The Bread of Life – Is All We Really Need

The Bread of Life – Is All We Really Need  is the final message from our series on John 6.  Jesus comes to a dramatic end of this sermon.  The result is what and outsider would call and abject failure.  The masses walk away in frustration and unbelief.  How does it all fall apart?

52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

This is a sharp argument – we’re almost coming to blows here – as violent as you can get with words.  I started this series a couple weeks ago saying that each of these messages would increase in intensity.  Jesus is doubling down.  Maybe you didn’t hear him the first time?

53 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. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

Jesus you’re not helping.  Don’t you know what the world says about you?  This is from a Barna poll from a couple years ago.  The global impression of Jesus is that he is trustworthy, generous, wise, peaceful.  Why can’t we just leave it at that?  The author Stephen Prothero some 20 years ago wrote a book called American Jesus – in it he comments about how ubiquitous Jesus is.  It doesn’t matter who you are, people from every walk of life like Jesus.  Wouldn’t it be better to be liked?  No.  Jesus doesn’t think so either here in John 6.  He doubles down.

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.”

I feel like this happens every time we’ve jumped into the Gospel of John this year for our messages.  Jesus is not “just a prophet” or a nice guy.  He’s talking about coming down from heaven and people eating his flesh and drinking his blood.  You can say he’s crazy or… he’s God.  Again this is spiritual eating.  This is a matter of the heart and soul.  Trusting in Jesus is how you will live forever.  Luther wrote this To be sure, we will let You give us food and drink, but we cannot tolerate that You try to teach us and pose as our Master.