"Then what did Jesus mean in John Chapter 6"
"Then what did Jesus mean in John Chapter 6"
A Catholic gentleman recently asked this question after reading this and his inquiry REALLY touched me. Catholic friend, it is not my intention to do you any evil or to cause you suffering when I explain the Catholic religion on this site. It is my intention to show you that what you've been told is not true. It is my intention to let you know that Jesus died and rose so that you can KNOW FOR SURE YOU ARE GOING TO HEAVEN. Listen to what the apostle John said in 1 John 5:13,
These things have I WRITTEN unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
This said, I will answer what Jesus meant when he said that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. Let's turn to John chapter 6 in our Bibles and go through it. John Chapter 6 can also be found near the bottom of this webpage at this link. The eternal word will leave no doubt as to its meaning.
JOHN 6 VERSES 1 THROUGH 21
In this first part of the chapter Jesus feeds 5,000 people with just five barley loaves and two little fish.
JOHN 6 VERSES 22 THROUGH 25
The following day, the people went looking for Jesus.
JOHN 6 VERSES 26 THROUGH 27
When the people found Jesus, he told them that they didn't look for him because of the miracle they had just experienced. They came looking for him because they wanted some more food (v. 26). Then he told them not to labour for the meat that perishes but for the meat which would give them everlasting life. Jesus said that he would give to them.
JOHN 6 VERSES 28 THROUGH 29
Then the people said, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"
Jesus' response in v. 29 is very important to understand...
"This is the work of God, that ye
BELIEVE on him whom he hath sent."
JOHN 6 VERSES 30 THROUGH 31
Look at the hardness of the peoples' hearts in v. 30. They said, "What SIGN shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?" Did you see it? Only the day before he performed that huge miracle before them and they totally ignored it saying, "Show us something so we will believe you". They did not believe in Jesus.
Then in v. 31 the people mention how their fathers, the Israelites, ate manna in the desert. Remember God fed them out there for 40 years. The people now wanted Jesus to feed them all the food they wanted.
JOHN 6 VERSES 32 THROUGH 33
Jesus then told them that God is giving them the TRUE bread from heaven. Jesus told them "The bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and GIVETH LIFE unto the world." In other words, Jesus is the bread that gives nourishment to the world. But what kind of nourishment? We shall soon see.
JOHN 6 VERSES 34 THROUGH 35
Then the people said, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." Jesus responded by telling them, "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE: he that COMETH TO ME shall never hunger; and he that BELIEVETH ON ME shall never thirst."
We all know that no physical bread can make us full for the rest of our lives and no physical drink can quench our thirst for the rest of our lives. Then what did he mean? We shall soon see.
JOHN 6 VERSES 36 THROUGH 40
Jesus then plainly tells the people that even though they had seen him they did not believe in him. In verse 40 he told them once again, "And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and BELIEVETH on him, may have everlasting life."
Jesus said if we come to him and BELIEVE in him we will get everlasting life just like eating physical bread gives us physical life. The people were talking about physical life, Jesus was talking about the spiritual life.
JOHN 6 VERSES 41 THROUGH 42
The people did not believe in Jesus and therefore did not receive his words. They murmured at him because he said that he was the bread that came down from heaven. They started thinking back about his family (they thought that Joseph was his father). They basically said in verse 42, that they knew his mother and father and questioned how he could say that he came down from heaven.
JOHN 6 VERSES 43 THROUGH 47
Jesus then told the people that anyone who hears and learns from God the Father will come to him, others won't. He told them what they needed to do and they ignored it and even got indignant about it. Once again Jesus tells them what to do, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me hath everlasting life."
JOHN 6 VERSES 48 THROUGH 51 -- THE BREAKDOWN
Now Jesus breaks it all the way down in these verses. These greedy people were only concerned with having their bellies full so he spoke to them on that level. He basically told them, "Your fathers ate manna and they are DEAD. I am the living bread, eat me and YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER. My body is the bread I will give for the life of the world."
What did he mean by eat me?
Remember he told them that the work of God was to BELIEVE on Jesus.
To believe is to accept, internalize, and absorb--which is what eating is--taking in an outside substance, food inside of you. But unlike physical bread which is eaten and cast out through the digestive system, the spiritual bread, the word of God, is eaten/internalized through belief and never cast out. It remains inside of us. In verse 58, Jesus explains that when we eat him it is "NOT as your fathers did eat manna and are dead". It is not the same kind of eating. It is INTERNALIZING, ACCEPTING, BELIEVING HIM.
Just as we need physical bread to stay alive, we need belief in the Jesus and his sacrifice (spiritual bread) so that we can be born again and live forever. We need him and his flesh is meat indeed because it was broken for us on the cross to pay for our death penalty which we all deserve for our sins--hell and the lake of fire which is eternal death. If we repent and believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and obey him according to his word, we will not experience spiritual death in the lake of fire. Instead we will be born again and be alive to God and his word and we will go to heaven and have eternal life. Believing/internalizing/eating this fact gives us eternal life. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, he helps us to overcome sin and the world. His grace helps us. After we get saved, even our desires change--and this does not take a long time. It is not contrived, it is natural.
What about the blood? Jesus' blood is lifesaving drink indeed because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission (forgiveness) of sins. We need blood, the blood of Jesus alone. God the Father sent his only begotten Son to die for us and to shed his blood so that we can be saved. The blood of Jesus is the propitiation of our sins. It is the payment. Without the blood of Jesus, we would have no hope. We have sinned and we all deserve the lake of fire, but God is not willing that any should perish. When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the blood of Jesus washes away our sins and we are reconciled to God who becomes our Father and we have a good future in front of us. We become children of God and we read his word and obey it and God helps us through life and when it is time to die, we go to live with God forever. Hebrews 9:22 says that blood is required in order to get forgiveness/remission of sins,
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Once again, if we accept Jesus, internalize him, receive him, yea eat him, we have ETERNAL LIFE. The people were talking about physical life, Jesus was talking about SPIRITUAL life. Look back at the passage--when asked what we have to do to do the works of God, Jesus said,
"He that BELIEVETH on me hath everlasting LIFE."
When we believe on Jesus Christ, he actually lives inside of us, never to be purged like physical bread.
Because I believe, Jesus lives in me. As we continue on in this passage, we will see that the Lord makes clear he is talking spiritually.
JOHN 6 VERSES 52 THROUGH 69
This caused the unbelieving Jews to say, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" They are still thinking about physical life and physical bread. Jesus is talking about spiritual life and spiritual bread. He has told them over and over that the work of God is to believe on him and they repeatedly refuse to believe on him and persist in seeking physical bread.
In v. 55, Jesus said, "My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." Many people were offended at the thought of this. Because of their unbelief, they were still thinking in the physical realm.
What about the disciples that left him? Was it because they had to literally eat his flesh and drink his blood? No! They left because just like the others they did not believe in the Lord. Because they did not believe, they could not understand what Jesus was saying (see I Cor 2:14).
In verse 63, Jesus asked the disciples that murmured, "Doth this offend you? It is the SPIRIT that quickeneth [gives life]; THE FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING: the words that I speak unto you, THEY ARE SPIRIT, and they are life." He told them plainly that he was not talking literally. He said, "...the words that I speak unto you, THEY ARE SPIRIT." He also told them here that the physical flesh profits NOTHING, ZERO, ZILCH, NIL, NADA--NOTHING!
The Bible teaches us that when we partake of the Lord's supper, we are doing it in remembrance of him and we are shewing his death until he come--
1 Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
1 Corinthians 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1 Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
1 Corinthians 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
The heretical doctrine of transubstantiation and the eucharist is a direct contradiction to the word of God for it says that this supposedly transubstantiated bread does profit.
It appears that Roman Catholic apologists purposely leave out verses 63-64 when claiming that John 6 is about the eucharist. The word, "eucharist" is not even in the Bible. There is no concept of the eucharist in Bible--but there is in pagan religion...
What we've done here is straight exposition from the Bible. You don't have to take my word for it, you can get your Bible and do the exact same thing--compare this to your Bible [Note: There are many fake Bibles on the market today, I strongly suggest using the Authorized King James Version. You can read it or download it for free online at this link.]. We are talking about the difference between life and death here. It would behoove any Catholic to check this out and decide if they want to continue trusting the eucharist for their eternal life instead of trusting the real Jesus who loves them and died for them.
JOHN CHAPTER 6
AFTER these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,
17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
22 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;
23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)
24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.