Figurative statements given by Christ in Scripture either are metaphors accompanied by explanation, or a designation that it’s a parable, or similes.
John 15:6 "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth *** *
AS A BRANCH, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned. In Greek, we have “hos” which indicates a **simile **(using like or as, which the word hos is when used as an adverb, see Thayer’s Lexicon at the link:
blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G5613 )
John 10:6 “This **parable **spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.” Greek paroimia
When Jesus’s sincere followers don’t understand him, he explains what he means. Mark 4:34
Enter John 6:
"For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. "
The Jews don’t object to “the Bread is He”. They ask for the bread.
"Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. "
Notice the “Lord”–Jesus has a friendly audience of Jews, not hostile Pharisees and or what have you.
Jesus responds: “And 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…For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me…”
The Jews: "The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? "
They’re more puzzled why he said he came down from heaven when they know his mom and dad, than the fact he said he was the bread of heaven.
Jesus: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. "
Eat here is Greek “phago” which is eat or consume. Flesh is Greek “sarx” Thayer’s lexicon says it’s the meat that can be stripped off the bone.
The Jews get very confused and think he is literally saying to eat him: “The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?”
Jesus doesn’t say “You don’t understand the metaphor.” Or “This is the parable of which I speak”
He says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat
indeed, and my blood is drink
indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”
In Greek, Jesus transitions to the verb “trago” meaning to literally gnaw or vigorously chew. “For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”
Indeed here is Greek “alethos.” Thayer’s Lexicon lists only one definition: 1) truly, of a truth, in reality, most certainly.
It is here that Truth Himself contradicts those who say it is a symbol only or a metaphor only. (Alethos is used in John 15:1 but in a different sense. The Greek is ή άμπελος ή α̉ληθινὴ, ‘the vine the true’. The Aramaic is, I am that vine of truth. It’s not “truly I’m a vine”)
The disciples take him literally: "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard [this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? "
**
If Jesus
is using a metaphor when he says “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life.” Then he means “Whoso ‘acts cruelly to me’ hath eternal life.” In the Hebrew Lexicon we see that to eat the flesh of someone is an idiom to be cruel to them. link:
tinyurl.com/cose3vd**
Remember Mark 4:34 where Jesus sets the precedent of explaining Himself privately?
Jesus brings up eating his flesh privately with his disciples later at the last supper. He doesn’t say it was a parable. He doesn’t use a simile. But He does it in the context of something like a seder meal, where they were told told to eat His Body, during a time of year** when the passover lamb is sacrificed and literally consumed.
**
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, Take, eat;
this is my body. …
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
