“Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.  Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”  He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.  

John 6:53-59

John chapter 6 begins with Jesus traveling across the Sea of Galilee.  He sat with the disciples on a mountain and lots of people began to gather around them.  John says that crowds continuously followed Jesus at that time because He was healing the sick among them.  A boy in the crowd had five loaves of bread and two fish.  He offered them to Jesus and Jesus converted the small meal into an abundant feast that fed thousands of people.  After everyone ate all that they wanted, twelve baskets of food remained.

After the feast, Jesus went back up the mountain alone and the disciples returned to the boat and started back to Capernaum.  After rowing three or four miles, the disciples saw Jesus approaching them, walking on the water.  As He prepared to step onto the boat, it immediately reached the shore at Capernaum.

The next morning, crowds came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.  When they found Him, Jesus said you’re not seeking me because of who I am or because of the signs and wonders, the only reason you are looking for me is because you ate your fill.  Then He said, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27).  

With that introduction, Jesus started a long discourse discussing the bread of life.  He explains that He is the bread of life and concludes by explaining that people who refuse to eat His flesh and drink His blood have no life in them.  Consuming His flesh and blood are essential elements of gaining the life He offers – spiritual life, abundant life, eternal life, the kingdom of God.

Jesus urges us to consume all of Him, to abide in Him and to allow Him to abide in us, to embrace Him fully and completely, to engage in true relationship, fellowship, and communion with Him.  Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).  Jesus says, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41).  Jesus says,  

Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”  John 6:47-51

He continues saying,

“Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.  John 6:53-59 

He is the bread of life.  His flesh is true food, and His blood is true drink.  Consuming Him is essential to life.  Those who eat Him will live because of Him.  But what does this mean?  How do we consume Him?

We consume Him by begging Him to come into our spirits, souls and hearts, begging Him to transform us, and begging Him to bestow His mercy, grace and loving forgiveness upon us.  We consume Him by realizing who He is and seeking Him, trusting Him, placing our reliance on Him.  We consume Him by breathing Him in through prayer and studying, meditating on and knowing His holy word.  We consume Him by following Him, surrendering to Him, removing things from our lives inconsistent with relationship with Him, and obeying His commands, not out of obligation or fear, but because our spirits are blended and His way becomes our way.

We recently shared Holy Communion and we will do so again soon.  The synoptic gospels present Holy Communion as the central event of the Last Supper.  Before we share communion, we often recite Jesus’ words quoted in Luke: “This is my body, given for you, do this in remembrance of me… this cup poured out for you is the new covenant is my blood….” (see Luke 22:14-23).  In this light, some see Holy Communion as symbolic remembrance – bread symbolizing Jesus’ body, juice symbolizing His blood, and we partake the elements to remember.

Jesus’ statements recorded in John 6 call us to much more than symbolic remembrance.  His statements suggest Holy Communion is much more than an intellectual exercise.  It is true communion with living God.  It is receiving Him fully.  It is intentionally consuming Him fully, abiding in Him fully, allowing Him to abide in us fully.  It is sharing in His life through total communion with Him.  It is a merging of spirits.  This is much more than remembrance, it is total surrender, total receipt of His Lordship, true spiritual transformation, and the life-changing results are immediate.  Whoever believes has His life.  Whoever believes lives.  He gives His flesh for the life of the world, and He invites everyone to consume Him fully.  And it is not a one-time event.  It is regularly, continuous communion.  It is living relationship.

 After Jesus said what He said about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, explaining that people must do so to gain life, the people who had been following Him responded in a variety of ways.  Some complained, some chose not to believe, and many turned their backs on Jesus.  The twelve disciples continued to follow Him; they continued believing that He is the “Holy One of God” (John 6:69).  His words are difficult to hear, even for us.  We have the full benefit of Scripture; we have the Holy Spirit in all His glory dwelling within us; we have so much more than they had, yet the teaching is difficult for us even today.  We should each ask ourselves, what does the teaching mean for me?  How will I respond?

We are in a remarkable place in a remarkable time.  God has placed you here and bestowed upon you the authority of position as His representative so that when others are in the process of questioning whether to believe, whether to turn their back on Jesus, they might see you, and through you see His light, life and love, and experience His grace, and respond to His tugging on their hearts.  How will you respond?