John 6:58

“Look at me!  This is the bread that was sent from heaven.  Unlike your ancestors, who ate manna from heaven and died, if you make this bread your food you will live forever.” John 6:58 EFP

Jesus knows the stakes.  He realizes the magnitude of the moment.  Here is a mass of humanity caught in the battle for their very souls.  There is a struggle inside many of them between their spirit and their flesh. Jesus knows that true life cannot be found in things you can hold, buy and store in a vault, a barn, or even a stomach.  Life can only be found in God, through Christ.

All good things come from God:  food, relationships, housing, and health, to name a few.  But these things have expiration dates.  We always need more food.  Relationships end.  Housing decays. Health deteriorates.  If my life is dependent on these things, I may find satisfaction, but it will end when the things ends.  Not so with life in Christ.  Jesus is not giving commands as much as he is opening up a new way to experience life forever and forever life.  One is future.  One is now.  Both are only available through faith in the Bread of Life.  But I have to eat the Bread. This Bread is real.  The Gift is real.  The life is real.  I want life—I do not want to settle for anything less.  I sense a breakthrough coming.  

John 6:57

“Let me explain it another way,” Jesus continues. “Just as I live because of the living Father who sent me, so it will be with the ones who feed off my body and blood. They will also live because of me.” John 6:57 EFP

Jesus takes a step back in order to take another step forward at this point.  Perhaps he sees quizzical looks on some and disconnected glances on others.  He is carrying on a balancing act between those who are truly seeking and those whose motives are far from pure.

“It’s like I described the relationship I have with my Father,” Jesus seems to be referring back.  Re-read verses 37-40 and you will be reminded of the big picture.  Jesus is trying to help me understand the intimacy that exists between Jesus and his Father, and how he wants to establish that type of relationship with me.  But beyond that, I get the sense Jesus is also trying to remind me that the reason such a relationship was forged between Jesus and his Father was to rescue this lost world, including me.  But nothing short of a total and unequivocal commitment and surrender will suffice.  That is what Jesus did.  That is what Jesus calls for in me.  This is real.  There is no softening the blow.  There is no airbrushing the blood.  There is a cost to discipleship.  It is not the price of admission, it is part and parcel of the earthly journey for those who are citizens of the kingdom of God.

The call to follow Jesus is not for the faint of spirit. It is gritty and messy. It is all-encompassing. But the result is a freedom and peace that surpasses any semblance of life that exists away from God. Every day is an opportunity to experience that life personally and share it with others.

John 6:56

“It’s as simple as this: whoever eats my body and drinks my blood becomes a part of me, and I become a part of them.” John 6:56 EFP

OK.  Jesus adds a new dimension to his “flesh and blood” imagery.  There is a reciprocity that takes place when this eating and drinking of real flesh and real blood takes place. 

Understood on a purely material level, it is easy to see how eating another person’s body and drinking their blood, would be the most intimate experience possible, as disgusting as the thought might be to me.  There would be a physical connection unlike any other.  There would be a level of commitment unmatched in any other human experience.  Does that mean one person willingly lays down his or her life so that the other can eat and drink his remains?  Certainly the person who lays down his or her life makes the supreme sacrifice, but the one who eats and drinks the flesh and blood is making an astronomical commitment as well.  This is not cannibalizing for the sake of satiating common hunger. 

Although Jesus is making sure the blood and body being eaten refers to a real sacrifice, remember this whole conversation begins with Jesus making a spiritual reference to contrast with the physical needs the crowd is seeking to satisfy (verse 27).  This is intended to be chilling and graphic imagery.  The reason will become clear soon, and I sense, it will be brought back to mind on the days of Jesus’ passion leading to his death on the cross.  Perhaps it is one of those things that makes sense in time—you have to wait for it.

John 6:55

“My flesh is tangible food and my blood is actual drink,” Jesus says.  “This is not make-believe—it’s real!” John 6:55 EFP

I get the sense Jesus really wants the people to understand clearly what he is trying to communicate.  Yet every verse only makes the journey steeper.  Just when a person is opening their mind to a spiritual application of the blood and flesh of the teacher, Jesus makes this declaration!  “Flesh and blood means flesh and blood.”  It is real.  It is tangible and concrete.

This would have been understandable if Jesus was making a statement about himself—he is real.  His body and blood are real.  That makes sense. But Jesus makes this statement on the heels of the statement regarding eating his flesh and drinking his blood. It’s as if he is saying, “Don’t think I am talking about something other than the real thing.”  Is he saying that I will actually eat his real body and drink his real blood?  How is that possible?  If you are feeling uneasy, you should be.  It seems Jesus is trying his best to create that feeling in his listeners.  Why? I can’t help but believe there is a sense of Jesus pushing me outside my comfort zone.

Why would Jesus make the most wonderful gift ever bestowed on humanity seem so disgusting and repelling?  Is there something about believing in Jesus and his sacrifice that causes a gut-level disgust?  If I am left with this question, I can imagine how those people felt who heard it for the first time.  Stay tuned

John 6:54

“Anyone who eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life.  I will raise those people up on the last day of this world as you know it.” John 6:54 EFP

As if there was any more need for clarification, Jesus reiterates and expands the previous statement, replacing the “Son of Man” with “my” when referring to eating the flesh and drinking the blood.  It almost sounds as if Jesus is trying to repel them with the imagery. 

His body and his blood are the antidote for eternal death.  Jesus is pointing to his atoning and reconciling sacrifice through which is body will be offered and his blood spilled on our behalf. The question, however, still remains: How do we eat the body and drink the blood? What is the spiritual interpretation of this act of faith?

Does Jesus leave it to the masses to figure it out?  Is it one of those moments when Jesus would state he is saying something in a cryptic way so that those who hear will not understand and those who see will not see it if they chose to not see or understand?  Why does Jesus say such things?  He wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved, doesn’t he?  How do I fall into the category of those who hear but do not understand or even see and don’t get it?  Lord, deliver me from intentional obtuseness. Teach me to surrender my mind to you so I can understand spiritual thoughts.

John 6:53

Jesus continues speaking to the crowd.  He says, “The bottom line is this: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will have no life in you.”  John 6:53 EFP

In my estimation this is one of the most graphic statements ever made by Jesus.  He does not blink an eye as he adds these words.  Eat and live.  Drink and live.  How do you write or say that without it sounding repulsive or objectionable?   How do you soften, “Unless you eat the Son of Man and drink his blood you will not live”?  You can’t!

It is what it is.  It is a spiritually filtered concept.  It cannot be internalized without it becoming distasteful to begin with before it makes sense at a very deep level.  Still, it sounds foreign to anyone who does not belong to the community of faith.  The Catholic faith claims the Eucharist contains the actual body and blood of Christ when consumed by the officiating priest.  Is that what Jesus is saying?  It certainly tidies up the question, doesn’t it?  This is how you get life—through the sacrament of the church.  That is solid Catholic theology.  But is unleashes a brand new set of problems, not the last of which is the created (the priest) creating the creator (the body and blood of Christ).  One thing for certain.  There is no middle ground in this statement of Jesus.  There is no lazy and passive place to land.  It shocks you into a commitment or to a rejection, based on your understanding of the mandate.

Bottom line for me?  I want to live, not just forever—that would a cruel and tortuous existence if there was not meaning in life, but to live a life worth living, with meaning and moments of sheer joy and fulfillment, without the dark side of life I know all too well in this chaotic orb. Feed me, Lord!

John 6:52

Things begin to deteriorate.  The people from Judea begin to argue among themselves about the meaning of Jesus’ words.  “How can his man give us his body for us to eat?” they say mockingly.  John 6:52 EFP

It’s interesting how we are able to turn the conversation in a totally different direction when we do not want to go any further down a line of reasoning.  I’m quite sure these people are not actually implying Jesus is asking them to literally cannibalize him.  Yet this is what they imply by their ludicrous question 

The fact some arguing takes place makes me believe there were others who were not at the mocking stage yet.  Perhaps they are still at a point of decision, but not grasping what Jesus is asking them to do.  Perhaps they are arguing that Jesus could not possibly be suggesting the people devour his body.  Choices are being defined.  Decisions are being weighed.  This is a serious moment in the ministry of Jesus, but it is also a pivotal moment in the lives of these people. 

Sounds a bit like today.  People arguing about the meaning of Jesus’ words and failing to live out his message.  I wonder how many times I miss the true meaning of God’s message to me simply because I am not honest about understanding it.  Perhaps I am afraid of the cost.  

John 6:51

He continues, “I am the living bread sent from heaven.  Anyone who eats this bread will live forever.  This bread from heaven is my body—the body I will surrender in exchange for the life of this world.”  John 6:51 EFP

Jesus does more than reiterate his previous claim he is the bread sent from above.  He not only couples this directly with his previous claim he is the one sent to give life to this world, but he introduces the concept of his willing sacrifice on behalf of humanity.  He establishes the connection between the life-giving work for which he was sent by God and the means by which he is going to accomplish this work.

There is not only a direct connection made between his previous statements regarding believing and living forever, but now he introduces the concept of eating this bread—his body, in order to enter into eternal life.  So now the question is, “What does he mean by eating this bread of life, which is in actuality his flesh?”  No doubt the people listening to him were asking the same questions. 

Two concepts are sinking in with me.  Number one:  I want to eat this bread.  How do I get it?  Where is it?  How do I eat it when I get my hands on some?  Secondly, I get a strong sense that Jesus is the one initiating this exchange, and I am the winner in this exchange.  He surrenders first—his life, in fact.  I get life, which in exchange I surrender back.  Lord, teach me how this works.  I need this exchange to take place daily!

John 6:50

Speaking of himself, Jesus declares, “Look to me for the bread that comes from heaven—not like the kind your ancestors ate, but the kind you eat and, as a result, live forever.”  John 6:50 EFP

How do these words of Jesus register with the crowd?  How would I have interpreted them if I had heard them?  Would they sound any different to me then than they would now?  These are not easy words to hear, even if I place myself in their shoes.  He was telling them, “Your ancestors are all dead in spite of the fact they ate heavenly bread.  I can give you bread from heaven too.  But if you eat this bread, you won’t die!”

Whoa, Jesus!  What do you mean I will never die?  Never?  And everyone else that doesn’t eat this bread you speak of…they will die?  How does that work?  You mean your bread is better than the bread God Almighty provided for our ancestors?  Are you greater than God?  What’s the catch?  I would be a fool not to get some…but it sounds too good to be true, not to mention a bit far-fetched. 

Does the offer still apply today?  Am I more or less open to the offer?  I will never understand without being open to a reality outside my flesh and bones experience.  That is asking a lot for a person like me who is either jaded toward far-fetched offers from religious charlatans or who see the world through rational and concrete eyes.  It is counterintuitive. Help me, Lord, to see and accept what is not visibly seen, through eyes of faith that are still developing in me.

John 6:49

“Remember your ancestors?—they ate manna in the desert and they died just the same.”  John 6:49 EFP

Jesus will not let the people off the hook.  This whole episode is the result of the people traipsing all over the countryside looking for Jesus because they want more bread.  They even make mention of the manna God provided the Israelites when they wandered in the desert.  He did it for forty years!  Why is Jesus not willing to do the same now?

Well, the answer is rephrased here.  Jesus is wanting the people to eat better bread—bread that endures and that will keep them satisfied and fulfilled beyond the few hours after eating it.  The bread they want is like the manna God gave the children of Israel.  They ate that bread, but they all ended getting hungry again and, in the end, dying in the desert.  The bread God provided them had a shelf life.  The bread Jesus is offering now has no expiration date.  It is part of the everlasting life experience Jesus offers.  The miracle of the desert consisted of full stomachs.  The miracle of Jesus’ ministry results in fulfilled lives…forever!  To think of all the times I have sought after things that make my life better, and in doing so, I have overlooked the things that make my life eternal fulfilled and complete.  I’m sorry, Lord.

John 6:48

“I am the Bread of Life,” Jesus declares again.  John 6:48 EFP

Why does Jesus repeat this declaration?  What is it about these words that merit being repeated in such a stark and simple sentence?  “I am the Bread of Life.”  That’s it.  It comes at the heels of the previous statement regarding receiving eternal life the moment we believe in Jesus.  What does he mean?

Can it be Jesus is following up the previous promise of eternal life with these words of assurance to emphasize He is not only the life-giver, He is the life-sustainer as well.  Believing in Jesus triggers the beginning of life everlasting; it also sets in motion the heaven-sent sustenance for that new life.  Jesus is the daily bread that strengthens us day by day while we live on this at times very chaotic planet.  The quality of the life he gives me cannot be sustained by my simple desire.  Just as the manna was provided for the children of Israel long ago, God continues to provide for me today.  There is no reason to languish and waste away.  Jesus is my strength and my salvation every day.  What a waste to have everlasting life flowing through my veins and then choosing to feed on scraps, when he provides a fresh portion of heavenly-baked bread for my soul.

John 6:47

“This is the bottom line, whoever believes in me has eternal life.”   John 6:47 EFP

This is the core of what it means to be a follower of Christ.  It is equally simple as it is comprehensive.  There is no drawn out process; no series of steps; no list of pre-requisites to be met.  Believe and you have eternal life.  Period.

It is immediate and intertwined one with the other.  It is interesting to be reminded that eternal life is not the reward at the end of time; it is the immediate result of placing my faith in the Life-giver.  Eternal life is more than living forever; it is the essence of the life we live here and now as we await the arrival of eternity.  Eternal life is what I experience when Jesus is in me.  Imagine that?  I get to experience forever every day I live in Christ.  Fullness.  Abundant.  Liberty.  Peace.  Regardless of what the powers of hell send my way and what chaos swirls around me, I have heaven in me and the presence of the Almighty protecting me.

I like that—simple and sweet!

John 6:46

“Only the One who is from God has seen the Father.  No one else.”  Jesus confirms it again.  “Only that person has seen the Father.”   John 6:46 EFP

Do you get a sense that Jesus is trying to emphasize something here?  “No one has seen the Father” except “the one who is from God,” in fact “only he has seen the Father.”  No doubt it is an exclusive club.  What’s the point Jesus is trying to make?

Perhaps he is trying to help them focus.  “Reconsider your attitude,” perhaps that is what he is saying.  After all, they are looking at him and saying, “There is no way this is the Son of God!”  But how do they know?  They haven’t seen God.  How do they know what he is like—what he looks like?  Jesus, on the other hand, claims he has seen the Father.  He is personally acquainted with God!  Don’t be so quick to reject his without considering his credentials. 

Truly, Jesus’ claims are the most outrageous claims ever made by a human.  The difference is he backs them up.  True, I did not personally see the miracles he performed, but I have the testament of those who were eyewitnesses.  I have a choice to make.  Do I believe?  He claims to be have a direct contact with the Almighty.  In fact, he claims to have been with the Father since before time.  On what do I base my choice to believe?  What are my options?  It boils down to faith.  It is a step into the unknown, of which the option is pretty much life without faith.  If Jesus is what God is all about, then he is worth placing all my faith on him.  

John 6:45

“Don’t you know what is written in the Scriptures?”  Jesus queries. “It says, ‘They will be taught by God.’  That means that everyone who pays attention to what my Father has to say and adjusts their life accordingly will eventually come to me with no reservation.”  John 6:45 EFP

Jesus is unrelenting.  He is drawing them in.  He is doing everything to help them cross the line of unbelief they have drawn in the sand over which they refuse to cross.  “The Bible confirms what I am saying!  Look it up.”  He pleads.  “You have spent all your lives hearing the word of God and yet you fail to understand it is all being fulfilled in your hearing today!” 

Simply being acquainted with The Scriptures is not enough.  Knowing the content of the Bible does not equate to entering into a living and loving relationship with Jesus.  Unless the Word gets into me and evokes a need for a change in direction, being “in the Word” is pointless.  But if I see in the Bible a way to get to know my Savior, and the God who sent him, then it makes all the difference in the world.  It’s life-changing.  God wants to teach me.  I am the student.  But more than simply an instructor who passes on information, he is a mentor who wants to instill his will in my heart and rub off his love on me.  To know him more is to love him more.  To love him more is to live for him more.

John 6:44

“Not one single person can even feel the need of me unless my Father who sent me draws them to me.”  Jesus continues. “But those who come to me I will raise up on the last day.”  John 6:44 EFP

Think about it—the people he is talking to are there with him.  Did the Father draw them to him?  Is he referring to the mass of humanity that came looking for him from both sides of the sea?  If that is the case, then he is making sure they understand that present reality.  They are speaking to him because his Father drew that out of them.  They didn’t come on their own; the Father made it possible.

Yet in spite of the fact the Father brought them, they are unable or unwilling to accept his claim.  They are physically with him, but they are not spiritually making the connection.  In order to be counted among those who will be raised up on “the last day” I must not simply come to Jesus, but “come to him” inside my heart and mind.  In other words, I have to believe in Jesus as the Son of God—my Savior.  Recognizing Jesus as a great man or a miracle worker is not the point at all.  It is not enough for me to be physically present where Jesus may be or to even participate in an activity that includes and invites the presence of Jesus.  It takes a commitment of my mind, my strength, my soul, and my heart.  Nothing less than what Jesus was willing to commit to me.

I still have a way to go….but I want it more and more every day.

John 6:43

“Stop your belly-aching!” Jesus tells them. John 6:43 EFP

From my perspective I see the people struggling with their unbelief.  I sense they cannot grasp the concept of the boy they saw grow up in Galilee being the Son of God.  He is the son of Joseph and Mary—not God!  But Jesus sees more.

He sees the heart of the people making a running commentary on his claim to divinity.  What he sees is not people struggling to understand the miracle of the incarnation, but people who are complaining about the disappointment of not having Jesus live up to their preconceived expectations.  They are grumbling that Jesus is “a nobody” who hails from Nazareth and not some sort of heaven-sent bread for their spiritual souls.  What they want is a physical deliverer—a warrior to lead them against the hated Romans; one that could feed them when they hunger and heal them when they ache in their quest for freedom.

When my misguided expectations I place on Jesus fail to materialize and I am tempted to complain and lament my situation, I can almost hear Jesus tell me, “Stop your belly-aching, Ruben.  Get over it and get to know me better.  What I have for you is better than what you expect from me.”  

John 6:42

Some in the crowd comment, “Come think of it, isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph the carpenter?  Don’t we know his mother and his father? Who does he think he is when he claims, ‘I come from heaven’?” John 6:42 EFP

In all fairness to these humble Galileans, it must have been more than a bit challenging for them to get their minds around the thought of Jesus being “Bread from heaven” or someone who had “come from heaven.”  He was, after all, one of the boys from Nazareth—that underbelly-of-a-town in dusty Galilee. 

It seems to me they were willing to go as far as many today are willing to go with Jesus’ claims.  He is a great man.  He is a great preacher.  He might even be a great miracle-worker.  But to claim he is somehow from heaven.  To speak of God as his personal father.  To declare implicitly, if not explicitly, that he is the Son of God!  That is lunacy—crossing the line into blasphemy.  The scenario remains in place 2000 years later.  It is not enough to accept his teachings and advice.  It is not enough for me to concede his place in history.  It is not enough to see in his life as a model worthy of imitation.  It is pointless unless I believe he is the Son of God.  The son of Mary and Joseph is the Son of God—the Savior of the world.  That is easy for me to say it, but to truly let that sink in and take hold is not easy at all.  There is a cost and the road to which it leads me is fraught with danger.  This Palestinian crowd is wrestling with the same decision everyone will have to face at some point in their lives.  Lip-service will not do.

John 6:41

When the people that had come from Judea hear these words from Jesus’ lips their attitude turns sour.  They begin to take on a negative attitude towards his claim, “I am the Bread that was sent from heaven.”  John 6:41 EFP

It is becoming clear the majority of the people had not traveled all that distance only to be sent away with talk of bread from heaven.  They want more bread again, from heaven or elsewhere, to fill their stomachs.  They do not seem interested in spiritual bread that will not squelch their hunger.

Of particular annoyance to them is the audacity of Jesus in describing himself as the bread that came from heaven—as if he was a present day miracle of God.  Unlike Nicodemus and the Samaritan Woman, who finally grasped the spiritual nature of his message, this group is not willing to surrender their understanding to the Holy Spirit in order to apply Jesus’ words to their lives.  They miss the spiritual message by getting hung up on the human words used to convey the heavenly truth. 

Do I react this way to the message I read in Scripture?  Do I miss the point when I approach the Bible without acknowledging my need for spiritual understanding which can only some from the Holy Spirit?  I end my time in the word and go away hungry because I do not take time to ask the Word to be in me and help me understand what he has to say to me at that moment.  I believe I do at times fall into this trap…and that is truly my loss.