Eat My Flesh

In this study, we walk through John chapter 6 where Jesus tells the crowd to eat His flesh and drink His blood. We also look at what is the "unforgivable sin", and what does it mean to be "the body of Christ".

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Scriptures:

• John 6: 1-70
• John 3:2
• Matthew 11:23-24
• Leviticus 17:10-12
• Matthew 12:22-32
• 1 John 4:13-16

John 6: 1-2

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.

• What were the signs they saw?
• He healed the sick
• Were they following Him because they wanted to get healed?
• no they were following because of what the signs meant
• What does it mean by “signs”?
• miracles

Signs

John 3:2

He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him."

• What did the signs tell them
• that Jesus had been sent from God
• that He was the Messiah

many times people want to worship the signs instead of what they are pointing to

Example: Disneyland

The signs shouldn’t be the goal.   The signs are a means to point to something.

John 6: 5-15

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

• What sign did the people here see?
• the feeding of the 5,000
• Why did they want to make Jesus king?
• because they recognized that the sign meant that He was the Messiah

John 6: 16-21

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

• How many signs/miracles have we seen so far in this chapter?
• 3 - healing the sick, feeding the 5,000, walking on water
• Who saw Jesus walk on water?
• only the disciples

• Since the miracles are what convinced people that Jesus was the Messiah, the disciples would have more reason than anyone else to believe

John 6: 22-24

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

• Did this new group of people see any of the “signs”?
• maybe not, but they would have heard about the bread and fish
• Why was this new group of people looking for Jesus?
• <let’s see>

John 6: 25-26

25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

• Why is it bad that they were looking for bread, but okay if they were following because of the signs
• because if they followed because of the signs then they believed He was the Messiah
• What was the reason that Jesus performed signs/miracles?
• To convince people that He was the Messiah

• So these people were concerned with what the sign meant.  They were following the sign.

Sodom

Matthew 11:23-24

23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.e For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

• What would have happened in Sodom and Gomorrah if they had seen the signs that Capernaum performed?
• the people would have changed their ways and the city would have become righteous
• What’s the consequence of Capernaum’s non belief?
• they will go to hell

Not only was Jesus expecting the miracles to convince people that He was the Messiah, but there will be judgement against those who don’t accept the reason of the signs - accepting Jesus as Messiah.

John 6: 27-29

27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

• Did Jesus tell them they needed to: pray 3 times a day, abstain from pork; go to the temple weekly, never lie, never murder, and be circumcised to please God?
• no
• What works does Jesus list that God requires?
• believe that Jesus is sent from God
• believe that He is the Messiah

John 6: 30-32

30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

• so we see that their culture was accustomed to seeing signs as proof of God’s involvement

31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[c]”

32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

Manna

Manna (Hebrew) = “What Is it?”

sometimes God will feed you with things you don’t understand

• we've built a culture where people live in peace when they understand
• we feel entitled to know why celebrities did whatever they did
• we need closure on everything
• we want to live in a world we can control
• kingdom peace goes beyond understanding

Only when you give up your right to understand do you come into a world that goes beyond understanding

John 6: 33-42

33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

• What is Jesus asking them to believe now?
• that not only is He sent from God,
• that if you believe that He can offer you eternal life
• That He came down from Heaven

41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

• What did Jesus mean “I came down from Heaven”
• that He wasn’t just born of a natural birth
• He existed in Heaven from “in the beginning”
• He was in Heaven and came down not as a normal man
• He’s more than a prophet
• Why didn’t they believe Jesus came from heaven?
• because they knew His natural parents and that He was born from Mary and Joseph

John 6:43-51

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’[d] Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

• What does Jesus mean “I am the bread of eternal life”
• He is the source of eternal life
• what he can provide is not just of earthly benefit, but He is the door to eternal life
• Why is the bread his flesh?
• because it’s the fact that He came in the flesh that atones for our sins
• the fact that He lived a sinless life as a man is the reason God can forgive all mankind
• What does it mean that He gives His flesh for the life of the world
• Jesus gave His human life in order as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world

Jesus is saying that the fact that He came in the flesh is what gives us eternal life  So instead of sustaining you through the day like manna did, Jesus resurrection will sustain us throughout eternity.  

Eating Jesus’ flesh is believing that He lived a man come down from Heaven who died for our sins.

John 6:52-53

52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

• Who’s flesh do we need to eat?
• the Son of Man

Notice that “Son of Man” is capitalized.  The means that the Greek word had the definite article.   It’s not just any son of man.  Not just any human, but one specific Son of Man.  This term is only used to refer to Jesus.

Son of Man and the Son of God

1. Yesh'ua (Heb.) is rendered "Jesus" or "Joshua" today. It is his given name. It means "Jehovah Saves."
2. Christos (Greek) is a title translating the Hebrew "Messiah" or "Annointed One." It’s a title that highlights his anointed and special status.  
3. Immanuel (Heb.) is a simple Hebrew construction that says "God is with us." It is as much sign as name. It signifies that in coming to Earth, God has chosen to dwell among us.

We believe that Jesus was a man, but we also believe that Jesus was God.    We know that Jesus’ body was flesh.   We also know that God doesn’t have a flesh body.   So the flesh made Jesus man.   

We also believe that God [The Holy Spirit] was also in Jesus.  Where was He within Jesus?

The Blood

Leviticus 17:10-12

10“ ‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. 11For the life [soul] of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.c 12Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

• Where is the soul?
• in the blood

So it was the blood that made Jesus God.

example: blood type study in Japan

is believed to determine personality in Japan and some Asian countries

• like Myers / Briggs
• phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, melancholy
• dating sites
• marketing

The flesh made Jesus man because it came through Mary.  This made Him the son of man.

The blood made Jesus God because it was the Holy Spirit and was from God.  This made Him the Son of God.

example: mother and child have different blood type

• blood doesn't mix together - jaundice

John 6:54-58

54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

• Jesus says “if you feed on me you will live forever”

• Man does not live by bread alone but by every word from Father’s mouth

John 6: 60 - 63

60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?

• uh oh, here He goes...

62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!

63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

• What does Jesus mean “where he was before”?
• in Heaven
• What will be different about Jesus when He gets back to Heaven
• He will no longer have His earthly flesh

• Why does Jesus now talk about flesh and Spirit instead of flesh and blood
• because when He’s in Heaven His Spirit will no longer abide in Him within His blood
• He is now in the Spirit realm so His union with the Spirit is spiritual and no longer physical

• Now Jesus is telling them that He is not only a man come from Heaven, but He is God come down from Heaven as well

So eating Jesus flesh and drinking His blood means that we believe that Jesus is both man and God.   

John 6:66-69

66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Body of Christ

So what does it mean when we say we are the “body of Christ”?

• since Jesus no longer has a flesh body, we are the new flesh body that Christ’s Spirit resides within.  
• we are the bodies that the Holy Spirit now lives within

The Unforgivable Sin

With this understanding of Jesus as the Son of Man and Jesus as the Son of God let’s see what light it sheds on this passage.

Matthew 12:22-32

22Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29“Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

30“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

• What does it mean that Son of Man is capitalized?
• it can only refer to Jesus

• Remember how we saw that there will be judgement against you if you don’t believe the signs.   That can be applied here to understand the passage.

Verse 32 is saying that if you speak words against (blaspheme) Jesus the Son of man it will be forgiven, but if you speak words against Jesus the Holy Spirit it won’t be forgiven.    So if you say that Jesus wasn’t a man you will be forgiven, if you say Jesus wasn’t God you will not be forgiven.   If you do not accept Jesus as the God come into the world you will not be forgiven.  

This is the unforgivable sin is not acknowledging Jesus as God come who came for our salvation.

You will be judged if you don’t believe the miracle of Jesus death and resurrection to save us from sin.  You will not go to Heaven or have eternal life if you don’t believe this.

1 John 4:13-16

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

• Notice here that if anyone acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God, God lives in them.  

Conclusion

Jesus instructs the crowd not to follow Him because He can provide bread to eat,  but to “eat Him instead”.   He means that they shouldn’t follow Him because they saw Him feed 5,000 people.  Don’t follow Him because He’s a provider.    Don’t follow Him because of the earthly treasures that He can provide.   

He instructs them to “eat Him”.   Meaning that we should feed on Him.  We need to live on the word Jesus spoke.  We need to believe that the sacrifice of His earthly body for their salvation should be sufficient reason for them to follow Him.   God didn’t come down to earth and die so that we could have some bread.  … not cornbread, not monkey bread, raisin bread, garlic bread, flatbread, or even sourdough bread.   His main purpose for coming was to give us eternal life.

We should be thankful for that even if we’re hungry.  

We should be hungry for a relationship with God.

Our faith shouldn't be in what He gives us while we’re here on earth.

How often do we pray to God for in hopes of getting something for ourselves...in hope of bread.

Kingdom faith is faith in the king, not the king's gifts or favor

Don’t put your faith in the things of God

Put your faith in the God of all things    

Summary

• Study of John chapter 6
• Jesus rebuked those who followed Him just for the bread He could give them, but He didn’t rebuke those who followed Him because of the miracles He performed
• This was because those following for the miracles knew that the miracles were signs proving that Jesus was the Messiah
• We need to be cautious not to focus on the signs, miracles or gifts, but to instead focus on what the signs are pointing to
• There will be judgment against those who weren’t convinced by the signs
• Those seeking bread were following Jesus because He could give them earthly things
• When Jesus said He “is the bread” He meant that we should seek after Him for eternal life.  This is what He meant by “eat my flesh”.
• Jesus’ flesh represented Him being here in a human body
• The bible tells us that the soul is in the blood
• Jesus’ blood represents the Holy Spirit inside of Him meaning that He God
• Jesus is both Son of Man and Son of God
• Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means believing that He is both God and man and sacrificed his human life to give us eternal life
• The unforgivable sin is not accepting Jesus as God come to give us eternal life
• Jesus said that if you don’t accept Him as a man you’ll be forgiven, but if you don’t accept Him as God you won’t be forgiven.
  
  

Presenter:  Michael Leadon