John 6:51-55 (WEL) “I am the living bread who came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52 Therefore, the Jews started arguing among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I say to you, ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” 54 “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” 55 “For my flesh truly is food, and my blood truly is drink.”
V51 “I am the living bread who came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Again, this is spiritual bread. There are no molecules in the bread Jesus is and gives. It is Jesus that gives spiritual food. The bread is a living bread. A physical piece of bread will mold and rot away. It only helps the body stay alive but cannot help the immaterial soul and spirit.
Jesus is predicting His crucifixion. Jesus gives Himself, that is, as a volunteer. Even though He was sent by the Father (John 3:34, John 4:34, and John 12:49), He agreed and wanted to come and provide salvation for all people (the world), but most reject (Matthew 23:37).
V52 Therefore, the Jews started arguing among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus speaks over their heads, but if they had followed Jesus, heard His words and teaching, plus knowing the Old Testament, they would have understood. Compare Matthew 4:4, Jeremiah 15:16, and Deuteronomy 8:3. Jesus is speaking of spiritual bread as Deuteronomy 8:3 (EHV) So he humbled you and allowed you to be hungry. Then he fed you manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known before, in order to teach you that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. [emphasis is mine].
V53 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I say to you, ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
Jesus waxes boldly to tell them the truth. God alone gives life. Jesus, the Messiah, is the only one who gives spiritual life. If they had asked Him to explain it further, He would have, but they did not.
Physical and water food provide for physical life. Spiritual food and water provide for spiritual life.
V54 “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
This is not the Eucharist, for Eucharist is physical, not spiritual. It can be touched, seen, tasted, given, etc. Someone made it from flour and water. Why would Jesus speak of the Eucharist to a bunch of religious Jews who are in the process of rejecting Jesus?
After God initiates salvation, all must make a decision to believe in God and trust in Him (spiritual food and water) or reject Him?
V55 “For my flesh truly is food, and my blood truly is drink.”
This refers to the Cross, Jesus’s death sacrifice as the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Compare Exodus 12:5-23, 1 Peter 1:18-19. If these Jews or anyone refuses to participate in Jesus’s words, they reject Him, His ministry, and His salvation.
Israelites eat the Passover, a specially prepared lamb and drink 4 cups of wine. This is the physical food and drink necessary. Jesus is the Passover Lamb for the world (all humans—1 Corinthians 5:7) which we must eat in a spiritual sense must eat and drink (placing faith in Jesus alone) for spiritual life.
Annotated Bible:
“The word “Pesach” means to “pass through,” and “to pass over.” God passed through Egypt in judgment; it was also liable to fall upon the people of Israel. They were guilty before God and had deserved the same judgment which was about to fall upon Egypt. But Jehovah provided a sacrifice and in the shed blood a shelter and complete deliverance. The blood secured all they needed as a sinful people and as it was sprinkled in obedience to Jehovah’s command, perfect peace and rest was obtained. “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” The blood was the token for Jehovah. They were not to see the blood, but He in passing through saw the blood. Faith in what Jehovah had said and what had been done gave peace to all in the dwellings. The blood of Christ is thus blessedly foreshadowed. Peace has been made in the blood of the cross. Upon the Lamb of God, the holy Substitute, the sentence of death was executed and now whenever God sees the blood there He passes by, no more condemnation, but perfect justification. Wherever there is faith in the blood, there is the enjoyment of perfect peace. The blood of the Lamb and the assuring word of Jehovah, “When I see the blood I will pass over you,” were the solid foundations of Israel’s shelter and peace in that awful night of death and judgment. And they are our solid foundations too. We quote helpful words from another.”
We learn:
- The absolute necessity of eating (believing in faith the words and trusting in His sacrifice) Jesus’s flesh and blood (as described above).
- The rejection of those who refuse to believe.
Questions:
- Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Passover Lamb?
- What is the greatest importance that Jesus teaches here?