The Bread that Came Down from Heaven
Communion • Sermon • Submitted
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· 18 viewsJesus told His followers that they would have to eat His flesh and drink His blood. They were confused and many chose not to follow Him anymore. We must get to the bottom of this hard teaching because Jesus made it a core issue, so much so, that He was willing to lose followers over it.
Notes
Transcript
A missionary was passing out Gospel of John’s in the Central provinces of India. One man took the Gospel of John and when he realized it was Christian literature, he tore it in pieces and threw them on the ground. In the providence of God, another man shortly came by that same place and picked up a piece of the torn paper to see what it was. He read words in his own language, “…the bread of life…” He did not know what it meant and asked some of his friends if they knew the meaning of this phrase. One told him, “I can tell you that these are words from the Christian Book. You must not read it or you will be defiled.” The man thought to himself, “A phrase as beautiful as this cannot defile.” He bought a copy of the New Testament and read it until he found the statement, “I am the bread of life.” As he read and studied the passage, the light of the God’s Word flooded his heart and he trusted Christ as his Lord and Savior. That same man became a preacher of the Gospel in the central provinces of India. That little piece of torn paper became the Bread of Life to him.
Just fed 5000.
might be the messiah.
The 12 disciples ready to crown Jesus king.
Jesus knew this was not his mission.
told them to get on boat.
Jesus meets them on lake
People are looking for Jesus
He did not get in boat with disciples
People cross lake
Find Jesus
Ask Him how He got there.
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
Jesus rebukes them
doesn’t completely reject them
shows them what He expects:
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Cultural Adventism,
not spiritual.
in it for the friends
They still don’t get it.
They ask:
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
they were not talking in spiritual terms.
They wanted to create their own bread.
They wanted miracle power
and never have to work anymore.
Jesus says,
“OK you want to understand the works of God,
“that you believe in the One He has sent.”
They understand
Jesus was saying,
“I am the Messiah.”
But not what they are interested in.
They want more proof
No…
They want more bread.
So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
all they wanted was more bread
Once again,
Jesus encourages spiritual thinking
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Some look at these people and say,
“These people are so foolish.”
But we are the same.
They just want something lasting;
Physical food that will always last.
Jesus says
Think beyond physical needs
Think about eternal destiny.
He offers them a food bank
and eternal food source,
But they Still thinking physically,
they answer:
They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
This time Jesus in unequivocal
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.
He reads their hearts again:
But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
Jesus does not give up on them.
He has not cast them out.
They have not committed the unpardonable sin.
Jesus show them their sin:
Disbelief.
He offers them the solution;
A chance to believe and be saved.
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
He is offering them eternal life.
But what is there response?
So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
They are not willing to accept.
He is claiming to be directly from God.
They see Him as the son of Joseph.
They cannot believe that He is the Messiah.
Jesus knows disbelief is growing
He offers them the gift of faith once more:
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.
Then Jesus goes further
In their mind,
He goes too far this time:
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.”
They can’t believe what he just said…
“Did He just say to eat Him?”
Jesus reiterates His statement:
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Finally, entire group rejects Jesus
All leave except the 12.
Why was this such a
“hard teaching” to accept?
The reason this was hard
is because they were thinking
only in the physical world
and Jesus focused on the spiritual world.
In the same way,
Jesus word can be a stumbling block today.
If we think too physically,
cannot prioritize around eternal issues,
Then we can never eat the flesh of Jesus.
We stuck on Physical
Work
Food
Clothes
House
Car
Credit Card Payments
Jesus said:
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Jesus is offering something real,
something lasting,
and something eternal.
Must take mind
off physical to
really grasp it.
They wanted immediate gratification
Something to fill the stomach.
This is not eating the flesh of Jesus
and drinking his blood.
We should have been ready
to take a big bite
and a large gulp of Jesus.
As Jesus said:
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
When we eat his flesh
and drink his blood
then He lives in us…
The opposite is also true.
He cannot live in us
until we take time to eat His flesh
and drink his blood.
If we let the “physical” take over
and we force out our time
for eating the Christ,
Then there is no chance
To have Him in us!
Eating the bread at communion
is just a symbol.
Sometimes eating the bread
through the week
is a harder task.
Appeal
Appeal
This is just a symbol of what God is offering us
throughout the week…
Let us eat the bread of God throughout the week.
Abide In Him!