The Gospel of John - part 17
preached Feb. 24, 2019
Skeptical Questions from the Jewish Leaders
This week we are looking at Jesus’ response to the Jewish leaders regarding his teachings. Jesus has stated that he is the Bread of Life come down from Heaven so that whoever trusts in him will live forever. Jesus is using a metaphor to teach an eternal truth. The metaphor is that of bread. Humans eat bread (meaning food in general) in order to live. It’s a basic natural instinct, we must eat to survive. We get strength and vitality by eating. Some of us eat too much, but that’s a different sermon. We need food to survive.
The truth is that Jesus provides eternal life to whoever repents and trusts in him for salvation. Jesus comes from the Father to give life. He can do that, because He is from the Father who is the Source of all life. He created the world and its system of nourishments, both the physical world and the spiritual. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.
This truth garners two questions from the Jewish leaders. Now, keep in mind, John is very fluid with his time markers. The story began on a mountain, crossed a sea, and then continued on the other side for a bit. Verse 59 tells us this conversation moved at some point into the synagogues. This kind of fluidity is what tells us Jesus’ speech should be read as a discourse of theology. These are things Jesus said, which John remembered, and then put together into his theological gospel. (I say that for those of you who would miss out on an important point, because you were stuck on the time change.)
These two questions will be the two points of today’s message.
How can Jesus be from Heaven if he was born on earth?
How can we ‘take in’ Jesus since He was a person [in history]?
So let’s begin:
How can Jesus be from Heaven if he was born on earth? (6:41-51)
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.
John 6:41-43
The Jews ‘grumble’ among themselves, which is reminiscent of the Israelite grumbling in the wilderness (another reminder of the parallel Wilderness story). They know this guy—it’s Jesus son of Joseph and Mary. (Ironically, in chapter 8, they later question Joseph’s fatherhood.) If Jesus is a human, how can he be from God in Heaven?
This question would actually remain throughout the Early Church Period, and continues to pop up in history. How can Jesus be both a human and God? The answer has been given already in John 1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” God exists in Trinity—Father, Son and Spirit.
Four centuries of theological discussion culminated in the Council of Ephesus giving us the term, ‘hypostatic union’—Jesus is both human and divine at the same time.
Theologians in the first five centuries debated the nature of Jesus as both human and Divine. In some cases, they would emphasize one nature to the detriment of the other. Some denied his humanity—making Jesus a spirit person that only appeared to be human, never actually dying on a cross. Others denied his divinity—stating he was merely an enlightened human who taught of the True Divine. Note: these two errors still exist today in various beliefs. It took an argument between Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius over how one should speak of Mary to establish an orthodox position. Nestorius stated Mary was not the Mother of God, because she birthed the human Jesus, but the divine Jesus existed separately. Cyril labeled this belief as a type of adoptionism—Jesus was not born divine, but became divine later. Instead, he argued for what is called the “hypostatic union”—Jesus is both Human and Divine together simultaneously.
At first it sounds like mere semantics, but the argument hearkens back to the Jewish question which is still important in understanding Jesus’ identity for today as well. It is important to hold to the humanity of Jesus, because man’s sin required the payment of man’s life. If Jesus was not a human, he could not lay his life down for our atonement. It is important to hold to the divinity of Jesus, because only God can forgive sin and only God can reveal God. Likewise, both Jesus’ humanity and divinity is upheld in Scripture.
Look back at verses 44-46:
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 he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
John 6:44-46
The Father must draw people to salvation, and Jesus promises to raise up the believer on the last day. These are acts of divinity. Next, Jesus says the prophets of the Old Testament promised God would teach people Himself. Two particular references are:
“all your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.”
Isaiah 54:13
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all known me, form the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Jeremiah 31:33&34
This prophecy has a double-fulfillment: first, it is fulfilled in that Jesus is God come down to earth teaching, second in the Holy Spirit indwelling believers.
Jesus is from heaven, because He is the Word of God who is God, come down from Heaven, dwelling among us, to teach us the way of salvation.
He is both human and divine.
Why has he come? To teach and to give life. Look at verses 47-51.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers 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. 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.”
John 47-51
Jesus again compares the wilderness story with the miracle of feeding the 5000 and his ultimate mission: just as God provided manna from heaven for their physical living, Jesus is the bread from heaven to provide spiritual life.
Physical bread gives physical life, and spiritual bread gives spiritual life.
Jesus is the living bread from Heaven.
He is the living bread, and if anyone eats this bread, they will live forever.
Thus, we come to our second question:
How do we take in Jesus if he is a historical person? (6:52-59)
It’s a metaphor (we are not cannibals).
This metaphor is why Christians of the first and second century were called cannibals. (Check out Justin Martyr’s Apology). The Lord’s Supper became the trademark of the Early Church. It was one of the unique activities of the church at which pagans and Jews both scoffed. The bread is called Jesus’ body, the wine is called Jesus’ blood. So, when people talked about Christians who would gather to eat the body and drink the blood, it sounded like barbaric cannibals. Justin Martyr wrote his first Apology (or Defense) around 155 AD. His goal was to clarify the teachings of Christians to the emperor in order to persuade their legal status. One of those clarifications was that Christians did not kill anyone to partake of the Lord’s Supper.
(Just an FYI in case anyone is wondering, Christians still do not kill anyone in preparing for the Lord’s Supper, or communion as it’s called in other traditions.)
Now, as we look back at John, we should note this conversation is before the establishment of the ritual Lord’s Supper. John certainly would have the ritual in mind as he is writing, but that doesn’t change that Jesus would not be teaching the Lord’s Supper is necessary for salvation, because the ritual did not even exist at the time of his teaching. The closest equivalent is the Jewish Passover (which the Lord’s Supper came from), but the Jews never regarded the Passover as necessary for salvation. It was a ritual reminder of the salvation they already received from slavery in Egypt.
We must remember that the Lord’s Supper is an act of faith we partake in as a remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. We are not literally taking in bits of Jesus as we eat—any more than we are taking in bits of some other guy we chopped up.
So what does Jesus mean by taking in his flesh and blood?
The key is in verse 55, “my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink”. The word ‘true’ is important. It permeates John’s gospel as he is teaching us the truth of Christ. But, its use here is slightly different than meaning “not false”. We found the same use before in John 3:21:
“But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
You may recall Jesus is drawing a contrast between those who do evil and those who do good, but John does not record this as ‘good’ rather ‘true’. The Greek word for truth is actually a negative construction—literally ‘not concealed’. Truth is uncorrupted or covered by lies. Hold this definition in your head as look again at the metaphor:
Whereas the bread the people received on the mountain, and the Israelites in the wilderness was simply physical bread, the ‘true bread’, the uncovered, revealed, pure bread is Christ. We believe we need physical bread because we are physical creatures, but Jesus is teaching that our true source for life comes from Him, not from physical bread. We look to him for life, for salvation, and for right living, because He is everything we need.
The wilderness manna, the bread for the 5000, and even Jesus’ metaphor are all symbols pointing us to the truth—Jesus is our Source of Life.
Verse 58 rounds out the symbolism: “not the bread the fathers ate and died”
‘Bread’ is the symbol; Christ is the truth.
The true bread is not really bread, just like the bread we eat in remembrance of Jesus is not really his body. These are symbols. The true bread is Christ.
So, let’s recap:
How is Jesus from Heaven if he was born a person on earth?
Because Jesus is both Man and God, two natures dwelling together in perfect unity and harmony, divine as the preexistent Word of God and human as the progeny of Mary walking and growing in flesh.
How do we take in Jesus since He was a person in history?
We recognize that He is the Son of God, and as divine can meet us wherever we are at in history or space. We trust in His work on the cross for salvation, and live our lives under his Lordship.
Now, these have been some theologically heavy questions, so I would like to spend a few moments with a few practical helps.
1) Remember salvation is offered through Christ freely.
We must remember that salvation is offered through Christ freely. We have done nothing to deserve it, and we can’t do anything to earn it. Therefore, rest in God’s grace. Do not burden yourself trying to achieve something that been given freely. Forgive yourself and others as God has forgiven you, then serve Him with gladness knowing He will teach you as you go.
2) Take in Christ’ daily through Bible reading and prayer.
We ‘take in Christ’ daily by reminding ourselves of the truth of Christ and interacting with Him. Rituals will not save you, but they will help you in growing your faith. We take the Lord’s Supper as a church in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice and as a declaration of His return. Individually, Christians should ritually read their Bibles and pray. It reminds them of what is most important, and it helps us listen for God’s guidance. Don’t wait for a giant neon sign in the sky when God has already given us everything we need in His Word.
3) Don’t miss Jesus while you study.
In your studies, be careful not to become like the Jews who “look to the Scriptures for life”, but missed Jesus. Christians can err in one of two ways: either they neglect study and slip into a life of libertine sin, or they over study and slip into a life of self-righteous sin. Now, most Americans neglect their Bibles so I would say it’s safer if you study your Bible more than less. However, I have caught myself and others in the trap of studying the history and theology of the Bible to the detriment of my spiritual health. If in your studies, you fail to be transformed into a more mature Christian, then you have missed out on why we study—to meet with Jesus.
4) Seek wisdom instead of grumbling about the hard stuff.
Lastly, when confronted with hard teachings in Scripture, don’t grumble like the Israelites in the wilderness, seek help. Pray about it, asking for wisdom. Then seek out teachers, whether in books or in person, who can help you understand. And remember, it is possible to be wrong. I know, I know, if you are like me it doesn’t happen very often, but anything is possible. So, be teachable.
Today, I must ask, “Have you been skeptical of the claims of Jesus?” I pray as you continue to study John’s Gospel that you will see Jesus for who He is: the Son of God who has come to take away our sin. He is God who dwelt among us—the Bread of Life who gives life to all who will receive it. If you have never trusted in Christ for eternal life, today is the day! Pray to Him now for forgiveness of the wrongs you have done and for wisdom and grace to live for tomorrow—that’s called ‘repenting’, meaning to change your thinking. Then, confess that Jesus is Lord of the Universe and Lord of your life. Commit to live your life as He directs you.