Taste Of Greatness Series

An 11-year-old girl named Abby went to the refrigerator and grabbed a grape flavored juice box. She shoved the straw into the box, and took a sip. And then she paused for a minute. She took the juice box to her sister, and said, "Here, taste this, and tell me if it tastes like church."

Now, why would she think it tasted like church? Because Grape juice is what a lot of churches put in their Communion cups. And that puzzled Abby! It tasted like communion - but they weren’t in a church building at the time and there were no communion trays. There was no communion bread, and there was no communion cups. Despite the fact that she wasn’t in a church bldg. at that moment the juice box tasted like church because it tasted like… communion!

In our text today in John 6 – what we’re reading about SOUNDS like church. It sounds like communion. And so, a lot of folks will use this passage to explain the Lord’s Supper. But there’s a couple of problems with that. First Jesus hadn’t died yet!

In I Corinthians 11:23-26 Paul wrote: “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

You see, when we take communion we proclaim Jesus’ death. But you can’t proclaim something that hasn’t happened! His body hadn’t been broken yet and His blood hadn’t been shed. And, there’s no communion trays in John 6. And there’s no communion cups. There’s NOT even a piece of bread anywhere in sight!!! So, what’s going on here?

Well, just the day before, Jesus had fed these very people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. It’s called the “Feeding of the 5000”, where Jesus fed 5000 men, along with their wives and children. And there were 12 baskets of food left over.

These people had had a free lunch, and they wanted more. So they hunted up Jesus the next day and came back for… seconds. They didn’t really WANT Jesus. What they wanted was a free meal. But now, Jesus - as He often did - turned this situation into a teachable moment. You want bread… I’ll give you bread. In fact, I’ll give you living bread and when you eat of this bread, you’ll never die!

BREAD??? What kind of bread was Jesus talking about? Well, Jesus said “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

Many in the crowd became confused & offended by what He taught them that day. And so, ultimately, “many of his disciples turned away and no longer walked with him. (John 6:66) But what did Jesus say that could possibly confuse/offend the crowd? Well, it was when Jesus talked about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Jesus said: “Whoever feeds on 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. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” John 6:54-56

Those were the words that confused & offended His audience, and those words have continued to confuse lots of other people ever since. Remember, Jesus wasn’t talking about the Lord’s Supper here. There’s no cups of juice or plates of bread setting around. The only bread he ever gave these folks was 24 hours earlier when He fed the 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. So, if Jesus isn’t talking about the Lord’s Supper… what’s He talking about?

He’s talking about hungering and thirsting for HIM. Do you remember in the Beatitudes, Jesus said “blessed are those who hunger and thirsting for righteousness”? It’s the same concept here. Jesus is essentially saying “Blessed are you when you hunger and thirst for me!” That’s why Jesus said “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

How do I satisfy my hunger for Jesus? … I COME TO HIM! How do I quench my thirst for Jesus? … I BELIEVE IN HIM! That’s how I eat His flesh and drink His blood. It’s not a physical thing any more than hungering and thirsting for righteousness is physical. Now, granted, there are those who believe IT IS physical. When they partake of “the Lord’s Supper” (which they call the Eucharist) they BELIEVE that they are literally eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood. It’s called “Transubstantiation.”