52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Chapter Six of John’s Gospel is the home of the great “Bread of Life Discourse” which goes on for quite awhile. At this point in the discourse Jesus has told the Jews, who wish to eat of the true bread of Heaven, that he is the bread and they are going to have to eat him. Those that do this, will live forever. This is obviously a difficult saying for a variety of reasons. The Jews response of confusion could be interpreted in a variety of ways.
The most immediate is that cannibalism would obviously contradict the Mosaic Law but there are a few others that I think are important especially as it pertains to the miracles that Jesus has previously performed. There are two more pressing issues, one of which would answer the Mosaic Law problem. How could Jesus’ flesh also be bread? or Vice-versa? If his flesh is the bread, will isn’t that kind of limited? One full human body of flesh is going to limit the amount of people who could eat from it. Two of the previous Signs or miracles of John’s Gospel point to the solution and also the other signs point to the effects of eating Jesus’ flesh as well.
The first Sign is the wedding feast at Cana, at a Convental Feast (a Marriage) Jesus transforms water in to wine. It’s not just a “Wowee, magic trick” moment. He is demonstrating is authority over material substances. He can by his own word, transform one thing in to another. If he can do that, he can transform his flesh into bread if he so wished.
The second and third sign deal with healing human frailty in both the nobility and the peasant, these are historical events but also symbols of the effects of receiving eternal life when consuming Jesus’ flesh. The fourth sign answers the other problem, Jesus can literally multiply bread and feed as many people as he wishes. He can multiply mass of material and transform it. So Jesus has actually given all the evidence already for why they should trust him on this but that’s easy for us with 2000 years of Church tradition as our starting point. These Jews did not have that but technically Jesus gave them everything in order to accept it.
53 So Jesus said 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;
In response to their questioning of Jesus’ statement, Jesus doubles down. Even using the signature “Amen, amen, I say to you” preface. This always precedes important teachings. If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man, you will not have eternal life. It’s extremely simple and extremely clear. Though to clarify, we are bound by these sacraments, God isn’t. If we enter the covenant and reject the body of Jesus, we reject eternal life. Jesus is not going to punish those who know nothing about it and therefore can never receive it. He is also fully aware of who would have accepted it had they been offered because he is God after all.
54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Jesus triples down on his statement and now even moves into more graphic language. The word for eating in the previous verses was esthiō, it can be used is metaphorical and spiritual terms but John now records Jesus switching up the phrasing to reaffirm just how literal he is being by writing trōgō. This is explicitly a physical chewing action of food. You can’t really get out of the physical eating meaning of what Jesus is saying. He also continues to reaffirm the drinking of his blood because it has eternal life. Consuming this will cause you to be raised up at the last day, so it is a prerequisite for the resurrection at the end of time.
I am now going to go on a massive ramble so forgive me.
It should also be noted that in the Hebrew context, regardless of species, the drinking of blood was massively forbidden for the exact reason it was practiced by the pagans and I believe it is this underlying belief that actually makes Jesus’ case for drinking his blood. God’s original words to Moses about abstaining from blood was to do with blood having a particular purpose and it shouldn’t be misused. Blood contains life, the purpose of the blood in Hebrew Sacrifice was to ratify covenant, the day of atonement for example the blood gets splattered everywhere on the Ark, the people, its very messy. That’s its purpose, drinking it would be like hammering in a screw on top of that, the life of the animal is in its blood and you as a human are above animals, the ancient idea of “You are what you eat” extends even to this point in time. Drinking an animals blood would be an insult to your inherent nature. Now step in the pagans in an almost universal way, they did drink animal blood, almost always in a ritual way because the life of the animal was in it and especially as it relates to the belief of animals as being living icons of the their respective gods. If you drink the blood of the ox you become as strong as the ox deity, that kind of logic. We actually still see this in modern day African countries unfortunately.
Obviously in our understanding of the supernatural universe, we believe these entities in some fashion exist, they are demons and in the sense of the divine hierarchy we are actually above them and as they are finite beings, their power is limited so trying to ritually consume them is an insult to ourselves and God. The only way ancient Hebrews could eat animals was by explictly offering them to God first, a demonstration of “yeah I’m not worshiping this guy, I’m team God”.
Yahweh in his divine condescension and pedagogy has been preparing his people for the moment where he offers himself, he is uncreated and infinite and the incarnation demonstrates God’s entering into time to physically offer his divine unlimited self to his people. You are what you eat. This is theosis, divinisation at play. The Laws that the Jew’s clung to and to this day use as their proof against Jesus are actually the framework mechanism for why Jesus does it at all.
55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.”
59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
[unfinished]
Leave a Reply