Daily Archives: January 20, 2014

Crazy Or True?

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CRAZY OR TRUE? 

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

“‘All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him whom sent me.

“‘And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose none of all those He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.’” John 6:35-40 (NIV).

Jesus made some crazy statements — unless, of course, they were true!

Firstly, He made the claim that only God could make, ‘I AM.’ But then, before He ever came to the earth in the flesh, He was already here, filling heaven and earth with His presence. He introduced Himself to Moses as “I AM” at the burning bush. How do we know that it was Jesus and not the Father? Because He, the second person of the Trinity, was “the true light that gives light to everyone” and the “life that was light to all mankind” (John 1), the light that was already present on the earth on the first day of creation.

Then He claimed to be bread for the hungry and water for the thirsty. Now we know that He didn’t mean that literally! That was also true because He left a trail of people who believed in Him and followed Him. They went on to tell the world of the peace and satisfaction He gave them which they could find nowhere else and in nothing else.

He also assured them that He would never turn away anyone who believed in Him because they were the Father’s gift to Him. He had pledged to give them eternal life and to raise their bodies at the consummation of the age (the last day) to live in a realm where death and decay would never touch them again.

He spoke of an intimate relationship with the Father where they worked together in unity to restore everything that man had destroyed by his disobedience. Death was the penalty that was passed on to all creation. Even stars die, so the scientists tell us. It was not supposed to be like that but Adam’s decision to go it alone disrupted God’s plan to create a universe where everything functioned in perfect harmony.

How could Jesus be so sure that He would reverse the curse of death that had fallen on the entire creation? Although His death to pay the debt of Adam’s rebellion, and the debt of the entire human race, was accomplished at a specific time in history, from God’s perspective it was a fait accompli from before the foundation of the world. It was a done deal. Jesus could speak of it as a completed transaction.

He forgave sinners because of His sacrifice. He healed sick bodies, raised the dead and evicted demons because He had already overcome the enemy. He had the right to give eternal life to whoever believed in Him then, as well as now because He conquered death and rose from the grave,

He spoke with authority and assurance of what He would do, not because He was crazy but because He was the Son of God.

It hurts me to see how hard people work to secure the favour of their god or gods, bathing in a sacred river to have their sins washed away, faithfully chanting prayers and carrying out rituals, performing ceremonies, sacrificing animals and calling on the dead for help when He offers the free gift of eternal life to those who believe in Him. Not only that but He promises and makes good on His promise to provide the satisfaction that ends our search to fill an empty heart.

Why is it so difficult to believe Him when He proved Himself true by His resurrection? Is it because we do not trust His promise that His gift and His grace are free? He paid the bill so that we can receive the goods.

Have you received Him?

Bread From Heaven

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BREAD FROM HEAVEN 

“Then they asked Him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.’ So they asked Him, ‘What sign, then, will you give so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”‘

“Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’

“‘Sir,’ they said, ‘always give us this bread.'” John 6:28-34 (NIV).

These people were well influenced by their religious leaders and still thought and operated in the natural.

Jesus had just challenged them, ‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give you.’ John 6:27a. Their response was, ‘What must we do…?’ thinking that there was something extra that they must add to their already burdensome performance to guarantee them an eternal existence beyond the grave.

Jesus’ response took them back to the simple requirement He had persistently told them which they did not seem to hear or understand. It was not about works but about faith in Him that opened the door to what He called “life”. The people clung to Moses as their model because he was the agent through whom God did mighty miracles in the wilderness and delivered them from the Egyptians.

In spite of their ancestors’ grumbling against Moses and their disobedience and unbelief towards God and His miraculous interventions, these people still saw these mighty miracles as the sign that it was God who was with them and who led them to the Promised Land.

According to them it was Moses who had given them the manna which sustained them for forty years in the wilderness. He didn’t multiply a few barley loaves to feed a few thousand. He gave them an abundance of manna every morning which fed millions! That was Moses’ sign that it was God who was doing it. ‘What can you do, Jesus, to better that?’

Already their unbelief was working overtime! Why did they follow Him across the lake in the first place, and then back to Capernaum when they didn’t find Him where He had been the day before? Was it because He was feeding their souls with the living bread — His word? No! He had already diagnosed their motive — a free meal at God’s expense! They were certainly “working” for that bread.

Providing manna for millions of people every day was a small miracle compared with the greater miracle of God coming in person to provide “bread” that would sustain them forever. But they could not see it. The life He offered them was not simply an extra-long biological life on the earth but a supernatural quality of life in union with Him that freed them from the fear, guilt and shame that drove them to hide from God because of their sin.

The “bread” of which Jesus spoke was a symbol of the bread, His word that would nourish and sustain their spirits in an unbreakable connection with Himself. Because He would do away with the barrier of sin which had disconnected them from God and left them unprotected against the judgment of God, they would reconciled to God. They would be able to live in fellowship with Him without the sacrifices and mediators they forced to go through now.

Once again their response revealed their misunderstanding of His offer. The Samaritan woman thought He was offering her a supply of water that would relieve her of the burden of carrying water from the well every day. They thought that He would give them bread, like the manna, which simply fell from heaven and saved them the labour of having to bake their daily supply.

Because their minds were locked into the natural, as we shall see, their unbelief mirrored the unbelief of their ancestors and they forfeited the opportunity to receive this “bread” and enter the fullness of the life He offered.

Have you “eaten” this bread?