Wednesday in the Word...John 6:48-59 says...

Today's Wednesday in the Word continues through the Gospel of John, chapter 6 and verses 48 through 59.

v.48-51 - "I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."

Jesus is speaking so directly while using an actual event of the Old Testament.  The Israelites have been released from the Egyptians by the hand of God and lead toward the Promise Land by Moses.  God provides them food for this massive crowd that some say could have been from 600,000 to 2 million in number.  Each morning, bread would appear on the ground, manna, that would be gathered for the day's meals and only that day except for the preparation of the Sabbath.  The bread gathered on Friday would last two days.  

Jesus makes a comparison and distinction with this event.  As a comparison, just as the physical bread came down from heaven for them to eat, so did He, the spiritual bread came down for them to consume.  The distinction is that the manna, the physical bread, was consumed but physical death would come to them all but the spiritual bread, Himself, when consumed would bring spiritual life forever.  How was this to happen?  Jesus tells us that He, the bread of life, would give His physical life so that we could have everlasting spiritual life with Him in heaven.

The physical bread, the manna, could sustain physical life for a time but not all time.  All their fathers physically died who ate the manna given to them by God while they were in the desert.  The spiritual bread, Himself, could sustain spiritual life forever.  The proof would be Jesus' death and then victory over death by rising from the grave on the 3rd day.  

v.52 - Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"

At this time, we might be able to understand the comparison and distinction that Jesus is drawing out in this passage but the original hearers were confused.  It brought up more questions.  It seemed to go against their Jewish laws about drinking blood or eating of meat with blood still in it.  They were not able to get past the physical to see the spiritual very much like Nicodemus in chapter 3.  Nicodemus asked, "How can a man be born when he is old?  He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"

v.53-57 - So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me."

Instead of clearing up the matter, Jesus dives even deeper into the thoughts of what they are having.  They are thinking that this is not possible or would be against God's laws but Jesus is insisting that it must happen.  He used the word, "unless."  This must happen.

It is essential to physically eat and drink to stay physically alive.  We understand that.  Jesus is saying it is essential to spiritually eat and drink Him to be spiritually alive.  There is a taking in of Him, just as you take in daily food and drink, that brings about spiritual life with the Father.  Jesus is more true than the physical food that we eat and drink.  The result of eating and drinking Him results in something that physical food cannot do.  This eating and drinking of Jesus produces a life that is now lived for Him, on purpose, mimicking His relationship with the Father.

The scratching of the heads with the words that Jesus is giving will either drive you away to say "this is nonsense" or it will drive you to search deeper and ask more questions to understand to satisfy this hunger within you.

v.58, 59 - "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Caperaum.  

Jesus gives a concluding or summary statement to His remarks on this matter.  He restated the comparison and distinction between the physical bread God provided for the Israelites and the spiritual bread He provided for the world.  Both were provisions provided by God but one still ended in physical death but the other could result in spiritual life forever.  The requirement was to eat and drink Jesus.  

I am sure this brought up more questions and Jesus is spending His time in the synagogue, the Jewish gathering place of worship and instruction, speaking of this message over and over again.  Jesus gives us the word picture to take Him in to ourselves like we take in physical food.  It becomes a part of us.  We draw nourishment from it.  It gives us energy.  We need to take in Jesus in a similar way but beyond what the physical food could do.  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, thank You for the physical provisions that You provide and thank You for the spiritual provision of Jesus.  We are overwhelmed that this spiritual provision which leads to eternal life would mean and require the physical life of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  May we know more fully the connection between ourselves and Christ today.  Amen."

Pastor Adam