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