John 6:37-59 - Bread of Life Part 2: Feasting unto Eternal Life (Rev. Erik Veerman)

Bread of Life Part 2: Feasting unto Eternal Life

Our sermon text this morning continues in the Gospel of John chapter 6. Please turn there with me. We'll focus on verses 37-59. That is on page ?? Again, John 6:37-59

These verses continue Jesus' explanation that he is the Bread of Life. In last week's verses, Jesus exhorted the Jews that they should not work for bread that perishes. Instead, they should believe in him because he is the bread of life.

In this morning's text, Jesus will explain the meaning, the purpose, and the benefits of feeding on him. So, listen for those things as I read. Again, the meaning, the purpose, and the benefits.

Reading of John 6:37-59

Prayer

If you travel to southern Spain and visit the Pan Pina bakery, you could buy the most expensive bread in the world. For a single loaf you would spend about $2000. And it's a rather small loaf. It's often called Gold Leaf Bread because it is made with real gold flakes. It's edible gold, which some believe has medicinal benefits. It's made with specialty sour dough from hulled wheat which comes from an ancient grain that they have been maintaining all these years. The recipe includes powdered honey to give it a rich taste. And for presentation, gold leaves are not only baked into the bread but added to the crust to give it a beautiful glittering sheen. People travel from all over the world to taste and experience this one-of-a-kind gold bread.

Now, I don’t think any of us here will ever buy or eat this gold leaf bread. I'm not even sure you would want to.

But also, none of us needs to because we have bread that is infinitely more valuable. We've been offered the bread of life.

I think you would agree that Jesus' statement that he's the bread of life is quite powerful. We all understand what bread is. It is the food staple of life. You know, we eat bread to give us energy and sustain us each day. As we talked about last week, the manna that the Israelites ate in the wilderness sustained them for 40 years.

But the bread that Jesus offers, as he says, will sustain us for eternity. These verses are saturated with the language of eternal life and of eating of Jesus body. And of God the Father giving the Son those who will come to him and eat.

It's very poetical. The apostle John has this way of weaving together themes. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he'll introduce an idea and then move on to another related idea, but come back to further elaborate. And in the end, we're given a beautifully integrated message. Each part is strengthened by the other and in the end it's a unified whole.

As I read our text, you probably sensed how different themes were introduced, then set aside, but later returned to with more detail.

So, what I've tried to do is identify the different themes and then distill them into questions and answers. We'll be considering 4 questions this morning.

1. Who is the living bread?

2. For what purpose was he sent?

3. How do you feed on him and drink of him?

4. What blessings do you receive when you do feed on him?

As I mentioned, these are not answered in a linear fashion one after the other. No, rather, as we work through these questions, we'll be looking at several phrases and verses which span our text.

So that's where we are headed.

1. Who is the living bread?

Which brings us to the first question. Who is this living bread? Or what does it actually mean that Jesus is the bread from heaven.

The analogy is that Jesus is the manna from heaven. We saw that last week and we see it again here today. But let me say that it's more than just an analogy. The Old Testament uses what we call "types" to convey deeper realities. Types would be people, or events, or institutions, or objects in the Old Testament, which in some way prefigure or foreshadow Christ or some aspect of Salvation.

By the way, the studying of these "types" is called Typology, or for short, Typos. When Amy was in the hospital about to birth to Nate, I happened to be reading a book on Typology. It was titled Typos, which is spelled typos. And a nurse said, "someone wrote a whole book on typos."

King David was a type of Christ. That is, Jesus is in the line of David, he is King David's greater son. King David was fallen but Christ is greater as the sovereign and perfectly just king.

The Passover is another type. That was the 10th plague in Egypt. The people of God were to put the blood of the lamb over their doorposts. It was a sign of faith, and if they did that, the angel of death would pass over them, and their firstborn would not die. The Passover is also a type of Christ. It focuses on Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. By his blood, death will pass over those who believe by faith.

Well, in John 6, Jesus is described as manna from heaven. Think about it. In the wilderness, the Israelites called the manna, bread from heaven. Why? Well, because the manna would fall from the sky with the dew and form bread like wafers on the ground. In the same way, the Son of God descended from heaven like the manna. He became man in the person of Jesus Christ. The manna was real bread. Jesus has a real body. The manna sustained the people for years. In a similar way Jesus sustains us as spiritual bread from heaven. AND we're to eat of him, just like the people at the manna. We'll get to what that means in a minute.

But overall, Jesus is the greater manna. The manna in the wilderness foreshadowed Jesus as the true bread from heaven, as these verses say.

Ok, now, look at verses 41-43. The crowd that gathered to hear him, grumbled. Why did they grumble? Well, because Jesus was saying that he was bread from God come down from heaven. And the Jews were like, wait a second, this is Jesus. We know his parents. How can he be from God? He was born of Mary. They were complaining because they thought it was a contradiction. How could Jesus be born and at the same time be from heaven?

However, in reality Jesus's birth further demonstrated that he fulfilled the promise of manna. He was God from above who descended to become man. His birth was the avenue through which he took on human flesh and became living bread… true bread. He is one of us. He is both God and man, which is exactly how he's the manna from heaven.

So, who is this living bread? Well, he is God the Son who came down from heaven. He was born a man. In other words, the very one standing before them and teaching was the very God of the universe come in the flesh.

2. For what purpose was he sent?

Question 2. For what purpose was he sent? Why did he come?

In these verses we also learn that God the Father sent his Son to accomplish his will - the Father's will. That word "will" is referring to God's planned purposes. And what is that will? We're told that the Father sent his Son to receive those whom the Father calls to him.

Look at verse 37. The first verse that we read. It says "all that the Father gives me will come to me." That's further explained in verse 44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him."

It's saying that every single person whom the Father calls will come to Jesus.

Through out these verses there are a few different theological truths. We sometimes call this one, irresistible grace. When God calls you… that is, when the Holy Spirit directs you to Christ to see and believe him, you cannot resist that. You can try to flee him, but as the famous English poem says, God is the Hound of Heaven. He will seek you out and you will come to him.

So, for what purpose was Jesus sent? He was sent to receive all those whom the Father ordained to come to him. That's part of the answer.

Another part of the answer is found in verse 51. I want you to look at that verse. This is the key verse in this whole section. It begins, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven" We just talked about that in the first question. Jesus goes on in that verse, "If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." We're going to get to what that means in a second. And then Jesus says this, "And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The Father's other purpose in sending his Son is for his son to give his flesh. His life. In fact, the giving of his flesh is the giving of bread. This is talking about the atonement. Jesus gave his life on the cross. His body was broken. His blood was shed. Why? The answer is there in verse 51 "for the life of the world."

Jesus' life was given as an atonement for sin, so that people would have life. The word "world" is referring to people from every language and nation. ALL whom the father draws.

3. How do you feed on him and drink of him?

Which brings us to question 3, which I think is the primary question answered in these verses. How do you feed on Christ and drink of him? That's the question that not only we ask, but that the Jewish crowd was asking. They didn’t understand because it is an awkward thing to think about. Look at their question in verse 52. "The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'" It sure sounded to them like cannibalism. And then in verse 53 Jesus leans into it. He not only says that we need to feed on his flesh. He says that we need to drink his blood! Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

It is not only that we may eat and drink of him, we must. Without feeding on him and drinking of him, it says we have "no life."

But what does that mean? Because 8 times in these verses it talks about feeding on him or eating of his flesh or drinking of his blood. What does that mean? It is critical to understand it because if we don’t, we have no life in us.

Well, to answer the question, let's begin by looking at two verses. Two parallel verses. Look first at verse 47. "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life." The focus is on believing. Now look at verse 54, "Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." You see how they are parallel. The difference is that the first just says "believes" and the second says "feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood."

So, at the very heart of what it means to feed on Christ is to believe in him. But what Jesus teaches is that it is not just believing in him in a general sense, rather, it is believing that he gave his body and blood for you.

You see, Christianity is not only about believing in Jesus. It is believing that the very God of the universe came down from heaven, was born a man, and as one of us, gave his life that we may live.

There are different words in these verses which capture this. We're to "look on the Son" and believe in him. That's verse 40. That means seeing him for who he is. Verse 45, we're to hear and learn from the Father. God has given us his Word through which we can know of this redemption. We can hear of it and learn about it in God's Word. In fact, one of the primary ways that we feed on Christ is by consuming his Word. "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." We'll come back to that next week.

We're also to "abide" in him. That's what verse 56 says. Abide means to faithfully follow and remain in him. So, feeding on Christ is more than just a knowledge of God or believing in what the Father has done in sending his Son. It is a heart and life transformation. Feeding on Christ by faith is to embrace the Gospel of Christ who has done something far beyond what we could ask or imagine. He bore our sin on the cross that we may know him and be his by faith.

Let me take a little tangent here. Verses 53 to 57 have historically been very connected to the Lord's Supper, for obvious reasons. Occasionally we will read them when we are preparing ourselves for the table. The Gospel of John doesn’t have the traditional words of institution. Rather theologians for centuries have considered these few verses to parallel what Jesus taught at the Last Supper. That we need to feed on him and drink of him.

But I want to make something very clear. When we partake of the Lord's Supper, the elements do not become the body and blood of Christ. Some believe they do and some even refer to these verses to make their case. But let me give you two reasons why they don't.

#1. When Jesus said these words in John 6 and when he was seated at the last supper and said that the bread was his body and the cup his blood, he was there in the flesh. He was not telling them to eat of his actual body or drink of his actual blood. We've come across this kind of misunderstanding in almost every single chapter of John's Gospel. The people with whom Jesus was interacting thought Jesus was referring to physical things when he was instead referring to spiritual things. For example, the temple, being born again, living water, and now bread from heaven. But in each case, Jesus was referring to spiritual realities. We are to spiritually feed on him and drink his blood. And we do that through everything I just mentioned. Believing and abiding in him for what he has done.

#2. The second reason that we do not believe the Lord's Supper elements become Jesus body and blood is that Jesus is now in heaven! He's ascended. His physical presence is in heaven. The elements of this table before us are ordinary bread and ordinary fruit of the vine… but when we feed on him and look to him and believe in him and abide in him and consume his word by faith… we are indeed communing with our risen and ascended Lord. That happens through the ministry of the Holy Spirit as he applies the death and resurrection of Christ to us when we come to him by faith.

Let me summarize question 3 this way. We feed on Christ Jesus by seeing him, believing in him, knowing his Word, and abiding in him as the manna of God who came down from heaven. He gave his body and blood to give us life and sustain us. When God the Father draws you to Christ, when you, in response, come to him in those ways by faith, you are partaking of this great spiritual feast.

4. What blessings do you receive when you feed on him?

Question 4. What blessings do you receive when you feed on him?

These verses are overwhelming. All throughout, they not only reveal what it means for Christ to be the bread from heaven and how we are to feed on him, but they reveal to us the eternal blessings we receive when we do feed on him by faith.

First, he will never let you go. He will never cast you out. In verse 39, Jesus says, "I should lose nothing of all he has given me." This is the first of three eternal benefits described here. We will persevere to the end. In fact, we call this doctrine that Jesus teaches the perseverance of the saints of preservation of the saints, as some say. Those whom God has called will come to him and they will never lose their salvation. If you are a believer in Christ, you are assured of this. Jesus will never leave you or forsake you.

And this is confirmed in the second benefit. You WILL be raised up on the last day. It says that 4 times. You will be resurrected when Christ returns. Though your flesh and heart may fail, though your body may die, though you physically pass on from this life, when Christ returns again in glory, you will be resurrected unto his glory. You will be raised up on the last day! This is the hope that we have in this life. Unless the Lord returns before you die, every single one of us here will pass from this world. Your flesh will return to dust. But for those who have feasted on Christ, you are assured that you will be raised up to glory.

And that raising up will be to eternal life. That's the third benefit in the progression of blessing that Jesus spoke of. Eternal life. 7 times in these verses. Those who believe or feed on him will have eternal life. Though you die, yet you will live forever. Look at verses 57 and 58. "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. [58] This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."

It is hard for us to even imagine that. We all feel the effects of the fall. Death is all around us. Our bodies are not long for this world. But when we feed on Christ's body by faith and drink of the everlasting covenant in his blood, we are promised that we will live forever because he lives.

Do you see the progression of these promises? Those who spiritually feast on Christ are assured that they will never be cast out. They will be resurrected when he returns. And they will live forever in him.

These promises are for you. They are for each and everyone here. If you already believe and abide in him you have these promises and are assured of them for eternity. But if you have yet to feast upon Christ, these promises are yours to have when you come to him by faith.

It doesn’t matter if the bread you eat has gold and silver in it. It doesn’t matter if it is worth $2000 or for that matter, $2MM. That bread will only sustain you for a day and the gold will return to the ground from where it came. But there is bread that has come down from heaven. Bread upon which you can feast unto eternal life. Bread that will sustain you through all the trials and joy of life. And that bread is Christ, who has given his body and blood for you, that you may not die in your sin, but live forevermore.

May we each feed on him as we see and believe and know and abide in him forever.