John 6:51-58
August 16th, 2009
"Living Bread"
Today, we continue on with our study of John Chapter 6. In our scripture today we see three major allusions. The first allusion we see is to Jesus’ death in verse 51 when he says, “the bread that I will GIVE for the life of the WORLD is my flesh.” This recalls to our memories John 3:16, “God so loved the WORLD that he GAVE his only Son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
There is also a strong allusion to the sacrament of Holy Communion in verse 54 which says, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;”
And finally there is also an allusion to Jesus as the “Word become flesh,” “the Living Bread.” Jesus' divinity is strongly affirmed here.
There are many symbols and images used here: flesh and blood, Holy Communion, abiding with Jesus, Bread from heaven, sacrifice, eternal life and more. Each symbol and image speaks to each of us differently.
An individual would experience the symbols and images in this scripture in varying degrees of power and meaning as the Spirit would lead.
But think of this, how would those who first heard these words of Jesus’ have reacted? What would their thoughts have been? Verse 52 shows that their initial reaction wasn’t positive and when we get to next week’s scripture we will see how absolutely hostile their reaction became. But in verse 52 it says, “The Jews disputed among themselves saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’”
The first thing they must have thought is cannibalism and that was ridiculous in their thinking, but as Jesus continued to speak they realized that what he was saying was much more radical than that.
Part of our problem in understanding these verses is that “It speaks in language and moves in a world of ideas which are quite strange to us and which may seem fantastic and grotesque.” But for the hearers in Jesus’ day he was speaking using ideas and images that were familiar to them.
The metaphor Jesus was using of eating his flesh was “quite normal to anyone brought up in ancient sacrifice. The animal was seldom burned in its entirety. Usually only a token part was burned on the altar, although the entire animal was offered to the god. Part of the flesh was given to the priests as their ‘perk’, and part to the worshippers to make a feast for themselves and their friends within the temple precincts.”
“At that feast, the god himself was held to be a guest. More, once the flesh had been offered to the god, it was held that he had entered into it; and therefore when the worshipper ate it he was literally eating the god.
When people rose from such a feast they went out, as they believed, literally god-filled. We might think of it as idolatrous worship, we may think of it as a vast delusion; yet the fact remains that 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.” Barclay p. 258 John Vol. 1
This is why Paul addressed the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols. Some early Christians believed there were other gods besides God the Father, so for them it was problematic eating such meat for they were afraid that foreign god would enter them.
Paul had no difficulty though because he believed these other gods did not exist, so no god would enter the meat and he would eat away. Others were not so sure so they wouldn’t eat and Paul said that was fine.
So in other words those listening to Jesus caught on rather rapidly that he was claiming to be none other than a God and in fact when you take the words of verse 57 into account Jesus is making it rather explicit.
Jesus said, “Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father so whoever eats me will live because of me.” In this verse note that Jesus drops the use of the words flesh and blood and instead directly refers to himself by using the word “me”.
Here in these verses Jesus is claiming to be God!! It wasn’t just the offense of saying you have to eat my flesh and blood that turned many of his audience off it was by doing so he was claiming Godhood.
Now this infuriated the crowds, the Jews and many of his disciples on two levels. First, they weren’t looking for God. They were looking for a messiah, a man, a human being, who would grant them universal health care, (keep up the healings), feed and provide for the poverty of the nation (drag us out of this economic mess) and kick out the occupying Romans (provide national security).
This is what they wanted from Jesus! They wanted a man to do this, a flesh and blood man and as you remember from our reading two weeks ago they tried to seize Jesus and make him a King. He slipped away from them and he slips away from us today when we try to make Jesus into something and someone he is not.
So here Jesus is saying he is something much more than an earthly king and in the metaphor of the sacrificial systems of his day he is saying be filled with me. Our Ephesians’ scripture says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,”
Here Jesus is saying be filled with the Spirit by feasting on me!!!
But how are we to be fed by Jesus? And I need to give a warning before I answer that question: “If you feed on Jesus you will become more like him.” As people say today, “You are what you eat.”
In Ephesians 5:19 it shows us one way to be filled with the Spirit, by “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts.”
Music is a dynamic and powerful way of feasting on Jesus and having the Word, the Bread of life within us. When I led camps and devotions for preschoolers, children and youth I always taught them songs they could not get out of their heads as a way of implanting the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their souls.
The kids that attended Music Camp this summer and memorized the musical have the entire basic message of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life in their minds and souls that they can feast on at any time. If you have such songs, and hymns and spiritual songs in your heart you can do the same. Our children’s gathering songs are some of these basic songs of the Christian Faith.
An aside, part of who we are as Christ Church UM, is that we are a church that highly values children and music. These two fit together like a hand and a glove.
Now remember back to last week how I finished out the sermon. I said something you usually don’t hear from a pastor I said, “I hope you haven’t listened to me……………..but to God.” Remember that? Probably not because if you were listening me than you weren’t listening to God.
A pastor name Mike wrote, “All of my life, I have heard a certain phrase repeated over and over by different people about different pastors: “I’m just not being fed by his preaching.”
“Believers are (actually) fed through their relationship with Christ. That relationship is formed through salvation and maintained through prayer and the study of the scriptures, which hopefully includes the sermon. When believers place their primary dependency on the pastor’s sermon on Sunday morning, they are leaning on the wrong relationship, eating the wrong bread.
If they are maintaining their relationship with Christ, what the pastor says should be the appetizer, not the main course….. Christ has the words of eternal life, not the pastor. If the people sit on their pews and look to us for their nourishment, they’re wrong. If we let them, so are we.” Mike in Soddy Daisy, TN 8/12/03 DPS
All of us to be well fed and ready to serve our Lord and neighbor need to feast on Jesus not only in this place but between Sundays. That is why personal Bible studies, devotionals, Sunday School classes, retreats, FAMILY CAMP, Wednesday night studies are so important for your spiritual life and health. You are what you eat!!!
Again I must warn you that if you consistently feast on Jesus in Word and Sacrament, in this church and at home and other places than you will become more Christ like. You will become more loving, patient, understanding, kindhearted, forgiving, joyful, persecuted and inviting. Your life will be filled with the fruits of the Spirit and the Spirit in you will call out to the Spirit in others.
Feast on Jesus in Word and Sacrament and you will become more inviting to the world.
Out of our poverty of soul, and faith and resources God still gives us something to give to others and as we abide with Jesus and feast on Him. We will be able to give to others and give them the bread of life the Living Bread of God.
A priest in Iowa shared this story. “Psychologist Robert B. Cialdini once told about a German soldier during World War I whose job was to capture enemy soldiers for interrogation. Because of the nature of trench warfare at that time, it was extremely difficult for armies to cross the no-man's land between opposing front lines; but it was not so difficult for a single soldier to crawl across and slip into an enemy trench position.
The armies of the Great War had experts who regularly did so to capture an enemy soldier, who would then be brought back for questioning. This particular German expert had successfully completed such missions in the past and was sent on another.
Once again, he skillfully negotiated the area between fronts and surprised a lone enemy soldier in his trench. The unsuspecting soldier, who had been eating at the time, was easily disarmed. The frightened captive with only a piece of bread in his hand then performed what may have been the most important act of his life. He gave his enemy some of the bread.
So affected was the German by this gift that he could not complete his mission. He turned from his benefactor and re-crossed the no-man's land empty-handed to face the wrath of his superiors.
There is a message here for us. The bread of Christ is not to be hoarded but to be shared with the world. Just as God has shared the "Living Bread" with us.”
Our church for the next five year has taken on a project to become “the church for families with children living at home.”
I wrote recently in a Pastor’s Pen for our church newsletter- the Channel- that each month at the Administrative Council meeting I would be asking each committee, ministry or group that we sponsor how they are being invitational to Jesus and his church, educational about Jesus and his church and inviting people into participation in the church.
It occurred to me that each of us needs to ask ourselves the same questions. How am I being educated in the faith (being fed by Jesus) and educating or feeding others? Are you doing personal devotions, in a Bible study etc.?
How am I participating in the life of the faith and church and inviting others to participate? Do you invite others to join you in Praise Band, Choir, Sunday School, and service?
And how am I inviting others to share in the Living Bread that God has given me? Who have you invited to share in worship and Holy Communion?
We all know that when we hoard bread and don’t eat it or share it then it spoils. Jesus has given us more than enough bread for us to eat. He is the Living Bread that has been given for all the world.
As we feast on him and offer Him to others, we will find life in this world and in the world to come.
In Jesus name amen!!!
