Bread of Life

Will you please pray with me?

Lord, even as we have just sung,

now, Lord, I pray that you would fill our hearts.

Lord, with the knowledge of you and your love

and your grace and your mercy in Christ.

And Lord, we pray that your Holy Spirit

would be at work in us to receive your word

and be transformed by it.

Lord, I ask for your help this morning,

that you would give me words,

Lord, that would bless and edify,

that would faithfully teach your word.

Fill me with your spirit, I pray this morning.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're gonna continue this morning

in our series in the book of John.

And I don't know if you've been enjoying it

as much as I have been,

but we have, one of the things we've noticed

as a pastor is that the passages

keep getting longer and longer and longer.

John 6 has 71 verses in it.

We're not gonna read all of those this morning,

but we're gonna walk through it a little bit.

And as we read through it,

we're gonna, I'll pick out some parts of it

that we're gonna, to focus.

But at the beginning of John 6,

John moves the scene to another place.

He's moved north from Jerusalem up to Galilee.

And this gives us another indication

that John was probably not as interested

in a chronological and triptych sort of story

of how Jesus taught,

but more thematic one.

And we hear, and we see in John 6,

one through 15,

a very well-known story

that Jesus was teaching.

A crowd of people had come out to see him.

They were out in the wilderness,

away from the towns.

They didn't have any food.

The crowd was huge.

Probably 20,000 maybe would be an estimate.

And Jesus miraculously feeds them.

Taking the loaves and the fish

from a young boy who had brought his lunch,

Jesus miraculously multiplies it.

I wanna ask the question in the beginning,

to begin our time today,

I was saying,

what were those people looking for?

Certainly, they were looking for a teacher

to help them to know God better.

That's why they were there.

By the end of the day,

they were looking for someone

to help them get food too,

for they were hungry.

It also says at the end of the passage,

verse 14 says that the crowds responded

to the miracle saying,

this indeed is the prophet

who's come into the world.

And then verse 15 says,

perceiving then that they were about to come

and take him by force to make him king,

Jesus withdrew to the mountains by himself.

So these people were looking for a teacher,

they were looking for a meal,

but they were also looking for a leader,

for someone to speak to them from God,

for someone to lead them out of slavery

and into life.

They came seeking many things that day.

You know, one of the words that we use

to think about the things that we seek for

in our lives is we're hungry for them.

A sports team is hungry for another championship.

A new recruit to a business

may be hungry to climb the corporate ladder

and so forth.

What about you this morning?

What are you hungry for in your life?

It might be lots of things.

Maybe you're hungry for success in your career,

for power, for money.

Maybe you're hungry for a good family

and a calm and peaceable home.

Maybe you're hungry for the respect

of the people around you who you care about.

Maybe you're hungry for pleasure.

Maybe you're on the trip with Stanley Tucci

to find the perfect Italian food.

If you haven't been watching TV,

this is a thing.

Stanley Tucci is leading people through Italy

looking for the perfect Italian food.

Sometimes the things we're hungry for

are darker as well.

Sometimes it's late night,

alone with our computer

looking at illicit videos.

And sometimes it seems perfectly benign.

Maybe it's another workout,

another mountain climbed,

another plane jumped out of,

another adrenaline rush.

We might be hungry for lots of things

in our lives.

We also might be hungry

religiously for things.

We may be here this morning

because we want to be a good Christian.

This is what good Christians do,

and we want to be seen as such.

We want to be a good citizen.

Sometimes we're here because

we're going through a really hard time,

and we know we need God's help.

Sometimes we're here because

we just need the confidence

that in the end,

we're going to be on the right side of history,

that we're going to be with God in heaven.

Maybe some of us are here

because we want to be right before God,

and we don't know how to do that.

There are lots of motivations in our hearts.

There are lots of things

that drive our actions

and our thoughts.

But this hunger is a metaphor

that we use

to describe the things

that our souls long for,

a passionate pursuit,

a consuming desire,

the things that we are

wholeheartedly committed to.

People came seeking these things

from Jesus,

seeking something.

As we gather this morning,

we want to start with the question,

what are you seeking

as you are here?

Here in the sanctuary,

here on the live stream,

what is it that you are hungry for

this morning?

This passage in John 6

will speak to us.

Jesus will speak to us this morning,

and he will say,

you hunger for more than you know,

and what you have come for

ultimately is me.

This is the central thought

of John 6.

We're going to break it down.

The teaching section,

the story goes on.

Jesus walks on water

to show another miracle,

another way in which

he's going to be the king,

and then the crowd

is looking for him

because he's not where

they expected him to be.

And then,

starting in verse 25,

we'll see the first section

of how Jesus responds

to these people

who are seeking him.

And he responds to them

in 25 through 34

by saying,

you are seeking something

greater than what

your fathers knew.

Let's read that passage

if you have your Bible,

John 6, verse 25 and following.

John 6:25

We're going to read

this part together

as we start this section.

John 6, 25.

When they found him

on the other side of the sea,

they said to him,

Rabbi, when did you come here?

And Jesus answered them,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

you are seeking me

not because you saw signs,

but because you ate

your fill of the loaves.

Do not labor

for the food that perishes,

but for the food

that endures to eternal life,

which the Son of Man

will give to you.

For on him,

God the Father

has set his seal.

Then they said to him,

What must we do

to be doing the works of God?

And Jesus answered them,

This is the work of God,

that you believe in him

whom he has set.

And they said to him,

Then what sign do you do

that we may see

and believe you?

What work do you perform?

Our fathers ate the manna

in the wilderness.

As it is written,

he gave them bread

from heaven to eat.

And Jesus said to them,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

it was not Moses

who gave you the bread

from heaven,

but my Father gives you

the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God

is he who comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.

And they said to him,

Sir, give us this bread,

always.

Jesus begins,

as he interacts with this crowd,

they come and say,

How did you get here?

And that's related to the miracle

of how he got across

the Sea of Galilee

by walking on water.

But he shows them,

he begins by revealing

what he knows

about their hearts.

They say,

Why did you come here?

Jesus doesn't answer the question.

He says,

You know what?

You're here for a reason,

aren't you?

But it's not a good one.

You're here because yesterday

I fed you food.

And you're going to come back today

and you're going to want

more of the same.

He says,

You're not even here

because I've done miraculous signs.

Your sights are set

on such basic things.

And Jesus is going to begin

this process

throughout this whole section

of raising their hearts,

raising their eyes

to a greater desire,

tuning their hearts

to long for something

more important.

Jesus says,

Don't look for food

that's going to feed you today

but not tomorrow.

There's another kind

of food out there,

a food that endures

to eternal life.

There's a food

that comes from the Son of Man

who has come from God.

There's a food that can come

that you can gain.

And they say,

How do we gain this?

What work do we have to do?

He says,

It's not a work

that you have to do.

You have to come

and believe in me.

And they push back

and they say,

What signs have you done

that we should believe in you?

Which, if you think about it,

is ridiculous.

Think about what we just talked about.

He's just fed 20,000 people

out of nothing.

He's also managed

to transport himself

across the Sea of Galilee.

What other signs do they need?

And this, I think,

reveals their hard-heartedness

and their dullness

about the things

that they were most made

to long for.

They're still pushing back.

Jesus, what signs

are you going to do

to see these things?

They go on and they say,

Look, our forefathers,

they knew great signs.

The story that Carolyn read earlier

from Exodus 16.

As God had miraculously

delivered them from Egypt,

brought salvation

from the slavery

that they were in,

and now was taking them

through wilderness

to a promised land

that he had said

was going to come.

And as soon as it got difficult,

as soon as it was hard,

they started to grumble.

God, how can you be good?

You've led us out

into this wilderness to die.

I wish we were back in Egypt

and then at least

we would die full

instead of hungry.

Isn't that better

if we're going to die anyway?

Forgetting all the miraculous things

that God had already done for them.

But God graciously responds.

He says,

I know you're hungry.

I see your need.

And I will bring to you

what you need.

And so he brings this,

what is it?

This manna from heaven

provided miraculously.

And friends,

I don't know if you've thought about this,

but this went on for 40 years.

It didn't just happen then.

It happened throughout

the whole wilderness experience.

God provided for his people

until they entered

into the promised land.

Jesus says,

you're looking for another Moses

who's going to bring you

another bread

that's going to feed you

for another day?

No, you need to set your eyes

to something higher.

Look at verse 32 with me

if you're looking at the Bible.

Jesus then said to them,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

it was not Moses

who gave you

the bread from heaven,

but my Father gives you

the true bread from heaven.

Jesus is turning their sights.

Don't look back

and think about

what God has done

in the past

through those things,

but look ahead

because God right now

is giving you

something greater.

A manna greater

than the ones

that your forefathers experienced.

A leader greater than Moses.

A prophet greater

than these things.

You need the bread of God

which comes from heaven.

and gives real

and eternal life.

And that's what Jesus is doing.

He's redirecting their thoughts.

Friends, I wonder

if we need to have

our thoughts redirected

this morning.

The things that we long for,

the passions,

the desires,

the hungers of our lives,

many, many of those things

are good

and even the most twisted ones

have in them a seed

of something

that God created for us

to long after in Him

even when we look

to other places.

If you haven't read

C.S. Lewis'

Weight of Glory

recently,

you should go back

and read it

if you've read it

and if you haven't read it,

you should look it up.

You can find it online.

You can find it in bookstores.

It's one of the most

penetrating arguments

about what it means

to live the Christian life.

The Weight of Glory,

it's a great one.

But in it,

one of the things

he talks about

is a place of desire

and hunger

and how the things

of earth are meant

to be signposts

for what we were

truly created for.

He writes this,

a man's physical hunger

does not prove

that a man

will get any bread.

He may die

of starvation

in a raft

in the Atlantic.

But surely,

a man's hunger

does prove

that he comes

of a race

which repairs

its body

by eating

and inhabits

a world

where eatable substances

exist

in the same way.

Though I do not believe

that my desire

for paradise

proves that I shall enjoy it,

I think it is

a pretty good indication

that such a thing exists

and that some men

will find it.

Do you see

what C.S. Lewis

is saying?

He's saying that

the hunger

that we have

is meant

to point us

to something greater

and it speaks

to our souls

that we long

for something

greater than ourselves

when we look

for pleasure,

when we look

for joy,

when we look

for meaning,

when we look

for God.

All of these things

are signs

that perhaps

we were made

for God

and that there

is a God

and that He

is a God

who wants to come

and bring us

this life.

Friends,

how often

we confuse

the gifts

and the giver,

how often

we take

the good things

of our lives

and make them

ultimate

and obscure

the ultimate things

that focus

on Jesus.

And this is what

Jesus is trying

to help the crowd

that He's speaking to

and help us to say.

Having shaken up

their expectations

and redirecting

His thoughts,

He gets then

to the heart

of the matter

in verses 35

and following.

So let's look at those

for a few minutes.

I'm going to read this

35 through 51

is the next section

in this passage.

Remember verse 34,

they've expressed

this hunger.

Yes,

we want that.

What is it?

And Jesus says

to them,

I am the bread

of life.

Whoever comes

to me

shall not hunger

and whoever

believes in me

shall never thirst.

But I said

to you

that you have

seen me

and yet you do

not believe

all that the

Father gives me

I will come to me

and whoever

comes to me

I will never

cast out.

For I have

come down

from heaven

not to do

my own will

but the will

of Him

who sent me.

And this is

the will

of Him

who sent me

that I should

lose nothing

of all that

He has given me

but raise it up

on the last day.

For this is

the will of my

Father

that everyone

who looks

on the Son

and believes

in Him

should have

eternal life

and I will

raise Him up

on that last day.

So the Jews

grumbled about Him

because He said

I am the bread

that came down

from heaven.

They said

is this not

Jesus

the Son of Joseph

whose father

and mother

we know?

How does He

now say

I have come

down from heaven?

And Jesus

answered them

do not grumble

among yourselves

no one can come

to me

unless the Father

who has sent me

draws him

and I will

raise him

up on the last day.

It is written

in the prophets

and they will

all be taught

by God.

Everyone who

has heard

and learned

from the Father

comes to me

not that anyone

has seen the Father

except he who

is from God

he has seen

the Father.

Truly, truly

I say to you

whoever believes

has eternal life

I am the bread

of life.

Your fathers

ate the man

in the wilderness

and they died.

This is the bread

that comes down

from heaven

so that one

may eat of it

and not die.

I am the living bread

that came down

from heaven.

If anyone

eats of this bread

he will live forever

and the bread

that I will give

for the life

of the world

is my flesh.

There's a lot

of argument here.

There's no way

unless we want

to be here

until 12

that we're going

to cover

all of the intricacies

of this passage.

But the main point

is exceedingly clear.

Jesus says

I am the bread

of life

that has come

down from heaven

to give you life.

And of course

this is one of the

first of seven

of the great

I am statements

in the gospel

of John

where he says

I am the door

I am the shepherd

I am the resurrection

and the life

and so on

and so forth.

Jesus is explaining

this is who I am

and this is why

I have come.

He says

I am the bread

from heaven

that is God

has sent me

to provide

for you

the thing

that you most

need

the thing

that your soul

most hungers

for

and thirst

for

and I will

satisfy you.

This is the core

of what Jesus

is saying

in this section.

He's saying

I am the bread

for your soul

that is able

to bring life.

And this remember

if you remember

two weeks ago

when Pastor Greg

preached about

Jesus and the

Samaritan woman

when he offered

her water

from the well

do you remember

what he said?

This water

if you drink of it

it will be in him

a well that springs

up to eternal life

in your soul.

And the woman says

yes give me this water

so I don't have to come

and draw from the well

anymore.

She didn't understand

it initially

any more than

these people did.

But this is what

Jesus is consistently

saying

I am here

to bring you life.

think about what

bread and water

are for us.

When we have

when we incarcerate

people

when we are doing

every

when we are

treating people

as basically as

possible

what do we give them?

We give them

bread

and we give them

water

because those

are the things

that if they have

those things

they will live.

And Jesus says

I am going to be

like that

for your soul.

I am bringing

everything that you

need.

I am here

to bring you

life.

life.

And this life

is a future

life.

Jesus says it

four times

in verse 39

and verse 40

and verse 44

and then in verse 51

I will raise him up

that is whoever

comes to me

I will raise him up

in the last day.

You will not die

but you will live

forever

because you believe

in me.

But he also says

I am your satisfaction

now.

You will no longer

be hungry.

your soul

will be satisfied

with me

now.

This is what he says

in verse 35

and it's what he says

in verse 50

and 51

as well.

And he says

I am the bread

of life

and how do you

get it?

By believing

in me.

Now look friends

we traffic

in a weak

understanding

of belief

today

in our world

don't we?

we often think

that belief

is a sort of

casual ascent

to an idea

that really

doesn't change

our lives.

But when the Bible

talks about belief

it talks about

trusting

it talks about

belief

it talks about

identifying with

it talks about

throwing your whole

the whole weight

of your being

into something.

Right?

It's the

it's the great

you know

it's trusting

in the great

Zamperini

or whatever his name

was

who carried you

across

the Niagara

the Niagara Falls

on his back

you're trusting

in him

to save your life

as you cross

the water

the waterfalls.

This is what it is.

It is not a weak thing

but it is a strong thing

and Jesus is using

this imagery

of eating

to say

you have to take

this in.

Belief is not just

something that's out there

but belief is something

that becomes

a part of you.

Jesus also says

that what he is

providing here

is from heaven

and they grumble

about it.

Did you notice that?

Verse 41

Jesus is telling them

all these wonderful things

I have come for you

to do all these things

but you're not

receiving me

and they're like

yeah

we're not really happy

because we know you

we know where you came from

you're from West Haven

you know

I mean that's the

that's the

you know

we know

we know your mom and dad

you can't

you claim to come from heaven

and bring this

tremendously great gift

how is that possible?

They were looking

for something

and it's no way

that some local boy

could provide that.

They could not believe

that Jesus was God's

provision

but what Jesus says

is the thing

that you're most seeking

is not something

that you're going to know

and be able to be

in control

about understanding

where it comes from

and how it's given to you

because it's not going to come

from this earth

it's not going to come

from these things

it's going to come

from heaven

but the thing

that you're most longing

for this bread of life

will not come

from growing wheat

but it will come

from receiving

from God

one that he has sent

into the world.

What they are seeking

God is drawing them

to understand

and receive

and what they need

is beyond achieving

they must simply

accept it

as having come

from God.

Jesus then

concludes this section

verse 51

I am the living bread

that comes down

from heaven

if anyone eats

this bread

he will live

forever.

We'll get to the second part

in just a minute

of that verse

but I want to sit there

for a minute.

I want to ask you

a question

what is the diet

upon which your soul

feeds today?

Where do you turn

to find life

on a daily basis?

Maybe you can ask yourself

the question

in these ways

what do you fill

your discretionary

time with

to gain meaningful

life?

Where do you find

joy and meaning

when life grows

stale and dull?

What do you trust

in when things

get really difficult?

It's pretty easy

for us

to feed ourselves

on lesser things

and so

C.S. Lewis

again reminds us

it would seem

that our desires

are not too strong

but too weak.

We are half-hearted

creatures

fooling around

with drink

and sex

and ambition

when infinite joy

is offered us.

We are like

an ignorant child

who wants to go on

making mud pies

in a slum

because he cannot

understand what

is meant by an offer

of a holiday

at the sea.

How often

we look

to other things

for the life

that Jesus says

he alone

has come

to bring

to us.

Friends

is our diet

a healthy one

or do we have

far too many

pop tarts

and Doritos

in our spiritual diet?

Have we allowed

our life

to pursue

dissipation

and momentary

fleeting pleasures

when the bread

of life

is standing

before us

saying

I have come

to give you life?

It's the season

of Lent.

We're a Baptist church

we don't tend

to make a big deal

of it

but I think Lent

is a really useful

thing.

Helps us prepare

for Easter.

It helps us

remember the gospel.

It helps us

think about

the depth

of our sin

and the greatness

of the need

of humanity

that allows us

to enjoy

the wonders

of the love

of God

shown to us

in Jesus Christ.

Lent is

traditionally

a season

of repentance

and confession

of sin.

Friends

I wonder

whether you

might consider

examining your

life this morning

maybe there are

things that you've

been feeding on

that your soul

has been feeding on

that you need

to let go of

for a while

and they may be

good things

that you just

need to take

a step back

from and fast

from so that

you can experience

your deeper hunger

for Jesus

and meet him

in that.

Maybe there are

things that you

just need to let

go of and repent

of and turn away

from forever

and not go back

to.

Jesus says

I am the bread

of life

and he invites

us to come.

The last section

Jesus pushes

his audience

and pushes us

how is it

that this bread

that Jesus

brings us

will bring us

life?

The end of

verse 51

he says

a striking thing

and this bread

that I will give

for the life

of the world

is my flesh.

How does this bread

give us life?

Is the final section

and if you think

about it

right up until now

Jesus has been

saying generally

some pretty positive

things.

I have come

to bring you

life.

You don't believe

but the father

is going to bring

you and he is

going to keep

you and this

is going to be

a great thing.

But in verses 52

and following

Jesus explains

what it means

for him to be

able to bring

this life to us

with language

that is shocking

and surprising.

The Jews

in verse 52

complain and say

how can this man

give us his flesh

to eat?

That sounds pretty

weird doesn't it?

Because to a

first century Jew

in fact to a Jew

today

eating the flesh

of a person

is repulsive

eating any flesh

that has blood

in it would also

be repulsive.

Leviticus 17

if you go back

and look at it

very clearly says

this is not

allowed.

Because life

is in the blood

and when you

eat flesh

it has blood

in it

you are taking

the life

of something else.

And the Old

Testament law

says this

we do not do

because God

is the one

who gives us

life

and we cannot

take it.

And Jesus

uses this image

and then in

verse 53

through 56

he ramps it up

four times

listen to what

he says

in these verses

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

whoever feeds

on my flesh

and drinks

my blood

has eternal life

and I will raise

him up on the last

day for my flesh

is true food

and my blood

is true drink

whoever feeds

on my flesh

and drinks

my blood

abides in me

and I in him.

Jesus

ratchets up

his offensive

language.

Why?

What does he

mean by this?

Well let's make

sure we start

this is not

zombie-dom

this is not

vampirism

this is not

cannibalism

it is very clear

that Jesus is

using a metaphor

here

nobody was

confused about

that in the

first century

so if it's

not cannibalism

then what is it?

Well

there's been

lots of

lots of

conversation

throughout the

church

history

about this

passage

particularly

as it relates

to the

Lord's Supper

maybe Jesus

is using

this language

because he's

instituting

in these passages

the practice

of the Lord's

Supper

which we will

have at the

end of this

service

where we will

eat a cracker

and drink

some juice

or wine

and in doing

so we

remember

and celebrate

Jesus'

sacrifice

for us

there is

again

so much

here

I'm not

going to

get into

the weeds

I'm going

to simply

quote

one of the

commentators

that I

thought

summarized

the way

I think

the best

way to

think

about

this

is

John 6

this passage

is not

about the

Lord's

Supper

but rather

the Lord's

Supper

is about

what is

described

in John 6

so both

this image

that Jesus

is using

in John 6

and the

Lord's

Supper

is pointing

to the

same

thing

well what

is that

it is

that

Jesus

came

the

word

became

flesh

so that

he might

die

on the

cross

for our

sins

so that

whoever

believes

in him

would not

perish

but have

eternal

life

why do I

say this

is what he

means by

eating and

drinking

well

verse 54

says this

whoever feeds

on my

flesh and

drinks my

blood has

eternal life

and I will

raise him

up on

the last

day

verse 40

if you want

to look

back

Jesus says

this

for this

is the

will of

my

father

that

everyone

who

looks

on the

son

and

believes

in him

should

have

eternal

life

and I

will

raise

him

up

on

that

last

day

the

parallelism

is exact

what Jesus

means by

eating his

flesh and

drinking his

blood

ultimately

is this

is a

metaphor

that's

picturing

belief

believing

in me

he who

looks to

and believes

in me

this is

what he's

doing

but he's

using

shocking

language

to try

to break

them out

of

a

misunderstanding

he's

using

words

of

ingesting

right

it's an

intimate

image

it's an

organic

one

it's a

personal

one

it's a

connection

now

think

we do

this

with

our

own

language

sometimes

we

drink

up

someone

else's

joy

and happiness

when we

enjoy

their

company

we

ruminate

on

someone's

ideas

as we

are

exposed

to them

and we

think

about

them

these

are

this

is

common

language

for how

we

take

things

from

the

outside

and

we

they

become

a

part

of

us

here

particularly

it is

a picture

of what

is called

the

doctrine

of

union

with

Christ

that

when

we

are

spiritually

joined

to

Jesus

Christ

by

faith

and

when

we

in

belief

we

take

him

into

ourselves

in a

true

and

spiritual

way

as

our

Lord

and

our

life

even

as

he

takes

us

into

himself

and

we

find

ourselves

as

a

part

of

his

body

and

these

are

all

images

that

talk

about

a

spiritual

reality

of

this

deep

spiritual

connection

with

Jesus

what

Jesus

is

saying

is

are

you

offended

by

this

image

of

eating

my

flesh

and

drinking

my

blood

friends

you

haven't

even

begun

to

be

offended

by

what

I'm

talking

about

he

goes

on

in

the

last

section

in

60

through

65

many

of

the

disciples

heard

it

and said

this

is

a

hard

saying

who

can

believe

it

and

Jesus

says

do

you

take

offense

then

what

if

you

were

to

see

the

son

of

man

ascending

to

where

he

was

before

and

if

you

pull

this

thread

through

the

gospel

of

John

what

Jesus

is

saying

is

if

you're

offended

by

this

image

there's

a

greater

offense

coming

that

I'm

calling

you

to

identify

with

the

greater

offense

is

that

the

son

of

man

the

son

of

God

the

word

became

flesh

will

be

crucified

buried

and

then

he

will

rise

from

the

dead

he

will

be

lifted

up

on

the

cross

then

he

will

be

raised

from

the

dead

and

then

he

will

ascend

into

heaven

to

go

back

from

where

he

came

from

to

affirm

that

he

truly

is

the

bread

of

life

because

this

is

the

gospel

we

know

isn't

it

friends

Jesus

died

on

the

cross

for

our

sins

in

our

place

his

body

was

broken

his

blood

was

shed

for

us

so

that

we

who

deserve

death

because

of

our

sin

don't

have

to

die

but

instead

can

experience

this

transforming

new

and

eternal

life

friends

this

is

the

good

news

of

the

gospel

this

is

what

Jesus

is

calling

people

to

believe

not

in

Moses

but

the

prophet

that

Moses

predicted

not

in

manna

but

to

the

life

the

manna

pointed

to

not

in

following

the

law

to

be

right

with

God

but

following

the

word

made

flesh

by

faith

in

the

crucified

son

who

came

to

give

us

life

this

is

what

we

are

being

reminded

of

in

this

passage