John 6:53-71; 1 John 1:1-4, Jesus is the Bread of Life (3)

In the “bread of life” sermon we have heard Jesus:

·       Call men to believe in Him, v25-29.  This is the “work of God.”

·       Present Himself as the One to believe, v30-35.  He is the “bread of God … who came down from heaven to give life to the world.”

·       Identify the problem with those who did not believe, v36-45.  They had seen Jesus but did not believe in Him because they weren’t drawn by the Father. 

·       Present Himself again as the One to believe, v46-51.  He is the bread of life, offering Himself to men that they might be fully satisfied with His life.

·       Call men again to believe in Him, v52-59.  Believing in Him, the bread of life, means partaking of His life, spiritually eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

Jesus’ use of the idea of eating His flesh and drinking His blood was to the Jews.  It’s not just the graphic terminology.  His choice of words was designed to make it clear that He and He alone was and is the source of eternal life.  The point is that Jesus’ flesh and blood are true food and drink (v55).  The way that physical bread and drink nourish our physical bodies, so Jesus’ spiritual bread and drink nourish our souls.  When we believe in Christ, we receive the gift of eternal life; then we also nourish that life day by day through our fellowship with Christ.

After the feeding of the 5,000, the crowd had intended to make Jesus their political leader (6:15).  Then the crowd found Jesus the next day, hoping they would be fed again (6:26).  In this sermon, Jesus made it clear that they did not have the right idea about who He was and why He had come to earth.

Many of Jesus’ disciples, not just the Twelve but the larger group of those who followed Him, struggled with this.  You might think Jesus would back off a little bit, lest He begin to lose the crowds.  But that was never Jesus’ approach.  He told the truth.  And when people struggled with the truth, He told them more truth. 

Does this offend you?  What a question.  Perhaps you are reading this and find it offensive that Jesus claims to be the only One who can satisfy your soul, the only One in whom you must believe in order to end the search for eternal life.  Jesus did not back down.  He made sure they understood that the issue was not the flesh, but the spiritual reality of His flesh and blood (v63).  He was all about the truth.

That day was a turning point.  Jesus knew some of His “disciples” did not believe in Him.  Perhaps they were looking for a king or some other earthly benefit.  Many of them left and walked with Him no more.  The work of the Father had not been accomplished in their lives (v65).  The Twelve may have been struggling, but as Peter said, where else are we going to go to get the words of eternal life?  We cannot be saved apart from the words of Christ: I AM the bread of life!  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.