Troublesome Topic: Jesus said “My Flesh is True Food”

Lesson 1 of 3

John 6:48

Translation

I am the bread of life.

Paraphrase

I am that which sustains life.

John 6:49

Translation

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and died.

Paraphrase

Your ancestors ate that stuff called “what is it?” which God provided to sustain them while they were in the desert, but they still died.

John 6:50

Translation

This is the bread which comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die.

Paraphrase

This is the true sustainer of life which is provided by God; anyone who eats it will not die.

John 6:51

Translation

I myself am the living bread which has come down from heaven, if anyone eats this bread he will live to the age,

and the bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh.

Paraphrase

I and only I am the true source of real life which has been provided by God; if anyone plugs into this source of life he will live forever. Now the source of life that I offer the world so it can have life is my body as a sacrifice.

John 6:52

Translation

The Jews were arguing with one another saying, How is this man able to give us his flesh to eat?

Paraphrase

The Jews started arguing with one another, saying, What does this guy mean by saying he will give us his body to eat?

John 6:53

Translation

Therefore Jesus said to them, I say to you, Amen, amen,

If you have not eaten the flesh of the Son of Man, and have not drunk his blood,

you do not possess life inside you.

Paraphrase

Then Jesus said this to them: Listen to me. This is important; you need to get this. If you have not plugged into Me as the source of true life, and if you have not subjected yourselves to the covenant made with my blood, you don’t possess true life, only a cheap copy of it.

John 6:54

Translation

The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood possess eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,

Paraphrase

The one who plugs into me as the source of true life, and subjects himself to the covenant made in my blood possesses life that will last forever, and on the final day I will raise him up from the dead to a life that is eternal,

John 6:55

Translation

For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

Paraphrase

because my source of life is the source of true life and is the only source worth seeking, and the covenant made by my blood is the most important covenant of them all, the only one worth seeking.

John 6:56

Translation

The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides

in me and I in him.

Paraphrase

The one who plugs into my source of life and submits to the covenant made by my blood will always be present with me and I will always be present with him.

John 6:57

Translation

Just 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.

Paraphrase

Just as the Father who is the source of all life sent me and I live because I am plugged into the Father, so the one who is plugged into me will live because I will be his source of life.

John 6:58

Translation

This is the bread that has come down from heaven; it is not like what the fathers ate and then died. The one who eats this bread will live to the age.

Paraphrase

I am the source of life that has come directly from God; I am not like the temporary provision for life that our ancestors ate and then later died. The one who is plugged into me as a source of life will live forever.

Why did Jesus say this?

Jesus was saying that whoever did not take part in His sacrificial act could not have salvation. But whoever took that shed blood for himself as a life-giving sustenance would be under His covenant and enjoy life for eternity. In the end the image of drinking His blood is the twin brother to the image of being sprinkled by His blood. His blood (his covenant) and His flesh (the sacrifice of His life for ours) are the only true source of spiritual sustenance, the only thing one can be nourished with in order to have eternal life. The result of participating in, or taking for one’s self, the sacrifice of Christ, is that we will have a close bond to Him (he “abides in me, and I in him”). The converse is also true; the one who does not take Christ’s blood for himself will die.

The next lesson is: Jesus Said to Shake the Dust Off Your Feet

Footnotes

1

“to the age” means “forever.” It is a shortened version of the phrase “to (through) the ages of the ages,” i.e. “on and on.”

2

When “Amen, Amen” were used at the beginning of the sentence instead of at the end, it is an emphasis marker, intended to point to an upcoming statement of pivotal importance, one that will be essential for understanding what is being said in the entire passage.

3

Blood was mentioned here as Jesus looked ahead to His death. When He said these words no one fully understood what He meant, but after he died and rose again His disciples remembered them and understood them because His blood now fulfilled a role they had not understood before.

4

Eternal life does not mean we will not see physical death, rather it means we will be separated from our bodies, we will rest and wait for a while and then He will take us to a place where we will enjoy true life that is unending.

5

“Abides” can also mean “remain, dwell” and also “be present.” Here “to be present with” seems to fit best. The idea of “to be present” carried with it a sense of extreme longevity, “to be present always.”