John 6 & the Holy Eucharist
- samshmn
- Nov 4
- 9 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Protestantism’s War Against the Holy Bible
Our Lord scandalized his Jewish audience by insisting that they had to eat his flesh and blood, otherwise they will never obtain everlasting life. His statements were so shocking that it even offended some of his own followers:
“Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.’ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling at this, said to them, ‘Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?’” John 6:52-62
Later on in his ministry, in fact on the very night of his betrayal, our Lord explained how believers are to eat his flesh and drink his blood:
“Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it. And giving it to the disciples, He said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.’” Matthew 26:26-28
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was being betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must test himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will direct when I come.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-34
Believers consume the physical flesh and blood of Christ sacramentally, meaning through the holy Eucharist. Christians have believed from the very beginning of the faith that the bread and wine are transformed, transmuted, metamorphized/metamorphosed, transubstantiated, etc., into the actual body and blood of Christ by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.
For more on this issue I recommend reading the following posts:
Looking for a way to get around this and not wanting to embrace this ancient, universal and apostolic teaching, some Protestants latch on to the following passage:
“The Spirit is the One who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” 6:63
According to these Protestants, the Lord supposedly explained in the very same discourse that he didn’t mean that one has to literally consume/gnaw his flesh, since the flesh has no benefit. Rather, it is the words he speak by the Spirit which feed and nourish believers spiritually.
The problem with this interpretation is that it ends up proving too much and has our Lord contradicting himself.
For instance, the risen Lord is clear that he came to offer his own flesh for the salvation of the world:
“This is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and also the bread which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” John 6:50-51
The rest of the inspired writings emphasize the point that Christ came into the flesh for the express purpose of having his physical flesh body killed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. It was our Lord’s physical death that canceled the debt of sin and obtained everlasting redemption for all those who would obey him:
“Therefore, remember that formerly you—the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups one and broke down the dividing wall of the partition by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might create the two into one new man, making peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having in Himself put to death the enmity. And He came and preached the good news of peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;” Ephesians 2:11-17
“For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross—through Him—whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, but now He reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.” Colossians 1:19-23
“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me; In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold, I have come, In the scroll of the book it is written of Me, To do Your will, O God.”’ After saying above, ‘Sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will.’ He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:4-10
“For to this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps, who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; who being reviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that having died to sin, we might live to righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:21-25
“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring you to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;” 1 Peter 3:18
“Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose—because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin—”1 Peter 4:1
Clearly then, the flesh of Christ does profit everything since without his flesh body being broken, or killed on the cross, there would be no salvation!
This refutes the Protestant butchering of John 6:63 since the Lord obviously would not contradict himself or the rest of the inspired writers and evangelists whom he sent forth in the Spirit to preach the Gospel. The meaning must, therefore, be something else.
When we read the words of the Lord in context it makes sense to take what he said as referring to the necessity of the Holy Spirit to take the things of the Lord and make them efficacious.
In other words, without the Holy Spirit none of the sacraments or words of the Gospel would have any effect. This is why we find the repeated emphasis on the role and work of the Holy Spirit in believing the Gospel and obeying Christ’s commands for eternal life. The following verses help illustrate the point:
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.” The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.’” John 3:3-8
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’” John 4:23-24
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation.” Romans 10:9-10
“Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3
Without the Spirit, one’s worship or baptism is without merit and effect. And without the Spirit, one is unable to truly confess and believe from their heart that Christ is Lord.
Hence, our Lord’s point is that it is the Spirit who will take the commands of Christ and make them life-giving:
“And if anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My words, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him on the last day. For I did not speak from Myself, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.’” John 12:47-50
“‘On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.’” John 14:20-24
And these Spirit empowered life-giving commands include the necessity of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of our Lord via the sacrament of the holy Eucharist in order to obtain everlasting life and glory.
Scriptural references taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
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