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 fter Jesus returned to the city of Bethsaida near
Capernaum, He did not have very much time to Himself. Some from the massive crowd that He had fed miraculously from five loaves and two fishes had finally found Him. The discussion
that followed between them and Jesus was all about eating bread. What a fitting topic - bread! They had eaten bread and so Jesus talked about bread. He started with the manna
that had come down from heaven when the Israelites were in the wilderness on their journey out of Egypt. It was good food to keep one physically alive. But it was worthless
food for providing eternal life because those who ate the manna in the wilderness died (John 6:49). But Jesus’ bread was different. Jesus’ bread was Himself. He
was the true bread (John 6:32-35). Jesus declared that those who come to Him will not hunger. He was not like that old, spoiling manna. He was the Bread of Life! Those who “ate” Him
would live forever (John 6:47)! You see, Jesus has been and is all that anyone needs. You need nothing else. I trust that as you read this, Jesus is all that you will want.
I trust that you will find Him to meet your deep desires - everything that you desire. Otherwise, you will have truly missed Jesus. He is the Living Water and He is the Bread
of Life. He is the “living everything!” He is the source of spiritual life! Disturbing Statement. Jesus ended His teaching opportunity by saying that one must also eat His flesh and drink His blood. It was a figurative
expression referring to His future death. Here is Jesus’ statement,
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:53-54 (NAS95S)
Jesus’ point was that it is not enough to listen to His teachings and be impressed with His miracles. One must accept His physical death and His return to life in order
to be forgiven of one’s sins. Otherwise, one will not live forever with God (John 6:53). This was a radical concept for anyone who was listening.
Difficult Statement. When Jesus’ disciples heard this, they were troubled. Listen to their words,
Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” John 6:60 (NAS95S) For those who were standing there and listening, we can understand why this was difficult to hear. What would you think if a man talked about eating His flesh, drinking His
blood, being the Bread of Life, and giving you eternal life? Many would struggle with such words. But Jesus used such illustrations to get people to think, and the people were
thinking. Then Jesus responded to them,
But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? John 6:61-62 (NAS95S) Jesus’ question must have surprised them. How did He know, and how would they respond? Notice how Jesus referred to Himself. He calls Himself the Son of Man. Jesus is
emphasizing His humanity - His fleshly body and His return back to heaven. Yes, He was a man but He was also God.
Those who had found Jesus’ words difficult did not understand the divine message. Jesus explains,
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. John 6:63-64 (NAS95S) Those who struggled with Jesus’ words were those who did not believe Him. Their problem was not that they needed a scholarly book and spectacular presentation to convince
them about Jesus. Today, we sometimes think that all people need is a great book that refutes evolution and endorses creation, a book that defends the accuracy of the Bible,
or a CD or DVD that presents some archaeological discovery about the Christian faith. The truth is they just need to read one of the divinely inspired gospels about Jesus, and
God will speak to them. Otherwise, they will never understand. God wrote the scriptures. The words of the scriptures pierce to the heart and soul (Heb. 4:12). They convict and
lead one to Jesus. Jesus said that His words were spiritual words. One needs the Holy Spirit to help him or her understand (1 Cor. 2:12-14).
Paradoxical Statement. Many did not understand Jesus because they did not believe, and many did not believe because God the Father had not chosen
them to believe. That is Jesus’ next statement. He repeated His previous message in John 6:37, 44 from a different perspective.
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | ||||||
