where are you getting the idea of the Eucharist from John 6? The one place you’d expect to find John/Jesus talking about the Eucharist is at the Last Supper–but in John’s gospel, there’s a foot-washing, no Eucharist. This is odd given what we see in John. For example, when Jesus looks forward to something in John’s gospel–it actually takes place IN John’s gospel. So when he says, for example, “the Son of Man must be lifted up,” guess what–there’s actually a CRUCIFIXION to which this prediction corresponds. So where’s the Eucharist in John? There isn’t one. And if not, then how can you be sure that’s what John 6 is talking about
It is widely believed that John wrote his gospel as a supplement to the synoptic gospels. The synoptic gospels were recorded first, and served as a catechetical basis for Christians. John, being the great mystic, wanted to take Christians into a deeper awareness of the Christian Faith.
With this in mind, the synoptic gospels taught how the Eucharist came to be, showing its origins at the Last Supper. Because that was well known by the time John wrote his gospel, he used the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6) to focus on what the Eucharist is (the Body & Blood of Christ) and what it is for (eternal life). He wants the reader to ask himself, “Hey, where’s the Eucharist? How can there be a gospel without the Eucharist?” And then the reader is brought to the realization that the Eucharist is, indeed, there, being described in John 6.
When John describes the foot washing at the Last Supper it serves two purposes. The first is to teach Christians that we are fed, nourished and empowered by the Eucharist for a purpose, and that purpose is loving, charitable service to others. The virtue of humility is also stressed, because the task of washing someone’s feet was performed by the lowliest of servants.
The second purpose of the foot washing in John is to demonstrate that at the Last Supper Jesus instituted his priesthood. If we look for a parallel between the foot washing event in John and the Old Testament, we come across the ordination rite of Aaron and his sons as the initial Levitical priesthood. They were commanded to wash their hands and feet prior to performing priestly service (see Exodus 30:19) but when they were first ordained, Moses was the one who washed them:
And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded to be done.” And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. (Leviticus 8:5,6, RSV) This passage is followed by Moses adorning Aaron in the priestly garments.
Furthermore, the Holy Land was divided among the Jewish tribes except for the Levites. Because they were the priests, God was to be considered their portion rather than anything that was earthly. In the Septuagint version of the Old Testament the Greek word for “portion” is “meris”, and it is used almost exclusively in a priestly context. For example: And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in the land, neither shall you have any portion
(meris) among them; I am your portion
(meris) and your inheritance among the people of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20). We also see this in Deut. 10:9 and Josh 18:7.
Now, consider all this in light with what Jesus said to Peter at the Last Supper:
“If I do not wash your feet, you have no portion
(meris) in me.” (John 13:8) The apostles were ordained by Jesus to be the new priesthood of his Church.
Miguel, to answer your last question (“So where’s the Eucharist in John? There isn’t one. And if not, then how can you be sure that’s what John 6 is talking about?”), in adition to what I stated above, keep in mind that by the time John wrote his gospel, Christians had been celebrating the Mass for
decades. In each of these Masses they received the Eucharist after hearing the words of institution, “This is my Body, this is my Blood.” So when John wrote the Bread of Life discourse (“You must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood”), what do you suppose he thought his readers would interpret this as, if not the Eucharist?
onenow1
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