PARTAKING OF CHRIST
John 6:35-51
INTRODUCTION
In his latest book, Jesus Among Other Gods, Ravi Zacharias tells of a 1996 expedition to Mt. Everest.
His information came from the book, Into Thin Air, that chronicles the hazards that plagued the climbers.
“The expedition was a disaster and many lost their lives. Some circumstances were beyond their control but mistakes cost them dearly. One of the leaders who lost his life was Andy Harris. He had stayed at the peak past the deadline that the leaders themselves had set.On his descent, he became in dire need of oxygen. He radioed his predicament to base camp, telling them of his need for oxygen and that he had come upon a cache of oxygen canisters left by other climbers He told them that they were all empty. Those at the base camp who had already passed the canisters on their return knew that they were not empty. The problem
was that the lack of what they needed (oxygen) so disoriented his mind that he thought he was surrounded by empty canisters yet they were full.
What oxygen is to the body, the Bread of life is to the soul. Without that bread, we are disoriented. All other hungers are then improperly perceived. In fact, in like manner, the absence of that bread over a prolonged period makes the bread itself seem worthless.
Life is meant to be lived with the fulfillment of the one need that defines all other means of fulfillment and the one love that defines all other loves. That one need is the Bread of life. Jesus Christ.
TEXT
In John 6:48 Jesus said, “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE.”
To understand the meaning of these words, we must see them in their context. Jesus had just fed a vast multitude of five thousand. He miraculously met their physical needs. Now He was making it clear that He could meet their deeper needs. Jesus used something material and tangible to communicate a great spiritual truth. Using this metaphor of bread, Christ is telling
us that what physical bread is to the body, He is to the soul.
As Ravi Zacharias says, “His words were intended to lift the listeners from their barren, food-dominated existence to the recognition and acknowledgment of the supreme hunger of life that can only be filled with a different bread. Food and power blind the mind to the need for nourishment and strength of soul. Unfortunately, many fail to pause here long enough to really hear what Jesus is teaching and understand the life-transforming power contained in this truth.”
We are physical, emotional and spiritual beings. As such our deepest hungers and needs cannot possibly be met by the temporal and tangible things of this life.
HUNGERS
Scores of folk today have more than enough of the material things of this life yet there is a gnawing emptiness deep within them and overwhelming feelings of
dissatisfaction and disillusionment. It can’t be otherwise as they have needs and hungers that only Christ, the Bread of life can satisfy. We all have an intrinsic hunger for meaning and purpose. Without adequate meaning, life is, as Ernest Hemingway put it, “just a dirty trick, a short journey from nothingness to nothingness.”It takes much more than money, possessions, prestige, position or power to give our lives adequate meaning and a fulfilling purpose. Even when we are not aware of it, we also hunger for forgiveness. It is one of mankind’s greatest needs.
Dr. Hobart Mowrer, a former President of the American Psychological Association said, “…unacknowledged and unexpiated guilt leads to self-hatred and a host of other problems.It severely damages our capacity to love and to be lovable.” The only adequate solution to the problem of guilt is the forgiveness that Christ offers. We have a built in need to worship
something powerful and transcendent. The things that most people today worship, things like money, possessions, people just won’t do. We need to worship Christ, the Son of God.
Dr. Malcom Muggerridge was a world famous and highly esteemed British journalist. Although he was famous, wealthy and influential, something important was missing in his life. Throughout his life he had repudiated the claims of Christ. He considered himself to smart to fall for the myths of Christianity. One day, however, he realized that he had hungers that the
things of this world could not possibly satisfy. So he humbled himself and surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. He began feeding upon the teachings of
Christ. As he feasted upon the life and words
of our Lord, wonderful changes occurred. Christ became a dynamic, vital Presence. He discovered that the
Bread of Life was able to satisfy his deepest hungers and innermost longings. What Christ did for Malcolm Muggeridge, he yearns to do for each one of us and he will if we will afford Him the opportunity.
EATING THE BREAD OF LIFE
After declaring that He is the “bread of life,” Jesus
continued on by saying in verse 51: “IF ANYONE EATS OF THIS BREAD, HE WILL LIVE FOREVER.”Then in verse 53 Jesus said, “WHOEVER EATS MY FLESH AND DRINKS MY BLOOD HAS ETERNAL LIFE…” This verse speaks in a language and moves in a world of ideas which are quite strange to us and which may even appear grotesque. It refers to a truth God seeks to impress upon us every time we come to the Lord’s Table. The bread and the cup are symbolic of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. Obviously, we do not literally partake of His flesh and blood. “TO EAT HIS FLESH AND DRINK HIS BLOOD” means that we take His life into the very core of our being. The “eating and drinking” of Him means believing and receiving Him. The one who believes
is the one who eats.To partake of Christ is to allow Him to become a vital part of our daily lives.To partake of Christ is to open our lives to His Presence and influence. It is to feed upon His words, internalizing them.It is to surrender to His lordship, allow Him to influence our thinking and change our
behavior.
Let’s think of it another way.“In a bookcase there is a book which its owner has never read.It may be the glory and wonder of the tragedies of Shakespeare; but so long as it remains unread in his bookcase it is external to him. One day he takes it down and reads it.
He is thrilled, fascinated and moved by it. The story sticks to him and the lives of those in the book remain in his memory. Now, whenever he desires, he can take that wonder out from inside himself and think
about it and feed his mind upon it. Once the book was outside of him. Now it is inside him where he can feed upon it and it can do him much good. It is that way with any great experience in life. It remains
external until we take it into ourselves.”
So it is with the Lord Jesus Christ. So long as He remains just a figure in a book he is external to us; but when he enters into our hearts and lives by faith we can feed upon Him. We then find ourselves meditating upon His truths, teachings and ways.
In so doing we are partaking of the “Bread of life.”
To trust in Him and allow Him into our hearts and lives is to “EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD.” Through this metaphor Jesus is saying to us, “You
must stop thinking of me as a subject for
theological debate.You must see me as more than just a teacher or prophet from the distant past. You must see me as your Savior and Lord, allowing me to be a vital part of your life. You must receive me and feed
upon my words.”
In explaining this metaphor, Dr. William Barclay says, “Jesus meant that we must take his life into the very core of our hearts.” This metaphor of eating is used in order to impress upon us the truth that we receive life from the source of life - Christ.
ETERNAL LIFE
In our text, Jesus tells us of something wonderful that
happens when we partake of Him, the Bread of life.
- In verse 51 He says, “IF ANY PERSON EATS OF THIS BREAD, HE SHALL LIVE FOREVER…”Through Christ we are given the gift of eternal life. We can, therefore, be absolutely certain of a place in heaven. The incredible thing about this Bread is that it is able to meet our deepest needs for not only this life but also for the life to come! This Bread makes a difference for all eternity.In verse 49 Jesus said to His hearers, “YOUR FATHERS DID EAT MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS AND ARE DEAD….” This was a reference to the
miraculous provision of “manna” or bread for the Israelites while wandering in the wilderness. They ate it and their physical, temporal needs were supernaturally met. But eventually
they died. In contrast Jesus was offering them and us the Bread of life which will sustain us forever.
If we truly partake of this Bread we will live forever.
Scripture declares in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that God has put “ETERNITY IN OUR HEARTS…” We have an innate, God-given hunger for life beyond the grave. As the things of this world leave us empty, disillusioned and dissatisfied, we long for a life that will transcend our earthly pilgrimage As the changes of life rob us of our health and loved ones, we yearn for the gift of eternal life that Christ offers. That for which we hunger is, indeed, a reality. Eternal life is possible; there is a place called heaven.
Hebrews 13:14 says “WE HAVE NO CONTINUING CITY, BUT WE SEEK ONE TO COME.” Jesus said in John 11:25,
“WHOSOEVER LIVETH AND BELIEVETH IN ME, THOUGH HE DIE PHYSICALLY, YET SHALL HE LIVE.” Through faith in Christ our hunger for eternal life will be satisfied.
FELLOWSHIP
There is another aspect of this metaphor of the bread.
Our greatest hunger in life is a hunger for God. We were created to live in fellowship with our Creator.
“To the middle Eastern mind-set, bread is not just a source of nourishment.It is the bearer of so much more.
Food is the means of fellowship. Jesus Himself, in Revelation 3:20 says that “I STAND AT THE DOOR OF (YOUR HEART) AND KNOCK, IF ANYONE OPENS THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN AND EAT WITH HIM.”
If we open our lives to Christ we will have fellowship with Him. Food is the means of celebration. The return of the prodigal was celebrated by a feast.”Through the use of this metaphor of bread, Jesus speaks to us of a friendship and fellowship that we can have with Him.
In our natural state as sinners, we are alienated from God.We are out of fellowship with Him.Our unforgiven sin makes it impossible for us to have fellowship with God who is holy. Yet, we were created to live in fellowship with Him. It was intended that we communicate with Him. Daily conversation with God is essential to our well-being. We were created to experience His Presence. Through Jesus Christ, the Living Bread, we can experience a deep fellowship
with God.
CONCLUSION
The story is told of a Maine fishing village in destitute condition.Townspeople decided to hold a meeting to try to resolve their financial woes and complicated problems.It was attended by a stranger who tried several times to speak.There being a bit of community prejudice, this visitor was interrupted each time.The local townspeople didn’t want an outsider to become involved. A latecomer to the meeting saw the visitor leave early and asked, “What was he doing here?
Did he offer help? Is he going to aid us?” Members of the unknowing assembly asked who he was. The latecomer replied, “I saw his yacht docked in the harbor.
That was John D. Rockerfeller, Sr. who had come to offer his help.” How often the Lord comes to us but we do not recognize Him, allow Him to speak to us or receive Him.
Christ comes to us through His Word, His Spirit and His people. As the Bread of life He comes to satisfy our hungers. What oxygen is to the body, Christ is to the soul..Only He can satisfy our deepest hungers and longings.Yet the tendency is for people to push Him away.
As Ravi Zacharias has said, “We have come apart from the moorings that God has put in place for our well-being..We have gone astray, feeding and feasting on all the empty, fleeting things this world offers.
All the while neglecting the Lord.”
Jesus says,“I AM THE LIVING BREAD THAT CAME DOWN
FROM HEAVEN.IF ANYONE EATS OF THIS BREAD, HE WILL LIVE
FOREVER.” Feed your soul on Christ. Nourished and strengthened by Him you will be able to live your life on a higher, more noble and more satisfying plane. Partake of Christ and the deepest hungers of
your soul will be satisfied.
