Christ, the Living Bread

GOLDEN TEXT: “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.” —John 6:35

JOHN 6:48-59, 66-69

IN TODAY’S lesson we have a wonderful example of the manner in which the Bible employs symbolic language. Probably no one has ever supposed that when Jesus said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you,” he meant that it was essential actually to eat his flesh and to drink his blood in order to have everlasting life.

However, Jesus did base this symbolic language on an illustration which was very literal—“Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.” But he made it clear to his disciples that he did not mean it literally when he spoke of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, for in verse 63 he said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth [giveth life]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

In other words, Jesus explained that it would be of no profit to them to eat his flesh in a literal sense, that the spirit or intent of what he said was that they should give heed to and obey his teachings, his words, for “they are spirit, and they are life.” To appropriate to ourselves the teaching of the Master means to accept him as our Redeemer and Savior, and to comply with all the conditions incident to following in his footsteps.

This calls for much more than merely a mental assent to the fact that Jesus died for our sins. Paul explains that it is given unto us “not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.” (Phil. 1:29) The terms of discipleship include taking up our cross and following the Master into sacrificial death.

This “narrow way” is one of voluntary sacrifice even unto death. Jesus himself walked in this way throughout the entire course of his ministry, and when he knew that his Father’s due time had come for his sacrifice to be consummated, he voluntarily gave himself up to arrest, unjust trial, and crucifixion. Peter, not understanding the situation because he had not yet received the Holy Spirit, tried to dissuade the Master from taking this seemingly rash and unwise step, but Jesus said to him, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”—Matt. 16:23

Then Jesus further explained to Peter, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt. 16:25) This was merely another way of saying that the way to life during the present age is through sacrifice even unto death. This viewpoint, this teaching, then, would be part of the “words” of Jesus, through obedience to which his followers may gain life.

Those who ate manna in the wilderness are, as Jesus explains, dead. From the human viewpoint, those who have accepted and obeyed the teachings of Jesus during the Gospel age have also died, yet Jesus said that these “shall live forever.” However, the divine viewpoint concerning these is expressed in verse 54, where Jesus says, “I will raise him up at the last day.”

This viewpoint is explained in chapter 5, verses 24, 28, and 29. In verse 24 Jesus declares, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [Greek, judgment]; but is passed from death unto life.” In verses 28 and 29 Jesus states that all are to hear his voice and come forth from the tomb, those who have done good, that is, those who have believed on him and obeyed his words, “shall come forth … unto the resurrection of life.” The others shall come forth to “judgment” (mistranslated “damnation” in the King James Version).

It is clear from these texts that faithful, consecrated believers do qualify for everlasting life, yet they fall asleep in death to await the resurrection, when, in the “last day” they will be “raised up,” and actually enter into life in its fullness without the necessity of further trial, or judgment. It is by faith, then, that we receive everlasting life at the present time by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man.

To state the thought in another way, through our belief in Jesus and his meritorious sacrifice on our behalf, we receive the right to everlasting human life, but in our consecration to walk in the footsteps of Jesus we lay this down in sacrifice. This means that as the world views us, we die like other people—“die like men,” as it is stated in Psalm 82:7. But actually, and as God views our sacrifice, we actually “fall like one of the princes,” that is, like Prince Jesus, who voluntarily allowed himself to be “led as a sheep to the slaughter.”

QUESTIONS

Flow did Jesus explain what he meant by eating his flesh and drinking his blood?

What is involved in full belief in Jesus’ teachings?

How can one save his life by losing it?

In what sense do consecrated believers now have everlasting life?

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