John 6:52-59. With Jesus = Life.
GIVE GOD TIME
Prayer and Praise
Jesus said, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” Matthew 26:40, so we start our journey of giving God time to work in us, by praying along with this hymn… I don’t know why Jesus loves me…
A Word in your ear
John 6:52-59. W i t h Jesus = Life. Without Jesus = death.
This is a continuation of a conversation started by the Jews at v.28.
V.52-53 Jesus’ answer flows from the remark by the Jews in v. 31, where they claimed Moses fed the people in the wilderness, quoting from Exodus 16.4 and Ps.78:24.
That background is important to understand this passage here, because Jesus responded in kind.
i). Jesus corrected them by saying that it was God who fed the people and not Moses.
ii). Then He pointed out that the bread that God provided back then only kept the people alive for a short time.
What God had done now through Jesus was to provide another type of bread from heaven v.51 that would enable those who trusted in Him, another type of bread that gave eternal life, to those who went on believing. Just as the Israelites had to feed daily on the Manna in the wilderness, so too, Jesus’ disciples must go on believing.
Now, remember that Jesus once explained that He spoke in parables in order to ‘sift’ out those with a heart to understand. Here, the Jews could not understand for that reason. (v.52). The food Jesus speaks of is explained in John 4:34. It was spiritual, but the Pharisees didn’t get it.
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
56 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 forever.”
59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
(The Complete Jewish Bible.)
The notes from the previous message for John 6:41-51, ‘The Living Bread’, apply again to v. 53-58. You can review last week’s devotional…
—-Summary
V. 54 There is a promise that ‘seekers’ would be ‘finders’!
V. 55 Jesus knew He would be giving up His body to death for the good of all.
V. 56 Then Jesus will live in those who accept Him, (via the Holy Spirit.)
V. 57 To have life, all we have to do is to accept the spiritual food from Jesus.
V. 58 So when the religious leaders asked for a sign, claiming Moses fed two million Israelites in the desert, Jesus simply replied saying He gives spiritual life for those that feed spiritually on Him.
V. 59 All this was spoken in the synagogue in Capernaum.
- Today’s Verse…
Who is Jesus? John 6:51
“…I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
- Today’s Challenge
The challenge of the previous message applies to this one too… Did you action it?!
Prayer and Worship
“… He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Matthew 14:23.
Jesus taught His disciples what we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’; (Luke 11).
Listen here to Albert Malotte’s ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name,
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever;- Amen.
Prayer suggestions;-
- The world. (ie ‘For those in authority.’)
- The ‘suffering church.’ https://barnabasfund.org/nz/pray/daily-prayer/#previous-dates
- Your own situation. (Suggest ‘needs’ rather than ‘wants’.)
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