[Jesus 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.”
52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53So Jesus said to 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. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61But 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.) 65And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” And he meant that he and he only was the only source of eternal life. There were others before him, like Moses who gave Manna in the Wilderness. At Jesus’ time there were the Pharisees and the Scribes who fed the people with a constant diet of laws and instructions and restrictions. They all wanted to show the people how to live in a relationship with God. And so when Jesus comes and says that salvation was only through his relationship with God, people resisted his message.
And then when Jesus spoke in a parable, they took him literally and then began to scoff at him. Jesus 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.”” 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” They “disputed,” but I think they mocked Jesus. “Oh, do we need to barbeque him before eating, or can we eat him raw, like sashimi, perhaps with a bit of wasabi?” The Jews will mock him again when he is on the cross. “Come down off the cross if you are the Messiah, save yourself, and then we will believe in you.”
Jesus had many more than just the Twelve Disciples. At one time he sent out 70 disciples on an evangelism tour. But we are told that after Jesus spoke these words, many of those part-time disciples no longer followed him around. After saying that his flesh was bread that would give eternal life, many did not understand him. We read: “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?” Then again, “66After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” Perhaps they had given up on Jesus? Perhaps they thought that he was going crazy? Perhaps they just could no longer understand him? Or perhaps they wanted some other path to salvation? Or perhaps they were tired? But anyway, many of his followers stopped following him all the time and stayed home.
Then he asked the Twelve. “‘Do you want to go away as well?’ 68Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’”
I like to paraphrase the words of Peter like this: ‘Sensei, we have nowhere else to go. There is no one else to whom to go. To whom else could we possible go? You, and only you have the words of eternal life which will give eternal salvation. We believe you. We believe in you. We have come to know that you are the Holy Messiah Savior sent by God.”
In our Sunday morning liturgy, between the Epistle Reading and the Gospel Reading, we sing the words of Peter. “Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia, Alleluia!” This is called the “Alleluia Verse” or the “Gradual.” There is a short Bible verse for every Sunday of the year. When I was in a church choir in New York, the choir sang the appropriate gradual verse every Sunday. Nowadays, most churches sing the same words each Sunday, but you can find the words in the big Altar Book or in the old Blue Hymnal. By the way, the verse appointed for this Sunday is the verse we sing every Sunday!
These words of Peter become our confession of faith. Just like in the time of Jesus today also there are many things that challenge the words of Jesus. There are other religions, philosophies, theories, etc. that offer words or ideas or plans to give us life. If not eternal life, these other things promise us a better life right now. “Vote for me. Send your money. Buy this product. Eat this food. Take this medicine. Use this drug. Get involved. Make your life meaningful.” You can add to this the various religions in the world that offer some sort of wonderful afterlife. Even in the Christian Church there are heresies and cults that give false promises and lead people away from the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In contrast to those types of fake “good news,” sometimes the words of Jesus are hard to take. “Turn the other cheek. Love your enemy. Take up your cross and follow me.” Sometimes modern disciples stop following Jesus. They stop coming to church. They stop praying before meals. There is work and play and study. Even inside the True Church people can get tired of all the church work and arguments between members and other conflicts. Sometimes I wonder why anyone stays in the church!
Why do YOU come to church? Why do YOU believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? What has led YOU to confess your faith like Peter did? I think that faith is a miracle. I think it is a gift from God. I do not think that the human brain or heart can grasp God. I think that God must grasp our hearts. In today’s Gospel Reading Jesus spoke about this. He said, “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.) 65And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
In Confirmation Class we studied the Apostles’ Creed from the Small Catechism. In the explanation of the Third Article, Martin Luther wrote, “What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.”
In other words, the Holy Spirit has given us faith through the words of the Gospel. Those words are read, sung, prayed, splashed in Baptism, consumed in the Lord’s Supper, spoken in sermons and lived as a community of forgiven and forgiving believers. These are the words of eternal life that we can only find in Jesus Christ. And so it is with joy and thanksgiving that we can say and sing together and with St. Peter. It is our confession of faith.
“Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia, Alleluia!”
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church
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