FEBRUARY 9, 1947 JESUS, THE BREAD OF LIFE J ohn 6:25-35, 56-58.
she would have been if there had not been a doctor who could tell her ; what to do to make you well? God’s Word tells us about a little boy who was sick, so sick that he [ was almost dead. How worried his mother and father were! One day the father remembered that a wonderful Man named Jesus was near their home. He had heard that Jesus, who was the Son of God, could heal the sick by touching them or by merely speaking to them. “Oh," he thought, "if only this Man would be willing to heal my son!” As quickly as he could, the father found the SaviQur and begged Him to come to their home. Jesus said, “Go thy way; thy son liveth.” The man did not continue to ask Jesus to come to his home; he just believed what the Saviour had said. As the father was going home, his servant met him and told him that his son was well. When he asked what hour the child became well, he found that it was the exact hour when Jesus had told him that his boy would live! Because of what the Saviour had done, all of the boy’s family believed upon Him. Is it not wonderful that He who is the Saviour is also the Great Phy sician? Have you asked Him to heal your heart from sin that you might be His child? If you have, you may also ask Him to heal your body when you are sick, for He is “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” Ask Him to be your Great Physician, and you, too, will rejoice “for all the glorious things” that He will do for you. MAGIC-CLIMAX Gospel Object Lessons Objects already prepared. Chemicals, paper tearing, word plays, with a surprise climax. Simple, scriptural, forceful. Free sample. Arnold Carl Westphal, Michigan City, Ind.
Points and Problems "Ye seek me . . . because ye did eat of the loaves” (v. 26). These folks appeared to be very much interested in Christ; they were His followers. Yet Christ makes it very clear that their interest in Him was prompted by a selfish motive. Solemn warning is given in these words of Jesus. They reveal the possibility of one’s being energetic in church work, interested in the affairs of God’s people, and active on boards and committees in the house of God for purely selfish reasons. Maybe we need to pause here for a little introspection! “ What shall we dot” (v. 28). The little word do looms large in the vocabulary of some very earnest people. They feel they must do something to merit the favor of God so they give themselves to religious ceremonies, philanthropy, church work, reformation, the making of res olutions, and the visitation of holy places. But all the while they lose sight of the work of God, the one all- important thing: “that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” In reality, there is no work at all for the needy soul; all of the work has been done by our Lord. Men have only to re ceive the benefits of His work. "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (v. 56). Men have sought to interpret these words in a literal sense. Thus the doctrine of transubstantiation, or the teaching of the changing of the bread and the wine of communion into the actual body and blood of Christ, as held by the Roman Catholic Church, was in vented. This interpretation misses the Lord’s meaning. He was talking about matters spiritual, not about things physical. The spirit cannot feed upon physical food. What Christ had in mind in the above passage was that in order to live spiritually, man must receive .by faith the great facts concerning His incarnation, especially those relating to Calvary. This idea harmonizes with countless other passages in the Bible which stress faith in the atoning Christ as the food for man’s spiritual ljfe.
Outline and Exposition T he N eed (J ohn 6:25-31)
Having seen the miracle (or sign) of Jesus’ feeding the five thousand, the people followed Him, laboring as usual for bread that perished with the eating. But Jesus exhorted them to seek the Bread “which endureth unto everlasting life,” to be found only in the One whom the Father had sealed by this sign (vs. 25-27). In order to find out how to get that Bread, they asked: “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (vs. 28, 29). This is still the only satisfactory reply to all men everywhere who would please God; this is the one work that saves, without which noth ing else counts. But they wanted a visible sign from God, like the one their fathers had when “He gave them bread from heaven” (vs. 30, 31). T he S ource (J ohn 6:32-35) The same One who gave the chil dren of Israel manna in the wilder ness was now dispensing the “true bread from heaven.” That true Bread was the One who came down from Heaven “and giveth [His] life unto the world.” (vs. 32, 33). When they cried, “Give us this bread,” Jesus re plied, “I am the bread of life.” Then He stated that the one coming to Him should “never hunger,” and the one believing on Him should “never thirst” (vs. 34, 35). Hence, without Him there is no spiritual life and no satisfaction of soul. T he P ower (J ohn 6:56-58) Coming to Jesus is eating His flesh, and believing on Him is drinking His blood (v. 35). The one who so comes to Jesus, dwells in the Bread of Life and the Bread of Life dwells in him (v. 56). Jesus declared the living Father had sent Him, “And I live by the Father”—that is with the life of the Father. So whoso believes, receives Christ’s life, lives because He lives, and with the same Life (v. 57). Jesus is the Bread from Heaven. Unlike the Israelite who ate the manna, a perishing substance, “he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever,” because it is everlast ing life, His own life from Heaven (v. 58).
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