John 6:30-42 : They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'” Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe. All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.” They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?'”

Obviously, Jesus was right about the people’s intentions in searching for Him. They weren’t following Him because He was their promised spiritual leader, but because they wanted free food. They weren’t even being subtle about it. They basically said, “Well, before we believe you, give us more food… that’s what Moses did.”

Jesus was still seeking those who would worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The people were still looking for a handout. The story that the people are referring to is again from Moses’ writings. This time it refers to the time when God gave them manna (which means “What is it?”). You can read about this in Exodus 16.

The fact of the matter is, this manna that God gave Israel from heaven sustained them every day for 40 years. Jesus was trying to move their attention from their stomachs to their spirits and souls. They needed bread for their souls, and this bread from heaven was standing there speaking to them and they did not believe. These people had already been given signs and they didn’t believe. Jesus had been healing their sick and then fed about 20,000 people and they still didn’t believe in Him.

Then Jesus says a wonderful thing that those of us who believe should pay attention to. He said, “All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.” Jesus is committed to keeping those who believe in Him. Not only will He not turn anyone who comes to Him away, He will “lose nothing.” Your eternal life is safe with Jesus if you believe. You don’t have to worry about losing it because Jesus made it His personal responsibility.

Notice that it is the Father who chooses us because Jesus said, “All those whom the Father gives me will come to me.” So, it is the Father who does the bringing and the Son who does the keeping. Notice who is left out? You and I are not even mentioned. We didn’t do anything to save ourselves. Clearly, it is God who does it all, and because He did it all, we don’t have to worry about messing it up. Not only were we not smart enough to come to Jesus, Jesus will have to be the one to keep us on the right path. It kind of reminds me of sheep and a shepherd, but more on that later.