"Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:54
Part 1
Our verse for today comes from the Gospel of John, near the end of Jesus’ great “Bread of Life” sermon. Let me encourage you to read the 6th chapter of John for your own edification.
“Whoso eateth my flesh.”
“He that eateth,” this is not a one-time event, and then it’s over. These words mean a partaking, and it is “continual or habitual,”[1] in the same way that “believe” means a continual believing in Jesus and John 6:29.
“Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29).
The difference between a true believer and one who has simply made “a profession” is that the true believer continues to believe he/she is trusting in Jesus. It is ongoing, it never ends. Jesus taught that feeding on Him is a continuing process, not a one-time event.
“And drinketh my blood.”
Likewise, “and drinketh” is an ongoing and constant endeavor. According to Jesus, “eating His flesh and drinking His blood” does not end for the believer. We need to be careful that we don’t suggest that Jesus is teaching the Lord’s Supper[2] here. We must remember Jesus’ audience. These were Jewish people who would have had absolutely no understanding of the “Lord’s Supper.”
Jesus had just explained to them who He is.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life” (John 6:47-48).
Jesus is the “Bread of Life,” He is the Bread that gives life, it is by believing on Him, or “partaking of Him” that brings a person “everlasting life.” The Jews thought that Jesus might be talking about the manna that their “fathers” ate in the wilderness as the bread that came from heaven.
“Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead” (John 6:49).
The Jews were having a very difficult time with this teaching. They could not understand how Jesus could let people eat His body and drink His blood. It’s sad that they were misunderstanding what He was saying. Come back tomorrow as we see more of the wonderful truth in this verse.
[1] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword. “He that eateth” is a present participle, therefore the “continual or habitual eating.”
[2] Or any kind of sacramentalism, i.e., “eating the flesh,” or “drinking the wine” to gain salvation.