True Bread & True Drink (John 6:47–59)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 6:47–59

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: June 4, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

One of the sad realities related to extreme poverty and desperate situations is cannibalism. History is replete with examples, from China to the Azteks, from some infamous European politically- and religiously-motivated retaliatory attacks to tribal practices in Africa and elsewhere. Many instances have also occurred here after the formation of the United States. For example, our family recently noticed in Grand Junction’s Museum of the West a section devoted to Alfred Packer, and there’s ongoing interest in Jeffery Dahmer which have spawned a series of movies and documentaries. Such infamous incidents capture the interest of people everywhere because of the shared disgust we all have at such horrific murders and desecrations of bodies.

Scripture, of course, isn’t silent on this issue. God warned the Israelites before they entered the promised land to keep the Covenant of Moses, lest curses befall them — such as enemy sieges and famines which would drive people to unthinkable acts such as cannibalism (Lev. 26:29; Deut. 28:52–57). In 2 Kings 6:28–29, God allowed the Aram’s siege of Samaria because of the people’s apostasy, and the king heard that two women commited to consuming their own flesh and blood (but that did not lead him to repentance). Even pagans see the horror in this, and Scripture condemns both murder and such heinous acts, highlighting cannibalism as an example of how far people fall away from God.

When we get to this passage, Jesus appears to be saying something unthinkable: He calls the people to eat His flesh and drink His blood. The Jews in the synagogue therefore ask, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (v. 52). Even His disciples react; they ask in v. 60, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” It’s not clear whether they were thinking He was suggesting cannibalism, or if they assumed He wasn’t speaking literally but couldn’t figure out what He meant; either way, they don’t like where this is going.

Now, I hope you understand that v. 47 provides us understanding this morning: this is about receiving Jesus by faith! Yet, many remain confused by our Lord’s words here, even today. So, let’s study His words together and, while we do, note truths this morning: we receive eternal life from the true Bread only through faith, and we can only receive life from the true Bread.

First, we receive eternal life from the true Bread through faith (vv. 47–51).

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 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.

Some of this is obviously review of what He already said. Remember that His words to the people at the synagogue started back in v. 26. He continues to drive the point home about His identity as the bread of life.

Jesus gives, once again, an “amen, amen” or “truly, truly” statement, calling them again to an assured truth. In fact, as one commentator notes, vv. 47–48 summarize Jesus’s teaching in the debate. The construction of the verb for believe indicates a continuing, ongoing belief, and Jesus immediately follows that statement with a reaffirmation that He is the bread of life. Every faith has an object, and He’s calling them to belief in Him.

Only He can grant lasting life. Consider what He’s already said. In v. 27, He said to work “for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” In v. 29, He said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” Again, in v. 35, He said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” Nothing that we noted last week about the sovereignty of God changes Christ’s call here for people to believe in Him to receive life in God, and such faith should not be a fleeting curiosity but an abiding trust.

In v. 48, He again contrasts true bread, life-giving bread, to the manna in the wilderness. Sure, the manna was real, able to sustain the people. However, even though God supernaturally provided it, it wasn’t true in the sense of granting eternal life. The fathers or ancestors of those gathered ate manna and died, some even in unbelief. Note that unbelievers can enjoy real blessings from God, especially spectacular ones within the congregation of the saints, but their experiences do not grant them eternal life. Bread, even manna, cannot keep a person from eventually dying, but Jesus offers a kind of bread which goes on to eternal life.

However, this is a bread of a different quality, as Jesus notes in v. 58. Jesus is spending time on this to patiently confront their objection back in v. 31 — “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ” They ate a kind of bread which itself perished after a day, and could not keep them alive indefinitely, but Jesus Christ is a different sort of miracle altogether!

So, in v. 50, Jesus shifts their focus from a physical to a spiritual death. He says, “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” Now, obviously His apostles faced martyrdom and believers in Christ still die of various causes. He’s talking about spiritual death here, a concept the religious Jews there would have understood. They also would have believed that their own deaths were temporary, that their mortal bodies would rise again in the resurrection of the dead. Jesus is saying here that only He provides that, an audacious claim!

You might ask, “But why is He now talking about eating?” He’s simply following the metaphor about Him being the bread of life. To understand the metaphor, we might think about this by way of analogy (older people may remember doing these in school, but I don’t think children today do them). The analogy on our Bible exam would read, “Jesus is to bread as to blank is to eating.” The answer is in v. 47, “believing.” Jesus is saying that people need to receive Him, take Him in, believing in Him for eternal life.

He continues this analogy in v. 51: “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.” This is where it can get confusing, as we see with the reaction in v. 52. The only solution is to understand ahead of time that He is speaking generally about belief in His work.

How do we know this is the case? Outside of simple common sense (our Lord is not inviting the crowd to become zombies and attack Him), Jesus also consistently upheld the written law of Moses. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:19). Well, as we noted, the Law forbade murder and would disallow the consumption of any blood with flesh (Gen. 9:4; Lev. 7:26–27; 17:10–14; Deut. 12:23–24). Contextually and logically, it makes sense to understand this as a metaphor for faith in Him.

If that’s the case, then what does He mean by, “the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh”? This is a reference to His substitutionary work on the cross. He gives it to the world, which doesn’t mean the physical world which will be destroyed, nor the present age, nor even every person who ever lived. Rather, it is given for the world of believers, Jewish believers and those of the Gentile nations.

Second, we can only receive life from the true Bread (vv. 52–59).

Let’s just read v. 52: “Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?’ ” Just as they interrupted Him back in vv. 41–42, they do so again, this time by fighting among each other. They again misunderstand His intended meaning, which is the problem with so many who study Jesus’s words. They simply do not understand what He means here.

As I said earlier, people have continued to misunderstand Jesus’s words here, so we need to note a popular historical interpretation at this point. Christians have tried to apply this directly to communion. You might see why: Jesus talks about consuming His flesh and blood, something He connects to the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper later.

There are several problems with this view. First, Jesus says clearly here this is about belief. As one study notes, “Based on these verses, critics of the early church thought Christians condoned a form of cannibalism. This is not the case.” Unfortunately, there were some within the church that developed the view that the bread and wine transform into the literal body and blood of Jesus through a process called transubstantiation, a theological view with no biblical substantiation. It misses the point that Jesus is talking about; in v. 63, Jesus says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Second, Jesus isn’t hiding His meaning from them. This view would have us to believe that Jesus is giving them something they couldn’t understand. They don’t know about the Lord’s Supper, yet He condemns their walking away from Him. He implies that they should be able to understand His meaning.

Third, and related, Jesus hasn’t implemented the Lord’s Supper yet. While it’s possible that He’s talking about something that is yet to come, there’s no evidence of that anywhere outside of parallels. We have to assume that’s what’s happening, something not confirmed in Scripture. At most, we may be able to say that this foreshadows the Lord’s Supper, but Jesus’s clear point is about faith, not a ritual.

Fourth, Jesus never says the Lord’s Supper provides eternal life. One has to assume this passage refers to the Lord’s Supper to even get a hint of such a teaching, but it would contradict the context here about faith and spirit over flesh. It also contradicts the rest of Scripture on salvation by grace alone. Moreover, Judas partook of the Lord’s supper and faced condemnation (John 13:18), and some were partaking in condemnation in Corinth. Moreover, when Jesus does implement the Lord’s Supper, He didn’t say “Do this for eternal life,” but instead, “in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).

Viewing Jesus’s words here as justification for false views on the Lord’s Supper is to partake in the same misunderstanding as the crowd. Given these reasons, we must get back to the faith Jesus speaks of here. Only the true bread of God has the ability to raise someone up from the grave. The communion crackers can’t do that. The communion cup can’t, either, even if we get rid of the Welch’s and use real wine! No ritual can save us, and the Lord’s Supper is only to remind us of the Lord’s work on our behalf and His presence with us.

We need to look to the true bread and to the true drink. In the remaining verses, we see just what the Lord provides to us through faith. First, the true Bread raises us up (vv. 53–55). Second, the true Bread abides with us (v. 56). Third, the true Bread causes us to live (vv. 57–59).

The true Bread raises us up (vv. 53–55).

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.”

Jesus gives, yet once again, an “amen, amen” or “truly, truly” statement. It is vital that they leave their doubts about Him behind. It’s essential that we also get this right and not look to rituals or to anyone else.

Again, don’t think about communion — only Christ. Now, we already noted that eating is analogous to faith in Jesus, and the same logically applies to drinking. The body and blood bespeak the acceptable sacrifice of Christ on the cross, so our faith must be in His person and work. Those who don’t have faith in Christ have no life in themselves.

On the other hand, in v. 54, Jesus says the one who eats and drinks has eternal life. In the original language, the “My” pronouns are emphatic; it’s not the flesh of another deity which provides this, nor is it the Lord’s Supper. Jesus promises that the one who takes in Christ receives His life will be raised on the last day. This matches what He said in v. 40 — “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” It is the person who exercises faith in Christ who receives eternal life and the promise for the future resurrection of the body.

As Jesus explains in v. 55, “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.” His blood perfectly satisfies the requirements of the Law and therefore can sustain the soul. He says later in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” He will sustain not only the soul, but the body also, which He proved with the raising of Lazarus. And again, He’s promising to keep your soul secure; you’ll never lose your salvation because He promises to keep it.

The true Bread abides with us (v. 56).

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”

We see another promise in this verse we want to note before moving into the next one. Just as food comes in and becomes a part of you, the Lord comes in and abides with those who receive Him. Of course, this is an eternal comingling, even described here as you abiding in the true bread and drink. As one commentary notes, this

is one of the most important theological terms in John’s Gospel (cf. comments on 1:38). The Father “remains” in the Son (14:10), the Spirit “remains” on Jesus (1:32), and believers “remain” in Jesus and He in them (6:56; 15:4). The implications of this “remaining” are many. A believer enjoys intimacy with and security in Jesus. Just as He has His life from the Father, so believers have life because of Jesus.

With this point, we see abiding in Christ is part of faith, and it wouldn’t be possible without His sacrifice upon the cross. Remember, though, that He didn’t stay in the ground. He’s alive forever more, bringing us to the last point:

The true Bread causes us to live (vv. 57–59)

“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.

Jesus claims that He came from Heaven to bring life and substance (pictured in the bread). This is an indirect claim of preexistence. He came into the world to provide this life, and He’s making a direct claim to His transforming and quickening power.

He’s the bread of life. This means that He can convey life to those who come to Him in faith. Nothing else, not even the supernatural manna, could provide the kind of life that the living Father has given to the Son.

Conclusion

Again, it’s essential that we see this as metaphorical. Jesus goes back to saying “he who eats Me” and “he who eats this bread,” dropping the drinking. If this was a reference to the Lord’s Supper, the drinking is no less important than the eating. However, that Jesus is giving summary statements that hearken back to faith, He communicates that this is not literal consumption.

The Jews of the synagogue really should have understood this. However, they were too caught up with their own wants and desires, like the food Jesus provided with the feeding of the 5,000 the previous day. Jesus is telling them that they need to seek true bread and true drink, telling them of spiritual realities. Sadly, though some may have understood that He was refocusing them from physical to spiritual realities, they just do not receive it.

The question is whether you do. We’re going to have communion in a few minutes, so let me ask you this. Do you put faith in it to save you? Do you believe it will bestow some special grace that will add up to salvation eventually? Or, do you trust in the true bread and drink to provide you sustenance, and you just use the Lord’s Supper as a means of remembering the Lord’s sacrifice on your behalf? Place your trust in Him completely and alone for salvation!