Grace and Peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in
the truth, for His word is truth. Amen
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (2009)
Faith; believing in the Promises
of Christ Rev. Toby O.
Byrd
John
6:60-69 (ESV)
When many of his disciples heard it, they
said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" [61] But Jesus,
knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them,
"Do you take offense at this? [62] Then what if you were to see the Son of
Man ascending to where he was before? [63] It is the Spirit who gives life; the
flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. [64]
But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the
beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray
him.) [65] And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by the Father."
[66] After this many of his disciples turned
back and no longer walked with him. [67]
So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" [68]
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words
of eternal life, [69] and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are
the Holy One of God."
Having had just been recipients of the miracle of our
Lord Jesus’ feeding of the five-thousand; the crowd follows after Him, wanting
to rely on His miraculous powers to provide for their fleshly needs. However, when
they finally catch up with Him, their hopes are dashed as our Lord exposes the
true reason they are seeking Him; they had eaten their fill of the loaves and
they simply wanted more (John 6:26). Rather than fulfilling their fleeting
desire for food, our Lord shines the light of truth on the real reason they
should be seeking Him. Our Lord tells them to stop laboring for food that
perishes, but instead, labor for food that endures to eternal life; food which
He will give them (John 6:27). He is able to do this because God the Father has
set His seal on Him. Moreover, this true bread from heaven, is, “He
who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33 ESV). Hearing
these words of Jesus, the crowd’s disposition is changed and they desire to
receive some of this bread. Thus, they implore Him to give them some of this
bread and not only now, but always. Responding to their request, our Lord tells
them, “I am the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:41 ESV).
The Jews are taken aback by this claim and they begin
to grumble. Wait a minute, we know who this fellow is, and He is Jesus, the
carpenter’s son. Okay, okay, he worked a miracle yesterday and fed us, but how
can He say that He is bread which comes down from heaven? This is preposterous!
Jesus, however, is unflinching. He knows who He is and He wants the crowd to
know as well. Thus, our Lord tells them to stop their grumbling. He is indeed
the bread of life (John 6:48) and all who believe this will have eternal life
(John 6:47). Thus, this is the central theme of today’s Gospel Reading; Faith; believing in the
Promises of Christ.
“Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like
a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29 ESV). Such are the words of our Lord Jesus in His Bread of
Life discourse to the Jews. His words challenge and offend His hearers. His
purpose is clear. He wants the people to understand that what He offers is so
much more than temporal satisfaction; a momentary peak of pleasure fulfilling
an earthly craving. Yet, to this very day, man still has difficulty
understanding that eating the Bread of Life that came down from heaven is truly
the answer to spirit starved souls.
Partaking of the Bread of Life, that is, believing in the promises of Christ has
consequences. This Bread makes claims on us. Those who eat of the Bread of Life
become servants of a God who demands trust, faith, and obedience. It demands a
true understanding that our Lord Jesus must be the center of our lives as He is
the center of the Church. It demands faith in the truth of the justification He
secured for us on
Our Lord is insistent as He answers the crowd’s
objection to His claim. He continues, “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 (v. 51). Jesus
continues the thought, rounding it out and making it complete. Here He closes
the wonderful circle of salvation; Jesus, the Bread of Life, is the center. All
who are made one with Him by faith are joined to Him and are made full
partakers of His life.
Expanding the circle, our Lord reveals His origin; He
descended out of heaven from the Father to begin His saving mission into this
world of sin and death. Moreover, the central act of this mission will be His
sacrificial death on
In response to the crowds continued grumbling, our
Lord tells 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” (vv. 53-54). Jesus is saying, I am
the gift that my heavenly Father sends, if you refuse to receive me, to have faith in my promises, you will not
receive eternal life.
Our Lord Jesus must have been shaking His head and
thinking, “Oh, you foolish unbelievers, I offer you eternal life and you only
think of temporal survival.” Listen to me, “my flesh is true food, and my blood is
true drink” (v. 55). “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in
me, and I in him” (v. 56). “I live because of the Father, whoever feeds on me,
he also will live because of me” (v. 57). These are true words of life;
words which grant eternal life and words which improve life in the here and
now. These are words upon which the church is built. Words which are the
breadth and depth of the salvation offered through the teaching of the church.
Yet today, these words and their true understanding are woefully missing from
many who call themselves church. Rather than rely on the promises of the
richness of our Lord’s body and blood, many today who call themselves church
rely on the shallow efforts of men. Such churches are built on the thin veneer
of man’s knowledge, pull it back and there is only the empty chasm of works
righteousness.
Many today say, “I can believe in Jesus, this is my
choice, my decision, it is part of my God given ‘free will.’” Such who profess
this understanding of saving faith have simply failed to read or understand the
words of our Lord Jesus. Like the crowd who grumbled at our Lord’s insistence
that He was the Bread of Life who came down from heaven, those who rest their
salvation on their own efforts grumble at the words of our Lord as well. Thus,
when our Lord says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John
6:44 ESV), or when He says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should
abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you”
(John 15:16 ESV), then those who believe, teach, and
confess decision theology say, with the crowd in today’s Gospel, “This
is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (v. 60).
However, our Lord Jesus asks, “Do you take offense at this?”
(v. 61) and our Lord’s concern is genuine. He is asking, is what I am
saying proving fatal to their faith? Are those who are grumbling trapped in
their unbelief? It’s really not too shocking at all to see a non-believer
recoil at the words of our Lord Jesus; but it is most disturbing when we
witness those who profess to be followers of Christ recoil at His words too.
The crowd found it difficult to believe this Jesus who
claimed to come down out of heaven, however, to compound their difficulty, our
Lord now asks them, “Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was
before?” (v. 62). If it’s hard for you to believe I came from heaven,
then how hard will it be for you to see Me ascend into heaven? Can there be any
doubt now who this Jesus is? Can He make it any more plain than what He has?
Jesus is saying, very clearly; not only did I come from heaven, not only am I
the Son of God and the Bread of Life, but I will be returning to my Father who
is in heaven. However, even while speaking to the crowd, Jesus knew who would
believe and who wouldn’t and He says to them, “But, there are some who do not
believe” (v. 64).
Obviously, many could not accept the words of Jesus.
Here the crowd has the living Lord in the flesh among
them. They are eyewitnesses to His power and miracles! With such evidence, who
wouldn’t have believed? Yet many didn’t. Moreover, Jesus reminds them why some
did not believe, saying, “This is why I told you that no one can come
to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (v. 65). Jesus is saying
that Faith;
believing in the Promises of Christ is solely the purview
of God. It is not based on our decision or will but solely on the mercy and
love of God. Jesus affirms that His words bring the Spirit and life. He told
the crowd, “It is the Spirit who gives
life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit
and life” (v. 63).
After
many of the disciples left Him our Lord turns to the Twelve and asks, “Do you want to go away as well?” (v. 67). Notice,
our Lord makes no attempt to chase after those who have left. Instead, He turns
to those who remain. Just as He knew those who did not believe, He knows those
who do. Therefore, His question is rhetorical. Oh, to be sure, the Twelve
weren’t perfect. Doubt still plagued their thinking and actions, but faith had
been kindled in them and a day would come when the Holy Spirit would sanctify
that faith into a roaring inferno of servant hood to the Lord. Thus, when our
Lord asks if the Twelve would also want to leave, St. Peter responds by saying,
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that
you are the Holy One of God” (vv. 68-69).
To whom
shall we go? Is there is another? Can we turn to ourselves? No, there is no
other to whom we can go or turn in order to find eternal salvation. Life
eternal rests solely on Faith in the
promises of Christ, the Bread of Life, and the Son of God.
Today
you are blessed because you will fulfill the words of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ in the blessed reception of the Lord’s Supper. Here, today, at the
chancel rail, you will feed on the true body and true blood of our Lord, Jesus
Christ, in and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion. How blessed it is to
know that the crowd in today’s Gospel has nothing over you when it comes to
communing with Jesus. Yes, it’s true, they were able to reach out and touch our
Lord as He spoke to them, but so too can you. At the chancel rail, you will be
reaching out and touching our Lord through the consecrated bread and wine of
Holy Communion. For in the Sacrament we
have Christ’s body and blood by sacramental union; by
the power of His word, Christ gives His
body and blood in, with, and under the consecrated bread and wine.
Thus, as you knell at the chancel rail, receiving the true body and blood of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, you will be an eyewitness to the fulfillment
of His promise to come down from heaven for your salvation.
You have
been chosen. You are among those whom God has called and given the blessed gift
of Faith; to believe in the Promises of
Christ. Give thanks then to a merciful God who has saved you and pray that
the Holy Spirit will sanctify that gift by igniting a roaring passion within
your heart to support the proclamation of the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins
in the name of Jesus Christ, the true Bread of Life. Amen.
May the Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.