"The Bread of Life" 4-6-23

Overview

The Bread of Life

Jesus spoke many "difficult sayings" that troubled even His closest followers: that it is harder for the rich to enter the kingdom than a camel to pass through a needle's eye, that He came not to bring peace but a sword, that the dead must bury their own dead. But perhaps no saying caused more offense than this: "Take and eat, this is my body. Take and drink, this is my blood." When His disciples first heard Him declare, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven," many turned away saying, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" John 6:60.

The roots of this teaching reach back to the wilderness, when God rained manna from heaven for grumbling, undeserving Israelites and sustained them for forty years Exodus 16. Centuries later, after Jesus miraculously fed the five thousand, the crowds chased Him across the sea wanting more bread for their bellies. He confronted them: "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life" John 6:27. They knew the manna story by heart, yet missed that its Author stood before them. We are not so different. We chase fleshly hungers through alcohol, spending, power, status, sexual appetite, and the use of others for our own gain—and still our bellies turn with want. Jesus answers that restless hunger with Himself: "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger" John 6:35.

On the night He was betrayed, during the Passover that celebrated Israel's unearned freedom, Jesus instituted a new covenant of freedom—freedom from sin, from the devil's grip, and from death itself. Paul recounts His words: "This is my body that is for you... This cup is the new covenant in my blood" 1 Corinthians 11:23-25. This side of heaven we will not fully grasp how Christ's body and blood are truly present in, with, and under the bread and wine—but His words are plain: this is my body; this is my blood. It is His last will and testament, the gift of Himself, fully and completely, to His disciples of every age.

Knowing how we would continue to wrestle with hungry hearts, God in mercy gave us a tangible means of grace. At the altar, the Lord Himself comes to bind us to His promise, week after week declaring: "You are forgiven. My beloved son, my cherished daughter, this body and blood were given and shed for you." Christ is the bread that nourishes the soul, the bread that gives life. Come to the table. Taste and see that He is good Psalm 34:8.

Transcript

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter 2s

the kingdom of God. 12s

Follow me and let the dead bury their own dead. 16s

Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth. 23s

I have not come to bring peace but a sword. 27s

These are some of the difficult sayings of Jesus. 34s

Difficult sayings that His disciples did not understand but they still followed. 40s

And this is my body, take and eat. 50s

This is my blood, take and drink. 61s

Even for the church today, these are difficult sayings that Jesus shared with His disciples. 68s

Tonight, as we honor the institution of the Lord's supper, we are going to find this 80s

difficult saying and we are going to unpack it and maybe we will find that it is not so difficult 89s

after all but instead it is saying that Jesus gave to His disciples of all ages, a saying 97s

that is filled with beauty and filled with promise for you and for me. 106s

When God brought the people, the Israelites, people out of Egypt through the Red Sea and 115s

they hardened their hearts against Him and they grumbled because they didn't like their 121s

circumstances. 129s

The Lord had every reason and every right to say so long. 131s

I am not sticking around here, you are on your own but He didn't. 137s

He did not leave them to perish. 142s

Instead, the Lord said to Moses, I am going to rain bread from heaven for you and each day 146s

the people that shall go out and gather enough for that day. 152s

The Lord provided sustenance for 40 years sustenance for the people who directly grumbled 159s

against Him. 169s

Did they deserve it? 173s

Did they deserve this sustenance, this nourishment? 175s

No. 180s

Though it was undeserved, God provided bread from heaven. 180s

He provided this manna, a food that would nourish them until they reached the promised 188s

land. 195s

Ever since the Exodus, the Jewish and the Christian people have told this story of God's 197s

goodness, of God's provision, of God's mercy. 206s

It tells of His love for His people, though they were undeserving. 211s

We'll fast forward centuries from the Exodus and we find ourselves amongst a crowd surrounding 216s

Jesus gathered around Him. 223s

He had miraculously fed 5,000 plus people the day before. 226s

He had crossed over the sea. 232s

This is when we find Him walking on waters, on water, two His disciples. 234s

He miraculously fed them the crowds, wanted more and they sought Him out and they found 240s

Him across the sea and they sought after the food that He could provide because they had 247s

had had their bellies filled and they wanted more. 254s

And they went to Him. 260s

But Jesus said, very truly, I tell you, you are not looking for me, not because you've 263s

saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves, do not work for the food that 269s

perishes. 275s

This was a difficult saying because it's not just the Jewish people that 279s

Jesus is talking to. 289s

This is a difficult saying for us because it's not the Jewish crowd alone who seeks 292s

to feed their bellies. 303s

Fast forward centuries from this crowd that was surrounded gathered around Jesus and 307s

we find ourselves in the year, 2000, 2003. 313s

Still amidst a people who seek to fill our bellies. 316s

We have a hunger. 325s

We have a hunger, a desire of the flesh that we seek to quench, we seek to fill this 328s

hunger. 337s

And we feed our desires in a variety of ways. 338s

Some of us choose alcohol, some of us choose drugs, some of us choose spending. 341s

We seek to feed that hunger for power through the stock market, through big, important 348s

jobs, through politics. 354s

We feed our needs with abusive language. 359s

We appease our sexual appetites. 363s

We use others for our own gain and still we want more. 366s

Still we desire to fill our fleshly bellies. 377s

Our bellies still turn with desire they still turn with need, with want, with hunger. 388s

And we continue to search. 395s

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, 403s

which the son of man will give you for it is on him that God the Father has set his seal. 410s

Not understanding when Jesus said this, the crowd said to him, our ancestors ate the 421s

man in the wilderness. 427s

As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. 429s

Then Jesus said to them, very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread 433s

from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 439s

For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 446s

They said to him, sir, give us this bread always. 454s

What is so interesting about this exchange between the crowd and Jesus is 462s

that this crowd knows so very well the story of the manna in the wilderness. 469s

They know this story so clearly and yet they miss that the author stands before them. 478s

Before we continue with our crowd gathered around Jesus, I want to jump ahead. 491s

As Jesus further explains this bread, he says that any who eat of his flesh, 498s

who drink of his blood, they will have eternal life. 511s

He says, I am the bread of life, your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness and they died. 517s

This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. 525s

I am the living bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats of this bread will live forever 531s

and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. 538s

This is a difficult saying. 553s

In fact, when many of his disciples heard it, they said, this teaching is difficult or offensive. 559s

Who can accept it? 568s

And because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went following Jesus, 570s

a stumbling block from the start, a stumbling block from the start, 583s

flesh and blood, bread and wine. Even today, even today amongst the church, the debate continues. 592s

The debate over whether communion is transubstantiation, meaning that there is no longer bread 608s

and wine, but it is only flesh and blood. Or maybe it's merely just a symbol where there is no flesh 616s

and blood, but bread and wine alone. It's a difficult saying, or maybe it's not as difficult as we think. 624s

In our Corinthians reading tonight, we hear Paul tell of the Lord's supper that the Lord Jesus 642s

on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 649s

this is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, he took the cup 655s

also after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it 667s

in remembrance of me. Will we fully grasp how Jesus, the flesh and blood of Jesus is in with and 676s

under the bread and wine? This side of heaven, no, we're not fully going to grasp how it works, 690s

but does that mean that it is not flesh and blood in with and under the bread and wine? 701s

No. When Jesus spoke those words, he spoke using very plain language. This is my body, this is my blood. 711s

Not so difficult of a saying. When Jesus spoke those words, he spoke of a gift that we 726s

would need because we are like the crowd begging for the bread of which Jesus spoke. We with the 736s

crowd say, give us this bread always, but they didn't understand what they were asking. They 747s

still thought after the hunger of the flesh when we come to the table, what are we seeking? 755s

When we come to the table, what are we receiving? The Passover was a meal, celebrating God's 766s

covenant with Israel, the freedom that he would bring to his people, a freedom that they could not 778s

gain or earn for themselves. During the very past over meal that was celebrated year after year 785s

as commanded by God, it was during the past over meal that Jesus gave a celebration of a new covenant, 796s

a new covenant that God was making with his people, a new covenant of freedom, 806s

a covenant of freedom from our sin, a covenant of freedom from being reigned and held by the 815s

member of the devil, a covenant of freedom over death itself. He brings this freedom to us and 824s

it is not a freedom that we can earn or gain for ourselves. It was the night, the night in which 836s

he was to be betrayed. This is the last gathering that he had with his friends. They did not know 850s

this, but he knew. And he was going to gift them with his final gift. His last will and testament 858s

if you will. And what is it? What is it with this last few hours of his own freedom this 869s

night of heaven was he giving to his disciples, himself, fully, holy and completely, himself. 884s

Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry, 904s

whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Christ alone is the salvation of life. He is the bread 914s

that nourishes unlike any baker could ever provide for us. Jesus is the nourishment that feeds 931s

our very soul. In the holy supper, God draws us to himself. In the holy supper, God binds 942s

us to himself. He draws and binds us to his promise. This side of heaven, we continue to struggle. 954s

We continue to wrestle with our fleshly bellies, our bellies that are always hungry after more. 966s

Our bellies that are always seeking something else that this world has to offer 973s

seeking to please and fill our bellies by any means. And in God's mercy, 983s

in God's mercy, He knew that we would have this struggle. He knew that we would have 994s

this wrestling. And so He gave us a means. He gave us a means of His grace. 1000s

This tangible grace that is His body and is His blood that comes to us through the bread and the wine 1011s

of Holy Communion. It's through the tangible grace that the Lord comes to us week after week 1023s

telling us you are forgiven. This body which you eat, this blood which you drink were given and 1031s

dead for you on the cross. My beloved son, my cherished daughter, I gave myself freely 1046s

as the new covenant to be the new covenant, the covenant that your sins are forgiven. 1062s

The covenant that I will always be with you, the covenant that will strengthen you and sustain you. 1077s

Jesus is the bread of life, the bread which gives life. Unless I wash you, you have no share with me. 1087s

I give you a new commandment that you should love one another, a little while 1105s

and you will no longer see me. These are some of the difficult sayings. Jesus said to His 1115s

disciples, those last hours before His arrest. Here are the words. Here are the words that He speaks 1126s

to you tonight when you come to the altar. This is Christ's body given for you. This is Christ's 1136s

blood shed for you. He is the bread of life, taste and see that He is good. 1149s