The Gospel Of John John 6:41-71
John 6:41 ‘The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”’ ‘grumbling’-like the Israelites in the wilderness (Exo. 15:24), these Jews were murmuring. The Israelites in the wilderness complained about the bread that God had given them, these Jews are complaining about the true bread (Numbers 11:4-6). ‘It is the confused sound that runs through a crowd when they are angry and in opposition.’ (Morris p. 370)
“I am the bread”-‘He himself, and not the vaunted manna of their forefathers, was the real bread, which both sustained and imparted life. (These glorified ancestors, by the way, had not always held this manna in such high esteem; cf. Numbers 11:6. It is so easy to enclose the past in a halo.)’ (Hendriksen p. 237)
“came down out of heaven”-indicating Jesus’ heavenly origin. ‘The objections raised in their murmurings prove they understood that He claimed to come from heaven..’ (Harkrider p. 47)
John 6:42 ‘And they were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, “I have come down out of heaven?”’ “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph”-Obviously, these are Galileans from the area where Jesus lived so long. ‘how the son of parents they knew so well can stand before them and expect them to believe his declaration.’ (Lenski p. 473) Let the reader be impressed that it was well-known information that Jesus was the child of Mary and Joseph. Nothing is said about Jesus being illegitimate (a popular claim made various enemies of Christianity). And neither is anything said about Jesus having gone to India and studied under various gurus (the claim of some Reincarnationists). ‘These Jews sound just like our self-styled “modernists” of today who still stumble over the claims of Jesus to be heaven-sent. Today’s skeptics also “know” Joseph (or some other mortal) to be the father of Jesus.’ (Butler p. 245) ‘Their argument was: “We have known him since the days of his childhood; his father, his mother, his family. Yet now that he is grown up, look what happens! He makes extravagant claims. Does he actually expect us to believe them?”’ (Hendriksen p. 238) ‘They were unable to understand how one who was a 1
carpenter and a tradesman and who came from a poor home could possibly be a special messenger from God. They rejected Jesus because they tested Him by human assessments and by social values and by worldly standards.’ (Barclay p. 224)
John 6:43 ‘Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.”’ “Do not grumble among yourselves”-Let the modern skeptic take note that Jesus has already rebuked their lack of faith. Jesus isn’t impressed by their ‘evidence’, He isn’t impressed by their arguments or excuses.
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.” “No one can come to Me, unless”-In the context it is clear that no one can come to Jesus, unless they are willing to be taught! Therefore, the person who can’t accept Jesus, is the person who is unwilling to learn. These Jews were demonstrating that they hadn’t been ‘taught of God’. Even though they were professing to serve God and were studying the Scriptures, they remained untaught. Barclay notes, ‘There are different kinds of listening. There is the listening of criticism; there is the listening of resentment. There is the listening of superiority; there is the listening of indifference. There is the listening of the man who only listens because for the moment he cannot get the chance to speak.’ (pp. 225-226)
“the Father who sent Me draws him”-This isn’t a mysterious “drawing”. Rather, the “drawing” under consideration is explained. God draws men with His message (John 12:32 ‘if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself’; Romans 1:16), people are drawn when they are willing to be taught (6:45). It is clear that this ‘drawing’ isn’t some overwhelming influence by the Holy Spirit—for these Jews aren’t being drawn! The drawing cannot be irresistible for most refuse to come to Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14). Foster notes, ‘No one could accept and obey for himself, if he could not resist the drawing. No man could “come” to God if he could not also “refuse to come.”’ (Butler p. 246)
“It is written in the prophets”-Various passages in the Old Testament mention being taught by God (Isaiah 54:13; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Micah 4:2; Isaiah 2:3 ‘That He may teach us concerning His ways’)
“shall all be taught of God”-This is true of every Christian!
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Point To Note: Don’t let the world intimidate you! Every Christian, although instructed by a human instrument, has been in reality taught by God. For the textbook used, was God’s textbook, the knowledge imparted, was God’s truth. You and I have been taught by God! If we have simply believed what the Bible says, then God has been our true instructor, God has been the professor under which we have studied. Let not the world boast of it’s degrees or ‘knowledge’, you and I have graduated with honors from the university of heaven! Let not the world boast of it’s titles, for behind the name of every believer stands the initials T.O.G (taught of God).
“Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father”-To be taught of God, one must be willing to listen and learn! The only way to learn the truth about Jesus is to listen to the testimony which the Father has given. Note! No man or woman can truly believe in Jesus, unless they are willing to listen to the Word of God. The person who never wants to submit themselves, humble themselves and learn from the Father, is the person who can’t be saved (Matthew 13:19).
“comes to Me”-This statement makes it clear that through a true knowledge of the Father’s will—if you learned the lessons, if you were really listening, then you will come to Jesus. Everyone who reads the bible, but doesn’t come to Jesus, automatically labels themselves as one who wasn’t listening, one who wasn’t willing to learn. The Bible only points us to one Savior! (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) Since these Jews were resisting Jesus’ claims, it is clear that they weren’t willing to listen to their own Scriptures or the testimony that the Father was presently giving.
John 6:46 “Not that any man has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.” “Not that any man has seen the Father”-Jesus quickly makes it clear that ‘being taught by God’ in no way means that one must see God. ‘They were not to conclude that in order to be taught by the Father they had to see God. No mere man has ever done this (1 John 4:12).’ (Woods p. 131)
“except the One”-Which infers that while Jesus is in the flesh (1:14) He is obviously more than a mere man. Look at this claim! “He has seen the Father”. One cannot sit on the fence in reference to Jesus! We cannot accept the view that Jesus was a good man, but not God. For good men don’t claim that they have seen God—when they haven’t! The Father deliberately constructed the Gospel Message where in reference to Jesus only two positions exist. He is either the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the only way to God—or the devil of hell. Now stop waffling and make up your mind! ‘No man has the vision of God, apart from the Son.’ (Morris p. 373)
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John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” This verse links many things together: 1. One is drawn by the Father, one is taught of God-only if they believe in Jesus. A search for spiritual meaning that doesn’t result in accepting Jesus, has been a fruitless search. 2. When Jesus calls Himself the ‘bread of life’ (6:48), the word ‘life’ refers to spiritual and eternal life. 3. When Jesus starts talking about ‘eating His flesh’ (6:53), it is clear that He is speaking in a figurative manner. And ‘eating His flesh’, would be the same thing as partaking of the bread of life-or BELIEVING IN HIM. The text also infers that when a person ceases to believe—they cease to have eternal life.
John 6:48 “I am the bread of life.” John 6:49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.” “Your fathers ate the manna”-Jesus now goes back to one of their objections. They had brought up the manna in the wilderness (6:31). ‘The crowd had earlier introduced the subject of the manna, and had intimated that they would like to have such a gift from Jesus…Now as Jesus repeats His majestic claim He goes on to point out that the manna had its limitations. It was food for the body, but it was not more. Those who ate it died in due course.’ (Morris p. 373)
“and they died”-‘So after all, thought it was miraculously given, the manna was not superior to other earthly food.’ (Lenski p. 480) And we could also note, and many of those who ate the manna died in the wilderness because of UNBELIEF! (Hebrews 3:1819) The manna didn’t impart spiritual life! Many who ate it, remained unbelievers.
John 6:50 “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” John 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh.” “and not die”-The Christian will die physically, but they won’t die spiritually! “if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever”-Is simply another way of saying that the person who believes in Jesus will gain eternal life (6:47). In this section to “eat” and “drink” are references to having faith in Jesus.
“give for the life of the world”-Notice how this section is so opposed to predestination and the idea that Jesus only died for a select group of people. Jesus died
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for all men (1 Tim. 2:6), the Son was given for ‘the world’ (John 3:16). Anyone can come to Jesus, if they are willing to listen and learn (6:45 ‘Everyone who has heard and learned…’). God doesn’t attempt to draw only a select few (John 12:32; Mark 16:15). And no sinner has fallen so low that they can’t come to Jesus even if they wanted. ‘Many will not be saved, not because they cannot, but because they will not (John 5:40).’ (Woods p. 132)
“is My flesh”-Jesus will sacrifice His physical body and the physical life associated with that body for the sins of the World. ‘It is said to be his flesh because it was this flesh which would be offered upon the cross.’ (Woods p. 132) ‘”Flesh” is a striking word. In distinction from “body” or “myself” it puts marked emphasis on the physical side of life. It is a strong word and one bound to attract attention. Its almost crude forcefulness rivets attention on the historical fact that Christ did give Himself for man.’ (Morris p. 374)
The Jews Grumble Again John 6:52 ‘The Jews therefore began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”’ ‘argue with one another’-This could mean that some in the crowd were defending Jesus. But it also could mean, ‘they argued among themselves about how to combat what he had said about giving his flesh for the life of the world.’ (Woods p. 133) ‘describes the passionate exchange of words among themselves, no longer spoken in undertones like the previous murmuring mentioned in verse 41, but in open exclamations.’ (Lenski p. 488)
“How can this man…”-Like others, they could only think in terms of the physical side of life. ‘On the assumption that Jesus is a mere man the eating of his flesh would be nothing but horrible cannibalism---an outrageous idea.’ (Lenski p. 488)
John 6:53 ‘Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.”’ “Truly, truly”-Jesus doesn’t back down one bit! ‘In his answer Jesus does not try to tone down his earlier statements. He strengthens them…Jesus now speaks about the necessity of eating his flesh and drinking his blood.’ (Hendriksen p. 242)
“eat the flesh…and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves” Points To Note:
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These verses are only confusing, if we forget the context. Jesus has already told us how to have “life”, i.e. we must believe on Him (6:40,47). Therefore, ‘eating and drinking’ are simply another way of saying that one must believe in Jesus-completely and totally to have eternal life. 2. Let the reader note that the faith that saves is obviously more than faith-only. Completely accepting everything about Jesus (eating His flesh and drinking His blood) is far more than the mental assent that Jesus is the Son of God. 3. Some commentators see in the above statement a reference to the Lord’s Supper. But we must reject this application. Jesus in the context has already told us that eternal life is connected with accepting Him, believing in Him. Compare 6:40 with 6:54. Also compare 6:56, where eating His flesh and drinking His blood is connected with abiding in Christ, with John 15:7, where abiding in Jesus is conditioned upon His words abiding in Us, i.e. obedience to His teaching. 4. Rather these words demonstrate that eternal life is only found in a completely dependent relationship with Jesus. We must learn to be utterly dependent upon Him, we must completely trust Him and wholly accept everything that He stands for. It is not enough to merely accept certain things that Jesus taught or merely some things about Him. With Jesus, it is all or nothing.
Butler notes that it is from this passage that Catholicism finds justification for the idea of Transubstantiation, i.e. where the elements in communion become the actual body and blood of Jesus. But such an idea contradicts not only this context but other passages: 1. In Catholic theology, Jesus is re-sacrificed every time that communion is served. But the Bible says that Jesus offered Himself once (Hebrews 9:26,28). 2. In their thinking, partaking of communion forgives your sins, and dispenses grace. And yet the Scriptures tell us to examine ourselves before we eat (1 Corinthians 11:28), and the forgiveness of sins is connected with repentance and prayer, but never with communion (John 1:8-10). 3. In their thinking the elements become the actual flesh and blood of Jesus. Jesus made it clear that the elements only represent His flesh and blood (1 Cor. 11:23-25). The statement ‘This is my body’, must mean this represents my body, for His body hadn’t even been sacrificed when He made the statement. His body was intact and He was in that body standing before them when the statement was made.
John 6:54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” “has eternal life”-compare with 6:40. Once again, ‘eats’ and ‘drinks’ means to assimilate, digest and make it a part of one’s very being---to assimilate everything about Jesus and everything He is teaching.
“I will raise him up on the last day”-Jesus places the resurrection of all Christians at the last day—and not 1007 years previous to the last day.
John 6:55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.” 6
“true food”-Unlike the manna—or any other thing which people flee to for some type of nourishment.
John 6:56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” “abides in Me, and I in him”-In other passages ‘abiding in Me’ is conditioned upon the Word of God abiding in the believer (John 15:7 ‘If you abide in Me, and My words in you’). The faith required of the Christian, the faith required to have eternal life, means that one must accept everything that God has said. This includes bearing fruit (John 15:17); walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6); loving one another (1 John 2:10; 3:17-18; 4:1213); stopping habitual sin (1 John 3:6-9); keeping the commandments of God (1 John 2:24; 3:24; 14:23 ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with Him.’)
”and I in him”-Obviously, the believer doesn’t abide in Jesus’ person, so we shouldn’t think that Jesus literally dwells in the believer. Through faith we are joined to everything that Jesus is and stands for. It is only through a complete trust in Jesus that we can have a relationship with Him. There is no other way.
John 6:57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” “I live because of the Father”-The life of Jesus is inherently bound up with the life of the Father. This statement isn’t teaching that Jesus is a created being. Rather, Jesus lives for the Father, to do the will of the Father is His nourishment (4:34). Jesus is a selfexistent Being, as is the Father (5:26). The life of Jesus and the life of the Father are inherently intertwined (5:19). And so should be the life of the believer with the Jesus! (Galatians 2:20)
“he also shall live because of Me”-Spiritual and eternal life cannot be obtained apart from Jesus Christ. Jesus doesn’t endorse the idea that sincere people in other faiths will be saved at the last day. No wonder that various critics of the Bible do not like the book of John! No wonder that groups such as the Jesus Seminar have rejected the entire Gospel of John. The words of Jesus are clear!
John 6:58 “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever.” John 6:59 ‘These things He said in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.’ 7
‘as He taught in Capernaum’-Jesus had delivered this sermon in the synagogue that existed in Capernaum. The ruins in Capernaum do contain a synagogue that was constructed in the third century A.D., but which may rest upon an earlier foundation. One writer notes, ‘Upon one of the stone blocks of the former synagogue he found an engraving of a pot of manna…This very symbol may have been before the eyes of those who heard the Lord’s words.’ (Butler p. 251)
Jesus Even Lost Followers John 6:60 ‘Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”’ “Many..of His disciples”-not just one or two, but many! This verse indicates that there were many disciples of Jesus, besides the twelve apostles. We might call them more or less regular followers of His. At His resurrection Jesus was appear to over 500 of them (1 Corinthians 15:6). Barclay notes what might have been the thinking of such fairweather disciples: ‘Some of them saw quite clearly where Jesus was heading. It was not possible to challenge the authorities and the powers like that and get away with it. He was heading for disaster and they got out in time…Those who drifted away would have stuck by Jesus so long as His career was on the upward way.’ (p. 237)
“This is a difficult statement”-the word ‘difficult’ doesn’t mean ‘difficult to understand’, rather it means hard to accept or hard to tolerate. ‘it was objectionable because it ran counter to their opinions and prejudices.’ (Woods p. 136) Barclay notes ‘They knew quite well what Jesus had been saying. They knew that He had been claiming that He was the very life of God come down from heaven, and that no one could live this life or face eternity without accepting Him and submitting to Him. Here we come upon a truth that re-emerges in every age. Time and again it is not the intellectual difficulty of accepting Christ which keeps men from becoming Christians; it is the height of Christ’s moral demand….And to this day many of man’s refusal of Christ comes, not because Christ puzzles and baffles his intellect, but because Christ challenges and condemns his life.’ (pp. 233-234)
“who can listen to it?”-‘This is more than we can stomach! Why listen to such words’ (NEB).
But the context tells us ‘who’ can listen to it—believers can!
Points To Note: The above words have a tremendous application to the present day. Especially when we hear people saying that we need to ‘tone down’ the message and that pressing for conformity to the will of God will only drive people away. Brethren, there are people who
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have always been driven away by the pure gospel, that is, people who are looking for something other than the salvation of their souls! People who want something more than or other than eternal life.
John 6:61 ‘But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?”’ “Does this cause you to stumble?”-Notice how Jesus doesn’t back track, or back down. ‘Does this shock you’ (NEB).
John 6:62 “What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was before?” “What then if….”-What a response! ‘Do you stumble because of what you have heard from me? What will you think if you see me return to heaven? If you question my claim of having come down from heaven how will you answer when I return to heaven?’ (Woods p. 137) ‘What then will be your reaction’, says Jesus, ‘if you see and be taught that the Son of man ascends to heaven where He was before?’ (Butler p. 253) Point To Note: Here is Jesus’ answer to all the skeptics, critics and unbelievers! ‘Does the fact that God created the entire universe in six days cause you to stumble? What will you do when God says He will bring it all to an end in the twinkling of an eye?’ ‘Does the flood of Noah cause you to stumble? What will you do when you hear that God is doing to destroy the whole universe with fire?’ ‘Do you stumble over where Cain acquired his wife? What will you do when you read about the sun standing still during the days of Joshua, the parting the Red Sea or the resurrection of Jesus Christ?’
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” “the flesh profits nothing”-Clearly Jesus is doing everything He can to help these unbelieving disciples! When He had spoken of them eating His flesh, obviously, He wasn’t talking to them about His body, for flesh can’t impart spiritual life!
“the words that I have spoken”-They are spiritual words, they are words which can bring a person to spiritual life, they are the words that a person must accept or ‘eat’. Hence Jesus is saying, ‘You eat my flesh and drink my blood when and only when you accept that I teach!’
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John 6:64 ‘“But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.’ “Jesus knew from the beginning”-Another indication of Jesus’ omniscience. Note, Jesus knew those who lacked faith, but Jesus also did everything He could to help them out of their unbelief! Point To Note: We must reject the idea that Judas was locked into betraying Jesus and that his freewill was eliminated. Lenski notes, ‘Jesus chose him not for the purpose of betrayal but only with the knowledge of that betrayal. No act of God’s or of Jesus’ shut the door of grace for Judas..’(p. 515) Rather, Judas shut the door of grace on himself when he committed suicide (Acts 1:18-20). Like Peter, Judas could have sincerely repented after betraying Jesus.
John 6:65 ‘And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.”’ “For this reason”-(6:37, 44). By their unbelief these disciples where demonstrating that they hadn’t been drawn to Jesus through Jesus’ teachings. Rather, they had followed Jesus from less than pure motives. They had not been drawn by the Word of God, rather they had been drawn by Jesus’ popularity, the miracles, curiosity, free food, or something else. People who are truly drawn by the Word do not stumble over the words of Jesus. The verse is telling us that if we tone down the message we are only guaranteeing that the Church of the future will be composed of uncommitted people, people who haven’t been drawn to Jesus by the word of God.
“unless it has been granted him from the Father”-No predestination here, for these disciples were exercising their own freewill in rejecting what Jesus was saying. The word ‘granted’ doesn’t mean that God specifically selected who would come to Jesus. Rather, the Father determined the conditions or avenue of coming to His Son. There is only one way—the way of complete trust, the way of total acceptance. What barred these disciples from coming to Jesus wasn’t some inflexible decree of God concerning who would be saved and who would be lost—but rather their own unbelief!
John 6:66 ‘As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.’
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‘many of His disciples withdrew’-Jesus refused to water down or tone down the message for the sake of numbers. If grace will cover doctrinal error—then why didn’t Jesus ‘lighten’ up with these disciples? Does Jesus condemn the preacher who offends people with the truth, or does Jesus condemn the preacher who draws people with something other than the truth? There is a great lesson here: We won’t convert everyone! A person’s failure to accept Christ—is their failure, not ours. Jesus didn’t convince these people, they walked away unpersuaded and yet that said nothing negative about Jesus or His teaching, rather, all the negative was upon those who couldn’t accept the message.
John 6:67 ‘Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”’ “You do not want to go away also, do you?”-‘Do you also want to leave me?’ (NEB) Jesus doesn’t pull any punches. In the face of these disciples leaving, Jesus doesn’t wallow in self-pity, rather, He challenges those that remained. ‘What a test this must have been for them! Up to this moment Jesus was the “Man of the hour” in Galilee. To be one of His personally-chosen inner-circle was to enjoy a certain amount of prestige in Galilee. To be one of the Twelve, and to see the great popularity of its leader was to have great expectations. But now the Man of Galilee is losing His following and His prestige at once crucial moment when thousands are turning disgustedly away.’ (Butler p. 257)
John 6:68 ‘Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.’ John 6:69 “And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”’ “to whom shall we go?”-A good question! What alternative is there is Jesus Christ? If you don’t believe in Jesus, when what do you have to believe in? Every unbeliever is morally obligated to explain their unbelief, to show us someone or something of equal value, of equal power to save—as Jesus.
“You have words of eternal life”-Peter understood what Jesus was saying! (6:63) Peter was starting to eat those words, Peter was beginning to apply the lesson that Jesus had taught on this day, Peter wasn’t stumbling, He was growing! Notice how Peter speaks for the others ‘we have believed’. This is faith, sturdy faith! Faith is exclusive. Faith is fixed. And faith in final.
John 6:70 ‘Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”’
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“yet one of you is a devil”-Judas will make himself a willing instrument of the devil. **All unbelievers don’t leave the immediate company of true disciples. This one individual, even though inwardly in rebellion to God, would remain as if he was in full agreement with Jesus. Those who remain among professed believers today, and yet try to undermine the teachings of Jesus and the apostles—are walking in the steps of Judas. Once gain, Jesus is trying to save His enemies. ‘This man is to know that Jesus knows him absolutely as just what he is…With all his might Jesus strikes a blow at the conscience of Judas…In his dealings with this human devil Jesus omits nothing that may frighten him from his course and turn his heart from Satan to his Savior.’ (Lenski p. 525) Peter had spoken wonderfully, but Jesus doesn’t allow Peter to overstate the case. Not even among the 12 did everyone of them believe that He was the Savior of the world. One devil existed among them. And yet, that won’t stop or discourage Jesus from working.
John 6:71 ‘Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.’ ‘Now He meant’-Once again, God is helping us in understanding what various verses mean. The word “Iscariot” designates the town from which His Father or his ancestors had come. ‘Ish’ is Hebrew for man, and Kerioth was an old village located in Judaea.
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