Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
This verse is right smack dab in the middle of a really interesting conversation that Jesus is having with some people who have come to Him because He did this incredible miracle—feeding thousands of people with bread that literally didn't exist. He took some loaves, broke them, and from a few simple loaves made enough food so that all of those people's bellies would be full.
These people came looking for Him after this encounter with this miracle, saying, "We want to know more about this Jesus. We want to see what else he's got to offer."
What Jesus Says About Eternal Life
What He says to them in the middle of this conversation has a lot of twists and turns (if you go back and read all of John chapter 6, you'll see this). He says right here very clearly what is true about eternal life.
Eternal life is a phrase that, in modern days and in contemporary church culture, is thrown out there pretty regularly. When we think about Jesus, the phrase "eternal life" is almost synonymous—if anyone knows any Bible verse, whether in church or outside of it, you think of John chapter 3, verse 16: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever would believe in Him would receive this eternal life."
Then and Now: The Connotation of Eternal Life
The reason I say that is eternal life nowadays has a certain connotation, and we think about it in a certain way based upon our historical context and the regularity of the phrase being shared.
During this time, when this would have been written, the idea of eternal life would have been really interesting for people. Because people at this point were seeking with all that they had to find ways to be right before God—so that when God looked at them, He viewed them as worthy and able to receive the gift of eternal life.
How Confounding It Must Have Been
Here comes Jesus in His human form, walking around telling other human beings: "It is through Me that this eternal life will be found." Can you imagine how confounding it would have been?
We have the benefit of hindsight, knowing the work on the cross that Jesus has done—not only what He's done on the cross, but that we know He was buried, raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven.
When we think of Jesus and eternal life, it makes some sort of sense to us. Because if He could do that, He could give us life.
Imagine if somebody was standing right in front of you and they said, "I—a living, breathing human just like you—can give you eternal life." It would have been the most ridiculous thing in the world.
Belief Without Seeing
One of the key tenets of Jesus's earthly ministry and the message that He preached was this: You need to be able to believe without seeing. This is what the people who followed Jesus into eternity believed. It didn't make logical sense to their human sensibilities, but believing in Jesus and knowing that He was the pathway to salvation is what brought life.
It was true then, and it's true now.
Jesus Still Is the Pathway
I don't know where you're at today. I don't know who you're praying for or what you're praying for. But I will tell you this: Jesus never ceases to be the pathway to eternal life. It was true then, in the mystery of this person standing in front of them, telling them that this is the path.
It's true now—because of His death, burial, and resurrection and ascension into heaven, we have a living hope that Jesus brings eternal life.
