But how do they explain these verses? Christ gives no indication to anyone, including his disciples, that he is speaking metaphorically:
John 6:48-66
King James Version (KJV)
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.
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.
I have heard these verses explained from their original language, and tho I have to take the explaination at the person's word as I don't know these languages, I agree. It says what it says. Even English doesn't leave room to take it as mere symbolism. The early Christians (church fathers) agreed with the true body and blood and some were even killed for this belief. I have visited a few churches where "everyone is welcome" to come to thier symbolic communion, which is grape juice and bread or a cracker. This always left me feeling empty.
ReplyDeletewhen you say "he doesn't indicate that he is speaking metaphorically", what do you mean? the essence of speaking in metaphor is that you don't explain yourself every time you employ it.
ReplyDeletedo i think jesus was a walking talking loaf of bread? no. but he said "i am the bread..." now obviously he means *something* by that, but he certainly doesn't mean to communicate that he is not the godman,but is the "godbread". it is obviously a metaphor, and there is no need to explain it because people can see he isnt a person sized loaf of bread.
you also have to remember that we are along way from the institution of the lord's supper, and so to make a direct 1 to 1 correlation between his words here and at the supper is poor hermeneutic, for , if nothing else, to that point (john 6) no one came up to him and took a bite or drink. so,if he is being literal, he is telling them to do something that no one obeyed, and he never rebukes them for it.
so when people question and say"this is hard" and walk away,we see that jesus is doing what he often did, spoke in parables/metaphor so that "hearing they will not hear/ understand" (matt. 13:13)
if you want an evangelical interpretation, here are the notes from the esv study bible on the passages you cite:
john 6:26 But because you ate your fill of the loaves implies that people were seeking Jesus only for the physical or material benefit that he gave, whereas they should have sought him because they saw signs, that is, miraculous signs that pointed to Jesus’ divine nature and identity as the true Messiah.
John 6:28–29 Doing the works represents the same word that is translated “labor” in v. 27 (Gk. ergazomai). Jesus tells them to work “for the food that endures to eternal life” (v. 27), but the people misunderstand Jesus’ statement and ask about the works required by God. Jesus replies that the work God requires is that people believe in the Messiah.
John 6:31 The OT reference seems to involve several passages, with Ps. 78:23–24 being the most prominent (see also Ex. 16:4, 15; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 105:40). The passage sustains links with (1) the exodus and Passover motifs, (2) the characterization of Jesus as the Prophet like Moses, and (3) the expectation that God would provide manna once again in the messianic age.
John 6:32 The true bread from heaven would be something that nourishes people eternally and spiritually and thus is infinitely superior to the manna given to Israel in OT times, which was able to meet only temporal, physical needs. Jesus identifies himself as this “true bread” in v. 35.
John 6:35 Jesus’ claim, “I am the bread of life,” constitutes the first of seven “I am” sayings recorded in this Gospel (see chart). Apart from these sayings there are also several absolute statements where Jesus refers to himself as “I am” (e.g., v. 20; 8:24, 28, 58; 18:5), in keeping with the reference to God as “I am” in Ex. 3:14 and the book of Isaiah (e.g., Isa. 41:4; 43:10, 25). Jesus is the “bread of life” in the sense that he nourishes people spiritually and satisfies the deep spiritual longings of their souls. In that sense, those who trust in him shall not hunger; that is, their spiritual longing to know God will be satisfied (cf. John 4:14 for a similar discussion of satisfying people’s spiritual thirst).
John 6:37 Whoever comes to me I will never cast out implies that people should never think, “Maybe I am not chosen by God, and therefore maybe Jesus will reject me when I come to him.” Jesus promises to receive everyone who comes to him and trusts him for salvation. Yet, a few verses later (v. 44) Jesus states the paradoxical and corresponding truth that once people come to Jesus, they will realize that behind their willing decision to come and believe lies the mysterious, invisible work of the Father who all along was drawing them to Christ. See Romans 9; Eph. 1:3–6.
John 6:39 All that he has given me implies that everyone who has been chosen by the Father and has been “given” by the Father to the Son for salvation will in fact be saved. In v. 40 Jesus further explains that these people whom the Father has “given” him are also those who believe in the Son and have “eternal life.”
ReplyDeleteJohn 6:40 everyone who … believes in him. See notes on 3:16; 3:18. This verse implies that no true believer will ever lose his or her salvation, since everyone who believes in the Son will also have eternal life and will continue as a believer until the final judgment (the last day), when Jesus will raise him up into the fullness of eternal life.
John 6:43 The grumbling is reminiscent of the pattern of grumbling against God in the OT (e.g., Ex. 16:8; Num. 14:27; Ps. 95:8–9).
John 6:44 No one can come to me means “no one is able to come to me” (Gk. dynamai means “to be able”). This implies that no human being in the world, on his own, has the moral and spiritual ability to come to Christ unless God the Father draws him, that is, gives him the desire and inclination to come and the ability to place trust in Christ (see notes on v. 37; 12:32).
John 6:46 seen the Father. See note on 1:18.
John 6:51 living bread. The “bread” Jesus gives is his flesh (a reference to Jesus’ death on the cross). Jesus’ statement intermingles physical and spiritual truth. Jesus is not talking about literal “bread,” but he is the true “living bread” in the sense that those who believe in him have their spiritual hunger satisfied. He becomes this spiritually satisfying “bread” by sacrificing his own physical body in his death on the cross, and in that sense he can say that this spiritual bread is my flesh.
John 6:52 Another example of misunderstanding in which Jesus’ hearers take him literally (cf. 3:4; 4:15). Jesus teaches spiritual truths by referring to physical objects, and people frequently misunderstand.
John 6:53 Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood cannot be intended literally, for no one ever did that. As Jesus has done frequently in this Gospel, he is speaking in terms of physical items in this world to teach about spiritual realities. Here, to “eat” Jesus’ flesh has the spiritual meaning of trusting or believing in him, especially in his death for the sins of mankind. (See also v. 35, where Jesus speaks of coming to him as satisfying “hunger” and believing in him as satisfying “thirst.”) Similarly, to “drink his blood” means to trust in his atoning death, which is represented by the shedding of his blood. Although Jesus is not speaking specifically about the Lord’s Supper here, there is a parallel theme, because the receiving of eternal life through being united with “the Son of Man” is represented in the Lord’s Supper (where Jesus’ followers symbolically eat his flesh and drink his blood; cf. 1 Cor. 11:23–32). This is anticipated in OT feasts (see 1 Cor. 5:7) and consummated in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9).
John 6:60 It was a hard saying because they wrongly interpreted Jesus’ statements literally (see note on v. 53).
John 6:63 The flesh (i.e., human nature including emotions, will, and intellect) is completely incapable of producing genuine spiritual life (see Rom. 7:14–25), for this can only be done by the Spirit. But the Holy Spirit works powerfully in and through the words that Jesus speaks, and those words are spirit and life in the sense that they work in the unseen spiritual realm and awaken genuine spiritual life.
John 6:64 Jesus’ divine omniscience is shown by the fact that he knew the status of everyone’s heart and therefore he knew who those were who did not believe. He also knew the future because he knew who it was who would betray him. Only God could know these things.
ReplyDeleteJohn 6:66 Many of these early disciples were not genuine disciples of Christ, for they turned back. Their initial “faith” was not genuine and they were perhaps following Jesus only because of the physical benefits he gave, such as healing and multiplying food.
hope that helps....
-stephen
Exegesis, not eisegesis, Pastor Stephen . . .
ReplyDeleteWhile insisting that every one take the Scriptures literally as do most Reformed - when and where it does not suit you to do so (as in the Holy Sacraments), you can read into a text your own brand of "the figurative" better than the Pope in Rome ever thought to do.
I'll leave it at this . . .
The ἐγώ εἰμι Jesus used as His prefacing comment, should make it abundantly clear to you and everyone else that He is about to get brutally literal with what follows - He did, and both the Jews, who KNEW what he was saying, and the newer and suddenly-queasy disciples promptly parted company with Jesus.
If vss. 53-56 are figurative, then vs. 57 is likewise figurative, and does not retain its obvious "literal" meaning either, so the Incarnation itself does not really mean "the Incarnation." It has to mean something else.
And that is the rankest of all heresies.
Bad exegesis always leads to worse theology.
BTW - Jesus set aside His omniscience in His humility, so using the omniscience angle as some sort of clinching argument simply seems out of place and unintelligible.
jb
Correction:
ReplyDelete"BTW - Jesus set aside His omniscience in His humility, so using the omniscience angle as some sort of clinching argument simply seems out of place and unintelligible . . ." should read . . .
"BTW - Jesus set aside His omniscience in His humility, so using the omniscience angle as some sort of clinching argument simply IS out of place and unintelligible . . ."
My apologies.