By
Randall L. Broad
Read: 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27; John 6:22-42; Psalm 106:32-48;
Proverbs 14:34-35
Yesterday
Jesus fed the five thousand (John 6:1-15; Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke
9:10-17) and walked on water (John 6:16-21; Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52).
Today’s
reading reveals the true miracle of the feeding of the five thousand–Jesus
declares Himself the Bread of Life … He has already declared Himself the Water
of Life earlier in John’s gospel (vv. 4:10-26) and for that reason these passage are
often thought to be linked Christologically (see post for May 5th).
Both of those discourses taken together testify to the identity of Jesus as Christ. Jesus is
not just a miracle worker; He is the Miracle. He is grace. He is the only path
to salvation.
22The
next day, the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea realized
that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His
disciples, but they had gone away alone. 23However, some boats from
Tiberias arrived near the place they had eaten the bread after the Lord had
given thanks. 24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His
disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for
Him. 25When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked
Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
26Jesus
replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that
you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do
not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His
seal of approval.”
28Then
they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
John 6:22-28
Hungry
for more, the crowd went in search of Jesus and found him in Capernaum. But
Jesus knew their true motivation for seeking him was not faith but bread. In a
gentle rebuke, Jesus warned them not to forget the most basic need of humanity,
which is eternal life, and to pursue the spiritual promises of the Son of Man
found in their messianic prophecies. In the understanding of their time, they
think Jesus is referring to the righteousness God demands of them before the
conditions will be fulfilled that precede the Messiah. They ask Jesus, “What
must we do to perform the works of God?” Notice the word ‘works’ is plural; implying a belief offerings,
obedience, and good deeds are all necessary for deliverance from their earthly
enemies, the restoration of their national identity, and the promises of the
Abrahamic Covenant. Their spiritual identity with God is never in question, and
so fulfillment of the covenant is more deeply rooted in their law and national
history than it is in an eternal reward.
Jesus
understood faith–not deeds, or righteousness, or the law–would usher in the
promises of God …
29Jesus
replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
30So
they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and
believe You? What will You do? 31Our forefathers ate the manna in
the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32Jesus
said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the
bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from
heaven. 33For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and
gives life to the world.”
34“Sir,”
they said, “give us this bread at all times.”
35Jesus
answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and
whoever believes in Me will never thirst. 36But as I told you, you
have seen Me and still you do not believe.
John 6:29-36
Jesus’
answer in verse twenty-nine strikes at the very heart of discipleship in
fourteen of the most powerful words found in the New Testament: “The
work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” No pastor or
theologian has ever summed up the true meaning of the Christian faith more
fully than this statement from Christ Himself. Jesus makes it clear there is
only one work capable of earning the salvation God promised for all
mankind–faith in Him. Yet there is an even deeper element found in
these words. The last eight words reveal the form and truth of salvation. It is
a two-fold process. Faith alone does not save you. Grace alone does not save
you. But God’s grace claimed by your faith brings salvation and eternal life to
the Christian. Jesus’ words bear witness to the truth of this promise from God.
The
first two words tell us “to believe”.
This is the part of humanity where the righteous go beyond the utilitarian acts
of the law and religion to love and serve God even when it makes no earthly
sense and comes with no practical reward. It takes relentless faith and
sacrifice to do this in the face of the persecutions and the judgment of
others. Christ did it on the cross and he requires that we pick up our cross
and follow him with the same relentless faith. The second part of the statement
tells us to believe, “… In the One he has
sent”. This is God’s Grace and we receive it without any effort on our
part–but it is wrong to assume it comes without a cost.
Dietrich
Bonhoeffer wrote:
Cheap grace is grace without
discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and
incarnate.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which
must be asked for, the door at which
a man must knock.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it
costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true
life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the
sinner. Above all it is costly
because it cost God the life of his son …[1]
Grace
has cost God much and faith will cost us much too.
37Everyone
the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never
drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own
will, but to do the will of Him who sent
Me.
39And
this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has
given Me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For it is My Father’s
will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal
life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41At
this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the
bread that came down from heaven.” 42They were asking, “Is this not
Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say,
‘I have come down from heaven?’”
John 6:37-42
Bonhoeffer
tells us Grace is not cheap, and by extension faith is not either. Your faith
will cost you something. It will cost you your individuality; your pride; your
ego; and your narcissism; and your self-centeredness that drives your consciousness.
Costly faith is becoming conscious of God and believing in the One he
sent–because this belief releases us from the fears and worries and doubts that
diminish us in daily life. Your faith will take you into confrontation with the
basic struggles of humanity: life and death, pain and comfort, temporal
realities and the things that matter to your soul. Without a doubt your faith
will be tested time and time again. But you must go forward despite the
observation by others that God and Grace are superstitions, myths, and legends.
Jesus is grace; he is the one God sent … and so he concludes his conversation
declaring His truth to be found in the Will of the Father (vv. 39-40). And in
the end the faith of the crowd was not strong enough and they walked away
grumbling (vv.41-42).
Walk
with the Lord …
Ephesians
1:17
(RLB250510)
©
Copyright 2019: Randall L. Broad
[1]
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship.
Translated by R. H. Fuller. New York: Touchstone, 1995: 45.
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