Dear Friends,
This week, Jesus continues his sermon on the bread of life from a synagogue in Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Give us understanding, Father, as we read thy word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
John 6:55-71
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
The spirit of what Jesus is expressing here was covered in last week’s notes on John 6:42-52. Jesus is stressing the paramount importance of 1.) His crucifixion, and 2.) His word. Not only is his name the Word (John 1:1 et al), but He considers his word to be his very flesh and blood, to use hyperbole.
I believe being an author gives me a unique perspective and a little added insight into Jesus’ use of hyperbole in this passage. I think of my writings — my poetry, books, commentaries, journals, etc — as the essence of who I am. My writings are reflections of my soul that show the real me. My body is just a tent that I live in. Considering how I feel about my little scribbles, how much more must Jesus esteem his pure and perfect word? The Bible shows us the heart and soul of Jesus. He is painting a picture for us to amplify his message to the fullest extent. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: (Lev 17:11) Jesus is beseeching us with every fiber of his being to cleave to his word with every fiber of our being.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
By meditating on Jesus’ word, our souls become more like his. The more we become like Him, the more comfortable He feels in our hearts. This process is called sanctification. It is made possible by Jesus’ blood atonement (at-one-ment).
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.
Manna fed the physical body. The bread which came down from heaven (the word of God) feeds our spiritual bodies. (Deut 8:3)
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.
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Notice Peter did not say, You have the flesh of eternal life, but the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
John 6:55-71
The key verse in the passage above is verse 63. This is the bottom line and the sum of the matter. It explains everything that was previously said. It is the Spirit that quickeneth [gives life]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. If Jesus was speaking literally of eating his flesh, he would not have ended by saying the flesh profiteth nothing. John’s Gospel begins with the words, the Word was made flesh. The word proves who Jesus is and explains why his flesh and blood are acceptable to atone for our sins. Hundreds of years before the advent of Christ, Scripture recorded where and when Jesus would be born, how he would live, how He would die, how He would rise from the dead, and how He would ascend into heaven. (Mic 5:2; Dan 9:25; Isa 35:6; Isa 53; Ps 16:10f) No other religious document has prophecies that even remotely compare to the hundreds of pinpoint prophecies contained in the Bible.
If you’re wondering why Jesus cannot be speaking about holy communion, well maybe He is to some degree, figuratively. The trouble started when the ‘Church’ began to teach He was speaking of holy communion literally. Those who refused to accept the doctrine of transubstantiation were martyred for it. The truth is, the round wafer offered in the Mass represents the sun, ie sun worship. They worshiped the sun in the ancient world, including apostate Israel. When king Josiah instituted his reforms, it says in II Chron 34:4 they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, [1 Or, sun images KJV] that were on high above them, he cut down; According to Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the KJV translators added the margin note ‘sun images’ because “Phoenician inscriptions prove that the word was commonly applied to images of Baal … the god of the sun.” Images of the sun ‘on high’ can still be found in Catholic churches today; for example, at the top of the 95′ tall pillars in St Peter’s Basilica. (1) The eucharist is displayed in a monstrance, typically made in the shape of a sunburst. When Jesus served his disciples the last supper, He broke the bread. Bread does not break into circles. The broken bread represented Jesus’ body which was broken for us. (2) According to Hislop, worship of round disks representing the sun began in Babylon, then spread to other areas including Egypt, before being utilized in Rome as the round wafer of the Mass. (3) Consider:
What did God tell Ezekiel to do with the scroll he gave him? (Ez 3:1) Answer: Eat it.
What did God tell John to do with the book he gave him? (Rev 10:9) Answer: Eat it.
We are to eat the word of God. Job said it is more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12) The same way that you can die physically from malnutrition, you can die spiritually from spiritual malnutrition, ie lack of reading the Bible. This is the precise reason the world is in the mess it is in today:
…..Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Amos 8:11
For those who insist that Jesus is speaking of holy communion, that the eucharist is literally transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, consider that Jesus said this do in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19) If transubstantiation was real, Jesus would not have said that. Jesus came to fulfill the law; He would not ask us to do something that so grossly contradicts the law (Gen 9:4; Lev 17:10-16; 19:26) Therefore, He is speaking figuratively. The precious blood of Christ is powerful and it will wash away your sins if you apply it correctly, ie by grace … through faith. Satan always tries to give you an idol that you can see and touch. Reducing the body and blood of Christ to idols offered by a priest is no different than what Aaron did when he fashioned a golden calf, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. (Ex 32:4b) Jesus is going to great lengths in this chapter to impress on us how important it is that we abide in his word. The bread that came down from heaven — what Jesus called his flesh and blood — is the word of God.
After Jesus was finished, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? I think it is plain to see what this all means for us, today, in the twenty-first century: Are we willing to honor and obey the word of God as Jesus is telling us to? Is trusting in a plain, unassuming, old Book enough for us, or will we prefer the wisdom of the world? This is the way Paul puts it:
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:21-31
To put it another way:
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue [abide] in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:31, 32
Father, thank You for the precious bread that came down from heaven which is more than our necessary food. Transform our minds that we may worship You in spirit and in truth. Conform our will to yours, Father, that we may delight in You, walk in your ways, and choose the things that please You. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
(1) Ralph Woodrow, Babylon Mystery Religion, (Riverside, CA; R Woodrow Evangelistic Assc, Inc, 1966) p 131
(2) Ibid, p 129.
(3) Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, Inc, 1959), pp 162, 163.
Coronavirus Update: Guitarist Ted Nugent, age 72, reported that he has fully recovered from a very nasty bout with COVID. Unlike celebrities we heard about who took the ‘vaccine’ and subsequently passed away, ‘Uncle Ted’ refused the vaccine and sought the help of America’s Frontline Doctors when he contracted COVID. Among other things, they gave him hydroxychloroquine and he quickly recovered. By contrast, not only have some celebrities died after receiving the ‘vaccine’ but comedian Chelsea Handler went deaf in one ear only a few hours after receiving the ‘vaccine’.
Last week, Tony Fauci admitted that around 50% of those employed by the CDC have refused to take the ‘vaccine’. A recent article in The Guardian sheds light on why this may be. In 2016, scientists engineered a magnetic protein, which was injected into a virus, that was then injected into an animal’s brain and was used to control his behavior. Could this be the reason that J&J is not providing the inserts that are required by law for their ‘vaccine’? Furthermore, video has surfaced from 1995, in which a theology professor in Canada, Dr. Pierre Gilbert, claimed that this technology was already in existence and was used to prosecute the Rwandan genocide. Of course, there is no way to know whether what Dr Gilbert said is true, but it provides a possible explanation for how Revelation 20:4, something we do know to be true, will ultimately be fulfilled.
