Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Bread of Life

John
{6:26} Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
{6:27} Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
{6:28} Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
{6:29} Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
{6:30} They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
{6:31} Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
{6:32} Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
{6:33} For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
{6:34} Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
{6:35} And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
{6:36} But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
{6:37} All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
{6:38} For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
{6:39} And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
{6:40} And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
{6:41} The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
{6:42} And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came
down from heaven?
{6:43} Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
{6:44} No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
{6:45} It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the
Father, cometh unto me.
{6:46} Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
{6:47} Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
{6:48} I am that bread of life.
{6:49} Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
{6:50} This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
{6:51} I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
{6:52} The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?
{6:53} Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
{6:54} Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
{6:55} For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
{6:56} He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
{6:57} As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
{6:58} This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
{6:59} These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
{6:60} Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard [this,] said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
{6:61} When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
{6:62} [What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
{6:63} It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.
{6:64} But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should
betray him.
{6:65} And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father

**

Luke {4:4} And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.


Deut. {8:1} All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.
{8:2} And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, [and] to prove thee, to know what [was] in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
{8:3} And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every [word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.


God fed His people with a source of food unlike any other that ever existed, unlike any they'd ever known. Food that rained down from heaven- who ever heard of such a thing? And yet it was true. God fed His people. God wanted His people to realize that HE was their source of life. He and He alone saved them from a life of bondage and once He'd set them free He continued to keep them alive. Isn't that the way... we are set free when we accept Jesus as our Savior and then we need to be kept alive in Christ as we continue on in our lives. So that the children of God didn't forget who their source of life was, God fed them food from heaven. Daily, day in and day out they ate of the bread from heaven. Day in and day out they knew that it was only by the grace of God they were kept alive. It was God who supplied what they needed to live and it is God that provides us with what we need to live eternally.


In the end it is eternal life we live for. Jesus came to make that point real to us. Jesus came and made the point so well that only the spiritually blind can't see it. Jesus came to give life eternal, not life here and now, but life everlasting. Our minds are to be taken off life here and now except to realize that it is in this life that we accept that life eternal. Once we accept life eternal as ours through Jesus Christ we truly begin to live.


When Jesus talks of being the bread of life, of having the blood we must drink to live He even goes on to say this-- John {6:63} It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.


The very flesh He said we must eat to live He goes on to explain- the flesh profiteth nothing... 'the WORDS THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU THEY ARE SPIRIT AND THEY ARE LIFE'


God's lesson in the wilderness was given so that His people would realize that they were alive by His word. The manna was of God. They ate and they lived.


The flesh and blood of Jesus is Jesus giving us His life, telling us that HIS WORDS are spirit and life. We have to accept Jesus' death and His life for us, we have to believe on His words. We have to trust in Him and Him alone if we are to live. If we don't accept all of Jesus we won't have life, we won't live. Just like a person cannot live without food, they cannot live eternally without Jesus. If we think we can have eternal life without Jesus we are wrong and we'll die. Do we have to eat Jesus' actual flesh and drink His actual blood? No. That wasn't what He was saying in truth, but only those that truly love Him can truly understand the meanings of His words. We are to always and forever remember that our lives are sustained by the life and death of our Lord and Savior. We are to never forget, never. And by equating our eating and drinking with accepting the life and death of Jesus is something we can never forget. Each time we eat and drink we are doing so and it is keeping us alive. We are to be kept alive eternally by eating and drinking of all Jesus offers to us, His life, His love, His forgiveness, His death for us. He is our sustainer in all things eternal and by no other are we to live now or forever, only Him.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may we forever live in the perpetual acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as our Savior. In His love!


Amen.

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