Show Me the Proof

(John 6:30-31, 35-36, 41-47, 66-69)

Some people have no intention of believing in Jesus, no matter how strong and convincing
our witness. (John 6:36, 64 & 66; 12:37)

Some of the miracles of Jesus:

John 2:9 - Changed water to wine

Luke 5:6 - Caused a miraculous catch of fish
Luke 4:35 - Delivered a demoniac in the synagogue
Matt. 8:3 - Cleansed the lepers
Luke 7:11 - Raised the widows son
Matt. 8:26 Calmed the Storm-- walked on water
Matt. 9:27 Caused the Blind to see
Matt. 14 - Feed the 5000
Mark 7:34- Healed the deaf and the dumb
John 11 - Raised Lazarus from the dead

The story is told of two old friends bumped into one another on the street one day. One of
them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world
done to you, my old friend?" The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an
uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars." "That’s a lot of money." "But, two weeks
ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand free and clear."
"Sounds like you’ve been blessed...." "You don’t understand!" he interrupted. "Last week
my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million." Now he was really
confused. "Then, why do you look so glum?" "This week... nothing!"

Faith does not arise simply because there is clear evidence to support it.

“And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of
the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.” (Exodus 4:8)

“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would
shew them a sign from heaven He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye
say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, [It will be] foul
weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring (i.e. covered with clouds). O [ye]
hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not [discern] the signs of the
times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be
given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them, and departed. (Matt.
16:2-4)

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see
a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet
Jonah.” (Matt 12:38-39)
 “For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this
generation.” (Luke 11:30)

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are
saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and
will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where [is] the wise? where [is] the
scribe? where [is] the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of
this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto
the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor.
1:18-24)

No one can come to Jesus unless the Father first draws him to (John 6: 37, 43-47, 65)

Jewish leaders complained in John 6:41 & 60 “This teaching is hard! Who can accept it?”

Jesus responded that “the Spirit is the One who gives life” (John 6:43) meaning
that God’s Holy Spirit must first work in the life of a person for them to
accept the truth about Jesus. (See also Rev. 22:17)

The people asked for “bread from heaven” and Jesus revealed that He himself was the
“bread of life”. (John 6:31-35, 48-51)

In his book entitled God’s Psychiatry, Charles Allen tells this story: As World War II was
drawing to a close, the Allied armies gathered up many hungry orphans. They were
placed in camps where they were well-fed. Despite excellent care, they slept poorly. They
seemed nervous and afraid. Finally, a psychologist came up with the solution. Each child
was given a piece of bread to hold after he was put to bed. This particular piece of bread
was just to be held—not eaten. The piece of bread produced wonderful results. The
children went to bed knowing instinctively they would have food to eat the next day. That
guarantee gave the children a restful and contented sleep. It seems that regardless of the
socio-economic group to which we belong, or how sophisticated our palette becomes,
every one of us recognizes the significance of bread as a staple of our basic human
existence.

The crowd is under the misapprehension that Moses and not God was ultimately
responsible for the manna; and this crowd is following Jesus now not because they want
to hear the words of eternal life, but because they think they’ve found in Him a never-
ending supply of bread. The same phenomenon occurs, you recall, when Jesus reveals
Himself to be living water to the woman at the well. She replies, “Great! Give me some
of this water so I don’t have to keep coming to Jacob’s Well for water.”

Missionaries in third-world countries often talk about “Rice Christians.” These are people
who will quickly convert to Christianity in exchange for food or some other physical
benefit. The problem with Rice Christians is that when goodies are gone, so are they.
Author Jeanne Zornes writes: “As a new Christian, I presumed Jesus’ main job was
taking care of me. He led to me a job, roommates to share apartment costs, and a car that
ran. But after a while my tastes got fussier. Like the Israelites waking up to manna every
morning, I was tired of the same-old, same-old. I wanted a home with more privacy, a
more interesting yet less stressful job, and a shinier new car. My list continued to grow. I
wanted Jesus to perk me up when I was down, remove my difficulties, and make living a
whole lot easier. When those things didn’t come, I felt as if Jesus had walked away from
me. What I didn’t realize was that He had put loving distance between us, just as He did
with the crowd that night, knowing that they wanted to force Him to be king. For me, and
for them, it took a stormy night to point out why those expectations were off base.”

Biblical commentator Ravi Zacharis writes: “Jesus’ words were intended to lift the
listeners from their barren, food-dominated existence to the recognition and
acknowledgment of the supreme hunger of life that can only be filled with a different
bread. Food and power blind the mind to the need for nourishment and strength of soul.
Unfortunately, many fail to pause here long enough to really hear what Jesus is teaching
and understand the life-transforming power contained in this truth.”