8-25-24 “Jesus, The Bread of Eternal Life”
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“Jesus, The Bread of Eternal Life”
I want to start with something funny that I found online: A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.’” Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus!”
This is not just a story for kids; it applies to us as well. We often pray to grow in faith and become more like Christ. However, when we face moments that require humility, patience, or selflessness, we sometimes forget to act like Jesus. It’s true that living in Christlikeness isn’t easy because Jesus is perfect, and we are not. Nevertheless, we should strive to grow toward Christlikeness.
The Apostle Paul says, “Until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:13-15). I cited a long passage, but its message is simple: “If we stop learning about Jesus Christ, our faith will remain childish. Spiritual infants are easily swayed by rumors or false doctrines. Therefore, we must grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives.”
Today’s scripture continues Jesus’ sermon on the Bread of Life. Some of you may wonder why this theme is repeated over several weeks. The reason for this repetition is that it represents the core message of Jesus: that he is the bread of eternal life, come down from heaven. Jesus emphasizes, “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.”
Those who heard this message struggled to understand it. Even his disciples said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” Jesus responded by asking, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”
In last Sunday’s scripture, when Jesus spoke about being “the bread of eternal life,” the Jews complained, asking, “How can he give us his flesh to eat?” In today’s scripture, we see that even his disciples were grumbling, saying, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”
Let’s consider why they found it so hard to understand that Jesus is the bread of life from heaven, while we understand it more easily. Even our children grasp the concept of eating the body and blood of Christ. Last Sunday, during the children’s time at the Grantsburg service, Willow clearly answered, “We eat the body and blood of Christ through bread and grape juice at Communion.” Yes, we accept this without doubt. Or do we? Are you also curious about how Jesus is the bread of eternal life?
Last Sunday, I mentioned that Jesus spoke about himself and his sacrificial death on the cross: if you believe in him, you shall not perish but have eternal life. The key question is, who is Jesus? Do you know who Jesus is? Yes, we know that Jesus is the Son of God, and we believe in him: “our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.”
However, those around him knew Jesus as the son of Mary, the brother of James, and a poor carpenter. They focused on his human identity, not on the spiritual reality.
One of the biggest obstacles for non-Christians in believing in Jesus is the belief in his virgin birth. When I was a Teaching Assistant to my advisor, Dr. Richard Perry, a Master of Divinity student once said, “I can believe in every Bible verse except the virgin birth.” I asked him, “Do you believe in God the Creator?” He replied, “Yes, I believe in God the Almighty, the Creator.”
I then asked, “So, do you believe that God made you?” He responded, “Yes, I do believe that God made me, but through my parents.” “Okay,” I continued, “what about Adam and Eve? Do you believe God made Adam and Eve?” He said, “Yes, I believe God made them.” “How did God make them? Did He make them through any human male and female?” At that point, he fell silent for a while.
The point is that we often underestimate God the Almighty. Can’t the God who created heaven and earth create a human being by His Word? The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him, nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3).
I am continually amazed by advances in technology and medical science. One of my friends, who had been married for ten years without children, finally conceived through in vitro fertilization after several attempts. My younger brother, who is an AI (Artificial Intelligence) computer scientist, mentioned that we may one day reach a point where all medical procedures are performed by AI. Can you imagine that? If humans can achieve this, can’t God the Almighty do even more?
Returning to today’s scripture, consider what Jesus said to his disciples when they remarked that his teaching was difficult to accept. Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” He was essentially asking, “Would you believe in me if you saw me return to heaven, where I came from?”
Even his disciples struggled to believe that Jesus is God’s only Son, who came from heaven to save all humanity. If you believe the scripture in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth,” then you should also believe in Jesus’ virgin birth. God is greater than all human science. The Almighty God entered the world in human flesh to save each of us. That is Jesus Christ. Therefore, whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Abide in him, and he will abide in you. This is the only way to have eternal life. Blessed are those who believe in Jesus, the bread of eternal life. Thanks be to God! Amen!Top of Form
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