Choose Life

John 6:63 (NKJV) - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

Jesus had just told the Jews in the preceding verses that if they did not eat His flesh and drink His blood they had no life in them. This had caused some to question Him and become offended. Jesus asked His disciples “Does this offend you?” He knew that there were some who did not believe. There are those that follow Jesus because of the miracles. There are some that are constantly looking for the “new” thing. They want to be where the action is taking place. These people did not fool Jesus. He knew. He always knows. The question that must be discerned is why where these people offended? Some might think that talking about eating flesh and drinking blood would make anyone queasy. But the Hebrews were used to this descriptive talk and knew that Jesus wasn’t talking about cannibalism. A reading of both Psalms 27:2 and 1 Chronicles 11:19 reveals how this analogy of eating flesh and drinking blood is used in Hebrew writing. These men knew that Jesus was talking about His death and the benefits that partaking of His death would bring. Jesus would willingly offer Himself as the sacrifice for man’s sin – His death so that we could live. This drove home the point that our flesh is unprofitable. The pride and care we take in the things of this world do not bring life and they profit little if at all. It is the Spirit who gives life. Notice in that statement Jesus refers to the Spirit as a “who” not an it. If we want to know life we must be born of the Spirit. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus – You must be born again. There is a song I love to hear titled “You Must Be Born Again. The verse sums this up well, “You must have that fire and Holy Ghost, That Burning churning keeps the prayer wheel turning, The kind of religion you cannot conceal, It makes you move, makes you shout, Makes you cry ‘cause it’s real, I’ve got my hand right in the windin’ chain, and my souls been anchored in my Jesus’ name, I’m filled within, free from sin, You know I’ve been born again” This is life! Spirit filled! Spirit led! Don’t accept any substitute.