Bread of Life is Hard to Swallow

[Shiloh62]

Hi, i'm hoping anyone can help me figure this out. After talking to some thoughtful and respectful Roman Catholics, i'm a bit confused. They tell me that when Jesus said

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

(John 6:35)

He was talking about the bread and wine they eat and drink at church. The bread and wine is Him!

Please help me figure out the truth. I'm not sure what to believe any more.

Yes, that is the way the Roman Catholics interprete this scripture.

[socrates4jesus]

The Truth Is Always Jesus And About Trusting In HIM......

.... When i trust Him, doesn't that mean that i trust what He says? or can i trust Him and still not believe what He says?

Well! Jesus Is Clear On The Value Of Bread

"And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Matthew 4:3-4

And On The Value Of His Holy Word

"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Mark 8:38

And We Know From The Word That It Is Jesus That Sanctifies Us

"And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."

1 John 2:28

And Even In 400 Year Old Elizabethan English The Record Is Crystal Clear

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."

"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

1 John 5:11-13

It Is God Given Faith In Jesus That Saves

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"

"Not of works, lest any man should boast."

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Ephesians 2:8-10

(Even The Ancients Heard)

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."

Habakkuk 2:4

And Wicked Unbelief

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God."

Hebrews 3:12

That Kills

"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not."

Jude 1:5

>>>>>()<<<<<

Beloved Don't Trade Your Birthright

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

John 3:3

For Twisted Doctrines

"Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

Mark 7:7

And A Piece Of Crust

"And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom."

"And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright."

"And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob."

"Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright."

Genesis 25:30-34

Love, Joe

Yes, but you did not answer the question:

When i trust Him, doesn't that mean that i trust what He says? or can i trust Him and still not believe what He says?

Edited April 1, 2009 by socrates4jesus

[socrates4jesus]

Hello, Socrates!

I am glad you asked for someone to mention John 6, because I was thinking of just that.

John 6:4 - Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.

Here is our first clue to the meaning of Jesus' sermon later on. Passover was coming soon. Do you remember something that Passover is famous for?

During Passover, the Jews eat unleavened bread. This has a double meaning. One meaning is that it is a remembrance for when their forefathers left Egypt in such haste there was no time for their bread to rise. The second meaning is that leaven (yeast) is symbolic of sin, and they are to partake of their "bread" (food, sustenance, God's provision, the fruit of the earth mixed with their labor) free from sin.

The next background for the sermon is that Jesus had just miraculously fed them with a multiplying of loaves and fishes. After Jesus left, the people searched for Him. When they found Him Jesus spoke thus:

26 Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." 30 Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "

Jesus just miraculously fed them, yet they still demand another sign of food!

32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Does the phrase: "he who believes in Me shall never thirst" sound familiar? It should:

John 4

13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

QUESTION: Do you take this statement literally? That when we drink of the "water" Jesus gives we have H2O fountains flowing inside of us? When we drink of Him, we have no more sensation of physical thirst?

SO, when Jesus said He is the Bread of Life, did He mean His body becomes physical bread anymore than His drink makes us no longer need to drink H2O?

Looking back at John 4 -

31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." 33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

Was Jesus speaking of physical food then?

So let's go back to John 6:

47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

Is He talking about physical flesh-food-bread now?

How so, if not before, why now?

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

Bingo! Jesus is telling them plainly that He is speaking in spiritual terms, not physical.

He is not advocating cannibalism of His physical body. (That goes against Scripture!)

The bread is spiritual food. His body, His flesh, the Bread of Life, are spiritual realities, not physical.

~~~~

Going back to the Passover reference:

What we call "The Last Supper" where Jesus broke the bread and gave the wine, saying, "This is My body," and "This is My blood," were elements of the Passover Seder meal.

For all those years, the Jews believed the Passover celebration was to remember their deliverance from Egypt. But what Jesus did that night was to tell them the true meaning of Passover:

His death on the cross for the sins of the world.

Just as Jesus being the "Lamb of God" does not mean He suddenly grew wool all over His body, so His body being "the bread" and His blood "the wine" does not mean the bread becomes flesh (epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis) and the wine does not become blood (plasma, erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets).

In other words, He was telling His disciples that the yeastless Passover bread (matzah) was not to be remembered by them as the rapid flight from Egypt of their forefathers, but was to be remembered as His sinless body broken on the cross. And the Passover wine was not to be remembered by them as the blood of the lambs placed on the doorposts when the angel of death passed over the homes of their forefathers, but it was to be remembered by them as His blood that was shed to atone for them.

Do you understand these things?

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

I think i might if you will explain it to me, Nebula. Please let me know if you are around to answer a few questions for me.

[socrates4jesus]

Hi, i'm hoping anyone can help me figure this out. After talking to some thoughtful and respectful Roman Catholics, i'm a bit confused. They tell me that when Jesus said

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

(John 6:35)

He was talking about the bread and wine they eat and drink at church. The bread and wine is Him!

Please help me figure out the truth. I'm not sure what to believe any more.

Yes, that is the way the Roman Catholics interprete this scripture.

What is your view, Shilo?

[Ovedya]

Actually the Lord Jesus in John 6 was not talking about the Eucharist, or The Lord's Supper as some call it. It is the Lord Himself who is the bread of life, and by eating Him (That is, believing into Him) we may also have life, and live.

[socrates4jesus]

Actually the Lord Jesus in John 6 was not talking about the Eucharist, or The Lord's Supper as some call it. It is the Lord Himself who is the bread of life, and by eating Him (That is, believing into Him) we may also have life, and live.

Thank you, Ovedya! Let me see how that fits. In John 6 Jesus said:

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

"I tell you the truth, 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 at the last day."

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."

If we substitute the words, "believe in" for "eat" we get this:

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone believes in this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

"I tell you the truth, unless you believe in the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

"Whoever believes in my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

"Whoever believes in my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."

But what about drinking His blood? What is the meaning of this metaphor?

Edited April 1, 2009 by socrates4jesus

[Ovedya]

Actually the Lord Jesus in John 6 was not talking about the Eucharist, or The Lord's Supper as some call it. It is the Lord Himself who is the bread of life, and by eating Him (That is, believing into Him) we may also have life, and live.

Thank you, Ovedya! Let me see how that fits. In John 6 Jesus said:

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

"I tell you the truth, 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 at the last day."

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."

If we substitute the words, "believe in" for "eat" we get this:

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone believes in this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

"I tell you the truth, unless you believe in the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

"Whoever believe in my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

"Whoever believe in my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."

But what about drinking His blood? What is the meaning of this metaphor?

In verses 47 He said, "...He who believes has eternal life." The Lord then goes on to talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. The Lord's "flesh," that is, His body, was given as a living sacrifice on our behalf at the cross. Furthermore, His blood was shed for our redemption. To believe into the Lord is to participate in His death and to partake of his redemption. Not only so, but the Lord's complete redemption imparts the divine life into us, making us sons of God.

In this passage the Lord Jesus used the story of the children of Israel to point to Himself as the reality of the manna which came down from heaven. Therefore in saying "eat my flesh and drink my blood" He is not only pointing to Himself as the source of redemption, He is pointing to Himself as the source of eternal life. Remember, in verse 63 he says, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." Those that listened to His word and turned away were only concerned about the flesh, not the Spirit.

[nebula]

Do you understand these things?

I think i might if you will explain it to me, Nebula. Please let me know if you are around to answer a few questions for me.

Yeah - I'm around every day.

If I miss you tonight, my answer will be up for the next time.

[kross]

Hi, i'm hoping anyone can help me figure this out. After talking to some thoughtful and respectful Roman Catholics, i'm a bit confused. They tell me that when Jesus said

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

(John 6:35)

He was talking about the bread and wine they eat and drink at church. The bread and wine is Him!

Please help me figure out the truth. I'm not sure what to believe any more.

I am not going to read this whole thread and I am certain someone has already said this;

The bread and wine are bread and wine. If you burp an hour after you take it, it is still grape.

It is symbolic.

That said, it should still remind you that the blood of CHRiST flows through your veins and your flesh is HIS flesh. HIS indwelling of your body as HIS temple should be made very real when the bread and wine of the last supper re-enactment is performed. It is a sacred institution established by CHRIST HIMSELF.

All that having been said, eventually the bread and wine are metabolized into the compounds that make up the body and so, eventually, it becomes HIS body and HIS blood in as much as your body is HIS.

[mjrhealth]

When Jesus said He was the bread of life He meant that He was spirtual food, we are meant to Feast on Him, Ie go to Him and learn of Him, He said you would not hunger because you will become filled with Him and truth.

In His love