Jesus, The Word, The Bread of Life – by Pastor Tony
Posted on June 14, 2016 by No comments
Recently I received news that is sadly, all too familiar to many who will be reading this article. It knocked me down to the ground. My uncle (who is relatively young) has late stage pancreatic cancer. It looks as if it has spread into several organs throughout his body.
This uncle of mine is larger than life. It is for his example that I owe much of my training as an uncle to my own nieces and nephews. I love him and see him as a superlative example of what our extended familial relationships should look like.
These words are not meant to be read for the gratification of my uncle’s appetite (indeed, he will not likely read this). I write these words to ask the question, in the times when our physical health fades, to what hope can we turn?
I was recently studying John 6. This is a passage of Scripture worthy of years of study. Despite its demand for extended study, I allowed myself to meditate upon John’s words (we must not let Scripture intimidate us). In this great passage Jesus seeks to explain to the Jews who were following Him that He was the manna the world had been waiting for. In 6:51 John records Christ’s words, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” He goes on in verse 54 to say, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
These were confounding words for Jesus’ followers. In fact, in verse 66 we are told that after Jesus said these words “many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” Just as these were difficult words for Jesus’ original audience – they too, are difficult words for us.
We come up with silly responses to Jesus’ words even today. We conclude that Jesus must have meant that we gain eternal life through the consumption of a certain bread administered by ordained clergy. Christians have argued about the nature and even the name of that bread. Here are just a few of the names given to this mystical meal: communion, the Lord’s supper, The Eucharist, The Last Supper or, the Passover Seder. Whole branches of the faith have been birthed out of this debate (to put it civilly).
It’s as if we stopped reading God’s word at verse 60 in order to argue about what His words really mean. This is an irony that has lasted two thousand years – because in verse 61 Jesus interrupts the disciples’ argument to explain. John writes, “But Jesus,
knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this?” In other words, are you struggling to understand?! The student of the Word would do well to read on – to understand Christ’s own interpretation of this fascinating manna metaphor (if it is a metaphor – I used that phrase because it reads well).
Clarity comes in verse 63. Jesus says, “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” (emphasis mine). In other words, your arguments over the nature of my physical body and blood are vain. Jesus says, “the flesh is no help at all.” He tells them, I’m not talking about my skin and blood – if you are looking to the physical world for help – it is of no help at all! If you are hoping for a magical meal that you can sit down and physically eat – you will quickly learn that “the flesh is no help at all.” His next statement holds the key. He says, I am talking about the words I speak. This, of course, correlates with John’s introduction of Christ as “The Word” in chapter 1. Jesus, as the Word, offers Himself as the bread of life.
After Christ’s sobering challenge, “do you want to go away as well”, Peter’s response is poignant and appropriate. He says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Notice he does not say, “… you have the meal of eternal life.”
If I may put it another way, Peter essentially is saying – If I look to the world around me. The heartache, the difficulty and the pain – I recognize that the physical world is no help at all. There is nothing in this world that will satisfy the cravings of my soul. The physical cannot give birth to the eternal. The only place I can see to turn is to the one who has the words of eternal life.
If I may put it another way, Peter essentially is saying – If I look to the world around me. The heartache, the difficulty and the pain – I recognize that the physical world is no help at all…
As I pray for my uncle, regarding his physical healing, I find myself both perplexed and hopeful. The only place I can find refuge is in the consumption of Christ’s words. The ultimate hope we have is not for my uncle’s physical healing (though in Christ it is possible). Our true hope is in the words of the One who is the Bread of Life–It is He who has given us eternal life. Though our days with my uncle may be physically few, our life together, in Christ, is for all eternity – if Christ’s message/words are received.
When once this is understood, we can all echo Peter’s sentiment and say to Jesus, You have the words of eternal life, I desire only to be with You. May Christ’s Words wash us until all our sustenance is in His words and we no longer remain.
I will hope in Him. Tony Minell
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