1033. Jesus: "Who Do You Say That I Am?"

"So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you'" (John 6:53).

This was one small piece of a passage that had people trying to figure out just exactly what Jesus was saying. This not only included those opposed to Jesus but also those who had been following Him. In fact, many of the disciples left at that point.

Jesus asked the twelve who were left if they also wanted to depart. There are things Jesus said that contained words of truth where the understanding with the mind was unfruitful ... but something within their hearts that had been revealed about Jesus caused them to realize that He was their only hope for eternal life.

The same is true today with people who lack understanding about spiritual things, statements from Jesus, and Bible writings. But this will not prevent God from revealing truth to us when it comes to Jesus. Believing doesn't require intellectual comprehension.



   
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598. The Lord’s Prayer Part 6: Broken Bread - Now Risen & Given

Following up on Jesus as the Bread of Life that came from heaven… The bread (His body) had been broken, as symbolized during The Last Supper, but the Bread was also risen with a new body, and raised us with Him. Some assume The Lord’s Prayer is a model for us today and that it encourages us to ask God to meet our daily needs of food, drink, etc. However, shortly after providing this prayer to His disciples, Jesus told them not to worry about such things nor to seek after them, as non-Jewish people would do. God knows we need food and clothes! Instead, it would become their mission to seek the Kingdom of God, and the gift of His righteousness. As believers in a New Covenant, we no longer seek the kingdom and His righteousness, because we have received them through Christ, who now abides in us, and we in Him.



   

597. The Lord’s Prayer Part 5: Give Us Our Daily Bread (Jesus)

If we try to make an Old Covenant prayer relevant for us today, it results in all kinds of different and varied interpretations on how it should be applied to our lives. In spite of the repetition with The Lord’s Prayer, very few people can assert with much confidence what it is they are praying about. As we begin to understand the context of why it was given to Jesus’ disciples to pray before the cross and not after, we’ll realize why there was never any instruction to pray this prayer from the apostles who wrote epistles in the New Testament… not once. This week, on the subject of our daily bread, we’ll cross-reference John Chapter 6, where Jesus identified Himself as the living bread that came from heaven to do God’s will. What specifically was the bread that would give life to the world? Jesus said it was his flesh (body). Bread that would be broken through His suffering, but would rise when made new, and we were raised with Him. In a new and better covenant, there is no longer the need to ask for what God has given (Jesus, His Son).



   

563. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Conclusion): Hunger and Thirst No More

The subject of hungering and thirsting for more of God is an excellent example of being able to see where Jesus would speak of two completely different covenants during His ministry. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). He wasn't speaking to believers of today, but to Jewish people stuck in a system of hopelessness and despair. They were not blessed because they hungered, but because eventually the hunger and thirst would be satisfied. As believers in Christ, we no longer hunger or thirst for God or His righteousness. How do we know this? Later in the book of John, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."