John Lim
John 6:48-59 (3 of 4)
I am the Bread of Life
Jesus emphasized that he who believes has everlasting life in verse 47. Now the stage is set for His declaration. Look at verse 48.
“I am the bread of life.”
In this very short and cryptic verse, Jesus is making a profound and spectacular statement only He alone can make. There is no one on this earth in the past and in the future who can declare this statement. This is the fundamental difference between the message of Christianity and message of all other religions in the world. Jesus, the Son of God who came in the form of flesh makes profound statement that separates and distinguishes him from all other heads of religions or movements. No one but Jesus can make this claim.
Fortunately, Jesus doesn’t stop here but continues with his discourse by referring to the Old Testament. Look at verse 49.
“Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.”
He is reminding them of the Exodus in the Old Testament when Moses led his people from bondage in
Even though they ate manna from heaven, they did not go on or live on forever. They all died eventually. This is an excellent time for all of us to reflect on this simple but convincing truth that all men die in the end. From those who are healthy to sick, wealthy to poor, and old to young, death is the ultimate show stopper for all mortals. We may cheat death from time to time and we may evade death through various means but the ultimate visitor, “Death” deals us fatal blow in the end. Death will not be appeased.
So, when Jesus made that statement, “yet they lived,” those who seriously thought about the implications of death would nod in agreement and acknowledge that indeed even those who ate manna died.
Then look at what Jesus says in verse 50-51.
“But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man
may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
As they were pondering what Jesus just said, he continues with his reasoning. He claims that here is the bread that comes down from heaven that when a man eats this bread he will not die. Jesus claims that He is the living bread that came down from heaven and that if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.
This is a bold declaration and a very powerful statement. Israelites viewed the history of Exodus as the most spectacular story of God’s intervention in the affairs of mankind especially as it relates to the Israelites. For them, the story of Exodus and how God preserved them in the desert for 40 years is the single most significant event in the history of
It is a story worth passing down from generation to generation. It is a wonderful story that illustrates how God provided for their needs for 40 years in the desert. Can you imagine how they cherished telling this story to their children and their children? You can look at Exodus 16:31-34.
So for Jesus to make this claim that what he offers is even greater than the manna from heaven is almost unfathomable and unthinkable for ordinary Israelites. This is not very popular claim to be making.
Obviously, Jesus is not an ordinary human being and his claim is not preposterous or exaggerated. He is merely stating a fact or truth for He alone can make this seemingly audacious and outrageous claim. He is greater than manna which people ate and died.
Jesus also says that this bread which is his flesh, he will give for the life of the world. Obviously, we have the advantage of seeing this after his death on the cross. So, we know that he is talking about his upcoming death on the cross.
When Jesus made this declaration, obviously, people were perturbed. They could not equate Jesus to bread from heaven. Look at verse 52 as we can almost see their troubled look and consternation with what Jesus just said.
“Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves,"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Now, they are arguing among themselves. With that finite mind of man, they seemingly took his word literally even though they know very well that Jesus is not espousing cannibalism. These Jews were in the synagogue in
They knew he didn’t mean literally that they would have to eat human flesh and drink human blood but because Jesus knew what was in their heart, he continues his metaphor in verses 53-55.
“Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”
What Jesus teaches here is all about entering into a personal relationship with him. Jesus is making a direct connection between himself and eternal life. Unless there is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, there is no life in us. Without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we do not have eternal life and He will not raise us up at the last day.
Jesus declares the importance and significance of having a personal relationship with him. Unless we enter into this intimate relationship with Him, we have no life.
What is truly real is not what we can sense only with our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, feet and brain. Surely there is more to life than what we can perceive and sense with our natural senses. Just because we sense everything around as real doesn’t mean these are the only things that are real. Indeed these things are real while we are here on earth but when that moment comes and we must depart from our “real” world, then what happens?
Life we enjoy and cherish here and now is but a fraction of time compared to eternity that awaits us. What Jesus says is that we ought to take care of what is truly important for life ahead of us not just this life we are living right now. If we get so entrenched in this world of ours at this time, we will not be able to see beyond this world.
And Jesus is simply telling them that a provision has been made for eternal life. And this provision that surpasses manna of Exodus is Jesus Himself, the bread from heaven.
His reminder of all those who ate manna dying in the end is a strong case for inevitable end of life for everyone. This is why we should be mindful of this simple truth and while we have this day, we ought to make a commitment to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Like it happened two thousand years ago, there are still people who are so earth life bound that they are not able to lift up their eyes away from this life and see beyond. This on-going dialogue between Jesus and the Jews reveals to us man’s stubborn unwillingness or inability to subjugate and submit himself to the higher authority of God and His truth.
The truth is being spoken by Jesus after he performed the great miracle of feeding five thousand with 5 small barley loaves and 2 small fish in their very presence and yet they continue to seek argument in an attempt to thwart and muffle our Lord’s declaration that they must enter into personal relationship with Him.
How do we react or respond to our Lord’s unequivocal statement that He is the bread of life. Do we acknowledge that we are mere mortals who must continue to depend on bread? The frailty of mankind is shown through this passage. We are nothing but carbon based creation who must continue to eat and drink to sustain ourselves. As we look at the living creatures in the wild, we cannot but acknowledge that we share common trait of being dependent on food source for our very existence and survival. So, with physical bread, how long will it last? What happens after that?
We are perishable. In due time, we will go the way of all mankind. It will be as if we never existed. The monuments that we build to ourselves will eventually crumble and fall away. Our flesh will eventually rot and turn to dust. And yet, we are so very stubborn and bellicose when it comes to the truth about eternity. Many people today are only interested in life here and now or bread for today.
Our Lord Jesus undoubtedly knew the hardness of our heart and continued to proclaim to them the importance of having this intimate and personal relationship with him. This leads to eternal life. He is inviting them to ponder and consider what He is saying to them. The truth must be proclaimed regardless of whether the hearers respond or not or how they respond. Even this day, the simple truth that Jesus is the bread of life must be proclaimed. Even as we see people suffer physically and die of hunger, the need to proclaim the eternal life with Jesus cannot be compromised. Bread can only sustain man for a little while. Yet, all they wanted from Jesus was physical bread.
We have tendency to accept Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as absolute truth but I believe man in his desperate condition and circumstances is still able to think and wonder what his life means though he may be in most dire state of affair. Yes, indeed when we are hungry, all we can think about is food but how does that make us any better than the animals in the wild. Is it only when we are physically satiated, then we can think about more noble things?
Even as we battle hunger or physical discomfort, we are still human beings with capacity to speculate and wonder what life is all about and what the meaning of life is. That is what separates us from beasts in the field.
After 40 days of fasting, Jesus was tempted by devil who said to turn stones to bread knowing how hungry Jesus was. Yet what was Jesus’ answer in Matthew 4:1-4?
“It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. “ (Deuteronomy 8:3)
This is the reason that Jesus challenges them to lift their eyes off the physical bread and see what the historical account of manna in the wilderness truly teaches. The bread that came down from heaven in the form of manna points to Christ, the true manna that comes from God. Just as these obstinate people long for this heavenly manna, when they were told that Jesus is this manna, they simply couldn’t accept that or they were not willing to accept that.
These were religious people with some understanding of the Old Testament than the majority of the people out on the streets. Yet, when Jesus logically leads them through the steps and finally proclaims that he is the bread of life, they just couldn’t make that connection. They refused to make that connection. Jesus invites them to enter into a personal relationship with him.
Jesus declares that He is the manna from heaven. We want to humble ourselves and acknowledge that Jesus is the bread from heaven. We want to enter into personal relationship by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
This is where it gets very hard for those who heard him say these things. Even though they saw miraculous signs and wonders Jesus performed, they were not willing to humble themselves at His feet and proclaim that He is the Messiah, one who is greater than Moses of Exodus. These are the people who will never come to believe no matter what they see or witness.
Even today, some people claim enthusiastically that they would believe on Jesus if he performed some spectacular miracles. But this passage we have before us reminds us that we’ve had people like that in the past. When the Son of God, Jesus Christ walked on this earth, majority of the people would not believe on Him. They ate bread and fish and saw miracles Jesus performed but they did not believe. They were not willing to humble themselves and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Look at verse 55.
“For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”
That is a powerful statement and only Jesus can proclaim it. Jesus equates himself as the means by which they can have eternal life. Without the internalization of Christ, there is no eternal life.
Jesus states that when we have personal relationship with Him, He will raise us up at the last day. Last day is not a figment of our imagination but it is reality and it will take place someday. Last day is coming into fruition someday in the future. As much as we would like for this life to last forever, our world will come to a closure and there will be a last day. In light of this, can we afford to live as if there is no end? Can we afford to live as if there is no eternity?
It is interesting to note that in midst of this most profound truth about how he fits into the salvation of mankind, the Jews were obstinate group of people who refused to accept His invitation to enter into personal relationship.
They were not willing to let go of their former belief system. Sometimes, we are so set in our own belief system, we are not willing to throw out what we’ve been taught that were in error. More often than not, we adhere to some of these in our lives as if we would die when we throw them out. Just imagine what we have in our houses in the basement, attic and in the garage. Some of the things we know are nothing more than junk but we feel so strong about them that we are unwilling to throw them out.
These things or beliefs have become part of our house or who we are. It is difficult and hard to part ways with those that have become par of our lives. It is painful to let go of our flawed beliefs and values. These are the very things that give us comfort and familiarity.
What Jesus is doing is to challenge his hearers to take a dramatic shift in their thinking. He is challenging them to lift up their eyes to the heavens and recognize that God has given them the means by which they can enter into eternal life. Look at verse 58.
“This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna
and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Can you imagine the truth being taught by our Lord Jesus Himself to those people in the synagogue? What a wonderful opportunity for them! They are in the presence of God-Man carefully stating that He is the bread from heaven and that they need to feed on this bread.
How could these people not get this simple yet profound truth? They flocked to him when he performed miracles and yet when He presented them with a challenge, they basically wilted away. They were only able to see with their physical eyes and not with their spiritual eyes. They heard with only their physical ears and not with their spiritual ears.
Manna was mere shadow of true manna in Christ to come.
What Jesus proclaimed to them was too revolutionary and too fantastic that they were not able to grasp it. The truth is simple. Believe on Jesus Christ and live forever. Take this bread that comes from heaven. Enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Submit yourself to the Lordship of Christ.
Though multitude of people flocked to Jesus, when the gauntlet was thrown down for them to enter into a personal relationship with Christ, they were hesitant and suspicious. They could not acknowledge that Jesus was the Son of God who came to save us from eternal destruction.
It is important to notice verse 59 one last time.
“He said this while teaching in the synagogue in
The Jews who gathered in the synagogue in
They knew exactly that Jesus was talking about Himself as the Messiah but they couldn’t accept that. They were not willing to accept that.
Even today, as we continue to proclaim the message of the Gospel, there are many who will not see or hear the truth. Their minds have been filled with those that are obstructive to God’s truth. Their own understanding of popular conjectures that there are many ways to go to heaven and that Jesus is not the only way. Their minds find security with intellectual reasoning that there is no God but that religion is merely man’s own creation. As our own Lord Jesus so lovingly tried to teach them and show them the way to eternal life with Him, they were not willing.
Have we come to that point of humbling ourselves and acknowledging that Christ is Lord? Have we made that commitment to accept Jesus Christ into our own lives and willingly surrender ourselves to Him?
How do we make the commitment? How do we enter into personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Romans 10:9 tells us,
“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth
That you confess and are saved.”
'성경묵상연구 > 사복음서' 카테고리의 다른 글
| [마 20:29-34] 성공한 로비스트와 실패한 로비스트(김동열) (1) | 2008.10.08 |
|---|---|
| [마 20:17-28] 주님 따른다고 하면서, "동상이몽!?" (김동열) (2) | 2008.10.07 |
| [마 19:1-12] 우리 가정! 주님 뜻안에 있을 때 가장 행복하다.(김동열) (2) | 2008.10.04 |
| [Jn 6:34-47] All That the Father Gives Me Will Come to Me (0) | 2008.09.28 |
| [Jn 6:25-33] The Work of God is This (0) | 2008.09.21 |