What does it mean to eat of the Lord's body and drink of His blood?
Is this about communion? or is this symbolic? What does it mean to drink his blood in the spirit.
John 6:53
ESV - 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
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Asked September 09 2014
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Wanda Jenkins
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sharon barre
I have seen comments from other sources that are not Christian that state the Bible teaches cannibalism. Such a notion is ridiculous. Jesus said, "Take eat, this is my body that was broken for you." I believe that portion means that we are to share in Christ's sufferings. "Take, drink, this is my blood that was shed for many for the remission of sins." It is only by the blood of Christ that we are cleansed of our sins. "For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins," We are washed in his atoning blood for the remission of our sins. I also believe it is to remind us to not forsake Holy Communion as we have been commanded by Jesus when he ate the last supper with his disciples before his death. He commanded them them to do this in remembrance of him.
Jack Gutknecht
Great question, Wanda Jenkins! It is symbolic, in my view. Eating and drinking are metaphors for faith (see John 6:35). Wiersbe says that "Drinking symbolizes Receiving Salvation (John 6:10-14; 6:53, 55; 7:37; Rev. 21:6. Compare Isaiah 12:3 which says, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”). Eating his "flesh and blood" is talking about Christ's work on Calvary. There Christ's flesh was nailed to the cross and his blood was shed to make man's salvation possible. By putting faith in the crucified Christ, we appropriate him and his work of salvation. Do it today before it's too late, I beg you! Ron Rhodes adds this and more in his book, What Did Jesus Mean? It's not Communion. Consider the tense of the Greek verbs in John 6:50-51, 53. It is the aorist tense, which signifies a once-for-all action. The Communion service is a repeated thing; in fact, it is likely that the early church observed the Lord’s Supper daily (Acts 2:46). Jesus makes the point that faith in Him—to the point of partaking of His role in the world (including His suffering)—is the way to God.”
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