The very purpose of Jesus coming into the world was to open the doors to eternal life for all of humanity. Aren’t you glad for that? He was the Lamb of God slain from the foundations of the world that would take away our sins. People of Jesus' day did not know about that. And so as it was getting closer to His crucifixion, Jesus was telling his followers what to expect and things they needed to do in order to inherit eternal life but it did not seem to go well with many of them. Reading from vs. 49 onwards Jesus says:
48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. Jumping down to vs 66 he says "from this time forward many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." Then turning to the twelve Jesus said “do you want to leave to?”
The Jews could not accept that teaching and many left and walked away. It was too radical for them to accept Jesus as God’s son let alone the thought of eating his flesh and drinking his blood as a condition of being blessed with eternal life.
People are walking away today too. Church membership across the world has dwindled. Look at our own Church – how many people do we have here? Go to the Malls, movie theatres and golf courses. That is where you will see most of them! It is a fact that people love the world more than they love the Lord. They pursue “things” instead of the maker of “all things.” You know this -many are called but only few are chosen. What about you my friends? Do you read your bible and pray every day? Are you a faithful follower or do you come to Church when you have nothing else on your calendar!
Not everyone who comes to Church accept his teachings either. They believe what they choose to believe and want “Church to work for them.” You have heard that saying right – “we have always done it this way.” People want to cling on to things of the past. The Jews were no different. They were standing in the presence of Jesus and listening to the Savior of the world but they had no regard for him at all. All they wanted is “manna.” There are some today too who only want manna. By this I mean pursuing earthy goals that fill the belly instead of filling the soul. The bible teaches that we must “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and then everything else will be added unto you” but we seek the “everything else” first and not the kingdom.
We are not going to make it if we have one foot in the Church and the other in the world. We must be all in. We must be able to pick up our cross and follow him. It is the only way to eternal life. As you know, he is the way, the truth and the life in whom all fullness dwells. He wants to feed us with spiritual food that will outlast this earthly life. His word and teachings is our food. The word that became flesh and dwelt among us.
My friends please hear me out - beyond this earthly life, there is eternal life or eternal death. What are you preparing for my friends? Jesus wants to give you eternal life and has already prepared an eternal home for you. If you want to be there, it is time to get right with God. We won’t get there by chance – we get there only when we repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Jesus makes no bones about it when he said in order to have eternal life we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. But the Jews had a problem with this saying “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” How slow of understanding can they be! They had no problem enjoying the miracles and having their dead raised to life, the sick healed and the poor fed but other than that, they wanted to be no part of him. It is interesting that prior to asking them to eat his flesh and drink his blood, Jesus said “I am the bread of life.”
Those words “I AM” have great significance. I don’t know if you remember but the great “I AM” is the name that God gave himself when he met Moses at the burning bush. This simply means I am everything you will ever need now or throughout all of eternity. In other words, If you are sick – I am your healer, if you are financially broken I am your provider; if you are lonely, I am your comforter; if you need forgiveness for sin, I am your redeemer, If you have lost hope, I am your closest friend, if no one loves you, I love you with an everlasting love and the list goes on. So, when Jesus says “I am the bread of life” it means without him there is no life. Sin can separate us from eternal life but we have victory in the name of Jesus.
Do you remember this - What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can keep me pure within, nothing but the blood of Jesus. There is wonder working power in the blood of Jesus that washes us whiter than snow.
Not long after that, Jesus instituted the Eucharist or Lord’s supper when he gathered his disciples together to share their last meal. Towards the end of that meal, Jesus took a piece of bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body (let me pause here for a moment – he did not say this bread is my body…. rather he said, this is my body) which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. (Likewise, the cup he offered he said was his blood) - This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
It is why in our Church we use bread and wine to represent the body and blood of Jesus just as He did that night and as he commanded us to do. Christ gives himself to us in a form that is appropriate for human eating and drinking. Yet at the same time, we are not just consuming a piece of bread and taking a sip of wine. We feed on his body and blood just as he wants us to.
When we consecrate the bread and wine and through our Eucharist prayers I use the words “We celebrate the memorial of our redemption O Father in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and we offer you these gifts of bread and wine. Sanctify them by your Word and Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Sanctify us also that we may worthily receive this holy sacrament and be made one body with him.”
Plainly said, Jesus wants us to remember him in the sacrifice he made for us. Jesus offered his body and blood for us so that we could be one with him. His death and the cross would be perpetual source of strength and sustenance that we are to proclaim and spiritually feed on till he comes again. It means we are to accept and agree to infuse his body and blood into ours in order that he cleanses us of all sin. When we do that, he begins to live in us. He died so that we might live and yes He is truly the bread of life.
Sad to say but unfortunately, the teachings of Jesus sometimes bring about divisions in the house because it requires us to completely surrender to his authority and grace. People want the easy way out or a religion that works for them but Christianity is not a cheap religion – it comes with a price – the price of the Lord’s life. His body was broken and his blood was shed for us. His faithful followers gratefully feed on his body and blood as often as they can.
Let me illustrate with a story:
A certain man had a beautiful garden. In the middle of the garden, the man had a bamboo tree which he loved more than any other tree in the garden.
One day, the man came to the bamboo tree and said “I want to cut you down.” The bamboo tree was sad but asked, “why do you want to cut me down - I thought you loved me.” I do said the owner but unless I cut you down, I cannot use you. I am not only going to cut you down, but I am going to stick a knife in your side and split you in two.
So the man cut the tree and pierced a knife and split the stem in half, and made from it a gutter that could carry water. The man then took the split half and put one end at the source of spring water and the other end lead to a piece of parched and dry land. Soon, the spring water trickled over the broken bamboo and watered the dry land. The dry and barren land which was useless before became alive and brought forth plenty because of the broken tree.
Friends, Jesus is like that bamboo tree. The Father loved him very much - more than anything else, but unless He was cut down, he could not be used. Unless Jesus was stripped of his garments, pierced in His side and crucified - unless he gave his life, he could not save those in the dry land. He is the bridge between the Father and us.
Honestly, it is better to have a handful who will eat His flesh and drink His blood than a big crowd who do not want to surrender to His authority and grace. We are never going to fully understand all the mysteries of heaven and I believe there must come a time in our walk with the Lord to stop questioning everything and instead follow him with an unshakable faith.
Walk by faith my friends and not by sight. Where he leads us, we must follow. If the teachings of Jesus offend us, then maybe someone else has our ears and our heart and it is time to drop out of the race. I am sure you have heard this before but real love is to let go. When some of the Jews left, Jesus gave the twelve a chance to leave too. “Do you want to leave too” he asked. No one is forced to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior but to those who do, Jesus says “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
I don’t know about you but that last day is what I have been waiting for a long time. It is closer than many of us think. Jesus has promised to come as a thief in the night. I hope you stay awake and remain rapturable and ready.
Believers have a home in glory land that outshines the sun. I hope you are watching and praying without ceasing. Don’t give up because our redemption is nigh. Remember Jesus may be all that you have but it is all that you will ever need. Feed on him my friends. He is indeed our bread of life. Manna will not take us to heaven but his shed blood surely will – hallelujah to the Lamb of God! Amen
