The Greatest Prayer Ever

July 21, 2016

The Greatest Prayer Ever

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.

John 6:51

The Gospel of John is known for the “I am” statements made by Jesus, the first of which was Jesus’ assertion that, “I am the bread of life.” I believe John wanted us to see the connection between our celebration of the sacrament of Holy Communion and Jesus’ discussion of our eating his flesh and drinking his blood. (John 6: 47-59) Jesus’ statements about eating his flesh and drinking his blood have been hugely controversial over the centuries, primarily because people forget that John is continually showing how the Old Testament points to, and is fulfilled in Jesus.

In this case, we need to remember a story about King David that is recorded in 1 Samuel 23 and I Chronicles 11. David and his men were pinned down in a battle near Bethlehem. Thinking out loud, David said he would love to have a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem. Later, three of his mighty men, at great personal risk, went through enemy lines and got water from the well and brought it to David. David responded by saying for him to drink the water would be as though he was profiting from his men’s willingness to risk their lives; it would be as though he was drinking their blood. David poured the water onto the ground.

In today’s passage, Jesus is saying that he is not only willing to risk his life, but to lose his life for our sakes. Jesus is saying that we can drink and profit from his sacrifice. Thus, believing in Jesus as our Messiah is like feeding upon Jesus, the bread of life. It is like the drinking of his blood as we participate in his sacrifice for our sins.

Earlier in this chapter, the people couldn’t grasp what Jesus was saying when he told them he was the bread of life. They couldn’t get past what they wanted Jesus to do for them. However, when we begin to grasp that what really matters -- it is not what Jesus can do for us, but who Jesus is -- then their response in ignorance becomes the greatest prayer ever:

“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day” (John 6:34).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.