Leithart
John 1:14; 6:55-56: ?And the Word became flesh . . . . [Jesus said] ?My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in Him.?E
This morning, we have been considering the incarnation of the Eternal Word of God, the ?en-fleshment?Eof the Eternal Son. The Eternal Son took on human nature, but more than that, took on flesh, ?dilapidated?Ehuman nature, so that He could restore it. He entered fully into the world of sin and death so that He could bring life and righteousness. Light entered the darkness so that darkness could be turned to light.
And now Jesus tells us that this flesh that He took on has become food, food that gives life, food that binds Him to us and us to Him. The bread on this table is not another incarnation of Jesus. It would be a sin, and a grievous one, if we were to bow down and worship this bread in the way the wise men bowed down to worship the infant Jesus. But through this bread we do feed on Jesus, the living and life-giving Incarnate Son of God.
This bread gives life because it is the sacramental flesh, the Eucharistic body, of the eternal Word who became flesh. Through that Word, as we?ve seen, all things were made and nothing was made that He did not make. And He became flesh to bring a new creation; the Word spoken at the beginning is spoken again in the middle, so that the world could be recreated through Him. And now this Word-become-flesh is our food, food of the new creation, food of eternal life.
Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven: He who eats and drinks of Jesus has eternal life, and Jesus will raise you up on the last day. And eating this bread and drinking from this cup is a way that believers eat and drink of Christ. Rejoice, and be thankful, for the Word that became flesh is now the Word become food, and He gives Himself for your sake.
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