"Behold the Presence of God"

Pentecost 12 (August 27, 2006)

Rev. Steven D. Spencer, Pastor

John 6:41-51

 John 6:41 The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." 42 And they were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven '?" 43 Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 "Not that any man has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh."

Over 25 years ago a pastor of a small Lutheran Church told me the three most important things to remember when studying God's Word. While I was at seminary I was once again reminded of these 3 important things to remember. A few months ago I shared these three very important things from this very pulpit. But they are so important in understanding God's Word that I will once again share them with you.

Number 1 is: Context; Number 2 is: Context and Number 3 is: Context!

Context number 1: Read the Scripture before and after your passage Then read the entire Book or Letter of that Scripture. This helps focus on the actual message of your passage. This is called the narrow context or understanding of Scripture. The question in your mind should what is the primary message of the writer, how does this relate it?

Context number 2: Read the Scripture in light of the Old and New Testaments. Read the particular passage in Light of the Gospel. This is the broad context of Scripture. The question in your mind should be how does this passage interact or fulfill God's salvific purpose?

Context number 3: Read and hear the Scripture as those who originally had heard it. Hear it with the same social and historical understanding. Hear it from the same prospective as those in the past heard it. In other words: Don't use your own understanding to interpret Scripture. Don't allow your social condition, your biases, your own point of view taint the proper understanding of the Scripture.

Let me give you an example of this. A couple living in Minnesota grew tired of the extreme winter weather. For over 4 long weeks the temperature hadn't risen above 30 degrees below zero. With the wind chills it was over 50 degrees below zero quite often. All this was made nearly bearable because the son shone everyday. When the sun shines on snow and ice it creates extreme brightness and the beauty of the glistening tends to lift spirits. But over the last few weeks' clouds had rolled and the days had turned gray. Childlike joy was replaced with stark dreariness. The couple had enough; they needed a break. So they decided to have a long weekend where the sun shone and the days were warm. They decided to go to Florida. They would leave on Thursday morning and not return until Sunday night. They'd recharge their batteries, rekindle their joy, and come back with what it would take to make it through what was left of winter.

So plans were made, vacation time requested and approved, reservations at a posh hotel, airline tickets purchased all was set. But like most perfect plans, something came up. The wife was told just a day before the festivities would begin that she couldn't leave until Friday at noon. A serious account needed her attention. But in return she would receive a First Class Flight to Florida and an extra day off.  Her husband told her they could reschedule for a later date. But she insisted that he go ahead and prepare all for her arrival.

Thursday the husband took off as planned.  He made special arrangement for her arrival, spent some time around the hotel enjoying what it had to offer. He didn't realize how warm it would be so he decided to wander down the street and purchase a swimsuit. On his way back he notice a small Internet Cafe. And missing his wife so, he decided to go to eat and to also email her.

For any of you that aren't computer users or don't spend time on the Internet, email addresses aren't like home addresses. You don't tend to use them everyday, at least for most of us. And so he knew her email address had her name and he knew it was at their Internet service but he had forgotten to put the 007 behind her name. And off went the email to who knows where!

Meanwhile in Odessa Texas some 1700 miles away a woman who had been married for 46 years buried her husband. For the last 22 of those years he had been a faithful minister of God's Word in a small but vibrant congregation. Over his 40 years in the ministry they had lived in several states and so his family was spread all over the nation. Only a few could make it to his funeral. After the funeral his wife returned home and decided to check her email to see who had written. She read the message, gasped then fainted. He son quickly ran to her side finding that she was all right he decided to read the message that had caused the commotion.

My Dearest Wife,

I know that it has only been a short time since I left you but I truly miss you. I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. All the plans have been made for your arrival. There is much to do here and you will receive the rest you very much deserve.

Sincerely,

Your Recently Departed Husband.

P.S. Remember to bring a swimsuit, It sure is Hot down here.

Talk about a context problem. When a person with preconceived notions receives a message, the meaning of that message may very likely be changed. Those in our text upon hearing the message that Jesus shared had a problem. They couldn't understand the message of Jesus because of their prejudice. They had already by their experience, by their understanding, by their reason had decided who Jesus is. And because of this they misunderstood the message and who Jesus truly is. You see, they missed out on Beholding the Presence of God.

A moment ago I mentioned context, so let's put all this in context. When God called Moses via the burning bush, to redeem the Children of Israel from captivity in Egypt, Moses inquired, who shall I say has sent me? Exodus chapter 3 verses 13 through 15: 13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" 14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"15 And God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

This name "I AM" is so important to the nation of Israel that every good Jewish boy and girl would never put those two words together for fear of committing blasphemy, for this is God's eternal name.  For God is the great I AM. Yet Jesus starts off our reading with the words: "I am the bread that came down out of heaven."  Who is the great I AM? Jesus is! All through the Gospel of John Jesus will continue to use the title "I AM." But do His listeners hear?

As the Gospel lesson begins, the Jews are complaining because Jesus says, "I am the bread of life which came down from heaven."

But why do they complain? Because it doesn't make sense, and it doesn't fit their speculation. It doesn't make sense for Jesus to say He's come down from heaven. They ask, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus is just another human being, child of Mary and Joseph. For Him to claim to have come down from heaven, well, that's just crazy talk. Why? Because they won't accept the possibility of that thought. Actually, more to the point, they won't believe Jesus. They believe that their own common sense is truer than the Son of God.

With that, they deny the Incarnation. They deny that Jesus is God's own Son. For if Jesus' father is Joseph then He's just an ordinary human being. If Jesus is just an ordinary human being, then He doesn't have a whole lot of authority. If Jesus is just an ordinary human being, He hasn't come down from heaven and He can't give life to all the world. Therefore, this Jesus may work some fancy miracles, but ultimately He must be a liar who can't be trusted.

That's the nuts and bolts of the controversy: If Jesus isn't the Son of God come down from heaven, then He's either a liar or a lunatic or both.

How does Jesus responds to their objections? --- With these words:

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father."

Over and against their logic, Jesus once again repeats the truth. He tells them that He's the Son sent by the Father. He tells them that He's the fulfillment of prophecy, for Isaiah declared that God Himself would come and teach them. He tells them that, to know the Father, they are to know the Son. Now, please note: This still doesn't make sense to sinful minds. Yet it's the truth. It's the Word of God - the powerful Word that gives faith to make believers. This is what Jesus is all about, to bring faith so that they might believe in Him and be saved. Therefore, He goes on:

47 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh."

This, makes no sense. Jesus is bread from heaven who has come to be eaten, and whoever does so will live forever. Furthermore, He qualifies that the bread is His flesh, which He will give for the life of the world. Again, this doesn't sit well in the realm of logic and reason; it sounds ridiculous. But although it sounds illogical and unreasonable, it's true: By these words, Jesus declares that He is the Savior who will allow His body to be nailed to the cross so that He might atone for the sins of the world; and that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. It's not logical. But it is the Gospel, and only the Gospel saves.

What about the crowd?

They have come into the presence of Jesus, yet they reject Jesus as the Son of God. In rejecting Jesus, they reject His Word; in rejecting Jesus they reject God.

They have scorned the idea that God would become flesh to save, because it just doesn't make sense. To them, Jesus' claim of being God incarnate is proof that He's crazy; when in reality, it's the proof of God's great mercy that He would give His only Son for the life of the world.

And so we rejoice. We rejoice in what God's Word declares. We rejoice that, in His infinite wisdom-which is far greater and holier than ours, He sent His Son as the Bread of Life to show infinite mercy to us. In God's will that we cannot comprehend, He wills that you and I be saved - that we live forever in His presence.

In His incomprehensible love, the Lord has come as the Bread of Life, who has died and risen again for you. He feeds you with faith this day, so that you might have eternal life with Him. He feeds you with these marvelous words: You are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages, Behold the Presence of God, in Jesus Name. Amen