Eating & Drinking the Life of Jesus

John 6.53-58
53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

This teaching by Jesus caused some real problems for the people around Him. It didn't matter if the person was a pharisee or a follower they struggled with the statement. Whenever we hear difficult statements or teachings from Jesus we should rejoice! Because most likely it is rubbing up against our sense of propriety or dethroning our ego. Difficult statements about Jesus separate the sheep from the goats. You find out pretty quick who believes and who doesn't. What Jesus discovers (which He already knew) is there are people on the Jesus train that didn't plan on riding all the way to calvary. But I am not so much interested in that part of the story. I want to talk about eating and drinking the life of Jesus.

Jesus is likening His own body to the manna that came out of heaven. We could stop there and just talk about the amazing symbolism of Jesus incarnation, but what does it mean that Jesus is manna. Nobody really knew what manna was back then, however the Israelites were to consume it daily for sustenance. The Israelites ate and were satisfied. They were commanded to only gather enough for each day, this was to build some discipline in their lives. They were to rely and trust each day on the sustenance brought by God.

I wonder if we have considered the idea of consuming Jesus daily for the sustenance of not only our bodies, but souls?

Experiment 010: Eating & Drinking the Life of Jesus

The experiment this week is to take the remaining days left in the week and consume Jesus each day. Just like the Israelites had to daily gather and consume manna; we should also daily consume Jesus. I offer a few examples of "consumption" to get you started this week.

Wednesday: Read the Sermon on the Mount in one sitting and journal your thoughts and questions. (Matthew 5-7)
Thursday: Take a friend to lunch and buy their meal. Offering hospitality and sacrificing some of your money is great way of taking up your cross.
Friday: Find a quiet place to meditate for 25 minutes on Mark 1:35,36a. Be still and quiet just like Jesus was. Enjoy His presence with you.
Saturday: Read psalm 23 and substitute all of the personal pronouns with Jesus. Why? Because you get this overwhelming sense that your entire life should be wrapped up into His.
Sunday: Find time to eat some bread and drink some wine in remembrance of His life. Thank Him for His sacrifice and for His life. Read Romans 5.10 before you eat and drink.

Seek the kingdom, Carry the Cross, Feast on Jesus,
Jon

Ingesting Scripture: The First Letter from John

It seems to me, most folk sit down and read their Bibles like they floss their teeth. Maybe once or twice a month and we don't like to do it very long.  We get in and we get out! I personally rarely floss. However, flossing is apparently one of the best things we can do for our teeth and gums, and yet for the most part it's often ignored, rarely done or at best loosely managed. Flossing always feels like an interruption. I never plan for flossing; I never get excited about it. And when I finally floss, I do it as fast as possible.

I don't want to over generalize about this, but maybe it's true that most people feel this way when they try reading and studying Scripture. "I never really get excited about it." "When I open the Bible I try to finish my reading as fast as possible." "I know that it is good for me, but it's boring." On and on it goes. One reason for this, I believe, is we "dive-bomb" Scripture. We get in and we get out. Generally most people are not looking to read more than a chapter or perhaps a handful of verses in a sitting. Maybe you're trying the philosophy of reading a Psalm and Proverb a day, or a Gospel chapter and an Epistle chapter a day. Either way we never get plugged into the story of Scripture. The Bible is not just a Holy dictionary that we look into whenever we need some truth. The Bible is a Holy story of real people, living in real towns and villages, facing real problems, and pursuing a real Jesus. When we come to the Bible we want to get lost in the story. We want to know every detail of the towns and villages, the problems these first-century followers were encountering, the back story of all of the characters, etc. This will plant us firmly in Scripture, and once we're there it's not just about pulling out some truth, but finding people and problems we can identify with. We live our story in light of theirs. We see ourselves, not detached from them, but linked by the same life, the eternal life, Jesus' life.

Ok, so what is the experiment you ask? A little something I like to call: Ingesting Scripture.

Experiment 006: Ingesting Scripture: The First Letter from John

What I propose this week is that we make time for Scripture. Not just try to squeeze some Bible time in our busy days, but chisel out some room for studying the Scripture. Remember, "Our practice of spiritual disciplines is kept on course by our emersion in Scripture 1." We need to get lost in the story. Get to know the characters. Walk around their towns and villages, etc. Once you have carved out some time, you want to open your Bible to the First letter of John. Now, I want you to read the entire letter in one sitting. Remember, no dive-bombing. This will help you get acquainted with the story. As you read you want to take notes, underline, star, and journal. There is nothing un-holy about marking in your Bible. When you read, it should be a very active process. You want to tear this letter apart. Ask questions like, "What does that mean?" or "Why would he say that?" or "Who is he talking about?" or "How do I do that?" etc.  After reading it you may want to journal about what it means to you, or write out a prayer to Jesus about how the letter has affected you. 

Things you can specifically look for within the letter that I think are cool are:

-The Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5)
-The Great Commission (Matt 28)

This is a Jesus letter through-and-through. It's an amazing commentary on the thought and teaching of Jesus. So, when you read always be thinking about Jesus. This post has gotten too long. I am sorry. I hope that you enjoy this week's experiment and look at scripture in a whole new light! It will be better than flossing I promise!

Keep Seeking the Kingdom at all Costs,
Jon

1 Dallas Willard, or Lee Camp. I cannot remember who said it or where I found it.