Category Archives: Bread of Life

Bread of Life, Christ, Church Today, Resurrection, Scripture, Walk with Jesus

Their Hearts Burned

Posted by admin on March 9, 2010 at 11:31 am.

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

                On the evening of the Resurrection of Jesus, as the word was beginning to circulate that something had happened to the body of Jesus, two men were walking along a road toward the town of Emmaus when they were joined by a stranger. It was Jesus, but they couldn’t recognize Him.

                They were amazed that this Man seemed to not know the news that Jesus had been crucified, much less that He was reported to have been seen alive again. So Jesus explained to the men all that the Scriptures had to say about Himself “beginning with Moses and the Prophets” (Luke 24:27). Later, after He became known to them, they realized how His discourse had affected them.

                The hearts of these men “burned” within them because they were searching for the Truth, and the Truth was being revealed to them. They didn’t have a flippant, fatalistic attitude that found expression in a phrase like “Oh well, it must not have been God’s will!” They were earnestly trying to make sense of the things that had happened and to see these events within the grander scheme of God’s redemptive plan. They were looking to know Truth. They would find it within the revelation of Scripture, explained by the One who embodied the Truth. What a privilege was theirs that makes many of us envious!

Having known Christ in this culture for the past 35 years, I confess that I am cynical about how many people today are really searching for Truth. Many SAY they are, but the cares and comforts of this life are usually more important. It is unusual – but supremely joyful – these days to find a brother or sister whose greatest concern is simply to know Jesus and His Truth.

                But though I tend to be cynical today, I am confident that this tribe will increase in the next few years (if Jesus tarries). As the prosperity of our Western culture wanes, as people become disillusioned with the emptiness of materialism, there will be a hunger for the Word again in the hearts of men, because, as Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” Solomon’s statement in Ecclesiastes that God has placed “eternity in our hearts” implies that the things of this world will never truly satisfy. It may take some time for us to try “everything,” but once we do, the hunger in us for eternal Truth will burn. The junk food spiritual diet many today live on just won’t satisfy.

Bread of Life, Church, Disciples, Eternal Life, Eternal Son of God, Jesus, Jesus' Teachings, John 6:68-69, Moses, Peter, Uncategorized

Bread Of Life

Posted by admin on January 25, 2010 at 2:46 am.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69 NIV)

It’s easy to forget in the ministry of Jesus that He also faced the attrition of His following. In John 6, after He spoke so clearly about being the “Bread of Life” many of His disciples left Him. There were several hard teachings in this passage that they stumbled over. Among them,

  • The connection between Jesus and the manna that sustained the Hebrews in the wilderness. As it came down from heaven, so did Jesus. As it nourished them, so does Jesus.
  • That we must “eat” His body and “drink” His blood. These are obvious metaphors that describe the assimilation of His life and teaching into our lives.
  • That what we do with Jesus determines whether or not we inherit eternal life.

 

But it is interesting to read the response of Peter when Jesus asks him if he also would leave. Rather than taking his cue from the crowd that was leaving, Peter chose to stick with the One who would show him the way to eternal life.

We face the same issues in our day. Many people struggle with the exclusive nature of Jesus’ teachings, and so they turn from Him and His Church. Many are unwilling to assimilate His teaching into their lives – the relentless assault of the world’s values is too difficult to overcome – so they turn away from Him. Many in our day struggle with the idea that Jesus is the eternal Son of God – that He actually existed during the time that Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. These things are too supernatural to believe. So they fall away.

 Peter seemed to understand that following Jesus was not a matter of joining the popular band wagon. He chose between those that followed until the going got tough or until Jesus quit making them feel good and eternal Truth.  He followed because he could trust Jesus’ “words of eternal life.” He became a real “disciple,” not just a “convert.”