Sunday
08/12/18 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Broken for you”
(“I
am the bread of life” Series – Part 2 of 4)
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 130
New Testament
Scripture: Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Gospel Lesson: John
6:35, 41-51
Welcome again my friends, my brothers and sisters in
Christ, on this our Twelfth-Sunday after Pentecost. Twelve Sundays after the
Holy Spirit moved on the day of Pentecost, and the Christian Church was born
nearly two-thousand years ago.
For those that were not here last Sunday, I began a sermon
series last week called the “I am the bread of life” series. As I mentioned
last Sunday, our gospel of John readings for the entire month of August are
ones where Jesus talks about himself as “the bread of life,” or “the living
bread that came down from heaven” (Jn. 6:35, 51, NRSV). Due to this, I decided
to start sermon series last Sunday focusing on Jesus being “the bread of life”.
Specifically,
what did Jesus mean when he said this, and how are we to understand this in the
gospel of John? For example, do we believe that Jesus Christ even said this in
the first place? Do we believe that the gospels are an accurate account of the
life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? I do. So if Jesus did
in fact say that he is “the bread of life,” which I think that he did, then what
do we do with that (Jn. 6:35, NRSV).
As I explained last Sunday, when God spoke to Moses through
the burning bush in the Old Testament or Torah, in the Book of Exodus, and when
Moses asked God his name in this narrative, God said to Moses in Exodus 3:14:
“I am who I am.” (Ex.
3:14, NRSV).
Jesus then using the same words that God used to address Moses,
says:
“I am the bread of
life” (Jn. 6:35, NRSV).
Along
with the other “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John, Jesus is very clearly
showing us that he was the fullness of God and man on earth. That Jesus was and
is the living God who walked on the earth, who loved, healed, forgave, died an atoning
death upon a Roman Cross for the sins of the world, and was then physically resurrected
three days later. The same Jesus whom scripture says will return one day in
glory to judge the living and the dead.
So
if we attribute that sort of power and authority to Jesus Christ, which I do,
then what is Jesus saying in the gospel of John when he says:
“I am the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35, NRSV).
To read it in a straight forward
way, Jesus is saying that he is the pathway, the road, the narrow gate that
leads to God, to forgiveness, and to eternal life. For Jesus said that he is the
spiritual bread that will feed and nourish our very hearts and our souls. I don’t
believe therefore, that a mere man, someone who was just a teacher or just a
prophet would able to accomplish this, unless he was and is indeed the second
person of the Holy Trinity, the living God in the flesh. I don’t believe that a
mere man or a prophet could die for the sins of the world, as only one who was sinless
could do this. The only one who is without sin, is God, and again Jesus said in
the gospel of John 14:9:
“Whoever has seen
me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9, NRSV).
Last Sunday, I talked about how Jesus is “The Eternal Bread”
that nourishes our hearts and souls. Jesus had just feed the five-thousand, but
he also wanted to fill their hearts and souls with the spiritual bread that
comes from him. Instead of just seeking the meal, Jesus said I am offering you
more than just physical food.
This morning then, my sermon is called “Broken for you”. In
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, the Apostle Paul writes:
“For I received from the Lord what I
also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed
took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This
is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In
the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new
covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s
death until he comes”
(1 Cor. 11:23-26).
What’s always been interesting to me, is that Jesus
compares himself in the gospel of John to being bread.
One of the most basic foods in the culture that Jesus lived
in was bread. Jesus was saying that he is like that basic food. He is saying
that he is foundational nourishment that we need, but this nourishment is for
the heart and the soul, not the body.
Why
then, at that Last Supper, in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, would Jesus use
bread and wine to symbolize himself? It is pretty obvious that the disciples
didn’t even fully understand who Jesus was yet at this point. Yet Jesus, who
proclaimed that we was “the bread of life,” is now breaking bread to symbolize his body and his life (Jn.
6:35, NRSV).
I
would think that the disciples would probably be confused by the Last Supper.
You see Jesus proclaimed “I am the bread of life,” yet at the Last Supper he says, that he “the bread of life” will
be “broken for you” (Jn. 6:35, NRSV). Jesus is saying that wine, or grape juice
will be his blood spilled for you. This is powerful imagery. I would guess, as
I said that the disciples were confused when Jesus was basically saying I will
be “broken for you”.
The interesting thing about eating
most food is that the food must be torn apart or broken up in order to be best
eat. I mean for example, imagine that you had friends over for dinner and that
you served them bread with dinner. Many people do this. You might serve hot
rolls, sliced bread, and etc. Imagine though that you had friends over for
dinner, and that you had one loaf of bread on your table. One of your guests
then asks you if they can have some bread. Instead of slicing the bread though,
you pick up the entire loaf, look at your friend and say this “this is my body
broken for you”. Then you tear the loaf of bread in half. Can you imagine outside
of taking communion, how weird that would seem? You would basically be telling
your guest that there dinner bread was your body being broken.
The point
here is, is that Jesus not only proclaims that he is “the bread of life,” that
fills our hearts and souls, but he also shows how like eating bread he will be
broken for us (Jn. 6:35, NRSV). So Jesus fills us spiritually, but like bread
his body was torn apart for us. His blood, like cup or wine or juice, was shed
for us.
In the
gospel of Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus is teaching the disciples what we now know as the
“Lord’s Prayer”. In Matthew 6:11 Jesus says:
“Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt. 6:11, NRSV).
Jesus is “the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35, NRSV). How many people
here have ever for example invited someone to “break bread” with you?
Essentially inviting them to eat with you. Jesus is “the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35, NRSV).
When we receive communion or the Lord’s Supper then, we are physically
nourished by the bread and the cup, but Christ also spiritually nourishes our
hearts and our souls at the same time.
I also said last Sunday, some people go to bed at night with
full bellies, full homes, full basements, full bank accounts, and yet some of
these folks have empty hearts and souls. What happens if you have everything
that you have wanted, yet you go to bed at night feeling spiritually empty?
Inviting Jesus Christ into your heart and your life, will transform you. He can
give you a new heart, fill your soul, and transform you from the inside out.
For he is “the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35, NRSV).
In looking more closely at our gospel
of John reading for this morning, let’s look again at what it says. This gospel
reading begins with John 6:35, where it ended last week. Again it says:
“Jesus 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”
(Jn.
6:35, NRSV).
Do we believe that if we go to bed tonight with empty hearts
and souls that Jesus Christ can fill then?
The gospel again then says from this morning:
“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” (Jn. 6:41-51, NRSV).
So what Jesus does so well in this
scripture, is that connects the ideas that he is the bread of life for our
hearts and our souls, and then in the last verse he says once again:
“Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread
that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
(Jn. 6:51b, NRSV).
So my question my friends, my sisters and brothers in
Christ is this, do you know personally, the “Eternal Bread,” the one who was “Broken
for you,” the one named Jesus Christ? I do.
I want to share a story for you about knowing Jesus,
knowing “The bread of life”. This story is called “An Empty Chair,” by author
unknown. Here is how it goes:
“A man’s daughter had asked the local pastor to come
and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in
bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed.
The pastor assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. “I guess
you were expecting me,” he said. “No, who are you?” “I’m the new associate at
your local church,” the pastor replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I figured
you knew I was going to show up.” “Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man.
“Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the pastor shut the door.
“I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,”
said the man. “But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I
used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my
head.”
“I
abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, “until one day about
four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter
of having a conversation with Jesus. Here’s what I suggest. Sit down on a
chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the
chair. It’s not spooky because he promised, ‘I’ll be with you always.’ Then
just speak to him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.”
“So,
I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day.
I’m careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d
either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”
“The pastor was deeply moved by the story and
encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, and
returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor
that her daddy had died that afternoon. “Did he seem to die in peace?” he asked”.
“Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, he called me over to his
bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got
back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something
strange. In fact, beyond strange-kinda weird. Apparently, just before Daddy
died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed” (http://storiesforpreaching.com/category/sermonillustrations/relationship-with-christ/).
My friends, Jesus Christ is “the bread of life,” the “eternal
bread,” that was “broken for you”. Continue to invite him into your hearts and
share him with a world that needs it now more than ever. Amen.
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