John 6: "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

This is a tough chapter. Aside from Jesus's miracles of the loaves and fish, walking on water, etc., I find frustrating how Jesus is so comfortable confusing his dearest disciples. We are able to make more sense of his words, because we know how it all turned out. Also, we are aided by thousands of years of Christian apologists. But why would Jesus be so casual about confusing his friends? When he talks about eating flesh and drinking blood, it makes sense to us because we are familiar with the Last Supper. Why did Jesus wait until he had alienated so many before revealing what he meant? I can't say I'm surprised that people were repulsed by his request for self-cannibalism.

It almost seems, though, that Jesus didn't bring up the image of eating-body-and-drinking-blood until the disciples brought up Moses and the Manna in the desert:

28Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"

29Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

30So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'^[c]"

32Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

34"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."

35Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

41At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"

43"Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.'^[d] Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

53Jesus said to them, "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. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just 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. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

He only mentions eating flesh and drinking blood in response to the Jews' inability to understand that he was speaking metaphorically. Notice at first he doesn't say "eat my body" first he says "Believe in the one He has sent." They then ask, essentially, "well Moses gave us Manna, what can you do?" Jesus then reduces the importance of manna because it was an earthly thing, but goes with their desire for food. "You want food? I'll give you food that lasts eternally." They couldn't believe it was as simple as "Believe in the one He has sent" so Jesus gives them a metaphor of eternal food. In verses 49 & 49, Jesus returns to the image of bread, to put it in a language they could understand. I wonder if the entire ceremony of communion, the whole image of eating flesh and drinking blood came because his disciples needed a physical manifestation.

Interesting...


Prayer: God, help me to look beyond the practical, everyday needs of life. Help me to hunger after eternal things, and not focus on earthly needs.