Our bodies have expiration dates, but God’s Spirit in us does not.

By Dean Collins

People asked Jesus a lot of questions. In John chapter 6, there are a lot of questions. Some from Jesus, some from the disciples, and some from God. Toward the end of John chapter 6, Jesus asked his disciples an interesting and challenging question:

“Do you want to go away as well?”

Jesus had finished a lesson that many in the crowd had a hard time digesting. This teaching in many Bibles has a heading called Jesus the Bread of Life. Jesus explained to the crowd that they had followed him around the lake after he had fed them the day before. Jesus fed thousands of people, and then his disciples had departed by boat. Jesus did not leave by boat. By reading the whole chapter, we know that Jesus walked on the water and met his disciples in the middle of the night and nearly scared them to death.

Many from the night before saw Jesus the next day and peppered him with questions. How did you get here? When did you get here? Jesus replied that they were just looking for food. And Jesus continued that they should seek food that doesn’t spoil. The crowd was up for that. Bread with no expiration date sounds like a good thing! But as Jesus continued his teaching, things suddenly got pretty deep; and the crowd got uncomfortable.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” which was later followed by, “This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world!” If that wasn’t enough to swallow, he added, “Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” It was then that the crowd started to break away leaving the disciples mostly alone with Jesus.

Jesus leaned into his teaching and told his followers, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

Ponder that a minute. Our great temptation every day is to focus on our health, our jobs, and our stuff. In this particular case when Jesus used the word flesh, he wasn’t talking about the sins we might commit. He was simply saying that in the realm of what is important, it is the spiritual that is of higher importance. Our bodies have expiration dates, but God’s Spirit in us does not.

As Jesus taught about the deeper meaning of life, he asked the disciples this question, “Do you want to go away as well?” Maybe he saw them struggling to understand that what he was offering was more than their next meal or their next assignment. He was certainly offering more than the treasures of this world. Jesus was offering something not of the flesh but of the Spirit. In fact, the great exchange was that he gave his body on the cross to pay for our sins that we might have his Spirit in us, be forgiven of all sins, and join him in his eternal kingdom.

In John chapter 5, there was a lame man lying by a pool hoping to get in the water and be healed. Jesus came up to the man and asked this question, “Do you want to get well?”

I started looking at the question Jesus asked the man by the pool and the question Jesus asked his disciples. Here they are together.

“Do you want to get well?”

“Do you want to leave as well?”

These are two very important questions to answer. Jesus came to make all things well. And one day, all things will be well. Every disease will be healed. Every relationship will be restored. Every tree will be flush with leaves and bear fruit. There will be enough for all people everywhere. All wars will cease. And our participation in this grand renewal is dependent on how we answer the question Jesus asked the lame man. Do you want to get well?

And when we answer yes and are reconciled with Christ, we will experience the Spirit who gives life. We may be able to use our flesh, our skin and bones, and our talents and resources for a while longer but only until our bodies wear out or Jesus returns. But then we will see Jesus face to face and experience his life forever.

Jesus has forgiven our sins, filled us with his Spirit, and desires to use us to extend his kingdom until he comes to renew all things. Knowing that, we can easily answer the question Jesus asked at the end of John 6, “Do you want to leave as well?” May our answer be that we will never leave him - just as Jesus will never leave us. We may have difficulties, sickness, financial challenges and the like. But when we offer all that we have to Jesus, he will use us for his purposes and for his glory today and forever.

Father, we confess that we depend on self and the things of this world all too often. Today, we give ourselves completely to you. May the Spirit who gives life be present in us today in every conversation, in every meeting, and in every relationship. Thank you for never abandoning us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
John 6:63-69 ESV
John 5:6 NIV

Photo by Thays Orrico on Unsplash
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