Rev. Arturo Mendez
St. Matthew Lutheran church of Westfield
08/15/2021
Sermon Preaching Text: John 6:51-69
Theme: ! Jesus our true bread of Life!
Introduction: bread and wine
Sharing bread and a good wine is always good and enjoyable.
Who do you share it with?
It is a good bread that satiates your daily life, but perishes!
The true bread of Life is Christ and never perish, it is for eternal life!
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” [1]
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Jesus is saying a claim of who he really is, he is talking about himself as the true bread of life, certainly at that time bread was an indispensable food to live and feed their bodies, after Jesus had fed the 5,000, Jesus moved to another part of the village called Genezareth, close to capernaum people had heard of him and everyone approached him to be healed and cured of their afflictions, Jesus rebukes the people who followed him by telling them that they only followed him because they had satiated his hunger, and his temporal and physical needs, they really did not understand who Jesus was , the Messiah the Son of the living God, because the Jews say that ,this is not the Son of joseph and Mary the Carpenter, that we do not know his father and mother? How is it that it comes out saying I come down from heaven? Jesus Returns to rebuke to the Jews told them to stop muttering, No one can come to me if it does not bring it the Father who sent me, Jesus keeps saying who is He, who says that he is the bread of Life and that everyone who believes in Him, He will resurrect them? For the Jews did not understand that Jesus is the Messiah the one who comes to the world to save it from the condemnation of sin and eternal death, many times we ourselves tend to deny the Deity of Jesus as the Living God the Incarnate Son because our sinful nature does not allow us to see beyond the very word that is proclaimed by Jesus Himself, and now proclaimed by his gospels.
For neither we ourselves like the Jews do not come to understand who this Bread of Life is, how can we do to achieve this means that is the eating and drinking of Him? many times we think that by our own means We can come to satisfy God, that We can be worthy to reach his Grace and be able to be saved by our own merits, that is to say the daily bread that feeds us perishes. Like the mana that God provided to the Israelites in the Wilderness, but they still died because of they Grumbled to Moses and the manna
54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread[a] the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus[b] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
the people who are around us families, friends, and people of our works, have heard of God, and may have received a favor from Him, as many received had recieved, to satisfy their physical needs, but they have not been able to have a relationship with Jesus as his lord and his Savior who is the one who gives eternal life through faith, Jesus is the one who feeds us spiritually, and through his word we are satiated by that hunger, we know already who is this Jesus because of our faith and we already had been tested the bread of life, so can the people who are around us be able to eat and drink from that bread, which we have tasted and eaten, the only answer is to share of this Bread of Life that is Jesus, inviting people to come to the table of the Lord, to the banquet that He has prepared every Sunday for us, when we partake of the sacraments of the the Lord, when we eat and drink from his body and blood, God the Son Jesus himself, is giving us that Gift of Grace through these means of Grace, He is the true bread of eternal Life, because he has promised us that if we eat and drink from this bread and this wine which is his body and its blood, we shall not perish, as those who died of the manna in the wilderness,
Christ himself says that manna does not come from Moses but from my father who is in Heaven, they ate from this manna, and died, for saying "Our soul has annoyance of this light bread" for this complaint before God, before this contempt God send the poisonous snakes among the people and in this same way the Jews despise the one who is similar to the Bronze serpent that was exalted in the desert for salvation, likewise as Jesus was exalted and raised before a Cross dying and Rising to the third day, so that everyone who sees that Cross can be saved, from death, Jesus is who appears before Us saying to us "I am the true Bread of Life anyone who believes in me have eternal life in heaven.
But how they can believe in Him in that Bread of Life, if we do not share it, if we are left alone for us that bread and we do not share it, we are only satiating Our Needs, when we eat something that we always like our desire is to be able to prepare that food and to be able to share it with the people we love most, but that God did not tell us also love your neihgbor as yourself ? So what we are doing so that we are not just staying with that bread for ourselves, think that it is only for yourself, and because you have not shared of that bread that satisfys your soul and gives you eternal life, to the one who is perishing, and who does not have that same food that you do have because you do not invite a person that you know, you know whom to invite, to participate in this banquet that God has prepared, do it, do not sit alone at the table enjoying your alone of this precious banquet that is the Bread of Eternal Life, ! Share!! Let's do it ! there are also more people who want to try and eat of this Bread of eternal Life, Jesus Today is telling you and me, Share this Bread to others, or are you going to do as the disciples who abandoned Jesus because they said that this was very difficult to understand?
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
Don turn back like the others disciples, rather let us be grateful, and let us thank God that through his son Jesus, we have been able to enjoy this food that nourishes us in his word every time it is proclaimed, and that through the sacrament, We can be strengthened, each time to continue with the task that God has commanded us to do, therefore go and make disciples to all nations baptizing them in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, may God Himself help us through Christ, who is the bread of life, to be able to understand that this food of life, which he has given us through his grace, it is for everybody now We can trust in Jesus, Our Bread of Life, that as well as his true identity manifests us, 100% God 100% Man, we can also share with joy this living food for many people and that their needs can be satisfied, not only physical but also Spiritual, which are really worthwhile, Jesus himself is the one who feeds us, and through Faith in Him and in his word, we Can enjoy that Gift that Christ has for us,first of all forgiven us of our sins, and gives us his body and his blood to drink and eat of that Living bread, thanks to the Faith that has been pour in our hearts We can enjoy eternal life that is in Christ Jesus Our bread of eternal life, so let us share with many more people of this food that gives life invite to eat and drink to those who have not yet been able to satisfy their hunger, let us share with joy and joy, as well as Christ gave himself for us on the cross as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, likewise we give to know that he who eats and drinks of this bread and drinks of his blood will live forever in Christ Jesus, and we will be satiated for Eternal life and that whenever we are nourished by his word and his sacrament of the Lord Supper we can respond as Peter His Disciple in this way
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Amen !
May the peace of God who surpasses all understanding keep you heart and mind to the everlasting Amen!
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