So Clear

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

SO CLEAR

John 6:41-51

41 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."  42 They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"

43 "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." 

NIV

Admittedly a large chunk, but it is better not to break this up. People just can’t see past their own noses, their own closed minds of what they have always believed. Sure they wanted free food and were willing to follow Jesus in order to get it, but at the same time they could only see him as the son of Joseph. If they knew his parents they most likely had seen Jesus before, many even when he was a boy, but they had just been feed, all five thousand of them, with two fish and five loaves, yet all they could see is this son of Joseph and Mary. Jesus was telling them if they actually believed in the words of the prophets, if they actually listened to God, believed he spoke to the prophets, they would have learned from the words of God that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one, the one sent from heaven. It is not much different today. Many people use the Bible as the basis of their faith, many people call themselves Christian, as opposite to some other religion, but that is as far as it goes. They do not actually believe God. They have not really listened to the Father and learned from him, otherwise they would come to Jesus, they would be born again. This believer never every read the Bible before coming to Jesus, but the Father drew him to Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what Jesus meant about the Father draws people to Jesus. But all of us, one way or the other have believed God and came to Jesus, either through his words, or through the power of the Spirit. Now we have some people who make such a big deal about this eating of the bread of life, of bread being the flesh of Jesus. Yes, Jesus is speaking in a parable, or it might even be considered a hyperbole, but he is making the point that he will die for us, to satisfy the Law, so we can have eternal life through him. Anybody in their right mind would not even think that Jesus was suggesting those people become cannibals. If that was the case only those people could have been saved, we would not have been able to eat his flesh, except to make up some bread and wine and use that as his flesh and blood, as he told his disciples at that last supper with them. Some even believe, through a miracle that wine or grape juice and wafer actually becomes the flesh and blood of Jesus, which would make them cannibals, in some sense. But he did not tell them that would save them, but it was just a way to remember what he came to do, that he came to give his flesh and blood for them, for us. We cannot be saved by eating the bread, his flesh, we can only be saved by accepting him as our Lord and Savior, and that is what Jesus was telling them. He was the Bread of Life sent from the Father to bring them eternal life. If they believed God, then they would believe he is that Bread of Life, and they would accept him as the Son of God, sent from heaven and they would devour every word he spoke, and believed in him. It is so wonderful to believe in Jesus, to know the truth about him. How can anyone miss this? How can anyone misuse this? It is so clear.