52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 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 you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. 60 Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
As we discussed in the previous section (read here), our approach to this text will be that of acknowledging the author of the sacred scriptures to be both the Father and the King. Therefore, we can come to this and all other texts with our God given inquiring minds, together with honesty, trust, and faith.
Let us return to the text and to our main questions. Did Jesus make a rhetorical error by comparing the earthly real union with him (communion/eucharist) to eating flesh and drinking blood? If not, our question is, knowing the risk, why did he do this. Could the answer be obvious? Could it not be that Jesus chose the hardest metaphor possible in order to make sure that only those who perceived its true meaning, and were not afraid of being misunderstood, would have the privilege of being called his followers? I think there is some truth to this theory. However, I think that Jesus’ main reason for making such a radical pronouncement was simply because it was true. Let me restate it differently, I think he said it because nothing else could have possibly described that which he was seeking to make clear.
In other words, in God’s intended sense, Jesus’ body and blood are indeed the true food and the true drink, no matter how difficult a concept this may seem to us. Even though I agree that this is a difficult saying, I think there are some things that must be kept in mind. Let us continue thinking together.
I will argue here that Jesus’ point here is no different than what those who read the Bible should already be acquainted with – a move from the present to the ultimate. Here one example comes to mind, but there are others.
Do you remember the biblical prohibition against swearing, together with the affirmation that Israel must swear only by God himself?
We read in Matt. 5.34-35: “I say to you, do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.”
But we read in Deut. 10.20: “You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear.”
In Hebrews 6.13 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself.”
There is no apology. The reason Jesus forbids his followers to swear is not because he thinks swearing is unethical in all cases, but because there is no reason to swear about things that first, are not important, and second, call inferior things as witnesses. If one must swear, one must swear by the ultimate – Israel’s God himself.
Now let us ask a different type of question. Did Jesus expect his disciples to understand his “body and blood” speech and accept it? Or was it so “out there culturally and religiously” that only those who could “close their eyes to it” could be expected to remain with him? I am persuaded that Jesus expected them to understand and fully accept it. That was not the difficult part. Let me explain.
The ancient Jewish Middle Eastern society was a physical one. The human body was fully associated with the person to whom the body belonged. This is clear when you read the Psalms of David. Reading the Bible today we sometimes don’t fully follow its logic. Let me illustrate. When the psalmist thought of his own death and burial, he thought of himself (not just his body) going down into the grave. In Ps.30.9 we read “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?” This was so, because there was no separation between the body and the soul as in Western societies today. We are very much at home with the body and soul distinction. This was not the case in biblical times.
Moreover, the Hebrew Bible declared that the life of the flesh is in the blood, which is why it strictly forbade Israelites to drink animal blood when they consumed animal flesh as food:
10 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. (Lev. 17:10-12)
Animal blood was symbolically poured on the altar of the Jerusalem Temple to make atonement for the Israelites. It was meant for God. It was meant to be consumed by Him and by Him alone. This may sound strange to modern ears, but this is exactly how the ancients thought of sacrifice. The ancient Israelites were not exceptional in this understanding of sacrifice. They offered to God (and sometimes gods) food for holy consumption. Did Israel’s God need sacrifices in order to survive? Did he need the flesh and the blood of animals? Of course not. But in the ancient mind, the slaughtered sacrifice was meant to symbolize a fully dedicated life offered to the deity worshiped. No questions asked.
So, what is happening here? I think it is something like this – Jesus says: “Now the tables will be switched. It is God’s turn to offer you all that He is. Just as you offer him the sacrifices symbolizing the whole life, so is he offering you Himself in the person of his son.” Paul also will say something similar “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom.8.32)
Therefore, when Jesus referred to his body and blood he meant that the bread and wine should become, in the minds and hearts of his followers, fully associated with him in the entire spectrum of his life: his person, his teachings and his works. In other words, Jesus expected to be fully understood and received through active participation by faith. By faith in Him the believer would partake of salvation that is found in Jesus alone and is offered freely to all. That was the point.
So let me summarize. Jesus’ statement about his body and blood is true and no other picture could have made it clearer. His flesh and his blood, meaning Jesus Himself – the whole Jesus – is the only thing that can sustain a human being to life everlasting (Jn.1.1, 14).
But there is one more intriguing question here. In the context of the Gospel of John (and if you have read my comments from the beginning you will know what I mean) Jesus is polemicizing with the current rulers of Israel, based in Jerusalem. They say: “We are in control. We must approve everything. If Jesus is the Messiah, he must tell us (emphasis is mine) clearly.” They are saying: “We are the gate-keepers. We are the way to the Father”. Jesus’ view is different. He challenges their authority through his prophetic speeches and signs. Jesus says: “I and the Father are one. I am the way to the Father and I am Bread of Heaven that can sustain Israel to life eternal. I am the way, the truth and the life. If someone eats and drinks me, he will live forever.” You must a choice.
What then was the hard saying? (Jn.6.60) Was it that Jesus told the people to eat his flesh and drink his blood? Or was the hard saying the implication of what Jesus said about the body and blood? I think it was the latter.
My view is that the disciples understood him perfectly. It was not the Jerusalem Temple, the High Priest and Sanhedrin-led leadership, but Jesus who was the way to the Father. By Him life is given and is sustained. The disciples were smarter, than they looked. Jesus could not be possibly accepted by those already in the position of power and influence. They realized the storm was coming.
What do you think? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Why?
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That was super thought provoking! Idk if this blog is still open but can you expand on the idea of the blood being meant for God? I actually read I t the Talmud Sanderin where it mentions they ate the Messiah. It mentions it in passing but that’s a really interesting concept.
I believe when Jesus said to “eat His Body”, it simply means to follow all of Him, what He had taught from the start for ;
He is the Word made flesh.
He is God from God , the Word incarnate.
He is the perfect revelation of God our Father!
He is the way, the truth & the life!
He is actually the true bread from heaven the true manna.
Simply stated, those who follow the teachings of Jesus, obedient to the commandments of GOD not because it is an obligation but because of love, is the one who truly “eats ” Jesus flesh, His body. We are reminded in what the Bible says in John 1:1 ” In the beginning was the WORD. And the WORD was with GOD. And the WORD was GOD..etc.” Then take note in John 1: 14 The WORD became FLESH & dwelt among us…”
Notably , amongst others, Ezekiel 2: 8-9,he was told to “eat” the scroll (Word of God) in a figurative sense. When used in a positive context, it means to ingest the spiritual reality that God has provided. Other examples include;
Ps.37:4 “O taste & see that the Lord is good”
Isa. 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters..,come buy & eat..”
1Peter 2: 2-3 ” Like newborn babies,crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
The divine and human realms meet in the flesh of Jesus, the WORD made flesh!
“..to drink His blood” simply means SACRIFICE as an offering to GOD, a means of remission of our sins, a means of purifying & refining us of our impurities through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ took upon Himself the punishment for our sins by shedding His blood. The once-for-all sacrifice of Christ is the pouring out of his blood for the life of the world, bringing forgiveness and a new power of life. That sacrifice also shows us the deepest reality about God—his love—and about life: all true life is sacrificial.
He is showing us a prime example that we do the same too ” by drinking His blood.”That we too make the SACRIFICE , to bear with one another , not succumb to temptation that leads us to sin, to be consistent in doing daily sacrifices & denials of our flesh for cleansing, to stay loyal to GOD. This means we have to take up our daily crosses & die a thousand deaths that do not take us to the grave.
If we CONSISTENTLY eat His flesh ( take His Word in mind,body & soul) & drink His blood (sacrifice, deciding to turn away from our own will, our own sinfulness, our own worldliness, forgive, convert ,give ourselves completely to God our Father) then we will have the promised everlasting life”
REV. 21: 7 clearly states
“Those who are victorious will inherit all this, & I will be their GOD and they will be my children.”
Your paragraph, Dr. Eli, that begins, “so what is happening here”….”Jesus says, ‘So now it is God’s turn…[paraphrase] to give you the Life through Jesus the Son…’ I find a different way of looking at Jesus’s sacrifice and then the Body & Blood Meal. Worth pondering. A new avenue to resolve some of the issues @ this which cause reflective struggle.
Thank you again.
Dr. Eli,
thank you for that. I appreciate your graciousness on allowing the comment.
To be clear, I only disagree about what the Apostles thought in this particular passage since, on the whole, I do think the Apostles, prior to Christ’s death, often misunderstood Him. I think in general, they definitely seemed to believe He had an insight on the Scriptures, traditions, and teachings that revealed God’s Truth while the majority of the religious leaders did not. In this passage, however, I think the Apostles were just as confused as the synagogue’s attendees.
I look forward to the book.
Thanks, Marcia, for your graciousness as well. I far more prefer clarity to agreement :-). Let’s keep thinking about this together. Eli
Hello Dr. Eli, I mostly disagree. While I do think His followers knew exactly what He was saying – that they were being told to disregard all their dietary restrictions and to do what was anathema to them, it’s plainly evident they did not understand His meaning to be symbolic rather than literal. That is, I think it is very clear in the passage that His followers are severely discomfited at the idea of literally consuming His body and blood.
In fact, I think this passage (and its related ones) often miss a vital point – Christ was crucified during the Passover, on the Sabbath. His death was enormously symbolic in relation to what His sacrifice meant, and what it would bestow upon His people, in light of the actual passing over of Israel’s firstborn in Egypt when the Angel of Death slew all but the Israelites who had used hyssop to paint their doorways with lamb’s blood.
“You may not eat of the Tree of Life” became “Do not eat the blood; for the blood is the life” which became “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. There is no doubt what Christ is saying – He was a master of wordsmithing. His followers understood His point, too, but only partially – that He put Himself in the place of the sacrificial lamb – but they simply could not and did not understand the Truth of what He was actually saying until the Last Supper.
When He broke the bread and offered the wine their eyes began to open. Only then did they have a way to understand – because He followed a specific and well-known ritual custom regarding “cutting the blood covenant”. It was impossible for them to miss His meaning at that point – and it is that specific point which becomes their cornerstone for everything following His resurrection.
Marcia, first of all I do welcome your disagreement. Such is nature of our forum that we don’t have to agree. To see my argument (or rather interpretive possibility) you need to see my entire argument in the Gospel. The book “the Jewish Gospel of John: Discovering Jesus, King of All Israel” should be out then. It is difficult to explain the logic without having to explain what led to it and what followed. As you know from church history this is rather a complicated matter.
Thank you Marcia – this is the best explanation I have found so far for what must have been an outrageous statement by Yeshua as he made it. In retrospect, it all makes sense for his disciples with his sacrifice as the Passah Lamb, but in a way, it requires those who follow him to go all the way even if things don’t seem to make sense initially, trusting that in the end, they will.
Shalom, the comment is correct, what our God says. “I’m the only spiritual food for your whole life, everything that is fed only his word, no more out of him, God is the food of our eternal life” that will hold us all life is your word.
Shalom , el comentario es acertado,lo que nuestro Dios dice. ” yo soy el unico alimento espiritual para toda tu vida,todo lo que alimenta unicamente es su palabra,no hay mas fuera de El,Dios es el alimento eterno de nuestra vida” lo que nos sostendra toda la vida es su palabra.
Father is opening the eyes of my heart more and more to His intimacy and Lordship over every part of me. Wow! Thanks so much for this.
We are learning together. Dr. Eli
(Maybe my English is not perfect, I’m sorry. English is not my native language). Although this is not the main point of the discussion, I want to say something about the New Testament prohibition against swearing. We must not forget that there are things in the Bible, though they are allowed in the Old Testament, are prohibited in the New Testament. About swearing, another writing of the New Testament, the Epistle of James, also clearly says that we should not swear (“But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath”, James 5.12). Furthermore, the early Christians understood and obey this simple commandment without doubts: Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian wrote about that. For example, Clement says: “The man of proved character in such piety is far from being apt to lie and to swear. For an oath is a decisive affirmation, with the taking of the divine name. For how can he, that is once faithful, show himself unfaithful, so as to require an oath; and so that his life may not be a sure and decisive oath? He lives, and walks, and shows the trustworthiness of his affirmation in an unwavering and sure life and speech” (Stromata, Chapter VIII); Tertullian says: “Of perjury I am silent since even swearing is not lawful” (On Idolatry, Chapter XI). But you say: “If one must swear, one must swear by the ultimate – Israel’s God himself”. Indeed, Christ is teaching the opposite (“Swear not at all”). It is not good to teach that we can do something that Jesus forbids. Maybe your position is supported by theologians (Catholics and Protestants), but it does not matter for Christ.
Ismael, thank you so much for expressing your opinion in this form. May the Lord bless you. Dr. Eli
Dr. Eli: Thank you for the explanation dealing with body and blood as viewed by the ancients. That really helped! I now can take communion both literally and realistically in the simple way. I have watched Catholics take communion so cannot accept their way–just keep it simple for me
It seems to me that Christians (maybe all humans) have a tendency to confuse what Augustine called “signs and things”. I think I’m correct to say that Aramaic and Hebrew were languages that were not particularly abstract. Physical realities have to stand in for abstract concepts. If you miss that shift, you miss the point. So the parable of the sower and the seed is not about sowers or seeds. One of my favorites is with the woman at the well when Jesus says to the returned disciples that he has bread that the do not know about and they think he has food stashed somewhere. Why not this use of language here? Body and blood are life. Human beings are a psychosomatic unity. To be a disciple means to participate in the life of Jesus, that it, to take him into the self and be sanctified into his image and likeness. (We become what we eat- spiritually.)
Is this a sacramental discourse, or a simple affirmation that new life begins in nourishment toward faithfulness to the One.