Eat My Flesh, Drink My Blood
John 6:51-56
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
When I was young, missionary reports regularly came out of Africa, and with this emphasis on what we used to call the "Dark Continent", there often seemed to be a preoccupation with cannibals. There were stories, and there were jokes. One story I remember well, although I don't recall the name of the book - it was a story about two enemy tribes. One of them made overtures of peace, and invited the other to send a representative to discuss terms. The inviting tribe went to great lengths to make this visitor feel welcomed and safe. He would go back to his own people and give reports, then return again and again - it seemed that trust was developing, and there was hope for peaceful coexistence to be achieved. Then suddenly, just when the visiting ambassador felt accepted and totally safe, the warriors of the receiving tribe turned on him, killed him, and prepared a great feast to celebrate their victory won through the finely honed skill of deceit - the enemy's ambassador became the main course. For me, hearing missionaries talk about cannibalistic natives gave a whole new meaning to the sentence, "We're having the Pastor over for supper." Actually, there's little more repulsive to us than this idea of humans eating the flesh of other humans. We've heard accounts of airplane accident victims surviving off the cooked flesh of their recently deceased traveling companions, and we cringe at the thought. We say that we could never bring ourselves to do such a horrible thing. Yet when we read the Gospel of John, that seems to be exactly what Jesus is calling for. He 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." (John 6:53) This sounds unbelievable - no wonder a little further down on the page the author reports, "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." (v. 66) Some people here have had some history in the Roman Catholic Church, and may be aware that the teaching of that church differs from our own as it has to do with the meaning of the communion bread and wine. Theirs is a doctrine called "Transubstantiation". According to this teaching, when we eat the bread of the Eucharist, and drink the wine (actually, the priest does the drinking), there is a transformation whereby the bread actually becomes flesh, and the wine actually becomes the blood of Jesus. (There are others who believe in "consubstantiation" - the presence of Jesus is "with" the elements. On the other hand, we are of the persuasion that what happens is merely "memorial" - we "remember the Lord's death 'til He come.") Perhaps due to this strange teaching of Jesus, at the time of the first century church, those who found cause to oppose Christianity sometimes did so believing that they were really eating flesh and drinking blood. They passed rumors around saying that the Christians were guilty of performing human sacrifices in their secret rituals. Many Bible believing Christians boast in the fact that they interpret the Bible literally. But how many would agree that Jesus is advocating a form of cannibalism? None, I am sure, so the question remains, what did Jesus mean when He insisted, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him" (v.56)? The quick answer is that we must take into ourselves the presence of Christ, and we do this by faith. Like food, entering through the mouth, and becoming absorbed into the entire body gives nourishment and strength, so also when we accept Jesus Christ by faith. As we receive Christ, He becomes absorbed in us, giving us the strength we need to shine as lights in a darkened world. This much is pretty easy to get, even though it is somewhat "mystical". But there's something more that we must think about. What is the nature of this Jesus that we are taking in? It seems to me that most of us want it to be the glorious, conquering King, and we would reign with Him forever and ever, starting now, of course! But the flesh and blood He offers us do not at first represent power, abundance, or victory. Rather, they represent weakness, poverty, defeat, and ultimately, death. It is His beaten and bruised flesh He offers - that which was torn off His back by the sharp bone fragments tied to the end of the flogging whip. It is His "shed" blood He holds out to us - that which oozed from the punctured head, the nail pierced hands, and the heart thrust through by the soldier's spear. He says, "Come participate in my suffering and death." To eat of the flesh of Jesus, and to drink of His blood is not to sit down at a scrumptious feast of king's meat with deserts of sweet delicacies. He offers fasting instead of feasting, pain instead of pleasure. There is a brand of Christianity that promises riches, ecstasy, and popularity. But no, this is not Christianity, but pseudo-Christianity. It is "another" Gospel. Remember, it is the devil who offers the rewards of food, fame, and the fiefdoms of the world; it is Satan who promises provisions, publicity and power. He did so during the great temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, and he still tries to lure the followers of Jesus with the same promises. On the contrary, Jesus offers the apparent opposites: hunger, loneliness and loss of personal power. Of course we know that the final chapter hasn't yet been written - there will come a day when we will gather around the table of the Lord, enjoy the eternal bliss of fellowship with God and one another, and participate in His glorious conquering power. But that is for then, and this is now. He says, "eat my flesh" - my broken, bruised, lacerated flesh. He says, "drink my blood" - my flow of my life extracted by thorn and nail and spear. No, we don't interpret the Bible literally at this place, and we certainly don't advocate cannibalism. We understand there is a spiritual meaning. The invitation is the same as always, "Come, take up the cross and follow." Let me tell you the story told about a little girl, I Shed Some Blood For Him, by Roy L. Spinks.  - - Return to Top of this Page  - Email a Link to this Page
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