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Leg 2 Day 52
Preconceived Notions
Jesus Among Us
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Scripture:
John 6:41-59
JOHN 6:41-59 (NLT) Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)” “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 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.” Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked. So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Life Lessons from Jesus:
We all come into our relationship with Christ carrying some preconceptions. They may be based on our upbringing, previous dealings with the church, stories we’ve read, or what we’ve heard other people say. But these preconceptions have a tendency to put Jesus in a box. And He just doesn’t fit in boxes. The people in this story complained because Jesus wasn’t what they expected. They knew Jesus as the son of Joseph and Mary, not as the Savior who came down from heaven. When He said He was the “bread of life,” they wondered how they were supposed to eat His flesh. Obviously, He didn’t mean it in a literal way, but they couldn’t see it. They couldn’t see past their preconceived notions about what the coming of Christ would look like. You see, Jesus didn’t fit their predetermined picture of the promised Messiah of the world. In com- parison with whatever they were expecting, Jesus’s earthly background and words about being bread from heaven probably seemed pretty ridiculous. It’s essential that we resist putting God in a box. Not everything about Him will make sense to us right away, and even as we learn, we will never be able to fully comprehend Him. Toss away the assumptions you’ve held that aren’t matching up with what you are now learning, keep your mind open, and continue learning. God is far more magnificent than anything we could expect or imagine for ourselves.
The WAY:
Consider these questions as you reflect on today’s reading:
Why did the crowd have a difficult time believing Jesus came down from heaven?
Name an incorrect assumption or expectation you had about God or Jesus, either before you became a Christian or early in your walk with Christ. How did your initial perspective change?
Name an inaccurate assumption or expectation you had about being a Christian. How did you resolve that mistaken assumption or expectation?
Prayer:
Jesus, please forgive me for sometimes trying to put You in a box that I can understand or that fits my expectations. You are too magnificent for my mind to fully comprehend. Help me to leave room for the things about You that I don’t yet know or understand. In Your name, amen.
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