The Bookends of Faith (Part 2)

December 8, 2010 at 11:07 am | Posted in John, The Bookends of Faith | 9 Comments
Tags: bookends, Bookends of Faith, Bread of Life, I AM, I AM sayings of Jesus, I AM the Bread of Life, Jesus and the manna, Jesus Christ, Jesus the Bread of Life, Jesus the Manna, John 6, manna, ticket to Heaven

The Bookends of Faith in the Deity of Jesus Christ: The first and last of the seven “I AM” statements in the Book of John

Last time, we looked at the seven “I AM” statements of Jesus in the Book of John. We saw the comparisons between the manna which came down from Heaven in the Old Testament and Jesus, the Bread of Life which came down from Heaven, in the New Testament.

Here is one of the most amazing truths in all of Scripture:

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

John 6:49-50

Moses and all the manna-eaters eventually died and are still dead. Those who partake of the Bread of Life will live forever, reign forever, and enjoy unspeakable beauty and joy of fellowship with Christ for all eternity. What is your response to the proclamation that Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life? Would you deny what it proves? That’s what the Jewish religious leaders did. Do you believe that the Bread of Life is good and nourishing and sustaining, but not life-giving? Do you deny that Jesus was and is God? Do you deny that He has not and will not and can not lie? I hope you don’t deny what the “I AM” proved.

However, we still need to ask ourselves, are we grateful only for what it provided?

Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

John 6:34

Are you grateful for what Jesus can do for you – more so than you are grateful for Who He is? Is this your prayer: “Jesus, make my life easier, make me well-favored with men, bless me coming in, going out, use me to make me something that will be impressive to other people?” Have you watched too much religious television, or attended too many “revival” services? Have you read too many best-selling “Christian” books? If Christ Jesus has saved your soul, must He now balance your checkbook? Heal every ache and pain in your body? Restore every broken relationship between you and your neighbors and your friends and your family? We are often guilty of thinking of Jesus as our genie in a bottle – we whip Him out whenever we have a problem. Too many professing Christians consider Christ only to be their “ticket to Heaven.” I don’t like that analogy because you don’t do much with a ticket. You keep it tucked away somewhere unseen until it’s time to enter the show, then it’s turned in and discarded.

In John Chapter 6 people were asking Jesus, “What can You do for me?” What they should have been asking – and what we should be asking – is, “What would You have me to do for You?”

Next time, we will examine Jesus’s proclamation that, “I AM the True Vine.”