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The Gospel of John, The Period of Controversy, The Claims of Jesus Christ, Jesus as the Bread of Life, Part XV, John 6:57-62 - Lesson 45
Read Verses John 6:53-56
Verses 6,57-59, As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Again Jesus Christ, the Son of God, manifest in the flesh, standing before unbelieving Jews of the synagogue, instructs.
He instructs them of a realm called life that they think they have, but they know nothing of it because it is spiritually discerned.
He tells them of the authority of life.
He tells them that he lives by the Father.
He tells them that they who eat him will live by him.
Simple uncomplicated language, but so unbelieved by those to whom he preached.
Jesus Christ always preaches of the unity of the Father and himself.
This same unity is true between Jesus Christ and the believer.
This unity results when the spiritual flesh and the spiritual blood of Christ are eaten by the believer.
When the bread of life is eaten, that which was formerly separated from God becomes one with God in Jesus Christ.
This metaphor of eating and drinking is the best possible figure to express the assimilation of one body by another, the method whereby life is transferred from the eaten to the eater.
Not the bread that the Jews held to, not the manna that they now point to with pride of heart.
Not the manna that they worship.
The manna may have sustained bodily life for many in the wilderness but all who partook are dead, Jesus tells them.
They are dead. That manna was for this temporal life but what I offer you is life eternal, life without end, true life.
Jesus is the true heavenly bread that came down from heaven, that if eaten, bestows spiritual life and he maintains and safeguards this life for eternity.
But this message is hard to bear.
This message causes division.
The stony ground disciples will wilt from this message.
But this is no surprise.
Truth always divides.
Those who love truth will hear and follow Jesus Christ and those who hate truth will walk no more with him.
Verses 6:60,61, Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard [this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
Jesus knew the unbelief of these pseudo-disciples.
He speaks in order to divide belief from unbelief.
Truth always separates.
Truth always cuts sharply.
Truth cuts sharper than any two edged sword.
Truth does not dull itself in order to win converts.
Truth does not make itself sweet in order to attract.
Truth offends and when it offends, truth is doing its job.
It is separating. It is cutting. It is purifying.
It is calling out a people. A pure people.
Jesus did not concern himself with numbers.
No doubt he deliberately provoked this crisis to purify his disciples, to weed out those who were along for what they could get out of this miracle worker.
God says that his word will not return unto him void but will accomplish that which he pleases.
Jesus pleases to have his word cut and prune and trim and purify.
This scene is the outcome of his ministry in Galilee.
He had performed wonderful miracles here.
He had changed the water to wine, he had healed the nobleman's son, he had fed and taught the multitudes.
He had presented himself as the promised one who was the Bread of life.
He had freely offered eternal life to them.
This was the response to him. Unbelief!
Few gave evidence of spiritual need.
Few discerned the real purpose of his mission.
But when their spiritual need is pressed upon them they said, this is a hard saying; who can hear it?
Who can believe it?
Who can believe this?
And many walked no more with him.
Only a remnant, only a few stuck by him.
Only a few dwelt with him.
Are we to think that it will be different today?
Do we think that the nature of man is different today?
Has evolution brought a different man to the Bread of life in our time?
Does our own pride make us think we can draw men unto God with our personality and our own power.
No! the message of Christ is received today with the same unbelief.
His message continues to conflict with man's own views and the traditions of their fathers and their culture.
These people were not anxious for light.
They wanted to lean to their own understanding.
They were not men enough to come to him and reason together, to tell him their doubts and seek his help.
No, they seek others of like unbelief and murmur and criticize.
But these verse tell us that Jesus knew in himself that his own disciples murmured.
Jesus read the hearts of these men.
He knew why they murmured.
He knew why they were offended.
Verse 6:62 [What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Notice the powerful message of this verse.
Jesus refers to the incarnation.
He had just said that he was the bread that had come down from heaven.
He had talked about his blood which referred to his death.
Now he talks about ascending up to heaven.
This, of course would mean that he must be resurrected.
But also note that he returns to heaven as the Son of man.
This is new.
When he ascends to heaven it will be as a man, a man who is seated on the throne in heaven.
A man who said that if you eat his flesh and drink his blood you will be with him there.
We will see later in John 17:24, where Jesus says in his prayer to the Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. |