Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Good morning.
I'm Charles Vance and this isLiving Words Podcast.
We're in the series In HisFootsteps, 52 Weeks in the
Gospel of John.
This is week 14, bread of Life.
I'm going to open in prayer andthen we'll read the passage.
Father, I just praise your name.
I come before you now and thankyou for your mercy, for your
goodness, that you've opened upyour word to us, that you've
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brought forth your spirit togive us a new life so that we
can hear your word, open oureyes and our ears and our heart
to perceive your word.
We're going to be reading fromJohn 6, 22 through 59.
On the following day, when thepeople who were standing on the
other side of the sea saw thatthere was no other boat there
except that of one which hisdisciples had entered, and that
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Jesus had not entered the boatwith his disciples, but his
disciples had gone away alone,however, other boats came from
Tiberias, near the place wherethey ate bread after the Lord
had given thanks.
When the people therefore sawthat Jesus was not there, nor
his disciples, they also gotinto boats and came to Capernaum
seeking Jesus.
When they found him on theother side of the sea, they said
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to him Rabbi, when did you comehere?
And Jesus answered them andsaid Most assuredly I say to you
, you seek me not because yousaw the signs, but because you
ate of the loaves and werefilled.
You do not labor for the foodwhich perishes, but for the food
which endures to everlastinglife, which the Son of man will
give you because God, the Father, has set his seal on him.
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Then they said to him whatshall we do that we may work the
works of God?
And Jesus answered and said tothem Most assuredly I say to you
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Moses did not give you thebread from heaven, but my Father
gives you the true bread fromheaven, for the bread of God is
he who comes down from heavenand gives life to the world.
Then they said to him Lord,give us this bread always.
And Jesus said to them I am thebread of life.
He who comes to me shall neverhunger and he who believes in me
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shall never thirst.
But I said to you that you haveseen me and yet you do not
believe.
All that the Father gives mewill come to me, and the one who
comes to me I will by no meanscast out, for I have come down
from heaven, not to do my ownwill, but the will of him who
sent me.
And this is the will of theFather who sent me that all that
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he has given me I should losenothing but should raise it up
at the last day.
And this is the will of him whosent me that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in him mayhave everlasting life.
And I will raise him up at thelast day.
The Jews then complained abouthim because he said I am the
bread which came down fromheaven.
They said Is not this Jesus,the son of Joseph, whose father
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and mother we know?
How is it that he says I amcome down from heaven?
And Jesus therefore answeredand said to them Do not murmur
amongst yourselves.
No one can come to me unlessthe Father who sent me draws him
, and I will raise him up at thelast day.
It is written in the prophetsand they shall all be taught by
God.
Therefore, everyone who hasheard and learned from the
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Father comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen theFather, except he who is from
God.
He has seen the Father Mostassuredly.
I say to you, he who believesin me has everlasting life.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna inthe wilderness and are dead.
This is the bread which comesdown from heaven that one may
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eat of it and not die.
I am the living bread whichcame down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread,he will live forever.
The bread that I shall give ismy flesh, which I shall give for
the life of the world.
The Jews therefore quarreledamong themselves, saying how can
this man give us his flesh toeat?
And then Jesus said to themMost assuredly, I say to you,
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unless you eat the flesh of theSon of man and drink his blood,
you have no life in you.
Whoever eats my flesh anddrinks my blood has eternal life
and I will raise him up at thelast day.
My flesh is food, indeed, andmy blood is drink, indeed.
He who eats my flesh and drinksmy blood abides in me and I in
him.
The living Father has sent meand I live because of the Father
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.
So he who feeds on me will livebecause of me.
This is the bread which camedown from heaven, not as your
fathers ate the manna and aredead.
He who eats this bread willlive forever.
These things he said in thesynagogue, as he taught in
Capernaum.
In this passage, jesusencompasses a profound discourse
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known as the Bread of Lifediscourse, where he elaborates
on the spiritual significance offeeding the 5,000 and reveals
deeper truths about himself andthe path to eternal life.
The section is pivotal as itchallenges the audience's
understanding and expectationsof Messiah and underscores
necessity of faith in him foreternal life.
After the miraculous feeding,the crowd seeks him, not fully
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understanding the sign heperformed.
They find him on the other sideof the sea in Capernaum, and
the discourse that follows ishis response to their quest for
more signs and for the breadthat perishes, redirecting them
towards the bread that enduresto eternal life, which he offers
.
There are key themes in thisthat have theological
significance that Jesus has thebread of life and he declares I
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am the bread of life,positioning himself as the
essential for spiritualsustenance and eternal life.
This statement is the first ofthe I am sayings in John's
gospel, revealing the divineself-identification and his role
as a source of life.
The work of God is to believe.
The crowd asks him about thework they must do to please God.
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Jesus responds that the work ofGod is to believe in the one
that he has sent.
This shifts the focus fromphysical actions to adherence to
the law as a means to attainrighteousness, from that to
faith in him, the new manna.
Jesus draws a parallel betweenhimself and the manna provided
to the Israelites in thewilderness, asserting that he is
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the true manna from heaven.
Unlike the manna that sustainedlife temporarily, he offers
himself as a spiritualsustenance that grants eternal
life, eating his flesh anddrinking his blood.
He intensifies his teaching bystating that one must eat his
flesh and drink his blood tohave eternal life.
This language is metaphorical,pointing to the necessity of a
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deep participatory faith in theperson and work of Jesus, though
it prefigures the Eucharist.
It was hard for some of thedisciples.
I mean, they said if you don'teat my flesh and drink my blood,
you're not part of me.
And some of them left becauseof it.
They were offended.
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The division among his hearers,his word causes division.
Many disciples find itdifficult.
They turn away, and thishighlights a theme that genuine
faith often requires overcomingintellectual hurdles, eternal
life and resurrection.
Throughout the discourse, jesusemphasizes that believing in
him leads to eternal life andthat he will raise believers up
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on the last day.
This promise ties belief inJesus directly to eternal life
and that he will raise believersup on the last day.
This promise ties belief inJesus directly to the hope of
resurrection and lifeeverlasting.
Here are some lessons Jesus asa source of eternal life.
He proclaims Himself as theliving bread that offers eternal
life to believers, underscoringHis divine nature and role as
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the exclusive pathway tosalvation.
This declaration invitesfollowers to cultivate a deeper
reliance on him for theirspiritual sustenance and eternal
destiny.
His instructions to eat hisflesh and drink his blood serve
as a foundation for the practiceof the Eucharist, symbolizing
the believer's participation inhis sacrifice in life.
He said Do this as often as youdo this, do this in remembrance
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of me.
When you drink his blood,you're signifying the covenant
relationship of his blood, thathis blood gives you the power to
be in a covenant relationship.
When you eat his flesh, that'shis body, where it was crucified
for you.
By his stripes, you're healed.
It emphasizes the importance ofthis sacrament and deepens the
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union between him and hisfollowers.
The mixed responses to histeachings, particularly the
concept of consuming his fleshand blood, highlight the
challenges of discipleship andthe necessity of examining one's
faith.
This narrative illustrates theauthentic discipleship may
require confronting difficulttruths and making hard choices,
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emphasizing the need for genuinebelief in Jesus as a foundation
of a commitment to him.
Here's some questions forreflection and discussion.
Reflect on the idea ofspiritual hunger.
What does it mean to you tohunger for righteousness, to be
satisfied by him, righteousness,to be satisfied by him.
Well, spiritual hunger is.
I want to, I want to know him,I want his words to to have
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meaning for me.
I want to when I read his word,I want to have a hunger for his
word so that when I read themI'm I'm satisfied in my soul
that there's a kind of a hungerand that only his word can
satisfy, and a satisfaction thatis like no other, for his peace
passes understanding.
Discuss the importance of beliefin him, as in Jesus is
articulated in this discourse.
How does faith in him as asource of eternal life shape
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your relationship with him?
Because it was like thedisciples when they said he said
you know where else will we go?
Where else will we go?
Where else will we go?
You have the words of eternallife.
He is the only source ofeternal life If you don't want
to die a physical death and becast into outer darkness.
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The only hope you have is toaccept Jesus Christ as the
source of eternal life, to obeyhis words, to follow his ways.
Consider reactions to histeachings in this passage.
Why do you think his wordsabout eating flesh and drinking
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blood cause such controversy?
Because it's weird.
It's weird, you know.
You could say what are youtalking about?
You're going to drink blood andeat flesh?
Yeah right, that's some cultishstuff there, man, that is just
weird.
That's what he but it's nottalking about literal, it is a
metaphorical thing, but it'srepresentative of the fact that
you have to consume him.
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He has to be everything to you.
You have to eat, take of him,partake of him, totally Be
obsessed with him.
How does the bread of lifediscourse challenge you
personally in your walk of faith?
It's just.
I think it just comes down toyou know, how willing are you to
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be obsessed with God, to beobsessed with Jesus, yeshua
Hamashiach, knowing Him,learning of His secrets, being
renewed and washed in the waterof His Word, praying and asking
for hunger, spiritual hunger.
Here's some prayers.
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Heavenly Father, in a worldfilled with temporary pleasures
and fleeting satisfactions, wecome to you seeking the true
nourishment that only you canprovide.
Lord Jesus.
You are the bread of life.
Fill us with your presence andsustain us with your love.
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May we find our deepest hungersatisfied in you.
Amen, lord Jesus, the source ofeternal life.
We confess that at times ourfaith wavers and we are
distracted by the doubts andfears of this world.
Strengthen our belief in youthat we may truly understand and
embrace you as the bread oflife.
Open our hearts to the work ofthe Holy Spirit.
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That our faith might growdeeper and our trust in your
promises more steadfast Inmoments of uncertainty.
Remind us of your faithfulnessand your power to sustain us
through every trial.
Amen, gracious God, you call usto follow you, even when the
path seems difficult and theteaching is hard to understand.
Grant us the courage andwillingness to be true disciples
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, not turning away when facedwith challenges, but drawing
closer to you, like Peter, facedwith challenges, but drawing
closer to you.
Like Peter, may we confidentlydeclare you have the words of
eternal life.
Equip us to live out ourdiscipleship with integrity and
love, bearing witness to yourtransformation and power in our
lives.
Amen, I hope this has beenuseful to you this week and go
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forward this week and today, andI hope you have a good day and
see you again next week.