Living Words
"Living Words" is a weekly podcast that explores the transformative power of scripture across a diverse range of Biblical books, guided by insightful devotionals from the author's own works. Each episode seeks to deepen faith and understanding, connecting listeners with the enduring wisdom and relevance of the Bible in their daily lives.
Living Words
In His Footsteps Week 14: Bread of Life
In Week 14 of the Living Words Podcast, Charles Vance explores the profound teachings of Jesus in the Bread of Life discourse from John 6:22-59. Opening with a prayer of gratitude and seeking divine enlightenment, Charles reads the passage where Jesus explains His role as the Bread of Life, emphasizing the spiritual sustenance He provides.
Jesus' conversation with the crowd highlights their misunderstanding of His miracles, redirecting them from seeking temporary, physical sustenance to embracing the eternal nourishment He offers. Key themes include Jesus' self-identification as the essential source of spiritual life, the necessity of faith in Him for eternal life, and the metaphorical yet profound language of eating His flesh and drinking His blood, which prefigures the Eucharist.
This discourse reveals the deep theological implications of Jesus' mission and the importance of genuine faith. Despite causing division among His listeners, it underscores the promise of eternal life and resurrection for believers. Lessons include recognizing Jesus as the source of eternal life, understanding the significance of the Eucharist, and the challenges of authentic discipleship.
Reflective questions prompt listeners to consider their spiritual hunger, the importance of belief in Jesus, and the controversial yet transformative nature of His teachings. Prayers focus on seeking true nourishment in Christ, strengthening faith, and embracing the call to true discipleship. Charles concludes by encouraging listeners to carry these insights into their daily walk of faith.
Get a copy of the In His Footsteps devotional here.
Good morning. I'm Charles Vance and this is Living Words Podcast. We're in the series In His Footsteps, 52 Weeks in the Gospel of John. This is week 14, bread of Life. I'm going to open in prayer and then we'll read the passage. Father, I just praise your name. I come before you now and thank you for your mercy, for your goodness, that you've opened up your word to us, that you've brought forth your spirit to give us a new life so that we can hear your word, open our eyes and our ears and our heart to perceive your word. We're going to be reading from John 6, 22 through 59.
Speaker 1:On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there except that of one which his disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but his disciples had gone away alone, however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him Rabbi, when did you come here? And Jesus answered them and said Most assuredly I say to you, you seek me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. You do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of man will give you because God, the Father, has set his seal on him. Then they said to him what shall we do that we may work the works of God? And Jesus answered and said to them Most assuredly I say to you Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven, for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Then they said to him Lord, give us this bread always. And Jesus said to them I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger and he who 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 the one who comes to me I will by no means 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 the Father who sent me that all that he has given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of him who sent me that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day.
Speaker 1:The Jews then complained about him because he said I am the bread which came down from heaven. They said Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it that he says I am come down from heaven? And Jesus therefore answered and said to them Do not murmur amongst yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught by God. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
Speaker 1:Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father Most assuredly. I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat? And then Jesus said to them Most assuredly, 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 eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day. My flesh is food, indeed, and my blood is drink, indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. The living Father has sent me and I live because of the Father. So he who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever. These things he said in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Speaker 1:In this passage, jesus encompasses a profound discourse known as the Bread of Life discourse, where he elaborates on the spiritual significance of feeding the 5,000 and reveals deeper truths about himself and the path to eternal life. The section is pivotal as it challenges the audience's understanding and expectations of Messiah and underscores necessity of faith in him for eternal life. After the miraculous feeding, the crowd seeks him, not fully understanding the sign he performed. They find him on the other side of the sea in Capernaum, and the discourse that follows is his response to their quest for more signs and for the bread that perishes, redirecting them towards the bread that endures to eternal life, which he offers.
Speaker 1:There are key themes in this that have theological significance that Jesus has the bread of life and he declares I am the bread of life, positioning himself as the essential for spiritual sustenance and eternal life. This statement is the first of the I am sayings in John's gospel, revealing the divine self-identification and his role as a source of life. The work of God is to believe. The crowd asks him about the work they must do to please God. Jesus responds that the work of God is to believe in the one that he has sent. This shifts the focus from physical actions to adherence to the law as a means to attain righteousness, from that to faith in him, the new manna.
Speaker 1:Jesus draws a parallel between himself and the manna provided to the Israelites in the wilderness, asserting that he is the true manna from heaven. Unlike the manna that sustained life temporarily, he offers himself as a spiritual sustenance that grants eternal life, eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He intensifies his teaching by stating that one must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life. This language is metaphorical, pointing to the necessity of a deep participatory faith in the person and work of Jesus, though it prefigures the Eucharist. It was hard for some of the disciples. I mean, they said if you don't eat my flesh and drink my blood, you're not part of me. And some of them left because of it. They were offended.
Speaker 1:The division among his hearers, his word causes division. Many disciples find it difficult. They turn away, and this highlights a theme that genuine faith often requires overcoming intellectual hurdles, eternal life and resurrection. Throughout the discourse, jesus emphasizes that believing in him leads to eternal life and that he will raise believers up on the last day. This promise ties belief in Jesus directly to eternal life and that he will raise believers up on the last day. This promise ties belief in Jesus directly to the hope of resurrection and life everlasting. Here are some lessons Jesus as a source of eternal life. He proclaims Himself as the living bread that offers eternal life to believers, underscoring His divine nature and role as the exclusive pathway to salvation. This declaration invites followers to cultivate a deeper reliance on him for their spiritual sustenance and eternal destiny.
Speaker 1:His instructions to eat his flesh and drink his blood serve as a foundation for the practice of the Eucharist, symbolizing the believer's participation in his sacrifice in life. He said Do this as often as you do this, do this in remembrance of me. When you drink his blood, you're signifying the covenant relationship of his blood, that his blood gives you the power to be in a covenant relationship. When you eat his flesh, that's his body, where it was crucified for you. By his stripes, you're healed. It emphasizes the importance of this sacrament and deepens the union between him and his followers.
Speaker 1:The mixed responses to his teachings, particularly the concept of consuming his flesh and blood, highlight the challenges of discipleship and the necessity of examining one's faith. This narrative illustrates the authentic discipleship may require confronting difficult truths and making hard choices, emphasizing the need for genuine belief in Jesus as a foundation of a commitment to him. Here's some questions for reflection and discussion. Reflect on the idea of spiritual hunger. What does it mean to you to hunger for righteousness, to be satisfied by him, righteousness, to be satisfied by him. Well, spiritual hunger is. I want to, I want to know him, I want his words to to have meaning for me. I want to when I read his word, I want to have a hunger for his word so that when I read them I'm I'm satisfied in my soul that there's a kind of a hunger and that only his word can satisfy, and a satisfaction that is like no other, for his peace passes understanding.
Speaker 1:Discuss the importance of belief in him, as in Jesus is articulated in this discourse. How does faith in him as a source of eternal life shape your relationship with him? Because it was like the disciples when they said he said you know where else will we go? Where else will we go? Where else will we go? You have the words of eternal life. He is the only source of eternal life If you don't want to die a physical death and be cast into outer darkness. The only hope you have is to accept Jesus Christ as the source of eternal life, to obey his words, to follow his ways.
Speaker 1:Consider reactions to his teachings in this passage. Why do you think his words about eating flesh and drinking blood cause such controversy? Because it's weird. It's weird, you know. You could say what are you talking about? You're going to drink blood and eat flesh? Yeah right, that's some cultish stuff there, man, that is just weird. That's what he but it's not talking about literal, it is a metaphorical thing, but it's representative of the fact that you have to consume him. He has to be everything to you. You have to eat, take of him, partake of him, totally Be obsessed with him.
Speaker 1:How does the bread of life discourse challenge you personally in your walk of faith? It's just. I think it just comes down to you know, how willing are you to be obsessed with God, to be obsessed with Jesus, yeshua Hamashiach, knowing Him, learning of His secrets, being renewed and washed in the water of His Word, praying and asking for hunger, spiritual hunger. Here's some prayers. Heavenly Father, in a world filled with temporary pleasures and fleeting satisfactions, we come to you seeking the true nourishment that only you can provide. Lord Jesus. You are the bread of life. Fill us with your presence and sustain us with your love. May we find our deepest hunger satisfied in you. Amen, lord Jesus, the source of eternal life.
Speaker 1:We confess that at times our faith wavers and we are distracted by the doubts and fears of this world.
Speaker 1:Strengthen our belief in you that we may truly understand and embrace you as the bread of life. Open our hearts to the work of the Holy Spirit. That our faith might grow deeper and our trust in your promises more steadfast In moments of uncertainty. Remind us of your faithfulness and your power to sustain us through every trial. Amen, gracious God, you call us to follow you, even when the path seems difficult and the teaching is hard to understand. Grant us the courage and willingness to be true disciples, not turning away when faced with challenges, but drawing closer to you, like Peter, faced with challenges, but drawing closer to you. Like Peter, may we confidently declare you have the words of eternal life. Equip us to live out our discipleship with integrity and love, bearing witness to your transformation and power in our lives. Amen, I hope this has been useful to you this week and go forward this week and today, and I hope you have a good day and see you again next week.
