When Jesus said, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you, he was not advocating cannibalism. Today on Truth for Life, Alastair Begg addresses this often misunderstood and misapplied passage of Scripture and explains how our deepest longings are truly satisfied in Jesus. We're studying John chapter six, beginning to day at verse fifty two.
So let's come back to it. Anyone who eats of the bread. will live forever. What Jesus is actually Point de Gahoud. Is that he is going to do something for us on the day he dies?
So that he can do something for us on the day we die. I'm going to give my life.
So that on that day Since I am, as we will see later, the resurrection and the life. What I have done for you in that place. is going to make all the difference in the entire world. when you pass through the valley of the shadow. of death.
And so the Jews began to argue among themselves. I'm not surprised. There's probably all kinds of things going on in some of our minds right now, depending on our background. They disputed among themselves. How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
And one of the other guys says, no, clearly that's not what he's talking about. And another fellow says, well then tell me what is he talking about? If that's not what he's saying, what is he saying? Jesus is not referring to a physical process. He is not referring to a physical process.
He is clearly not doing so. The misunderstandings are a feature actually of John's Gospel. And this is perhaps the one that holds the greatest potential for misunderstanding amongst those who are listening to him. You remember in chapter 2, the great misunderstanding when he says, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days. And the people said, Well, you can't do that with a temple.
He wasn't talking about the temple in Jerusalem, he was talking about his body. Here's another misunderstanding. He's using physical things in order to explain spiritual truths.
So, when you come to verse 53, Don Carson, whom we all greatly respect for his work, says. Any dullard could see. that Jesus was not speaking literally. No one would suppose Jesus was seriously advocating cannibalism. and offering himself as the first Mio.
Jesus doesn't backpedal. He takes it up a notch, maybe. Verse fifty-four. Whoever feeds on my flesh And drinks my blood. has eternal life, and I will raise him up.
At the last day. Unless you eat. That's what's so staggering about it, isn't it? Unless you eat. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Because the life that is Yours is only in union with me.
Now think about this for a Jewish person. The law of Moses had so much to say about blood. You couldn't even eat the meat unless it was drained of the blood.
So the idea that Jesus was saying to them. It's like it's the most abhorrent notion possible. We have nothing. We're Jewish people. We have nothing to do with plot.
How could we possibly drink blood? And then in 54, he states it positively. In 53, he says: unless you do this, you're stuck. And then he says in 54, whoever does this Actually, he has eternal life, and I will raise him up. on the last day.
Now what we have to face in this in studying this is that Jesus is speaking of something which he says is absolutely indispensable and individually necessary to eternal life. is categorical, isn't it? Is that i i it's it's it's fascinating.
Now, the reason that people get themselves in deep trouble over this is that they assume that Jesus is speaking about the Eucharist. That he's speaking about the Lord's Supper. that he's speaking about communion.
Now think for a minute if he was. Then what would he actually be telling us? He would be telling us this. That the one Undeniable necessity. In order to gain heaven, is to be a present.
At communion.
Well, you are sensible people. You have to think this out. We've gone through the entire chapter. Is there anything in the immediate context? that causes any one of us to believe That Jesus' hearers would have said to themselves, oh, This is communion.
This is the Lord's Supper. No. For one very good reason. That at this point in the story, the Lord's Supper has never even been instituted. Therefore, they were not thinking that way.
So those who think that way I've got a real problem. You say, Well, I don't know about that. You seem not to be taking the Bible literally. What does it mean to take the Bible literally? It's very important that we do learn to take it literally because an unwillingness to take it literally can send us in all kinds of wrong directions.
For example, when we say God created the heavens and the earth, if we don't take that literally, then we've immediately gone wrong. But it is also possible to be so literal that you get yourself in even worse trouble. To take the Bible literally means that we take Adverbs as adverbs, commas as commas, some semicolons. Adjectives, nouns, verbs, and so on, and we take the language in which it is used.
So the language, for example, in the poetry of the Psalms is different from the language of the epistles, the way in which it is expressed. And we need to understand that when the language is figurative, then it must be understood figuratively.
So that to take the scriptures literally means that we have to take the figurative as figurative. in order that we might understand. For example, Um Isaiah forty. All flesh is grass. No, it's not.
Yes, it is. No, it's not. Yes, it is. What do you mean it is?
Well, what's the picture? It's figurative. Jesus says, this is my body. Do you think in the Last Supper? He was Doing this.
Mm. Taken literally. that would appear to legitimize The Roman Catholic dogma. of transubstantiation. And incidentally, Think how many dear, sincere souls.
May find themselves simply entrusting in an external right. Rather than coming to trust. in who Jesus is. and what he has done. missing the reality to which he points.
because of something that has been interposed. You know Not only is the is the whole notion of a literal eating and drinking, a revolting idea to the Jews. It also is, as I'm saying to you. Almost inevitable then. that people would be forced to conclude That Since this is the means of salvation, There is then a physical there is a A right that is interposed, that is necessary for salvation, but the Bible makes perfectly clear that nothing like that is necessary for salvation, only repentance and faith.
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. If this were to be the case, Then the whole thing that I did on the thief and the cross It's completely Nullified. What a shame for him. And for everybody else that was never quotes. At communion.
Now we need to understand this. We need to understand that Jesus is saying not literally. But figuratively, That he is speaking metaphorically, not sacramentally. And you as sensible people, again, I say to you, consider verse 54: whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. All right, now remember why we said we were going to study beforehand.
So that we would have verse 40 in mind, that when we came to verse 54, we would be able to make sense. Verse 40. For this is the will of my Father. that everyone who looks on the sun and believes in him Should have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.
Okay? Verse 54: whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood. Jesus, are you changing the thing? Have you moved away from what you just taught us in verse 40? No, Jesus says I'm saying the same thing.
What I said in 1940 I'm speaking figuratively, metaphorically to you of these very things. And the point, the essential point of it all Is that in this graphic picture of eating and drinking, of absorbing, of consuming, of being identified with, of being filled up with, which is a picture, the point is. that Jesus must be personally received. That's what he has done on the cross, what he is moving to do on the cross. is of such significance that men and women must come to him.
and must find in him the true food and the true drink. No If if chapter six is not about communion, It's fair to say That when you take communion, it's not difficult to have certain aspects of chapter six in your mind. Because when we come to communion tonight, What we are actually supposed to be doing, whether we understand it or not, is that we are eating upon and drinking upon Jesus. Not in the f Not in the physical dimension of the moment. but in the spiritual reality of it.
Jesus, this is who you are. Jesus, this is what you have done. You have redeemed me by your blood. You have purchased me for yourself. I belong to you, Jesus.
I believe in you, Jesus. I commune with you, Jesus. And just in passing, part of the reason many of our Roman Catholic friends have so little interest in the way we approach the celebration of the Lord's Supper is because it seems in its essence to be entirely trivial. to be an um a mere addendum to what's going on. And that is, of course, a matter of For another day.
The graphic picture. of believing is there in eating and drinking. Ignatius said. That The Eucharist was the key to immortality. His influence lives on.
Augusta. Said, believe. And you have eaten. Believe and you have eaten.
Now there's nothing particularly dramatic about this either, because when you think about it, we use similar terminology. I have a stack of books just about everywhere about beside my bed. And um last night I was devouring another one on golf. I mean, I think my wife probably said, you know, it looks like you could just eat that book. I could.
Weren't there some professors that you had at university, and you said, you know, I love to go there, I'm just drinking in their lectures. I swallow stories. I chew over a matter. We say I could even eat my grandchildren. When we've gone wrong.
We talk about eating. Our own words. No, this is the issue. Taste and see Now the Lord is good. Blessed is the person.
Who puts their trust in him. Peter picks up that picture in writing, basically, a discipleship manual in his day. And he says, you know, I want you, like newborn babies, to earnestly desire the pure milk of the word. Since you have tasted That the Lord is good.
Now, verse 55 is emphatic, isn't it? My flesh is true fruit, and my blood is true drink. The true food The true drink. For men and women's deepest needs are found in Christ, and only in Christ. This is why we take his story out to the world.
This is why we encourage people over the weekend. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood actually abides in me. and I in him Again, what a picture. You see, this is the significance of it. There's two things to notice, I think, and we must stop.
Maybe come back to it a little bit tonight because the Venn diagram is now really finished. If If we understand this, we realize that what Jesus is saying is something that is intensely personal. And it is something that is of eternal significance. Is is what he's saying is you're going to live forever. They live forever.
We had two funerals this week. of believers. They're not dead. They're alive. In a moment.
In the twinkling of an eye. Absent from the body. Present with the Lord. Why?
Well, because they understood who Jesus was, why Jesus came. They realized that they were sinful, that they needed a Savior. They realized that it wasn't an academic exercise, that it wasn't a program, it was a person. They were introduced to him. They came to trust in him.
It changed everything for them. Has it changed everything for you? See, it's one thing for this to be a mystery. It's another thing to Try and turn it into magic. There's mystery here, for sure.
And the idea of abiding with Jesus of being with him, It's really fantastic, isn't it? He goes on to say, you know, we're not talking about the stuff that your fathers enjoyed. That was good. God provided the manna, but they died. But you eat this.
You'll never die. You'll abide with me forever. Here we are in the first Sunday of Advent, or maybe the second, I'm not sure. But anyway, here we are. And we are about to anticipate the fact.
that there was no room for him. He came. And there was no room for him in the inn. And yet he for whom there was no room. is the one who has gone to prepare for you and for me A room.
In my father's house. are many rooms. If it weren't so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that you and I may abide forever. Forever.
That's the tragedy of physical relationships. Human relationships, we know they must come to an end. No minute can last long enough for us. No moment, no birthday, no celebration. Eventually it is gone.
But in Christ we abide. We abide. One of my favorite times in all of the year actually makes me a little nostalgic, is when The FA Cup final is uh covered from Wembley Stadium in London. You say, oh golly, here we go again.
Well, yeah, here we go again. The um You should know. That in the early 1920s at the Football Stadium in Britain. as a kind of warm-up before the game. They used to play Um Alexander's Ragtime band.
I can't imagine it. Come on in here, come on in here, right, okay?
So somewhere along the line, The president of the Football Association said, you know, I'm not so sure that this is the best of things. And he introduced in 1927, with the blessing of King George V and Queen Mary, he introduced the singing of Abide with Me.
Okay. And that song, then, since 1927, even through the war years with a short time. It's still sung. To this day, In that context, And if you look up Why in the world it is sung. It actually says in the text that I read, It is there.
As An expression of faith. On the part of those who are routinely Irreligious. Why would you get a hundred thousand people? Let's reduce the numbers by twenty thousand. They're full of beer, they're full of expectations, they're full of football.
They're full of nonsense. And then the band starts. Abide with me. Fast falls the even tide. The darkness deepens, Lord.
With me abide. When other helpers fail, And comforts flee Help. of the helpless. Abide with me. The guy who wrote that was Scottish actually, he was born in Kelso.
became an Anglican clergyman. there are far more verses than are routinely sung. And this is part of what he wrote, and with this we'll stop. Light is right in this. He wrote this hymn in the prospect of his death.
So this idea of abiding with me, that this is not a momentary thing. That it's not like we're in, we're out, we're up. No. So Not a brief glance, I beg. A passing word.
But as thou dwellest with your disciples, Lord. Familiar, condescending, patient, free. Come. Not to sojourn. but abide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile. And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile, Thou hast not left me off. As I left thee. On to the close, O Lord. Abide with me.
What from Christ the soul can sever? bound by everlasting bands, Once in him In Him forever, thus the eternal covenant stands. None shall pluck thee. from the Saviors. Mighty hands.
Mm. Mm. You're listening to Truth for Life with. Alistair Begg. Alastair returns shortly to close today's programme.
You know, a great way for you to abide in Christ is to spend time each day in God's Word. And as 2025 is coming to a close, if you're looking for a devotional for the new calendar year, let me encourage you to request the book we're recommending today. It's a classic devotional. It's titled Morning and Evening, written by 19th century pastor Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon is best known for his rich theological insights.
If you've never read any of Spurgeon's works, this is a great book to get you started. It uses the English Standard Version as the scriptural text. And what makes this version of the Spurgeon devotional unique is it has been revised and updated by Alistair. You'll enjoy a short daily reading as you begin and end each day in twenty twenty six, readings that emphasize the importance of consistently abiding in Christ and growing in your relationship with Him. Immerse yourself in God's Word in the New Year.
Ask for your copy of the morning and evening devotional to day. When you donate to support the Bible teaching ministry of Truth for Life, you can give securely online at truthforlife. org slash donate, or call us at eight eight eight five eight eight seven eight eight four. And if you'd rather mail your donation, along with your request for the book, Write to Truth for Life, at Post Office Box thirty nine eight thousand, Cleveland, Ohio, four four one three nine.
Now here is Alastair to close with prayer. Lord, we thank you for your word. Oh Clear the clutter from many of our minds, Lord. Help us to. Hear the insistent invitation of the Lord Jesus come to me.
Come now to a program. An agenda A philosophy. Come to me. Lord, I pray that even in the singing of our closing hymn, Divine transactions will take place. between those who have listened have wondered but have never closed with your invitation.
Granted for them The affirmation of this song. may be their coming to Christ. In whose name we pray. Amen. I'm Bob LePine.
Jesus' teaching brings us to a crossroad, it always has and always will. The direction you choose will impact your eternal destination. We'll hear more. tomorrow. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life.
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