Wednesday,
October 28 –
It’s
mid-week and today, in our reading our New Testament in a Year, we continue in
John’s Gospel at John 6:22 – 71. It’s a
passage that is intriguing, and I would encourage you to read it slowly, to
comprehend the words, and then come back.
We’ll get a handle on all that Jesus said – I hope.
The overall theme of this passage is simple.
Jesus said to them, and therefore to us, “…I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will
never be thirsty (6:35). The most
basic thing in life has always been bread.
My son is gifted as a bread-maker, and I love bread in its many varied
forms. Every place I have ever traveled
(five continents), I have marveled at the way locals make bread. In Jesus’ day, bread was also a staple, but
in a simpler setting, bread was essential.
The
crowd had been miraculously given bread the day before, and Jesus slipped away
from them. When the morning broke, they
got back into their boats and began to look once again for Jesus. It is when they found him that Jesus took the
opportunity to explain some profound teaching concerning who he was, and what
he wanted from those who said they “believed” in him. Following Bruce Milne’s work, we can divide
this somewhat complicated section up into four parts: The crowd that doesn’t understand what it
means to believe (6:26-29). Jesus’
charge to them for their faith to be placed in him (6:30 – 35). The Crowd’s response that reveals their
identity and their security (6:36 – 59), and last, Jesus’ cost of disciple
following (6:60 – 71). [1]
The
crowd sought for Jesus but didn’t expect what was about to say. Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and saw
in those motives something other than what he wanted them to gain. It was a matter of helping them understand the
nature of believing in Him.
“They
found him on the other side of the lake and asked, ‘Rabbi, when did you get
here?’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, you want to be with me
because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But
don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy
seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father
has given me the seal of his approval.’ They replied, ‘We want to perform
God’s works, too. What should we do?’ Jesus told them, ‘This is the only
work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.’” (6:25-29).
We are
all concerned about food, but in this case, they sought Jesus for what they
could get from him – they were materialists.
Contrasting their temporal purposes, Jesus reminds them that he has food
that leads to “eternal life”. It’s a
similar conversation with a different metaphor that Jesus had with the woman at
the well. Water is basic, even as food
is basic, and both are necessities, but Jesus reminds these that his life goes
beyond the temporal satisfaction and provides life beyond this life. Having heard Jesus' words, but not understand
it’s meaning, they said “we want to perform God’s works too…what do we do?” It is human nature to mistake the immediate
for the ultimate. They didn’t understand
what Jesus was offering, and neither would we have if we had been there. Yet the answer came from Jesus in a
straightforward way – “Believe in me”.
Having
told them what they needed; they miss it.
Grace is like that; people cannot comprehend the free offer of
grace. My brother Ed wrote this, “Like
most religious people, these Jews had a ‘works salvation mentality’. What must
I do to be saved? Jesus’ answer is really quite simple: put your trust in ‘Me’
for he will do what is necessary for a person’s salvation.[2]
Jesus has told them the ultimate, but they were still stuck in the
immediate. Again, the tension is between
their self-absorbed desires and Jesus is clear – “we saw you can do, but
we’re not convinced – prove it”. I’ve seen it dozens of times. “If God won’t heal, or fix this, or stop
that, or give me this, etc…then why should I believe?” They ask for a “sign”, like Moses’ provision
of manna in the wilderness (6:30 – 31).
Their bible reading needed adjustment and Jesus made it for them –
“Jesus
said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father
did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of
God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (6:32-33).
Their
response demonstrates they are keeping their minds on their own needs, and not
on what Jesus said they need – “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every
day.” Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will
never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But
you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me” (6:34-36). Like the Samaritan woman, who said to Jesus,
“give me this water…” (4:15), they want Jesus to create a daily
provision just for them. Jesus’ words
spill out in straightforward ways – “If you believe in me, you will have the
bread of life, and not just temporally, but eternally, but you have to commit
your trust completely in me alone.”
Would they be willing to trust in Christ alone? They hesitated, and Jesus feeds the truth of what salvation is all about – “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (6:37-40).
The way to God is secure because the way to
God is from God. He gathers up his elect
and none can, or ever will be lost. Who
is the elect? “Everyone who looks on
the Son and believes in him…” None
of them were excluded and all of them who did believe were the ones the Father gave
to Jesus. This is the first part of what
they needed to know, that their security was given by the Father through the
Son. The believer’s decision is rooted
in God’s electing choice (Ephesians 1:11).
Bruce Milne succinctly says it this way: “God has claimed us from the
beginning; the Son will raise us at the end; we belong to eternity.”[3]
The
crowd heard it with misgivings – “we know who you are”, and in 6:41 – 51, Jesus
repeats much of the same things he had just said. Their destiny is directly related to their
identity. If they truly believe they
have no fear of where their destiny lies.
Their identity is as ones who have fully put their faith in Christ
alone. How can he say this with such
assurance? It is his sacrificial death
that makes this promise possible - “I
am the living bread…the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my
flesh” (6:51).
The
believer’s security and destiny are a matter of identity. In language that has mystified people for two
thousand years, Jesus relates faith to eating his flesh and drinking his blood
(6:52-59). We knew from early on he was
“the lamb of God”, the one who was to be the sacrifice as his blood is spilled
on the cross. A lot of interpretation
here centers on Jesus’ words as a cryptic foreshadowing of the Lord’s
Supper. Catholics have used the passage
to point to their belief that when we receive the sacrament of the Lord’s
Supper, the elements are “transubstantiated”, or miraculously changed, into the
very body and blood Christ. Yet, what is
missing in that is the interpreter’s clear vision that what Jesus is using is
imagery.
The
crowd failed to see that, and focused on the materialistic, they could only
argue and reject him. “The Jews then
disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
(6:52). Jesus does not let up the necessity of a faith that is completely
placed on him (6:53 – 58). Jesus wasn’t
trying to be difficult, but it was hard to accept because he demanded a faith
that would not hold back in complete trust.
Did John write this to reflect back on the elements of the Lord’s
Supper? If he did, then the key element
required for life in Christ, and communion with Him, is the faith that must be
completely in Him – both in coming to Him for salvation and in maintaining
communion with him in living. The Lord’s
table is our “remembering” Christ for the grace of salvation he procured for
us, and for the life now have because of Him.
The cost of following Jesus is, and always has been, beyond the ability of some to receive. “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’” (6:60). The effect of Jesus’ teaching now touches the many other disciples who had followed along with the twelve and had called Jesus - Rabbi. Jesus does not placate them –
“But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were
grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then
what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words
that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you
who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did
not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is
why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
(6:61-65).
The
die was cast – “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer
walked with him” (6:66). In our seeker-sensitive approach to reaching the
unchurched, we haven’t thought much of Jesus’ exclusive claims. I recently posted a quote from Tim Keller
that made the assertion of Christ Jesus as the only Savior for the world –
Facebook took it down. Jesus asked the
twelve – “Do you want to go away as
well?” (6:67). Their answer is
always our answer – “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life…you are the Holy One of God” (6:68-69). Did they all believe? No…for Jesus knew Judas Iscariot was still
among (6:70-71). Coming to Christ by
faith is merely the beginning of a journey of believing and it gets repeated
every day.
Peace
[1]
Bruce Milne, The Message of John, The Bible Speaks Today Series, page
109
[2]
Edward Pollasch, Gospel of John Devotional, Ibid.
[3] Bruce Milne, The Message of John, Ibid, page 111.
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