John 6:52-59

John 6:52-59

Therefore the Jews quarreled with one another while saying, “How is this one powerful enough to give to us His flesh to eat?”  Therefore Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you.  Unless you all should eat the flesh of the Son of Man and you all should drink of His blood, you all do not have life in yourselves.  The one who consumes my flesh and the one who drinks my blood has life eternal and I will raise him up in the last day.  For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.  The one who consumes my flesh and the one who drinks my blood remains in me and I remain in him.  Just as the Father who lives sent me and I live for the sake of the Father, even that one who consumes me will live for the sake of me.  This is the bread that came down out of heaven – not just as the fathers ate and died.  The one who consumes this bread will live into the ages.  He said these things in the synagogue while teaching in Capernaum.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

When modern people read this passage, one of two reactions typically occur.  People usually either are grossed out by the literal image presented here or they are confused by what Jesus is saying.  In order to avoid either of these positions, let me attempt to frame this in the context of the ancient Jew.  Remember that the Jews were accustomed to sacrifice.  In most cases of sacrifice, a person would bring an animal and it would be killed.  But only a portion of the animal would be burned.  The rest of the animal belonged to the priest that performed the sacrifice and the priest’s family found sustenance through the sacrifice.  The person making the sacrifice found atonement; the priest and his family found sustenance.  Everyone involved found salvation through sacrifice.  Therefore, the Jewish people were accustomed to this idea that salvation and sustenance came through sacrifice.  The Jewish people were accustomed to the idea that a sacrifice is to be consumed.  They would not find this passage disturbing because they would understand the sacrificial context out of which Jesus was speaking.

How does understanding the Jewish sacrificial system help you overcome confusion with respect to this passage?  How does understanding the context of the sacrificial system help you overcome any shock or disgust at the thought of eating flesh and drinking blood?

Second Thought:

John uses a great word here in this passage: consume.  He doesn’t just say, “eat,” for that is a different word entirely.  Here the word is to consume something solid.  It is a word that is used in the New Testament only twice outside of these verses.  Jesus is making a very blunt point here.  Jesus must become internal.  Jesus must be taken inside of us.  We must not simply nibble at Christ and only sample Him.  We must consume Him, allowing us to become full of His presence.  He is our primary source of sustenance.  In Him we find who we are.  Being a disciple of Christ is not some simple choice of convenience.  It is a lifestyle.

What does it mean to you to consume Christ?  Why are we tempted to nibble on Christ rather than consume Him?  How have you become a different person by consuming Christ?

Third Thought:

We need to be careful here to not fall into an easy temptation.  It is easy to hear these words and immediately think of Communion (Eucharist).  While there are certainly some neat ties to Communion, we must be careful to not limit our thoughts in this manner.  Here are some very good reasons why.  You will note that nowhere in the Gospel of John does the Lord’s Supper ever appear.  Certainly John participated in the Lord’s Supper and knew of its importance.  But John is making a point here.  Consuming Christ is a lifestyle, not an event.  Consuming Christ is a daily practice, not something we do once or even as needed.  Certainly we meet Christ in communion!  But consuming Christ is about transformational whole life change, not just a simple event once a week or once a month.  Jesus is talking about an inner transformation when He speaks about eating and drinking His flesh and blood.

How do you meet Christ in communion?  Is communion the only place you meet Christ?  How and when do you meet Christ elsewhere in the world?  How is your whole life transforming as you meet Christ interacting with your whole life?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 6:60-65