Bread Of Heaven Series

And here He is the bread of life to those whose hearts are hungry. But the problem with this crowd was their stomachs were hungry but they never sensed a need in their hearts. And so we see there was confusion in their minds but He does what He can to bring it down to their level. And so we see His clarification.

II He’s clarifying or simplifying His message.

We see this in verse 54, “He who eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath everlasting life.” The problem we have with this statement is that we don’t find it all that simple. If anything we find it confusing.

I touched on it last week but let me repeat that it’s not referring to the Lord’s table. And let me give you three reasons why I say this.

1. The Lord’s table had not been instituted yet. And so how could they do something they knew nothing about. For Jesus to say this and means the Lord’s table would be unfair and we know that He is more than fair.

2. Secondly, Jesus is addressing unbelievers while the Lord’s supper would be an ordinance given to believers so they could remember the source of their salvation and examine their selves for sin. A non-believer has no salvation and therefore no abiding presence of the Spirit of God to enlighten them about their sins so they can confess them and make them right.

3. And then third, the eating of His flesh and drinking His blood results in salvation where the Lord’s table results in fellowship and edification or spiritual growth in the Christian’s life. Many unsaved people partake of the Lord’s table on a weekly basis but they never come to the Lord so they don’t have eternal life.

And so, since He’s not referring to literally eating His flesh nor taking the Lord’s table then what does He mean by saying they must eat His flesh and drink His blood. He is using the terms eating and drinking to demonstrate the kind of intimacy and intensity of the kind of relationship He wants to have with us. We are as dependant on Him for salvation or eternal life as we are on the intake of food for physical life.

Just as the father’s ate manna in the wilderness and died so you too can be fed with the bread and fish for forty years and die too. But, if you realize your dependance on Me you can live forever.

The relationship He wants to have with us is so intimate that He says we will be in Him and He in us. Elsewhere we see the marriage relationship is used to illustrate the commitment He has to us and we have to Him. Now, before a couple is married he goes his way and she goes hers but after the marriage takes place he becomes hers and she becomes his. They are one.

In the New Testament Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is His bride. The church is the one He loves and cares for. It’s like He pronounced His vows in eternity passed. We can imagine He said something like, “I take this church to be my wedded wife. And I promise before the Father to be thy loving and faithful husband in both plenty and want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and health both for time and eternity.”