eat my flesh? drink my blood?

He doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t misspeak. His words are calculated. weighed. perfect. He means exactly what He says.

“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” – Jesus Christ

WHAT?!

tonight is the first night of taking on some of the truly hard things Jesus said. i figured this would be as good a place to start as any. if you take this verse without the context and at face value, the Son of God can come off as some crazy leader who belongs in some of the ever popular movies that are out these days. just so we’re clear: the Son of God is not a vampire. i’m not hating on those movies, guys. just making it known that you won’t find Him in the twilight series. we’ll get to why He mentions drinking His blood in a few. remember, He’s calculated. perfect. doesn’t make mistakes. this is not a statement that somehow got through the “perfect” filter that He now wishes He could have back. he doesn’t do that. He’s better than me.

He meant it.

why?

because eating His flesh and drinking His blood was the absolute best way to put it to a group of people that had to hear it just that way or they may not get it. well, they got it. many may not have liked it at the time, but they got it.

check it out. john 6:53. just earlier (52 verses to be exact) Jesus had just fed the jewish crowd with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. 5K filled with bread that won’t last. i bet the little tots with high metabolism were hungry an hour later. that meal didn’t last. they needed more. thus, like we probably would, they kept following Him. not because they saw the miracle and realized He was the Son of God, but more likely because they got hungry again and free food is LEGIT. ask any college student. but, Christ was out to show them that He could fill them spiritually as well, which was so much more important to Him. thus, he mentions himself as the Bread of Life. and as for the blood? i think there’s several reasons Christ goes here. one, He’s clueing them in on the fact that soon, He will spill His blood for them. reminds me of when david writes psalm 34. “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

but is it deeper than that?

YES. after Jesus tells the crowd at the synagogue in Capernaum not to “work for the food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life”(6:27) the crowd asks for the sign. you see, they’re going back to the bread of their forefathers. exact same attitude as their descendants. seriously, read exodus. remember the manna that God made fall from heaven to quench the hunger of His people during the leadership of Moses? the Jews at this time believed that this same miracle would manifest again in this time. Jesus then tells them that He is the true bread from heaven and how “he who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never go thirsty.” (6:35) they're looking for one kind of bread. Jesus is offering them and you and me another. one that satisfies. quenches.

it goes ever deeper. did i mention it was during the second passover festival that Jesus says all this? it's one of the biggest events of the year. He knows the crowd. knows the time. and thus, He knows exactly what to say. to attempt to understand this completely, you and I must know why the Passover is celebrated by the Jews in the first place. the Passover celebrates when the LORD freed the Hebrews from the hands of Pharaoh. this is found in the book of Exodus during Moses’ leadership and right before the manna fell. remember the plagues and the staff of moses and all that jazz??? the gang finally got free, right? well, during that time, it was said that the Hebrews left so fast that the bread they were cooking didn’t have time to rise. it stayed flat. it got them through the exodus. thus, the primary symbol of the Passover holiday is the bread. the bread is the staple. the centerpiece. the jewish custom is to actually eat an incredibly important meal that commemorates the passover. it's called the seder meal. reminds them of the freedom God gave them in escaping the Egyptians. the primary food of the meal is the bread. the first part of the meal is the drinking of the wine.

Jesus is brilliant. knows this. gets this. then offers himself as the primary person in the history of the world in the exact way the Jews will understand. He is the staple. their bread won't last. neither will the wine. but He will. He is proclaiming Himself as the Messiah. the Centerpiece.

eat of Him. drink of Him.

they may not like it. many of the Jesus’ own disciples didn’t. but they got it.

right before chapter 7 starts, Scripture says that many of the disciples deserted Jesus. walked away. i love how david platt says it's tough to build a huge following when the Leader keeps telling people to eat Him and drink His blood. but, it's the right way to build true disciples.

and then check this out. during the initial Passover, what was placed over the doorframes to protect God’s people from the 10 plagues?

the blood of a lamb.

so, so incredible.

in that day, if you’ve got the lamb, you’re protected. you’re covered by it’s blood.
Jesus inserts Himself as the Lamb of God. the Bread of Life. that is why we're told to eat His flesh and drink His blood. only through His body are we satisfied. only by His blood are we covered.

it’s a tough saying. but, it’s the right one.

for them and for us.

g


ps. that's why we have the Lord's Supper now. it reminds us of the blood and body of Christ. given for us. it reminds us to give ourselves back to Him.