Feeding on the Word

John 6:35 ESV

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John 6:41–51 ESV

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The anchor of John 6 is feeding the 5,000—all the teachings in the chapter spring from this event. Last week, Jesus encountered some of the multitude who benefited from the feeding. They want him to feed them again. They think he may be the prophet Moses spoke about. They want him to feed them again like Moses fed the Israelites in the wilderness. However, Jesus turns it back on them. It was not Moses who fed the people. It was God, and the bread that Jesus offered them was not the bread they received repeatedly for physical sustenance. It is the bread of life that only comes from him. The only way to obtain this bread is to believe in him.

‌This week, the discussion moves from the people to the Jewish leadership. The teachers of the Law do not like what they see in Jesus. He has massive crowds that follow him across the lake. The jealousy of the Jewish leadership is hostile. Earlier, there was an openness to Jesus’ teachings. Now, there is a shift from the crowds. The teaching is becoming more difficult because Jesus is moving them beyond manna to the life-giving bread that Jesus provides. There is a lack of trust and understanding from the crowds and the Jewish leadership. Their expectations of a prophet like Moses are squashed because Jesus is greater than Moses. Their eyes are blind to this reality, and their faith is inconsistent at best. Jesus is teaching them that their faith journey can only be sustained in him. He is offering us the same.

Today, we will explore how feeding on the Word can anchor us in our faith, even when life's challenges and the devil's temptations threaten to shake us. As we delve into the Word, we will use this phrase to refer to the scripture that reveals the Word made flesh. Jesus, in his teachings, points to the Law as the full revelation of God’s plan of salvation, demonstrating the transformative power of the Word.

1. We approach the Word with assurance. (vs. 41-44)

During the exodus, the Israelites constantly complained and grumbled against Moses and Aaron. In Exodus 16:2, we read, “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” Nothing was ever good enough for them. They longed for their time in captivity because their bellies were full or there was water to drink. They forgot about being slave labor for the Egyptians.

‌John portrays the crowds and the Jewish leadership in the same light. They wanted another sign like the one they saw when Jesus fed the 5,000, but they wanted something different and even more spectacular. This is precisely how the Israelites were. When we get to Exodus 16, they have already witnessed the plagues culminating in Passover (remember, all of this is taking place during the time of the Passover) and passed through the Red Sea. They had seen spectacular miracles. But just as the Israelites grumbled against God in the wilderness, so the Jews grumbled against Jesus. Not only did they grumble, but they began to cast doubt on him. They know his family. They cannot believe or refuse to believe that Jesus is who he claims to be; even feeding the 5,000 does not convince them.

‌Jesus’ response to them is critical not just for them but for us as well. It is similar to Moses’ response that their grumbling will have consequences. Unlike with Moses, these consequences are eternal. The Father will draw people to Jesus. However, they must be willing to believe. God’s prevenient grace draws every person to Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts, overcomes the total depravity of each person, and makes a faith decision possible. We can have assurance of salvation because of the work of Christ. By the work of the Spirit, we know that Christ alone can save us from the power of sin and forgive us. Wesley says, “No man can believe in Christ unless God gives him power: he draws us first, by good desires. Not by compulsion, not by laying the will under any necessity, but by the strong and sweet, yet still resistible, motions of his heavenly grace.” Jesus is the bread of life that gives us eternal life by his grace, drawing us to Himself and opening the door for us to be assured of our salvation.

2. We learn from God’s Word. (vs. 45-47)

We are called into a relationship with God by God's prevenient grace. He draws us to Himself through grace alone. It is when we are drawn to God that he teaches us. Jesus refers to passages like Isaiah 42:6 and Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God promises his people a new and glorious future. They will have a direct and internal relationship and access to God. A new covenant will be ushered in, and the law will be written in people's hearts. This will include Jews and Gentiles. Those drawn to God and convicted by the Spirit will learn from him.

‌We will only know God through the One who has seen the Father. It is only by and through Jesus that we are taught how to live in obedience to him. Jesus is the fullness of the divine revelation of God. It is only through him that anyone can be saved. This is why we must listen to him and heed his commandments.

‌Scripture challenges us to do this. In Psalm 119:73, the author reminds us that we must understand God’s commandments: “Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.” God has revealed himself to us in Jesus. Through scripture, we learn who Jesus is and what Jesus calls us to be. We do not receive any special revelation from God. Only through scripture can we truly understand who we are to be.

‌Studying scripture daily and entering into a time of worship of God every day is essential. I know that many of us may do a short devotion every day. This is helpful. But we must also spend time deep in God’s word and fellowship through prayer. We must develop a pattern of life that includes daily time with the Lord in deep reflection on scripture. We can do this in different ways, but my personal way is to pray the Daily Office. It can be found on our website under “Resources.” The early Methodists' pattern was to pray the Morning and Evening Daily Office. This provided a pattern of prayer and scripture that caused deep reflection of the word and placed one’s self in the presence of God regularly. However you pattern your study and prayer life, it must be regular and rhythmic. We see this in Jesus’ life and the apostles in the book of Acts when they went to the temple daily to participate in the liturgical prayers at 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

3. We feed on the Word through faith. (vs. 48-51)

As we conclude this section of the chapter, Jesus returns to the primary focus, “I am the bread of life.” Everything has led again to this point. The Jewish listeners at this moment had no access to God because they had no faith. Salvation is not based on a person’s pedigree or relationship to the law of Moses. It stems entirely from one’s relationship with the “bread of life.” Jesus returns to the theme of manna.

‌Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that their forefathers only had manna in the desert, and they still died. The manna was fleeting. They ate it to survive the harsh conditions of the wilderness. This came to an end when they entered into the promised land. Those who have faith in Jesus can feast on the “bread of heaven” and have eternal life. Perishable things can only sustain us for a short period. God is the only source of this new everlasting life. The Jews of Jesus’ day missed it because of their opposition to him. He is the only bread that we can eat and not die.

‌Jesus offers himself as the eternal sacrifice for sin. We have a choice when we are drawn to him through prevenient grace. Will we accept him or not? If we accept him, how will we genuinely feast with him daily? Jesus is the only one who can give us true life. We can search for everything that our world has to offer. We will never find that which will sustain us for eternity. When the prophet Ezekiel has his initial vision, he sees a scroll of God’s word. He is invited to take it and eat it. When he does, he says it tastes like honey to him. Jesus is as sweet as honey for us. When he comes into our lives, he does incredible work in us. He brings us to new places and sustains our spirits.

‌We must be willing to walk with him, spend time with him, and feast on him daily. Our daily worship and prayer practice will help us to pattern our lives in a way that focuses on Christ. It draws us into his deeper relationship and brings us to his table. If we are to be who God wants us to be, we must feed on his Word; as we do, it will nourish and transform us more and more into the likeness of Christ.