What did Jesus mean when he said this?

Question

In John 6:53-54, Jesus says:

"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Is this literally true?

Answer 1

Sounds a bit gruesome, doesn't it? And very unfair. I mean, how much flesh and blood could he have had? Enough for everyone?

Answer 2

Christians have believed this is literally true from the moment Jesus said it. Some were hoping that He might be speaking figuratively, but He dashed those hopes by telling them, "My flesh is REAL [not symbolic] food; my blood is REAL [not symbolic] drink. At that moment everyone present realized that He was speaking literally. Which is why many of them got up and walked away shaking their heads, saying "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?". Obviously if they didn't think He was speaking literally there would have been no reason for them to abandon Him over the teaching. If in fact all these people were walking away from eternal life over a simple misunderstanding, because they thought He was saying something that He wasn't actually saying, why didn't Jesus just speak up and correct the misunderstanding instead of sitting there silent and watching them walk away? The answer of course is obvious. There was no misunderstanding. They understood Him exactly as He meant to be understood - literally - and they just had to deal with it.

Today there are those who claim to be His followers, yet who still say, "this is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?". The answer of course is that the members of His Church do accept and believe it in faith, as they have done for 2,000 years and will do until the end of time, because of Who said it - our Lord and Savior, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. His word is good enough for true believers.

Answer 3

That you have asked the question means that you have some relationship with Jesus. For many, these words have been spirit and life throughout the centuries. We know that this was meant to be a hard saying and is still as hard today as it was then. Meditation on the meaning will lead you into a relationship with Jesus. Go to a catholic mass. Spend time with the blessed sacrament and find out for yourself. The words themselves are where Jesus lives (he says). We can have a relationship with him if we have the faith to know that he is with us forever, in his words, when we gather. Rather than thinking you are eating Christ (who cannot be destroyed by human hands) realize that Jesus wants to live in you. You can be the body of Christ where Jesus' words which are his spirit and life can live in you. Yes, it is literally true IF you have faith that Jesus wants to live through you. We are used to truths that are independant of us. This is not like that because it is more intimate. This is more like: 'I will stick by my best friend no matter what'. Is that true? Well, the answer involves you.


Peace

Answer 4

Yes, in most physical churches they give you a wafer and cranberry juice.

To eat my flesh is to hear the Words Jesus spoke
To drink my blood is to believe in the Words and do as they say.

For the life is the spirit, not the body, the body is nothng more than a house for which the spirit can enjoy the physical world.

We are spirit, and we need to feed the spirit
Jesus said "the Words I speak unto you they are spirit they are life" The Words I speak unto you have made you clean

Answer 5

This is a reference to more than the literal implication of the bread and wine of Communion. It was participation in the five cups drunk at the Passover feast when he held up one of those cups and instituted a new covenant in his sacrifice, death and resurrection. The word became flesh and dwelt among us... says the text in the Birth Narative. We must consume the living Word that Jesus is the Christ, Messiah, crucified and rose again, sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding ... Do you get it? PARTICIPATION is the point. When you drink of the cup of His sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, you participate in the whole thing. He died so you may live. That means to be IN CHRIST ... is what it is really about. Hope that helps and was not tooo religious for you to understand.

Answer 6

this part "...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood" is a reference to taking communion. Only christians take communion, where the bread and wine represent the body and blood of christ.

So jesus says that whoever takes communion (christians) will have eternal life (heaven) and whoever doesn't, won't.

It's a metaphor, no-one really ate jesus, but the message is literally true (in my opinion).

Answer 7

Jesus said His words were Spirit and Life. Symbolic of real things on the spiritual level. The word blood used symbolically refers to an individuals "personal" spiritual power.
We have a natural spiritual protection. An aura. The act of taking Communion lets down this protection and lets in spiritual power. The Bread, (symbolic for the Body of Christ). Which is all our spirits being unified into what is essentially our Creators own body. The Blood, (symbolic of the Christ consciousness, or Power), that helps to achieve this unification.

Answer 8

No, not literally true. He said this in connection with the last supper. The phraseology was common usage for establishment of a covenant. Basically, Jesus was inviting his followers to enter into covenant with Him and telling them that this was the way to obtain eternal life.

Answer 9

I know that it sounds really gross if you don't understand it. No... you do not have to literally eat Jesus flesh and drink his blood.
Ok... God hates sin. He dispises it! But... in the beginning of time he loved us so much that he gave us a free will and let us chose for ourselves. God put a tree in the middle of the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve were called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told them they could eat from any tree in the garden, but that one. In Gen. 2:17 it says, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." One day Satan, in the form of a serpent, was allowed by God to tempt Eve. He said in Gen 3:4 that she would not die, but she will will become like God, knowing good and evil. She took it and both her husband and her ate it and thus started the sin in this world.

God loves us so much, but he hates sin. God is holy and can not stand to be round sin. So he made a way for us to become clean from sin so we can spend eternity with Him someday. He sent his Son to earth to die for our sins. The verse that you typed in is Jesus talking to His disciples about how His flesh will be scared and His blood spilt on the cross. He died a horrible death on the cross two thousand years ago so that we would have a way to God even though we've sinned. Basically its saying that if you accept Jesus in your heart, you understand and accept that He, Gods own son, came down to earth from heaven and loved us so much that he spilt his own blood and died for all humanity, you will spend eternity with Him in heaven. But Jesus did not stay buried... he rose from the dead three days later!!! I serve a living, loving and powerful God!! I think that that time is soon when the Lord will come and get us all that accept His love and gift of eternal life.

I hope this helps some. I've been searching in my Bible for some answers of my own as well. I hope you find what your looking for. I hope you find Jesus, He's waiting for you. God Bless!

Answer 10

In the physical sense... no

in a spirtual sense... very much so... the symbolism of the communion is of a very real act... however, dispite the Roman "church's" claim... the bread and wine do NOT transform into the flesh and blood of Christ.