This is our pastor’s latest “From the Pulpit” article for the Stone County Gazette.
Do you know one of the saddest events in the Bible? It was when many followers of Jesus rejected Him because He wasn’t the Savior they wanted. It’s in John 6. Jesus had just fed a crowd of 5,000, and many liked what He did. They even wanted to make Jesus their “bread king.” They liked Jesus because they thought He would give them their best life now.
But Jesus wouldn’t go along. He was here to give the food for eternal life, for He was the Bread of Heaven. But Jesus wanted to be clear, and so He said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread I will give to bring life to the world is my flesh” (John 6:51).
The crowd that day understood what Jesus was saying. But His words were too hard–not to understand–but to take and believe! And so they debated. Doesn’t that sound familiar? When we come across something in the Bible that’s too hard for us to take, don’t we often debate until we change what Scripture says into something more to our liking?
But Jesus was there to respond. He said: “I assure you: 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 on the Last Day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink” (John 6:53-55).
That was too much. They were not going to believe that eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Jesus would somehow give them eternal life. Besides revolting, it just sounded plain wacky.
And so the large crowd that had earlier witnessed Jesus do a miracle couldn’t stomach eating and drinking in Jesus (which would also be a miracle). And so they turned their backs on Him. Do we do the same when Jesus tells us something we don’t like? Do we make something symbolic because it’s easier for us to take and accept? Yet, Jesus’ hard words stand: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
Oh, we can say it’s symbolic. But Jesus doesn’t act that way. He didn’t say, “Oh, you misunderstand me. Come back! I was being symbolic.” Instead, Jesus let them leave because their rejection of what He taught was a rejection of Him. You don’t have one without the other.
So if Jesus meant what He said and said what He meant, then how can we eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood? I mean, that’s important, for Jesus says you have eternal life when you do so?
For those who know the New Testament, the answer is easy and simple. St. Matthew’s Gospel tells us: “While [Jesus and His disciples] were eating [the last Passover meal], Jesus took bread. After giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, ‘Take this and eat it. This is my body.’ Then after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26-28).
So although you may see Jesus as simply being symbolic in the Lord’s Supper, the Bible’s words are understandable and clear. And so I ask you to examine the words of the Lord’s Supper, not from your preconceptions, but from what the Bible plainly says. For if Jesus was literal, too much is at stake to see them as simply symbolic!
Today, most churches in the world still have the Lord’s Supper that give to you Jesus’ body and blood (remember, Protestant churches are in the minority). Today, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Coptic, and Lutheran churches still believe Jesus’ words and practice them. Feel free to speak to a clergyman in one of those churches to get more information.
