The Identity Of Believers.

THE IDENTITY OF BELIEVERS.

John 6:51-59.

JOHN 6:51. “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.”

Jesus is the living bread which when a man “eats” it, i.e. puts his whole trust in Jesus, causes him to live for ever. This is made possible because of the sacrifice which Jesus was going to make: “the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

JOHN 6:52. “The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”

The Jews in the Capernaum synagogue (cf. John 6:59) struggled to understand what Jesus was talking about. The tone of this sentence is one of scorn.

JOHN 6:53. “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink of His blood, ye have no life in you.”

The feast of Passover was approaching, when the Jews would be reminded of how their ancestors’ means of safety was by the partaking of the flesh of a sacrificial lamb, whose blood had been shed on their behalf. Thus, Jesus was pointing to Himself, as had John the Baptist, as ‘the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world’ (cf. John 1:29). The feasting Jesus is referring to is not carnal, but spiritual: the feeding of our innermost being by faith in the full, final sacrifice of Jesus.

JOHN 6:54. “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

So what is this eating and drinking? Jesus says quite categorically that whoever 'believes' in Him has everlasting life (cf. John 6:47), and calls this “eating His flesh and drinking His blood” (John 6:54). *

Who will He raise up “at the last day”? (i). Those who are given to Him by the Father (John 6:39). (ii). Who see the Son and believe on Him (John 6:40). (iii). Who are drawn by the Father and come to Christ (John 6:44). (iv). Who, by faith, “eat His flesh and drink His blood” (John 6:54).

JOHN 6:55. “For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”

This is food and drink for our innermost being, food and drink that satisfies the soul, food and drink that endures to eternal life. It counters the false claims of the food which Satan offered, which brought sin and death into the world. Jesus, by His food, offers life and heaven.

JOHN 6:56. “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”

The person in John 6:54 who ‘has everlasting life’ is here said to “dwell” in Jesus, and Jesus in him. Our soul abides in Christ, and He abides in our hearts. This anticipates John 15:4, ‘Abide in me, and I in you.’ When we by faith ‘feed’ on Jesus’ finished work, what we imbibe becomes a part of us, and there is a union between Christ and our soul.

JOHN 6:57. “As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”

Jesus further illustrates this union as comparative of that between Himself and “the living Father.” The Father is the source of all life, and just as Jesus lives by the Father, we who “eat” of Jesus live by Jesus.

JOHN 6:58. “This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead; he that eateth this bread shall live for ever.”

As the living “bread that came down from heaven,” Jesus is unlike “the manna” which was eaten by men that are now “dead.” The souls of these men received no benefit from the manna; whereas those who “eat” of Christ “shall live for ever.”

JOHN 6:59. “These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.”

This conversation began at the place where Jesus’ pursuers found him and asked when He came hither (cf. John 6:25). The audience appears to have changed from ‘the people’ to ‘the Jews’ (i.e., the Jewish leadership) at John 6:41. By the end of the discourse, we are told “these things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.”

*FOOTNOTE: Jesus’ response (John 6:53-58) is only a veiled reference to the communion in its immediate context. However, since these words were spoken at the season of Passover it is not inappropriate to refer to ‘eating His flesh and drinking His blood’ at Communion, provided we understand that this is only a figurative expression and symbolic action for ‘believing unto everlasting life’ (cf. John 6:47).