Christ said unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood. Why would He use those words when you can’t eat the words of eternal life? Why did Christ place so much importance on the last supper.
You might also be assuming that the idions we use today such as eating up His words would apply back then, unfortunately that probably isn’t the case. When Christ said eat flesh he wasn’t making an idiom as to eating up the word made flesh, it meant eating flesh and drinking blood…
In Matt.13 Jesus gives 4 or 5 parables all having to do with the preaching of the word or the result of not hearing and accepting the word. His disciples ask Him why He preaches in parables. Let’s take a look.
Matt.13
10And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
34All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
In the beginning of Jn.6 is the account of Jesus feeding the multitude. In this account and in the accounts in the synoptics there is always a statement like Jn.6:11
11And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
This seems like a rather innocuous statement but it is important because the account of the feeding of the multitude is what is called a life parable, in other words, it is a parable not only of words, but of actions, so the actions of Jesus are symbolic. For instance, let’s go a little farther and see if we can figure it out.
The multitude wants to take Jesus by force to make Him their king, but He goes up into the mountains to pray. His disciples go to Capernaum by ship, on the way Jesus appears to them. He comes into the boat and immediately they are at the other side. The multitude follows and there is this exchange.
25And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Matt.6
28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
In Matt 6:33 Jesus tells us exactly what we should be seeking.
So, what we can take from this so far is that the bread that Jesus fed the multitude, the bread that they ate with their mouths is not the bread that we should seek after, but the meat (bread) that we eat with our minds, our understanding, our hearts. Got an idea what that bread is yet? Let’s go on.
28Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29Jesus answered and said unto them, **This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. **
30They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
**35And 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. **
So the bread that comes down from heaven is not bread that we eat with our mouths, but bread that we eat with our hearts. Bread that the Father gives that we might never be hungry again. Bread that we BELIEVE IN.
