Eat and Drink

Intro.

RECAP:

Miracle of feeding 5k

Walk on Water

Calming storm

Instantly on shore

People look for Jesus

Because they were hungry again and wanted physical sustenance.

Jesus will not give them what they want (physical food) but takes the moment to teach them of spiritual food (Bread of Life) which “gives life to the world”.

None can come to Christ unless the Father draw him (through the preaching of the gospel)

All who believe have eternal life (vv. 40, 47)

Now, as I said last week, we are covering another thing this week which seems to be a bit complicated. However, it is more so complicated by the common false understanding of this passage by some well meant men and women through the ages.

True Meat, True Drink

John 6:35–59 CSB

35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again. 36 But as I told you, you’ve seen me, and yet you do not believe. 37 Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39 This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise them up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” 41 Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to me—46 not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. 47 “Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, 55 because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Now, we have already covered most of this passage which we just read. This evening we come to the very end of this portion of the chapter, v. 53-59.

Now, lets gather our context before we look deeply into what Jesus is saying here.

“I am the bread of Life” in v. 35 and 48 and no one who comes and believes will be thirsty or hungry again.

In this passage what does Jesus say the prerequisite for eternal life and resurrection is?

In vv. 40, 47 He says believing, coming to Him, learning from the Father.

John 6:53–58 CSB

53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, 55 because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Now, what does Jesus say here?

“eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,”

Based on what we have been looking at thus far, what is Jesus saying here?

Eating His flesh, drinking His blood is about believing in Him and submitting oneself entirely to Him!

We eat and drink of Him through faith in His Incarnation and offering on the cross for our sins, and through our lives of devoted discipleship through faith!

The Misconception

Now, on the surface, if one was to just take vv. 53-38, what does it sound like it could be talking about?

Many teach, and have taught for many centuries, that this passage is about Communion — and they treat Communion like a means of receiving grace from the Lord because of how they understand this passage.

Now, it is clear to us that this is not the intended understanding of the passage. When we look at the greater context of what our Lord is saying — how He says “has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day” — other times leading up to this moment, we see what the Lord means!

This is a good example of how important it is for us to put Scripture in its context to truly ascertain the meaning of the words.

This is not the only chapter in the Bible which gets mishandled by well-meant, and not-so-well-meant, people. And, very often, when verses are so misused, it is because the passage or verse is looked at devoid of any context!

Eat and Drink

Now, is it enough to merely mentally ascent to the knowledge of Who Christ Jesus is?

No! As A.W. Tozer said, holding right opinions can happen without having any real devotion to the Person of Jesus our Lord.

If we would truly eat of His flesh and drink of His blood we must fully devote ourselves to Him! We must believe in Him and His sacrifice, but that must include being subject to His Lordship over us and being diligent to know Him closely! He is not a God who is far off from His people, but walks among the churches as we see in Revelation!

Our God desires for us to know Him intimately as we are known by Him! And that will not happen apart from properly understanding the Word as best we can, nor will it happen apart from true and fervent devotion to Christ in all aspects of life.

He says that we who believe will have life because He gives life! So, let us take up His gracious offer through faith and partake of the True Bread which gives life to the soul!