Articles

John / Chapter 6 / V51-55​​​​​​​

“I 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." Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus 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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” ~Jn 6:51-55

The Old Testament Law contains strict regulations pertaining to food and they are classified as clean or unclean, edible or inedible. The Israelites of Jesus’ time, though they did not live according to the essence of the Law, yet concerning the external ceremonial rituals, they were careful to keep to the very letter. Therefore, the Lord often spoke of them as hypocrites and described them as having cleaned the outside of the cup and dish but not on the inside which were full of uncleanness.

Before the Lord said those words, He had previously fed this group of people through a miracle. Later, they came seeking for Him, not because they had seen the miracle and recognized Him as the Son of God, but wanted a lifelong supply of free food so that they would never go hungry again. Knowing this, the Lord reminded them not to labour for food that would perish but to seek for food that endured to eternal life. Jesus was referring to Himself as the bread of God who came down from heaven that endured to eternal life. He continued to say that those who ate of His flesh and drank of His blood would receive eternal life. Upon hearing these words, many among them were shocked. The Israelites had always been careful to keep all the laws concerning food regulations, they would not hesitate to judge as ceremonially unclean those who did not wash their hands before meal. Now that the Lord urged them to eat His flesh and drink His blood, this must have caused them to be deeply disturbed!

For Christians, we know that we do not have to literally eat the Lord’s flesh and drink His blood to receive eternal life. As the Lord had already ascended to Heaven, where could we find the blood and flesh of Jesus now? Furthermore, how could one man, Jesus, be enough to feed the millions of believers? Therefore, when the Lord said this, clearly He had something else in mind. 

What the Lord had done here was to “beat the Israelites at their own game.” The Lord had deliberately taken a spiritual truth and expressed it through something material, so that those who sought for material benefits from Him would all be stumbled. The true meaning behind “eating His flesh, drinking His blood,” was to tell us that we ought to have a “share” in the life of Christ. If anyone wishes to attain eternal life, he should have the life of the Son of God in him – Christ’s eternal life. The moment when we receive Jesus as our personal saviour, the life of Christ comes and stays within us. This occurs in the spirit and has nothing to do with the physical flesh and blood of Christ. Even if the people then were foolish enough to literally eat Jesus, they would not be able to attain eternal life and would still end up dead. The Lord subsequently explained the true meaning of those words to His disciples: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (Jn 6:63) By believing in His words and accepting His salvation, this is the only way to eternal life and not by eating His flesh and drinking His blood which amounts to nothing.

After hearing the words of Christ, those who sought Him to have their stomachs filled no longer followed Him. Only the twelve disciples remained behind. The Lord in this event demonstrated the unrivalled and unsurpassed wisdom of God. By the use of a few words, He convincingly separated out those who sought Him with the wrong motive, resulting in those who pursued after material gains to back away. Peter, one of the remaining disciples told the Lord, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” The Lord did not concern Himself with the masses that left and did not follow Him. Instead, He even took an active role to drive these people away. The people He desired were those like Peter, who came to the Lord with the correct motive, even though their number might be few.

The reason why many churches fail today is because they did not follow what the Lord had demonstrated here. For the sake of an increase in number, they would resort to secular approach to lure people to the church; providing various types of entertainment, employing preachers with academically acclaimed credentials and adorning the interior with extravagant decor. Whatever method they could think of, as long as it attracts a crowd, they would be quick to adopt it without any hesitation. However, these people that are drawn to the church are precisely the same ones that the Lord detests. The Lord would rather have a few genuine followers than to have a big crowd that only seeks to have their stomachs filled, these are people who seek for worldly gains and material benefits but have absolutely no interest in spiritual matters.