With Dale Ratzlaff
John 6:52-71
Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For 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. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him (Jn. 6:52-71).
Without doubt, this is one of the most difficult sayings of Jesus, witnessed by the fact that many of his “disciples” (followers) left and were not walking with Him anymore. Instead of saying to each other, “Who can listen to this?” these “followers” should have perceived that Jesus was using symbolic language. By using the title “The Son of Man” and telling these followers they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, they should have asked Him, “What do you mean by these symbols?” They knew that eating blood was prohibited from the time of Noah (Gen. 9:4) and was condemned in the Law (Lev. 26:2). Surely, they knew He was not asking them to literally “eat His flesh”.
What then, did Jesus mean, and what do His statements mean to us today? Scholars since the days of the early church have interpreted these words in at least three different ways.
We note the absoluteness of Christ’s statements. This will help us weed out false interpretations. As is the custom of Jesus, especially as recorded by John, He says the same thing first in negative terms, “unless you eat…”; and then in positive terms, “He who eats…” There are no exceptions here.
…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.
The Eucharist or Lord’s Supper View
Several early church fathers interpreted these verses as referring to the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper (See https://rcwollan.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/eating-jesus-history-of-interpretation-of-john-6.pdf for a lengthy study of early church fathers.) Augustine wrote the following to be read by those who were having their first communion.
That bread which you see on the altar, sanctified by the Word of God, is Christ’s body. That cup, or rather the contents of that cup, sanctified by the Word of God, is Christ’s blood. By these elements the Lord Christ willed to convey His body and blood, which is shed for us ( As quoted in Kelly, Early Church Doctrines, p. 447).
Cyril of Jerusalem wrote the following.
…the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation, which sanctify body and soul. For as bread corresponds to the body, so the Word is appropriate to the soul. So do not think of them as mere bread and wine. In accordance with the Lord’s declaration, they are body and blood. And if our senses suggests otherwise, let faith confirm you. Do not judge the issue on the basis of taste, but on the basis of faith be assured beyond all doubt that you have been allowed to receive the body and blood of Christ ( See https://rcwollan.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/eating-jesus-history-of-interpretation-of-john-6.pdf, p 16).
We note over the years that our text in John 6 becomes the basis for far more than a symbolic eating of Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood during the communion service, but the actual consuming his real body and real blood. A medieval church leader, John of Damascus, bridges the gap between symbol and literal.
The bread and wine are not a figure of the body and blood of Christ—God forbid!—but the actual deified body of the Lord, because the Lord Himself said: “This is my body”; not “a figure of my body” but “my body,” and not a figure of my blood but “my blood.” Even before this He had said to the Jews: “except you eat of the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.” And again: “He that eateth me, shall live.” Wherefore, in all fear and with a pure conscience and undoubting faith let us approach and it will be altogether as we believe and do not doubt….Let us approach it with burning desire, and with our hands folded in the form of a cross…. With eyes, lips, and faces turned toward it let us receive the divine burning coal, so that the fire of the coal may be added to the desire within us to consume our sins and enlighten our hearts, and so that by this communion of the divine fire we may be set afire and deified…[For] the bread of communion is not a plain bread, but bread joined with the Godhead (ibid., p. 20).
There is no question that when one reads this portion of John 6 with its strong statements, the imagery of the Lord’s Supper pops into our mind. However, I believe there is strong contextual evidence that this is not the correct interpretation.
First, both “eat” and “drink” in verse 53 are in the aorist tense indicating a one-time event. Second, when Jesus held the first communion service with His disciples in John 13, He did not use the word “flesh” but “body”. The teaching on the communion service as recorded in 2 Corinthians uses the present tense verbs to describe “do” and “drink” coupled with “as often” all indicating a continuing activity.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:23-25).
Lastly, we are not saved by partaking of communion. We are saved by repentance and belief. We reject the idea of the “Sacrifice of the Mass” which is said to be a sacrifice of Christ and a means of receiving imparted grace. Scripture is clear that His death was a once-for-all event.
…who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself (Heb. 7:27).
By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb. 10:10).
The Sacrificial View
The Sacrificial view holds that what Jesus is teaching in John 6 is that He is going to give His life (flesh) for the life of the world.
This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh (Jn. 6:50-51).
This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever” (Jn. 6:58).
Without doubt many of the ideas in John 6 point to Christ’s Sacrifice on the cross where Christ gave His flesh and blood for the life of the world.
The Gospel View
Linked closely with the Sacrificial View is what we might call the “Gospel View”. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus uses many metaphors for the gospel all of which are centered in the belief of who He is and what He will on the cross. He gives the “new birth” from “above” by the Spirit (Jn. 3:7). He offers the “living water” (Jn.4:10) so that one drink quenches thrust forever. He is the “bread of life” which sustains everlasting life (Jn. 6:48). He is the Light of the World which brings truth into clear focus (Jn. 8:12). He is the Door by which we enter into eternal life (Jn. 10:7–9). He is the Good Shepherd who safely leads His people (Jn. 10:11–14). He is the Resurrection and Life who promises that we will live even if we die (Jn. 11:25). He is the Way, the Truth and the Life which excludes all other paths to the Father (Jn. 14:6). He is the True Vine, the New Israel, who provides the life to those who are connected to Him. Yes, He is the I AM, the YHWH who met Moses at the burning bush—God in the flesh (Jn. 8:58; Ex. 3:2–14; Jn. 1:1, 14).
For the second time Jesus pointedly parallels his flesh and his blood as sacrificial gifts and even continues this parallel in the next two verses. How his death is connoted by the term “flesh” or σάρξ appears in 1 Pet. 3:18, “being put to death in the flesh”; in Eph. 2:15, “having abolished in his flesh the enmity”; in Col. 1:22, “in the body of his flesh through death”; and in Heb. 10:20, “through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. To these add the following concerning the blood, which point eveen more directly to the death, and this sacrificial one: Lev. 17:11 “for the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Heb. 9:22, “Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without the shedding of blood is no remission.” 1 Pet. 1:18, Ye were redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot” Acts 20:28, “the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament, John, p. 494).
It is my conclusion that what Jesus is saying in John 6 is what the whole book of John teaches. “He who believes has eternal life.” The flesh and blood of Christ are symbols of the reality of the gospel. There is no life without Christ. With Christ there is life eternal.
Today, many churches are seeking to be “seeker friendly”. However, in doing so the gospel must not be watered down. The truth of the gospel in the person of Jesus cuts across our self-interest, exposes our sin and need, and offers but one answer: Jesus Christ, Himself.
Upon hearing this difficult teaching, many of Christ disciples (followers) left. He did not soften His message, they were free to leave. Now to the 12 who stayed, Jesus revealed the true message of this difficult teaching.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life (Jn 6:63).
Peter, at least in a limited way, understands the core truth of this chapter.
We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God (Jn. 6:69).
Apparently, Judas, whom Jesus knew would be the trader, refused to enter into life. If he had believed the confession of Peter, he never would have betrayed the Prince of Life.
Application
- When reading Scripture, we may find places that are not only hard to understand but also seem to contradict other passages that we know. Rather than reject these “hard statements”, we would do well to ask questions of the text, pray about it, and seek harmony with further study.
- Jesus often used metaphors and at times hyperbolic language. While we should usually accept what the Bible says literally, we would be amiss not to allow for these symbolic interpretations. In fact, as is the case in John 6, by recognizing the metaphors and hyperbolic language used we may find the answer to our understanding of a “hard statement”.
- Churches seeking to be “seeker friendly” should not soften the demands of the gospel. There is no other way, but to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and He shed His blood for sinners.
- We may not understand many things as we read Scripture. But when we do receive insight into truth, we need to confess that truth and be obedient to it. We can express the faith that Peter voiced in John 6. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (Jn. 6:69).
Prayer
Father, thank you for sending your Son from Heaven who took on human flesh, lived in obedience to your will and shed His blood for my redemption. Thank you for this Gift. I accept Christ as my righteousness.
In Jesus name.
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