Flesh And Blood

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OK, Annette has gone to the nursery, so let me take a couple of minutes to share a surprising secret about her with you.
Here it is: I have turned out to be something of a disappointment for her as a pastor.
Now, I know some of you are probably thinking that’s not much of a secret and it’s hardly a surprise, and I imagine many of the rest of you are thinking, “Goodness, gracious, what is this man saying today?!”
Well, to give you some background, I should tell you that she was often proud of my work as a newspaper editor, but she really hated the part of my job that called me to write sometimes controversial and even confrontational editorials.
Annette is the peacemaker in our family. I can come across more like a wrecking ball. And she hated it when I would write opinion pieces that we both knew were going to be divisive.
She would have preferred that I avoid controversial subjects and, if they were unavoidable, look for ways to engage them without making enemies.
But early in my newspaper career, I concluded that weak opinion pieces were ineffective. I reasoned that as long as my opinions were based on facts and were put forward respectfully, then the best course of action was to be direct, even if it would make my life as a newspaper editor more difficult.
This was a conversation we had many times during my career, especially while I was at the Suffolk News-Herald.
So when I became a pastor, my dear, peacemaking wife was thrilled, because I would never have to say controversial or confrontational things from the pulpit.
I’m pausing here for you to reflect a moment and then laugh.
OK, so that hasn’t always worked out the way that she had hoped. I was exaggerating when I said I had been a disappointment to her, but it’s definitely true that she would like for me to have taken a different approach for some of the messages I have delivered from this pulpit.
But she acknowledges me as the spiritual leader of our household and as the spiritual leader of this flock, and so she accepts my judgment on the matter, praying that I allow myself to be guided in all I say and do by the Holy Spirit.
And as I am guided by the Spirit, one of the things that strikes me in Scripture is just how controversial and confrontational our Savior could be when He was in the midst of His ministry here on earth.
The world likes to think of the Jesus who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” the one whom the angels said would bring “peace on earth, good will toward men.”
This is the Jesus whom the Apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to the Colossians:
Colossians 1:19 NASB95
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
Colossians 1:20 NASB95
and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
At the cross, where the sinless Son of God took on the sins of all mankind, the debt that we owe to the Father for our rebellion was paid in full.
Because of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, we who follow Him in faith are now reconciled to the perfect and holy God from whom we were separated by our sins. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ.
And because of Christ’s resurrection, we can be assured that this peace extends to eternity, where believers will dwell in the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit on a new earth that has been created by the Lord of Peace.
But this same Jesus is the one who said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword.”
You see, Jesus knew from the beginning — from BEFORE the beginning — that the message of the gospel would be one that would divide people. It would be controversial and confrontational.
Matthew 10:35 NASB95
“For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
The message of the gospel divides families. It divides friends, because each of us ultimately has to answer this question for ourselves: “Who is Jesus, and what will you do with Him?”
Some will answer, “He is my Lord and my Savior.” And the angels will rejoice in heaven. And sadly, many will not give that answer. The will be lost forever, and families will be divided forever.
The message of the gospel is inherently divisive. It says that each one of us is a sinner who deserves eternal punishment for our rebellion against the God who made us in His image.
It says there is nothing any of us can do to be reconciled to God and that we are all desperate for a savior. And it says that our triune God came in the Person of His Son to take the punishment for our sins so we COULD be reconciled — that’s the good-news part of the gospel.
But we are not forced to accept this gracious gift of a savior. We are given the choice to either accept the gift and follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior or reject it and hope for some exception to what God has revealed in His word as the judgment for sinners.
The gospel is divisive. It is controversial and confrontational.
And I appreciate the fact that Jesus was unafraid to be controversial and confrontational when the situation called for it.
Today we’re going to look at one of those situations, and as we do, we will learn a bit more about the theology behind the Lord’s Supper, the communal meal at the Lord’s Table in which we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus Christ.
Turn with me, please, to the Gospel of John, Chapter 6.
While you are doing so, let me give you the background to what we’ll be reading today. And let me say that we’ll be studying this in much more detail in a few weeks during our study of the Gospel of John on Wednesday nights.
At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus is on the side of a mountain near the Sea of Galilee, and he is surrounded by a huge crowd — more than 5,000 people who need to be fed.
So his disciples find a boy with five barley loaves and two fish, and Jesus performs the miracle we’re all familiar with.
He breaks up the loaves and fish and feeds all the people, and then His disciples gather up enough leftovers to fill 12 baskets.
The people are understandably amazed at what Jesus has done, and John tells us they want to come and take Him by force and make Him king, so Jesus and the 12 disciples escape across the sea.
The disciples took a boat, but Jesus walked across.
There’s a lot going on with these miracles, but today I want us to look at what happened the following day, when the people Jesus had fed the previous day found Him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
The first thing Jesus does, in verse 26, is to confront them for being focused on the wrong things.
John 6:26 NASB95
Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
In His miracle of the loaves and fishes, Jesus had revealed to them that He had come from God as the Prophet greater than Moses who had been promised in the Old Testament. He was the one who would bring the promised Kingdom of God.
But they were only concerned with filling their bellies.
They wanted bread. They wanted a sign like the one that had been provided through Moses, when the people of Israel had been given manna to quench their appetites.
But Jesus corrects their theology. It wasn’t Moses who had given the manna, but God.
John 6:32 NASB95
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
John 6:33 NASB95
“For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
The people are still thinking about their bellies, so they say “Lord, always give us this bread.”
And Jesus responds with the first of the great “I AM” statements of the Gospel of John.
John 6:35 NASB95
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
And then, He gives them the essence of the gospel. Those who believe in Him will be raised up from death into eternal life.
But the message of the gospel is divisive. It is controversial and confrontational. And so:
John 6:41 NASB95
Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”
John 6:42 NASB95
They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
So Jesus explains to them that anybody who has been paying attention to the Old Testament should by now understand that He is the one who has been promised as the redeemer. And anyone who has believed in Him as the promised redeemer has eternal life.
48-49
John 6:48–49 NASB95
“I am the bread of life. “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50
John 6:50 NASB95
“This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
Now, Jesus is speaking metaphorically here. Clearly He is not suggesting that people must eat His actual flesh in order to have eternal life.
What He is saying is that whoever will accept Him completely in faith that He is who He said He is will be saved from the curse of eternal separation from God.
The manna that came down from heaven satisfied the people of Israel physically from day to day. But as the bread of life, Jesus sustains and nourishes His followers spiritually into eternity.
One commentator puts it this way: “When God gave the manna, He gave only a gift; but when Jesus came, He gave Himself. There was no cost to God in sending the manna each day, but He gave His Son at great cost. The Jews had to eat the manna every day, but the sinner who trusts Christ once is given eternal life.” [Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), .]
When God gave the manna, He gave only a gift; but when Jesus came, He gave Himself. There was no cost to God in sending the manna each day, but He gave His Son at great cost. The Jews had to eat the manna every day, but the sinner who trusts Christ once is given eternal life.
Now all this was controversial enough, but Jesus is about to raise the stakes, as it were.
John 6:51 NASB95
“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), .
Now, this part of the passage is highly metaphorical, but many of the people who were listening did not recognize that Jesus was using a figure of speech to make His point. So they began to argue with one another, and they asked, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
If Jesus had had public relations people, they surely would have advised against this speech. “You’re going to alienate a lot of people if you say that, Jesus.”
But He had come not to bring peace, but a sword, and He intended to divide those who were following Him because of His physical provision from those who believed He was the Son of God, who had been sent to reconcile them with God and bring the peace that matters most, peace between God and man.
So Jesus turns up the heat.
John 6:53 NASB95
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
Now, the people of Israel had been commanded by God never to consume blood. Life was in the blood of man and animals, and consuming blood would be an affront to the God who gave life.
So this statement would have been repugnant to the Jews if Jesus had meant it literally.
But “by referring to His flesh and blood He was figuratively referring to His whole person. This is a figure of speech called synecdoche in which one part stands for the whole. [Think of it like this: If I told you I’d gotten new wheels, you’d know I meant that I got a new car. I didn’t, by the way.] Jesus was illustrating belief, what it means to appropriate Him by faith.” [Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), .]
By referring to His flesh and blood He was figuratively referring to His whole person. This is a figure of speech called synecdoche in which one part stands for the whole. Jesus was illustrating belief, what it means to appropriate Him by faith
He was also suggesting that He would sacrifice everything — His flesh and His blood — to bring us salvation.
JOHN 653
John 6:54–55 NASB95
“He who eats 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.
John 6:54 NASB95
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), .
Now remember that Jesus is speaking metaphorically here. We are preparing for the Lord’s Supper today, but we are not saved by taking the elements of the Lord’s Supper — the bread that represents His body and the juice that represents His blood.
The Lord’s Supper is for those who have already received salvation by placing their faith in Jesus. Among other things, it is a recommitment to the promise we made to follow Him in faith. It is a recommitment to our promise to abide in Him.
But in this discourse, when Jesus talks about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, the point is that one must accept Him for who He says He is to have eternal life. And for those who accept Him, the promise is that He will be with us forever.
John 6:56–57 NASB95
“He who eats 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 he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
-56
John 6:56 NASB95
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
John 6:58 NASB95
“This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life, sent from heaven to give life to those who will follow Him in faith.
That’s the gospel message. But the gospel message is divisive. It’s controversial and confrontational.
John 6:60 NASB95
Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
John
Throughout the Gospels, the term “disciples” is often used of more than just the 12. Disciples were those who followed a rabbi to learn from him, and so Jesus had thousands of disciples throughout His ministry. But not all of them would believe in Him and follow Him in faith.
The gospel message is divisive. It’s controversial and confrontational. And this particular discourse was one of the most divisive and controversial that Jesus preached.
John 6:66 NASB95
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
Jesus could have told this crowd what it wanted to hear. He could have sugar-coated His message to ensure He would remain popular with the people.
But He chose to speak the truth.
And the truth is controversial. The truth can be confrontational. The truth is even divisive for those who choose not to accept it.
But for those who will accept it, the truth will set them free. For those who will accept it, the truth brings eternal life.
And we see at the end of this passage that the truth which Jesus has spoken has done all of these things.
John 6:66 NASB95
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
Many of the people withdrew. This was not the Jesus they wanted to follow. They wanted the Jesus who had had filled their empty bellies, but they didn’t want anything more to do with the Jesus who promised to fill their spiritual emptiness.
But some stayed on, and Peter, as he often did, spoke for the rest of the inner circle of disciples.
John 6:67 NASB95
So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”
John 6:68–69 NASB95
Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
Peter may not have completely understood what Jesus was talking about during this discourse in front of the crowds, but he recognized who Jesus was, and he understood that the Word made flesh was the one who would bring peace between God and man.
Who is Jesus to you, Peter? He is the Holy One of God. What will you do with Him, Peter? I will follow Him. Where else would I go?
Who is Jesus to YOU? What will you do with Him? Those are the most important questions you will ever answer. How will YOU answer them?
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior — if you have made the commitment to follow Him in faith and have prepared your heart for the Lord’s Supper, then I invite you today to join in this communion table, as we share the bread that represents His body and the juice that represents His blood.
As we prepare to distribute the bread for today’s communion observance, please remain seated and turn to No. 460 in your hymnals, and we will sing the first verse of Let Us Break Bread Together. When we have finished, the deacons will join me at the front and distribute the bread, and then one of them will come up here for prayer and a Scripture reading. Then we will all join together in eating the bread that represents the body of Christ, torn for our transgressions.
SONG/BREAD
Now, as we prepare to distribute the juice that represents Christ’s blood, shed for our sins, remain seated, and we will sing the second verse of Let Us Break Bread Together, No. 460 in your hymnals. When we’re done, the deacons will distribute the juice. One will then join me on the platform and read a Scripture and pray. Then we will all drink together.
SONG/CUPS
Maranatha! Lord, come!
Now, join me on the floor here, and let’s join together to sing Bless’d Be the Tie that Binds.
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