Soar Like Eagles (Parts 21-22)
Bread Delivered From Heaven - John 6:22-71

It is told that Napoleon and a friend were talking of life as they
walked along. It was dark; they walked to a window after they'd entered a
room and looked out. There in the sky were distant stars, little more
than pin-points of light.
Napoleon, who had sharp eyes while his friend was dim-sighted, pointed
to the sky: "Do you see these stars?" he asked. "No," his friend
answered. "I can't see them." "That," said Napoleon, "is the difference
between you and me.
The man who is earthbound is living half a life. It is the man with
vision, who looks at the horizon and sees the stars, who is truly alive.
As we continue our study of this marvelous sixth chapter of John, we
see a group of people earthbound...with no vision of what lay before
them.
The purpose of the sign was that Jesus might preach the sermon. Again,
we see the ministry of "grace and truth" (1:17). In grace, our Lord fed
the hungry people; but in truth, He gave them the Word of God.
This section is a powerful teaching of Jesus. The first section deals
with the multitudes (vs. 22-40) while the second deals with the Jews (vs.
41-59). The third section (vs. 60-71) contains an interview with the
disciples and shows the effect of Jesus' swords on the inner circle of
His own followers.
In today's lesson, Jesus tells us to work not "for the food which
perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life..."(6:27a).
In doing so, He echoes the advice of Isaiah 55:2: "Why spend money on
what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen,
listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the
richest of fare."
This sermon probably began outdoors, and then moved into the synagogue
(6:59). This sermon on "the bread of life" is actually a dialogue between
Christ and the people, especially the religious leaders.
The dealing of Jesus with the general crowd here is characterized by a
new harshness which was not present in most of His former discourses.
There is a slight hint of it with Nicodemus, but even there the personal
appeal to the ruler whom Jesus evidently respected softened the
incisiveness of His words.
History tells us that just after 60 A.D. the luxury of Roman society
was unparalled. It was at this time that they served feasts of peacocks'
brains and nightingales' tongues; that they cultivated the odd habit of
taking emetics (medicine designed to cause vomiting) between courses so
that the next might taste better; that meals costing thousands of pounds
were commonplace.
It was at this time that Pliny tells of a Roman lady who was married
in a robe so richly jewelled and guilded that it cost the equivalent of
432,000 pounds. There was a reason for all this, and the reason was a
deep dissatisfaction with life, a hunger that nothing could satisfy. They
would try anything for a new thrill, because they were both appallingly
rich and appallingly hungry.
This multitude was a group of materialistic curiosity seekers who were
self-satisfied in their tradition. Jesus' approach was that all these
Jews were interested in was physical satisfaction. They had received an
unexpectedly free and lavish meal, and they wanted more. He wanted to jar
them loose from their laxity by a series of statements contradictory to
their current assumptions.

WE SEE FOUR RESPONSES BY THE PEOPLE
1. SEEKING (vs. 22-40).
"The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the
lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not
entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. {23}
Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had
eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. {24} Once the crowd
realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into
the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. {25} When they found
him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you
get here?"
This multitude was determined to find Him and carry out their
original plan to make Him king. Further, they did not wish to lose a
"meal ticket."
The Jews, except for the rich, spent every waking moment toiling for
the barest necessities--many were starving.
The question of the people was a good one, for it's a puzzle even
until today how Jesus and His disciples arrived at Capernaum together.
But Jesus was not going to get involved in this petty question...He had
more important things to discuss.
"Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not
because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had
your fill. {27} Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that
endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God
the Father has placed his seal of approval."
Jesus knew the human heart and that the people had originally followed
Him because of His miracles (6:2), but now their motive was to get more
food! But even if they were attracted only by the miracles, at least
there was a possibility they might be saved. Nicodemus, after all, had
begun this way (3:1-2).
Jesus pointed out that there are two kinds of food: food for the body,
which is necessary but not the most important; and food for the inner
man, the spirit, which is essential! Food only gives sustains life, but
Jesus gives eternal life.
Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 6:25, 33:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or
drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important
than food, and the body more important than clothes?...So do not worry,
saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we
wear?' {32} For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly
Father knows that you need them. {33} But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
It is even more strange today that millions of men and women in
America are obsessed with gaining only material values because:
- we have in the New Testament a better witness of the testimony of
Jesus, better even than the knowledge of the eyewitnesses
- we enjoy more freedom to search out and to adhere to what is truth
than the people of that day
- we are not pressed with the burden of providing just the basic
necessities as were most of the Jewish people
Man is created with a hunger for spiritual satisfaction which only
spiritual food can satisfy. There are at least four things for which men
hunger in the realm of the spiritual:
- righteousness and justification before God
- the ultimate truth
- life beyond the grave
- true unselfish love

Christ alone can supply satisfaction to the hungry spirits of men.
"Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
{29} Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he
has sent."
The people picked up the word "labor" and misinterpreted it to mean
they had to for salvation. They completely missed the word_ give."
Jesus made it clear that only one work was necessary...to believe on
the Savior. And, to this, they immediately began thinking of proof.
"So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we
may see it and believe you? What will you do? {31} Our forefathers ate
the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from
heaven to eat.'" {32} Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is
not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father
who gives you the true bread from heaven. {33} For the bread of God is he
who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
The crowd began by seeking Christ, but then started to seek a sign
from Him. "For the Jews require a sign" (1 Cor. 1:22). The rabbis taught
that, when the Messiah came, he would duplicate the miracle of the manna
(Exodus 16). If Jesus was truly sent by God, then let Him prove it by
causing manna to fall from heaven.
The quotation of verse 31 is from Psalm 78:24, a psalm that recorded
the unbelief and rebellion of the nation of Israel. In His reply, Jesus
sought to deepen the peoples understanding of the truth. It was God, not
Moses, who gave them the manna; so they must take their eyes off Moses
and focus them on God.
Also, God gave the manna in the past, but the Father is now giving the
true bread in the Person of Jesus Christ. Then Jesus clearly identified
what the bread is: He is the true living Bread that came down from
heaven. Seven times in this sermon our Lord referred to His "coming down
from heaven" (6:33, 38, 41, 42, 50, 51, 58), a statement that declared
Him to be God!
"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." {35} Then Jesus
declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go
hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. {36} But as I
told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. {37} All that
the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never
drive away. {38} For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but
to do the will of him who sent me. {39} And this is the will of him who
sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise
them up at the last day. {40} For my Father's will is that everyone who
looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day."
As the body without food is plagued with hunger pangs, so the soul
without Christ is famished by sin. To partake of the bread of life means
to trust in Jesus...and when one truly believes, sin need no longer be
his master.
Verse 35 contains the first of the seven great "I Am" statements
recorded by John, statements that are found nowhere else in the gospels.
God revealed Himself to Moses by the name "I Am" (Ex. 3:14). God is
the self-existent One, "is, and..was, and...is to come" (Rev. 1:8). When
Jesus used the name I AM, He was definitely claiming to be God!
"How does God give anyone to Jesus?" He draws them to Himself and His
Son by His love which has been given in our hearts (Rom. 5:5; John 3:16)
He gives them to His Son through His drawing, and their own free choice.
Jesus will never refuse or reject any who come to Him and abide in Him.
Man's rejection by God is caused by man's rejection of God.

2. MURMURING (vs. 41-51).
"At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am
the bread that came down from heaven." {42} They said, "Is this not
Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now
say, 'I came down from heaven'?" {43} "Stop grumbling among yourselves,"
Jesus answered. {44} "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me
draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. {45} It is written in
the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to
the Father and learns from him comes to me. {46} No one has seen the
Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. {47}
I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. {48} I am the
bread of life. {49} Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet
they died. {50} But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which
a man may eat and not die. {51} I am the living bread that came down from
heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is
my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
Our Lord's statement "For I came down from heaven" disturbed the
religious leaders, for they knew it was a claim of deity. They thought
they knew Jesus, who He was and where He came from.
This passage shows the reasons why the Jews rejected Jesus, and in
rejecting Him, rejected eternal life:
- They judged things by human values and by eternal standards.
Their reaction in face of the calm of Jesus was to produce the fact
that He was a carpenter's son and that they had seen him grow up in
Nazareth. They were unable to understand how one was a tradesman and who
came from a poor home could possibly be a special messenger from God.

- The Jews argued with each other.
Even in the days of Moses, the Jews were known for their murmuring
(Exodus 15:24; 17:3; Num. 14:2). The main issue was "Where did He come
from?" Five times Jesus used the phrase "came down from heaven," but they
would not accept it.
They were so taken up with their private arguments that it never
struck them to refer the decision to God. They were very anxious to let
everyone know what they thought about the matter...but not in the least
anxious to know what God thought.

- The Jews listened, but they did not learn.
There are many 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 listens only for the moment he cannot get the
chance to speak. The only listening that is worth while is that which
hears and learns...and that is the only way to listen to God!
Jesus further explained how the sinner can come to God; it is through
the truth of the Word (vs. 44-45). There can be no true knowledge of God
apart from His revealed Word.
Some may gain partial knowledge through nature (Rom. 1:19-20), but to
know God in the inward man, he must hear His Word and learn of Him. Men
must will to do God’s will in order to really learn of God.
This was basically the same message He gave after He had healed the
paralytic (5:37-40). It is by the Word that we "see" God and receive
faith to come to Christ and trust Him (Rom. 10:17).
When Jesus called Himself "the Living Bread," He was not claiming to
be exactly like the manna...He was claiming to be even greater! The manna
only sustained life for the Jews, but Jesus gives life to the whole
world! The Jews ate and became hungry again. To be in Christ means that
one lives forever!

3. STRIVING (vs. 52-59).
"Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can
this man give us his flesh to eat?" {53} Jesus said to them, "I tell you
the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you have no life in you. {54} Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my
blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. {55} For
my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. {56} Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. {57} Just as the
living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who
feeds on me will live because of me. {58} This is the bread that came
down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds
on this bread will live forever." {59} He said this while teaching in the
synagogue in Capernaum."
To most of us this is a very difficult passage. It speaks in language
and moves in a world which are quite strange to us snd which may seem
even fantastic and grotesque. But to those who heard it first, it was
moving along familiar ideas which went back to the very childhood of the
race.
During the early years of the Christian faith, the charge of
cannibalism was often brought against Christians. Outsiders were often
shocked by the language of Christians, particularly when they heard them
repeating Jesus' words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood!
What had He meant by such an extreme statement?
His words must have sounded like the ravings of a madman to many in
the crowd, but Jesus was emphasizing that a proper relationship with the
Son of Man is a consuming one. Jesus wanted more than mere acquaintances,
friends, soldiers, or subjects.
Jesus insisted that each true follower "abides in Me, and I in him"
(6:56). He had to be closer to His followers than a king to his people, a
general to his army, or a rabbi to his students. Jesus insisted on being
like bread digested and absorbed by every cell in their bodies.
In other words, Jesus was saying, "You must let Me into your innermost
being." This message of Jesus is as shocking and threatening today as it
was two thousand years ago. He still rejects a casual relationship with
those who wish to be His followers.
He still wants to be as close to us as the blood in our veins, the
breath in our lungs, or the marrow in our bones. He demands to be allowed
into the secret places of our lives, whether it is our bank accounts, our
marriages, or our ambitions As the Bread of Life, He will accept nothing
less than a 100 percent intimate relationship with us.
Upon hearing Jesus' message, the crowd continued to grumble. These
teachings, they all agreed, were "difficult" (6:60). Because the
teachings were hard, their hearts became hard. Then, in one of the
saddest verses in the Bible, John recorded, "As a result of this many of
His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore" (6:66).
This was the turning point in Jesus' public ministry in Galilee. Never
again did He enjoy the popularity and the favor of the crowds that He had
enjoyed on the day He fed the five thousand. The throngs had come, they
had eaten the food from heaven, they had become excited, they had heard
Jesus' difficult teaching, and, in the end, they had walked away. They
had been willing to accept Jesus as their king, but they were unwilling
to receive Him as their Lord.
These ideas would be quite normal to anyone brought up in ancient
sacrifice. The animal was very seldom burned whole. Usually only a token
part was burned on the altar, although the whole animal was offered to
the god. Pagans held a feast and felt that the god himself was in
attendance...and when the worshipper ate the feast he was literally
eating the god and, when they left, they felt "god-filled."
We may think of it as idolatrous worship or a vast delusion, but the
fact remains these people went out quite certain that in them there was
now the dynamic vitality of their god! To people used to that kind of
experience a section like this presented no difficulties at all.
The word "striving" means "to fight and quarrel." Being orthodox Jews,
the listeners knew the divine prohibition against eating human flesh or
any kind of blood (Gen. 9:3-4; Lev. 17:10-16; 19:26). Here we have
another example in this gospel of the people misunderstanding a spiritual
truth by treating it literally.
The Trans-substantiationists use these verses to support their
doctrine of the actual presence of the flesh and the blood of Christ in
the Loaf and in the cup. They contend that one must literally partake of
the flesh and blood of Jesus, and they, therefore, sacrifice the body of
Jesus anew each week at the Mass. The book of Hebrews (10:10, 12) is
plain as to the "once for all" sacrifice of Christ's body at Calvary.
The Sacramentalists teach that the Christian, by absenting himself
from the Lord's Supper, cuts himself off from any contact with the saving
blood of Jesus Christ.

4. DEPARTING (vs. 60-71)
"On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching.
Who can accept it?" {61} Aware that his disciples were grumbling about
this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? {62} What if you see the
Son of Man ascend to where he was before!"
It is little wonder that the disciples found these words hard. The
Greek word is "skleros" and means "hard to accept," not "hard to
understand." They knew quite well that Jesus had been claiming to be the
very life of God come down from heaven, and that no one could live this
life or face eternity without submitting to him.
But these verses point out a truth that re-emerges in every age! It is
not the intellectual difficulty which keeps men from becoming Christians!
It is the height of Christ's moral demands.
The real difficulty is two-fold:
1. It demands an act of surrender to Christ.
2. It demands a moral standard of the highest level.
Jesus goes on (vs. 63) to state that some day events will prove it.
If they have difficulty believing that He is the Bread of Life, they will
have no trouble when they see His ascension.
"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have
spoken to you are spirit and they are life. {64} Yet there are some of
you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of
them did not believe and who would betray him. {65} He went on to say,
"This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has
enabled him."
Our Lord's teaching was not hard to understand but hard to accept once
you understood it. The Jewish religious leaders both misunderstood His
words and rejected them.
They were "offended" by what He taught (the Greek word is
"scandalized" and suggests the idea that they "stumbled" over the fact
that He claimed to be from heaven).
Jesus explained that His language was figurative and spiritual, not
literal. There is no salvation in "flesh." In fact, the New Testament has
nothing good to say about "the flesh." There is nothing good in it (Rom.
7:18) and we must not have confidence in it (Phil. 3:3).

What did He mean?
- it is the spirit that gives life
- the flesh profits nothing
- the words I have spoken are spirit and life

Judas had gifts and was given his opportunity. He did not have to
betray Jesus.
The entire body of doctrine of Christ is the source of life eternal:
- His words shall judge us (John 12:48)
- His commandment is life eternal (12:50)
- His word is able to build up and give an inheritance among the
saints (Acts 20:32)
- His word gives us a new soul (James 1:21)
- His word gives us a new birth (1 Peter 1:22-23)
- the absolute necessity of living by abiding in the Word is the point
of emphasis here!
"From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer
followed him. {67} "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked
the Twelve. {68} Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. {69} We believe and know that you are
the Holy One of God." {70} Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you,
the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" {71} (He meant Judas, the son of
Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)"
Here is a passage instinct with tragedy, for in it is the beginning of
the end. There was a time when men came to Jesus in large numbers. The
result of this message was the loss of many (or most?) of our Lord's
followers here. They went back to the old life, the old religion, and the
old hopeless situation.
Truly, Jesus Christ is "the way" (John 14:6), but they would not walk
with Him. This was no surprise to Jesus, because He knows the hearts of
all people.
As the disappointed and angry people continued to stream away from
Jesus, He turned to the Twelve and asked them if they, too, were going to
leave.
Peter, as he sometimes did, answered much more brilliantly than he
realized. He said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal
life" (6:68). Peter and the other eleven were probably as confused and
disappointed as the rest, but they realized that Jesus remained their
best hope.
Even though they thought that He had let them down, they still
believed in Him. As they stayed and others left, we see the Twelve taking
another step toward real, biblical faith.
Francis Schaeffer believed that what Peter said in this passage is the
key to bringing people to faith in God. When Schaeffer would talk with
nonbelievers about God, he would force them to look at the alternatives
to faith. He would ask if they were ready to live in a world with no
absolute right or wrong, no hope, and no basis for human dignity.
He was convinced that human beings cannot live with such
meaninglessness. Schaeffer would lead people to the brink of despair in
order to bring them back to Peter's realization: "Lord, to whom shall we
go? You have words of eternal life."
When Jesus asked His 12 apostles if they planned to desert Him too,
it was Peter who spoke up with the right answer....Peter got the message!
He knew that Jesus was speaking about His Word and not about literal
flesh and blood.
The preaching of the Word of God always leads to a sifting of the
hearts of the listeners. God draws sinners to the Savior through the
power of truth, His Word. Those who reject the Word reject the Savior and
reject God.

SOME FINAL COMMENTS
As we close this chapter, we read about three attitudes that parallel
responses we see today:

1. Open Defection.
Many people were attracted to Jesus as a person. They were impressed
by His ability to spellbind a crowd with His works and rhetoric. But when
the points of His sermon got sharp, these thin-skinned followers recoiled
and retreated to the back pews, and some even walked out the doors.
Jesus was openly challenging the authorities and these followers
wanted to get out while there was still time. They were fair-weather
followers. It has been said that the test of an army is how it fights
when it is tired. Those who drifted away would have stuck by Jesus so
long as his career was on the upward way, but at the first shadow of the
cross they left Him.

2. Firm Determination.
Simon Peter exemplifies this type of follower. The thinning crowd did
nothing to thin the determination of Christ's closest disciples. In fact,
their resolve became firmer than ever.

3. Subtle Deception.
Standing right in the midst of the chosen band of men was one who
looked and sounded like the most sincere disciple.

We need to observe one more response before finishing this lesson:
Jesus' response to the crowd.
The Gospel of John illustrates from the first chapter how the eternal
Word of God went to heroic lengths to come and "dwell among us." He came
in search of mankind.
How did He respond when the crowds walked away from His teaching? No
one ever wanted people to be saved more than Jesus did, yet He was
willing to stand and watch them go.
I am sure that His heart was breaking, but He did not run after them,
begging them to return, offering to soften His message if they would only
stay!
He was and is the Bread of Life, and He will accept nothing less than
for each one of us to "eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His
blood" (6:53). It is a hard message, but it is the only message that
gives ife.
Just as Tesus called these early followers to make the difficult choice
to follow Him, He calls us today. We must accept the hard message that we
are utterly lost without Him, and our journey of faith must then lead us
to obey His commands.
This journey begins with faith (trusting Jesus with our life),
repentance (turning from our sinful ways), and baptism (being'"born
[again] of water and the Spirit"; John 3:5). Then, to use the words of
the Gospel of John, we must continue to abide in Him as He abides in us
John 6:56; 15:4-7).

WAS JESUS ALL THAT JOHN CLAIMED FOR HIM?
John wrote his Gospel to encourage belief in Christ. Does the
available evidence sustain his claims? As we examine the testimony
presented by John, we must weigh it according to reason and then
determine the answer. For a possible conclusion, we are left with five
alternatives.
Conclusion 1. Jesus never lived, but was a product of the human
mind---a figment of the imagination of John and other evangelists who
have left records of His life and activities.
Since we are considering John's presentation of Jesus, this conclusion
would mean that both the claims John made for Jesus and the evidence he
offered were the product of his own unfounded fancy.
Conclusion 2. Jesus lived, but He was merely a good man, a great
teacher, a wise philosopher, and a profound moralist. He possessed a
greater and deeper concept of God as Spirit than anyone living before or
after Him. Jesus was able by His own greatness and goodness to beget and
develop in the minds of His disciples the concept of Himself as presented
by John.
Conclusion 3. Jesus was not the Messiah, but as a deeply religious Jew
of northern Palestine, He believed that He was. In this confidence and in
His thorough knowledge of the Old Covenant, He was able to impress the
naive and gullible peasants and village folk of Galilee so much that
they, too, came to believe that He was the Christ.
Conclusion 4. Jesus was a shrewd and cunning impostor, able to deceive
John and others whom He convinced that He was the Messiah of their
expectations. He is, in fact, the archdeceiver of history, for He so
completely deceived them that millions since have been deceived and
deluded by His imposture.
Conclusion 5. Jesus was what John claimed for Him and what He claimed
for Himself: the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah of prophecy.
When we consider the first of these alternatives, we are faced with
questions about John.
Was he great enough to create a character for whom he could make such
claims? Was he able to create out of his own imagination the teaching
which he ascribed to Jesus? Was he able to create the characters who live
in his Gospel and to array their testimony in such a way as to make his
book live through the centuries?
Plainly posed, which is the greater wonder: Jesus and the evidence of
facts as John presented them, or the creation of such a character as
Jesus and the evidence from the imagination of a Galilean fisherman?
Reason must determine the answer.
The second alternative is ruled out on the ground of Jesus' claims.
His claims are such that either He was the Christ or He was not a good
man. Unless He was who He claimed to be, He was an impostor, a
blasphemer, a hypocrite, a deceiver, and a liar. He could not make false
claims about Himself and at the same time be a good man.
The third alternative does not explain the empty tomb, the conversion
and work of Saul of Tarsus, or the impression of Jesus upon the Gentile
world and upon history.
The fourth alternative leaves us with the problem of accepting the
greatest concept of God and the greatest system of ethics and morals
known to man as the offspring of the world's greatest fraud, deceiver,
and liar. This is an absurdity, for all accept the axiom that a tree
bears fruit after its own kind. An evil tree could not have produced
such good fruit.
If it can be shown that Jesus was a good man, that He did reveal the
world's loftiest concept of God, and that the system of ethics and morals
taught by Him are without flaw, then we are left with only the fifth
alternative as one that can be reasonably accepted.
As reason weighs the evidence presented by John, the reader must
determine what he will do with Jesus. The book is here: What it says, it
says; and it is either fact or fiction. If it is fact, then Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world. If it is fiction,
then John perpetrated upon mankind a fraud of gigantic proportions with
no known motive for his fraud.

Last modified: April 18, 2006