Key Verse: Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of
life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will
never be thirsty."
John 6:35
In John 6:4, we are told, "the Jewish Passover Feast was
near." This is important to note because it gives historical context to
not only what we read today, but also the feeding of the 5,000. Because the
people were beginning to think about their Passover celebration, they would
already have in mind the history of how God had provided for His people in the
past, as they wandered in the desert. As God provided Manna in the wilderness,
so Jesus provided on the mountainside. As God provided manna in the wilderness,
so Jesus Himself is what has been provided for eternal life.
Just as the people in the wilderness could have refused to
eat the manna and suffer the consequences, so now, those who refuse to partake
in Jesus will experience the same. But, those who choose to partake, Jesus has
promised to raise on the last day.
The people in the wilderness did nothing to earn the manna
from heaven. All that was required was to believe that those strange wafers, were
what God, through Moses, said they were. They showed their belief and trust by
gathering the stuff and eating it. Now, Jesus tells them, "The work of God
is this: to believe in the One He has sent." (John 6:29) Just as Jesus
brings in a new covenant, so also, Jesus is the new manna that gives eternal
life for those who reach out, gather and partake of Him.
Then, Jesus addresses the Father's right to choose who will
partake. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws
him." (John 6:44A) This too would have been understandable to His
listeners. The people of Israel believed that they were God's chosen people.
Now, however, Jesus raises the standard. It's not enough to be Jewish, no, now
the standard is based on partaking of Christ and God will take the prerogative
to choose who that will be.
Finally, how do those who believe partake? By eating His
flesh and drinking His blood. We, of course, immediately think of communion at
these words of Jesus, but, understandably, Jesus’ hearers did not have a Christian
frame work for such things. Even in Passover, bread and flesh were two separate
entities and the blood, which carries the life of the sacrifice, was poured
out, not consumed. Even in communion today, we do not drink actual blood, but
wine, or juice, which serves as blood's substitute. Jesus speaks as a prophet
here, talking of understanding that will come in the future through His
crucifixion and the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ sacrifice is
sufficient. In becoming a part of His body, we ingest His life. In taking His
cup, His life energizes ours. We are what we eat in a spiritual sense as well.
When we take His life into our own, He will raise us up at the last day.
Hymn: "I Am the Bread of Life" John Michael Talbot
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