John 6:35, 41-51 (NRSV)
Read John 6:35, 41-51 on biblegateway.com
Verse 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. Verse 41Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." Verse 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'?" Verse 43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. Verse 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. Verse 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. Verse 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Verse 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. Verse 48I am the bread of life. Verse 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. Verse 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. Verse 51I 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."
Devotion
Who can blame them? Jesus’ hearers were thinking literally, not abstractly. They knew his father and mother. He was one of them, raised in Nazareth. How could he come down from heaven? They didn’t know the whole story, but after the death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s plan was made visible. “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father,” said Jesus. Unless God tugs on our hearts and draws us to Jesus, we cannot have faith. As Martin Luther said in his Small Catechism, “I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel.” We are “drawn by the Father,” that is, moved, dragged, or pulled by the gospel. It is by Christ and Christ alone that we are given faith.
Prayer
Holy and merciful God, it is not by our understanding or effort that we believe. Teach us to live and preach that the gospel draws us to you. Amen.
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