Sunday 5th March
Read John 6:56-59
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.’ 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.” (NIVUK)
The key message Jesus wants His hearers, and us, to take home is not just that belief in Him will result in eternal life. The prolonged reference to Himself as the true bread from heaven that gives life to all who eat of it makes that very clear. But the further message is equally important. Yes, life is found in Jesus, but life is only found in Jesus. There are no other sources of life.
The Jews may believe that they can source life directly from the living Father who provided their ancestors with the manna from heaven but Jesus says that is no longer true. The living Father, the God who is life in Himself, sent Jesus. The Father has entrusted all life to Him (v57a). Now only those who ‘feed on me’, Jesus claims, will live – because He is the One who has life in Himself. Apart from Him there is only death.
Many are very comfortable with the idea that Jesus is one source of life and meaning in this world. They may even be comfortable that He is a reliable and honourable source of life – worthy of much consideration and even respect. Jesus is not amongst that crowd. His claims are exclusive. Life is found only in Him. It is this claim that most people, including many Christians, reject. It is this uncomfortable claim that is at the heart of what Jesus says. He exhorts us to abide in Him and find life – it is a message we too must proclaim unflinchingly.
