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?