Pentecost 12
– Proper 14
August 12, 2018
John 6:35-51
Gracious Father, Your blessed Son came down
from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Grant that
Christ, the bread of life, may live in us and us in Him.
Who is this
Jesus? Where did He come from? Who is He? His reference to His coming from
heaven caused folks to cuss, fuss, and discuss. It made them murmur, complain,
and disagree.
The
conversation continues to this very day. We are no different. All kinds of
things are said about Jesus. In books. Lectures. Sermons. And conversations.
Who is this Jesus? When He says He comes down from heaven many continue to have
difficulty in accepting Jesus as the divine Son of God.
The times in
which we live are incredible. While 40% of the American population remains
un-churched, [1]
yet everyone has their own opinion concerning the person of Jesus Christ. After
all. This is America. Where everyone in entitled to their opinion!
Let’s go to
the directly to Jesus. And let Him. Tell us. Who He is. What does Jesus have to
say concerning Himself? What He says is this:
I am from heaven. V. 41 - “They were grumbling about Him, because He
said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” John reminds us in the
introduction to his gospel, “And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us,” As Jesus entered time and space He came
to be your substitute. He does not merely claim to represent God. He demands
that He be known to be God.
Only God can
rain down bread from heaven in the form of manna. Only God can send ravens to
feed a starving prophet who was holed up in a cave.
To make Himself
equal with God caused many to grumble at Jesus. This is what caused many to
walk away from Him. Are we to grumble too? He has promised to sustain and lead
us. Do we trust Him? It takes faith to submit to His will. And trust Him. Come
what may.
Jesus claims
to have come from heaven. What’s more? He claims to have direct access to God.
I alone see God. V. 46 - “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except
the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.” Jesus is the only one who
has seen the Father. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from god.
Jesus will not lay claim to anything else but to be the only begotten Son of
the Father. Not one who know God. Not one who understands God. Jesus makes an
exclusive claim. He is the only one who has seen the Father.
Only Jesus has
seen the Father. To have seen God meant sure and certain death. Moses had to
shield his face. Jesus will make the sole statement – I alone see God.
Jesus claims
to come from heaven. He claims to have seen the Father. He alone is the bread
of life.
I am the bread of life. V.48 - “I am the bread of life.” Not to eat is
to starve and die. Not to eat enough leads to weakness and disease. To eat the
wrong things injures health. To eat too much results in obesity. Yet when we
feat on Jesus, the bread of life, we are satisfied. To feast on Jesus the bread
of life a new life, which never ends begins.
He is the one
who creates life. With ten simple phrases, the entire created order was made.
There is nothing that exists, whether on earth, or in heaven, which did not
come by the created mouth of Jesus.
He sustains
life. He spoke the universe into existence. He promises to sustain and keep it.
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime
and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.”
(Genesis 8:22) Times and seasons. Crested by the Savior Himself. Will never end.
Until the end of time. This is His promise to you. To be present with you. In
every situation. Because you circumstances do not define Him.
Our Old
Testament lesson finds Elijah in a precarious circumstance. He had just
defeated the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel. But now. There is a bounty on his
life. Wicked queen Jezebel sends him a message. “So
may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of
one of them by this time tomorrow.” 1
Kings 19:1
What is he to do? He finds himself deflated, despondent, depressed.
He asks the Lord to spare him of his misery. “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life.” 1 Kings 19:4 This
is not an irrational thought. If Jezebel has her way. He’s a dead man within twenty-four
hours. So he asks the Lord simply, “let me fall asleep and simply not wake up!”
Yet the Lord remains
present. Despite Elijah’s circumstances. He fed Elijah. Not once. But twice. “And he arose and ate and drank, and went in
the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of
God.” 1 Kings 19:9
Here the Lord invites
us to view our present problems through a lens. Which is able to see His divine
presence in this world. Just as He is clearly present to Elijah in order to
help him overcome his fears. You too must have the same confidence. That Christ.
The true bread of life. Is present. And will be present in your life.
We must also
have the awareness that our trials and troubles are far from the whole of our
story. Just as God has been present in your past. You persevere. In the hope
that Christ will be present in your future.
Hard times
might come. Problems might surface. Negative situations might arise. “Yet in all these things. We are more than
conquerors through Him who loves us.” Romans
8:37 Let your heart be at peace and rest. Christ is present. As the bread of life He is with you. And
for you. He will not necessarily take your problems away. Rather He strengthens
you. Helping you to face your fears.
He does not leave you to flounder. He does not make you swim on your own. As the bread of life He comes to you. In your present circumstance. He feeds you. With His Word. And blessed sacraments. He sustains. Nourishes And supports you. He gives you Himself.
He does not leave you to flounder. He does not make you swim on your own. As the bread of life He comes to you. In your present circumstance. He feeds you. With His Word. And blessed sacraments. He sustains. Nourishes And supports you. He gives you Himself.
You need such words
of deep comfort. The question might be asked, “May those whose faith is weak or who struggle come to the Sacrament?”
And the answer, of course, is a resounding YES! The words, “for you,” shows us that Christ instituted this Sacrament for weak and
struggling sinners. To draw us to Himself. And to strengthen our faith in Him. “All that the Father gives to Me will come to
Me, and whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out.” John 6:37
Jesus comes
from heaven. He alone sees God. He creates and sustains the earth. He alone
gives eternal life.
I give eternal life. V. 50 – “This is the bread which comes down out of
heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” As soon as the Bread of
Life is eaten by faith, a new life, which never ends begins. Heaven is a
present possession, for heaven is essentially life in Christ. In Christ, we get
life now.
Do you trust
these claims by the Savior? Do you believe He is God in the flesh? Do you
believe He gives his life for this world? Do you believe His death on the
bloody cross and an open tomb can give and sustain life?
In the midst
of life, we are in death. Jesus claims if you feast on Him you will not die. Is
this life possible? Jesus guarantees eternal life for you. By faith, you
believe and live.
“I am the living bread that came down from
heaven,” Jesus said. “If anyone eats
of this bread, He will live forever.” By faith, you trust Him. By faith,
you receive Him. In faith, He will sustain you.
Sources:
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Words- 1,470
Passive Sentences – 4%
Readability – 84.6%
Reading Level – 3.4
[1]
http://www.christianpost.com/news/majority-of-unchurched-are-christians-survey-finds-44715/
George Barna survey indicates 28 percent of the U.S. adult population is
un-churched or nearly 65 million people. When the number of children living
with un-churched adults is also included, the number rises to 100 million
people. Barna’s national survey on the un-churched, conducted August 2009
through February 2010 was based upon random samples of 4,020 adults. Of those
adults, 1,144 where un-churched and 703 were self-identified Christians.
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