I Am the Bread of Eternal Life

August 12, 2018


John 6:35–51

35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

41So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They 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’?” 43Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 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— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 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.”

Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life.” Today let’s talk about “life.” The English world “life” has a number of different shades of meaning and usages. Life as opposed to death. Life story, like a biography of what a person did or does. Lifestyle. An active, exciting or meaningful life rather being a couch potato. And eternal life.

People work and struggle just to stay alive. We must eat and feed the family. We have to have shelter, a roof over our heads. We must protect ourselves from disease, violence, theft, war, famine, typhoons, and other disasters. God has given us life, and therefore it is precious. It is precious not only to us, but also to other people. It is Christian love that moves us to help others to live and to help in times of need and disasters. Love breaks us out of our selfishness and so we see the life in other people, too. But there comes a time for everyone when death approaches. Are we ready for it?

People need bread and other food to live. But life is not just mere survival. God blesses us with things to make life enjoyable and worthwhile. With the wheat for bread, he has given us a huge variety of fruit and vegetables and herbs and spices and sauces. Life is beautiful. God gave us pretty flowers. Life is fun. God gave us monkeys and kittens and little children. He gave us games and sport. There are adventures. There is work. The writer of Ecclesiastics said it this way: “I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; and also that it is God’s gift to man that every one should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil” 3:12,13. It is truly a blessing when we actually do enjoy our work, and so we thank God. But there are times when life is not fun. Sometimes we can persevere and bear the burdens by ourselves or with the help of others. Sometimes the pain and the shame seem to be too much. People withdraw into their shells. There are thoughts of suicide. Or there are thoughts of rage and revenge and violence and murder.

Psalm 90:10 says, “The years of our life are threescore and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” There is the old saying that the only two certain things in life are death and taxes. But is death according to God’s plan? The Book of Genesis teaches us that people are supposed to live forever. In the midst of the Garden of Eden were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After they sinned and ate from the Forbidden Tree, Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise so that they would not eat of the Tree of Life. In other words, the Bible teaches that death is not natural. It is not part of God’s original plan. Death is the result of sin. You and I may not have eaten the Apple, but in our own way we, and all other people, have sinned against the commands of God. Therefore all people have been cut off from the Tree of Life. We cannot return to Eden. Therefore we cannot live forever. We die.

However, God in his mercy has given us a new Tree that Brings Life. It is the tree of the Cross. It is a tree that brings death. But the death of Jesus brings Life. It brings life because it is more powerful than our sin. It forgives our sin. Rather than disobedience to God’s command, the cross is the fulfillment of God’s plan. Jesus said it this way, “38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” When we believe in Jesus, we have eternal life.

Jesus also said, “51 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.” This reminds us of the Holy Communion. But it also reminds us that Jesus saves us in a very physical way. He saves us through his flesh, through his body that was hung on the cross to die. His flesh was buried in the tomb. Jesus rose bodily in the flesh again on the third day. That is very important because we humans have body and flesh. The body dies. The body must be resurrected. Because of sin, the body must die. Because of forgiveness, the body will rise again. We Christians believe this promise of Jesus. It becomes the climax of our joyful confession of faith in the Nicene Creed: “We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

The promise of eternal life is so sure that we Christians do not worry about death and hell. The hope of heaven is so sure that we Christians have the freedom to live now. In the Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul tells us what that lifestyle is like. In summary he says, “4:31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 5:1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Sometimes we wonder about the meaning of life. It may be because of self doubt, or a philosophical or religious question. Jesus said that the purpose of his own life was to give us eternal life. The Writer of Ecclesiastes says “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man” 12:13.

What is our purpose in life? It is to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and to live as baptized children of God.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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