Jesus Said, "What And If Ye Shall See The Son Of Man Ascend Up Where He Was Before?" - Part 1776

These asked them concerning Jesus, "Is not His mother called Mary, and His brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this [man] all these things?" (Matthew 13:55-56)

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." (John 6:42)

As we see from these accounts, these still only understood Jesus from an earthly perspective -- as the son of a carpenter. These did not recognize Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords as He is described in the book of Revelation or God manifest in the flesh. (I Timothy 3:16) Therefore, these justified their unbelief in these examples by referring to His earthly family, as the son of Joseph and Mary. These certainly did not accept that Jesus was the Bread which came down from heaven, even when Jesus told them He was. (John 6:41)

But there is more. Jesus therefore answers them, saying, "Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, "And they shall be all taught of God." Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father comes unto Me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, He hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you; he that believes on Me hath everlasting life. I am that Bread of life." (John 6:43-48)

But Jesus does not stop there even though I am sure by now, He has caught their attention. Continuing, Jesus tells the Jews, who murmured about His sayings, that He -- Jesus -- was the Bread of life ... and that ye must believe in Him -- Jesus -- for everlasting life.

Jesus said, "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the Bread which comes down from heaven, that 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 for ever: and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:49-51)

This led to the Jews stroving among themselves, asking, "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, ye have no life in you. Whoso eats My flesh and drinks 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 eats My flesh and drink My blood dwells in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, I live by the Father so he that eats Me even he shall live by Me. This is that Bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this Bread shall live forever."

By now, even Jesus' disciples are suggesting that this is a hard saying, to the point of asking Him, "Who can hear it?" (John 6:60) When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at these sayings also, He said to them, "Doth this offend you? [What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before? It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profits 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 6:61-64)

Note that earlier in John 6, Jesus had said, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will but the will of Him that sent Me; and this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which sees the Son and believes on Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up the last day." (John 6:37-40)

Indeed, as Jesus said repeatedly, "I am the Bread of life; he that COMES TO ME shall never hunger and he that believes on Me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, "That ye also have seen Me, and believe not." (John 6:34-36)

The dialogue continues onward. Many of the disciples who followed Jesus up to that point left. Jesus then asked the twelve if these would leave also, to which Simon Peter answers, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." (John 6:65-68)

Most certainly, Simon Peter got it right -- "Thou Lord Jesus hast the words of eternal life!"

But let me digress for a moment. Do you remember when the high priest rose up and all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducee's) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. But when night came, the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and opened the prison doors and brought them forth, and said, "Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life." And we know that the apostles entered into the temple early in the morning and taught.

But when the high priest, the chief priests, the captain of the temple, the council and the senate of the children of Israel asked for the apostles to be brought to them, the officers had to inform them that "the prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors, but when we had opened, we found no man within." (Acts 5:17-24)

So, where were the apostles? The scripture saith, "then came one and told them, saying, "Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people!" (Acts 5:25)

By now, you must be wondering what is the connection between the Jews' response to Jesus saying, "I am the Bread of life," and the apostles being set free, even while the prison doors had never been opened, nor their safety devices tampered with?

Well, it is like this. Neither understood the power and glory of God, even when these knew their fathers survived the wilderness because of the manna from heaven. Neither understood the breadth and depth of His love and mercy for His beloved creation, even when these know the Rock which was Christ had followed them as they passed safely through the Red Sea. In the former, the Jews did not understand that the Son of man was and is the Lord of glory -- the Bread of life which came down from heaven to bring us His free gift of salvation. And in their determination to wholly reject Jesus -- the Kingdom of God come nigh unto them -- the Jews chose to render Him earthly, as a son of Joseph the carpenter.

In the second example, the establishment thought likewise, doubting the supreme power of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus the Christ to set the apostles free from prison. And although the apostles preached the resurrection of Jesus daily, and subsequently, by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people, to the point where even Peter's shadow passing by healed the sick, the societal chiefs did not believe that their Lord God and Saviour was powerful enough to open the prison doors.

How sad, that God could create this earth and the heavens, and everything within, and yet there are those who still believe that He is not capable of rescuing and keeping us in our day to day. Is this not what Jesus said? "But there are some of you that believe not?" (John 6:64) "But I said unto you -- that ye also have seen Me and believe not." (John 6:36)

Nevertheless, when Jesus Himself told the Jews (and by extension us as well) that He is the Bread from heaven, they should have listened. After all, Jesus had just fed five thousand people with only five barley loaves and two fishes. (John 6:1-13) As well, Jesus had just walked on the sea. In fact, Jesus said to them when they asked Him, "what shall we do that we might work the works of God?"

And Jesus said,  "This is the work of God, that ye believe on HIM whom He hath sent." (John 6:29)

Who is Him whom He hath sent? JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins ... Emmanuel, being interpreted, God with us!  (Matthew 1:18-23) God Himself manifest in the flesh. (I Timothy 3:16) The Bread of life from which -- if we partake, our souls will never hunger again. The same Bread, as the prophets wrote, "And they shall be all taught of God!" (John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13) "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me" -- JESUS -- "and him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37; II Timothy 2:19; I Corinthians 3:11)

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (I Corinthians 3:11) He is the Head of the body of Christ church. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the Word of reconciliation." (II Corinthians 5:18)

But instead, the Jews pointed to Jesus' earthly parents Joseph and Mary, and His many siblings born later, rather than accept what Jesus said, "I and My Father are One!" (John 10:30) Or, as Jesus told Philip, "If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth, ye know Him and have seen Him." (John 14:6-12)

How many times did Jesus tell us that He -- Jesus -- was the Light of the world? Or the great I AM? Or the Good Shepherd who would willingly down His life for His sheep? Or that Jesus -- He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)  Jesus -- "the resurrection and the life; he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." (John 11:25-26) Even Martha declared unto Jesus, "I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." (John 11:27) Which in and of itself was quite the revelation.

Yes, behold the Lamb of God, for He takes away the sin of the world. And if He is capable of taking away our sins, then He is more than capable of becoming flesh and dwelling among us so that we could behold His glory. His plan of redemption that was held in His bosom from the beginning of the world.

"He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not." (John 1:10-11; I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Revelation 1:8, 11)

Not another (or a third of a triad) as the modern day religious culture would have us believe, but the One and Same God who created us ... He found a way for the apostles to be set free, without the prison doors being unlocked, He dwelt among us -- the Word which was with God and was God made flesh. (John 1:1-18) And this is the work of God -- that we believe in Him -- Jesus.

This is why Jesus could say, "I am the living Bread which came down from heaven" because He was the Lord of glory come down from heaven -- having come forth as a mighty man. (Isaiah 42:13)  In John 6:51, Jesus says, "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 is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:51)

"Wherefore, when He come into the world, He saith, "Sacrifice and offering Thou would not, but a body hast Thou prepared.. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, "Lo, I come (in the volume of the book) it is written of Me, to do Thy will O God" ... by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:5-10)

Indeed, Jesus told us, "Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me and as I said unto the Jews, "Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you." (John 13:33; John 12:35; John 14:19; John 16:19; John 7:34; John 8:21)

Since His resurrection, we can now look "for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works ..." (Titus 2:13-14)

Until that glorious day, let "the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21; Philippians 2:13)

Stand in the offering plate.