His Flesh and Blood

Lesson #113

With this lesson we will begin the next section defined by John 6:52 – 58. Jesus said he was the living bread that came down from heaven and if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. He then relates the bread with his flesh. This causes the Jews to dispute among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52 ESV). This disputing is a sign of disbelief and contempt and as a result it prevents them from honestly inquiring about how they are to eat as Jesus commands. Our sinful natures find it easier to try to discredit what we don’t understand than to seek to understand the possible truth of what is being presented. When Jesus says something it is a word from God and we need to accept it as true and then determine to understand it.

Their rejection causes Jesus to issue a rather harsh statement. He says 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” (John 6:53 ESV). Consider the emotion that must be building up in these Jews as Jesus condemns them to the eternal wrath of God for refusing to seek life from his flesh. Without understanding what Jesus is saying and responding by faith there is no hope of salvation. I can feel the resentment building and their rejection of what Jesus was presenting as truth. In some way the flesh of Jesus contained life that they needed; a life that was to be found no place else.

Jesus continues by saying, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:54 ESV). This statement sure doesn’t add any clarity for those thinking about it in terms of a natural response. It is not possible to eat his flesh or drink his blood they think. It makes no sense to them; in the same way it made no sense to Nicodemus to be born again or to the woman at the well that Jesus was the living water that she needed. These concepts are indeed difficult to understand or believe. Just as the body is sustained by eating and drinking, the soul is sustained by feeding on his flesh and blood. We begin to see that our understanding will be found in the spiritual realm and that we will need more information from Jesus on this. There are many things concerning our salvation that are hidden until after our resurrection. Even with more information from Jesus, we still will not have a full understanding of this until we stand before him.

We will seek to add to our understanding in out next lesson.

Prayer

Father, this lesson presents a difficult concept. How easy it is for teachers and pastors to skip over some of the concepts of this chapter, but in so doing we are not stretched spiritually and we miss a vital piece of information about our Lord and savior. When our Bible studies and sermons are topical and not verse by verse the tendency is to focus on the easy and as a result we have become a people short of understanding, lacking in faith and of little influence in our culture. Father, forgive us and encourage us to be more intentional to the need of spiritual growth.