HOST: Michael Whitworth
SPONSOR: Logos Bible Software
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 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. 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. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 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. 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.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
As we read these verses, our minds most likely go immediately to the Lord’s Supper, the communion that we share with Christ each Lord’s day as we remember His death through the memorial feast that He instituted (e.g. Matthew 26:26-29). While there may be an application of these verses to the Lord’s Supper, it is not that memorial that Christ is referring to in these statements. To “eat” His flesh and “drink” His blood is symbolic language that represents the “taking in” of Christ. To take Him in means to make Him a part of your life and inner-most being, to make His life one with your own. There is also an allusion here to His death on the cross and our willingness to take up our own cross and follow after Him. The lesson is this: if we want to have eternal life, we must accept the crucified Christ, give our lives to Him, and become obedient to His will and teaching. As Paul would later state: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20).
In view of all that the New Testament teaches, how does one become obedient to Christ?
Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!
