John 6.53-58
DO EATING THE FLESH AND DRINKING THE BLOOD OF CHRIST REFER TO THE LORD'S SUPPER (JOHN 6:53-58)?
“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.”
Some who recognize that the Lord is speaking figuratively here contend that the references to the Lord's flesh and blood are allusions to the symbolism of the body and blood of Christ in the bread and cup of the Supper, a sort of “preparatory prophecy of the Supper."
They understand Jesus here to be speaking of the Lord's Supper by prophetic forecast or rather they think that John has put into the mouth of Jesus the sacramental conception of the Christian faith by making participation in the bread and wine the means of securing eternal life.
Such an understanding, however, wrests the text from its context and extends it beyond its proper application. To understand the Lord as referring here to the Lord's supper would make Him say, in effect, "Except ye eat the Lord's supper, ye have not life in yourselves.... He that takes the Lord's supper hath eternal life." Merely taking the supper does not bring eternal life.
The general scope of John is stated in these words: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:31).
The special scope of John in this sixth chapter is that Christ is the Life of men, being both the Source and the Preserver of it (John 6:35). He is the Bread of Life, evermore satisfying the hunger of men (v. 48). He is the Water of Life of which, those who drink, never again thirst (John 4:14). Those who eat of this bread and drink of this water of life have the promise of eternal bliss.
Throughout this section emphasis is given to the fact that only in receiving Jesus as the Messiah is salvation possible and this theme is pursued through a variety of figures in which Jesus is represented as food and drink which forevermore satisfy and His flesh and blood that which one appropriates and lives forever.
Thus, the effort to apply these words of our text to the Lord's Supper disregards the context, and makes our Lord discuss matters wholly incomprehensible both to the unbelieving Jews and to the disciples (this was long before the Supper was instituted); and the fact that the verbs of the Greek text (cf. v. 56) indicate a continuous eating and drinking it is apparent that this chapter does not speak of the bread and wine, but of spiritual eating, i.e. of the belief that Christ, both God and man, hath shed His blood for us.
A careful examination of the immediate context of the chapter and the greater context of the book of John makes clear what Jesus has in mind. Since He referred to Himself as "the bread of life" (John 6:35, 48), He speaks of eating the bread – Jesus Himself—as the means of obtaining life.
Both Ezekiel (2:10—3:3) and John (Rev. 10:9—11) ate rolls (books) symbolizing the digestion of the message they were to preach.
John 6 is an advancement over this idea, since we become like Jesus when we feast on his word, digest it and absorb it into every cell of the spiritual self.
Jesus' words confer life, because they are spirit, and the spirit is life (Romans 8:10). Therefore, we eat Jesus in the sense that we assimilate Him through His words.
Again, concerning whether or not there is an allusion here to the Lord's Supper the context is against this conclusion. But, if this conclusion is correct, the question still stands as to how one eats of this flesh and drinks of this blood. The answer is found in the context: The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Jesus is saying, ...of me you must eat in order to live spiritually, and you will do this by accepting my word.
He next extends the figure of eating Him as eating His flesh and blood. This is simply a graphic way of impressing on the mind the thought which is at the very center of the entire discussion: Faith in Christ is the only means to eternal life.
Notice Jesus began by telling the Jews to believe on Him (John 6:29). He affirms that since He is the bread of life, "he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (6:34-35). To eat His flesh and drink His blood is to have eternal life, yet in this same speech Jesus declared, "He that believeth hath eternal life" (John 6:47; cf. 6:40).
Therefore, to eat His flesh and drink His blood is merely a way of expressing that we must wholly accept Christ and fully believe in Him in order to be saved from the wages of sin and have eternal life.
In John 6:56 Jesus says, "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him," but in John 15:1-10 Jesus equates abiding in Him with letting His Words abide in us and keeping His commandments (cf. 1 John 2:6; 3:24).
In John 6:50 the Lord said if a man eats the bread of life he will not die, but in 8:51 He says, "If a man keeps my word, he shall never see death." Thus, to eat Christ, the bread of life, to eat His flesh and drink His blood, is to believe on Him, to accept the sacrifice of His body and His shed blood as the only means of atonement, and to manifest this belief by keeping His word.
Jesus goes on to say to His disciples, "...the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life" (John 6:63), once more equating the obtaining of the life which comes by eating and drinking His flesh and blood with receiving His Word.
Because Jesus conveyed or made possible eternal life through the sacrifice of His flesh and the shedding of His blood, the idea of eating His flesh and drinking His blood becomes a fitting and powerful figure to emphasize that we must accept that sacrifice through obedience to His will (Hebrews 5:9).
The entire discourse of Jesus may be taken as an invitation to these Jews and to all. Do you want to live forever? Come and eat the Bread of Life! God is good. Love you. Samuel