The Words of Life
John 6:58-69[1]
These days, most of us have someone whose words we tend to take to
heart. Whether it’s Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow, or someone in between, we
all have a spokesperson whose voice carries more weight than anyone else’s. I
suppose that’s always been true—whether it was a parent or a teacher or a
pastor. For many of us, Walter Cronkite was the voice of truth. For many of his
almost 20 years as the CBS news anchor, he was known as “the most trusted man
in America.” His candid reporting style was summed up best by his signature
sign-off, “And that’s the way it is.” If Walter Cronkite said it, people tended
to believe it.
While we may not be used to thinking of our final prophet in those
terms, I think it’s fitting to conclude our series with Jesus of Nazareth.
While we believe he was more than a prophet, he was certainly not less than a
prophet. He spoke God’s truth to the people of his day in a way that turned
their world upside down and captured the hearts and minds of many who followed
him. To be sure, there were many, perhaps the majority, who rejected him and
his teachings. But for those who had ears to hear his message, it changed their
lives for good. Jesus delivered a message that was at times shocking, and at
times comforting. But in every way, Jesus’ prophetic ministry powerfully
impacted people’s lives. And his words still have the power to change lives
today.
In our Gospel lesson for today, we step into an episode from
Jesus’ life that marked a significant turning point in his ministry. After an
amazing event in which he fed a huge crowd that was following him, many of them
tracked him across the Sea of Galilee to hear and see more of what Jesus might
do. When he challenged them, they asked what they must do. His answer was to
believe, and in what seems like typical fashion for them, they asked him to
produce a “sign” to convince them. They even suggested one: more food! They
asked him to reproduce the miracle of the manna in the wilderness. But Jesus
was always wary of faith that depended on proof.
Instead he called them to simply believe in him and in his words. In
fact, he went beyond that and claimed to be the true “bread from heaven.” He
told them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and
whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jn. 6:35). They had all kinds of
problems with that. They argued that he came from Nazareth; therefore claiming
to be the “bread from heaven” offended them. He said that only those who ate
this true “bread from heaven” would live forever. They responded to his
implication that they were to literally eat his flesh with disgust. And as a
result, John’s Gospel tells us that “many of his disciples turned back” (Jn.
6:66).
Of course, the truth was that Jesus was not calling his disciples
to literally eat his flesh. He made that clear when he said, “It is the spirit
that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are
spirit and life” (Jn. 6:63). What Jesus was looking for was a kind of faith
that would hear his words as “words of life.” He was looking for disciples who
would hear his words so well that they would transform the way they lived their
lives. And in the process, they would find the power of his words giving them a
whole new kind of life.
What we may not expect to hear about this is that it wasn’t
entirely unheard of. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel both called the Jewish
people receive a “new heart” that would bring about a fresh commitment to God.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus says time and again that what he did and said was only
what came from “the Father.” When he broke the Jewish traditions of keeping the
Sabbath to heal a paralyzed man, he said, “I seek to do not my own will but the
will of him who sent me” (Jn. 5:30).
When the Jewish leaders came right out and asked him who he thought we
was, Jesus replied, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will
realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things
as the Father instructed me” (Jn. 8:28). Jesus’ teachings were “the words of life”
because they came from God.
At the end of the episode in our Gospel reading, after the
Scripture says that many turned back and followed him no longer, Jesus put the
question to the twelve. He asked them straight out, “Do you also wish to go
away?” (Jn. 6:67). I find it interesting that it is Peter who answers for them:
“Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68).
Peter, who would deny even knowing Jesus, and then return to feed his sheep, is
the one who acknowledges the life-changing power of Jesus’ words: “you have the
words of eternal life.”
In our day, I
think if you asked people whether Jesus spoke for God, you would find many
people answering, “Yes.” But it’s one thing to acknowledge Jesus as a prophet
who speaks life-giving words. It’s another thing altogether to have the ears to
hear those words in such a way that we take them to heart. It’s another thing yet
to put Jesus’ words into practice in our daily lives so that we actually
experience the new life they are meant to give us. Many throughout the ages
have admired Jesus as a teacher of great truth. Many have even made the effort
to study Jesus’ teachings in order to better understand them. But Jesus calls
us to something more. He calls us to make his teachings so much a part of our
lives that it changes the way we live from the inside out. Then we too will
know in a practical way that Jesus’ words are the words of life.
[1] ©2018
Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 8/26/2018 at Hickman
Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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