Or, Why You're Dead If You Don't Eat and Drink
Scripture: John 6:52-59
Date: July 8, 2012
Speaker: Sean Higgins
It’s hard to determine the point of this paragraph—of the last half of John chapter six for that matter—because it appears to send two conflicting messages. Jesus, the one doing most of the talking in the story, is explaining why men don’t believe. Not only do they grumble and quarrel, they also won’t come to Jesus unless the Father gives them to the Son and draws them. Jesus explains why men don’t believe.
John, however, the one doing the writing of the story, is inviting men to believe. That’s the point of his entire gospel. Even though men grumble and quarrel, even though the Father must draw them, they won’t have life without believing in Jesus. John invites them to believe.
So which is the point? Both. Besides, I think it’s probable that Jesus, while explaining their unbelieving, is at the same time inviting them to believe. And John, while inviting believing, is also explaining men who don’t. We are benefited by both. We need to hear the invitation and the explanation. That said, both are hard to chew.
The flow of verses 52-59 follows this path: verse 52 - Arguing, the crowd of Jews respond with agitation to Jesus telling them His flesh was bread. Verses 53-58 - Answering, Jesus answers the crowd and agitates them even more. Verse 59 - Abridging, John ties a bow on the paragraph and summarizes why Jesus was so agitating. Let’s start there.
Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. (John 6:59 ESV)
These things goes back to verse 22. The crowd followed Jesus seeking further food from Him since He fed them the previous day (verse 26). They’re in Capernaum and, in particular, in the synagogue. This is a group of religious people in a place of worship. These people might be hungry, but they’re civilized; they have some culture. Jesus taught that they needed to seek a different sort of food, true food, food that endures to eternal life. He called it the Bread of Life and then said that He Himself was the Bread and that they needed to come to Him. He just told them that they needed to “eat this bread” (verse 50) and then said that the bread is His “flesh” (verse 51).
They freaked out.
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52, ESV)
They began arguing with each other. Disputed is more heated than “grumble” in verse 41. They were fighting and bickering. But just as their grumbling, their arguing wasn’t with Jesus, it was about Him. They’re talking about this man, not a pronoun of compliment. There is no indication that anyone in the debate was on Jesus’ side. They were divided about how to disagree with Him, stumbling over each other to differ with Jesus.
The general question was, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? That doesn’t make any sense. This wouldn’t be the first time that people misunderstood Jesus’ metaphors. Nicodemus asked about crawling back into his momma’s belly. The woman at the well wondered where His bucket was. Eating the flesh of of a man is no less problematic. Even if they did understand that it was a figure of speech, they didn’t ask Him what He meant.
Jesus sticks His spoon in the boiling pot and turns up the heat.
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. (John 6:53, ESV)
He’s serious. Truly, truly. He’s not playing games here. But He doesn’t answer their question, not yet, nor does He back down and try to make them feel better. In fact, He makes it worse. Now they must eat His flesh and drink His blood.
Not only is that repulsive and monstrous, it was unlawful. God said He would set His face against that person who eats blood and that He would cut him off from among His people. God prohibited the Jews from eating the flesh of animals with blood remaining in it (Leviticus 17:10-14), let alone drinking animal blood or human blood. The only use for blood was to splatter it on the altar, not to slurp it from a cup. Just as Jesus intentionally jump-started irritation by telling the paralyzed man to walk with his bed on the Sabbath (John 5:8-12, 18), so Jesus intentionally stirs the pot.
Finley Peter Dunne, a Chicago journalist who lived at the turn of the 19th century, wrote about how a newspaper “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.” Afflicting the comfortable, offending the easily offended, is exactly what they need. Stirring the pot might make the beans uncomfortable, but it keeps them from burning on the bottom. These Jews were stuck and burning in their death. Jesus tells them that life is found in one place: unless you eat and drink you are dead. You have no life in you. They are disputing with each other rather than digesting the food Jesus offers.
Jesus continues His response with four descriptions of the bread-eater. The ESV appropriately uses a different word in verse 54, 56, 57, and 58 from verse 53. “Eat” in verse 53 is from esthio (ἐσθίω), the basic word for taking something in through the mouth, eating. But the word use in verse 54 and following is from trogo (τρώγω), “to bite or chew food,” to munch, “audible eating” (Lenski, 492). But unlike the ESV, it’s not an emphasis on whoever, it’s an emphasis on “the one chewing” or “he who eats” (NAS). The construction, “the one chewing” is used four times and describes the Bread-feeder.
Eaters and drinkers of Jesus are promised things no one else gets.
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. (John 6:54-55, ESV)
Jesus repeats the eating flesh and drinking blood from verse 53, stating the it from the positive angle; you’re dead without it, you live with it. Verse 54 also parallels verse 40:
everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:40, ESV)
The parallel makes the meaning of “eating flesh” and “drinking blood” clear. Since only the one eating and drinking has life, it is vital to understand looking and believing in Christ. Eating and drinking represent the believing, and the flesh and blood specifically connect the believing with Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus characterizes the Bread-feeder by the activity. It is their habit, ongoing, non-quitting eating and drinking. It is a constant receiving, just as the body is constantly fed by eating.
They have, now, already started, eternal life. It’s a different kind of life, and there will be more to say about what makes it “eternal” rather than just meaning “unending.” They also will be raised by Jesus on the last day. That means they get two lives, one for the soul now and another for the body later. Those who don’t eat and drink go from one death to another. They are spiritually dead in soul now and will be physically dead in body soon.
Eaters get eternal life because of what they’re eating. Verse 55 starts with a “for” (though not in the ESV). It is the explanation for verse 54. Jesus is true food and true drink. He’s the only one who can give and sustain true life, eternal life. To switch illustrations, as drawing a map with the earth at the center is improper, so true life with anyone but Jesus at the center is impossible. No one has life apart from the true Life.
Eaters and drinkers of Jesus are joined to Jesus.
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. (John 6:56, ESV)
They key is “in me are abiding and also (I am abiding) in him” (SKHV). Abides is a general word, to remain or stay or dwell. The most famous use in John comes in chapter 15 with the illustration of the vine and the branches. Abiding is another way to say eating and drinking, not that abiding is a result of it. There is ongoing connectivity and non-stop dependence.
This is part of the reason why eaters and drinkers refers to believers. Those who believe live in Jesus and Jesus lives in them. The life principle is integrated, fused into us.
But it’s not reciprocal; life doesn’t flow back and forth. Though both sides do the dwelling, only one side does the depending. Jesus doesn’t get life from us like we get life from Him. He does, though, enjoy fellowship with us. By sharing His life with us, we get what we didn’t deserve and we both get joy.
Eaters and drinkers share in God’s life. The comparison proves the certainty.
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. (John 6:57, ESV)
The living Father (the only time in the Bible this description is used) sent the Son on a life-giving mission. The Son lives because of the Father. The Father is the ultimate and absolute fountain, and He gave the Son life in Himself (John 3). There are no hiccups, no disruption of life in the shared life of the Three Persons united together. Likewise, eaters will live because of being united to Jesus. Just as Jesus lives because of the living Father, we live because of the living Son. If you could separate those Two, then we could be separated from life.
Eaters and drinkers of Jesus have way more than daily manna.
This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:58, ESV)
He repeats Himself about coming down from heaven. They didn’t like it the first time He said it and questioned His paternity. He repeats that the bread their fathers ate was limited. He repeats that He is better bread. Eating Him will bring a forever king of “life unto the ages.”
These are amazing things available only to those who: come, believe, eat, drink, abide. In other words, those who live in an ongoing, dependent, loving, sharing relationship with the Son. For however much eating His flesh and drinking His blood was a graphic offense, it was even more a graphic offer. Eat and drink for eternal, true life!
True life is exclusive: “unless” we eat and drink Jesus we can’t have it. True life is dependent: we must always be feeding, receiving. True life is relational: we abide in Him and He in us. True life is offensive: natural men don’t understand it or want it.
Being offended is easy. It’s natural. And it’s a sign of death. Being offended into true life is hard. But humility is a sign of life. Only the humbled will bow before Jesus, will trust Jesus, will share life with Jesus. Truth drives unbelief crazy and yet truth brings belief by God’s grace.
The group Jesus addresses dwindles. The crowd gets smaller and so-called disciples will grumble and leave Him. We hear nothing about the Capernaum Jews’ response but are left to assume that most, if not all, did not become eaters. It was too hard for them to chew.
What do we do daily to eat and drink Jesus? What does it look like to abide in Him and He in us? Behold and believe, look to and come to and trust in Jesus in all the events and decisions, whether hard or happy.