Bread of Life

[Chris†opher Paul]

I can definitely see the Catholic interpretation of this passage, which is why I am becoming one. However, I am confused over line 63. Using this line, I can see the Protestant point-of-view that, as Jesus was telling those that were shocked over His words to eat His actual flesh, he clarified it as His words being the "flesh", not real flesh.



John 6

47 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
52 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
57 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."
59 These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60 Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
61 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?
62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
64 But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.
65 And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."
66 As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
67 Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

 

[chelcb]

sOuljah

I believe what Jesus was saying is that we are not receiving him in a cannibalistic way. The crowd thought that was what he was asking them to do and they for good reason thought he was a hoax because of that, but what Jesus said to their assumption was 'no, no I am not giving you dead flesh to eat, I am giving you my living body to eat and be nourished by.' Cannibalism is a belief that when we eat the dead body we become apart of the person and what Jesus was clarifying was that his body is not dead, but very much alive and when you receive him, he will bind himself to you and he will give you life because he is life, not you will inherit a part of him like the cannibals believe. His living spirit is what will give your spiritually dead flesh eternal life when you receive his living body. If it was cannibalism like the crowd thought it was then the flesh is no avail because it is ones sprit the gives life.

I don’t know if I am giving you that exact “official” interpretation of this text, if you know a priest maybe you can ask him.

 

[Bruno]

Originally posted by s0uljah
It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.

As usual, Jesus speaks a parable here. He means the bread to be spiritual food, not physical.

 

[kern]

I think that "the flesh is no avail" refers to the bodily pleasures rather than Jesus' body.

A footnote to this verse in the St. Joseph edition says "Probably not a reference to the Eucharistic body of Jesus but to the supernatural and the natural as in John 3:6. All Jesus said about the bread of life is the revelation of the Spirit."

-Chris

 

[chelcb]

Originally posted by Bruno
As usual, Jesus speaks a parable here. He means the bread to be spiritual food, not physical.

 

Hi Bruno,

I respectfully disagree. Jesus usually would let us know when he was speaking in a parable. He did not mention anything about a parable in John 6.  

 

[chelcb]

Bruno,

Yes your are right in one respect...he does come to us as spiritual food, and the spiritual food is his flesh, his living body, not his dead body.

 

[Theresa]

I had a really good essay on that one once, I'll see if I can find it later.

Just a few thoughts until then:

"v62. 'Then what if you were to see" If you think that was hard, try this on for size! You haven't even heard the hardest part yet! Jesus doesn't make any attempt to go back and smooth things out; correct misunderstandings, because they don't misunderstand. They simply don't believe what they are hearing. Recall, back in verse 29 Jesus said 'This is the work of God that you believe in Him whim He has sent.' If you don't believe in Him, then you won't believe what He is saying.....

v63. 'It is the spirit that gives life' It is the grace of God given by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that gives a spiritual life (2 Cor 3:6; 1 Cor 15:45-47, Jn 3:6). 'the flesh is of no avail' A body without a Spirit is dead. Note that he doesn't say 'my flesh' which is the subject of the Eucharistic passage, but the flesh of John 3:6 and 8:15. http://www.scborromeo.org/index2.htm (You have to click on Point Papers and then find 'Commentary on Jesus' Bread of Life Discourse')




"The words flesh and spirit, when opposed to each other in the NT, never mean literal and figurative, but always the corrupted dispositions of sinful human nature (flesh) contrasted with human nature enriched by the grace of God (spirit)...Christ's meaning, therefore, is clear: My words are such as the mere carnal man cannot receive, but only the man endowed with grace. St. Chrysostom says: "Why, therefore did He say: The flesh profiteth nothing? Not of his flesh does he mean this. Far from it; but of those who would understand what He said in a carnal sense...You see, there is question not of His flesh, but of the fleshly way of hearing." (In Joan., 47,2)." Biblical Evidence for Catholocism, Dave Armstrong Pg63 (Fr. Bertrand Conway)



1 Cor 11:27-30 'Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a n unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drnkis without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

James Cardinal Gibbons:

"Could St. Paul express more clearly his belief in the Real Presence than he has done here?...He who recieves a sacrament unworthily shall be guilty of the sin of high treason, and of shedding the blood of his Lord in vain. but how could he be guilty of a crime so enormous if he had taken in the Eucharist only a particle of bread and wine? Would a man be accused of homicide...if he were to offer violence to the statue or painting of the governor? Certainly not. In like manner, St. Paul would not....declare a man guilty of trampling on the blood of his Savior by drinking in an unworthy manner a little wine in memory of him."

(Biblical Evidence for Catholosism, Dave Armstrong, pg65)

 

Theresa

 

[Chris†opher Paul]

Theresa-

Thanks, you explained this well, as usual.