John 6:54 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

NIV: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

NASB: The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

CSB: The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,

NLT: But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.

KJV: Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

NKJV: Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

In this passage, Jesus repeatedly compares the means of salvation to eating His flesh and drinking His blood. The context for this analogy is Jesus' claim to be the "true bread from heaven," which is the sole source of salvation for the world (John 6:32–33). Several times in this section, Jesus will make this comparison, which has already deeply offended the crowd (John 6:43). Some cannot get beyond the shallow specter of cannibalism. Others will reject the idea of a Messiah who is not a conqueror (John 6:51). In the end, all but a small group will choose not to follow Jesus anymore (John 6:66).

The fact that Jesus is speaking in poetic terms here is explicitly proven later in His discourse. Therefore, this passage cannot be taken as proof of the doctrine of "transubstantiation:" that modern communion literally becomes the flesh and blood of Jesus. Christ, in His own words, says this is not the case (John 6:63).

Jesus also ties the importance of this claim to the same statement He made earlier: that those who believe will see eternal life (John 6:40). That was in the context of belief in the One sent by God (John 6:27–29). The people should have seen the parallels here, but they are too busy complaining (John 6:41) and fighting (John 6:52) to sense the deeper meaning.

John 6:52–59 describes Jesus' closing remarks during this public discussion of His ministry and mission. In prior passages, He declared Himself the ''Bread of Life,'' resulting in controversy. The people have gone from seeking, to complaining, to fighting. During this discourse, Christ clarified the symbolic ''Bread of Life'' by pointing to Himself, foreshadowing His own crucifixion. Since the people are resistant to the idea of Jesus as a spiritual Messiah, they are hung up on the physical idea of Jesus' ''flesh.'' As Jesus continues to explain His role in salvation, most of those following Him will choose to walk away.

In chapter 6, Jesus feeds thousands of people who had been following Him. He does this by miraculously dividing the contents of a small meal, leaving more left over than He had to begin with. At first, the crowd is amazed and they enthusiastically praise Jesus. After sending the disciples across the Sea of Galilee and rescuing them from a storm by walking on the water, Jesus once again addresses the crowd. This time, He emphasizes the spiritual lesson behind His prior miracle. In response, most of those who had been praising Jesus turn away in disappointment.

John chapter 6 occurs some months after the events of chapter 5, bringing the narrative to about one year prior to Jesus' crucifixion. As with the rest of the gospel of John, the purpose is not to repeat information from the other three Gospels, but to focus on Jesus' status as God incarnate. This chapter continues to expand the list of Jesus' miraculous signs and the witnesses to His divine nature. Here, Jesus also gives the first of seven ''I am'' statements found in this gospel. Chapter 7 will once again skip ahead to a major public step in Jesus' path to the cross.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.