Christ Jesus made a statement, recorded in the book of John, that I find to be one of the most thought-provoking verses in the Bible: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. . . . For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." John 6:53, 55.The New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips translates these verses: "Unless you do eat the body of the Son of Man and drink his blood, I assure you that you are not really living at all. . . . For my body is real food and my blood is real drink." It might seem a perplexing statement. But when we are willing to examine and consider thoughtfully something we find in the Bible, it enriches our spiritual progress. So, what did Jesus mean? Why did he use these particular words, and what meaning do they have for us today?
Jesus brought
spiritual lessons
to life in a very
pragmatic way.
It's useful to notice that after asking his followers to "eat his flesh," he says to them, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." John 6:63. To me the verses taken together indicate that Jesus was encouraging us to examine the relation of our lives to his. Eating his flesh is a metaphor, showing how very thoroughly we must make his teaching our own.
