Can Disciples Prevent Without Pursuit

The life of one pursuing Christ is a communal adventure of Pursuit and Prevention.

Yes we pursue alone in the quiet spaces of our lives, but we're designed to pursue together. Just as the whole body can run a race more effectively than a single thumb can, disciples will pursue Christ and prevent entrapment together more effectively and joyfully as the Church than we ever will as lone rangers.

In his first letter to Timothy in 6:3-16 we're challenged with a framework of pursue and prevent for the ongoing rhythm of discerning truth from falsehood in our discipleship to Christ. Within the context of the IN rhythm of our lives we're gifted with the ability to discern what is best and we do so in order to glorify God in deeper and greater ways.

Pursue /
...pursue righteousness...and fight the good fight of faith.

Jesus called His disciples to Love God and to Love others. Loving God requires pursuing Him and Loving others requires sharing our pursuit of Him.

As disciples we demonstrate our faith in spirit and truth when we first pursue Christ. This pursuit of Christ is the foundation of prevention and reveals itself in the Triangle Rhythm of UP / IN / OUT in our daily lives. According to Paul we seek to adorn:

godliness: taking on the character of the Father as sons and daughters
faith: a palpable experiential belief in the Son of God
love: the core attribute of God from which every other flows
endurance: obedient perseverance in our salvation
gentleness: the grace and humility of God on display in our mindset

Clothing every ounce of our being in these Gospel attributes is a demonstration of our pursuit of the One. And it's this pursuit in taking hold of the eternal life that we've confessed as believers and disciples that fosters the very Armor of the Spirit that both protects us from the attacks of the evil one & prevents our chasing after his enticements.

Prevent /
We sin. It's true. But you man of God, flee from all this.

There is a difference in living a lifestyle of sin away from the gracious forgiveness of Christ AND the lifestyle of a disciple pursuing Christlikeness who yet sins.

A lifestyle where evil has ensnared your actions, your hearts desire, the thoughts and reflections of your mind is a life that has 'wandered from the faith' and is subsequently 'pierced with many griefs.'

This is the temptation trap every disciple is commanded and so encouraged to prevent and to help our brothers and sisters prevent. Paul's challenge to Timothy was recognize and then to snuff out these evil desires.

And the church today is in just that same position to Pursue Christ and so Prevent entrapment in false teachings, cultural pleasures and social and civil movements that burn against the heart of the Father for His people

Our culture is so eager to diverge from any expression of Biblical Truth that to allow these worldly values to shape the rhythm and movement of the Kingdom here and now is to press into the very corruption that pursuing God prevents.

The intimate space of 1x1 disciplemaking and the personal space of the huddle are key avenues for modeling, sharing and training believers in this Pursue / Prevent pattern. Spending time daily and weekly with those we're discipling and engaging in direct and honest Kairos Moment conversations in Scripture and life fosters a faith-ownership worthy of the very call and confession of Christ in ways that outpaces the alternative and more common rhythm of the Sunday-service-voyeur.

Living in the IN spaces of daily life: accountability, disciplemaking, huddle, missional community and central gatherings etc. it is absolutely vital that Pursuit of Christ in unity and humility is at the core so that Prevention of those bittersweet evil desires that entice remains divinely effective.

Read 1 Timothy 6 to grasp Paul's call to Pursue and Prevent in greater depth. Read Ephesians 6 for the Armor.

John's Story 8

I was listening to NPR the other day and the guest author proposed reinserting in our families in coming generations the notion of sin and imperfection as very real and very vital to understand and recognize. While he didn't claim a source for this brokenness he did note that without this concept (this Truth) then a free and democratic society cannot remain so.

If there is no such thing as sin then our human minds can't fathom freedom. So the very tangible freedoms we currently experience in our society will be lost and replaced with the very sins we ignore and deny...

Text / 7:59 - 8:11
At the end of the Feast (7:2) as everyone was leaving town a group of Jewish leaders legally/sexually trap and drag an adulterous women before Jesus hoping to legally/spiritually trap Him in His judgement of her.

'If anyone here is without a single sin, go ahead and throw the first stone at her.'

The problem here is one that Paul makes devastatingly clear in Romans 3 - EVERYONE has and will sin. Since there is no eternal escape from the guilt of sin outside of a relationship with Christ who alone mediates forgiveness, everyone standing around Jesus and that woman ought to have engaged in a serious stone throwing fight to the death!

Specifically this group was banking on Jesus' response to the law in Leviticus 20:10 regarding adultery. (Paul takes on extensive law about sexual sin in 1 Cor. 6 and quite honestly makes the case at just how it obscures our experience in Kingdom living.) But Jesus neither flippantly frees the woman thus denying Jewish law, nor does he condemn her to death and so disillusion his followers regarding His teaching on repentance, forgiveness and grace.

Instead he convicts every man and woman standing there and offers the same opportunity to acknowledge their sin, regardless it's context, believe in Him and 'leave your life of sin.'

Q. Current realities of a life lived in sin 8:34-36 and the Eternal Consequences of sin according to Jesus 8:24...Sin is real.
It's apparent even in the midst of the most beautiful of human relationships. It's apparent in the beauty and brokenness of nature, diseased crops and trees and animals. The question isn't do you sin, but how do you sin?

Q. Is it possible to discern sexual purity from sexual sin today in America according to the same divine standards Jesus?

Text / :12
'I am the light of the world.'

The 2nd I AM statement. He is the bread, now He is the light. This light reveals truth, it reveals the path to salvation, it reveals the fulfillment of true and ancient promises with the Father, it reveals the reality of sin, sin particularly hidden in the hearts of the very people of Israel, of God.

Read John 1:1-5 about the eternal nature of Jesus as the light.
Read John 8:58 - Jesus, the True light, truly is older than Moses.
Read Matthew 5:14-16 about our role as divine luminaries of Christ.

Why this analogy? Some historians believe that during the great Feasts of Israel several massive torches were built up and ignited on the temple-mount. Flames jetting upwards several stories with the glow revealing much of Jerusalem in the night sky.

Jesus is greater than this light.

He illumines the heart, mind and soul. He never burns out nor dims. His Truth never falters. His salvation never flickers. The tangible analogy would be easy enough to grasp. Just like His claim on the final day of the Feast (7:37-39), everyone was focused on the temporary and the tradition and the physical temple...Jesus wanted to arrest their focus on Him in the Glory of the Father.

Text / :31-32
'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.'

Is Jesus, after all of His about simply believing in Him for salvation, now saying that in order to be saved a person must perfectly obey his teaching? No.

In fact, this isn't so much about salvation but about discipleship. Look back on :30, once again many people put their faith in Him, but we know that most people leave when His teachings get difficult or when the religious leaders make threats or when the Roman officials extinguish hope.

'Actual disciples, students, followers, family of Mine demonstrate our divine relationship through a lifestyle fully engaged with My teaching, my truth. It's in the midst of living alongside me throughout your life that you'll personally and intimately discern Truth and it's this very Truth sourced in Me that offers true freedom from a life chasing sinful desires, slaves to sin.'

Living sacrifices. Worshipping in Spirit and Truth. Renewal of the Mind. Conformation to Christlikeness. Testing and approving Gods perfect will.

The disciple demonstrates his or her discipleness to Christ through perseverance in Christ's very teachings. Salvation is demonstrated in the life of the disciple.

Not perfection. Not points. Not a guessing game. We can't compare the Apostle Paul to the thief on the cross. Both experienced salvation, one after minutes of belief, the other after decades. Yet both demonstrated obedience to Christ's truth.

We don't earn salvation. You don't earn discipleship to Christ. One may be more mature than the other but not more saved. Let's God discern who is forgiven. You and I engage Him in truth and life daily demonstrating Whose we are.

Challenge /
Jesus may have 'slipped away from the' crowd in order to fulfill His mission, but He is no longer in need of disappearing. He is here and He is now and He has told the Truth.

Are we, as the Body of Christ, actually and honestly and wholly demonstrating our salvation through lifestyles, life rhythms that proclaim Christ's Truth.

Are we living UP / IN / OUT lives founded on the truth of the Gospel? I have to ask this question daily. Am I adoring the Gospel? Am I wearing Truth not only on my sleeve but on my heart and on my soul and on my mouth? Am I still carrying the cross?

Are you?

John's Story 7

'Save us Adonai, prosper us, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, God is Adonai and has given us light!'

Trumpets blasting, people singing, waving 'lulavs' and chanting Psalms 113-118 (the Hallel). The Feast of Tabernacles was an absolutely awesome festival full of salvific meaning, the ruach ha-kodesh (spirit of God) and a symbol of religious joy for the Jewish people.

Text / 7:16-19 / His Credentials
'My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent me.'

How many times has Jesus made this claim? Even in chapter 6 we hear from Jesus that God is the one who sent the True Bread (Jesus). In 14:10 we'll hear Jesus claim this reality again, that God is within and behind everything He is and does.

I want to point out to things that have jumped out to me in this section:

• :18 'he who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself' - Jesus is talking about directing all glory to God, He didn't come for to be glorified but to glorify God (though He rightly deserves all honor and glory). 
• What about you. How often are you seeking attention, adoration, self-righteous glory? Putting on display at work, at home, with neighbors or friends...the right look, your best qualities, traits, talents and abilities and awards? Are you out for your reputation OR are you out for Gods reputation?
• :24 'stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment' - Jesus is challenging the leaders to discern with true Spiritual discernment. To judge the work of the Messiah based on the character of God found in the Law and not on their own additions to the commands.
• How do you judge Christ's words and work? Are you filtering everything Christ has said, and has done through the lens of 2015 in the suburbs of America? OR are you engaging Christ on His eternal terms?

Text / 7:37-38 / The Message
'If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.'

At the height of the Feast in the midst of the great procession of symbolic salvation where a pitcher of water is carried from one of the pools of Jerusalem to the Altar and poured out denoting cleansing, the coming of the Spirit and the joy of the Lord in the lives of the Jews, Jesus cried out.

Jesus rises at the Temple Court and shouts with everything He has, breaking through the song and cheer and rumbling of the multitudes.

This call is loaded with meaning both to the original audience and to you and I. Whoever hears His call anytime, anywhere. Let's break it down a bit:

• if anyone is thirsty: anyone / whoever (literally anyone seeking actual spiritual refreshment and life, Jew and Gentile alike). Thirsty - multitudes chasing down the symbolic pitcher of water, temporary refreshment until next years sin builds up and all joy in the Lord is lost...Jesus offers eternal refreshment by His Spirit and His Truth (4:10 w/ the woman at the well. Chapter 6 regarding food and drink for the crowds - food and drink found only in Christ!)
• come: 6:35
• and drink: 6:53, there is something about symbolically drinking the life of Christ that signifies an awesome unity with Him in Spirit and in Truth!
• believes in me: this theme of simple but utter belief for salvation is all over this book most recently and directly pointed out in 6:28-29.
• as Scripture teaches: A possible compilation of Exodus 17:3-7, Numbers 20:1. I love the last line in Ex. 17:7 'Is the Lord with us or not?' Jesus boldly proclaims the answer to this here and now!
• streams of living water will flow from within him: The very same living water promised to the woman at the well. John even clarifies by noting that this water is the Spirit (:39). It flows from within - Read 14:9-13, Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him and and Jesus is in us. This reality that God is both welling up within the believer and the believer is nestled within Gods heart is an all encompassing relationship.

This passage once again shows us how simply and fully is the salvation of Christ.

This ancient festival, a festival instituted to engage God directly and faithfully inevitably failed to do what it was designed to do - connect man with God the Creator and Savior. How can I possibly say this in light of the millions who still engage it for spiritual cleansing and joy? Simply, Jesus said so when He called the crowds to seek Him and not the glass of pool-water.

What's more, if it's joy they were seeking then Jesus offered that as well. 'Remain in my love...I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.' 15:9-11

Question /
Where is the source of your joy? Christ or symbols and celebrations about Christ?

What credentials of Jesus are you seeking? Where are you looking and with what intention? The Word will never change, it can't, God doesn't change. The Spirit enlightens us to the Truth in the context of the Scriptures and connects that Truth to our very life here and now. If you don't want to know Christ as He proclaims, on His terms - you won't find Him. So who and what are you seeking?

It also happens to be The Holy Week in the life of the Church. Are you hoping that your adherence to Lent, to Good Friday, to Resurrection Sunday will draw you back into God's presence? Are you seeking salvation through honoring these traditions? 

OR are you engaging Jesus directly, personally, honestly and with all the belief you have? Coming to Him as the only source of Living Water.

Disciplemaking in the Dark Age

What if it all went dark?

What if the internet went down tomorrow or the power went out. What if your favorite accredited or non-accredited online classes, Bible studies, devotions or study resources went the way of the buffalo and you had no ability to stream them?

No leadership podcasts. No MacArthur studies. No Beth Moore. No old Driscoll, Piper or Chan sermons. No blueletterbible. No Flannel videos or small group dvd's. No Logos software.

No Skyping. Facebooking. Tweeting. Blogging (yes, I see the irony). No pushing content snapshots outside of your 1x1 time with your disciple. Real you. Real them. Real time.

Would you be able to make disciples in a technological dark age?

Would you be able walk through the Gospel, that is, unpack Jesus in the breadth of the Scriptures for salvation and sanctification?

Would you be willing to put in the personal-biblical-prep-time to walk alongside another over a long period of time both modeling Christlikeness and inviting your disciples to follow you as you follow Christ?

Would you even be interested in making disciples likened to you, disciples who are trained and equipped by you, disciples who would then go and make their own disciples?

Just you, your Bible, a blank journal or two and a disciple.

John's Story 6:25-33 / Part C

So we've made it. The final part of our Chapter 6 dissection. Since Part B I've taken some serious time off from posting. Maybe I got lazy, odds are good, or maybe I just needed to process some more chapters in John's Story before returning to finish it up.

This is gritty stuff. Belief in Christ really tugs on all strings. It puts pressure on all of life's compartments and challenges me to be both introspective and active. To examine my own belief, my belief system and then make changes where necessary and when necessary.

In all honesty, I hate how divisive my heart can be. My tendency is to sit on my understanding of belief and draw a line in the sand. While I don't need to question all elements of my faith, I can't help but engage Jesus' simple and profound call the 'believe in Him, period.' and not wrestle my version of this truth.

I hope you do the same.

THREE / 30-33

'Give us a sign, like the one Moses gave our ancestors...and then we'll believe you.'

Signs are a huge part of John's Gospel. He highlights key signs, key miracles, key divine interactions so that the reader, you and I, can catch a glimpse of a few of the wildly miraculous acts of Jesus and be amazed, convinced even that Jesus is who He claims to be.

YET Jesus never meant signs to be the defining factor in who would come to a saving trust in Him.

Here the audience demands a sign in order to accept Jesus' claim that 'belief' is the only work God desires from those who come to Him for salvation.

It's ironic that right after Jesus proclaims that belief: an internal, spiritual melding of the heart and mind and soul into a trusting response of Jesus' claims and actions - it's ironic that the crowd wants a physical act, an external sign to prove that internal reality He's teaching here.

Look back to :26b and it makes their demand for a sign a bit moot. They didn't seek out Jesus because of the miracle of the bread and the fish (:1-15) but because their physical needs were met and they want more!

This whole interaction is based on hunger, desire, physical needs mixed and confused with theological desires.

'Moses didn't give you bread, My Father sent you the true bread from heaven, that is, He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'

There it is. Straight to the point.

The audience came for breakfast, 

then wanted religious confirmation of their historical traditions and expectations,

eventually wanted nothing to do with either breakfast or the Bread of Life.

First, what's this manna? See interaction SIX for a little more background.

I love the simple, contextual, spiritual response of Jesus - God sent bread that now gives eternal life to the world, the old has passed, the new has come, the temporary is played out, the eternal is here to stay.

TWO / 28-29

'What work does God want us to perform?'

• There's no vocation that earns anyone salvation, not even the role of pastor or priest!
• There is no calendar religious cycle that offers salvation
• There is no deed good enough
• No self-sacrificial lifestyle, social justice catalyzer, theology doctorates...
• There is no daily ritual
• No tangible activity...

'Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies sinners, his faith is credited to him as righteousness.' Romans 4:4-5

The Jews are going to point to Moses' work in producing miracles as a signs of Gods favor and salvation. But Jesus redirects them to God's work in faith, not Moses' response in obedience.

'Believe in the Sent One.'

Work? Oh, yeah...when the Holy Spirit opens your ears, heart and mind to the truth of Jesus' words, then you'll be in the midst of the act of belief...and that belief is the work you ought to be engaged in.

'Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.' Genesis 15:6 (Rom 4:3)

Salvation First: Faith that Christ is The ONE.

Obedience Second: Faithful response actively displayed in the renewed rhythms and practices of a life devoted to Him.

If Christ hasn't overhauled our spirit, filled us with His Spirit, then works are nothing but a temporary and impersonal business transaction. Obedience is impossible to a God you don't actually trust. Trust first, become second.

ONE / 25-27

'When did you get here Teacher?'

This is the start of one the most studied, discussed and divisive passages in Scripture. This is the first question. Seriously? It's like meeting your hero and then asking them what kind of gas-mileage they got on the way over.

This first question does three things right off the bat:

1. They're aware of the possible miracle that took place in the night (:16-24).
2. They were in the midst of missing the point of this divine interaction with their Messiah.
3. This gives Jesus a conversational opportunity to get right to the heart of the matter.

Not so long ago this group tried to force Jesus to lead a Jewish rebellion. A king. Here He's still respected but downgraded to Rabbi...soon He'll be too hard to follow.

On a side note, think about the reality that Jesus refused to His death the role of rebel leader, revolutionary dictator. He didn't leave absolute perfection and beauty to (Philippians 2) to come and start a cultural riot. Jesus didn't come to trap, brainwash, demand, become a cult-leader, social leader, human rights activist against Rome etc. He didn't even come to be a mighty religious leader of the people.

Jesus came to reconcile anyone who will believe with His Father, Creator, King.

'You're not interested in the 'how' I got here, you want food. Listen, don't waste your time seeking food that rots, it's temporary. Work for food that lasts forever, that's eternal. Only I can give you this food. Come and get this food from the One Sealed with God's approval.'

Quite the paraphrase eh?

It's wild how this 'seal' of God set on Jesus during His ministry has been transferred to all believers. That the God of the Universe who approved of the life of Christ and set Him apart for His glory has now set this seal on those who also approve (believe) in the life of Christ and now get to engage in a life lived for His glory too!

Paul said, 'we don't write you anything you cannot read or understand...He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.' 2 Cor 1:13, 21-22

Catch that? Not only are the letters in the Bible designed for all to read (without a mediator) and understand...but they teach us about the Source of the seal of God on our lives. Jesus. And that followers of Christ are set apart with an eternally-divine deposit of eternal life.

The Jews open this entire dialogue with a trivial question about travel.

Jesus ends it all with those who truly are faithful in traveling with Him, the Twelve.

Challenge /

I write a lot. I don't always get to the point right away and sometimes I never actually do. To be honest, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to quoting other authors and sources. I get technical only when I feel like it and this series of posts on Chapter 6 is proof of all of that. But it's a good chapter isn't it.

This dialogue is worth spending weeks on. It's worth punching out some thoughts. It's worth engaging directly and personally and technically and spiritually. I'm sure I benefit more than anyone with my pile of notes, stacks of books and time spent hitting these keys and posting these thoughts.

But that's part of the challenge of being a disciple isn't it? If I take the time to write out what the Lord is doing in my heart and mind regarding this Text, and then share it with you, whether you agree or disagree you may very well go and do the same in your own medium, your own context, your own rhythm and time and space.

So what do we do about all this? Well, since it's my blog I'll tell you. 

Do the work God requires: believe.

Stop. Seriously, just stop right now and spend some time in prayer. Ask the Lord to put Himself on display for you. Ask Him to place on your heart and in your mind the very sign of His Spirit at work in you. To seal you over for the Day of the Lord.

And to those who believe, obey. Read 8:31-32. Go and demonstrate your faith in Christ through faithfulness in a way that honors Him and fits your culture and season of life.

1. Are you believing more in the fruit of your works, actions and deeds than in the One who set you apart for works, deeds and faithful living?
2. With all this talk on belief, what good are works without this faith? Are they spiritually profitable according to Jesus? Why, why not?
3. More importantly, are your works and deeds the cause of salvation? The sustaining work for your salvation? Or the response of salvation gifted to you? Your answer means all the difference in engaging Jesus.

See you on the other side of Chapter 6.

John's Story 6:34-59 / Part B

Let's keep unpacking the 9 Interactions in John chapter 6. This is a long post but hey, no one's forcing you to read it. In our discussion on this chapter we dug into some great thoughts concerning everything from historical context, God's sovereignty, language type and the early Church fathers thoughts and traditions.

What I like about this section is the reality that if the audience had genuinely understood Jesus' point on 'belief in Him' without their human expectations...the rest of the chapter would never have taken place.


SIX / 52-59
The Jews began to argue saying, 'How can this guy give us his flesh to eat?'
This is where interpretation really gets divided up among the Church today. We know that the 12 sum up Jesus' teaching with 'belief in the Holy One' so let's keep that frame of reference.

If Jesus is talking figuratively he really gets gritty. By the time this passage wraps up He's said 'eat' some 13x. He stresses both eating and chewing (:57) on His flesh (:51). But he also says the words believe and life a bunch of times and the key phrase throughout is 'Truly truly, believe and receive eternal life'.

As we read think about this: is it more likely that Jesus is always talking about literally eating Him for salvation OR that eating Him is analogous to belief and salvation?  Keep this floating around as we unpack it all.

So how does Jesus respond to their argument over eating Him? He get's gritty.

'I tell you the truth (truly, truly)...' Another way of saying, 'Listen up, this is important' and he says this 4x in this passage. What He follows up with is a continuation of what he's said earlier, only building on the analogy intensely.

• 26 - you're motives are wrong, you should seek spiritual life.
• 32 - you give Moses credit for Gods spiritual work - true bread comes from Him, I am that bread.
• 47 - believe for eternal life (positive).
• 53 - unless you eat and drink me, you have no life (negative)

...again, what is Jesus addressing here? Their motives and understanding are wrong and He really, really wants them to get it. They don't get it when He is direct (:47), so He takes the analogy to the extreme (:53), and they still don't get it.

'...this is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.'
He already said this in :35-36. Eating and drinking are analogous to 'come' and 'believe'. Come to Me to be spiritually satisfied Jesus says. Believe in me and be eternally quenched. Figurative language. He said this to Nicodemus. He said this to the woman at the well. He say's this to the crowds at the festival in chapter 7.

Typology: a form of prophecy where an OT image/action is expressive of a NT teaching - particularly fulfilled in Jesus.

Why is Jesus talking about manna and bread and eating? Well, we're not there yet but let's crack it open since this passage is all about eating Jesus.

The crowd challenges Jesus to display His true power by surpassing Moses' miracle of manna (Exodus 16:35). Manna was a picture or symbol or sign of a greater and more permanent source of sustenance to come. The manna in the desert was like the bronze snake (John 3:14-15), a tangible need met by a temporary salvation. People ate manna for 40 years in order to stay alive - just as people looked at the weird snake and were kept safe from the deadly vipers.

The literal manna was a prophetic picture (symbol) of the spiritual Bread of Life to come. And what does Jesus say? Read :33, 35. Jesus is the bread, come and believe in Him, sound familiar? This is for eternal life. The manna was great BUT, 'Your forefathers ate manna and died.' Not cool.

Jesus IS the greater fulfillment of the manna. He did not bring it. He was not preparing an eternal tangible food source. He IS the eternally spiritual source of life in faith. Totally surpassing their expectations of tangible sustenance.

Side Note: This passage is a historical source of division in the Church, particularly when this passage is assigned to Communion. Even more so when this passage is assigned to Salvation through Communion. However, what if the context isn't about communion? Then some of the confusion dissipates right. A couple of thoughts:

• 'Passover was near' 6:4 - in the synoptics Jesus' taught on the night of His arrest during the Passover feast. This is not that.
• In the synoptics Jesus used the analogy of the sacrificial lamb in Exodus. Here it's about manna.
• In the Communion meal Jesus was holding bread and wine, He was attaching His words to those symbols. Here there are no tangible symbols, He doesn't even appear to mention wine.
• 'teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum' 6:59 - not at the temple, not in a home for the meal, not in Jerusalem...Jesus is teaching on manna but like usual steering it towards true belief and life and the sovereignty of God the Father. Spiritual acts, not physical.

One final thought. Erwin Luther summed up the thought of a theologian noting the historical connect of this passage in connection with Communion I think is worth noting:

"no orthodox father of whom we have record declared the presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist to be only symbolic (though Clement and Origen came close...), nor were there any who specified that the elements were substantially changed (though Ignatius and Justin came close...). 'Within the limits of these two extremes'" we find spiritual connection to Christ in Communion.

FIVE / 41-51

The Jews began to grumble, 'We know Jesus' parents, how can be the divine bread from heaven?'
Whatever Jesus said before this did a couple of things:

• Revealed His divine origin and true Sonship to the Father.
• Furthered the analogy of Bread / Flesh / Belief.

Notice what they get hung up on though? It's not cannibalism, this isn't even on their radar. In fact, had they accepted Jesus' previous and simple teaching, the coming discussion wouldn't have been necessary. Jesus has already made His point. They get hung up on his origin. Bethlehem or Heaven?

Understand that their question on the authenticity of Jesus' origin isn't wrong. In fact this is important. The question isn't wrong. Their closed mind, false expectations, hard hearts are wrong. They focus on the wrong point that Jesus is making. I think we do to.

Again Jesus knows their hearts and hang-ups, so He addresses the real issue.
'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.'
They want a miracle. They want a king. They want immediate and temporary satisfaction. Jesus wants to give them eternal life, life that only the Father can give and He gives to those He draws or pulls into Himself first.

Jesus is NOT toning down His teaching as they miss the point and complain. Instead He goes deeper towards offending them (:61). He goes on to say that they would believe Jesus if:

• they truly knew the Father (:45)
• if the Father wanted to reveal Himself to them (:65)

Think about it. The chosen people of God, Israel, and Jesus is telling this crowd (who only the night before wanted to initiate a coupe with Jesus as the Lead) that they don't truly know their Father and their Father must not have chosen them do to their profession of unbelief.

What does Jesus do next? He hits the same note again. Clearly and concisely, 'he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life...I am the living bread from heaven. Eat this bread and live forever.'
He doesn't hand them bread to eat and confuse the analogy. In fact He clarifies the point, belief is Him is greater than eating food (manna, bread etc.).

Do you know how Jesus transitions to the next conversation?
'This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.'
He goes to the cross. He changes the analogy doesn't he. He bounces around with His concepts and symbols and pictures and truths.

Read 3:16, a passage always noted for it's picture of the cross. Jesus is tossing this in the mix. The flesh he gives on the cross as a sacrifice, is the same flesh we're to believe in for salvation. No eating at the moment, only looking to, only believing. This flesh is greater than our flesh (:63b).

'I tell you the truth, he who believes has eternal life.'

FOUR / 34-40
'Sir, keep giving us this bread!'
Ahhhh, before their unbelief takes root they think Jesus is going to tangibly feed them miraculously like He had the day before (:1-15). Their expectations are out of line. Jesus is speaking spiritually and they are eager to make Him king 'by force' (:15) and so if He just performs the way they expect the Messiah to perform then all is said and done, Israel will be back on top!

'I am the bread of life.'
The first of the I Am statements. Jesus is equating Himself with God the Father. In this context He's taking away all tangible symbols or expressions of 'bread' and simply saying, without misunderstanding that HE is the source of life. The crowd wants divine bread to eat forever and Jesus is giving them the opportunity to believe in Him instead.

'He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'
Jesus clarifies His meaning of 'bread'. Come and Believe - this is the eating of the true manna that leads to eternal life.

Manna = tangible and temporary
Jesus = spiritual and eternal

It's not about eating is it? He's already said that He is the bread and that hunger is quenched in Him so why don't they begin grumbling about cannibalism in the FIFTH interaction above (:41-42)? Because they knew the point was Jesus' divine descension and unity in Him and they were beginning to doubt the technicalities of this claim (even after the miracle the day before).

Literal eating and drinking aren't the focus. His divinity is! Jesus's incarnation (putting on the flesh) was ironically about the fulfillment (thus canceling) of all tangible actions man could participate in to earn or maintain salvation. Jesus fulfilled the entire Law in this way. Now anything works related is simply a response to our love for and honoring of Christ.

'I have come down from Heaven' - Divine descension from heaven.
'And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me' - Divine sovereignty of God the Father.


CHALLENGE /
Alright. That's enough for now. We'll wrap up the chapter in the next post but here are a few questions to sit on.

1. What is it about the context of the passage that really helps us understand what Jesus is teaching about His role? What does the author want us to understand about Jesus' teaching here?
2. What does this challenge about your current view of the passage? Are there new ideas here? How is this different than your previous interpretations?
3. What are you going to do about it? Is there anything to change in how you engage Jesus? What might the Lord be opening your heart and mind to regarding Him and His work of belief and salvation?

Resources:
Lutzer, Doctrines that Divide #103

Johns Story 6:60-71 / Part A

It's pretty wild that the same mob of 'disciples' who attempted to propel Jesus into a coup by force are the ones who soon after abandon him.

The same mob who are convinced of His Prophethood after a miraculous meal are also the ones who find His teachings too hard to adhere to and abandon their coup d'etat. Abandon their discipleship.

This little ditty, this chapter, sums it up though doesn't it? This teaching tells us all we need to know about engaging Jesus on His terms. Good stuff.

Since you can find commentary on this passage anywhere these days I want to work through this passage a little differently. I want to roll through it in reverse (like that Seinfeld episode in Season 9). It seems to me that Jesus' sums up this passage at the beginning but by the time most of us reach the end we've already begun to interpret it in an entirely different context.

So let's work these 9 Interactions between Jesus and the disciples in reverse and see what we find at the beginning.

NINE / 68-71

'You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know you're the Holy One of God.'

That's it. After all that talk of eating and blood and flesh and bread and manna and works and hometowns and divine origins and decision and Spirit...Belief. (Read 8:23-24 - Jesus is wildly clear on this)

The 12 (minus Judas I.) get it. They cut through the symbolism, they cut through the figurative language, they go past the fringe prophetical concepts and get to the heart.

Belief in Jesus as the Christ for eternal salvation.

'I chose you, the 12'

Jesus has been reiterating the sovereignty of God in drawing people to Himself (5:19-21, 6:39, 44). Here Jesus has the last word - He (and the Father) are in control of it all.

EIGHT / 66-67

Disciples (crowds) stop following Jesus. What pushes them over the edge beyond belief?

Jesus responds in the negative to the 12. 'Are you also going to leave?' But they get it. They have the flavor of actual faith in them.

SEVEN / 60-65

'This is a hard teaching, who could accept it?'

In 1:11 John preempts this. He tells us that many won't receive or accept Jesus.

Jesus goes on to clarify His point. In fact, He builds on :29, the very foundation of this entire interaction.

'Spirit gives life...the words I have spoken are spirit and life. Yet some of you don't believe.'

Sound familiar? In 4:21-26 Jesus tells the woman that worshipping God is a truth filled-spiritual interaction that happens beyond any tangible attachments. This happens though Himself, the Christ.

Now Jesus is following up with His key point of 'belief' only in the negative. He knows this crowd won't believe and so He pushes them to their breaking point.

'flesh counts for nothing.'

Not His own flesh. Obviously His flesh is important, He gives it for the life of the world! (3:16-17, Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 10)

Our flesh, our bodies, actions, works can never achieve salvation. Read 1:13 again. Read 3:13-21, outside of belief we're condemned and a condemned person can do nothing on his own, no word or work, to earn freedom. Belief is stressed in this simple phrase.

'Does this offend you? What if I ascend to my home?'

Oh yeah, Jesus also calls out their unwarranted offense. He knows what they're really hung up on and so He nails it. It's not cannibalism - against the Law. It's not drinking His blood - against the Law. The crowd wouldn't have taken these ideas literally. So then, what was it?

They understood He was speaking of total unity with Him. They understood that total consumption of Jesus meant total unity, faith and adherence to Him and His teachings. What's worse, they knew this meant that He truly was claiming to come to from Heaven and they absolutely couldn't accept this idea that He was God's actual Son (:41-42). What's even worse is that Jesus went on to say that they never really knew the Father anyhow (:45-46, 65). They were spiritually blind and dead and groping the dark for tangible fulfillment, not spiritual (:27).

As for the 'ascension' point, some theologians who claim this passage is about the literal body and blood of Jesus use this as a proof text. How? Well, the idea is that if Jesus were talking figuratively the whole time about his body as flesh then why would He begin talking literally about His ascension. He wouldn't bounce between figurative and literal to prove His point. So if the ascension is literal, so must the talk of eating Him.

Well, I'm not sure that's what's happening here.

The ascension is literal, yes (Acts 1:10). So was His descension (:33). The crowds missed the point. They were still hung up on His claim of divinity (:41-42) and couldn't even fathom total unity and faith in Him. So Jesus calls it out and simply says, 'look, I came from heaven and you don't believe Me. Will you believe if I return from where I came? Probably not.'

On a technical note, bouncing between figurative and literal language isn't strange or out of place. Read 7:37-38, yes we literally must believe in Jesus for salvation, no we don't literally drink Him.

CHALLENGE /

Yeah, that's enough for now. We'll unpack a few more pieces of the conversation in another post. A couple thoughts:

1. How important is engaging Jesus in Spirit and belief? Why is He stressing this reality to this Jewish audience?
2. Why don't the 12 sum up Jesus' point with a tangible action, such as eating and drinking bread and wine? Did they miss the point? Again, how important is belief, faith, trust and spiritual-intangible-unity with Jesus for salvation?
3. In the previous chapters and in the following Jesus stresses simple belief (3:36, 5:24, 9:35-38, 14:6) - is there more to coming to a point of salvation? If so, what and why doesn't Jesus address it? If not then have put your faith / trust in Christ alone for your eternal rescue from sin and death?

Resources:Erwin Lutzer, The Doctrines That Divide
Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist
Elmer Towns, John (commentary)
Jewish NT Commentary