that? that is sins.

In fact, you remember the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Matthew 1 and he said this, he said, thou shalt have a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. So salvation is basically from sin. being saved from eternal punishment is a byproduct from being saved from your sins, which would send you to that punishment. So many then are only seeking Jesus Christ as a far escape. They do not wish to perish, but on the other hand, they really do not want to repent of their sins either. What they want to do is to have their sins, enjoy their sins, and then not suffer the consequences of their sins, which is an absolute impossibility. because God has decreed that we're going to reap exactly that which we have sown, and He's going to judge the unsaved by their works. So since this message is on seeking Jesus Christ, I want to show you from the book of John chapter 6, particularly, why some folks sought Him. And I hope that you can find out the totally inappropriate reasons. So look, if you would, please, in John chapter 6 and verses 1 and 2. Here's the first thing. After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased." Now note, if you would, a great multitude followed Him. Why? Because they saw His miracles.

Now let me ask you a question. Would you not have liked to have seen Jesus Christ perform miracle and the answer of course is yes who would not but here's another question why would you want to see Jesus Christ perform a miracle I want you to think about that question and try to imagine the answer if you were alive during John chapter 6 and you were unsaved would you like to see Jesus Christ perform a miracle as a display of of the greatness of His power, the evidence and manifestation of the fact and reality that He was indeed the Son of God and sent by the Father. Would that be the reason? And the answer would be, for most people in John chapter 6, no. You say, why would that not be the answer? I'll show you momentarily. So let me ask you another way. Would you love to have seen a miracle of Jesus Christ, especially on the diseased? when they were instantly and miraculously healed, and then you could see the joy and the rejoicing in their lives and the blessedness in them glorifying and giving God all of the praise. And you say, yes, I would like to have seen that. But would those people back then want to see that miracle for that reason? And the answer would be no. And I'm going to show you why.

Remember now in verse 2, the Bible says, This crowd followed him because they saw his miracles.

Scripture Reading — Mark 2:3-12

" So I want you to turn back to the book of Mark, if you would, Mark 2, and let's begin reading there in verse 3. There are several things that we need to see concerning this crowd that followed him because of the miracles. So in Mark 2, verse 3, watch carefully. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was born of Thor. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

But there were certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in His Spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, He said to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up his bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion."

Now, I want you to look at verse 12 again, the latter part. insomuch that they were all amazed." Jesus Christ has just healed this man with the palsy. And they said, they were all amazed, and then they said, we never saw it on this fashion. Now, the word amazed is from the Greek word, ek, istemi, and it literally means to be amazed, to be astonished, to be thrown into wonderment, to be thrown out of one's mind, and to be beside oneself." And when you look at the last word there, fashion, they said, we've never seen it on this fashion. The Greek word there is hutos, which literally means in this manner, or on this wise, or in this fashion. So literally what they were saying is, we've just never seen anything like this.

So let me put this in a phrase that everyone can understand. They were literally blown out of their mind when they saw this miracle. In fact, we could say it like this. All of our Lord's miracles were merely mind-blowing. He was working miracles that had never been seen before, never done before, and they were definitely extraordinary.

Scripture Reading — John 9:32

Now, when our Lord healed the blind man in John chapter 9, the man had been born blind. And do you remember verse 22? The Bible says this, So here was a supernatural miracle. Our Lord opened the eyes of a man who had never seen in his entire life. He was born blind. So these people were literally blown away, so to speak, by our Lord's miracles. Now, I want you to turn to the book of Luke, chapter 5, and Luke, if you would please, at verse 26. It's the same story as you found in Mark, but Luke is going to use different words, and he is going to give us a better explanation in one sense of the word, or at least help us to understand a little bit better what was going on. So in Luke, chapter 5 and verse 26, it's the same miracle, but notice, if you would please, And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today." Now, the word amazed is a very interesting word.

It is from the Greek word ekstasis. Now, if that sounds familiar, it is where we get our English word ecstasy from. And I want you to listen to the definitions that you will find in a Greek lexicon of this Greek word. Number one, any casting down of a thing from its proper place or state, displacement. So, again, it was mind-blowing. Number two, a throwing of the mind out of its normal state, alienation of the mind, whether such as makes a lunatic, or that of a man who by sudden emotion is transported, as it were, out of himself, so that in rapt attention, although he is awake, his mind is drawn off from all the surrounding objects and wholly fixed on other things." Number three, amazement, the state of one who either owing to the importance or the novelty of an event is thrown into a state of blended fear and wonderment. So when you look at verse 26, and they were all amazed, they were thrown out of their minds in wonderment and in fear. Now, here's another thing. In verse 26, they said, we have seen strange things today. The word strange is from the Greek word paradoxes. Yes, we get our English word paradox straight from that Greek word. But the word paradox means that which is incredible, that which is uncommon, that which is unexpected, that which is wonderful. So literally what they're saying is they were blown away, they were in wonderment and fear, and they were perplexed because they had seen something absolutely incredible.

They could not really, really comprehend it. Can you imagine, just for a moment, the excitement, the exhilaration, and the experience of seeing Jesus Christ perform these miracles? Ah! Wow! Do you realize, even His disciples, those who were closest with Him, were astonished at his power. You remember when they were on the sea, and there was a tremendous storm, and the Lord was asleep, and they went to our Lord and said, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Wrong Reasons for Seeking: Material Gain

Weaver points to John 6:24-27, where the crowd sought Jesus after the feeding of the 5,000 because they ate and were filled. They wanted temporal blessings, not spiritual life, and even tried to make Him king to secure ongoing provision.

And what does the Bible say? He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. And then the Bible says, Mark 4 and verse 41 talking about his disciples, and they feared exceedingly and said one to another, what manner of man is this that the wind and the sea obey his words? Oh yes, it was mind-blowing. So I can assure you in one sense of the word, things have not really changed. Some men, some people, want to see Christ merely for excitement, exhilaration, or an experience. They're not really interested in the person of Jesus Christ. They're interested in themselves. They want an experience, and they want an experience at any cost. This perhaps explains why many of our churches have turned into entertainment centers. Because entertainment centers always produce excitement, exhilaration, and experience. I've talked to thousands of people over the years about church, and I've had various comments from individuals as I was discussing the Word of God with them. And here are some of the expressions that I have received when folks were talking about their church service.

They said, quote, we had a good time. Or, it was fun. Or, boy, what a ride. Or, what a really great experience. And my response would always be, really? Let me ask you, did you worship the Lord Jesus Christ? Did you worship in spirit and in truth? Did you hear the Word of God expounded, explained, and applied? Did you hear anything that would enable you to bring your life into greater conformity to the Word of God?

And then I make this statement, and it may be absolutely astounding to some people, but it is true. Worship is not about you. It's not about your feelings. It's not about your emotions. It's not about your experience. It's not even about you having a good time. Worship is out giving to the one true and the living God the glory and the praise that is due unto His name through the Lord Jesus Christ for His so great salvation. Worship is you bowing before Him, acknowledging Him, submitting to Him, and praising Him for His forgiveness and His great, great sacrifice in giving His only begotten Son.

And let me point something out. If you're just seeking Jesus Christ for an experience, if you're seeking Him for excitement, exhilaration, you're seeking Him for the wrong reasons. And you're not going to find Him. Now, you may find an imitation Christ, and you may find an imitation gospel, but you're not going to find the real one. You see, even the Apostle Paul talked about a counterfeit gospel and a counterfeit Jesus Christ. But look at the people who want an experience. They want excitement. They really and truly do not want Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you a question. You may not know the answer, but I'm going to ask you anyhow. Do you know the only man in the entire New Testament to whom the Lord Jesus Christ would not even speak? He would not speak to him. The man was a king. But the reason our Lord would not even speak to him was because he wanted an experience. Let me show you.

Look in Luke chapter 23, Luke 23, and let's begin reading there with verse 6. Luke 23 and verse 6. Jesus Christ has been standing before Pilate. And the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Luke 23:6-9

when Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man, that is Jesus, was a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, He sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, now watch this carefully, when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see Him of a long season, because he had heard many things of Him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. Then he,

Herod, questioned him, Jesus, with many words, but he, Jesus, answered him nothing."

Our Lord would not even speak to him. All Herod wanted was an experience. All he wanted was a little excitement. He wanted to see Jesus Christ do something. Isn't that astounding? If you want an entertainment, if you want excitement, if you want an experience, If you want special feelings, if you want emotions, if you want sensations, if you want wonder, then you're seeking Jesus Christ for the wrong reasons. You will not find Him. Our Lord said to the Jews in John 8 in verse 21, Then said Jesus unto them, I go my way, and you shall seek me, and you shall die in your sins. Whither I go, you cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will He kill Himself? Because He saith, Whither I go, you cannot come. And He said unto them, You are from beneath, I am from above.

You are of this world, I am not of this world. I said therefore to you, you shall die in your sins. If you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins." Notice He said, you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sins. Not everybody who seeks Christ seeks Him aright.

Now let me give you another shocker. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 12. As marvelous, as wonderful, as miraculous, and as great as our Lord's miracles were, here is an astounding truth. Here is a shocking truth. Miracles in and of themselves will not save anyone. Well, here it is. Look in John 12 and verse 37. Watch. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. The miracles did not produce faith.

The miracle certainly demonstrated who he was. But unless you come to Jesus Christ and come to Jesus Christ right, no matter how many miracles you see, it does not mean that you are a true believer in Jesus Christ. Now, I think it's pretty crass and pretty bad in itself just to follow Jesus, to be entertained, to have an experience, to be excited, to see something you've never seen before, But it really gets worse than that in John chapter 6. Because if you look at verse 24, and I'll fill in the details a little bit later. Look in John chapter 6 verse 24. When the people, and I'll explain who these people were momentarily. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus.

And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, They said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Here are people that are now seeking him not because of the miracles, but because they got a free meal. Yeah. What is really, really interesting to me is when you take note of the fact that these people took shipping. That is, they had a little expense, they had a little energy, expended to find our Lord. And then in verse 25, they ask, Rabbi, listen to this, when camest thou thither? I like to try to paraphrase that and ask it the way it should be asked. Are you trying to get away from us? When did you come here? Well, of course, our Lord was not fooled. They may have expended a little money and they may have expended a little energy, but He knew their hearts.

They were not seeking a spiritual blessing. They were seeking a temporal blessing. Here is evidence of the fact that they did not even understand His miracles. These are the same people that followed Him for the miracles originally.

Now they're following Him because they got a free meal. They're not interested in giving to Him. They're interested in getting from Him. They're not interested in giving Him glory. They're interested only in what they can get.

Now, in John chapter 6, you have the feeding of the 5,000. The feeding of the 5,000 on two fish and five loaves of bread. And the 5,000 were just the men, not counting the women and the children. So look in John 6 beginning with verse 9. So Andrew tells our Lord in verse 9, there is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, But what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down, and likewise to the fishes as much as they would.

When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together and filled twelve baskets of the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself, alone. Wow.

Now, I want you to just think about this. If Jesus Christ can take two fish and five loaves, and probably these were small little things. If he could take two fish and five loaves and feed 5,000 men, not counting women and children, you'd probably talking about 10 to 20,000 people. If He can do that one day, He can do that every day. And if we make Him king, these people are thinking, why we won't even have to work? I mean, He can just provide for us over and over and over.

Now, you see what they're doing? They are reversing what our Lord taught in Matthew 6 and verse 33. Because there He said, but seek ye first. the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all these things shall be added unto you.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:33

" Well, what they wanted was the things. They didn't care about the kingdom of God. They didn't care about Him. They just simply wanted the things. May I point out, that is exactly where most people are today. Most people really don't care about Jesus Christ. We care about church buildings, stained glass windows, deep-throated organs, We care about all those things, but we really don't care about Jesus Christ. And it seems like more people are interested in what they can get from Him than what they can give to Him.

Jesus as the True Bread of Life

Weaver expounds John 6:31-58, where Jesus declares Himself the bread of life. He explains that eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood symbolizes a spiritual union where Christ's life permeates the believer, just as food nourishes the body.

And so these people exposed not only their fleshliness, their foolishness, but also exposed their hypocrisy. So if you look in verse 37, here's what our Lord told them. Verse 27 it is. Look in verse 27. He says, "...labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for Him hath God the Father sealed."

Now, this statement has to be understood comparatively speaking. When He says, "...labor not for the meat that perisheth," He is not saying, do not work. Obviously, God has commanded us to work and to earn our living by the sweat of our brow. So he is not saying do not work. But what he is saying is this. We need to put the emphasis on that which is spiritual and not that which is physical. And the word labor means that which is intensive, that which costs, that which is exhausting. And so he is saying then that you should be giving your main emphasis and your main strength to that which is permanent, to that which is found only in Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is where the intensity of our labor should be. So the meat that Jesus Christ gives is eternal. It is real life.

All other food is what you and I would call temporal and transitory. Look if you would, in verse 31, because after our Lord tells them to labor not for the meat which perisheth, in verse 31, here's what they say. Our fathers did eat manna in the desert. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, But my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life into the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

But I said unto you that you also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." Now, I want you to note, our Lord said, I am the bread of life. He said that manna that was given in the Old Testament was not the real bread. He says, my Father sends the real bread, And that is me. So I want you to understand what our Lord is telling these people. In order to obtain the bread of life, they must not only come to Him personally, they must believe in Him, they must understand that He was sent by the Father, He came to do the Father's will, and He was obedient to the Father and obeyed the law of God perfectly. Therefore, He is the true bread of life because He is salvation. and there is no salvation in any other. He is our nourishment.

Now, let me point something out. Many think that they really truly want and desire the bread of life, but in reality, they do not want it. It's kind of like years ago we had a concert pianist come to our church, and he gave a concert. He was a missionary. And he sat down at the piano and for an hour he played, not a sheet of music in front of him, he just played. And it looked like the music was just flowing out of his fingers. And when he got through, when the concert was over, I walked up to him, I said, David, I said, I would give anything to be able to play the piano like that. He said, really?

I practice eight hours a day, six days a week. All of a sudden, I didn't want to be a concert pianist anymore, you know? So I'm just simply pointing out the fact, you know, here's a lot of people thinking, boy, I would really like to have this bread of life. Well, no, not really. They think that. So skip down, if you would please, to verse 41. Once he told them that he is the bread of life, look at verse 41. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. Now look, and they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it, then, that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day. Now look, if you would, what they said. What he said, I am the bread of life, and I came down to do the will of my Father.

What? How could He be the bread of life? How could He come down from the Father in heaven? We know His Father. We know His Mother. We know His brethren. Why? He's one of us. He's just a common everyday man. You see, that's what a lot of people think. It is true that Jesus Christ is a man. But He's more than a man. He's a perfect man. And He's more than a perfect man. He is the God-man.

Scripture Reading — John 6:41-51

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16, And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, seen of angels, preached on in the world, believed on by the Gentiles, and received up in glory." Did you hear what I said? And without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That's the same truth as John 1, 14, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

So Jesus Christ is not just simply man. He is indeed the God man. And consequently he is indeed life. There are many people who want to follow Jesus Christ as a good example, as a moral individual, but they do not want to bow before him as God incarnate. And consequently they really and truly do not want him.

Now look, if you would, beginning with verse 47, Look what our Lord tells these people. Remember now, some followed Him for the miracles, some followed Him for the food, what they could get from Him. Now watch verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread, talking about Himself, which cometh down from heaven, that if a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, watch carefully, you have no life in you.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, And I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven. None of your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever. These things saith he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum."

Now watch, many therefore of his disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? Now, I want you to note something. Our Lord said, I am the bread of life. He said, you have to eat my flesh, you have to drink my blood. Listen to me very carefully. Eating his flesh and drinking his blood has nothing to do with cannibalism, and it has absolutely nothing to do with communion. What does it have to do with? Well, look back at verse 56. Look what he said. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. Now watch verse 57. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so that he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. In other words, here's what our Lord is saying.

If we come to Him savingly and seek Him savingly, we consume Him and He consumes us in the sense that the same thing happens when we eat food and drink liquid. When we eat our food and drink our liquid, what does it do? It permeates every part of our body. It goes to every cell. So our Lord is saying, whoever comes to Him and really partakes of Him, His life is now in them, and He permeates every aspect of the heart and mind and life and soul.

The Response: Many Disciples Turn Away

Weaver notes that many disciples found Jesus' teaching hard and walked away (John 6:60-66). He contrasts them with Peter, who recognized that Jesus alone has the words of eternal life, showing that true seekers cling to Christ for who He is.

It should be said of us, just like it was said by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2 and verse 20. Listen carefully. He said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." What did he say? I'm crucified with Christ. I'm dead. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but it is Christ who liveth in me.

That's what he's talking about in John chapter 6. In other words, when we come to Him and we seek Him savingly, when we seek Him the way that we understand that He is the bread of life. We consume Him, He consumes us, spiritually speaking, symbolically speaking, and then He permeates every aspect of our life, so whatever we do, in word or deed or thought, it is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you're seeking Him for experience, if you're seeking Him for exhilaration, if you're seeking Him for excitement, if you're seeking Him just for what you can get out of Him or from Him, you're seeking Him for wrong reasons and you will never ever find Him. But if you come to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith and seeking to have Him in your life and you in Him, then you will find Him. The one who really seeks Jesus Christ savingly is the one who comes to Him and desires to live in Him and through Him and by Him and for Him.

That is exactly what He's saying. Now, when many of the disciples heard what He said, I am the bread of life, they said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? Who can put up with this? If you're seeking Him for miracles, you can't put up with it. If you're seeking Him for what you get out of Him, you can't put up with it. But if you want Him, you can certainly put up with it.

Now, let me show you. Look in John chapter 6, beginning there in verse 63. John 6, verse 63. Here's how it is all tied together. Our Lord said, It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not."

Now notice if you would, some is more than one. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should be trained. So He not only knew who Judas was, He knew the people who followed Him for the miracles. He knew the people who followed Him just for the food. He knew they were not true believers. And He said, Therefore said I unto you, That no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my father. Now watch, from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you go away also? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. You see, without bread and water, we die physically. Without Jesus Christ being our bread of life, we die eternally. The true Christian And what Christianity is all about is Jesus Christ living in us and through us and from us. What did He say? As I live by the Father, so he that eateth me shall live by me.

Conclusion: True Seeking Means Living in Christ

Weaver concludes that genuine seeking results in Christ living in and through the believer. He warns that many will claim to know Christ but be rejected because they never truly knew Him, and he prays for believers to have Christ's life evident in them.

Our union and our communion with the Son of God should be expressed in every area and every sphere of our lives. Many seeking, but for the wrong reasons. That is why in Matthew 7, he said, many in that day shall say to me, Lord, Lord, have we not done many things in your name? Have we not cast out devils? Have we not done this? Have we not done that? Then shall I say to them, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. I never knew you."

It's not miracles that we're interested in. It's not what we can get that we're interested in. What we should be interested in is the Lord Jesus Christ being exalted and honored and glorified in all of our lives. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You above all, Father, for the Lord Jesus Christ.

and His so great salvation. Help us, Lord, even as Christians, to have the life of Jesus Christ made more evident in our lives. May we live in Him and He live in us. And as He lived by the Father, so, Father, may we live by Him. Give us grace to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Urgency of Seeking the Lord

Summary: God commands people to seek Him, but there is a limited window of opportunity; after that, He will not be found.

Evidence: Weaver cites Isaiah 55:6-7 and Proverbs 1:24-31 to show that God may withdraw and refuse to answer those who delay seeking Him.

Seeking with Repentance and Faith

Summary: True seeking requires forsaking sin and approaching God with a broken, repentant heart, not in rebellion.

Evidence: Weaver references Hosea 10:12's 'break up your fallow ground' and Isaiah 55:7's call for the wicked to forsake his way.

Wrong Motives in Seeking Christ

Summary: Many seek Jesus for excitement, miracles, or material benefits rather than for salvation from sin and a relationship with Him.

Evidence: Weaver analyzes John 6:2, 24-27 to show the crowd followed for miracles and free food, and notes Herod sought only an experience (Luke 23:8-9).

Christ as the Bread of Life

Summary: Jesus is the true spiritual nourishment; partaking of Him means a life-union where He dwells in the believer and the believer lives by Him.

Evidence: Weaver expounds John 6:35, 48-58, explaining that eating His flesh and drinking His blood symbolizes Christ's life permeating the believer.

Salvation is from Sin, Not Just from Hell

Summary: Many want to escape hell but do not want to repent of the sins that lead there; true salvation is being saved from sin itself.

Evidence: Weaver references Matthew 1:21 ('He shall save His people from their sins') and argues that salvation from punishment is a byproduct of salvation from sin.

The Insufficiency of Miracles for Faith

Summary: Miracles alone do not produce saving faith; many saw Jesus' miracles yet did not believe.

Evidence: Weaver cites John 12:37: 'But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.'

Key Arguments

There is a limited time to seek the Lord

Summary: Scripture warns that God may withdraw and refuse to be found if people delay seeking Him, so there is an urgency to seek Him now.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Proverbs 1:28: 'Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.'

Seeking must be on God's terms, not ours

Summary: People cannot seek God in their own way or time; they must come in repentance and faith as He commands.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'We cannot expect God to have mercy upon an unrighteous, rebellious, belligerent, unrepentant, and unbelieving sinner.'

Many seek Christ for selfish reasons

Summary: The crowd in John 6 followed Jesus for miracles and free food, not for spiritual life, revealing their fleshly motives.

Evidence: Weaver points to John 6:26: 'You seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled.'

True seeking means consuming Christ as the bread of life

Summary: Eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood is a metaphor for receiving Him so that His life permeates every part of the believer.

Evidence: Weaver explains John 6:56-57: 'He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him... he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.'

Miracles do not guarantee saving faith

Summary: Despite witnessing Jesus' miracles, many did not believe, showing that signs alone cannot produce true faith.

Evidence: Weaver cites John 12:37 and notes that even the disciples' amazement at miracles did not automatically mean saving faith.

Salvation is from sin, not just from hell

Summary: The angel announced Jesus would save His people from their sins; escaping hell is a consequence of being saved from sin.

Evidence: Weaver references Matthew 1:21 and argues that many want to avoid punishment but not the sin that causes it.

Scripture References

John 6:1-5

Context: Introduction to the feeding of the 5,000 and the setting for the message on seeking Jesus.

Hosea 10:12

Context: Command to seek the Lord and break up fallow ground, illustrating the need for repentance.

Isaiah 55:6-7

Context: Call to seek the Lord while He may be found and for the wicked to forsake their ways.

Hosea 5:6

Context: Warning that people may seek the Lord with sacrifices but not find Him because He has withdrawn.

Proverbs 1:24-31

Context: God's warning that He will not answer when people seek Him too late after rejecting His counsel.

Micah 3:4

Context: God hiding His face from those who cry to Him after behaving ill.

Mark 1:37

Context: All men seek for Jesus, but not all for the right reasons.

Matthew 1:21

Context: Jesus shall save His people from their sins, showing salvation is from sin, not just hell.

Mark 2:3-12

Context: Healing of the paralytic, demonstrating the crowd's amazement at miracles.

Luke 5:26

Context: The crowd was amazed and filled with fear, saying they had seen strange things.

John 9:32

Context: Since the world began it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one born blind.

Mark 4:41

Context: Disciples feared exceedingly and wondered what manner of man Jesus was, that wind and sea obey Him.

Luke 23:6-9

Context: Herod was glad to see Jesus, hoping to see a miracle, but Jesus answered him nothing.

John 8:21-24

Context: Jesus tells the Jews they will seek Him and die in their sins if they do not believe He is the I AM.

John 12:37

Context: Though He had done many miracles, they believed not on Him.

John 6:24-27

Context: The crowd sought Jesus not because of miracles but because they ate and were filled; Jesus tells them to labor for eternal food.

John 6:9-15

Context: Feeding of the 5,000 and the crowd's desire to make Jesus king by force.

Matthew 6:33

Context: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added.

John 6:31-40

Context: Jesus declares He is the bread of life; whoever comes to Him will never hunger or thirst.

John 6:41-51

Context: Jews murmur because Jesus said He came down from heaven; He reiterates He is the living bread.

Historical References

Herod Antipas

Context: Herod sought to see Jesus perform a miracle for entertainment, but Jesus refused to speak to him (Luke 23:8-9).

Feeding of the 5,000

Context: The historical event in John 6 where Jesus fed a multitude with five loaves and two fish, leading many to seek Him for material reasons.

Manna in the wilderness

Context: The Old Testament provision of manna, which Jesus contrasts with Himself as the true bread from heaven.

Important Quotes

They shall go with their flock and their herds to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him, he hath withdrawn himself from them.

Significance: This Hosea 5:6 quote warns that religious activity without true repentance will not result in finding God.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer, and they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

Significance: From Proverbs 1, this quote underscores the danger of delaying seeking God until it is too late.

You seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled.

Significance: Jesus exposes the crowd's selfish motives in John 6:26, a key text for Weaver's argument about wrong reasons for seeking Christ.

I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Significance: Jesus' declaration in John 6:35 that He alone satisfies spiritual hunger, central to Weaver's message.

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Significance: John 6:56, which Weaver explains as the spiritual union where Christ's life permeates the believer.

It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

Significance: John 6:63, showing that spiritual life comes through Christ's words, not physical understanding.

Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.

Significance: Peter's confession in John 6:68, exemplifying the right response of true seekers who recognize Christ as the only source of life.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to seek the Lord 'while He may be found,' and why is there urgency in this command?

Context: Weaver emphasizes from Isaiah 55 and Proverbs 1 that there is a limited time to seek God, after which He will not be found.

How does 'breaking up your fallow ground' relate to repentance, and why is it necessary for seeking God?

Context: Weaver explains Hosea 10:12 as a call to confess sin and soften hardened hearts before seeking the Lord.

In what ways do people today seek Jesus for excitement or experience rather than for who He is?

Context: Weaver critiques modern church culture that prioritizes entertainment and feelings over true worship and submission to Christ.

Why did Jesus refuse to speak to Herod, and what does that teach us about seeking Christ with wrong motives?

Context: Weaver references Luke 23:8-9, where Herod wanted to see a miracle, but Jesus gave no answer.

What does it mean to 'eat the flesh and drink the blood' of Christ, and how does this relate to daily Christian living?

Context: Weaver explains John 6:53-57 as a metaphor for Christ's life permeating every part of the believer, not cannibalism or communion.

Why did many disciples turn away after Jesus' teaching on the bread of life, and what does their departure reveal about their motives?

Context: Weaver notes that those seeking miracles or material gain found Jesus' words hard and left, while true disciples stayed.

How does Peter's response in John 6:68 model the right attitude of a true seeker of Christ?

Context: Weaver contrasts Peter's confession with the departing disciples, showing that true seekers recognize Christ as the only source of eternal life.

What is the difference between wanting to be saved from hell and wanting to be saved from sin?

Context: Weaver argues that many want to escape punishment but not the sin that causes it, and true salvation is from sin itself.

Applications

Seek the Lord now, not later

Summary: Do not presume upon God's timing; respond to His call today because there may come a time when He will not be found.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'Many sometimes think they're going to wait until they're almost at their deathbed... and yet, they're going to find sometimes that they're not in a condition to call upon the Lord.'

Examine your motives for seeking Christ

Summary: Ask whether you are seeking Jesus for what you can get from Him or for who He is, and repent of selfish motives.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If you're just seeking Jesus Christ for an experience, if you're seeking Him for excitement, exhilaration, you're seeking Him for the wrong reasons.'

Pursue spiritual nourishment over temporal blessings

Summary: Labor for the food that endures to eternal life—Christ Himself—rather than focusing primarily on material needs.

Evidence: Weaver expounds John 6:27: 'Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.'

Let Christ's life permeate every area of your life

Summary: As one who has consumed the bread of life, allow Christ to live in and through you, so that your thoughts, words, and deeds reflect Him.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'When we come to Him and really partake of Him, His life is now in them, and He permeates every aspect of the heart and mind and life and soul.'

Worship is about giving glory to God, not personal experience

Summary: Shift the focus of worship from feelings and entertainment to bowing before God, acknowledging Him, and praising Him for salvation.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Worship is not about you. It's not about your feelings... Worship is you bowing before Him, acknowledging Him, submitting to Him, and praising Him.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:32:07Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T03:08:09Z

Clean Transcript

Seeking Jesus Christ

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

If you will open your Bibles today to John chapter 6, John chapter 6, and the title of the message is Seeking Jesus Christ. I think however you might learn something a little unusual today about this subject. Notice if you would John chapter 6, and just let's read the first five verses. We will be looking at a number of verses in John chapter 6. But look at verse 1, John 6 verse 1, After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
#1 | 0:11 to 0:47 | cleaned
And a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles, which He did on them which were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. And the Passover feast of the Jews was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?
#2 | 0:48 to 1:12 | cleaned
And of course you know that this is going to be the feeding of the 5,000. Let me just begin by saying that seeking Jesus Christ is a very important truth. In fact, it is a life and death situation in the strictest sense of the word. Many seek Him, but never find Him, because they seek Him in the wrong way and at the wrong time. However, there are others who seek Him, find Him, love Him, and serve Him. Seeking Jesus Christ should be the priority of everyone's life, since, of course, He alone is salvation. And the truth of the matter is that we are commanded to seek the Lord. For instance, in Hosea chapter 10 and verse 12, The Bible says, Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground, it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and reign righteousness upon you.
#3 | 1:13 to 2:10 | cleaned
Now, listen carefully to that again. Sow to yourself in righteousness, reap in mercy, listen to what He said, break up your fallow ground, it is time to seek the Lord. And then the passage, of course, that everyone knows In Isaiah 55, verses 6 and 7, where the Bible says, So let me give you some implications very quickly just of these two verses. The first one is this.
#4 | 2:11 to 2:35 | cleaned
We are commanded to seek the Lord. It is a direct order from God. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. The second implication is this. There should be an urgency, and we should understand the absolute necessity in seeking the Lord, because the Bible says there is a time when he cannot be found, and a time when he is not near. That's why it said, seek ye the Lord while he is near. Call upon him, Now, in other words, if we're not going to be seeking the Lord in His time, then it's certainly not going to be in our time. So let me just point out the fact, in the book of Hosea chapter 5 and verse 6, Hosea 5 and verse 6, many people tend to think that they can just seek the Lord anytime they want in any way that they choose, which is not true. But the Bible says in Hosea 5 and verse 6, they shall go with their flock and their herds to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him, he hath withdrawn himself from them.
#5 | 2:56 to 4:03 | cleaned
So notice they're going with their flocks and their herds. That is, they're going prepared to sacrifice. But God said, they're going to seek me, but they're not going to find me because I've withdrawn myself.
#6 | 4:04 to 4:16 | cleaned
Now, if you'll hold John 6, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. And I want you to look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 24. Here's the same truth again. This is why I'm saying that there should be an urgency in seeking the Lord. Proverbs 1 and verse 24, here's what the Scripture says, "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out My hand and no man regarded.
#7 | 4:16 to 4:52 | cleaned
But you have said it not, all My counsel, and would none of my reproof. Now look what God says, I will also laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer, and they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.
#8 | 4:53 to 5:29 | cleaned
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices." So here again in Proverbs chapter 1, God says there's a time when people will seek Him, but they certainly will not find Him. And then in the book of Micah chapter 3 and verse 4, let me just quote it. The Bible said, Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but He will not hear them. He will even hide His face from them at that time as they have behaved themselves ill in their doing. So that is why in Isaiah 55 He said, Seek ye the Lord while He may be found and call ye upon Him while He is near. You see, many presume upon the Lord.
#9 | 5:30 to 6:13 | cleaned
Many tend to think that somehow that salvation is in their hand and they can be saved whenever they need to or whenever they want to. But that is certainly not true. And the Scripture tells us that there is a time to seek God, there's a time to plead with Him, there's a time, but there's also a time when it is too late to call and too late to seek Him. Many sometimes think they're going to wait until they're almost at their deathbed, and then before they die, they're going to turn to the Lord. And yet, they're going to find sometimes that they're not in a condition to call upon the Lord. It's kind of like this, some people who plan to be saved at 12 midnight die at 1130. So a lot of times we just simply presume upon the Lord.
#10 | 6:13 to 7:02 | cleaned
Now here's a third implication. When the Bible says, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he's near. He said, let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. In other words, when we actually seek the Lord, we must seek him in repentance and faith. We cannot expect God to have mercy upon an unrighteous, rebellious, belligerent, unrepentant, and unbelieving sinner. He's just not going to do so.
#11 | 7:02 to 7:31 | cleaned
That is why in Hosea 10 and verse 12, which I quoted earlier, he said, break up your fallow ground. It is time to seek the Lord till He come and reign righteousness upon you. But notice what he said. He said, sow to yourself in mercy, reap in righteousness, break up your fallow ground. Everyone knows if you're ever going to have a garden, if you're ever going to plant anything, the ground must first be broken up. Because seed falling on a hard-packed ground is not going to do anything. And so our Lord is implying in this passage that there must be a breaking up, there must be a confessing of our sins and a breaking of our hardened heart. Because a seed that falls on hard-packed ground will not flourish.
#12 | 7:32 to 8:18 | cleaned
The truth so far that I've tried to enunciate must go together. There is a proper time to seek the Lord and there is a proper way to seek Him. There must be a proper time and there must be a proper approach. So, having given that as an introduction, let me ask a question. Have you ever wondered why some people seek the Lord? The reason I'm asking that question There are some that seek him for the wrong reasons and they are rebuffed You remember it's just reading the New Testament the stripes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and Herodians sought him but only to accuse him and Entrap him and betray him and ultimately kill him And then of course it was King Herod as well in Matthew 2 in verse 13 who sought Jesus But the only reason he sought him was so that he could murder him Clearly then, when you read a passage like Mark 1 verse 37, which says all men seek for Him, it clearly indicates that not all men are seeking Him for salvation.
#13 | 8:19 to 9:29 | cleaned
Not all men are seeking Him for the right reasons. Many times people seek Jesus Christ for just purely fleshly and selfish reasons.
#14 | 9:30 to 9:40 | cleaned
Now, I want you to stop and think with me, please. If hell is as awful as it is described in the Bible, and punishment is eternal, why would anyone want to go there? I mean, any sane person would abhor such an idea. And yet at the same time, many who do not wish to end up in eternal punishment, do not wish to turn from that which will send them to eternal punishment.
#15 | 9:40 to 10:13 | cleaned
Let me explain what I'm talking about. You can find tracks everywhere you turn that says, do you want to be saved from hell? Well, the truth of the matter is, who does not want to be saved from hell if hell is as real as it is expressed in the Bible? And it is. But the question is not, do you want to be saved from hell? The question is, do you want to be saved from that which sends you to hell or sends you to judgment? And what is that? that is sins.
#16 | 10:13 to 10:44 | cleaned
In fact, you remember the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Matthew 1 and he said this, he said, thou shalt have a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. So salvation is basically from sin. being saved from eternal punishment is a byproduct from being saved from your sins, which would send you to that punishment. So many then are only seeking Jesus Christ as a far escape. They do not wish to perish, but on the other hand, they really do not want to repent of their sins either. What they want to do is to have their sins, enjoy their sins, and then not suffer the consequences of their sins, which is an absolute impossibility.
#17 | 10:44 to 11:35 | cleaned
because God has decreed that we're going to reap exactly that which we have sown, and He's going to judge the unsaved by their works. So since this message is on seeking Jesus Christ, I want to show you from the book of John chapter 6, particularly, why some folks sought Him. And I hope that you can find out the totally inappropriate reasons. So look, if you would, please, in John chapter 6 and verses 1 and 2. Here's the first thing. After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased." Now note, if you would, a great multitude followed Him. Why? Because they saw His miracles.
#18 | 11:35 to 12:27 | cleaned
Now let me ask you a question. Would you not have liked to have seen Jesus Christ perform miracle and the answer of course is yes who would not but here's another question why would you want to see Jesus Christ perform a miracle I want you to think about that question and try to imagine the answer if you were alive during John chapter 6 and you were unsaved would you like to see Jesus Christ perform a miracle as a display of of the greatness of His power, the evidence and manifestation of the fact and reality that He was indeed the Son of God and sent by the Father.
#19 | 12:28 to 13:15 | cleaned
Would that be the reason? And the answer would be, for most people in John chapter 6, no. You say, why would that not be the answer? I'll show you momentarily. So let me ask you another way. Would you love to have seen a miracle of Jesus Christ, especially on the diseased? when they were instantly and miraculously healed, and then you could see the joy and the rejoicing in their lives and the blessedness in them glorifying and giving God all of the praise. And you say, yes, I would like to have seen that. But would those people back then want to see that miracle for that reason? And the answer would be no. And I'm going to show you why.
#20 | 13:16 to 14:00 | cleaned
Remember now in verse 2, the Bible says, This crowd followed him because they saw his miracles." So I want you to turn back to the book of Mark, if you would, Mark 2, and let's begin reading there in verse 3. There are several things that we need to see concerning this crowd that followed him because of the miracles. So in Mark 2, verse 3, watch carefully. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was born of Thor. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
#21 | 14:00 to 14:55 | cleaned
But there were certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in His Spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, He said to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up his bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion."
#22 | 14:56 to 15:53 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look at verse 12 again, the latter part. insomuch that they were all amazed." Jesus Christ has just healed this man with the palsy. And they said, they were all amazed, and then they said, we never saw it on this fashion.
#23 | 15:54 to 16:15 | cleaned
Now, the word amazed is from the Greek word, ek, istemi, and it literally means to be amazed, to be astonished, to be thrown into wonderment, to be thrown out of one's mind, and to be beside oneself." And when you look at the last word there, fashion, they said, we've never seen it on this fashion. The Greek word there is hutos, which literally means in this manner, or on this wise, or in this fashion. So literally what they were saying is, we've just never seen anything like this.
#24 | 16:16 to 16:54 | cleaned
So let me put this in a phrase that everyone can understand. They were literally blown out of their mind when they saw this miracle. In fact, we could say it like this. All of our Lord's miracles were merely mind-blowing. He was working miracles that had never been seen before, never done before, and they were definitely extraordinary.
#25 | 16:54 to 17:19 | cleaned
Now, when our Lord healed the blind man in John chapter 9, the man had been born blind. And do you remember verse 22? The Bible says this, So here was a supernatural miracle. Our Lord opened the eyes of a man who had never seen in his entire life. He was born blind. So these people were literally blown away, so to speak, by our Lord's miracles. Now, I want you to turn to the book of Luke, chapter 5, and Luke, if you would please, at verse 26. It's the same story as you found in Mark, but Luke is going to use different words, and he is going to give us a better explanation in one sense of the word, or at least help us to understand a little bit better what was going on. So in Luke, chapter 5 and verse 26, it's the same miracle, but notice, if you would please, And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today." Now, the word amazed is a very interesting word.
#26 | 17:19 to 18:48 | cleaned
It is from the Greek word ekstasis. Now, if that sounds familiar, it is where we get our English word ecstasy from. And I want you to listen to the definitions that you will find in a Greek lexicon of this Greek word. Number one, any casting down of a thing from its proper place or state, displacement. So, again, it was mind-blowing. Number two, a throwing of the mind out of its normal state, alienation of the mind, whether such as makes a lunatic, or that of a man who by sudden emotion is transported, as it were, out of himself, so that in rapt attention, although he is awake, his mind is drawn off from all
#27 | 18:49 to 19:43 | cleaned
the surrounding objects and wholly fixed on other things." Number three, amazement, the state of one who either owing to the importance or the novelty of an event is thrown into a state of blended fear and wonderment. So when you look at verse 26, and they were all amazed, they were thrown out of their minds in wonderment and in fear. Now, here's another thing. In verse 26, they said, we have seen strange things today. The word strange is from the Greek word paradoxes. Yes, we get our English word paradox straight from that Greek word. But the word paradox means that which is incredible, that which is uncommon, that which is unexpected, that which is wonderful. So literally what they're saying is they were blown away, they were in wonderment and fear, and they were perplexed because they had seen something absolutely incredible.
#28 | 19:43 to 20:53 | cleaned
They could not really, really comprehend it. Can you imagine, just for a moment, the excitement, the exhilaration, and the experience of seeing Jesus Christ perform these miracles? Ah! Wow! Do you realize, even His disciples, those who were closest with Him, were astonished at his power. You remember when they were on the sea, and there was a tremendous storm, and the Lord was asleep, and they went to our Lord and said, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
#29 | 20:54 to 21:46 | cleaned
And what does the Bible say? He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. And then the Bible says, Mark 4 and verse 41 talking about his disciples, and they feared exceedingly and said one to another, what manner of man is this that the wind and the sea obey his words? Oh yes, it was mind-blowing. So I can assure you in one sense of the word, things have not really changed.
#30 | 21:46 to 22:15 | cleaned
Some men, some people, want to see Christ merely for excitement, exhilaration, or an experience. They're not really interested in the person of Jesus Christ. They're interested in themselves. They want an experience, and they want an experience at any cost. This perhaps explains why many of our churches have turned into entertainment centers. Because entertainment centers always produce excitement, exhilaration, and experience. I've talked to thousands of people over the years about church, and I've had various comments from individuals as I was discussing the Word of God with them. And here are some of the expressions that I have received when folks were talking about their church service.
#31 | 22:16 to 23:19 | cleaned
They said, quote, we had a good time. Or, it was fun. Or, boy, what a ride. Or, what a really great experience. And my response would always be, really? Let me ask you, did you worship the Lord Jesus Christ? Did you worship in spirit and in truth? Did you hear the Word of God expounded, explained, and applied? Did you hear anything that would enable you to bring your life into greater conformity to the Word of God?
#32 | 23:19 to 23:56 | cleaned
And then I make this statement, and it may be absolutely astounding to some people, but it is true. Worship is not about you. It's not about your feelings. It's not about your emotions. It's not about your experience. It's not even about you having a good time. Worship is out giving to the one true and the living God the glory and the praise that is due unto His name through the Lord Jesus Christ for His so great salvation. Worship is you bowing before Him, acknowledging Him, submitting to Him, and praising Him for His forgiveness and His great, great sacrifice in giving His only begotten Son.
#33 | 23:58 to 24:44 | cleaned
And let me point something out. If you're just seeking Jesus Christ for an experience, if you're seeking Him for excitement, exhilaration, you're seeking Him for the wrong reasons. And you're not going to find Him. Now, you may find an imitation Christ, and you may find an imitation gospel, but you're not going to find the real one. You see, even the Apostle Paul talked about a counterfeit gospel and a counterfeit Jesus Christ. But look at the people who want an experience. They want excitement. They really and truly do not want Jesus Christ.
#34 | 24:45 to 25:23 | cleaned
Let me ask you a question. You may not know the answer, but I'm going to ask you anyhow. Do you know the only man in the entire New Testament to whom the Lord Jesus Christ would not even speak? He would not speak to him. The man was a king. But the reason our Lord would not even speak to him was because he wanted an experience. Let me show you.
#35 | 25:23 to 25:47 | cleaned
Look in Luke chapter 23, Luke 23, and let's begin reading there with verse 6. Luke 23 and verse 6. Jesus Christ has been standing before Pilate. And the Bible says, when Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man, that is Jesus, was a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, He sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, now watch this carefully, when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see Him of a long season, because he had heard many things of Him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. Then he, Herod, questioned him, Jesus, with many words, but he, Jesus, answered him nothing."
#36 | 25:47 to 26:51 | cleaned
Our Lord would not even speak to him. All Herod wanted was an experience. All he wanted was a little excitement. He wanted to see Jesus Christ do something. Isn't that astounding? If you want an entertainment, if you want excitement, if you want an experience, If you want special feelings, if you want emotions, if you want sensations, if you want wonder, then you're seeking Jesus Christ for the wrong reasons.
#37 | 26:52 to 27:19 | cleaned
You will not find Him. Our Lord said to the Jews in John 8 in verse 21, Then said Jesus unto them, I go my way, and you shall seek me, and you shall die in your sins. Whither I go, you cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will He kill Himself? Because He saith, Whither I go, you cannot come. And He said unto them, You are from beneath, I am from above.
#38 | 27:19 to 27:47 | cleaned
You are of this world, I am not of this world. I said therefore to you, you shall die in your sins. If you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins." Notice He said, you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sins. Not everybody who seeks Christ seeks Him aright.
#39 | 27:47 to 28:08 | cleaned
Now let me give you another shocker. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 12. As marvelous, as wonderful, as miraculous, and as great as our Lord's miracles were, here is an astounding truth. Here is a shocking truth. Miracles in and of themselves will not save anyone. Well, here it is. Look in John 12 and verse 37. Watch. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. The miracles did not produce faith.
#40 | 28:09 to 29:02 | cleaned
The miracle certainly demonstrated who he was. But unless you come to Jesus Christ and come to Jesus Christ right, no matter how many miracles you see, it does not mean that you are a true believer in Jesus Christ.
#41 | 29:05 to 29:20 | cleaned
Now, I think it's pretty crass and pretty bad in itself just to follow Jesus, to be entertained, to have an experience, to be excited, to see something you've never seen before, But it really gets worse than that in John chapter 6. Because if you look at verse 24, and I'll fill in the details a little bit later. Look in John chapter 6 verse 24. When the people, and I'll explain who these people were momentarily. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus.
#42 | 29:21 to 30:03 | cleaned
And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, They said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Here are people that are now seeking him not because of the miracles, but because they got a free meal. Yeah. What is really, really interesting to me is when you take note of the fact that these people took shipping.
#43 | 30:04 to 30:43 | cleaned
That is, they had a little expense, they had a little energy, expended to find our Lord. And then in verse 25, they ask, Rabbi, listen to this, when camest thou thither? I like to try to paraphrase that and ask it the way it should be asked. Are you trying to get away from us? When did you come here? Well, of course, our Lord was not fooled. They may have expended a little money and they may have expended a little energy, but He knew their hearts.
#44 | 30:44 to 31:17 | cleaned
They were not seeking a spiritual blessing. They were seeking a temporal blessing. Here is evidence of the fact that they did not even understand His miracles. These are the same people that followed Him for the miracles originally.
#45 | 31:18 to 31:35 | cleaned
Now they're following Him because they got a free meal. They're not interested in giving to Him. They're interested in getting from Him. They're not interested in giving Him glory. They're interested only in what they can get.
#46 | 31:35 to 31:57 | cleaned
Now, in John chapter 6, you have the feeding of the 5,000. The feeding of the 5,000 on two fish and five loaves of bread. And the 5,000 were just the men, not counting the women and the children. So look in John 6 beginning with verse 9. So Andrew tells our Lord in verse 9, there is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, But what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down, and likewise to the fishes as much as they would.
#47 | 31:57 to 32:52 | cleaned
When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together and filled twelve baskets of the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself, alone. Wow.
#48 | 32:53 to 33:32 | cleaned
Now, I want you to just think about this. If Jesus Christ can take two fish and five loaves, and probably these were small little things. If he could take two fish and five loaves and feed 5,000 men, not counting women and children, you'd probably talking about 10 to 20,000 people. If He can do that one day, He can do that every day. And if we make Him king, these people are thinking, why we won't even have to work? I mean, He can just provide for us over and over and over.
#49 | 33:32 to 34:16 | cleaned
Now, you see what they're doing? They are reversing what our Lord taught in Matthew 6 and verse 33. Because there He said, but seek ye first. the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all these things shall be added unto you." Well, what they wanted was the things. They didn't care about the kingdom of God. They didn't care about Him. They just simply wanted the things. May I point out, that is exactly where most people are today. Most people really don't care about Jesus Christ. We care about church buildings, stained glass windows, deep-throated organs, We care about all those things, but we really don't care about Jesus Christ. And it seems like more people are interested in what they can get from Him than what they can give to Him.
#50 | 34:17 to 35:10 | cleaned
And so these people exposed not only their fleshliness, their foolishness, but also exposed their hypocrisy. So if you look in verse 37, here's what our Lord told them. Verse 27 it is. Look in verse 27. He says, "...labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for Him hath God the Father sealed."
#51 | 35:10 to 35:42 | cleaned
Now, this statement has to be understood comparatively speaking. When He says, "...labor not for the meat that perisheth," He is not saying, do not work. Obviously, God has commanded us to work and to earn our living by the sweat of our brow. So he is not saying do not work. But what he is saying is this. We need to put the emphasis on that which is spiritual and not that which is physical. And the word labor means that which is intensive, that which costs, that which is exhausting. And so he is saying then that you should be giving your main emphasis and your main strength to that which is permanent, to that which is found only in Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is where the intensity of our labor should be. So the meat that Jesus Christ gives is eternal. It is real life.
#52 | 35:43 to 36:46 | cleaned
All other food is what you and I would call temporal and transitory. Look if you would, in verse 31, because after our Lord tells them to labor not for the meat which perisheth, in verse 31, here's what they say. Our fathers did eat manna in the desert. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, But my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life into the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
#53 | 36:46 to 37:44 | cleaned
But I said unto you that you also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."
#54 | 37:45 to 38:04 | cleaned
Now, I want you to note, our Lord said, I am the bread of life. He said that manna that was given in the Old Testament was not the real bread. He says, my Father sends the real bread, And that is me. So I want you to understand what our Lord is telling these people. In order to obtain the bread of life, they must not only come to Him personally, they must believe in Him, they must understand that He was sent by the Father, He came to do the Father's will, and He was obedient to the Father and obeyed the law of God perfectly. Therefore, He is the true bread of life because He is salvation. and there is no salvation in any other. He is our nourishment.
#55 | 38:05 to 38:51 | cleaned
Now, let me point something out. Many think that they really truly want and desire the bread of life, but in reality, they do not want it. It's kind of like years ago we had a concert pianist come to our church, and he gave a concert. He was a missionary. And he sat down at the piano and for an hour he played, not a sheet of music in front of him, he just played. And it looked like the music was just flowing out of his fingers. And when he got through, when the concert was over, I walked up to him, I said, David, I said, I would give anything to be able to play the piano like that. He said, really?
#56 | 38:52 to 39:45 | cleaned
I practice eight hours a day, six days a week. All of a sudden, I didn't want to be a concert pianist anymore, you know? So I'm just simply pointing out the fact, you know, here's a lot of people thinking, boy, I would really like to have this bread of life. Well, no, not really. They think that. So skip down, if you would please, to verse 41. Once he told them that he is the bread of life, look at verse 41. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. Now look, and they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it, then, that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day. Now look, if you would, what they said. What he said, I am the bread of life, and I came down to do the will of my Father.
#57 | 39:47 to 40:53 | cleaned
What? How could He be the bread of life? How could He come down from the Father in heaven? We know His Father. We know His Mother. We know His brethren. Why? He's one of us. He's just a common everyday man. You see, that's what a lot of people think. It is true that Jesus Christ is a man. But He's more than a man. He's a perfect man. And He's more than a perfect man. He is the God-man.
#58 | 40:55 to 41:32 | cleaned
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16, And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, seen of angels, preached on in the world, believed on by the Gentiles, and received up in glory." Did you hear what I said? And without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That's the same truth as John 1, 14, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
#59 | 41:33 to 42:08 | cleaned
So Jesus Christ is not just simply man. He is indeed the God man. And consequently he is indeed life. There are many people who want to follow Jesus Christ as a good example, as a moral individual, but they do not want to bow before him as God incarnate. And consequently they really and truly do not want him.
#60 | 42:10 to 42:39 | cleaned
Now look, if you would, beginning with verse 47, Look what our Lord tells these people. Remember now, some followed Him for the miracles, some followed Him for the food, what they could get from Him. Now watch verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread, talking about Himself, which cometh down from heaven, that if a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, watch carefully, you have no life in you.
#61 | 42:39 to 43:49 | cleaned
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, And I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
#62 | 43:50 to 44:16 | cleaned
This is that bread which came down from heaven. None of your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever. These things saith he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum."
#63 | 44:17 to 44:30 | cleaned
Now watch, many therefore of his disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it?
#64 | 44:31 to 44:39 | cleaned
Now, I want you to note something. Our Lord said, I am the bread of life. He said, you have to eat my flesh, you have to drink my blood. Listen to me very carefully. Eating his flesh and drinking his blood has nothing to do with cannibalism, and it has absolutely nothing to do with communion. What does it have to do with? Well, look back at verse 56. Look what he said. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. Now watch verse 57. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so that he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. In other words, here's what our Lord is saying.
#65 | 44:41 to 45:38 | cleaned
If we come to Him savingly and seek Him savingly, we consume Him and He consumes us in the sense that the same thing happens when we eat food and drink liquid. When we eat our food and drink our liquid, what does it do? It permeates every part of our body. It goes to every cell. So our Lord is saying, whoever comes to Him and really partakes of Him, His life is now in them, and He permeates every aspect of the heart and mind and life and soul.
#66 | 45:41 to 46:20 | cleaned
It should be said of us, just like it was said by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2 and verse 20. Listen carefully. He said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." What did he say? I'm crucified with Christ. I'm dead. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but it is Christ who liveth in me.
#67 | 46:22 to 46:57 | cleaned
That's what he's talking about in John chapter 6. In other words, when we come to Him and we seek Him savingly, when we seek Him the way that we understand that He is the bread of life. We consume Him, He consumes us, spiritually speaking, symbolically speaking, and then He permeates every aspect of our life, so whatever we do, in word or deed or thought, it is all about the Lord Jesus Christ.
#68 | 46:57 to 47:29 | cleaned
So if you're seeking Him for experience, if you're seeking Him for exhilaration, if you're seeking Him for excitement, if you're seeking Him just for what you can get out of Him or from Him, you're seeking Him for wrong reasons and you will never ever find Him. But if you come to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith and seeking to have Him in your life and you in Him, then you will find Him. The one who really seeks Jesus Christ savingly is the one who comes to Him and desires to live in Him and through Him and by Him and for Him.
#69 | 47:31 to 48:10 | cleaned
That is exactly what He's saying. Now, when many of the disciples heard what He said, I am the bread of life, they said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? Who can put up with this? If you're seeking Him for miracles, you can't put up with it. If you're seeking Him for what you get out of Him, you can't put up with it. But if you want Him, you can certainly put up with it.
#70 | 48:10 to 48:43 | cleaned
Now, let me show you. Look in John chapter 6, beginning there in verse 63. John 6, verse 63. Here's how it is all tied together. Our Lord said, It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not."
#71 | 48:43 to 49:12 | cleaned
Now notice if you would, some is more than one. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should be trained. So He not only knew who Judas was, He knew the people who followed Him for the miracles. He knew the people who followed Him just for the food. He knew they were not true believers.
#72 | 49:13 to 49:34 | cleaned
And He said, Therefore said I unto you, That no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my father. Now watch, from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you go away also? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. You see, without bread and water, we die physically. Without Jesus Christ being our bread of life, we die eternally. The true Christian And what Christianity is all about is Jesus Christ living in us and through us and from us. What did He say? As I live by the Father, so he that eateth me shall live by me.
#73 | 49:35 to 50:47 | cleaned
Our union and our communion with the Son of God should be expressed in every area and every sphere of our lives. Many seeking, but for the wrong reasons. That is why in Matthew 7, he said, many in that day shall say to me, Lord, Lord, have we not done many things in your name? Have we not cast out devils? Have we not done this? Have we not done that? Then shall I say to them, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. I never knew you."
#74 | 50:49 to 51:28 | cleaned
It's not miracles that we're interested in. It's not what we can get that we're interested in. What we should be interested in is the Lord Jesus Christ being exalted and honored and glorified in all of our lives. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You above all, Father, for the Lord Jesus Christ.
#75 | 51:31 to 51:57 | cleaned
and His so great salvation. Help us, Lord, even as Christians, to have the life of Jesus Christ made more evident in our lives. May we live in Him and He live in us. And as He lived by the Father, so, Father, may we live by Him. Give us grace to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.
#76 | 51:57 to 52:28 | cleaned
so
#77 | 52:58 to 52:59 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:32:07Z

Seeking Jesus Christ

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver examines John 6 to show that many people seek Jesus Christ for wrong reasons—for excitement, miracles, or material gain—rather than for salvation from sin. He emphasizes the urgency of seeking the Lord while He may be found, in repentance and faith, and explains that true seeking means consuming Christ as the bread of life, resulting in His life permeating every aspect of the believer.

Introduction: The Command and Urgency to Seek the Lord

The Danger of Presuming Upon God's Timing

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 1:24-31

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices."

Seeking the Lord Requires Repentance and Faith

Wrong Reasons for Seeking: Excitement and Miracles

Remember now in verse 2, the Bible says, This crowd followed him because they saw his miracles.

Scripture Reading — Mark 2:3-12

" So I want you to turn back to the book of Mark, if you would, Mark 2, and let's begin reading there in verse 3. There are several things that we need to see concerning this crowd that followed him because of the miracles. So in Mark 2, verse 3, watch carefully. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was born of Thor. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

Scripture Reading — John 9:32

Now, when our Lord healed the blind man in John chapter 9, the man had been born blind. And do you remember verse 22? The Bible says this, So here was a supernatural miracle. Our Lord opened the eyes of a man who had never seen in his entire life. He was born blind. So these people were literally blown away, so to speak, by our Lord's miracles. Now, I want you to turn to the book of Luke, chapter 5, and Luke, if you would please, at verse 26. It's the same story as you found in Mark, but Luke is going to use different words, and he is going to give us a better explanation in one sense of the word, or at least help us to understand a little bit better what was going on. So in Luke, chapter 5 and verse 26, it's the same miracle, but notice, if you would please, And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today." Now, the word amazed is a very interesting word.

Wrong Reasons for Seeking: Material Gain

Look in Luke chapter 23, Luke 23, and let's begin reading there with verse 6. Luke 23 and verse 6. Jesus Christ has been standing before Pilate. And the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Luke 23:6-9

when Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man, that is Jesus, was a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, He sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, now watch this carefully, when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see Him of a long season, because he had heard many things of Him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. Then he,

Herod, questioned him, Jesus, with many words, but he, Jesus, answered him nothing."

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:33

" Well, what they wanted was the things. They didn't care about the kingdom of God. They didn't care about Him. They just simply wanted the things. May I point out, that is exactly where most people are today. Most people really don't care about Jesus Christ. We care about church buildings, stained glass windows, deep-throated organs, We care about all those things, but we really don't care about Jesus Christ. And it seems like more people are interested in what they can get from Him than what they can give to Him.

Jesus as the True Bread of Life

Scripture Reading — John 6:41-51

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16, And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, seen of angels, preached on in the world, believed on by the Gentiles, and received up in glory." Did you hear what I said? And without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That's the same truth as John 1, 14, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Response: Many Disciples Turn Away

Conclusion: True Seeking Means Living in Christ

Seeking Jesus Christ

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	zI9La-ckmXk
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: Kingship, Household Wisdom, and Warning
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-07-04
Dictation Name
Book	Book 084: Proverbs: Kingship, Household Wisdom, and Warning — Chapter 11
Source Timed Segments	77

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Command and Urgency to Seek the Lord: Weaver introduces the topic by reading John 6:1-5 and stresses that seeking Jesus Christ is a life-and-death matter. He cites Hosea 10:12 and Isaiah 55:6-7 to show that God commands us to seek Him, but there is a limited time when He may be found.
The Danger of Presuming Upon God's Timing: Using Proverbs 1:24-31 and Hosea 5:6, Weaver warns that many assume they can seek God whenever they choose, but Scripture shows there is a time when God will not be found, and people will seek Him in vain.
Seeking the Lord Requires Repentance and Faith: Weaver explains that seeking the Lord must be done in repentance and faith, not in rebellion. He references Hosea 10:12's call to 'break up your fallow ground' as a picture of confessing sin and softening a hardened heart.
Wrong Reasons for Seeking: Excitement and Miracles: Examining John 6:2, Weaver shows that the multitude followed Jesus because they saw His miracles, seeking excitement and experience rather than the person of Christ. He uses Mark 2 and Luke 5 to illustrate that miracles alone do not produce saving faith.
Wrong Reasons for Seeking: Material Gain: Weaver points to John 6:24-27, where the crowd sought Jesus after the feeding of the 5,000 because they ate and were filled. They wanted temporal blessings, not spiritual life, and even tried to make Him king to secure ongoing provision.
Jesus as the True Bread of Life: Weaver expounds John 6:31-58, where Jesus declares Himself the bread of life. He explains that eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood symbolizes a spiritual union where Christ's life permeates the believer, just as food nourishes the body.
The Response: Many Disciples Turn Away: Weaver notes that many disciples found Jesus' teaching hard and walked away (John 6:60-66). He contrasts them with Peter, who recognized that Jesus alone has the words of eternal life, showing that true seekers cling to Christ for who He is.
Conclusion: True Seeking Means Living in Christ: Weaver concludes that genuine seeking results in Christ living in and through the believer. He warns that many will claim to know Christ but be rejected because they never truly knew Him, and he prays for believers to have Christ's life evident in them.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

There is a limited time to seek the Lord

Scripture warns that God may withdraw and refuse to be found if people delay seeking Him, so there is an urgency to seek Him now.

Weaver quotes Proverbs 1:28: 'Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.'

Seeking must be on God's terms, not ours

People cannot seek God in their own way or time; they must come in repentance and faith as He commands.

Weaver states, 'We cannot expect God to have mercy upon an unrighteous, rebellious, belligerent, unrepentant, and unbelieving sinner.'

Many seek Christ for selfish reasons

The crowd in John 6 followed Jesus for miracles and free food, not for spiritual life, revealing their fleshly motives.

Weaver points to John 6:26: 'You seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled.'

True seeking means consuming Christ as the bread of life

Eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood is a metaphor for receiving Him so that His life permeates every part of the believer.

Weaver explains John 6:56-57: 'He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him... he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.'

Miracles do not guarantee saving faith

Despite witnessing Jesus' miracles, many did not believe, showing that signs alone cannot produce true faith.

Weaver cites John 12:37 and notes that even the disciples' amazement at miracles did not automatically mean saving faith.

Salvation is from sin, not just from hell

The angel announced Jesus would save His people from their sins; escaping hell is a consequence of being saved from sin.

Weaver references Matthew 1:21 and argues that many want to avoid punishment but not the sin that causes it.

Scripture References

John 6:1-5: Introduction to the feeding of the 5,000 and the setting for the message on seeking Jesus.
Hosea 10:12: Command to seek the Lord and break up fallow ground, illustrating the need for repentance.
Isaiah 55:6-7: Call to seek the Lord while He may be found and for the wicked to forsake their ways.
Hosea 5:6: Warning that people may seek the Lord with sacrifices but not find Him because He has withdrawn.
Proverbs 1:24-31: God's warning that He will not answer when people seek Him too late after rejecting His counsel.
Micah 3:4: God hiding His face from those who cry to Him after behaving ill.
Mark 1:37: All men seek for Jesus, but not all for the right reasons.
Matthew 1:21: Jesus shall save His people from their sins, showing salvation is from sin, not just hell.
Mark 2:3-12: Healing of the paralytic, demonstrating the crowd's amazement at miracles.
Luke 5:26: The crowd was amazed and filled with fear, saying they had seen strange things.
John 9:32: Since the world began it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one born blind.
Mark 4:41: Disciples feared exceedingly and wondered what manner of man Jesus was, that wind and sea obey Him.
Luke 23:6-9: Herod was glad to see Jesus, hoping to see a miracle, but Jesus answered him nothing.
John 8:21-24: Jesus tells the Jews they will seek Him and die in their sins if they do not believe He is the I AM.
John 12:37: Though He had done many miracles, they believed not on Him.
John 6:24-27: The crowd sought Jesus not because of miracles but because they ate and were filled; Jesus tells them to labor for eternal food.
John 6:9-15: Feeding of the 5,000 and the crowd's desire to make Jesus king by force.
Matthew 6:33: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added.
John 6:31-40: Jesus declares He is the bread of life; whoever comes to Him will never hunger or thirst.
John 6:41-51: Jews murmur because Jesus said He came down from heaven; He reiterates He is the living bread.

Historical References

Herod Antipas: Herod sought to see Jesus perform a miracle for entertainment, but Jesus refused to speak to him (Luke 23:8-9).
Feeding of the 5,000: The historical event in John 6 where Jesus fed a multitude with five loaves and two fish, leading many to seek Him for material reasons.
Manna in the wilderness: The Old Testament provision of manna, which Jesus contrasts with Himself as the true bread from heaven.

Important Quotes

They shall go with their flock and their herds to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him, he hath withdrawn himself from them.

This Hosea 5:6 quote warns that religious activity without true repentance will not result in finding God.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer, and they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

From Proverbs 1, this quote underscores the danger of delaying seeking God until it is too late.

You seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled.

Jesus exposes the crowd's selfish motives in John 6:26, a key text for Weaver's argument about wrong reasons for seeking Christ.

I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Jesus' declaration in John 6:35 that He alone satisfies spiritual hunger, central to Weaver's message.

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

John 6:56, which Weaver explains as the spiritual union where Christ's life permeates the believer.

It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

John 6:63, showing that spiritual life comes through Christ's words, not physical understanding.

Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.

Peter's confession in John 6:68, exemplifying the right response of true seekers who recognize Christ as the only source of life.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean to seek the Lord 'while He may be found,' and why is there urgency in this command?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes from Isaiah 55 and Proverbs 1 that there is a limited time to seek God, after which He will not be found.

[Question]

How does 'breaking up your fallow ground' relate to repentance, and why is it necessary for seeking God?

[Context]

Weaver explains Hosea 10:12 as a call to confess sin and soften hardened hearts before seeking the Lord.

[Question]

In what ways do people today seek Jesus for excitement or experience rather than for who He is?

[Context]

Weaver critiques modern church culture that prioritizes entertainment and feelings over true worship and submission to Christ.

[Question]

Why did Jesus refuse to speak to Herod, and what does that teach us about seeking Christ with wrong motives?

[Context]

Weaver references Luke 23:8-9, where Herod wanted to see a miracle, but Jesus gave no answer.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'eat the flesh and drink the blood' of Christ, and how does this relate to daily Christian living?

[Context]

Weaver explains John 6:53-57 as a metaphor for Christ's life permeating every part of the believer, not cannibalism or communion.

[Question]

Why did many disciples turn away after Jesus' teaching on the bread of life, and what does their departure reveal about their motives?

[Context]

Weaver notes that those seeking miracles or material gain found Jesus' words hard and left, while true disciples stayed.

[Question]

How does Peter's response in John 6:68 model the right attitude of a true seeker of Christ?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts Peter's confession with the departing disciples, showing that true seekers recognize Christ as the only source of eternal life.

[Question]

What is the difference between wanting to be saved from hell and wanting to be saved from sin?

[Context]

Weaver argues that many want to escape punishment but not the sin that causes it, and true salvation is from sin itself.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T03:08:09Z