Partaking of the Flesh and Blood of Jesus
Tony Schachle
The Hard Sayings of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsJesus said things that were difficult for some people to accept. These hard sayings of Jesus can still challenge us today in our faith and help us draw closer to Him. Today we focus on John 6:53 where Jesus says, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” What did Jesus mean by this? How can we eat His flesh and drink His blood? What significance does this statement have for us today? In today’s message, we unpack this statement and discover what Jesus wanted His followers to understand and how it can impact us today. Our prayer is that this message with challenge you to seek for the spiritual food that Jesus has to offer.
Notes
Transcript
SCRIPTURE
SCRIPTURE
53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Jesus said some things during His earthly ministry that were difficult for people to understand and accept. After Jesus spoke the words in John 6:53, His disciples responded:
60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”
Jesus said some hard things. We too often picture Jesus as an non-offensive person. However, when we read the Gospels, we find that Jesus often offended people wherever He went. He called out the Sadducees and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. He expanded the commandments beyond just outward observance to include the very intent of one’s heart. He spoke of Himself as the Son of God, as being equal with God. This offended some people. They wanted the miracles. They wanted a Messiah. And many thought Jesus might just be their long-awaited Messiah. But when following Jesus got uncomfortable or difficult, many simply couldn’t take it and quit following Him.
66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
Following Jesus takes a commitment. We’ve got to be willing to deny ourselves and take up our cross in order to follow Jesus. But once you are willing to fully surrender and commit yourself to serving Jesus, it is not difficult to live for Him at all! In fact, it is the most joyful, rewarding life you will ever live!
What was it about Jesus’ words that we read earlier that was so difficult for people to understand and accept? Jesus often spoke in parables and used metaphors to teach about the Kingdom of God. He used natural examples to teach a spiritual truth. The problem was that many of those who listened to Him could not discern the spiritual truth. That is because they were trying to understand it by natural means.
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Thank God today that we have the Holy Spirit in us as believers who will reveal the truths of God’s Word to us and help us discern what God is saying to us.
In order to understand what Jesus was saying in John 6:53, we have to go back and look at it in context. Jesus was teaching His followers a spiritual lesson from the events that had taken place over the last couple days; going back to the beginning of Chapter 6 with the feeding of the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
MESSAGE
MESSAGE
After Jesus fed the 5,000, He spent some time alone in prayer and sent His disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee in a boat. Later that night Jesus came walking on the water in the middle of a storm, Peter walked on water, Jesus calmed the storm, and they arrived safely at the other side. When the crowds realized Jesus was gone, they began to seek for Him. And they figured out He must have sailed across the sea and they followed after Him and found Him there. But Jesus rebuked them because they had the wrong motivation for seeking for Jesus.
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
We Need to Seek Jesus for the Right Reasons!
Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask Him!
Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you!
Seek with your whole heart and you will find!
What Jesus wanted them to seek for was Him! Not for loaves and fishes, but for the spiritual food He was able to provide.
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
We Need to Come to Jesus to be Filled!
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled!
As the hart (deer) pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1-2)
Jesus spoke words that some found too difficult to accept. But it was because they did not want to understand. He wasn’t talking about them actually eating His flesh or actually drinking His blood. He was talking about accepting Him, and the sacrifice that He would soon make, at the Cross of Calvary.
The point Jesus is trying to make is that we partake in His flesh and blood through faith. Look at the verses in Chapter 6 where Jesus emphasized the importance of faith:
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
We Need to Eat the Flesh and Drink the Blood of Jesus Through Faith!
Partaking of Jesus gives us eternal life (V54)!
Partaking of Jesus causes us to dwell in Him (V56)!
Abide in Christ!
We read earlier in verse 60, Many who heard Jesus’ words said, “This is a hard saying. Who can hear it?” Jesus responded in verses 61-62:
61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
Then Jesus said plainly in verse 63:
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
In other words, Jesus was not speaking literally about eating His flesh or drinking His blood, but He was speaking of spiritual nourishment through faith in His sacrificial death.
But, as we read earlier in verse 66, the Bible says that many of His disciples went back, and walked with Him no more. So Jesus is left with the 12 disciples:
67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
We Need to Follow Jesus No Matter How Difficult it Becomes
Full Surrender
Total Commitment
Unwavering Persistence