The Bread Of Life
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle B
Object:
The Bread Of Life
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (vv. 41-51)
From birth to high school, I grew up in a variety of small towns. These towns ranged in populations from 100 to 3,000 people. One thing I noticed though this childhood experience and even into adulthood: It's hard to change your image in a small town where everyone knows you. Think about it. If you are around the same group of people for your entire life, then they know everything you ever did. For instance, a football player in my high school days picked up a fumbled ball and got turned around. He started running toward the other team's goal line before he was tackled by one of his own teammates. From that day on, he was known as "Wrong-way Richard." Twenty years later, that is still how I remember him.
Sometimes our reputation even outgrows us. I was slightly crazy in high school and had a reputation for being outlandish. I once attended a statewide assembly for Spanish Clubs. For some reason the presentation was delayed, and the entire student body was getting restless as we sat in the auditorium. On a dare and for a contribution of ten dollars, I ran to the stage and performed ten jumping jacks. My reputation escalated.
A few years later while in college, a friend of mine just happened to meet one of my old high school friends by coincidence. The high school friend told the story of how I led the charge of a total school walk-out to protest some school policy. I didn't lead the protest, and I don't even recall walking out, but my reputation lent itself for both parties to believe the story was true.
Jesus knew about small towns and reputations. He lived in a small town in a small country. People knew him, his parents, his brothers and sisters. Since his ministry didn't begin until he was thirty, they knew him as a carpenter. Perhaps he did some repair work or built some furniture for them.
So when the carpenter proclaimed himself "the bread of life ... the living bread that comes down from Heaven" in John chapter 6, people struggled to believe him. They had "known" him for thirty years. How could he be the anointed Son of God?
With our enlightened "Paul Harvey -- I know the rest of the story" attitude, we struggle to see the blindness of these people. We wonder how they could not get it. We read the gospel story, and it's so obvious to us.
The key is familiarity. Actually it is more of a supposed familiarity. The crowd Jesus was addressing thought they knew Jesus, but they really didn't. They might have been acquainted with him. They might have known his parents. But they didn't really know him.
How many of us know people who think they know someone -- or pretend like they do? You know -- name droppers. They know someone who knows someone. When I was in high school, I played football against Troy Aikman. I have a cousin twice removed who blocked for him in high school. My wife's college friend's twin sister is married to a guy whose twin brother plays guitar for Garth Brooks.
Do my wife and I know Troy Aikman and Garth Brooks? No, of course not. Just like the people in John 6 didn't really know Jesus.
I wonder if our familiarity with Jesus sometimes gets in the way of truly knowing him. Christianity is quite common in our country. Churches dot our cities and countryside. So many people would say they grew up in Christian homes. In many ways, we inherited our faith. But as with any inheritance, it has to be claimed for it to be truly our own. If we don't claim it, we don't know Jesus. We only know someone who knows Jesus.
It is as if we need to get to know Jesus for the first time. We need to take the time to become acquainted with him -- for ourselves. And we get to know Jesus just like we would anybody else -- we spend time with him. We do this through prayer and scripture. If asked to name your closest friend, you'll probably name someone with whom you spend a great deal of quality time -- not somebody you barely know and see occasionally and half-heartedly.
I've always struggled with the confrontational evangelists who ask, "Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?" This bothers me, because generally they don't know me well enough to ask. Furthermore, I've seen this approach turn people away from the faith. But their point is true. We must really get to know Jesus. We need a personal relationship with him.
I remember when I came to the realization in college that I didn't know Jesus. I had not claimed the faith that my parents and Sunday school teachers had taught me. I didn't know what I believed. I knew some of what I was told to believe, but I didn't know what I believed. If I had been asked to explain my faith, I would have stumbled for something halfway intelligent to say.
I prayed or read my Bible out of desperation -- my car was acting up or a relationship was falling apart. I sought God out of a panic attack -- not out of friendship. I had a give-and-take relationship with God. God gave and I took.
It was time my faith grew up. It was time to get personal. I began to explore my faith and my relationship with Christ. I actually dusted off my Bible and read it. I prayed for no other reason than to check in with God. My faith and relationship grew. I was no longer just familiar with Jesus, I was starting to know him -- personally.
If we hope to know Christ, we must give our lives to him. We must be completely sold out. We cannot simply abuse and misuse Christ by inviting him into our lives for our convenience in times of desperation. Who among us want friends we only see when they are in trouble? We know Christ when we meet him daily as a friend. That is how we know Christ.
John writes in 6:47 that those who know Jesus and believe him to be the Christ are promised "eternal life." When we know Jesus personally, we know him as the "bread of life" -- the bread that gives life. This is the good news -- know Jesus and believe in him and you will live forever in the glory of God.
Ultimately, this is an easy way to obtain eternal life. We don't have to search for it. We don't earn it with good deeds. We don't have to join the right church with the correct doctrine. We only need to know Christ and believe.
Do you really know Christ or are you merely acquainted because of someone else's faith? Is your faith the absolute uncontested highest priority in your life? Come sit a while at the feet of the master. Tell a few stories. Shoot the breeze. Renew or discover Christ as your friend.
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (vv. 41-51)
From birth to high school, I grew up in a variety of small towns. These towns ranged in populations from 100 to 3,000 people. One thing I noticed though this childhood experience and even into adulthood: It's hard to change your image in a small town where everyone knows you. Think about it. If you are around the same group of people for your entire life, then they know everything you ever did. For instance, a football player in my high school days picked up a fumbled ball and got turned around. He started running toward the other team's goal line before he was tackled by one of his own teammates. From that day on, he was known as "Wrong-way Richard." Twenty years later, that is still how I remember him.
Sometimes our reputation even outgrows us. I was slightly crazy in high school and had a reputation for being outlandish. I once attended a statewide assembly for Spanish Clubs. For some reason the presentation was delayed, and the entire student body was getting restless as we sat in the auditorium. On a dare and for a contribution of ten dollars, I ran to the stage and performed ten jumping jacks. My reputation escalated.
A few years later while in college, a friend of mine just happened to meet one of my old high school friends by coincidence. The high school friend told the story of how I led the charge of a total school walk-out to protest some school policy. I didn't lead the protest, and I don't even recall walking out, but my reputation lent itself for both parties to believe the story was true.
Jesus knew about small towns and reputations. He lived in a small town in a small country. People knew him, his parents, his brothers and sisters. Since his ministry didn't begin until he was thirty, they knew him as a carpenter. Perhaps he did some repair work or built some furniture for them.
So when the carpenter proclaimed himself "the bread of life ... the living bread that comes down from Heaven" in John chapter 6, people struggled to believe him. They had "known" him for thirty years. How could he be the anointed Son of God?
With our enlightened "Paul Harvey -- I know the rest of the story" attitude, we struggle to see the blindness of these people. We wonder how they could not get it. We read the gospel story, and it's so obvious to us.
The key is familiarity. Actually it is more of a supposed familiarity. The crowd Jesus was addressing thought they knew Jesus, but they really didn't. They might have been acquainted with him. They might have known his parents. But they didn't really know him.
How many of us know people who think they know someone -- or pretend like they do? You know -- name droppers. They know someone who knows someone. When I was in high school, I played football against Troy Aikman. I have a cousin twice removed who blocked for him in high school. My wife's college friend's twin sister is married to a guy whose twin brother plays guitar for Garth Brooks.
Do my wife and I know Troy Aikman and Garth Brooks? No, of course not. Just like the people in John 6 didn't really know Jesus.
I wonder if our familiarity with Jesus sometimes gets in the way of truly knowing him. Christianity is quite common in our country. Churches dot our cities and countryside. So many people would say they grew up in Christian homes. In many ways, we inherited our faith. But as with any inheritance, it has to be claimed for it to be truly our own. If we don't claim it, we don't know Jesus. We only know someone who knows Jesus.
It is as if we need to get to know Jesus for the first time. We need to take the time to become acquainted with him -- for ourselves. And we get to know Jesus just like we would anybody else -- we spend time with him. We do this through prayer and scripture. If asked to name your closest friend, you'll probably name someone with whom you spend a great deal of quality time -- not somebody you barely know and see occasionally and half-heartedly.
I've always struggled with the confrontational evangelists who ask, "Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?" This bothers me, because generally they don't know me well enough to ask. Furthermore, I've seen this approach turn people away from the faith. But their point is true. We must really get to know Jesus. We need a personal relationship with him.
I remember when I came to the realization in college that I didn't know Jesus. I had not claimed the faith that my parents and Sunday school teachers had taught me. I didn't know what I believed. I knew some of what I was told to believe, but I didn't know what I believed. If I had been asked to explain my faith, I would have stumbled for something halfway intelligent to say.
I prayed or read my Bible out of desperation -- my car was acting up or a relationship was falling apart. I sought God out of a panic attack -- not out of friendship. I had a give-and-take relationship with God. God gave and I took.
It was time my faith grew up. It was time to get personal. I began to explore my faith and my relationship with Christ. I actually dusted off my Bible and read it. I prayed for no other reason than to check in with God. My faith and relationship grew. I was no longer just familiar with Jesus, I was starting to know him -- personally.
If we hope to know Christ, we must give our lives to him. We must be completely sold out. We cannot simply abuse and misuse Christ by inviting him into our lives for our convenience in times of desperation. Who among us want friends we only see when they are in trouble? We know Christ when we meet him daily as a friend. That is how we know Christ.
John writes in 6:47 that those who know Jesus and believe him to be the Christ are promised "eternal life." When we know Jesus personally, we know him as the "bread of life" -- the bread that gives life. This is the good news -- know Jesus and believe in him and you will live forever in the glory of God.
Ultimately, this is an easy way to obtain eternal life. We don't have to search for it. We don't earn it with good deeds. We don't have to join the right church with the correct doctrine. We only need to know Christ and believe.
Do you really know Christ or are you merely acquainted because of someone else's faith? Is your faith the absolute uncontested highest priority in your life? Come sit a while at the feet of the master. Tell a few stories. Shoot the breeze. Renew or discover Christ as your friend.
