The Scandal of Bread and Wine, Body and Blood - John 6: 51-69

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

When many of the disciples heard [the teaching of Jesus], they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”

They just couldn’t take it anymore. His teaching about His flesh being true food and His blood true drink was just too much. No self-respecting, Torah-living, Scripture-believing Jew would dare talk that way, let alone do such a thing. Eat human flesh? Never! Drink blood? Not only was blood unclean, but the drinking of blood was forbidden. Eating and drinking such a meal would surely put you outside the community, strip you of temple worship, and leave you as unclean as lepers, pig farmers, or even [shudder the thought] Gentiles. For Jesus to speak of Himself this way, for Him to invite – nay, encourage! – His listeners to participate in such a thing as cannibalism, it was just too much to hear, to believe, to follow anymore. And, what kind of foolishness was this disrespectful talk about the manna that the Israelites ate in the desert? Forty years of God-given bread is part of the history of Israel. But the final straw was His referring to Himself with Godly language like Son of Man and being coequal to the Father. 

It was too much; they couldn’t take it anymore. St. John says that “many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.”

What happened? We’ve been following the story for the last month. After He fed the 5000 with five loaves and two fish, the people wanted to make Jesus their king. Who wouldn’t? Could you imagine: an unlimited supply of food without having to either work for it or pay for it? Oh, wait…the Israelites had that in the wilderness for 40 years, didn’t they, and they grumbled constantly about having the same thing day in and day out. Yeah; that didn’t work out so well. And when Jesus brings this up to the people who have gathered around – both Jewish leaders and his disciples (the larger grouping of people who followed him, not just The Twelve), and then teaches that He is the Bread of Life and those who eat – that is, believe – will live forever, unlike their fathers in the desert, they were taken aback. “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” they asked.

Jesus, in turn, asks them, “Do you take offense at this?” In fact, the Greek word used for our English word, “offended,” is “skandalon” – you can hear our word “scandal,” right? They weren’t just offended…they were scandalized by what Jesus had to say. 

Scandal helps us understand how severe this was. We use the word “offended” all the time, describing everything from politics to haircuts, but generally we get over that mess. But a scandal is something that is literally a stumbling block – a scandal causes me to lose faith in someone. It makes me rethink my whole idea about something. It might change my opinion, force me to rethink my ideology, even doubt what I have believed in the past. We move past an offense; but a scandal is a major hurdle to overcome. 

Jesus asked them, “Do you take offense?” Literally, the question is rhetorical – “You are scandalized, aren’t you?” He knew they were murmuring and grumbling the same way their forefathers had in the wilderness against Moses. They are being scandalized by who Jesus is. He’s not just a bread maker; He is the very Bread of Life itself. He’s not just the son of Mary; He is Bread which has come down from Heaven, meaning, from the very hand of God Himself. They are being scandalized that Jesus instructs them to believe in Him as God in flesh, and that by eating His flesh and drinking His blood – and here, he means in a spiritual sense, not a sacramental sense – one will live forever. A Jew would never dare succumb to cannibalism or touching blood. Such things made one unclean, and that Jesus seemed to be expecting this was simply too much. But the icing on the cake, the idea that made the tabloids of Jerusalem, was the idea that this Messiah would have to die to attain His throne. Body and blood talk is death talk, and – to paraphrase General George Patton – every Israelite knew that no Messiah becomes a Messiah by dying at the hands of the enemy. A crucified Messiah was no Messiah at all because everyone knew that someone who died at the hands of the Romans was not only a criminal but a man cursed by God. 

The scandal was just too much for many of those who had been following Jesus. They had their bellies filled on the hillside, they chased Jesus around the shoreline, they listened to what He said, but all of this bread, body and blood talk…it was too much. It gave them spiritual indigestion. The cross was the final stumbling stone and it put people at a cross-roads: follow, or not follow. When something bothers the tummy, you don’t eat it. This bread, body, eating and drinking talk bothered them so much, it was such a great stumbling stone to their faith, it was such a scandal that they simply could not tolerate it any further. They changed their opinions of Jesus; they turned and walked away.

The Gospel of Jesus still causes offense today. People outside the Church – Capitol C, the Christian church - still walk away from Jesus and His gifts. To those who seek offense, Jesus’ teaching has plenty to be offended by. They are scandalized by His teaching that He is the only way that leads to eternal life. They are shocked that He tells us to receive His body and drink His blood, not only spiritually, but also sacramentally in bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, and that He is truly present in this meal. They are outraged that there is salvation in no other name under heaven given among men by which we may be saved. They refuse to believe Jesus forgives sinners – you know, like those people. And, sadly, there are some who refuse to believe Jesus’ death is truly all-sufficient, and that by faith in Him one may have eternal life in His name. 

What’s worse, though, is when the church causes people to be scandalized. Now, here, by church I am talking church with a lower-case c – the local church, the congregation. Every congregation has the same struggle: they are filled with sinners, and they are served by a sinner. Put sinful people together in one group and, sooner or later, something sinful will happen. There’s gossip and rumor, suggestion and inuendo, selfishness and arrogance. What does that do to the body of Christ when brothers and sisters in Christ speak of each other in the worst of names. What does that say when little Christs take their baptismal blessings and behave as if forgiveness, compassion, giving the benefit of the doubt, mercy and grace are all dumped in the ditch, and memories of sins past are dredged to the surface, “rights” are espoused, vile and vitriol and sharpened like swords, and hearts grow hard.

People stumble in faith and, sadly, some not only stumble but fall – fall away from the congregation: “I don’t want to be part of a church like that.” Worse, some even fall away from faith in Jesus. “If that’s what the body of Jesus is like, He isn’t much of a head.” 

Our Lord calls us to repentance so that our behaviors do not scandalize His name, or scandalize others in their faith. “Thy kingdom come,” remember? Not ours, not our reputation, He leads us to turn away from ourselves and turn toward our brothers and sisters in Christ with His compassion.  He opens our eyes to see our own sins before we consider those of others. He gives the strength to let gossip die in your ears and seal your lips so that inuendo never passes your mouth. He fills you with His spirit so you speak tenderly, gently, and with understanding. And He leads us to surrender ourselves for the body of Christ.

The irony is there is nothing to be scandalized by. He came to seek and to save the lost; he came to rescue and redeem sinners; He came to give himself for those who had nothing left to give; He came to feed with food that has no expiration date and never spoils or fades. He is the great physician of body and soul Who comes to heal those who could not heal themselves from eternal damnation. He didn't come to establish an earthly Kingdom. His Kingdom, on earth and in heaven, endures into eternity without beginning or end. He doesn't demand foolish allegiance but he does call us to faith in him, trusting that His life , death, and resurrection are the all sufficient payment for all of your sins and mine. He doesn’t come to be served, but to serve and to give His life for many. Simply, this is why Jesus came:  “that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life and I will raise Him up on the last day” (v. 40).

The cross knows no limits. There are no oversized loads at the cross. Jesus doesn’t weigh or measure sins and determine that the cross can’t stand the weight and has to be left on the sinner’s back. Jesus takes them all. He even takes yours. Remember: all sins deserve condemnation. Jesus died for them all. He died for you. In faith, repentance dumps your sin, my sin, their sins at the foot of the cross and says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You died for this damnable burden, so I am leaving it where You paid it’s price. Strengthen me, so I don’t do it again. Preserve me against temptation. Because You rose, I know that my sins will no longer be held against me into eternity. These are the words of eternal life. I know them, believe them, trust them and rely on these promises and on these promises alone.” 

These are the words you have heard today. Blessed are you. The Father has drawn you, the Spirit has birthed you, the Son has redeemed you. Blessed are you. “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he will also live because of me. So, to you, Jesus says, “Come. Eat and drink. My body and blood is here, for you.” He fed Israel with manna from heaven for forty years. He feeds you, today, with food that lasts into eternity, with drink that quenches the insatiable thirst for mercy. In the eating and drinking, He comes to you, strengthens you, forgives you.  You take His body and blood with you wherever you go. To your work, to your home, to your grave. And He will raise you up on the last day.