GOSPEL MEDITATION # 17
The Paradox of the Lord’s Supper
John 6:41–59 (also see Exodus chapters 16 & 17)
- Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
- Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
- Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
- Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
- Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
- Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
- As recorded in John 6:35 we find Jesus saying, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” This, one of the seven “I am” statements in John’s Gospel, sets the tone for this meditation.
- The leaders of Israel “grumbled” when they heard Jesus’ statement. Just as the Jewish leaders grumbled about the manna and the water from the rock as found in Exodus 16 and 17.
- Jesus, this young man from Galilee, plainly states that He alone is the savior who has been sent down from heaven just as the manna was sent down from heaven during the Exodus.
- For a second time Jesus states that He is the bread that came down form heaven. At the time of the Exodus, the “fathers” ate the manna yet died.
- In stark contrast however, Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven, which bread when received brings everlasting life.
- Jesus says to His listeners, “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
- This powerful metaphor, and of course not to be taken literally as cannibalism was anathema to Jews, points to the crucifixion of Jesus where His body is killed and His blood is shed.