Words of Life

 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”  But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?  Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?  It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who were the ones who did not believe and who was the one who would betray him.  And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” 

John 6:60-65

God’s holy words are life.  Through Moses, God explained this to His chosen people shortly before they crossed the Jordan River entering the Promised Land.  Moses said,

He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3

We need food to sustain our physical life, but true life is spiritual, and God’s holy word provides life and sustains us.  Jesus explained this truth to the devil, the tempter, Satan when they talked in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1-4), and He taught crowds gathering in the synagogue in Capernaum saying,

“It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”  John 6:63

God’s words are life.  Jesus’ words are life.  Jesus is God.

Jesus revealed His divine essence in a variety of ways.  In chapter 6 of his presentation of the gospel, John describes two revelations of Jesus’ glory that happened in a single day.  Jesus demonstrated His divinity by feeding thousands with five loaves and two fish (see John 6:1-14), and later that day He walked on water.  As evening came, the disciples boarded a boat on the Sea of Galilee and set off for Capernaum.  After rowing miles on rough seas, they saw Jesus walking on the water toward them.  He boarded the boat and it immediately reached land (see John 6:16-21).  Jesus demonstrated His divinity by defying the laws of nature.  The next day He explained why.

Crowds found Jesus in Capernaum.  The evening before they had seen the disciples board a boat without Jesus, and they asked how He got there.  Jesus responded saying that they were looking for Him, not because they saw the signs revealing His divine nature, but because they wanted another free meal.  He continued saying,

Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”  Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”  John 6:27-29

The conversation continues and people in the crowd comment on manna that sustained their ancestors while they followed Moses in the wilderness.  Jesus explains that God provided the manna, “For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33).  Pause for a moment and allow that to sink in.  The bread of God gives life. 

Later in the conversation Jesus makes a remarkable declaration.  He says,

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.  Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away, 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.  This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day…. 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.” John 6:35-40 & 51

Jesus explains that He will give His body for the life of the world.  Religious leaders get distracted by the puzzle of perceived physical limitations.  It is as if they are thinking, He wants us to eat His flesh? How?  And how might one man’s body sustain the entire world?  Jesus doubles down on the imagery.  Rather than shying away from the shocking imagery and distateful thought, Jesus says,

“Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them.  Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”  John 6:53-58

How might we eat His flesh and drink His blood?  What does this mean?  Back up at verse 40, Jesus says, “This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day” (John 6:40).  He draws parallels between believing in Him and eating His flesh and drinking His blood, and this is extremely interesting because we might interpret believing as something superficial, while we could never imagine consuming Him as anything less than fully invasive merging of two into one.  The belief He seeks is not mere intellectual understanding, but a blending of souls and spirits.  Full consumption.  Total transformation.  Absolute union. 

“Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” John 6:53

Many of the people who had been following Jesus heard the words and could not accept the teaching.  John continues writing,

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”  But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?  Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?  It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  But among you there are some who do not believe.” John 6:60-64

The spirit gives life.  The words that Jesus speaks are spirit and life.  Jesus’ words are life.  God’s holy words are life.  Jesus is God.  “One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Earlier in this writing I asserted that Jesus demonstrated His divinity by defying the laws of nature, and the next day He explained why.  So why?  Why did He demonstrate His divine nature?  Once we see that Jesus is God, His words and actions carry greater significance.  By demonstrating His control over nature, we see that He truly is life, His words truly are spirit and life, and we live by His holy word.

Consume Him.  Devour His words.  Gain His life.  Amen.