Consuming the Flesh and Bloo..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my father, that everyone who looks on the son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

So the Jews grumbled about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, I have come down from heaven? Jesus answered them, do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.

It is written in the prophets and they will 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's from God. He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate 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 bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

The Jews then disputed among themselves saying, how can this man give us this bread, his flesh to eat? So Jesus said to them, 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. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. And the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father.

So whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 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. Jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. Amen.

This is the word of the Lord. Well, this evening, brothers and sisters, we read quite a long passage from verse 35 through 59, so that once again, we can be reminded of the context of the passage that we'll be meditating upon this evening. Because the moments that we have together this evening, we'll be considering from verse 49, that's where we left off last week, And then we will together consider to verse 59, which essentially caps off the section of our Lord's Bread of Life discourse directed at the Jews. in the Capernaum Synagogue. Now, this is a controversial passage, not only in the text, because we saw that through the reading of the word that the Jews were disputing among themselves.

We'll look into that in a few moments, but also a controversial passage, even in the modern day, as to what Jesus means with these very difficult words, that he is bread to be eaten. and that his blood is to be drunk, his body is to be eaten, his flesh is to be eaten, and his blood is to be drunk. So this evening in verse 49 through 59, our Lord is still addressing primarily the same people. The same people which are the Jews. That's what John calls them.

Now last week I explained that when John uses the title Jews, he most likely is referring to the religious leaders. So I believe that by using the word Jews here, he's speaking about the leaders of the synagogue. They're primarily his audience. Now, of course, there is no doubt that there is also many Galileans listening to Christ. If you remember, the narrative has already told us that earlier in this chapter, the crowd had followed our Lord over from the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, and now they're on the western side in a place called Capernaum, because they'd followed Jesus because they were enamored by his miraculous power, and furthermore, because they thought in their minds, at least, they could benefit greatly this Jesus, he can provide their physical provision.

Namely, they assume this Jesus was able to provide them plenty of bread for their bellies. Maybe this doesn't carry much weight for us now, but in the first century context, you know, here in the first century Galilee, where for the most part, at least, apart from a small exception, there were poor peasant people. They worked very hard and very long hours. So in that day, the fruit of their labor wasn't like what we Westerners are expected or used to having, like, we work and we have a disposable income to pay expenses and lead a reasonably comfortable life. But the majority of their labors here in the first century was only sufficient to pretty much put food on the table.

So perpetual, a continual supply of bread was a big deal for these people in this day. And they weren't subtle about it either because them bringing up Moses in previous verses and his provision to their fathers in the wilderness back in verse 31 was likely to emphasize that exact point. Moses provided manna, Jesus, delicious heavenly bread for our fathers for 40 years. Now show us, show us what you can do, Jesus. course, Jesus corrects their faulty understanding.

He corrects their faulty emphasis by firstly turning their attention to the fact that it wasn't Moses who is their provider, but indeed it is God. It is the Father who is the true provider. But more to the point, the true bread from heaven is he who comes down from heaven to give life to the world, Jesus says in verse 33. And although they ask for this bread that Jesus is referring to, they had no idea that it is spiritual bread and spiritual life that our Lord speaks of. They were aiming too low.

Their eyes were fixed on the material things of this world, and they failed to see that the bread that Jesus speaks of is himself. the benefit of consuming and eating this bread by faith is infinitely more glorious than they could ever fathom. So Jesus moves on. So in the next 15 chapters from that point, our Lord spells out for them some glorious truths, truths that we as a congregation have meditated upon in the last four weeks. In these verses, the few verses in chapter six, we were able to see that it speaks of the sovereignty of God in salvation.

We saw his unconditional election. We were able to see the perfection of our Lord in his perfect obedience to the Father's will. We then saw and meditated upon the drawing power of the Father of sinners because in and of themselves they are unable to respond to Christ in faith. And then we saw the glorious preservation of Christ, of all those that the Father gives him, he will lose none. And then of course we meditated upon the final resurrection for all that come to Christ by faith on that last day.

All of these are primarily spiritual truths. Jesus is not speaking to these people in a material sense or a physical sense. Metaphorically, yes, but his indication, his intention is for them to see things beyond the temporal, beyond the physical. He's speaking heavenly, spiritual, and eternal things. And we will do well to remember that as we meditate on the passage that is before us.

All of which, all of which that Jesus speaks of are benefits for those who believe that he is indeed the true bread from heaven, bread of which in him this bread is eternal life. So now after all the transcendent truths of our Lord, the truths that he's taught these men, he brings the manner they were referring to earlier He brings that back onto the table. Because it seems when they brought it up earlier, they were coveting that manna. They wanted Jesus to provide something similar. They wanted food for their temporal stomachs.

But no doubt, to their surprise, when Jesus brings it up this time, it's not as the ideal that they may have been thinking. Verse 49, your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. Not exactly what these Jews were expecting, I would think. Now to be sure, Jesus is not downplaying the manner. This was a glorious provision of Yahweh upon his covenant people in the wilderness, a part of which they would have starved to death.

No, Jesus is not downplaying God's gracious, providential, providing his people. No, that's not what Jesus is doing. But rather, the point that he's making in this is this. Your fathers ate this manna every day. It filled their stomachs.

It was sufficient for their physical needs every day for 40 years. But what happened in the end? See, this manna did not and could not stop them from dying. They all end up dead. That's the point Jesus is making by bringing up the manna in the wilderness, the manna their fathers ate.

And so he'll go on now in verse 50 and 51, and he'll say these words, this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that the one may eat of it, the one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. These two verses are very, very similar in construction and, of course, context. In both verses, we know Jesus is the bread.

That's been clear to us and to his initial hearers from verse 35 onwards. Before that, he was alluding to the fact from verse 35 onwards, it's just a fact. He tells them, I am the bread of life. But I want us to see three points. Three points in these two verses that Jesus is making, points that I think are essential for us to understand exactly what Jesus is trying to tell.

His original here is, of course, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we have the word of God and the words of our Lord for us even today. First, in both verses, Jesus begins by declaring that he, he himself, has come down from heaven. Heaven is his origin, not the earth. Now I'm not going to spend too much time on this point because we've been working our way through this chapter verse by verse and so we can all agree and we probably can all remember that Jesus has brought up this on more than one occasion that he is the bread from heaven. In fact, only moments earlier, we're told this is precisely the point that moved the Jews that were listening to grumble and murmur.

Remember back in verse 41 and 42? There we read, so the Jews grumbled about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, I have come down from heaven? Oh, they knew all right what Jesus was stating with these words.

And Jesus also knew full well the antagonism that this statement caused these Jews. But this is the thing, beloved, he doesn't shy away. He doesn't shy away from that truth. In fact, we'll come to see that he'll deepen the offense against these Jews as every word that comes out of his mouth, no less than five times he'll refer to himself as coming from heaven or being sent by the father. From this point on, from the point of their grumbling on, he continues to reiterate this point that I have come down from heaven.

I have been sent by the father. Why? Why does he say this? Why does he make this a big point in his discourse? Well, he's declaring the incarnation.

The eternal son of God became flesh. This is foundational to the gospel. This is foundational to the good news that we know, beloved. It's not a point that he's willing to omit because it's central to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, yes, of course, it's going to be an offense to some Jews, And many, many will slander our Lord and they'll mock Him because of this truth.

And I think of the chief priests and the scribes and the elders who mocked our Lord and ridiculed Him as He hung on the cross for declaring this precise truth that He is the Son of God from heaven. The concept of the God-man was ridiculous to them. God in flesh, how absurd they thought. But beloved, if this is not so, if it were not for the incarnation, there can be no hope for humanity because humanity is steeped deeply in sin and humanity is in enmity with God. So the God-man is the only one qualified to mediate between God and man.

Without the incarnation, there is no good news. It's essential to the gospel. And so Jesus repeats that he's from heaven many times in this chapter. But the second point I want us to see is the outcome of those who eat of this living bread from heaven. What's the outcome?

In other words, what is the effect or the result of eating this bread from heaven? Well, it's eternal life. It says it in the passage. And that eternal life, life itself, that's a major theme through this chapter, in fact, through the whole book. But here in verse 50 and 51, he asserts, Jesus asserts this exact point.

Once in the negative and once in the positive. You can see what I'm talking about. If you put your eyes in the text, put your eyes in the text, and have a look at verse 50 and then verse 51. See, in verse 50, he states it in negative. He says, the one who eats this bread will not die.

In other words, if you do not not die, then you will remain living. And in verse 51, if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Essentially the same point reiterated in a different way. One in the positive and one in the negative. Everlasting life is in view.

We need to see this. You see, this is the contrast that Jesus, our Lord, is making with their fathers in the wilderness. That manner compared to the true bread from heaven, the physical with the spiritual. You see, the manner sustained their fathers, the Israelites, for a time. Now, as with any physical food, it has a temporary function.

The fats, the proteins, the carbohydrates will sustain the body for a vapor of a time. But the time will come, beloved, 80 years, maybe 90, at best 100 years, and it wasn't that much for their fathers, by the way. And then the flesh and blood will inevitably return back to dust. You see, if you set your heart on the physical, perishable things of this world, you will perish with them. That's the message.

But what about the soul? What should occupy our hearts and our minds, beloved? The state of our physical bodies, which equates to a mist of time on this planet, or the state of our souls that will never ever come to an end? Oh, the foolishness to spend one's energies and efforts on the pleasures of this world and in the sin that lasts but for a season and yet refuse the salvation of God that goes into all eternity. How short-sighted is man?

You see, this is why our Lord rebukes the Galileans earlier on in His discourse, way back in verse 27, if you remember, where He says, do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him God the Father has set His seal. So what's Jesus' message for these people? Well, what's his message to us today? This is his message. Wake up.

Wake up and see the pursuits of this life. The very best material and physical things that you can have will all come to naught when you die. You cannot imagine a tastier bread than what was provided for the Israelites in the wilderness. But they all died and they will all give an account to God. Beloved, without the redemptive work of Christ, The only thing that awaits such death is the second death, the second eternal death that the Bible speaks of.

but the true bread from heaven. The true bread from heaven, who is Christ, he imparts, and he sustains, and he satisfies the soul for all eternity, unlike the bread that their fathers ate in the wilderness. To eat this bread, this bread from heaven, is to enjoy eternal life. The comparison Jesus is making, of course, is from the physical to the spiritual. Now that's a quick summary of the two of the three points I wanted us to consider.

The first is that Jesus has come down from heaven as the incarnate son of God. And the second is that he has come to give eternal life for those who believe upon him. Now we've breezed through these two because we've considered both in previous sermons and our Lord has declared them both already in this discourse. But the third point I want us to see is introduced to us for the first time. And that is that one must eat this bread.

One must eat this bread. Okay, that doesn't sound too bad. I mean, after all, bread is made to be eaten, right? So that's what you would expect. Yes, but however, we have to ask the question, how do you eat a person?

How does one eat Jesus Christ? You see, this is scandalous to the Jews. In fact, it's the one point that caused the vast majority of the followers of Christ, even his disciples, not the 12, but his followers, to turn their backs and desert him at the end of this chapter. From the height of popularity to being reduced to only a few people because of this fact. How do you eat a person?

You see, his words were hard to hear and extremely offensive to these people. It was okay when bread was simply a metaphor or a symbol for something else. They hadn't figured out what that something else was, but the symbolic language was bearable up until now. They were okay with it until now. But now, in verse 51b, Jesus brushes away any fog, any ambiguity, and now he states that he is the bread of life.

But beyond that, he states that it is his flesh that needs to be eaten. You see, verse 51b, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Wow. Is Jesus actually advocating a physical eating of flesh? Well, that's what his heroes thought.

So what did he actually mean? You know, we'll need to come back to this verse a little later on to explain what Jesus actually means, as I do believe this verse is central to the understanding of the whole passage. But what we know for sure is that his hearers were deeply, deeply offended by his words, because they go from grumbling, in verse 41, to now disputing among themselves. That's a strong word that really connotes a strong form of arguing. The Jews, this is verse 52, the Jews then disputed among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat?

Their blood pressure had risen because if they had understood Jesus correctly, then what they were hearing was disgusting. It was repugnant. Is this man actually asking us to eat his body? Is he promoting some form of cannibalism? What does he mean when he says, you must eat my flesh?

Jesus saw their reaction and he knows what's in the heart of man. We know that nothing is hidden before his very eyes. and rather than softening the blow by toning down his language just a little bit. Maybe just a little to reduce the offensiveness of what he's actually saying or what they think he's saying. No, he doesn't do that at all.

He doesn't notch it down, but he actually steps up the notch and he becomes even more offensive to these Jews. Listen to what he says in verse 53. So Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man, hear this, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54, whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. Wow.

They were sickened and disgusted moments earlier when he made reference to his flesh. Now he offers them something for their thirst. drink my blood, he says. You know, the spirit, the spirit of God didn't move John to write their immediate response. It would have been interesting, but perhaps, perhaps it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that the word rage would be a good description of what they were experiencing right now.

Perhaps they were thinking, Jesus, how can you say these things? You claim to be a rabbi. You should know the law of Moses. You should know that drinking blood is strictly prohibited. Beloved brothers and sisters, we heard that even today in Leviticus chapter three.

Even animals that were to be eaten were drained of their blood before they were eaten, before they were made kosher. How then, Jesus, can you say these horrifying, offensive words? How can you even suggest that we drink your blood? Well, beloved, the error was not in what Jesus was saying. His words are perfect and true, and we'll soon see this.

The error is in the people's hearing. The error is not on Jesus' behalf, but the error is on the hearer's behalf, because these people are yet spiritually deaf. They could not hear the spiritual truths behind the words that Jesus is actually speaking. Again, they were stuck. They were stuck in the material world.

They were stuck in the physical, in the literal things, and they were unable to bring themselves to understand the deeper spiritual truths that Jesus was proclaiming in his words. Jesus hits the nail on the head. He hits it on the head in verse 66. Do you take offense at this? 62.

Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? Here's the point. 63. It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all.

The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. Did you get that? Our Lord is saying, trying to discern what I'm saying with your own flesh, that is, trying to discern what Jesus says by your own intellect, by your own reason, will only end up in massive error. You'll only get more offended and more agitated because you will not have the means to understand the truths that I speak of. They are hidden.

And therefore, they will remain a mystery to you. Because the words I speak are spiritual. And unless you have been made alive spiritually, you will not understand them. And you will not believe. The flesh is no help at all.

Brothers and sisters, that's a polite way of saying, in spiritual matters, The flesh is useless. It's what's spiritual. And unless you've been enlightened by the drawing power of the Father, unless you've been enlightened by the teaching of the Father, then you will not understand what Jesus has to say. Brothers and sisters, this is an incredible, incredible lesson for us, that the flesh is useless. When we're speaking of spiritual matters, the flesh is useless.

How often, how often do we, are we confronted with spiritual issues in our lives and then we try to flex our own muscle, we try to then appeal to the physical things of the world, our own intellect, our own smarts, the information that we have, the skills that we have, the money we have in the bank, when we would be better off falling on our knees in prayer. We live in a time of information and too often, all too often, we jump on the computer and we Google things when we ought to be communing with God in prayer. When we ought to be seeking Him. Beloved, the flesh avows for nothing when we're speaking of spiritual matters. We ought to remember this.

It's a lesson for all of us. It's also a lesson for all of us in our own evangelism. Because why is it so often when we are witnessing to people, we try to take away the edge of the gospel? We naturally tend to want to reduce the offensiveness of the gospel. Beloved, the gospel is in and of itself inherently offensive to the flesh.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that we are abrupt in our presentation of the gospel. And I'm not suggesting for a moment that we become unnecessarily offensive when we preach the gospel. That's not what I'm saying. Indeed, we give the reason for the hope that is in us with gentleness and respect and love and graciousness. But we must never, ever, ever make apologizing for the, apologize for the offensiveness of the gospel by taming its roar.

Because the gospel is infinitely offensive to the natural man. Because it attacks and completely destroys all self-righteousness. Any pride in man that says, I can do it, the gospel says, no, you cannot. You need someone else to do it on your behalf. We must remember, beloved, that when we witness, that our responsibility before the Lord is to witness faithfully, how our words are received.

Well, that's in the hands of God. That's why our Lord does not tune down His language, but steps it up. He knows that those who have been drawn by the Father, taught by the Father, as we've been taught in previous weeks in verse 44 through 45, they will come to Christ in joy. They will not be offended. The words that are a cause of disgust and pure offense to some are the sweetest and most gracious words of mercy to others.

Jesus knows this. He who has been given ears will hear, and indeed, they will come to Christ in joy. And they will rejoice at his words, because his words are sweet to the ear. Now, of course, this passage, our Lord's not speaking literally. He is still speaking in metaphors, figurative language.

He's not at all promoting some form of cannibalism to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Primarily, he signifies to believe, to believe in him. That's his message all along. His message has not changed. He's reiterated over and over again to these people.

The word believe is used some nine times in this chapter alone by our Lord. What do you think he's teaching? He's saying, believe upon me. Like his whole ministry speaks of him believing. You know, he's only been, his earthly ministry is about two years in at this point, here in John chapter six, into his earthly ministry, I mean.

And with only a handful of narratives that we have in the gospel according to John, and we've been through all of them until here, until chapter six. We've considered all of them. His message has almost always exclusively been, believe in me. Place your trust in me. That has been our Lord's message all along.

Think about it. To the teacher of Israel, Nicodemus, in chapter three, it was, believe in me. Believe, Nicodemus, that I am the son of God. to the Samaritan woman at the well in chapter 4. You remember what he said?

It was to believe that he is Messiah and to believe that he is the one who can give her water that wells up in her into eternal life. to the Jews in Jerusalem in the previous chapter, in chapter five, it was to believe that in him is eternal life. And now, and now in chapter six, to these Galileans and the Jews, the leaders in the Capernaum synagogue, and only moments earlier in verse 47, he says, truly, truly, an emphatic statement, listen to what I have to say, this is important. I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. That's his message.

It's central to his teaching and yet they still take offense and do not believe that he is the living bread from heaven in whom there is eternal life. They hung up, as I said earlier, on the literal eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood in a physical sense. That's all their ears can hear at this point in time. And so they cannot and will not believe. And beloved, I want us to see this.

Unbelief is no different today. You know, even if we are blessed to have the words of our Lord written for us in a language we can understand, Most of the world has the word of God in a language they can understand. It still requires a divine act of God to open eyes and ears to allow these truths that are written in his word to be believed. You see, we can have an intellectual understanding of these things, but that does not equate to faith. You can have an intellectual understanding of these things.

I want you to hear this. But that does not equate to saving faith. Because a discerning reader is able to remove the mystery of what Jesus is saying. A discerning reader can grab the Bible, put it in his hands, and he can look back and he can remove the mystery that these Galileans and the Jews were unable to see at this point by simply reading verse 54 and the parallel in verse 40. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.

That's 54. Everyone who looks on the sun and believes that's the difference in him should have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. Verse 40. Clearly, the parallel tells us that to feed on Christ's flesh and to drink upon his blood is a synonym. It's the same as to look upon the Son of God and to believe in him.

See, in both instances, the effect is the same. The result is the same, eternal life and to be raised up in the bodily resurrection. But that's not to say, that's not to say that putting two and two together, that by figuring out what the meaning of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, by figuring out that meaning, that we somehow have attained spiritual knowledge or spiritual insight, because that's not true. There's so much more in this text. There's so many more truths that Jesus is trying to convey here that need spiritual illumination, such as, what is it?

What is it to believe in Christ? What is it to look upon the Son of God with faith? and we ask ourselves the question, so why does Jesus use this figurative language to eat of his flesh and to drink of his blood? Why not just simply say, believe in me? You see, these are all truths we'll explore together this evening by the grace of God, and we'll have answers.

I'll give you answers for these questions for your minds, but only the Spirit of God, beloved, is able to take them from your mind. and make them realities in your soul. Eyes need to be opened to enjoy this in Jesus and to have eternal life. And beloved, that eternal life is on offer only because of what is written way back in verse 51b. The verse we skipped over earlier, the one I said is central to our understanding of this passage.

Let's go back there. Let's go back there and have a look at what that verse says, shall we? And then I believe we'll be able to explore why our Lord used the words he used to describe believing upon him. Let's go back to verse 51. I don't want to read the whole verse.

I want us just to look at verse 51b. I want us to look at verse 51b. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Such a simple verse, it's so profound. You know, as I was thinking and preparing throughout the week for this sermon, a thought crossed my mind.

This coming Sunday is Easter. Should I prepare a sermon more attuned to an Easter Sunday? Now, I thoroughly believe that as Christians, the truths of Easter ought to be truths that we meditate upon and enjoy and rejoice in daily, not only one day a year. And as a church, we are privileged because the Lord's given us the opportunity to be reminded of the Lord's death every single Sunday and his resurrection, of course, during the corporate Lord's Supper that we celebrate weekly. So upon contemplating these things, I decided, no, let's continue where we are providentially in our exposition in John chapter six.

And then, and then I realized, verse 51B is the Eastern message. It's all there in a few words. And I hope the Lord will give me and enable me to show you this truth this evening. This is what it reads. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

So what we have in this verse is the cross of Christ. You see, our Lord is speaking of freely giving his flesh, his human body, his life as a substitutionary sacrifice for the salvation of his people. This is the gospel and it's all in this verse. Now, our Lord has labored to show that he is the bread of heaven. The point is clear, but now he's telling us that he's not only that bread, but he's also the giver of that bread.

Bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. He's the giver. He's the bread and he's the giver of that bread. That is, he gives his flesh. He gives his life.

The pronouncement of the, this is a pronouncement of the purpose of the incarnation of our Lord, to freely give his human body and his human soul And it is the cross that is in mind because he says it is in the future tense. Did you see that in the text? I will. I will. give for life.

Our Lord is speaking of a time, not in the immediate present, but looking forward to a future time. Of course, it's historical for us, but when he said it, he's speaking about a future event, a future action that will take place when he freely gives his body in perfect obedience to the Father's will. Therefore, in 51B, he's looking forward, he's looking forward to the cross, to a time he'll willingly give his flesh, just like he'll go on to declare in John chapter 10, I lay down my life that I may take it up again. Verse 18, no one takes it from me. I lay down my life.

He says, I lay it down of my own accord. He willingly, freely, voluntarily gives of his life. Okay? But how is that good news for us? The eternal son of God in flesh decides to give his life.

But how do I benefit? How do you, beloved, benefit from Jesus simply giving his life? Well, this is grace. Because he voluntarily offers his human body, it is, on behalf of others. Look at the text, bread that I will give for, bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

I give my flesh, I lay down my life for the life of the world. That's what Jesus is saying. Now the world here in this context, we've done a small study on world back when it came up in John 3, 16, but the world here is humanity. The humanity that he will effectually save, that is both Jew and Gentile, people from every tongue, from every nation, from every language and every tribe. But the giving of his flesh, in the original it's huper, is translated for in English, connotes very much on the behalf, or for the sake of.

In this case, the life of the world, which is to bring life to his people. A people whose default is death. Remember that was the point made in John chapter 5 verse 25. So what do we have here? He freely gives his human body and his human soul for the sake of his people.

This is the natural reading of this sentence structure. It's to be understood in a sacrificial sense. as it is understood in the multiple of occasions that the same author John writes elsewhere. For example, John chapter 10, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life, here we are, for the sheep.

Another example is John 15, greater love has no one than this, that someone laid down his life for his friends. You see, it's sacrificial, it's vicarious, it's on behalf of another, it's an action done for another. Brothers and sisters, Jesus is saying he freely and willingly lays down his life in order that you and I can have life. This sacrificial language is no doubt a reminder of the declaration of John the Baptist. You remember what he declared in the wilderness when he saw the Jesus Christ and he was by the Spirit of God notified that this is indeed the Messiah.

He declared, behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Whenever a life is laid down or substitute for another life, it would have always been an animal sacrifice that came to the mind of these Jews that were listening to Jesus, especially now that we're told back in verse four of this same chapter that it was a time of the Passover. This was a time of remembrance back to the exodus from Egypt when an innocent spotless lamb had its throat slit and its blood painted on the doorposts and lentils. Why? Why was that?

So that death would pass them by. Passover, that the Lamb's death meant life to those in the home. It's the same too with the animal sacrifice that these people, the hearers of our Lord, His audience, are so used to in that day. That's the image that is etched in the mind of these people, the picture of an innocent animal that should die in the place of another. Its bloodshed and its life comes to an abrupt end so that my life would be spared.

That's what they're thinking. His life for mine. It's a substitute. And that's why, that's what the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, has done. Beloved, this is the whole purpose of the incarnation of our Lord.

This is why God became man, in order to become our human representative and to offer himself to God according to the will of God in our behalf. Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10 says it this way. If you have your Bibles, let's open them up there. Hebrews 10 is a glorious passage and we'll start our reading from verse five.

Hebrews 10 from verse five. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book. When he said the above, you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burn offerings and sin offerings.

These are all offered according to the law. Then he added, behold, I have come to do your will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by this, by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once. for us and for all.

How glorious is this good news? God shows his love for us in while we were still sinners. Christ died. He he died for us. Romans five eight.

Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to This is the glorious Easter message that we ought to be reminded of every, every single day. That in our place, in the place of wicked, wretched, vile sinners, the perfect, sinless, eternal son of God came from heaven to freely and willingly give up his body and soul, shed his blood on the gruesome Roman cross to bear the punishment, the wrath of God that we deserve. in our place as our substitute to give us life to both, to give life both to the Jew and the Gentile who feed on his flesh and drink upon his blood. It's all about the cross. These Jews heard our Lord's words and they were disgusted.

They could not see the beauty and the grace of what has been spoken. Words that are dripping with mercy they could not see. Why? Because the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit, for they are folly to him, and he's not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2.

14, that's why. Christ crucified is absurd and offensive to these people, even if they understood. That's what Jesus was getting at. It's a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles. Sadly, millions upon millions on this day, this Easter day, will give mental assent to our Saviour.

And if it weren't for the isolation that we're all experiencing, they may even enter the doors of a church on this day. But even then, despite the outward appearances, this Jesus is an offence to them, to many. He's an intrusion to their lifestyle, an imposition to their goals and purposes. He's too restrictive in his teaching, too narrow in his ways. The world is too valuable.

I like this Jesus that would say, don't get me wrong, but I'm not prepared to give everything up for him. Sadly, this is how the world thinks. Sadly, their eyes are blind. But that verse I just mentioned earlier in 1 Corinthians, it continues, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles and Hittites, but to those who are called both Jews and Gentiles, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Why does one believe?

because the blindness is divinely and supernaturally taken away by his drawing power and Christ's work in his flesh is seen for what it is, love indescribable. Oh, how could this love be offensive? How can this mercy and grace be repugnant to the eyes of any? How could one know what he has done for sinners and be disgusted in him? He laid down his life in the place of mine.

Knowing him in this way, beloved, creates a hunger and thirst to come to him and to feed upon him all the all satisfying bread from heaven. That ought to be, there ought to be no sacrifice too great for us, beloved, that would withhold us, you and I, brothers and sisters, from following this Jesus as Lord. You see, with that in mind, we begin to understand what it is to feed upon the Lord. We can start to acknowledge that to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood is to fully identify with the whole of Christ by faith. He is on the basis, on the basis of his substitutionary work on the cross.

Beloved, it's beyond an intellectual knowledge of Jesus. It's beyond what millions of people are doing on this very day. It's beyond remembering some facts about a person who walked the streets of first century Palestine and lived a good life and died a horrific death upon a Roman cross, even if you believe in all the facts. It's beyond that. All the knowledge is utterly useless to you unless by faith he becomes a part of you.

Think about it. How does one derive benefit from food and drink? You see, you can place a loaf of bread on your plate. You can smell it. You can observe it, you can smear it with butter and put your favourite jam on it.

You can even go away and read about it. You can study it. You can tell others about it. But none of these things will satisfy your hunger. This bread will not benefit you unless it's eaten and becomes a part of you.

You've heard the expression, you are what you eat. That's because the food you eat breaks down to nourish every part of your biological body, even the smallest atoms. What you eat and drink forms your physical body. If you eat too much fat, sugar, or chemicals, there are consequences for this. We all know this, don't we?

They always show up in our blood tests because the food and drink that we eat becomes part of who we are. That's what it is to feed upon Christ. It's to be united in him by faith so that he becomes, hear this, an inseparable part of you by faith. This is the point of verses 55 and 56. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. Beloved self is sacrificed and one by faith is united in Christ as a new creature. The old me has gone. My life has changed forevermore. I've been united in his death and in his resurrected life that now permeates every part of my being.

I have a new identity in Christ, never, never, ever again to be identified without him. By faith, his life is now coursing through my veins to sustain every part of my spiritual being. It's to be able to say, excuse me, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2.20. This is how the apostle Paul is able to say, Christ is your life. His life is my life. In Christ we are intimately united.

in the innermost being. And to feed upon Him is to, by faith, continually be nourished more and more by His life, by His Word, by His presence, by His power. And over time, He begins to bring greater and greater resemblances of me to Him. That's Christlikeness that we all seek. You know the word used in our passage here, the word in verses 54 and 58, the word for feed, feed connotes a continual munching and chewing.

It's actually a word commonly used in the original to describe the noisy munching action of an animal like a cow or a goat. You see these animals, you see these animals always have something in their mouth and they're continually chewing on food. That's the imagery that Jesus is using to always and without ceasing feed on him by faith, to feed on his eternal love. to munch on his word, to trust in his forgiveness, to consume him in prayer, to be nourished by his grace, to rest in his promises, to draw on his strength, to rely on his protection, to look to him and believe upon him for all things. and just like food for the body to feed upon him over and over and over and over and over again, continuously feeding upon Christ.

Beloved, if you've tasted and you've seen how sufficient and soul satisfying he is, your soul will always hunger and thirst for his righteousness. Hope, I hope we can all identify with this, but we also know that we are still a people who wrestle and battle with our flesh. And to our shame, rather than feeding upon him continuously, we sometimes drift from that diet and begin to eat rubbish served by this world. Our eyes may wander. Our eyes may wander.

Our hearts may drift. Our desires may fade. And it doesn't take long, beloved, before we realize how powerless and utterly useless we are on our own. Without constantly feeding on him, our spirits are impoverished. Without feeding upon him, our souls become weak and frail.

Without feeding upon him, we can do nothing but sin. His words in John chapter 15 ring true, don't they? Abide in me, and I in you, Jesus says. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. Hear this, for apart from me you can do what? Nothing. Zilch. And so here, back in John chapter six, our Lord fittingly ends this portion of his discourse in verse 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. The question we are all confronted with this evening is this. What bread are you feeding on?

Every one of us must search our hearts and be honest and answer that question. What bread are we feeding upon? What drink are we drinking upon? How is my soul fed and nourished? Do I see satisfaction in the world and that which is in the world and all that the world has to offer?

What do I hunger for? What feeds my inner desires, the inner desires of my soul? Is it the entertainment of this world? Is it work? Is it my family, money, my hobbies?

Is it a desire to increase my knowledge? Hear this, beloved, because what I'm about to say can sound quite controversial. It could even be a desire to increase my knowledge of the Bible for knowledge sake. Because apart from faith in Christ in all that we do, if we are feeding upon these things, our souls are in danger. Because Jesus is so clear in verse 53, unless you eat of the flesh of the son of man and drink of his blood, you have no life.

Life is exclusively found in Christ. Verse 57, 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. You see back in verse 51, Jesus is the living bread and now he calls his father the living father. This is a reminder, beloved, of what we learned back in verse, chapter five and verse 26, where it's written, for as the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son also to have life in himself. This Jesus is saying that he is the fountain of life.

Life is exclusively found in him. And if we believe upon him, if we feed on his life, we live because he lives. It's his life that courses through our veins and gives us life. It's his life that causes our spiritual hearts to beat. He is the true vine and we are the branches.

Remember, all our nourishment must come through this vine or we die. So the question we must ask is simple. Have you chosen life? Or have you chosen death? That's practically the question that Jesus is asking in our passage.

Because by faith, if one is trusting in Christ and He's finished work, if one has been crucified with Christ, identified with Christ, and now continually feeding upon Him, abiding in Him and in His eternal life, then he has chosen life, or she has chosen life. But if one is nourishing himself or herself from the perishing world, and all that this world has to offer, well then it makes it evident that death has been chosen. Because according to the Bible, there is no third option. You're either in the kingdom of the son, or you remain the domain of darkness. It's either eternal life in Jesus Christ or eternal death without him.

Beloved, I hope it's the former and not the latter for all of us. And I'll end with these words, the words of our Lord in verse 51. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

Let's pray.