The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 30, 2009
Proper 17, Year B, RCL
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
The Collect
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Moses said: So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.
You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!" For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children.
The Psalm
Psalm 15 Page 599, BCP
Domine, quis habitabit?
1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart.
3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend;
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4 In his sight the wicked is rejected,
but he honors those who fear the LORD.
5 He has sworn to do no wrong
and does not take back his word.
6 He does not give his money in hope of gain,
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7 Whoever does these things
shall never be overthrown.
THE EPISTLE
James 1:17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
THE GOSPEL
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 1-23: CONTEXT:
This story is bracketed by stories of Jesus' power to do miraculous works and people's response to his display of power.
It is preceded by the feeding of the five thousand (6:30-44), Jesus walking on water (6:45-52) and the healing of the sick in Gennesaret (6:53-56). The concluding verse of chapter 6 reads, "And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed" (6:56).
It is followed by several stories of ministry with Gentiles:
• The healing of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter (7:24-30).
• Travel through Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis (literally, "Ten Cities") (7:31). Tyre and Sidon are Phoenician cities. The Decapolis has a large Greek and Roman population. To speak of Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis is to speak of Gentiles.
• The healing of a deaf man in the Decapolis (7:31-37).
• The Feeding of the Four Thousand which, in the absence of any additional geographical marker, appears to have taken place in or near the Decapolis.
"The Markan church, predominantly Gentile, struggles with not only the issues that separate them from the Jewish community but the problem of table fellowship among Jewish and Gentile Christians in its own midst" (Boring, 196).
The Pharisees in today's lesson ignore compelling evidence of Jesus' power to do good, and focus instead on the failure of his disciples to observe their traditions. They ignore the inbreaking of God's power, and focus on trivial concerns. The church today is similarly tempted to ignore its core ministry –– word and sacrament –– and focus instead on new fads in ministry –– or even the color of the carpet.
We should be careful not to portray the Pharisees as completely bad. The Pharisees are dedicated to obeying and pleasing God. They observe distinctive practices, such as kosher food and circumcision, that help them to maintain their identity as God's people in a world that tempts them to worship their neighbors' gods. Their traditions, which come into question in this text, grow out of a need to maintain that identity.
The Jewish law, while quite detailed, leaves room for interpretation in many situations. The Pharisees, out of a desire to obey God, established rules to clarify the law in those situations. Their findings became known as tradition of the elders. As time passed, these traditions hardened into a surrogate law that Jewish leaders regarded as equal to scripture. They lost sight of the line between God's law and their opinion, and that was their sin.
The church always struggles with knowing God's will. What is God's will concerning abortion? Homosexuality? AIDS? A host of other issues? Men and women of faith find themselves in opposition to other men and women of faith over such issues. How do we determine God's will in such matters? As we consider that question, perhaps we can appreciate the Pharisees and the problems that they were trying to solve.
"The tendency that Jesus criticizes in the Pharisees and scribes appears in most religious groups. People come to hold on to merely human traditions as if they were divinely revealed" (Williamson, 133). And so we find ourselves asking, What did Wesley have to say about this issue? Or Luther? Or Calvin? Or our denominational convention? It is not wrong to ask such questions, but we must be careful not to equate the answers with scripture. Scripture reveals truth –– the rest is opinion.
Denominational loyalties often assume far too much importance. Over the years, I have too often heard sermons entitled, "Why I am a (Methodist, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, etc.)." Seeing the title, I knew that I was going to hear, not an exposition of scripture, but a collection of not-very-helpful opinion. Where, by the way, do you find a text for such a sermon? We have no right to criticize the Pharisees for love of their traditions when we hew so firmly to our own.
Furthermore, if we paint the Pharisees as bad-to-the-core, we gut the story. The story has life only insofar as Jesus faces worthy opponents. The Pharisees are, indeed, worthy opponents. However misguided, they are deeply religious men trying to do God's will.
VERSES 1-5: EATING WITH DEFILED HANDS
1Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live (Greek: peripatousin –– walk) according to the tradition of the elders (Greek: ten paradosin ton presbyteron), but eat with defiled hands?"
"Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him" (v. 1). Mark seems to be distinguishing local Pharisees from Jerusalem scribes. It is possible that the Jerusalem scribes are also Pharisees, given the nature of their challenge to Jesus. "The local Pharisees are already established in the narrative as the focus of opposition to Jesus in Galilee (2:16, 24; 3:6)" (France, 280).
The word "Jerusalem" carries an ominous quality, because Jerusalem is the seat of opposition to Jesus, and they will kill him in Jerusalem. Mark has already told us that the scribes have determined that Jesus is demonic (3:22), and the Pharisees have begun a conspiracy to kill him (3:6). It seems odd that these Jerusalemites are in Galilee. Jerusalem draws pilgrims from afar, and not the other way around. It seems likely that these men have come to Galilee for the purpose of destroying Jesus (3:6, 22).
"they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them" (v. 2). Leviticus 11-15 prescribes in detail how Israel is to deal with various issues of ritual cleanliness, to include food (11:1-23; see also Deuteronomy 14:3-21) –– animals (11:24-47) –– purification of women after childbirth (chapter 12) –– leprosy (chapters 13-14), and bodily discharges. This is Torah law, handed down by God, so we cannot criticize the Pharisees and scribes for taking it seriously.
However, by criticizing Jesus' disciples because they eat with defiled hands, the Pharisees and scribes go beyond the requirements of the law by trying to enforce human interpretations of the law that have been handed down by rabbis through the centuries. Exodus 30:18-21 and 40:31 require the cleansing of hands, but only for priests ("Aaron and his sons") –– and only when they go into the tent of meeting or come near the altar –– in other words, when they are attending to sacred duties within sacred space. The Pharisees gradually adopted this practice of ritual handwashing as a way of showing devotion to God –– and as a "boundary marker," a way for Jews to proclaim their identity as distinct from their pagan neighbors (Hooker, 441).
Ritual cleanliness has nothing to do with hygiene –– Pasteur will not discover germs until the 17th century, and will have difficulty even then persuading physicians to wash their hands before performing surgery. People of the first century have no understanding of hygiene. Pharisaic handwashing involves the use of only a small amount of water poured over the hands to wash away ritual defilement, such as defilement caused by touching an unclean object or person (i.e., a bodily discharge such as spittle or semen, a dead body, a leper, a menstruating woman, or a Gentile). While most of us would want to wash our hands for hygienic purposes in many of these circumstances, the manner in which ritual handwashing is done offers no hygienic benefit.
By the time of the writing of this Gospel (probably 65 to 70 A.D.), Christians have begun to free themselves from the observance of Jewish law. Stories such as this one help to provide a rationale for the church to distance itself from Jewish law. They also instruct Christians who might otherwise hold too closely to Jewish law and traditions.
"For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands" (v. 3a). In verses 3-4, Mark explains Pharisaic tradition to Gentile readers who might not otherwise understand it. "All the Jews" is hyperbole. Only some Jews follow these strict rules.
"thus observing the tradition of the elders" (v. 3b). "In distinction from the Sadducees for whom the written law of the Torah alone was authoritative, Pharisees accepted the evolving oral law as equally authoritative…. By Jesus' day, adherence to the unwritten oral tradition was as important for the Pharisees as was adherence to the Torah itself" (Edwards, 208). Prior to his Damascus road experience, Paul (a Pharisee) was especially zealous with regard to observing and enforcing the traditions of the elders (Galatians 1:14). The "tradition of the elders" is oral tradition at this point. By the third century it will be codified as the Mishnah.
"and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles" (v. 4). This is consistent with the emphasis on ritual purity of food. If the food is to be clean (ritually clean in accord with Torah law), the vessels in which it is cooked or served must also be clean. Leviticus 11 prescribes the washing of clothes and other objects that have been touched by unclean animals (Leviticus 11:28-38), saying, "Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such (unclean) vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you" (Leviticus 11:33-35). We see this sort of emphasis on dishes and utensils reflected in kosher kitchens today where people have "meat" dishes and "milk" dishes to avoid mixing meat and milk. They do this to honor the commandment of Exodus 23:19, "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."
We must recognize, then, that Jewish people have cause for concern regarding the ritual cleanliness of food and the containers in which food is prepared or served. Torah law requires them to be concerned about such things. In being observant, they are trying to carry out God's will as prescribed by scripture, a concern which we must respect.
Jesus' dispute with these Pharisees and scribes has to do, not with the observance of Torah law, but with traditions that had grown up around the law. These traditions were an attempt by rabbis to define how the law should be applied in specific situations. That, too, was honorable –– an honest attempt to determine what people must do to please God. The problem arose when people began to equate their traditions with the law itself –– to regard their interpretations as equal in importance to the law.
"Why do your disciples not live (peripatousin –– walk) according to the tradition of the elders (presbyteron), but eat with defiled hands?" (v. 5). Jesus has given his opponents plenty of opportunity to criticize him directly. He has healed on the Sabbath (1:21-34; 3:1-6); touched a leper (1:41); claimed to forgive sins (2:5); called a tax collector to be his disciple (2:14); defended his disciples for plucking grain on the sabbath (2:23-28); and blessed an unclean woman who touched him (5:24-34). While his opponents criticize Jesus directly on occasion, here they choose an indirect approach –– drawing attention to the failure of Jesus' disciples' to observe their tradition. If Jesus is an authentic teacher, why can't he control his disciples?
VERSES 6-8: YOU ABANDON THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD
6He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites (Greek: hypokriton), as it is written,
'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
7in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'
8You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition" (Greek: ten paradosin ton anthropon –– the tradition of men).
"Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites" (hypokriton) (v. 6a). Instead of defending the disciples (and himself), Jesus goes on the offense, accusing his accusers of hypocrisy. In classical Greek literature, the word translated "hypocrites" (hypokriton) is used for acting on a stage.
"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines" (vv. 6b-7). Jesus quotes scripture, adding force to his accusations. The quotation is from Isaiah 29:13, and is in keeping with other prophetic pronouncements (see also Isaiah 1:10-17; Amos 5:21-24; and Micah 6:6-8). As noted above, Exodus 30:19 requires priests to practice ritual handwashing before coming near the altar, but later Pharisaic tradition expanded such observance to ordinary people on ordinary occasions. While the expanded practice is intended to honor God, it has the opposite effect. "The elevation of the oral law (or the tradition of the elders) to a place of parity alongside the Torah ultimately undercuts the Torah" (Brueggemann, 192).
"You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition" (ten paradosin ton anthropon –– the tradition of men) (v. 8). Jesus employs two contrasts here:
• The first is the contrast between the tradition of the elders (the phrase used by the Pharisees) and the tradition of men (the phrase used by Jesus). By changing one word (presbyteron to anthropon), Jesus brings the lofty elders down to earth. They are no longer elders, enforcing God's laws. They are only men, enforcing human opinions.
• The second is the contrast between "the commandment of God" and "the tradition of men" (or "human tradition"). This contrast highlights the Pharisaic reliance on the opinions of men rather than the will of God. "In the apocalyptic Markan worldview, to take one's cues from human beings is to oppose the will of the holy God, whose eschatological power is now revealing itself through Jesus' teaching (cf. 8:33; 10:9; 11:27, 30, 32; 12:4, where the antithesis between God and human beings is repeated" (Marcus, 451).
Jesus does not condemn all tradition, but only the improper elevation of human tradition to sacred status. The church has a responsibility to preserve tradition, but must take care to distinguish between scriptural teachings (essential) and other traditions (non-essential). We are always tempted to require that which is not essential. For instance, a generation ago, many Christians emphasized "dressing up" for worship as a mark of respect for God, but that is no longer an issue for most Christians. Today, we are more inclined to make a litmus test of Political Correctness. We, too, find it difficult to keep secondary issues secondary. "The immediate and burning issues of the controversy (between Jesus and the Pharisees) have long since passed away into history; but the principles which Jesus laid down have been immediate and burning issues in every century" (Luccock, 746-747).
VERSES 9-13: CORBAN
While these verses are omitted from the lectionary reading, they illustrate what Jesus meant when he said, "You abandon the commandment of God" (v. 8a). In these verses, Jesus shows how his accusers, apparently devout men, use human tradition to sidestep one of the Ten Commandments –– "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12). This commandment means, among other things, providing financial support to aging parents. In Jesus' day, aging parents often transferred property to their children, who then assumed a responsibility for the parents' welfare in their old age.
Corban is a form of deferred giving, similar to today's tax-avoidance scheme of transferring title to a charity now (and receiving a tax deduction now) with the provision that we can continue to use the property until our death. In like manner, a person in Jesus' day could declare something Corban –– dedicated to God –– and then tell his or her parents that their old-age support had been given to God. In truth, the property has only been promised to God, but that promise gives the child an excuse to dodge his or her obligation to parents. "A man goes through the formality of vowing something to God, not that he may give it to God, but in order to prevent some other person from having it" (T. W. Mansori, quoted in Edwards, 210). It is treachery cloaked in religious garb. The religious establishment encourages the practice, because the deferred gift ultimately ends up in the religious treasury.
VERSES 14-15: THAT WHICH DEFILES
14Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."
"Then he called the crowd again" (vs. 14a). The fact that Jesus can summon a crowd means that the Pharisees and scribes have failed to discredit him. The people are anxious to hear Jesus' response.
"Listen to me, all of you, and understand" (v. 14b). It is not just the Pharisees and scribes who do not understand, but "all of you" –– Pharisees, scribes, crowd, and disciples alike.
"there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile" (v. 15a). When Jesus explains this to his disciples, he makes it clear that he is speaking about food (vv. 18-19). He says that it is not the food that we eat or ritual defilement that make us unclean, but the thoughts and feelings of our hearts. This is strong language in the context of a culture that prizes Jewish food laws and other ritual observance. The Torah goes into great detail regarding clean and unclean foods, and Jewish people distinguish themselves from their pagan neighbors by observance of these food laws. To say that a person is not defiled by what he or she eats is a bold statement, although in keeping with Jesus actions in other situations. He touched a leper (1:41), ate with sinners (2:15-17), and was not troubled that an unclean woman touched him (5:30-34).
"but the things that come out are what defile" (v. 15b). In his explanation to the disciples, Jesus will make it clear that he is not talking about excrement (vv. 18b-19a). The things that defile are the things that come out of an evil heart, "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly" (vv. 21b-22).
It would seem that Jesus is guilty of replacing God's commandment with his own teaching –– in effect, doing the same thing that he accuses the Pharisees of doing. In fact, he "is teaching with an authority given to him by God…. (He) –– like Moses –– is entrusted by God to declare his commandments directly" (Hooker, 180). Jesus does not abolish the law and prophets, but expands our understanding of how to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).
VERSES 16, 19b: THUS HE DECLARED ALL FOODS CLEAN
Verse 16 is not included in the best manuscripts, and most modern translations leave it out or mention it in a footnote.
Verse 19b (not included in this lesson) says, "Thus he declared all foods clean." These are not Jesus' words, but Mark's interpretation. "For Mark's early gentile readers the practical effect was to legitimate their ignoring the ritual laws of Judaism" (Hurtado, 111).
VERSES 21-23: EVIL THINGS COME FROM WITHIN
21For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
"For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come" (v. 21a). "The vices include actions proscribed by the Ten Commandments (theft, murder, adultery, avarice or envy, deceit). Consequently, Jesus continues to uphold the commandment of God, which his opponents undermine" (Perkins, 608).
In an environment that emphasizes piety (honoring God by devout fulfillment of religious duties), Jesus changes the emphasis to ethical behavior (honoring God by right actions in relationship to other people). He teaches us to be especially mindful of thoughts and feelings that give rise to unethical behavior in our relationships with family, friends and neighbors. It is those thoughts and feelings, conceived and nurtured in our hearts that give rise to truly serious sins. "The source of true defilement in man is the human heart, and the tragedy… reaches its demonic fulfillment in man's wanting to sin…. By this interpretation Jesus does not alleviate the demand for purity but sharpens it" (Lane, 257-258).
This is an important word for us to hear today. We live in a culture that honors that which comes from within the human heart –– that gives us permission to act on our feelings instead of bringing them under control. Our culture tells us to "get in touch" with our inner selves, and to "go with the flow." It celebrates freedom and personal choice, and fiercely resists any constraint that Christ or common sense would place on behavior. The result is that we live in a world characterized by "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and folly" (vv. 21b-22).
"The initial six items are in the plural, denoting repeatable actions, with the final six entries in the singular, pointing more to traits of character" (Boring, 205).
"All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person" (v. 23). Jesus points us in a radically different direction. His "main point is that uncleanness is moral rather than ritual" (Brooks, 119). He tells us that "evil things come from within" –– from the human heart –– and implies that we have a responsibility to nurture holy things rather than evil things in our hearts.
In recent years, we have become increasingly aware that what we take into our bodies can make a great deal of difference to our physical health. We need to learn that what we take into our hearts and minds is even more important, because what we take into our hearts and minds has the potential to injure us spiritually as well as physically –– to kill the soul as well as the body (see Matthew 10:28).
In recent years, we have become increasingly aware of the importance of environmental issues. In some cases, the church has placed far more emphasis on the cleanliness of our world than the cleanliness of our hearts –– ignoring the degree to which Jesus emphasized the latter. That is ironic, because it is easy to teach a person with a holy heart to respect the environment. Psychologist Gordon Allport observed, "We could probably prove that throughout history those Christians who have accomplished the most practical benefit in this world are those who have believed most fervently in the next." Our first concern needs to be the creation of holy hearts and holy lives.
The church needs to emphasize healthy reading, television viewing, and entertainment. We need to highlight the corrosive effects of drugs and alcohol, violent video games, vulgar sitcoms, pornography, gambling, and consumerism. We need to call people away from an "anything goes" business ethic. The sea in which people swim today is filthy with spiritual pollution, but we tend to say little about it. We are embarrassed to make a serious issue of "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly," but Jesus was not. He tells us that "All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (v. 23).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
He that accuses all mankind of corruption
ought to remember that he is sure to convict only one.
Edmund Burke
* * * * * * * * * *
No man's really any good
till he knows how bad he is, or might be;
till he's realized exactly how much right he has
to all this snobbery and sneering,
and talking about "criminals"
as if they were apes in a forest ten thousand miles away;
till he's got rid of all the dirty self-deception
of talking about low types and deficient skulls;
till he's squeezed out of his soul
the last drop of the oil of the Pharisees;
till his only hope is somehow or other
to have captured one criminal,
and kept him safe and sane under his own hat.
G.K. Chesterton
* * * * * * * * * *
If you judge people,
you have no time to love them.
Mother Teresa
* * * * * * * * * *
If it be an evil to judge rashly or untruly any single man,
how much greater sin it is to condemn a whole people.
William Penn, A Key Opening the Way
* * * * * * * * * *
Rare is the person who can weigh the faults of others
without putting his thumb on the scales.
Byron J. Langenfield
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Boring, M. Eugene, The New Testament Library, Mark, A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible: Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1954)
Brooks, James A, The New American Commentary: Mark (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991)
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV –– Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Edwards, James R., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
France, R.T., The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002)
Geddert, Timothy J., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Mark (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001)
Grant, Frederick C. and Luccock, Halford E., The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1951)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
Hooker, Morna D., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Hurtado, Larry W., New International Biblical Commentary: Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1983, 1989)
Lane, William L., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Moule, C.F.D., The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Perkins, Pheme, The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Williamson, Lamar Jr., Interpretation: Mark (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Friday, August 28, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
August 23, 2009 - 12th Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture Study
Proper 16, Year B
AUGUST 23, 2009
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
The Collect
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
The Psalm
Psalm 34:15-22
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears them
and delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and will save those whose spirits are crushed.
19 Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the LORD will deliver him out of them all.
20 He will keep safe all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The LORD ransoms the life of his servants,
and none will be punished who trust in him.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
John 6:56-69
Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
EXEGESIS of the Gospel:
VERSES 56-59: THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN
56Those who eat (Greek: trogon) my flesh and drink my blood abide (Greek: menei –– from meno) in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats (Greek: trogon) me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats (Greek: trogon) this bread will live forever." 59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
"Those who eat (trogan) my flesh and drink my blood" (v. 56a). Earlier in this discourse (vv. 50-51), Jesus used the polite Greek word for "eat" –– phage. Now he shifts to a coarser word, trogan –– used for the munching of feed by animals. His use of the word here is shocking –– attention-getting.
"abide (menei) in me, and I in them" (v. 56b). Jesus promises that those who eat and drink abide in him and him in them. This concept of "abiding in" or "dwelling in" (meno) is important in this Gospel:
• Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit of truth will abide with them and will be in them (14:17).
• He invites the disciples, "Abide in me as I abide in you" –– likening such abiding to the relationship between vine and branches (15:4-7).
• He says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10).
• Jesus expresses the same idea of deep relationship (without using the word, meno) in his High Priestly Prayer, when he prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21).
• Paul expresses the same idea in different words when he talks about Christians being "in Christ" (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.).
"Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father" (v. 57a). The phrase, "living God," is common in both Old and New Testaments, but this is the only occurrence of "living Father."
"so whoever eats me will live because of me" (v. 57b). Jesus establishes the life-giving chain of authority. The "living Father" sent him, and he lives because of the Father. In like manner, the person who eats his body and drinks his blood (believes in him/ accepts him/ participates in the eucharist) will live. As the Father gave Jesus life, so Jesus gives us life. "Christ alone has direct access to the Father. Believers receive life only mediately through Christ" (Morris, 337).
"This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died" (v. 58a). Jesus' listeners first mentioned manna, referring to it as "bread from heaven" given by Moses (v. 31). Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses who gave them bread, but God. Nor was manna the true bread from heaven, but it was only a type (a foreshadowing) of the true bread from heaven. Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (v. 35) and the living bread (v. 51). He has already reminded his listeners that the manna could not be the bread of life, because their ancestors, who ate it, died in the wilderness (v. 49), and he reiterates that thought here. The death that the ancestors died was a physical death, but "there was a late Jewish tradition that the generation in the desert died spiritually as well and would have no place in the world to come" (Brown, 284).
"But the one who eats this bread will live forever" (v. 58b). Jesus is promising eternal life (v. 54), which is a quality of spiritual life that we can enjoy now and forever rather than a continuation into infinity of physical life –– "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3).
"He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum" (v. 59). This is the first of five times that the words, "synagogue" or "synagogues", are used in this Gospel. Here and in 18:20, the mention of the synagogue has a neutral character, but the other three instances speak of those who believe in Jesus being banished from the synagogues (9:22; 12:42; 16:2).
Capernaum is Jesus' hometown as an adult (Matthew 4:13; 9:1; Mark 2:1). It is the home of Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14) –– and possibly of Peter and Andrew as well. Jesus performed many miracles in Capernaum, including healing the centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13) the woman with the hemorrhage, and Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:21-43). But Jesus warned, "And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you" (Matthew 11:23-24).
VERSES 60-65: THIS TEACHING IS DIFFICULT
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" 61But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining (Greek: gonguzousin –– grumbling) about it, said to them, "Does this offend you (Greek: humas skandalizei –– cause you to stumble)? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh (Greek: sarx) is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
"This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?" (v. 60). It is not "the Jews" (v. 52) who make this complaint, but Jesus' disciples. They are offended by Jesus' language –– his imagery –– his metaphors. We are reminded of Paul, who spoke of "the offense of the cross" (Galatians 5:11), and who said that "the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18).
"But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining (gonguzousin –– grumbling) about it" (v. 61a). The grumbling of these disciples links them to the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled because they did not trust the Lord to provide for their needs (Deuteronomy 1:27; Psalm 106:25). Godly people are not exempt from the usual difficulties of life, and sometimes find themselves the objects of persecution. We are always tempted to imagine that God has abandoned us –– that God is not trustworthy.
"Does this offend you?" (humas skandalizei –– cause you to stumble) (v. 61). The Gospel causes people to stumble, in part, because God's ways are not our ways. We would not save the world by weakness but by power. We would not choose to have God's son born in a manger but in a palace. We would not choose a cross, but a sword –– or a classroom–– or a medical lab –– or a wealthy charitable foundation –– or some other instrument that would offer us opportunity to use power and to exercise control.
The Gospel also causes people to stumble because it is costly. When Christ calls us to eat his flesh and to drink his blood, he is inviting us to participate in his death. The Christians who first read this Gospel experienced persecution. They knew martyred Christians, suffered under the threat of martyrdom, and knew Christians who avoided martyrdom by compromising their faith.
The church is always tempted to remove the offense of the Gospel by tailoring its message to fit the world's values. Someone has said that, if we want to know what the church will be saying in a decade, we need only know what the world is saying today. While such cynical judgment is patently unfair to the many Christians who stand, often heroically, as witnesses against their culture, it is all too fair a judgment on other Christians who too readily bless popular trends. When we hear what passes for preaching in some pulpits, we have to wonder how much comes from Galilee and how much from Hollywood. The more prosperous and sophisticated we become, the more we are tempted to love prosperity and sophistication –– and the less we are likely to challenge the culture in which we live.
The Gospel with no offense, however, is like a surgeon with no scalpel –– having no power to heal. Christ, truly revealed, will always be an offense except to the redeemed. The cross will always be an offense, except to the redeemed. The church must always be ready to give offense –– to speak out for Christ and against the destructive beliefs and behaviors that the world finds so attractive.
"Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?" (v. 62). These disciples were offended by Jesus' claim to be the "bread which came down from heaven" (v. 58). Will they also be offended when they see him ascending into heaven? (v. 62). In this Gospel, the process that ends in Jesus' ascension begins with his being "lifted up" on the cross (3:14; 12:42). "That is the supreme scandal. However offensive the linguistic expression 'eating flesh and drinking blood' may be, how much more offensive is the crucifixion of an alleged Messiah! The very idea is outrageous, bordering on blasphemous obscenity, 'a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles' (1 Cor. 1:23)" (Carson, 301).
"It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh (sarx) is useless" (v. 63a). On the one hand, it seems natural that Jesus would say that the sarx is useless. In this Gospel as well as elsewhere in the New Testament, sarx is often used to contrast that which is worldly with that which is Godly (1:13; 3:6; Romans 7:5; 8:3; 13:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1; Galatians 3:3).
But on the other hand, we are surprised to hear Jesus say that sarx is useless. A key theme of this Gospel is that the Word has become sarx and lived among us (1:14). Jesus has just promised that those who eat his sarx and drink his blood abide in him (v. 56). However, "Jesus is not speaking of eucharistic flesh but of flesh as he spoke of it in ch. iii, namely, the natural principle in man which cannot give eternal life. This contrast between flesh and Spirit appears also in Paul, for example, Rom viii, v. 4: '…who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit'" (Brown, 300).
"This confusion (between the negative and positive aspects of the word sarx) can be avoided when it is observed that the evangelist employs 'flesh' positively when it is linked with Jesus and negatively when it is associated with human response to the divine revelation" (Lincoln, 237).
"The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (v. 63b). This mention of spirit "is unquestionably a reference to the Holy Spirit, the Life-giver" (Morris, 340). In this Gospel, Jesus will impart the Holy Spirit to the disciples on the first Easter (20:22), but the Spirit is already active, having come to rest upon Jesus at his baptism (1:32). Jesus' words impart Spirit and life to the disciples (v. 63b).
"But among you there are some who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him" (v. 64). Early critics of Christianity claimed that Jesus' choice of Judas as an apostle proved Jesus' fallibility. This Gospel says that he knew that he would be betrayed, and knew who the betrayer would be (see also 6:71; 13:11, 21). The betrayal is evil, but Jesus will not permit evil to have the final word.
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father" (v. 65). Jesus has already stated this principle in verses 37 and 44. Faith is a gift of God.
VERSES 66-69: TO WHOM CAN WE GO?
66Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about (Greek: periepatoun –– were walking) with him. 67So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
"Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about (periepatoun –– were walking) with him" (v. 66). The phrase, "were walking," implies following –– discipleship.
The disciples who turned back clearly expected something other than what Jesus offers. They expected a messiah in the image of David –– a great leader to re-establish their glory days. Following the feeding of the five thousand, they tried to make Jesus king, but he refused their overture (v. 15). "What they wanted, (Jesus) would not give; what he offered, they would not receive" (Bruce, 164).
This "large-scale defection marks a watershed.... Chapter 6 ends on a note of failure. As a result, the scope of Jesus' followers is narrowed, so that only a believing remnant remains" (Kostenberger, 218).
"So Jesus asked the twelve" (v. 67a). We don't know how many disciples turned back, but "the twelve" remain. This is one of only four references to "the twelve" in this Gospel (see also 6:70-71; 20:24). This Gospel usually speaks of "the disciples" rather than "the twelve," but speaks of "the twelve" here to distinguish this smaller core group with the larger group of disciples, some of whom were offended by Jesus' teachings and turned away from him.
"Do you also wish to go away?" (v. 67b). The question as formulated in the Greek expects a negative response –– expects the twelve to respond that they do not wish to go away.
As so often happens, Peter emerges as the spokesman for the disciples. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life" (v. 68). Peter is asking, "Is there a better rabbi? Is there someone at whose feet we can sit who will reveal God's will more faithfully than you?" When Peter asks this question, he makes it obvious that he believes the answer to be "No!" He believes that Jesus has "the words of eternal life."
"Believers are driven, so to say, into the arms of faith. Their acknowledgment of the truth of Jesus' words of eternal life is as much a matter of having no alternative as of positive reasons" (Sloyan, 76).
Scholars generally treat Peter's words here as the Johannine equivalent of Peter's confession of faith (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-20), even though Matthew and Mark report Peter making that confession at Caesarea Philippi while John reports it as happening at Capernaum. Another significant difference is that in the accounts of Peter's confession in Matthew and Mark, Peter's confession is followed by Jesus' telling the disciples that he must suffer and die. This is followed by Peter's protest and Jesus' rebuke of Peter (Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33). There is no hint of Peter's protest or Jesus' rebuke in this Johannine account.
"We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (v. 69). In the Greek, "we" is emphatic, contrasting the faith of the twelve with the faithless disciples who went away. The title, "The Holy One of God" is found elsewhere only from the mouth of a demon-possessed man –– or, perhaps, from the mouth of the demon (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34). Peter clearly means it as a lofty title here, distinguishing Jesus as a special gift from God.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of Peter's words in this context. Some of the other eleven disciples might have been on the verge of going away with the others. By seizing the initiative and voicing unequivocal faith in Jesus, Peter holds the little group together. Had he failed to speak, things might have gone very differently. The influence of one person is often critical. We should never doubt the importance of our witness, however unimpressive it might seem to us at the time.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
In the best sense of the word, Jesus was a radical....
His religion has so long been identified with conservatism...
that it is almost startling sometimes to remember
that all the conservatives of his own times were against him;
that it was the young, free, restless, sanguine,
progressive part of the people
who flocked to him.
Phillips Brooks
* * * * * * * * * *
The essential teachings of Jesus...were literally revolutionary,
and will always remain so if they are taken seriously.
Herbert J. Muller
* * * * * * * * * *
Christ is God
or He is the world's greatest liar and impostor.
Dorothy Day
* * * * * * * * * *
A man who was merely a man
and said the sort of things Jesus said
wouldn't be a great moral teacher.
He'd either be a lunatic ––
on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg ––
or else he'd be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God,
or else a madman or something worse.
C.S. Lewis
* * * * * * * * * *
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild" is a sniveling modern invention,
with no warrant in the Gospels.
George Bernard Shaw
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Four: Q-Z - Revised, the article, "Stumbling Block," by G.L. Archer (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Proper 16, Year B
AUGUST 23, 2009
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
The Collect
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
The Psalm
Psalm 34:15-22
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears them
and delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and will save those whose spirits are crushed.
19 Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the LORD will deliver him out of them all.
20 He will keep safe all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The LORD ransoms the life of his servants,
and none will be punished who trust in him.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
John 6:56-69
Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
EXEGESIS of the Gospel:
VERSES 56-59: THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN
56Those who eat (Greek: trogon) my flesh and drink my blood abide (Greek: menei –– from meno) in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats (Greek: trogon) me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats (Greek: trogon) this bread will live forever." 59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
"Those who eat (trogan) my flesh and drink my blood" (v. 56a). Earlier in this discourse (vv. 50-51), Jesus used the polite Greek word for "eat" –– phage. Now he shifts to a coarser word, trogan –– used for the munching of feed by animals. His use of the word here is shocking –– attention-getting.
"abide (menei) in me, and I in them" (v. 56b). Jesus promises that those who eat and drink abide in him and him in them. This concept of "abiding in" or "dwelling in" (meno) is important in this Gospel:
• Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit of truth will abide with them and will be in them (14:17).
• He invites the disciples, "Abide in me as I abide in you" –– likening such abiding to the relationship between vine and branches (15:4-7).
• He says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10).
• Jesus expresses the same idea of deep relationship (without using the word, meno) in his High Priestly Prayer, when he prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21).
• Paul expresses the same idea in different words when he talks about Christians being "in Christ" (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.).
"Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father" (v. 57a). The phrase, "living God," is common in both Old and New Testaments, but this is the only occurrence of "living Father."
"so whoever eats me will live because of me" (v. 57b). Jesus establishes the life-giving chain of authority. The "living Father" sent him, and he lives because of the Father. In like manner, the person who eats his body and drinks his blood (believes in him/ accepts him/ participates in the eucharist) will live. As the Father gave Jesus life, so Jesus gives us life. "Christ alone has direct access to the Father. Believers receive life only mediately through Christ" (Morris, 337).
"This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died" (v. 58a). Jesus' listeners first mentioned manna, referring to it as "bread from heaven" given by Moses (v. 31). Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses who gave them bread, but God. Nor was manna the true bread from heaven, but it was only a type (a foreshadowing) of the true bread from heaven. Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (v. 35) and the living bread (v. 51). He has already reminded his listeners that the manna could not be the bread of life, because their ancestors, who ate it, died in the wilderness (v. 49), and he reiterates that thought here. The death that the ancestors died was a physical death, but "there was a late Jewish tradition that the generation in the desert died spiritually as well and would have no place in the world to come" (Brown, 284).
"But the one who eats this bread will live forever" (v. 58b). Jesus is promising eternal life (v. 54), which is a quality of spiritual life that we can enjoy now and forever rather than a continuation into infinity of physical life –– "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3).
"He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum" (v. 59). This is the first of five times that the words, "synagogue" or "synagogues", are used in this Gospel. Here and in 18:20, the mention of the synagogue has a neutral character, but the other three instances speak of those who believe in Jesus being banished from the synagogues (9:22; 12:42; 16:2).
Capernaum is Jesus' hometown as an adult (Matthew 4:13; 9:1; Mark 2:1). It is the home of Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14) –– and possibly of Peter and Andrew as well. Jesus performed many miracles in Capernaum, including healing the centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13) the woman with the hemorrhage, and Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:21-43). But Jesus warned, "And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you" (Matthew 11:23-24).
VERSES 60-65: THIS TEACHING IS DIFFICULT
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" 61But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining (Greek: gonguzousin –– grumbling) about it, said to them, "Does this offend you (Greek: humas skandalizei –– cause you to stumble)? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh (Greek: sarx) is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
"This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?" (v. 60). It is not "the Jews" (v. 52) who make this complaint, but Jesus' disciples. They are offended by Jesus' language –– his imagery –– his metaphors. We are reminded of Paul, who spoke of "the offense of the cross" (Galatians 5:11), and who said that "the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18).
"But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining (gonguzousin –– grumbling) about it" (v. 61a). The grumbling of these disciples links them to the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled because they did not trust the Lord to provide for their needs (Deuteronomy 1:27; Psalm 106:25). Godly people are not exempt from the usual difficulties of life, and sometimes find themselves the objects of persecution. We are always tempted to imagine that God has abandoned us –– that God is not trustworthy.
"Does this offend you?" (humas skandalizei –– cause you to stumble) (v. 61). The Gospel causes people to stumble, in part, because God's ways are not our ways. We would not save the world by weakness but by power. We would not choose to have God's son born in a manger but in a palace. We would not choose a cross, but a sword –– or a classroom–– or a medical lab –– or a wealthy charitable foundation –– or some other instrument that would offer us opportunity to use power and to exercise control.
The Gospel also causes people to stumble because it is costly. When Christ calls us to eat his flesh and to drink his blood, he is inviting us to participate in his death. The Christians who first read this Gospel experienced persecution. They knew martyred Christians, suffered under the threat of martyrdom, and knew Christians who avoided martyrdom by compromising their faith.
The church is always tempted to remove the offense of the Gospel by tailoring its message to fit the world's values. Someone has said that, if we want to know what the church will be saying in a decade, we need only know what the world is saying today. While such cynical judgment is patently unfair to the many Christians who stand, often heroically, as witnesses against their culture, it is all too fair a judgment on other Christians who too readily bless popular trends. When we hear what passes for preaching in some pulpits, we have to wonder how much comes from Galilee and how much from Hollywood. The more prosperous and sophisticated we become, the more we are tempted to love prosperity and sophistication –– and the less we are likely to challenge the culture in which we live.
The Gospel with no offense, however, is like a surgeon with no scalpel –– having no power to heal. Christ, truly revealed, will always be an offense except to the redeemed. The cross will always be an offense, except to the redeemed. The church must always be ready to give offense –– to speak out for Christ and against the destructive beliefs and behaviors that the world finds so attractive.
"Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?" (v. 62). These disciples were offended by Jesus' claim to be the "bread which came down from heaven" (v. 58). Will they also be offended when they see him ascending into heaven? (v. 62). In this Gospel, the process that ends in Jesus' ascension begins with his being "lifted up" on the cross (3:14; 12:42). "That is the supreme scandal. However offensive the linguistic expression 'eating flesh and drinking blood' may be, how much more offensive is the crucifixion of an alleged Messiah! The very idea is outrageous, bordering on blasphemous obscenity, 'a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles' (1 Cor. 1:23)" (Carson, 301).
"It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh (sarx) is useless" (v. 63a). On the one hand, it seems natural that Jesus would say that the sarx is useless. In this Gospel as well as elsewhere in the New Testament, sarx is often used to contrast that which is worldly with that which is Godly (1:13; 3:6; Romans 7:5; 8:3; 13:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1; Galatians 3:3).
But on the other hand, we are surprised to hear Jesus say that sarx is useless. A key theme of this Gospel is that the Word has become sarx and lived among us (1:14). Jesus has just promised that those who eat his sarx and drink his blood abide in him (v. 56). However, "Jesus is not speaking of eucharistic flesh but of flesh as he spoke of it in ch. iii, namely, the natural principle in man which cannot give eternal life. This contrast between flesh and Spirit appears also in Paul, for example, Rom viii, v. 4: '…who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit'" (Brown, 300).
"This confusion (between the negative and positive aspects of the word sarx) can be avoided when it is observed that the evangelist employs 'flesh' positively when it is linked with Jesus and negatively when it is associated with human response to the divine revelation" (Lincoln, 237).
"The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (v. 63b). This mention of spirit "is unquestionably a reference to the Holy Spirit, the Life-giver" (Morris, 340). In this Gospel, Jesus will impart the Holy Spirit to the disciples on the first Easter (20:22), but the Spirit is already active, having come to rest upon Jesus at his baptism (1:32). Jesus' words impart Spirit and life to the disciples (v. 63b).
"But among you there are some who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him" (v. 64). Early critics of Christianity claimed that Jesus' choice of Judas as an apostle proved Jesus' fallibility. This Gospel says that he knew that he would be betrayed, and knew who the betrayer would be (see also 6:71; 13:11, 21). The betrayal is evil, but Jesus will not permit evil to have the final word.
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father" (v. 65). Jesus has already stated this principle in verses 37 and 44. Faith is a gift of God.
VERSES 66-69: TO WHOM CAN WE GO?
66Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about (Greek: periepatoun –– were walking) with him. 67So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
"Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about (periepatoun –– were walking) with him" (v. 66). The phrase, "were walking," implies following –– discipleship.
The disciples who turned back clearly expected something other than what Jesus offers. They expected a messiah in the image of David –– a great leader to re-establish their glory days. Following the feeding of the five thousand, they tried to make Jesus king, but he refused their overture (v. 15). "What they wanted, (Jesus) would not give; what he offered, they would not receive" (Bruce, 164).
This "large-scale defection marks a watershed.... Chapter 6 ends on a note of failure. As a result, the scope of Jesus' followers is narrowed, so that only a believing remnant remains" (Kostenberger, 218).
"So Jesus asked the twelve" (v. 67a). We don't know how many disciples turned back, but "the twelve" remain. This is one of only four references to "the twelve" in this Gospel (see also 6:70-71; 20:24). This Gospel usually speaks of "the disciples" rather than "the twelve," but speaks of "the twelve" here to distinguish this smaller core group with the larger group of disciples, some of whom were offended by Jesus' teachings and turned away from him.
"Do you also wish to go away?" (v. 67b). The question as formulated in the Greek expects a negative response –– expects the twelve to respond that they do not wish to go away.
As so often happens, Peter emerges as the spokesman for the disciples. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life" (v. 68). Peter is asking, "Is there a better rabbi? Is there someone at whose feet we can sit who will reveal God's will more faithfully than you?" When Peter asks this question, he makes it obvious that he believes the answer to be "No!" He believes that Jesus has "the words of eternal life."
"Believers are driven, so to say, into the arms of faith. Their acknowledgment of the truth of Jesus' words of eternal life is as much a matter of having no alternative as of positive reasons" (Sloyan, 76).
Scholars generally treat Peter's words here as the Johannine equivalent of Peter's confession of faith (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-20), even though Matthew and Mark report Peter making that confession at Caesarea Philippi while John reports it as happening at Capernaum. Another significant difference is that in the accounts of Peter's confession in Matthew and Mark, Peter's confession is followed by Jesus' telling the disciples that he must suffer and die. This is followed by Peter's protest and Jesus' rebuke of Peter (Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33). There is no hint of Peter's protest or Jesus' rebuke in this Johannine account.
"We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (v. 69). In the Greek, "we" is emphatic, contrasting the faith of the twelve with the faithless disciples who went away. The title, "The Holy One of God" is found elsewhere only from the mouth of a demon-possessed man –– or, perhaps, from the mouth of the demon (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34). Peter clearly means it as a lofty title here, distinguishing Jesus as a special gift from God.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of Peter's words in this context. Some of the other eleven disciples might have been on the verge of going away with the others. By seizing the initiative and voicing unequivocal faith in Jesus, Peter holds the little group together. Had he failed to speak, things might have gone very differently. The influence of one person is often critical. We should never doubt the importance of our witness, however unimpressive it might seem to us at the time.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
In the best sense of the word, Jesus was a radical....
His religion has so long been identified with conservatism...
that it is almost startling sometimes to remember
that all the conservatives of his own times were against him;
that it was the young, free, restless, sanguine,
progressive part of the people
who flocked to him.
Phillips Brooks
* * * * * * * * * *
The essential teachings of Jesus...were literally revolutionary,
and will always remain so if they are taken seriously.
Herbert J. Muller
* * * * * * * * * *
Christ is God
or He is the world's greatest liar and impostor.
Dorothy Day
* * * * * * * * * *
A man who was merely a man
and said the sort of things Jesus said
wouldn't be a great moral teacher.
He'd either be a lunatic ––
on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg ––
or else he'd be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God,
or else a madman or something worse.
C.S. Lewis
* * * * * * * * * *
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild" is a sniveling modern invention,
with no warrant in the Gospels.
George Bernard Shaw
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Four: Q-Z - Revised, the article, "Stumbling Block," by G.L. Archer (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Saturday, August 15, 2009
August 16, 2009 - 11th Sunday after Pentecost
SCRIPTURE STUDY
FOR THE 11TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOS
PROPER 15, YEAR B
AUGUST 16, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 6:51-58
Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: CONTEXT
These verses constitute the ending of the Bread of Life Discourse (vv. 22-58), given at the synagogue in Capernaum (v. 59), Jesus' hometown as an adult (Matthew 4:13). The discourse follows the stories of the feeding of the five thousand (vv. 1-15) and Jesus walking on water (vv. 16-21).
The fact that Jesus delivers this discourse in his hometown makes it especially difficult for his listeners to accept his words –– provocative words and claims that appear to be exaggerated. Jesus' neighbors ask him for a validating sign, and mention Moses' gift of the manna in the desert as an example of the kind of sign that they expect (v. 31). Jesus corrects them –– "It was not Moses who gave you (past tense) the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you (present tense) the true bread from heaven" (v. 32). He then identifies himself as the bread of life (v. 35).
Jesus' listeners complain about his apparent grandiosity. How can this local boy, their neighbor, claim to be bread from heaven (v. 41)? How can his Father give them the true bread from heaven? They know his father, Joseph (v. 42) –– an ordinary carpenter –– not a baker of heavenly bread.
Jesus responds by making even bolder claims. The Israelites ate manna in the wilderness, but the manna sustained their lives for only a few years –– they are long since dead. By contrast, Jesus claims to be "the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51). Small wonder that these listeners find his words difficult!
VERSES 51-52: I AM THE LIVING BREAD
51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats (Greek: phage) of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (Greek: sarx)." 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51a). This "living bread" parallels the "living water" that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (4:10).
"Whoever eats (phage) of this bread will live forever" (v. 51b). Phage is the aorist of esthio (to eat), and thus represents a one-time action. To eat of this bread, in this context, means the once-and-for-all action of accepting or believing in Christ.
"and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (sarx) (v. 51c). Jesus does not retreat from the offense of his words, but instead adds to it with his mention of flesh (sarx).
• This is sacrificial language. "In the larger narrative context, this refers to Jesus' body given on the cross for the sins of humanity" (Kostenberger, 215).
The Torah requires ritual sacrifices of animals, and specifies in detail how they are to be prepared and how their flesh is to be used. Some flesh is to be burned on the altar and other flesh is to be eaten. The gift of one's flesh is the most personal of all sacrifices that a person can make in behalf of another. In this instance, Jesus makes it in behalf of the world –– not just Israel (see also 3:16-17). His sacrifice is both voluntary and vicarious.
• The sacrificial language recalls John the Baptist's earlier reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) –– which, in turn, brings to mind the Passover lamb sacrificed to save the lives of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 11-12), a sacrifice which Israel commemorates annually.
• It also recalls the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:13).
• "God's salvation is often described in Scripture in terms of eating and drinking…, nowhere more impressively than in Isa 55, where the descent of the word from God's mouth is likened to that of rain and snow, which water the earth and make possible its production of bread (v. 10). This after the opening…invitation:
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. (Isa 55:1)" (Smith, 159-160).
"The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'" (v. 52). This phrase, "the Jews," refers to the Jewish religious leaders, who are in most cases Jesus' opponents. "Flesh" is a provocative word, raising the specter of cannibalism. It is especially provocative in a culture that distinguishes so precisely between clean and unclean meat and emphasizes strict observance of dietary laws. The first consideration for any Jew, contemplating the eating of any flesh, would be whether that flesh is permitted or forbidden. No observant Jew would consider eating human flesh.
VERSE 53: UNLESS YOU EAT AND DRINK
53So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat (Greek: phagete) the flesh (Greek: sarka –– from sarx) of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
"Very truly, I tell you" (v. 53a). These words make emphatic that which follows.
"unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (v. 53b). The title, Son of Man, comes from Daniel 7:13, where God "delegated his power of absolution to a "Son of Man' who carries out his gracious will in the earthly sphere; therefore, 'upon the earth the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins" (Marcus, 223). (NOTE: Because of its inclusive language agenda, the NRSV translates the phrase in Daniel 7:13 as "human being" rather than "Son of Man." This is an especially unfortunate translation, given the significance of the title, Son of Man).
This title has the advantage of having none of the militaristic connotations associated with the title, Messiah. People expect the Messiah to raise an army, to drive out the Romans, and to re-establish the great Davidic kingdom. They have no such expectations regarding the Son of Man.
Jesus frequently refers to himself as Son of Man (1:51; 3:13; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23; 13:31). Only four times in the New Testament (John 12:34; Acts 7:56; Revelation 1:13; 14:14) does anyone other than Jesus use the phrase, and then always to refer to Jesus.
Guelich gives three possible meanings for the title, Son of Man (Guelich, 89-90). It might mean:
• Humanity in general
• "I who speak to you"
• It might be a Messianic title.
The first significant issue here is whether Jesus' words are Eucharistic in nature (referring to the Lord's Supper) or simply incarnational/sacrificial (referring to the incarnation and the cross). The question is significant. Is Jesus emphasizing participation in the Eucharist here? Should a sermon based on this text emphasize participation in the Lord's Supper? Scholars are divided on this question, and raise a number of points for consideration –– three of which favor not emphasizing participation in the Eucharist:
• First, the word "flesh" (sarx) in verse 51c is unusual. In all of the accounts of the institution of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24), the word is "body" (soma) –– not "flesh" (sarx). However, Raymond Brown questions the validity of this argument, noting that "there is really no Hebrew or Aramaic word for 'body,' as we understand the term; and many scholars maintain that at the Last Supper what Jesus actually said was the Aramaic equivalent of 'This is my flesh' " (Brown, 285).
• Second, the word "flesh" brings to mind, not the Lord's Supper, but the Incarnation –– "And the Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). It could be that the emphasis of 6:51-58 is incarnational rather than Eucharistic.
• Third, in verse 47, Jesus established belief as the condition for receiving eternal life. In verse 53, his language changes, and eating his flesh and drinking his blood become the condition for receiving eternal life. If we interpret this eating and drinking to be participation in the Eucharist, it sounds as if any person who partakes of the bread and wine is guaranteed salvation regardless of any other consideration, such as belief or baptism. It is difficult, based on our reading of other New Testament passages, to believe that could be the case.
• Jesus' listeners would not have understood Jesus to be referring to a sacramental feast.
However, other considerations favor a Eucharistic interpretation –– suggesting that Jesus is speaking, at least in part, about participation in the Lord's Supper:
• The crowd's mention of manna ("bread from heaven") as the kind of sign that they expect Jesus to perform (v. 31) constitutes the background of 6:51. Jesus responds by identifying himself as "the bread of life" (v. 35) and "the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51). He then says, "and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51c). The language seems Eucharistic at this point.
• The Gospel of John does not include an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper, but instead tells only the story of the foot washing (13:1-20). Some scholars think of 6:51-58 as the Johannine equivalent of the institution of the Lord's Supper.
• At the beginning of this Bread of Life discourse, John establishes that the Passover is near (6:4). This is significant, because the Passover ritual involves the sacrifice and eating of the Pascal (Passover) lamb. Earlier in this Gospel, John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (1:29), and the Lord's Supper in the Synoptics is a Passover meal. The Passover context, then, gives Jesus' words a decidedly Eucharistic flavor.
• "John may expect his readers to read Jesus' words in light of the church's observance of the Lord's Supper, though not necessarily in a sacramental sense" (Kostenberger, 217).
I conclude that incarnational, sacrificial, and Eucharistic emphases are intertwined in 6:22-58, and that the emphasis shifts to favor the Eucharistic at verse 51c. If this is correct, it is appropriate, perhaps even important, to emphasize participation in the Lord's Supper when preaching from this text.
A second significant issue has to do with the relationship of belief and eating and drinking as requirements for receiving eternal life. Jesus first establishes belief as a requirement (v. 40), and then establishes eating and drinking as a requirement (v. 53). Do these function independently? Are we saved either by belief or by eating/drinking –– or are both required? O'Day concludes that these are also intertwined. "Participation in the eucharist and the faith decision are parallel in the Fourth Gospel, not either/or acts" (O'Day, 608).
We should note two things that were happening at the time of the writing of this Gospel that might have influenced the author to emphasize the eating of Jesus flesh and the drinking of his blood:
• The first was the influence of Docetic and Gnostic heresies, both of which considered flesh to be evil and denied that Christ could have a physical body. 6:53ff. emphasizes the physical nature of his body –– perhaps, in part, to counter these heresies.
• The second was Jewish discrimination against Christian believers. Christians who observed the Lord's Supper were likely to be banned from synagogues. It is possible that, by emphasizing the Lord's Supper as a requirement for receiving eternal life, the author intends to push fence-straddlers off the fence. Such participation is important, not only for their personal religious lives, but also as a visible witness to their faith. As Paul says, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
VERSE 54-55: THOSE WHO EAT AND DRINK HAVE ETERNAL LIFE
54Those who eat (Greek: trogan) my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.
"Those who eat (trogan) my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life" (v. 54a). Jesus shifts from the polite word for eating (phage) to a much coarser word (trogan) ––munch –– a word more commonly used for animals munching on their feed. Trogan, like sarx, is provocative –– designed to get attention. Jesus will continue to use trogan through the rest of this discourse.
"The command to 'munch' is literal, but the flesh that is eaten is not" (Howard-Brook, 165).
As noted above, observant Jews would find the talk of eating human flesh abhorrent. Leviticus 17:10-14 also prohibits the consumption of blood.
"have eternal life" (v. 54a). The promise is not only eternal life (available now –– realized eschatology) but also resurrection (available only later –– final eschatology) (Brown, 292).
Jesus flesh and blood are true food and drink, bringing us sustenance at the deepest level of our being, in contrast with manna, which fed only the body.
In our culture, we are bombarded by advertisements for things as diverse as toothpaste and sports cars, each claiming to meet our deepest needs. Such claims are empty, and ultimately disappoint. However, when we believe in Jesus and partake of his flesh and blood, he strengthens and sustains us in ways that nothing else can.
However important the Eucharist might be, it is one of the means by which we experience the presence of God. "The true sustenance and refreshment of our spiritual life are to be found… in all ways in which his people feed on him by faith –– not only at the Holy Table, but in reading and hearing the Word of God, or in private or united prayer and meditation" (Bruce, 160).
"and I will raise them up on the last day" (v. 54b). "The continuing reference to Christ's raising up the believer at the last day is interesting. There may be more to eternal life than life in the age to come, but life in that age is certainly prominent" (Morris, 336).
"for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink" (v. 55). Earlier in this discourse, Jesus told the people who had experienced the feeding of the 5000, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (vv. 24-25). The manna that their ancestors experienced in the wilderness was not true food –– did not give them life (v. 49). The bread that Jesus used to feed the 5000 on the mountaintop was something less than true bread, because it satisfied the people's hunger only momentarily. By way of contrast, Jesus' flesh and blood are true food because "whoever eats of this bread will live forever" (v. 51) –– and "have (present tense) eternal life" (v. 54).
VERSE 56: THOSE WHO EAT AND DRINK ABIDE
56Those who eat (Greek: trogon) my flesh and drink my blood abide (Greek: menei –– from meno) in me, and I in them.
The promise to those who eat and drink is that they abide in Jesus and Jesus in them. This concept of "abiding in" or "dwelling in" (meno) is important in this Gospel:
• Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit of truth will abide with them and will be in them (14:17).
• He invites the disciples, "Abide in me as I abide in you" –– likening such abiding to the relationship between vine and branches (15:4-7).
• He says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10).
• In his High Priestly Prayer, he prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21). While the word, meno, is not found in this prayer, the concept of deep relationship is.
• Paul expresses the same idea in different words when he talks about Christians being "in Christ" (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.).
VERSE 57: WHOEVER EATS ME WILL LIVE BECAUSE OF ME
57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats (Greek: trogon) me will live because of me.
The phrase, "living God," is common in both Old Testament and New Testament, but this is the only occurrence of "living Father."
Jesus establishes the life-giving chain of authority. The "living Father" sent him, and he lives because of the Father. In like manner, the person who eats him (believes in him/ accepts him/participates in the Eucharist) will live. As the Father gave him life, so he gives us life. "Christ alone has direct access to the Father. Believers receive life only mediately through Christ" (Morris, 337).
VERSE 58: THE ONE WHO EATS THIS BREAD WILL LIVE FOREVER
58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors (hoi pateres –– the fathers –– ancestors) ate, and they died. But the one who eats (Greek: trogon) this bread will live forever."
As noted above, it was Jesus' listeners who first mentioned manna, referring to it as "bread from heaven" given by Moses (v. 31). Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses who gave them bread, but God. Manna was not the true bread from heaven, but was only a type (a foreshadowing) of the true bread from heaven. Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (v. 35) and the living bread (v. 51). He has already reminded his listeners that the manna could not be the bread of life, because their ancestors, who ate it, died in the wilderness (v. 49), and he reiterates that thought again here. The death that the ancestors died was a physical death, but "there was a late Jewish tradition that the generation in the desert died spiritually as well and would have no place in the world to come" (Brown, 284).
Jesus is promising eternal life (v. 54) –– a quality of spiritual life that we can begin enjoying now rather than a continuation into infinity of physical life. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus will define eternal life in terms of the relationship of the believer to the Father and the Son: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
God's help is nearer than the door.
William G. Benham
* * * * * * * * * *
It is impossible for that person to despair
who remembers that his helper is omnipotent.
Jeremy Taylor
* * * * * * * * * *
God is no distant deity but a constant reality,
a very present help whenever needs occur.
So? So live like it. And laugh like it!
(The apostle) Paul did.
While he lived, he drained very drop of joy
out of every day that passed.
Charles R. Swindoll
* * * * * * * * * *
O Lord, support us all the day long,
until the shadows lengthen
and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in Thy mercy grant us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest,
and peace at the last.
Book of Common Prayer
* * * * * * * * * *
God does not offer us a way out of testings of life.
He offers us a way through,
and that makes all the difference.
W. T. Purkiser
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
THE OLD TESTAMENT
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
"You that are simple, turn in here!"
To those without sense she says,
"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight."
EXEGESIS:
THE CONTEXT
The book of Proverbs is generally considered to have eight sections, each introduced by a verse that usually gives the author of that particular collection. For instance, the first section begins with the words, "The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel" (1:1). The eight sections are as follows:
Chapters 1-9 (Solomon)
10:1 - 22:16 (Solomon)
22:17 - 24:22 (no attribution)
24:23-34 (sayings of the wise)
Chapters 25-29 (Solomon)
Chapter 30 (Agur son of Jakeh)
31:1-9 (King Lemuel)
31:10-31 (no attribution)
Proverbs 9, then, concludes the first section of the book, which contrasts wisdom and folly and the consequences that typically follow from each, as a way of preparing the reader for the wise sayings that follow, beginning in chapter 10.
Wisdom is personified as a woman here and elsewhere in Proverbs 1-9 (1:20-33; 3:13-20; 7:4; 8:1-36). It seems odd that, in a patriarchal society, scripture would present a woman as speaking and acting with Godly authority. However, "in languages that mark their nouns as masculine or feminine, that gender marking guided the poetic imagination in personifications" (Waltke, 83, citing Karl Brugman's findings).
Wisdom is the antithesis of the foolish "loose woman" or "adulteress" of 2:16-19; 5:3-14, 19, 20; 6:24-35; 7:1-27.
Lady Wisdom's words are reminiscent of the Deuteronomist and the prophets, but she speaks of wisdom versus foolishness instead of right living versus sinfulness. Wisdom, Deuteronomist, and prophets all spell out the consequences of right versus sinful living in the hope of persuading listeners to choose the right way instead of the sinful way.
In this chapter, Lady Wisdom (vv. 1-6) is contrasted with Foolish Woman (vv. 13-18). In the middle, (vv. 7-12) are a series of maxims that contrast the scoffer with the wise person –– encouraging the reader to choose wisdom. They repeat the signature verse of Proverbs, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (v. 10a; see also 1:7; 1:29; 2:5; 8:13; 10:27; 14:26; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 23:17).
VERSES 1-3: WISDOM CALLS OUT FROM THE HIGHEST PLACES IN TOWN
1Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
3She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
"Wisdom has built her house" (v. 1a). In most societies, and especially in patriarchal societies, the building of a house would be the work of a man rather than a woman. Here, though, Lady Wisdom builds her house. We are reminded of the ideal woman presented in chapter 31, who "considers a field and buys it" (31:16) –– and "girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong" (31:17) –– and "opens her mouth with wisdom" (31:26).
"she has hewn her seven pillars" (v. 1b). This contrasts with the Foolish Woman, who does not build her house but merely sits at its door (v. 14).
Scholars debate the meaning of these seven pillars. In the Bible, seven is an ideal number that symbolizes completeness or perfection. It was on the seventh day of creation that God rested, symbolizing the completion of the task (Genesis 2:2-3). Jewish law requires people to let the land to lie fallow every seven years (Leviticus 25:2-7). Solomon's temple had seven pillars (1 Kings 7:17).
The size of a house would dictate the number of pillars needed to support the roof. Waltke says that three would be typical (Waltke, 433), although some modest homes probably required none. A house so large as to require seven pillars would be a grand house indeed.
"She has slaughtered her animals; she has mixed her wine" (v. 2a). Like building a house, slaughtering animals would usually be a man's job, but Lady Wisdom isn't intimidated by difficult and messy work. Like the ideal woman of Proverbs 31, she is quite capable of doing what needs to be done.
Animals are good for more than meat. Some animals pull plows or provide milk or wool. Others provide eggs. In that culture, most people would count their livestock as a significant portion of their physical assets, so they would not casually slaughter an animal to eat. Lady Wisdom is providing abundant food for the banquet to which she intends to invite those in need of her instruction. This contrasts with the Foolish Woman, who provides only "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (v. 17).
"she has also set her table" (v. 2b). Her table is set with words of wisdom from this book –– proverbs and maxims that enable growth and prolong life. If we have any doubt that wisdom can be life-enhancing, we need only look at the many people in our communities who live foolishly and pay a terrible price for their foolishness.
"She has sent out her servant-girls" (v. 3a). That Lady Wisdom has servant girls suggests the kind of prosperity that would naturally result from wise living. There is no mention of servant girls in the verses about the Foolish Woman (vv. 13-18).
"she calls from the highest places in the town" (v. 3b). The highest places in town would typically be used for temples or palaces. Shouts from high places carry further than calls from low places. While the Foolish Woman is loud (v. 13), she issues her invitations from the door of her house (v. 14) –– surely in the lowest part of town.
VERSES 4-6: LAY ASIDE IMMATURITY, AND LIVE
4"You that are simple (Hebrew: peti), turn in here!"
To those without sense she says,
5"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6Lay aside immaturity (Hebrew: peta'•yim), and live,
and walk in the way of insight."
"You that are simple (peti), turn in here!" (v. 4a). The peti are the foolish –– the simpleminded –– the naive –– the inexperienced –– the young (Baker & Carpenter, 930). The purpose of this book is "to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young" (1:4). Those who are already wise can also listen and learn (1:5), but it is the young and foolish who most desperately need wisdom for living.
"To those without sense she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed'" (v. 4b-5). Wisdom has set the table with the best of the best. She has shouted the invitation from the rooftops. She has sent servant-girls to call the simple to her banquet. Now it is up to those who have been called. Will they respond, or will they ignore the invitation? We can expect that some will ignore her, but others will respond.
Lady Wisdom's bread and wine contrast with the Foolish Woman's "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (v. 17).
"Lay aside immaturity (peta'•yim), and live" (v. 6). Peta'•yim is related to peti in verse 4a. Verse 6, then, calls foolish, inexperienced young people to lay aside their foolishness and inexperience so that they might avoid the dangers that so often ensnare the young. The benefit of doing so is life. The way of life offered by Lady Wisdom contrasts with the way of death offered by the Foolish Woman, whose "guests are in the depths of Sheol" (v. 18).
"and walk in the way of insight" (v. 6b). When the peti –– those who are foolish, simpleminded, naive, and inexperienced –– accept Lady Wisdom's invitation, they will gain insight and cease to be foolish.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Baker, Warren and Carpenter, Eugene, The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2003)
Deane, W.J., The Pulpit Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Vol. IX (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, no date)
Garrett , Duane A., New American Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Vol. 14 (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993)
Horne, Milton P., Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Proverbs-Ecclesiastes (Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 2003)
Hubbard, David A., The Preacher's Commentary: Proverbs (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)
Kidner, Derek, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Proverbs, Vol. 15 (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1964)
Murphy, R., and Huwiler, E., New International Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999)
Murphy, Roland E., Word Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Vol. 22 (Dallas: Word Publishing, Inc., 1998)
Perdue, Leo G., The Old Testament Library: Proverbs, (Louisville: John Knox Press, 2000)
Tucker, Gene M. in Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Van Leeuwen, Raymond C., The New Interpreter's Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, the book of Wisdom, and Sirach, Vol. 5 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1997)
Waltke, Bruce K., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1-15 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004)
SermonWriter.com
FOR THE 11TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOS
PROPER 15, YEAR B
AUGUST 16, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 6:51-58
Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: CONTEXT
These verses constitute the ending of the Bread of Life Discourse (vv. 22-58), given at the synagogue in Capernaum (v. 59), Jesus' hometown as an adult (Matthew 4:13). The discourse follows the stories of the feeding of the five thousand (vv. 1-15) and Jesus walking on water (vv. 16-21).
The fact that Jesus delivers this discourse in his hometown makes it especially difficult for his listeners to accept his words –– provocative words and claims that appear to be exaggerated. Jesus' neighbors ask him for a validating sign, and mention Moses' gift of the manna in the desert as an example of the kind of sign that they expect (v. 31). Jesus corrects them –– "It was not Moses who gave you (past tense) the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you (present tense) the true bread from heaven" (v. 32). He then identifies himself as the bread of life (v. 35).
Jesus' listeners complain about his apparent grandiosity. How can this local boy, their neighbor, claim to be bread from heaven (v. 41)? How can his Father give them the true bread from heaven? They know his father, Joseph (v. 42) –– an ordinary carpenter –– not a baker of heavenly bread.
Jesus responds by making even bolder claims. The Israelites ate manna in the wilderness, but the manna sustained their lives for only a few years –– they are long since dead. By contrast, Jesus claims to be "the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51). Small wonder that these listeners find his words difficult!
VERSES 51-52: I AM THE LIVING BREAD
51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats (Greek: phage) of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (Greek: sarx)." 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51a). This "living bread" parallels the "living water" that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (4:10).
"Whoever eats (phage) of this bread will live forever" (v. 51b). Phage is the aorist of esthio (to eat), and thus represents a one-time action. To eat of this bread, in this context, means the once-and-for-all action of accepting or believing in Christ.
"and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (sarx) (v. 51c). Jesus does not retreat from the offense of his words, but instead adds to it with his mention of flesh (sarx).
• This is sacrificial language. "In the larger narrative context, this refers to Jesus' body given on the cross for the sins of humanity" (Kostenberger, 215).
The Torah requires ritual sacrifices of animals, and specifies in detail how they are to be prepared and how their flesh is to be used. Some flesh is to be burned on the altar and other flesh is to be eaten. The gift of one's flesh is the most personal of all sacrifices that a person can make in behalf of another. In this instance, Jesus makes it in behalf of the world –– not just Israel (see also 3:16-17). His sacrifice is both voluntary and vicarious.
• The sacrificial language recalls John the Baptist's earlier reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) –– which, in turn, brings to mind the Passover lamb sacrificed to save the lives of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 11-12), a sacrifice which Israel commemorates annually.
• It also recalls the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:13).
• "God's salvation is often described in Scripture in terms of eating and drinking…, nowhere more impressively than in Isa 55, where the descent of the word from God's mouth is likened to that of rain and snow, which water the earth and make possible its production of bread (v. 10). This after the opening…invitation:
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. (Isa 55:1)" (Smith, 159-160).
"The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'" (v. 52). This phrase, "the Jews," refers to the Jewish religious leaders, who are in most cases Jesus' opponents. "Flesh" is a provocative word, raising the specter of cannibalism. It is especially provocative in a culture that distinguishes so precisely between clean and unclean meat and emphasizes strict observance of dietary laws. The first consideration for any Jew, contemplating the eating of any flesh, would be whether that flesh is permitted or forbidden. No observant Jew would consider eating human flesh.
VERSE 53: UNLESS YOU EAT AND DRINK
53So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat (Greek: phagete) the flesh (Greek: sarka –– from sarx) of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
"Very truly, I tell you" (v. 53a). These words make emphatic that which follows.
"unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (v. 53b). The title, Son of Man, comes from Daniel 7:13, where God "delegated his power of absolution to a "Son of Man' who carries out his gracious will in the earthly sphere; therefore, 'upon the earth the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins" (Marcus, 223). (NOTE: Because of its inclusive language agenda, the NRSV translates the phrase in Daniel 7:13 as "human being" rather than "Son of Man." This is an especially unfortunate translation, given the significance of the title, Son of Man).
This title has the advantage of having none of the militaristic connotations associated with the title, Messiah. People expect the Messiah to raise an army, to drive out the Romans, and to re-establish the great Davidic kingdom. They have no such expectations regarding the Son of Man.
Jesus frequently refers to himself as Son of Man (1:51; 3:13; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23; 13:31). Only four times in the New Testament (John 12:34; Acts 7:56; Revelation 1:13; 14:14) does anyone other than Jesus use the phrase, and then always to refer to Jesus.
Guelich gives three possible meanings for the title, Son of Man (Guelich, 89-90). It might mean:
• Humanity in general
• "I who speak to you"
• It might be a Messianic title.
The first significant issue here is whether Jesus' words are Eucharistic in nature (referring to the Lord's Supper) or simply incarnational/sacrificial (referring to the incarnation and the cross). The question is significant. Is Jesus emphasizing participation in the Eucharist here? Should a sermon based on this text emphasize participation in the Lord's Supper? Scholars are divided on this question, and raise a number of points for consideration –– three of which favor not emphasizing participation in the Eucharist:
• First, the word "flesh" (sarx) in verse 51c is unusual. In all of the accounts of the institution of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24), the word is "body" (soma) –– not "flesh" (sarx). However, Raymond Brown questions the validity of this argument, noting that "there is really no Hebrew or Aramaic word for 'body,' as we understand the term; and many scholars maintain that at the Last Supper what Jesus actually said was the Aramaic equivalent of 'This is my flesh' " (Brown, 285).
• Second, the word "flesh" brings to mind, not the Lord's Supper, but the Incarnation –– "And the Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). It could be that the emphasis of 6:51-58 is incarnational rather than Eucharistic.
• Third, in verse 47, Jesus established belief as the condition for receiving eternal life. In verse 53, his language changes, and eating his flesh and drinking his blood become the condition for receiving eternal life. If we interpret this eating and drinking to be participation in the Eucharist, it sounds as if any person who partakes of the bread and wine is guaranteed salvation regardless of any other consideration, such as belief or baptism. It is difficult, based on our reading of other New Testament passages, to believe that could be the case.
• Jesus' listeners would not have understood Jesus to be referring to a sacramental feast.
However, other considerations favor a Eucharistic interpretation –– suggesting that Jesus is speaking, at least in part, about participation in the Lord's Supper:
• The crowd's mention of manna ("bread from heaven") as the kind of sign that they expect Jesus to perform (v. 31) constitutes the background of 6:51. Jesus responds by identifying himself as "the bread of life" (v. 35) and "the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51). He then says, "and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51c). The language seems Eucharistic at this point.
• The Gospel of John does not include an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper, but instead tells only the story of the foot washing (13:1-20). Some scholars think of 6:51-58 as the Johannine equivalent of the institution of the Lord's Supper.
• At the beginning of this Bread of Life discourse, John establishes that the Passover is near (6:4). This is significant, because the Passover ritual involves the sacrifice and eating of the Pascal (Passover) lamb. Earlier in this Gospel, John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (1:29), and the Lord's Supper in the Synoptics is a Passover meal. The Passover context, then, gives Jesus' words a decidedly Eucharistic flavor.
• "John may expect his readers to read Jesus' words in light of the church's observance of the Lord's Supper, though not necessarily in a sacramental sense" (Kostenberger, 217).
I conclude that incarnational, sacrificial, and Eucharistic emphases are intertwined in 6:22-58, and that the emphasis shifts to favor the Eucharistic at verse 51c. If this is correct, it is appropriate, perhaps even important, to emphasize participation in the Lord's Supper when preaching from this text.
A second significant issue has to do with the relationship of belief and eating and drinking as requirements for receiving eternal life. Jesus first establishes belief as a requirement (v. 40), and then establishes eating and drinking as a requirement (v. 53). Do these function independently? Are we saved either by belief or by eating/drinking –– or are both required? O'Day concludes that these are also intertwined. "Participation in the eucharist and the faith decision are parallel in the Fourth Gospel, not either/or acts" (O'Day, 608).
We should note two things that were happening at the time of the writing of this Gospel that might have influenced the author to emphasize the eating of Jesus flesh and the drinking of his blood:
• The first was the influence of Docetic and Gnostic heresies, both of which considered flesh to be evil and denied that Christ could have a physical body. 6:53ff. emphasizes the physical nature of his body –– perhaps, in part, to counter these heresies.
• The second was Jewish discrimination against Christian believers. Christians who observed the Lord's Supper were likely to be banned from synagogues. It is possible that, by emphasizing the Lord's Supper as a requirement for receiving eternal life, the author intends to push fence-straddlers off the fence. Such participation is important, not only for their personal religious lives, but also as a visible witness to their faith. As Paul says, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
VERSE 54-55: THOSE WHO EAT AND DRINK HAVE ETERNAL LIFE
54Those who eat (Greek: trogan) my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.
"Those who eat (trogan) my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life" (v. 54a). Jesus shifts from the polite word for eating (phage) to a much coarser word (trogan) ––munch –– a word more commonly used for animals munching on their feed. Trogan, like sarx, is provocative –– designed to get attention. Jesus will continue to use trogan through the rest of this discourse.
"The command to 'munch' is literal, but the flesh that is eaten is not" (Howard-Brook, 165).
As noted above, observant Jews would find the talk of eating human flesh abhorrent. Leviticus 17:10-14 also prohibits the consumption of blood.
"have eternal life" (v. 54a). The promise is not only eternal life (available now –– realized eschatology) but also resurrection (available only later –– final eschatology) (Brown, 292).
Jesus flesh and blood are true food and drink, bringing us sustenance at the deepest level of our being, in contrast with manna, which fed only the body.
In our culture, we are bombarded by advertisements for things as diverse as toothpaste and sports cars, each claiming to meet our deepest needs. Such claims are empty, and ultimately disappoint. However, when we believe in Jesus and partake of his flesh and blood, he strengthens and sustains us in ways that nothing else can.
However important the Eucharist might be, it is one of the means by which we experience the presence of God. "The true sustenance and refreshment of our spiritual life are to be found… in all ways in which his people feed on him by faith –– not only at the Holy Table, but in reading and hearing the Word of God, or in private or united prayer and meditation" (Bruce, 160).
"and I will raise them up on the last day" (v. 54b). "The continuing reference to Christ's raising up the believer at the last day is interesting. There may be more to eternal life than life in the age to come, but life in that age is certainly prominent" (Morris, 336).
"for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink" (v. 55). Earlier in this discourse, Jesus told the people who had experienced the feeding of the 5000, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (vv. 24-25). The manna that their ancestors experienced in the wilderness was not true food –– did not give them life (v. 49). The bread that Jesus used to feed the 5000 on the mountaintop was something less than true bread, because it satisfied the people's hunger only momentarily. By way of contrast, Jesus' flesh and blood are true food because "whoever eats of this bread will live forever" (v. 51) –– and "have (present tense) eternal life" (v. 54).
VERSE 56: THOSE WHO EAT AND DRINK ABIDE
56Those who eat (Greek: trogon) my flesh and drink my blood abide (Greek: menei –– from meno) in me, and I in them.
The promise to those who eat and drink is that they abide in Jesus and Jesus in them. This concept of "abiding in" or "dwelling in" (meno) is important in this Gospel:
• Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit of truth will abide with them and will be in them (14:17).
• He invites the disciples, "Abide in me as I abide in you" –– likening such abiding to the relationship between vine and branches (15:4-7).
• He says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10).
• In his High Priestly Prayer, he prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21). While the word, meno, is not found in this prayer, the concept of deep relationship is.
• Paul expresses the same idea in different words when he talks about Christians being "in Christ" (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.).
VERSE 57: WHOEVER EATS ME WILL LIVE BECAUSE OF ME
57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats (Greek: trogon) me will live because of me.
The phrase, "living God," is common in both Old Testament and New Testament, but this is the only occurrence of "living Father."
Jesus establishes the life-giving chain of authority. The "living Father" sent him, and he lives because of the Father. In like manner, the person who eats him (believes in him/ accepts him/participates in the Eucharist) will live. As the Father gave him life, so he gives us life. "Christ alone has direct access to the Father. Believers receive life only mediately through Christ" (Morris, 337).
VERSE 58: THE ONE WHO EATS THIS BREAD WILL LIVE FOREVER
58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors (hoi pateres –– the fathers –– ancestors) ate, and they died. But the one who eats (Greek: trogon) this bread will live forever."
As noted above, it was Jesus' listeners who first mentioned manna, referring to it as "bread from heaven" given by Moses (v. 31). Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses who gave them bread, but God. Manna was not the true bread from heaven, but was only a type (a foreshadowing) of the true bread from heaven. Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (v. 35) and the living bread (v. 51). He has already reminded his listeners that the manna could not be the bread of life, because their ancestors, who ate it, died in the wilderness (v. 49), and he reiterates that thought again here. The death that the ancestors died was a physical death, but "there was a late Jewish tradition that the generation in the desert died spiritually as well and would have no place in the world to come" (Brown, 284).
Jesus is promising eternal life (v. 54) –– a quality of spiritual life that we can begin enjoying now rather than a continuation into infinity of physical life. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus will define eternal life in terms of the relationship of the believer to the Father and the Son: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
God's help is nearer than the door.
William G. Benham
* * * * * * * * * *
It is impossible for that person to despair
who remembers that his helper is omnipotent.
Jeremy Taylor
* * * * * * * * * *
God is no distant deity but a constant reality,
a very present help whenever needs occur.
So? So live like it. And laugh like it!
(The apostle) Paul did.
While he lived, he drained very drop of joy
out of every day that passed.
Charles R. Swindoll
* * * * * * * * * *
O Lord, support us all the day long,
until the shadows lengthen
and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in Thy mercy grant us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest,
and peace at the last.
Book of Common Prayer
* * * * * * * * * *
God does not offer us a way out of testings of life.
He offers us a way through,
and that makes all the difference.
W. T. Purkiser
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Guelich, Robert A., Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1 - 8:26 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Marcus, Joel, The Anchor Bible: Mark 1-8 (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
THE OLD TESTAMENT
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
"You that are simple, turn in here!"
To those without sense she says,
"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight."
EXEGESIS:
THE CONTEXT
The book of Proverbs is generally considered to have eight sections, each introduced by a verse that usually gives the author of that particular collection. For instance, the first section begins with the words, "The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel" (1:1). The eight sections are as follows:
Chapters 1-9 (Solomon)
10:1 - 22:16 (Solomon)
22:17 - 24:22 (no attribution)
24:23-34 (sayings of the wise)
Chapters 25-29 (Solomon)
Chapter 30 (Agur son of Jakeh)
31:1-9 (King Lemuel)
31:10-31 (no attribution)
Proverbs 9, then, concludes the first section of the book, which contrasts wisdom and folly and the consequences that typically follow from each, as a way of preparing the reader for the wise sayings that follow, beginning in chapter 10.
Wisdom is personified as a woman here and elsewhere in Proverbs 1-9 (1:20-33; 3:13-20; 7:4; 8:1-36). It seems odd that, in a patriarchal society, scripture would present a woman as speaking and acting with Godly authority. However, "in languages that mark their nouns as masculine or feminine, that gender marking guided the poetic imagination in personifications" (Waltke, 83, citing Karl Brugman's findings).
Wisdom is the antithesis of the foolish "loose woman" or "adulteress" of 2:16-19; 5:3-14, 19, 20; 6:24-35; 7:1-27.
Lady Wisdom's words are reminiscent of the Deuteronomist and the prophets, but she speaks of wisdom versus foolishness instead of right living versus sinfulness. Wisdom, Deuteronomist, and prophets all spell out the consequences of right versus sinful living in the hope of persuading listeners to choose the right way instead of the sinful way.
In this chapter, Lady Wisdom (vv. 1-6) is contrasted with Foolish Woman (vv. 13-18). In the middle, (vv. 7-12) are a series of maxims that contrast the scoffer with the wise person –– encouraging the reader to choose wisdom. They repeat the signature verse of Proverbs, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (v. 10a; see also 1:7; 1:29; 2:5; 8:13; 10:27; 14:26; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 23:17).
VERSES 1-3: WISDOM CALLS OUT FROM THE HIGHEST PLACES IN TOWN
1Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
3She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
"Wisdom has built her house" (v. 1a). In most societies, and especially in patriarchal societies, the building of a house would be the work of a man rather than a woman. Here, though, Lady Wisdom builds her house. We are reminded of the ideal woman presented in chapter 31, who "considers a field and buys it" (31:16) –– and "girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong" (31:17) –– and "opens her mouth with wisdom" (31:26).
"she has hewn her seven pillars" (v. 1b). This contrasts with the Foolish Woman, who does not build her house but merely sits at its door (v. 14).
Scholars debate the meaning of these seven pillars. In the Bible, seven is an ideal number that symbolizes completeness or perfection. It was on the seventh day of creation that God rested, symbolizing the completion of the task (Genesis 2:2-3). Jewish law requires people to let the land to lie fallow every seven years (Leviticus 25:2-7). Solomon's temple had seven pillars (1 Kings 7:17).
The size of a house would dictate the number of pillars needed to support the roof. Waltke says that three would be typical (Waltke, 433), although some modest homes probably required none. A house so large as to require seven pillars would be a grand house indeed.
"She has slaughtered her animals; she has mixed her wine" (v. 2a). Like building a house, slaughtering animals would usually be a man's job, but Lady Wisdom isn't intimidated by difficult and messy work. Like the ideal woman of Proverbs 31, she is quite capable of doing what needs to be done.
Animals are good for more than meat. Some animals pull plows or provide milk or wool. Others provide eggs. In that culture, most people would count their livestock as a significant portion of their physical assets, so they would not casually slaughter an animal to eat. Lady Wisdom is providing abundant food for the banquet to which she intends to invite those in need of her instruction. This contrasts with the Foolish Woman, who provides only "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (v. 17).
"she has also set her table" (v. 2b). Her table is set with words of wisdom from this book –– proverbs and maxims that enable growth and prolong life. If we have any doubt that wisdom can be life-enhancing, we need only look at the many people in our communities who live foolishly and pay a terrible price for their foolishness.
"She has sent out her servant-girls" (v. 3a). That Lady Wisdom has servant girls suggests the kind of prosperity that would naturally result from wise living. There is no mention of servant girls in the verses about the Foolish Woman (vv. 13-18).
"she calls from the highest places in the town" (v. 3b). The highest places in town would typically be used for temples or palaces. Shouts from high places carry further than calls from low places. While the Foolish Woman is loud (v. 13), she issues her invitations from the door of her house (v. 14) –– surely in the lowest part of town.
VERSES 4-6: LAY ASIDE IMMATURITY, AND LIVE
4"You that are simple (Hebrew: peti), turn in here!"
To those without sense she says,
5"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6Lay aside immaturity (Hebrew: peta'•yim), and live,
and walk in the way of insight."
"You that are simple (peti), turn in here!" (v. 4a). The peti are the foolish –– the simpleminded –– the naive –– the inexperienced –– the young (Baker & Carpenter, 930). The purpose of this book is "to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young" (1:4). Those who are already wise can also listen and learn (1:5), but it is the young and foolish who most desperately need wisdom for living.
"To those without sense she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed'" (v. 4b-5). Wisdom has set the table with the best of the best. She has shouted the invitation from the rooftops. She has sent servant-girls to call the simple to her banquet. Now it is up to those who have been called. Will they respond, or will they ignore the invitation? We can expect that some will ignore her, but others will respond.
Lady Wisdom's bread and wine contrast with the Foolish Woman's "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" (v. 17).
"Lay aside immaturity (peta'•yim), and live" (v. 6). Peta'•yim is related to peti in verse 4a. Verse 6, then, calls foolish, inexperienced young people to lay aside their foolishness and inexperience so that they might avoid the dangers that so often ensnare the young. The benefit of doing so is life. The way of life offered by Lady Wisdom contrasts with the way of death offered by the Foolish Woman, whose "guests are in the depths of Sheol" (v. 18).
"and walk in the way of insight" (v. 6b). When the peti –– those who are foolish, simpleminded, naive, and inexperienced –– accept Lady Wisdom's invitation, they will gain insight and cease to be foolish.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Baker, Warren and Carpenter, Eugene, The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2003)
Deane, W.J., The Pulpit Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Vol. IX (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, no date)
Garrett , Duane A., New American Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Vol. 14 (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993)
Horne, Milton P., Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Proverbs-Ecclesiastes (Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 2003)
Hubbard, David A., The Preacher's Commentary: Proverbs (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)
Kidner, Derek, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Proverbs, Vol. 15 (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1964)
Murphy, R., and Huwiler, E., New International Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999)
Murphy, Roland E., Word Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Vol. 22 (Dallas: Word Publishing, Inc., 1998)
Perdue, Leo G., The Old Testament Library: Proverbs, (Louisville: John Knox Press, 2000)
Tucker, Gene M. in Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Van Leeuwen, Raymond C., The New Interpreter's Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, the book of Wisdom, and Sirach, Vol. 5 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1997)
Waltke, Bruce K., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1-15 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004)
SermonWriter.com
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
August 9, 2009 - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture Study
AUGUST 9, 2009
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Old Testament
1 Kings 19:4-8
Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
The Psalm
Psalm 34:1-8 Page 627, BCP
Benedicam Dominum
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the humble hear and rejoice.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD;
let us exalt his Name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me out of all my terror.
5 Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my affliction and the LORD heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encompasses those who fear him,
and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are they who trust in him!
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 6:35, 41-51
Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: BACKGROUND
"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (v. 35). Jesus has just fed five thousand people (vv. 1-15), but the crowd failed to see the significance of the miracle and responded only to the free lunch. Jesus counsels, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (vv. 26-27). Jesus offers to meet their deepest needs, but they cannot see beyond their bellies.
The crowd asks, "What must we do to perform the works (plural) of God?" Jesus answers, "This is the work (singular) of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (vv. 28-29). The crowd is asking how to fulfill the requirements of the law, but Jesus responds with the simple requirement that they believe in him.
The crowd, sensing the radical nature of Jesus' answer, asks Jesus to validate his claims. "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (vv. 30-31). They make no mention of the fact that Jesus has just fed five thousand people.
Jesus corrects them. It was not Moses, but God, who gave the Israelites bread from heaven, "but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven" (v. 32). Unlike the manna that sustained physical life only –– for the Israelites only–– and for a short time only –– the bread of God "gives life to the world" (v. 33). The people respond, "Sir, give us this bread always" (v. 34).
VERSE 35: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
The crowd failed to understand when Jesus spoke of "the bread of God (that) comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (v. 33), so Jesus makes his meaning clear. "I am the bread of life," he says (v. 35).
This is the first of a series of "I AM" (Greek: ego eimi) sayings in this Gospel that remind us of the burning bush story. When Moses asked God his name, God replied, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). "I am," of course, can be simple self-identification, but in John's Gospel it clearly means more. The "I AM" sayings in this Gospel are as follows:
• "Ego eimi he" (4:26)
• "Ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35).
• "Ego eimi the living bread" (6:51).
• "Ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12; 9:5).
• "Before Abraham was, Ego eimi" (8:58).
• "Ego eimi the door of the sheep" (10:7).
• "Ego eimi the door" (10:9).
• "Ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "Ego eimi the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "Ego eimi the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).
• "Ego eimi the true vine" (15:1).
"The 'I am' sayings form the distinctive core of Jesus' language of self-revelation in the Fourth Gospel…. Through these common symbols, Jesus declares that people's religious needs and human longings are met in him" (O'Day, 601).
VERSES 41-42: THEN THE JEWS BEGAN TO COMPLAIN ABOUT HIM
41Then the Jews began to complain (Greek: egonguzon –– from gonguzo) about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
"Then the Jews began to complain about him" (v. 41a). In this Gospel, the phrase, "the Jews," most often refers to Judeans in opposition to Jesus (2:18 ff; 5:10 ff; 6:41 ff; 7:11 ff; 8:31 ff; 9:18 ff; 10:19 ff; 11:8, 54; 18:31 ff; 19:7ff; 20:19). However, in this story, Jesus is in Capernaum (6:24-25), so "the Jews" could be Galilean religious leaders.
They "begin to complain" (egonguzon) (v. 41a). This is the same word used in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) of the Israelites who complained about God's apparent failure to provide adequately for them in the wilderness (Exodus. 15:24; 16:2, 7-17; Numbers 11:1). Given the mention of manna in this passage (v. 31), the parallel between those who complained about manna and these who complain about the bread of life can hardly be coincidental. Jesus' critics manifest the same lack of faith as the critics of Moses (and God) so many centuries earlier.
The Israelites were famous complainers, but they are hardly alone. We are all tempted to feel abandoned when life becomes difficult –– and to challenge the scriptures and historical Christian beliefs when they run counter to popular culture –– and to complain when God fails to meet our expectations.
"Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?" (v. 42a). Jesus is in Galilee –– in the city of Capernaum, his home as an adult (Matthew 4:13). The local folks can hardly contain themselves when Jesus claims to be the "bread of life" (v. 35) who has "come down from heaven" (v. 38). They know his father and mother (v. 42), and think of him as just another local boy –– one with unusual promise if the tales told about him prove to be true –– but a local boy nevertheless.
"How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'" (v. 42b). These people can remember when Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. How can he claim to have "come down from heaven" (vv. 38, 42)?
Some scholars accuse the Capernaum people of misquoting Jesus here, but they have pieced together what Jesus said in verses 35 and 38 with reasonable integrity.
We should not wonder that these people would question Jesus' claims. "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic –– on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg–– or else he'd be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse" (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity).
Paul speaks of the offense (Greek: skandalon –– stumbling block) of the cross (Galatians 5:11), and the cross is surely a skandalon to anyone who expects God to behave in keeping with his stature. But the incarnation is also a skandalon –– perhaps an even greater skandalon.
This Gospel leaves the nativity story to the Synoptics and, instead, tells us Jesus' true origins in 1:1-18. He is only incidentally from Bethlehem and Nazareth and Capernaum, but is really the Son of God from heaven. In their focus on what seems obvious about Jesus, these people miss that which is most significant about him.
VERSES 43-47: NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS DRAWN BY THE FATHER
43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.
"Do not complain among yourselves" (v. 43). Jesus does not address the crowd's complaints directly, but simply tells the people not to complain. Then he continues his discourse in an even more provocative tone –– one that even his disciples find difficult to accept (vv. 60-66).
"No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me" (v. 44a). This fits with his earlier words, "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me" (v. 37a) to show that salvation depends on God's initiative. Also, "this 'drawing' is selective, or else the negative note in v. 44 is meaningless. Many attempt to dilute the force of the claim by referring to 12:32, where the same verb for 'to draw' (helkyo) occurs: Jesus there claims he will draw 'all men' to himself. The context shows rather clearly, however, that 12:32 refers to 'all men without distinction' (i.e. not just Jews) rather than to 'all men without exception'" (Carson, 293).
This word, "drawn," has inspired debate between those representing Calvinist and Arminian theologies. The former, favoring predestination, emphasize the power of God to draw people to himself. The latter, favoring free will, emphasize the necessity of belief on the part of those drawn to God. Perhaps a middle position would be best –– a position "that maintains the biblical tension of the divine and human aspects of salvation found in this text. Salvation is never achieved apart from the drawing power of God, and it is never consummated apart from the willingness of humans to hear and learn from God" (Borchert, 268).
Barclay notes that this word, drawn, "almost always implies some kind of resistance. It is the word for drawing a heavily laden net to the shore (John 21:6, 11). It is the word that is used of Paul and Silas being dragged before the magistrates in Philippi (Acts 16:19)…. Always there is this idea of resistance. God can and does draw men, but man's resistance can defeat the pull of God" (Barclay, 226).
"and I will raise that person up on the last day" (v. 44b). This is the great promise –– and is the third of four instances in this discourse in which Jesus promises resurrection to believers (vv. 39, 40, 54).
"It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God'" (v. 45a). The quotation paraphrases Isaiah 54:13, where the prophet assures the people of Jerusalem, newly returned from the Babylonian exile, that God will instruct their children (see also Jeremiah 31:31-34). Later in this Gospel, Jesus will tell his disciples that "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you" (14:26) –– and that "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (16:13).
"Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me" (v. 45b). Jesus states again the role of the Father's initiative in the salvation enterprise. "The focus here is on the fact that 'all' will be taught by God and that 'everyone' truly receptive to divine revelation will come to Jesus –– not merely Jews (cf. 11:51-52; 12:32)" (Kostenberger, 214).
"Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father" (v. 46). Exodus tells of Moses hiding his face, because he was afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:6) –– and being permitted to see God's back but not God's face (Exodus 33:22-23). Looking on God's holiness is too much for mortals. It is different, however, for the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God (1:1). This "Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14) to make known the God whom no one else has ever seen (1:18).
"Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life" (v. 47). Jesus has emphasized the role of the Father's initiative in salvation (vv. 44-46), but now he emphasizes the role of the believer. Even though the Father draws (v. 44) and teaches (vv. 45-46), the drawing and teaching require a believing response.
The reward of belief is eternal life (v. 47). The believer has (present tense) eternal life. In this Gospel, eternal life is a quality of life that we possess in the present (3:36a) and will possess even more fully in the future. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus defines eternal life in terms of relationship with the Father and the Son: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3). Eternal life is the opposite of eternal condemnation (3:14-18; 5:29) and includes the promise of life free from death (6:50-51; 10:28).
VERSES 48-51: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats (Greek: phage –– aorist of esthio) of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (Greek: sarx)."
"Verses 32-35 have been replicated by 48-51, but with the introduction of the graphic concept 'my flesh' " (Sloyan, 71).
Jesus reiterates, "I am the bread of life" (v. 47; see also v. 35), and contrasts this bread with the manna eaten by the Israelites in the wilderness. The people spoke of "our ancestors" in verse 30, but Jesus speaks of "your ancestors" (v. 49), drawing a distinction between himself and these people. The Israelites are Jesus' ancestors too, because he is from the house of David. This Gospel, however, leaves such language to the Synoptics. The Word is from God and is therefore unique.
"Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died" (v. 49). The manna sustained Israel for a while in the wilderness, but then they died. Because of their lack of faith, they died in the wilderness without ever seeing the Promised Land (Numbers 14:22-23).
"This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die" (v. 50). Jesus contrasts the bread that he offers, which leads to eternal life, with the bread of their ancestors, who died in the wilderness without having seen the Promised Land. The death that the Israelites experienced in the wilderness was physical death, but "the Rabbis believed that the fathers who died in the wilderness not only missed the promised land, but that they also missed the life to come" (Barclay, 226). Jesus, of course, speaks of spiritual life when he promises that the one who eats of the bread that comes down from heaven will not die.
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51a). This "living bread" parallels the "living water" that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (4:10).
"Whoever eats (phage) of this bread will live forever" (v. 51b). Phage is the aorist of esthio (to eat), and therefore represents an action that occurs and then stops. To eat of this bread, in this instance, is a metaphor for the once-for-all-time acceptance of Christ.
"and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (sarx) (v. 51c). This is sacrificial language –– the gift of one's flesh is the greatest and most personal of all sacrifices. In this instance, Jesus makes his sacrifice in behalf of the world –– not just Israel (see also 3:16-17). His sacrifice is both voluntary and vicarious.
• The sacrificial language recalls John the Baptist's earlier reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) –– which, in turn, brings to mind the Passover lamb, sacrificed for the lives of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 11-12).
• It also recalls the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:13).
The word, "flesh" (as compared with "body") is earthy and provocative:
• Torah law prescribed that Israelites should eat the flesh only of clean animals, which the law defined in great detail (Leviticus 11:1-3). Any mention of eating flesh would immediately raise the issue of the ritual cleanliness of the flesh in question.
• At the time of the writing of this Gospel, the Gnostic movement, which considered flesh (and all physical matter) as evil, was a substantial threat to the church. This Gospel's claim that "the Word became flesh and dwelled among us" (1:14) is intended, in part, to refute Gnosticism.
• However, in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit" (3:6), emphasizing that physical birth must be succeeded by spiritual birth –– and Jesus will also say, "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (6:63).
• "Many commentators speak as though the word 'flesh' self-evidently marked a reference to Holy Communion. It, of course, does nothing of the sort. The word is not found in the narratives of the institution, nor in 1 Corinthians 10 or 11 in connection with the sacrament…. The usual word in sacramental usage is 'body'" (Morris, 331-332).
In fact, for reasons that we do not understand, this is the only Gospel that does not include an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper (see Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-23).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
No person in this world attains to freedom from any slavery
except by entrance into some higher servitude.
There is no such thing as an entirely free person conceivable.
Phillips Brooks
* * * * * * * * * *
Christians today bear little resemblance to those of the first century.
We twentieth-century Christians have become soft.
We have become absorbed with the world,
until it is now difficult to tell the difference
between the Christian and the worldling.
The Bible teaches that every Christian is to live a life of self-discipline.
We Christians need to tighten our belts
and harden ourselves for the trials that lie ahead.
Billy Graham
* * * * * * * * * *
Self-discipline never means giving up anything ––
for giving up is a loss.
Our Lord did not ask us to give up the things of earth,
but to exchange them for better things.
Fulton J. Sheen
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard N. Donovan, SermonWriter.com
AUGUST 9, 2009
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Old Testament
1 Kings 19:4-8
Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
The Psalm
Psalm 34:1-8 Page 627, BCP
Benedicam Dominum
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the humble hear and rejoice.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD;
let us exalt his Name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me out of all my terror.
5 Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my affliction and the LORD heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encompasses those who fear him,
and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are they who trust in him!
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 6:35, 41-51
Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 6: BACKGROUND
"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (v. 35). Jesus has just fed five thousand people (vv. 1-15), but the crowd failed to see the significance of the miracle and responded only to the free lunch. Jesus counsels, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (vv. 26-27). Jesus offers to meet their deepest needs, but they cannot see beyond their bellies.
The crowd asks, "What must we do to perform the works (plural) of God?" Jesus answers, "This is the work (singular) of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (vv. 28-29). The crowd is asking how to fulfill the requirements of the law, but Jesus responds with the simple requirement that they believe in him.
The crowd, sensing the radical nature of Jesus' answer, asks Jesus to validate his claims. "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (vv. 30-31). They make no mention of the fact that Jesus has just fed five thousand people.
Jesus corrects them. It was not Moses, but God, who gave the Israelites bread from heaven, "but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven" (v. 32). Unlike the manna that sustained physical life only –– for the Israelites only–– and for a short time only –– the bread of God "gives life to the world" (v. 33). The people respond, "Sir, give us this bread always" (v. 34).
VERSE 35: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
The crowd failed to understand when Jesus spoke of "the bread of God (that) comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (v. 33), so Jesus makes his meaning clear. "I am the bread of life," he says (v. 35).
This is the first of a series of "I AM" (Greek: ego eimi) sayings in this Gospel that remind us of the burning bush story. When Moses asked God his name, God replied, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). "I am," of course, can be simple self-identification, but in John's Gospel it clearly means more. The "I AM" sayings in this Gospel are as follows:
• "Ego eimi he" (4:26)
• "Ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35).
• "Ego eimi the living bread" (6:51).
• "Ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12; 9:5).
• "Before Abraham was, Ego eimi" (8:58).
• "Ego eimi the door of the sheep" (10:7).
• "Ego eimi the door" (10:9).
• "Ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "Ego eimi the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "Ego eimi the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).
• "Ego eimi the true vine" (15:1).
"The 'I am' sayings form the distinctive core of Jesus' language of self-revelation in the Fourth Gospel…. Through these common symbols, Jesus declares that people's religious needs and human longings are met in him" (O'Day, 601).
VERSES 41-42: THEN THE JEWS BEGAN TO COMPLAIN ABOUT HIM
41Then the Jews began to complain (Greek: egonguzon –– from gonguzo) about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
"Then the Jews began to complain about him" (v. 41a). In this Gospel, the phrase, "the Jews," most often refers to Judeans in opposition to Jesus (2:18 ff; 5:10 ff; 6:41 ff; 7:11 ff; 8:31 ff; 9:18 ff; 10:19 ff; 11:8, 54; 18:31 ff; 19:7ff; 20:19). However, in this story, Jesus is in Capernaum (6:24-25), so "the Jews" could be Galilean religious leaders.
They "begin to complain" (egonguzon) (v. 41a). This is the same word used in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) of the Israelites who complained about God's apparent failure to provide adequately for them in the wilderness (Exodus. 15:24; 16:2, 7-17; Numbers 11:1). Given the mention of manna in this passage (v. 31), the parallel between those who complained about manna and these who complain about the bread of life can hardly be coincidental. Jesus' critics manifest the same lack of faith as the critics of Moses (and God) so many centuries earlier.
The Israelites were famous complainers, but they are hardly alone. We are all tempted to feel abandoned when life becomes difficult –– and to challenge the scriptures and historical Christian beliefs when they run counter to popular culture –– and to complain when God fails to meet our expectations.
"Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?" (v. 42a). Jesus is in Galilee –– in the city of Capernaum, his home as an adult (Matthew 4:13). The local folks can hardly contain themselves when Jesus claims to be the "bread of life" (v. 35) who has "come down from heaven" (v. 38). They know his father and mother (v. 42), and think of him as just another local boy –– one with unusual promise if the tales told about him prove to be true –– but a local boy nevertheless.
"How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'" (v. 42b). These people can remember when Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. How can he claim to have "come down from heaven" (vv. 38, 42)?
Some scholars accuse the Capernaum people of misquoting Jesus here, but they have pieced together what Jesus said in verses 35 and 38 with reasonable integrity.
We should not wonder that these people would question Jesus' claims. "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic –– on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg–– or else he'd be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse" (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity).
Paul speaks of the offense (Greek: skandalon –– stumbling block) of the cross (Galatians 5:11), and the cross is surely a skandalon to anyone who expects God to behave in keeping with his stature. But the incarnation is also a skandalon –– perhaps an even greater skandalon.
This Gospel leaves the nativity story to the Synoptics and, instead, tells us Jesus' true origins in 1:1-18. He is only incidentally from Bethlehem and Nazareth and Capernaum, but is really the Son of God from heaven. In their focus on what seems obvious about Jesus, these people miss that which is most significant about him.
VERSES 43-47: NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS DRAWN BY THE FATHER
43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.
"Do not complain among yourselves" (v. 43). Jesus does not address the crowd's complaints directly, but simply tells the people not to complain. Then he continues his discourse in an even more provocative tone –– one that even his disciples find difficult to accept (vv. 60-66).
"No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me" (v. 44a). This fits with his earlier words, "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me" (v. 37a) to show that salvation depends on God's initiative. Also, "this 'drawing' is selective, or else the negative note in v. 44 is meaningless. Many attempt to dilute the force of the claim by referring to 12:32, where the same verb for 'to draw' (helkyo) occurs: Jesus there claims he will draw 'all men' to himself. The context shows rather clearly, however, that 12:32 refers to 'all men without distinction' (i.e. not just Jews) rather than to 'all men without exception'" (Carson, 293).
This word, "drawn," has inspired debate between those representing Calvinist and Arminian theologies. The former, favoring predestination, emphasize the power of God to draw people to himself. The latter, favoring free will, emphasize the necessity of belief on the part of those drawn to God. Perhaps a middle position would be best –– a position "that maintains the biblical tension of the divine and human aspects of salvation found in this text. Salvation is never achieved apart from the drawing power of God, and it is never consummated apart from the willingness of humans to hear and learn from God" (Borchert, 268).
Barclay notes that this word, drawn, "almost always implies some kind of resistance. It is the word for drawing a heavily laden net to the shore (John 21:6, 11). It is the word that is used of Paul and Silas being dragged before the magistrates in Philippi (Acts 16:19)…. Always there is this idea of resistance. God can and does draw men, but man's resistance can defeat the pull of God" (Barclay, 226).
"and I will raise that person up on the last day" (v. 44b). This is the great promise –– and is the third of four instances in this discourse in which Jesus promises resurrection to believers (vv. 39, 40, 54).
"It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God'" (v. 45a). The quotation paraphrases Isaiah 54:13, where the prophet assures the people of Jerusalem, newly returned from the Babylonian exile, that God will instruct their children (see also Jeremiah 31:31-34). Later in this Gospel, Jesus will tell his disciples that "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you" (14:26) –– and that "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (16:13).
"Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me" (v. 45b). Jesus states again the role of the Father's initiative in the salvation enterprise. "The focus here is on the fact that 'all' will be taught by God and that 'everyone' truly receptive to divine revelation will come to Jesus –– not merely Jews (cf. 11:51-52; 12:32)" (Kostenberger, 214).
"Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father" (v. 46). Exodus tells of Moses hiding his face, because he was afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:6) –– and being permitted to see God's back but not God's face (Exodus 33:22-23). Looking on God's holiness is too much for mortals. It is different, however, for the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God (1:1). This "Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14) to make known the God whom no one else has ever seen (1:18).
"Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life" (v. 47). Jesus has emphasized the role of the Father's initiative in salvation (vv. 44-46), but now he emphasizes the role of the believer. Even though the Father draws (v. 44) and teaches (vv. 45-46), the drawing and teaching require a believing response.
The reward of belief is eternal life (v. 47). The believer has (present tense) eternal life. In this Gospel, eternal life is a quality of life that we possess in the present (3:36a) and will possess even more fully in the future. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus defines eternal life in terms of relationship with the Father and the Son: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (17:3). Eternal life is the opposite of eternal condemnation (3:14-18; 5:29) and includes the promise of life free from death (6:50-51; 10:28).
VERSES 48-51: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats (Greek: phage –– aorist of esthio) of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (Greek: sarx)."
"Verses 32-35 have been replicated by 48-51, but with the introduction of the graphic concept 'my flesh' " (Sloyan, 71).
Jesus reiterates, "I am the bread of life" (v. 47; see also v. 35), and contrasts this bread with the manna eaten by the Israelites in the wilderness. The people spoke of "our ancestors" in verse 30, but Jesus speaks of "your ancestors" (v. 49), drawing a distinction between himself and these people. The Israelites are Jesus' ancestors too, because he is from the house of David. This Gospel, however, leaves such language to the Synoptics. The Word is from God and is therefore unique.
"Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died" (v. 49). The manna sustained Israel for a while in the wilderness, but then they died. Because of their lack of faith, they died in the wilderness without ever seeing the Promised Land (Numbers 14:22-23).
"This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die" (v. 50). Jesus contrasts the bread that he offers, which leads to eternal life, with the bread of their ancestors, who died in the wilderness without having seen the Promised Land. The death that the Israelites experienced in the wilderness was physical death, but "the Rabbis believed that the fathers who died in the wilderness not only missed the promised land, but that they also missed the life to come" (Barclay, 226). Jesus, of course, speaks of spiritual life when he promises that the one who eats of the bread that comes down from heaven will not die.
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (v. 51a). This "living bread" parallels the "living water" that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (4:10).
"Whoever eats (phage) of this bread will live forever" (v. 51b). Phage is the aorist of esthio (to eat), and therefore represents an action that occurs and then stops. To eat of this bread, in this instance, is a metaphor for the once-for-all-time acceptance of Christ.
"and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (sarx) (v. 51c). This is sacrificial language –– the gift of one's flesh is the greatest and most personal of all sacrifices. In this instance, Jesus makes his sacrifice in behalf of the world –– not just Israel (see also 3:16-17). His sacrifice is both voluntary and vicarious.
• The sacrificial language recalls John the Baptist's earlier reference to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) –– which, in turn, brings to mind the Passover lamb, sacrificed for the lives of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 11-12).
• It also recalls the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:13).
The word, "flesh" (as compared with "body") is earthy and provocative:
• Torah law prescribed that Israelites should eat the flesh only of clean animals, which the law defined in great detail (Leviticus 11:1-3). Any mention of eating flesh would immediately raise the issue of the ritual cleanliness of the flesh in question.
• At the time of the writing of this Gospel, the Gnostic movement, which considered flesh (and all physical matter) as evil, was a substantial threat to the church. This Gospel's claim that "the Word became flesh and dwelled among us" (1:14) is intended, in part, to refute Gnosticism.
• However, in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit" (3:6), emphasizing that physical birth must be succeeded by spiritual birth –– and Jesus will also say, "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (6:63).
• "Many commentators speak as though the word 'flesh' self-evidently marked a reference to Holy Communion. It, of course, does nothing of the sort. The word is not found in the narratives of the institution, nor in 1 Corinthians 10 or 11 in connection with the sacrament…. The usual word in sacramental usage is 'body'" (Morris, 331-332).
In fact, for reasons that we do not understand, this is the only Gospel that does not include an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper (see Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-23).
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
No person in this world attains to freedom from any slavery
except by entrance into some higher servitude.
There is no such thing as an entirely free person conceivable.
Phillips Brooks
* * * * * * * * * *
Christians today bear little resemblance to those of the first century.
We twentieth-century Christians have become soft.
We have become absorbed with the world,
until it is now difficult to tell the difference
between the Christian and the worldling.
The Bible teaches that every Christian is to live a life of self-discipline.
We Christians need to tighten our belts
and harden ourselves for the trials that lie ahead.
Billy Graham
* * * * * * * * * *
Self-discipline never means giving up anything ––
for giving up is a loss.
Our Lord did not ask us to give up the things of earth,
but to exchange them for better things.
Fulton J. Sheen
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard N. Donovan, SermonWriter.com
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About Me
- Calvin Girvin
- Southern Methodist University... (Perkins School of Theology)... Dallas, TX ... Degree: D.Min. (cum laude)... Major: Pastoral Care... Minor: Church History... 1984 - 1987.......... Nashotah House Theological Seminary... Nashotah, WI ... Degree: Master's Degree... Major: Parish Ministry... Minor: Liturgy... 1972 - 1975.......... The University Of Texas At Arlington... Arlington, TX ... Degree: Master's Degree... Major: Medieval Literature... Minor: Shakespeare... Greek: Sigma Tau Delta... 1970 - 1971.......... The University Of Texas At Arlington ... Arlington, TX ... Degree: Bachelor's Degree... Major: English... Minor: History... Greek: Sigma Tau Delta... 1965 - 1969