What do you think you would do if you were to go to your doctor with some illness and he told you: "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no hope of getting better!"? I think you would want to get out and away as quickly as you could!
But I hope you will not quickly stop listening when you hear what Jesus Christ once said. Please listen to His explanation; you will be glad you did!
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you can eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has Eternal Life, and I will raise him up a± the last day. (verses 53-54.)
Many of His disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 'Does this offend you? What if YOU see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before!" (verse 60-62.) After His resurrection they would see Jesus' body taken up into Heaven. (Acts 1:9-11.) It was NOT going to be left here on earth to be eaten, or to be offered as a sacrifice again and again. (Acts 2:31-36. 11:34-39. Hebrews 10:11-18.)
To further convince His disciples that they had misunderstood what He had said about "eating" the Bread of Life, Jesus went on to say, "The Spirit gives Life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are Life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." (verse 63.)
So even if we did have Jesus' flesh, and could eat it, Jesus Himself said it would "count for nothing"!
Jesus did not mean us to take any of His many "I am.." illustrations literally. When Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world" (John 8:12.) He did not mean night would never be dark for His followers! Jesus was not speaking about visible light; he was teaching that He would put away the "darkness" and evil of sin from the lives of those who would put their trust in HIM. (Acts 26:18.)
In the same way you must not think that when Jesus said "I am the Bread of Life" He was becoming food for us to eat! You can't eat Christ! And God's Word tells us clearly, "Food does not bring us near to God..." (1st Corinthians 8:8.)
Jesus was NOT offering Himself as food to be consumed, but as the Life giver to be believed in. That's why He had said earlier, "I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. But as I told.. you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe." (John 6:35-16.)
Will YOU believe in Jesus Christ today as the only one who can "take away the sin of the world" (John 1:29,) - the One who can take away the hunger and thirst of your sinful appetite, and satisfy you by giving you Life that will be pleasing to God. (2nd Corinthians 5:17. Titus 7:11-14.)
Read the words of Jesus in John's Gospel chapter 6, verses 52-64.
John Nixon, Cork, Ireland. P31HD98. Contact: jnixonj@gmail.com
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