The Bread of Life—Continued

Notes

1. The plain declarations of Jesus concerning Himself and His work greatly stirred the Jews. "Their jealousy was aroused, that this man of humble birth was able to work wonders that they could not explain away, and teach truths that could not be contradicted. So they endeavored to awaken the prejudice and unbelief of the people by referring scornfully to the lowly origin of Jesus. . . . They contemptuously referred to His life as a Galilean laborer, and to His family as being poor and lowly. They declared that the lofty claims of this uneducated carpenter should at once be repudiated. But Jesus . . . again, in more forcible language, declared His connection with the Father, and the necessity for the heart to be enlightened by the Spirit of God before it can feel the need of a Saviour."

2. Jesus "declared unto them that the temporal food then given them from heaven was but a meager gift compared with the blessing of eternal life which he now offered them. The food eaten then sustained the strength, but did not prevent the approach of death, nor insure immortal life. The Bread that the Son of God offered to man was death-destroying, giving in the end immortal life to the body. . . . He declared that as temporal bread imparts health and strength to the body, so will faith in Christ and obedience to His teachings give spiritual vigor to the soul, and life everlasting." In His statement concerning giving His flesh for the life of the world, Christ "points forward to His approaching death, the only true propitiation for the sins of humanity."

3. "The connection between Christ and us must be of the closest possible kind, so close that the assimilation of the food we eat is not too strong a figure to express it. . . . We eat His flesh when we use in our own behalf the death of Christ, and take the blessings it has made possible to us; when we accept the forgiveness of sins, enter into the love of God, and adopt as our own the spirit of the cross. . . . The figure of eating reminds us that receptance of Christ is an act which each man must do for himself. No other man can eat for me. It also reminds us that as the food we eat is distributed, without our will or supervision, to every part of the body, giving light to the eye and strength to the arm, making bone or skin in one place, nerve or blood-vessel in another, so, if only we make Christ our own, the life that is in Him suffices for all the requirements of human nature and human duty."

4. Christ in His humanity lived a life of dependence upon the Father. This He did, not of necessity, but of choice, that He might be a perfect example to us. He did not exchange His divinity for humanity, but, clothing His divinity with humanity, He emptied Himself, and did not avail Himself of His divine attributes in His contest with evil. As Son of man, through a life of complete dependence upon the Father, He won back the glory and exaltation which belonged to Him as the Son of God. And not only this, but He won for us in our human nature a life of victory over evil, and made it possible for us to live the life which He lived. This involved His death; for "the life which He had before His death was fair, but not communicable; that which He won in death and its defeat is fairer still, and capable of being given to all who hear and obey His invitation to come." Christ's life of voluntary dependence demonstrated that it is possible for humanity, through the provisions of God's grace, to render perfect obedience to the law of God, and forever silenced the charge that God required more of His creatures than it was possible for them to render. Christ in His humanity, subject to all the conditions and limitations of humanity, obeyed perfectly that law which He in His divinity had proclaimed with His own voice from Sinai, and thus won for us a life of obedience, which, as our High Priest, He ministers to all who yield themselves to Him. "Great is the mystery of godliness."

Suggestions for Further Study.

1. How many are drawn to Christ? Who will be responsible if any do not come?

2. Emphasize the difference between the present possession of "everlasting life" and being made immortal.

3. Study the force of the word "living" in verse 51. Compare Rev. 1:18, etc.

4. The marginal reading of the Revised Version of verse 55 is "For My flesh is true meat, and My blood is true drink." Apply the previous study of the word "true."

5. Is there any connection between the showbread of the tabernacle and the "Living Bread"?

6. Compare "the bread which cometh," of verse 50, with "every word that proceedeth," of Matt. 4:4.