Take Jesus Completely
Sermon
THE WORD IS NEAR YOU
Sermons For The Church
Christianity is not a faith for the easily offended. It is a tough-minded faith for people who want more than just a little dab of religion here and there to round out their lives. Christianity is an all-or-nothing commitment. We are committed to Christ and his work, or we are not. One thing is certain -- we cannot have it both ways.
This fact is shown nowhere more clearly than in our text for today. Jesus had earlier identified himself with the bread of heaven. He said in verse 51 that if anyone would eat of his flesh that person would live forever. Now that statement upset the Jews to no end. The good and pious Jews had strict dietary laws. We all know, for example, that they would eat no pork.
One thing certainly not on their list of approved foods was human flesh! Listen again to verse 52: "Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' " They were highly offended and repulsed by the very idea of eating human flesh. Who wouldn't be? This statement seems almost grotesque until we realize what Jesus was trying to communicate.
As was often the case, Jesus and his hearers were not on the same wave length. He was speaking to them in figurative or parabolic language but they heard only literally. He often used stories, images, and word pictures to get his point across. That is what he was doing on the day many of his hearers felt offended. They thought Jesus had really gone off the deep end!
But are we any better off after being familiar with his words for twenty centuries? Let us ask ourselves, "What does Jesus mean when he tells us to eat his flesh and drink his blood?"
He means that we are to trust him for our spiritual nutrition. Some foods and vitamins advertise themselves with the words, "Provides 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance." That is supposed to convince us these products are good for us. What provides us all the spiritual nutrition we need? A super vitamin? A special book? How about a set of spiritual disciplines?
Jesus said that anyone who took him wholly would find his spiritual nutrition in him. When we give our lives to Christ we are given energy and health back. That is one meaning of what it means to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Jesus is the trustworthy guide and Lord of life. You and I can safely give ourselves to him and allow him to live inside us. This is mysterious but also very liberating.
To eat Jesus' flesh means to absorb him into our lives. To eat and drink is to take food inside ourselves and to allow the natural digestive processes to absorb the nutrients in the food. It becomes part of us. Jesus wants that to happen between you and him.
Christianity is all or nothing. We are totally given to Christ or we are not given at all. Jesus challenges us to absorb him into our lives so that every aspect of our lives will be changed and challenged by his presence.
If I were to ingest a small amount of arsenic every aspect of my life would change. I would be totally dead! Taking Christ into our lives has the opposite effect. We would become more alive, more responsive, more alert. He would change everything about us and that is what he wants to do.
To eat Jesus' flesh means that we accept the eternal life God offers us. The words eternal life in the Bible mean two things at the same time. We usually think of eternal life as unending life -- life that goes on and on forever. That certainly is part of it. But eternal life is more than life with God forever. It is also the quality of life we experience here and now where we align ourselves with Christ. Eternal life can be had as a quality of existence today for all who open themselves to God.
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." That really is a powerful statement. It challenges and confronts us. Faith is serious business. Christ has invited us to a banquet. He himself is the meal.
Let no one go home empty.
This fact is shown nowhere more clearly than in our text for today. Jesus had earlier identified himself with the bread of heaven. He said in verse 51 that if anyone would eat of his flesh that person would live forever. Now that statement upset the Jews to no end. The good and pious Jews had strict dietary laws. We all know, for example, that they would eat no pork.
One thing certainly not on their list of approved foods was human flesh! Listen again to verse 52: "Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' " They were highly offended and repulsed by the very idea of eating human flesh. Who wouldn't be? This statement seems almost grotesque until we realize what Jesus was trying to communicate.
As was often the case, Jesus and his hearers were not on the same wave length. He was speaking to them in figurative or parabolic language but they heard only literally. He often used stories, images, and word pictures to get his point across. That is what he was doing on the day many of his hearers felt offended. They thought Jesus had really gone off the deep end!
But are we any better off after being familiar with his words for twenty centuries? Let us ask ourselves, "What does Jesus mean when he tells us to eat his flesh and drink his blood?"
He means that we are to trust him for our spiritual nutrition. Some foods and vitamins advertise themselves with the words, "Provides 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance." That is supposed to convince us these products are good for us. What provides us all the spiritual nutrition we need? A super vitamin? A special book? How about a set of spiritual disciplines?
Jesus said that anyone who took him wholly would find his spiritual nutrition in him. When we give our lives to Christ we are given energy and health back. That is one meaning of what it means to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Jesus is the trustworthy guide and Lord of life. You and I can safely give ourselves to him and allow him to live inside us. This is mysterious but also very liberating.
To eat Jesus' flesh means to absorb him into our lives. To eat and drink is to take food inside ourselves and to allow the natural digestive processes to absorb the nutrients in the food. It becomes part of us. Jesus wants that to happen between you and him.
Christianity is all or nothing. We are totally given to Christ or we are not given at all. Jesus challenges us to absorb him into our lives so that every aspect of our lives will be changed and challenged by his presence.
If I were to ingest a small amount of arsenic every aspect of my life would change. I would be totally dead! Taking Christ into our lives has the opposite effect. We would become more alive, more responsive, more alert. He would change everything about us and that is what he wants to do.
To eat Jesus' flesh means that we accept the eternal life God offers us. The words eternal life in the Bible mean two things at the same time. We usually think of eternal life as unending life -- life that goes on and on forever. That certainly is part of it. But eternal life is more than life with God forever. It is also the quality of life we experience here and now where we align ourselves with Christ. Eternal life can be had as a quality of existence today for all who open themselves to God.
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." That really is a powerful statement. It challenges and confronts us. Faith is serious business. Christ has invited us to a banquet. He himself is the meal.
Let no one go home empty.
