See my thoughts on this
here.
IOW - Christ wasn’t just talking about partaking in “His Spirit by faith” but as the Jews understood it in eating of the flesh of the lamb as given in the Passover meal and in the eating of the animal sacrifice described in Leviticus and Exodus.
Understanding what the listeners of Christ during the time in John 6 goes a long way in understanding how Christ really can be the in Eucharist.
I agree with you Tonks40: it is important to understand these first century Jews and fallen away disciples of Jesus from John 6…who were in the hearing of Jesus voice. A first century Jew would have understood Jesus, when he is referred to as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. These being of the first covenant, of the natural law, or of the flesh. Know very well that Jesus was speaking literally about his flesh and blood to consume them, in order to have life. That is why they state, who can accept this hard saying? ( like some do here, they cannot accept Jesus words here) These fallen away disciples left Jesus who was going to introduce the New Covenant ( which is spiritual and eternal or everlasting) to their former way of living which was the old covenant. That is why Jesus states the words he speaks are Spirit and the Spirit gives life, for the flesh is of no avail.
Jesus in John 6 states much about Moses and the old covenant. Jesus was asked earlier on “what must we do” Jesus gets to the bread of life discourse, and tells the old (flesh) covenant people, what they must do to have eternal life. First, Jesus has to die, to free us from the old covenant natural law, and then we have to consume the body, blood of Jesus in order to have eternal life.( I would like to note here that this Lamb sacrifice is to be a perpetual sacrifice ACCORDING TO THE LAW AND THE COVENANT of God himself, Jesus makes it an eternal perpetual sacrifice, and fulfills this old covenant law.)
That is why Jesus had to die. To free all of humanity from the old (flesh) covenant that condemns humanity to death.
Where the old covenant required an animal sacrifice and then consumed by the reciepients of God’s forgiveness. Now the New and everlasting covenant, is not of the flesh but of the Spirit that gives life, to the one who eats Jesus body and drinks his blood will have eternal life.
But in order for the old covenant people to come out of the flesh or natural covenant, they must consume the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is preparing them for when he institutes the Eucharist at the last supper, at Passover, which is Jesus the Lamb of God, who passes us over from death into eternal life in his body, blood, soul and divinity, The blessed Sacrament in the Eucharist fulfills this old covenant eternally in his body and blood sacrifice for our sins once and for all.
There has not been any one on these forums including Z that cannot explain the word Spirit and flesh, without coming out of context, or attempting to enter a symbolic meaning of the word Spirit from scripture which does not exist or never has there been a rendering of a symbolic Spirit in scripture.
What is beautiful about God’s word, is that it never ends, it applies the same to the first century believers as it does today. Transubstantiation, does not define the Eucharist mystery as far as knowledge is concerned, for it is suspended between comprehension and incomprehension, transubstantiation calls us to apprehend Jesus in faith in his body, blood, soul and divinity. The flesh is of no avail here, for it is the Spirit that gives life. A symbolic Jesus or symbolic rendering of the word Spirit cannot give life.
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