Crossway Bibles<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 51\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>I am the living bread\u00a0that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give\u00a0for the life of the world is\u00a0my flesh.\u201d 52\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>The Jews then\u00a0disputed among themselves, saying,\u00a0\u201cHow can this man give us his flesh to eat?\u201d\u00a053\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>So Jesus said to them,\u00a0\u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of\u00a0the Son of Man and drink his blood, you\u00a0have no life in you.\u00a054\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood\u00a0has eternal life, and\u00a0I will raise him up on the last day.\u00a055\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.\u00a056\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood\u00a0abides in me, and I in him.\u00a057\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>As\u00a0the living Father\u00a0sent me, and\u00a0I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.58\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the breadthe fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.\u201d\u00a059\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught\u00a0at Capernaum. 60\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>When many of his disciples heard it, they said, \u201cThis is a hard saying; who can listen to it?\u201d\u00a061\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But Jesus,\u00a0knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them,\u00a0\u201cDo you take offense at this?62\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Then what if you were to see\u00a0the Son of Man\u00a0ascending to\u00a0where he was before?63\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>It is the Spirit who gives life;\u00a0the flesh is no help at all.\u00a0The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.\u00a064\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But\u00a0there are some of you who do not believe.\u201d\u00a0(For Jesus\u00a0knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and\u00a0who it was who would betray him.)\u00a065\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And he said,\u00a0\u201cThis is why I told you\u00a0that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.\u201d 66\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.\u00a067\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>So Jesus said to\u00a0the twelve,\u00a0\u201cDo you want to go away as well?\u201d\u00a068\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Simon Peter answered him, \u201cLord, to whom shall we go? You have\u00a0the words of eternal life,\u00a069\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and\u00a0we have believed, and have come to know, that\u00a0you are\u00a0the Holy One of God.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cThe Body and Blood of Christ\u2014For You!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nGrace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s tempting, today, to focus on our first lesson, from Joshua 24, where we are called upon to decide, this day, whom we will serve\u2014the one true God, or some other god or lord. That\u2019s a sermon that would almost preach itself! And equally worthy would be a sermon on our second lesson, from Ephesians 5, where Paul is encouraging the Christians in Ephesus to \u201cLook carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, seeking, not foolishness, but the will of the Lord, that we may walk as children of the Light.\u201d Having already had two Gospel lessons, the last two weeks, on John 6 and Jesus as the Bread of Life come down from heaven, do we need a third week on the same theme? The answer is \u201cYes,\u201d because now we come to the crux of the whole chapter! Now, today, we are faced with the deciding line: Having heard Jesus speaking about Himself as Living Bread, having heard Jesus saying things like, \u201cUnless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you do not have my life in you,\u201d the question is raised, \u201cDo you take offense at this? Do you want to go away, from following Jesus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At this point in the Gospel of John, Jesus, the Rabbi, the Master, the Lord\u2014has said some things that are very hard to grasp\u2014for his disciples then, and for his disciples now.\u00a0 To the Jewish mind that had ingrained in it very strict dietary laws, about which flesh could be eaten, and that blood must never touch your lips, these words of Jesus did truly offend, because it seemed to transgress against the laws given by Almighty God in Leviticus! What Jesus was saying was, as they understood it, contrary to their religion! And– it sounded like cannibalism!\u00a0 It still does to some! Many Protestants and non-Christians deny the Biblical understanding of the real presence of Christ in the Sacrament, because they find the idea of eating flesh and drinking blood troublesome.\u00a0 And yet, in our passage today, Jesus explains that this is not cannibalism.\u00a0 He explains quite clearly that in the Sacrament of the Altar, while we are eating Jesus\u2019 flesh and drinking His blood, in, with, and under the earthly elements\u2014it is His spiritual presence which is incarnate in the physical matter of bread and wine.\u00a0 As with Jesus who was both God and man, the Risen Jesus is present for us as His spiritual presence is united with the earthly elements, in a miraculous incarnation that is best left a mystery\u2014as we\u2019ve said before, as sacramentum<\/em> means mystery.\u00a0 Yes, Jesus is present for us in both His divine and human natures, in the elements of the Lord\u2019s Supper\u2014but this is not cannibalism\u2014Jesus says, \u201cit is the Spirit that gives life\u2014the flesh is useless.\u00a0 The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.\u201d\u00a0 Here, knowing that some were offended by his very literal, earthy description of eating his flesh and drinking His blood, Jesus tries to make crystal clear what He is saying about His followers\u2019 feasting on His presence.\u00a0 But still\u2014still, immediately after, John tells us, \u201cmany of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John tells us Jesus expected some of his many followers would turn away\u2014as there were always those who were the hangers-on, the crowds who liked to be around Jesus just in case something interesting happened.\u00a0 But now, Jesus turned to those closest to Him. Now Jesus turned to the twelve. Now Jesus turned to those He was counting on to stay with Him to the end, and beyond.\u00a0 Now, Jesus turned to those He had chosen to be with Him at the Lord\u2019s Supper, to go with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane, to stand at the foot of the cross and witness His death, just as they would be witnesses to His resurrection, to receive the Spirit from on high, to preach the Gospel and lead the Church.\u00a0 Now, Jesus wanted to know from these closest disciples, \u201cDo you also wish to go away?\u201d\u00a0 And\u2014Jesus is asking us, as well, \u201cAre you offended by these words of Jesus? Do you also wish to go away?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Having served our denomination these last twelve years, visiting numerous congregations, interacting with pastors and theologians, what has become clear is that not all Lutherans understand, grasp or agree on what the Lord is saying about eating His flesh and drinking His blood in John 6. Some claim this passage isn\u2019t really about the Lord\u2019s Supper at all, and at times, they point to comments made by Luther who was struggling, in his day, against the medieval Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, so that Luther questioned whether Jesus was really speaking about, foretelling the institution of the Lord\u2019s Supper, in John 6. Certainly, at this point in Jesus\u2019 life, there had been no Holy Week, Maundy Thursday or Lord\u2019s Supper. But\u2014most of us realize, now, that the Lord\u2019s Supper wasn\u2019t something Jesus thought of on the spur of the moment. Throughout the Old Testament and the Gospels, there is a constant looking ahead toward the foretaste of the feast to come, which would not be the Passover Seder, but the Lord\u2019s Supper! And surely Jesus is speaking specifically, graphically now, about what would come on Maundy Thursday, helping the disciples understand the meaning of eating His flesh and drinking His blood, which would be instituted on the night of His betrayal. Could Jesus be speaking only figuratively in John 6? Could Jesus be saying what He\u2019s saying, with no foreknowledge of the coming Lord\u2019s Supper? There is no communion narrative in John\u2019s Gospel, because at the time John was writing, Matthew, Mark and Luke\u2019s gospels were already completed and available and each of the three included institution narratives of the Lord\u2019s Supper. So, John included Jesus\u2019 teaching about the theological and spiritual meaning, of the Lord\u2019s Supper, being so bold as to include Jesus\u2019 comments about eating flesh and drinking blood, because John didn\u2019t want us to miss the meaning, in the sacrament of the altar! It may be that Matthew, Mark and Luke didn\u2019t include these words of Jesus for fear the graphic language might offend their Jewish readers! But thank God that John wasn\u2019t afraid to report for us, the Lord\u2019s own words about feasting on His life-giving body and blood, so that we could hear and know, the truth. Even if, there might be some who would hear, take offense, and no longer follow Jesus.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So that now, the question comes to us. For these past few weeks, we, too, have been sitting at the feet of Jesus, hearing his teaching, being confronted with the difficult notion that to abide in Him and He in us, we are to eat His flesh and drink His blood. We have been among the crowd of followers who have been listening and trying to digest all that He\u2019s been saying\u2014at times, grasping it, at other times, finding it hard to swallow.\u00a0 At some point, we\u2019ve heard every word that Jesus has spoken about Himself as the Bread of Life\u2014we\u2019ve heard it, we\u2019ve chewed on it, we\u2019ve pondered it from week to week.\u00a0 And now, Jesus asks you and me, \u201cDo you also wish to go away? Or, will you come and feast on my presence among you in Word and Sacrament?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you think about it, Jesus is extending an \u201caltar call\u201d today\u2014and each and every Sunday, as each and every Sunday, He stands in our midst as our incarnate Lord, the Living Bread from heaven asking, \u201cDo you also wish to go away\u2014or, will you come eat my flesh and drink my blood?\u201d\u00a0 As you lay in bed early Sunday morning\u2014do you hear Jesus extending His altar call, inviting you to come to worship to receive the means of grace?<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Every Sunday\u2014Christians decide whether they will come to Jesus or stay away. Every Sunday, we make a decision about whether we will serve the Lord, or serve some other gods, on the golf course, or the soccer field, or the lake, or the office.\u00a0 We sometimes convince ourselves that we have no option\u2014we have to work, we have to take time for ourselves, as this is our only time during the week, to do what we want to do. But, we always have a choice. We decide whether to come or not to come, to the altar, on any given Sunday. Jesus has taken the initiative, offering Himself to us, by incarnating Himself for us, coming to us in the Word made flesh in Holy Scripture, and the Word made flesh, in the Sacrament of the Altar.\u00a0 Jesus gives Himself to us as Living Word and Living Bread.\u00a0 And yet, as with the twelve and all the other disciples, the question remains, will we receive Him, or will we go away?\u00a0 Simon Peter responded, saying, \u201cLord, to whom shall we go?\u00a0 You have the words of eternal life\u2026\u201d\u00a0 The invitation for us to come, eat of the Living Bread\u2014is nothing less than an altar\u2014call; a call, to come to the altar.\u00a0 And we respond, not with our words, but with our lives, with our actions, as we either come, or don\u2019t come\u2014we either eat, or we choose not to eat.\u00a0 We have the freedom to receive the Word of Life, or not to receive the Word of Life.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And thanks be to God\u2014you got up today! You heard the Lord calling you, and you resisted the urge to stay in bed, or do any of the other hundreds of things our secular, idolatrous world tempts you to do on Sunday, and here you are– responding to Christ\u2019s altar call, responding by faith in the One who truly has the words of life and eternal life\u2014Jesus Christ, in our midst, in the Church, in this church, now and forever! So, again this week we say, \u201cCome and eat\u2014the living bread from heaven; come and feast on the Body and Blood of our Lord!<\/p>\n
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
\u00a9The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel<\/p>\n
d.wendel@grace43081.org<\/p>\n
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church<\/p>\n
Westerville, Ohio\u00a0 USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 14th Sunday after Pentecost | 25 August 2024 | A Sermon on John 6:51-69 | David M. Wendel | John 6:51-69, English Standard Version Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 51\u00a0I am the living bread\u00a0that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,157,853,108,629,110,250,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-20207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-johannes","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-current","category-david-m-wendel","category-engl","category-kapitel-06-chapter-06","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20207"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20208,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20207\/revisions\/20208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20207"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=20207"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=20207"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=20207"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=20207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}