John 6:35 and the Lord's Supper

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

In verse 35 Jesus asserts "I AM the bread of life." This is equivilent grammar used in the Lord's Supper "This IS my body."

QUESTION: How does one PARTAKE of this bread?

ANSWER: "he that COMETH TO ME shall never hunger; and he that BELEIVETH ON ME shall never thirst."

CONCLUSION: How then does one PARTAKE/EAT of Him as the bread of life? Did he say whoever "EATS" me? No! Partaking of him is obtained by the act of "cometh to me....and believeth on me." This is how one METAPHORICALLY partakes/eats of Christ as the living bread. How to come to Christ and who will come to Christ in faith is spelled out in verses 36-45.

This explanation is again repeated BEFORE he tells the Pharisees that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood to be saved:

47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.

This time Jesus provides the LITERAL interpretation BEFORE again introducing the METAPHORICAL language.

QUESTION: How does one partake of eternal life LITERALLY?

ANSWER: He that "BELIEVETH ON ME hath everlasting life"

CONCLUSION: Twice he makes it clear that his language "I am the bread of life" is metaphorical not literal and twice he spells out how to partake of him as the bread of life - coming to him in faith. Twice he defines this BEFORE telling the Pharisees they must eat his flesh and drink his blood. However, Sacramentalists are as ignorant and blind to this previously defined explanation as were the Pharisees and "disciples" who departed from him over that same language.

However, even after calling upon his listeners to eat his body and drink his blood he again explicitly states that spiritual life is not found in literally eating and drinking him but in believing his words about who he is as it His words about who he is that must be received to have eternal life:

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.

Peter understood this explanation and echoed what it means when he said:

68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Here Peter provides the correct interpretation of this passage and intent behind partaking of Christ. Christ was calling them to believe His words about who He is and come to him by faith due to this message. However, to remove all excuses about what he means, he then tells them it is about either refusing to come to him in faith trusting in who He claims to be:

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.

CONCLUSION: When he said this, his blood was still flowing in his veins and his flesh was still alive. There is no rational way he could be commanding them to LITERALLY drink his blood or eat his flesh because to obey that command would require murdering him on the spot. That kind of command would violate the law of God concerning not only "thou shalt not kill" but the absolute forbiddence to drink blood. The Lord's Supper had not even been established yet and when it was established it too preceded the cross and neither could the bread or wine be understood as his LITERAL body and blood as his LITERAL body and blood was sitting in front of them.

There is simply no excuse for this passage to be applied to the Lord's Supper or to be understood in any LITERAL sense as the whole context before and after defines it METAPHORICALLY of partaking of Him by coming to him by faith in him.

Hence, the words "This is my body....this is my blood" are as metaphorical as "I am the bread of life." He is not literal bread or literal wine but these are metaphors that represent what is necessary for PHYSICAL LIFE applied to what is necessary for SPIRITUAL life - faith in Him as presented in his words about himself which are understood and echoed by Peter - "the words of eternal life. We believe and are sure thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

 

You got it!