The Life is in the Blood..

Part 2 of 3

Jesus said, "Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you..." (Jn 6:53).

Try to put yourelf in the shoes of those who heard Jesus speak these words.. How very peculiar it must have been! And not only that, but how outright offensive too! In verse 60, the Bible goes on the say, "Many therefore of His disciples that heard this said, This is an hard saying: who can hear it?" Surely, by our natural ears, these words are difficult to receive. The very natural thought makes us queasy.

The only way such words can be perceived and received is by the Spirit (Jn 6:63). The flesh, that is, the external and material understanding alone, profits nothing. Simply put, the words of Jesus are spiritual words, and must be spiritually discerned by the spiritual mind . This is the ONLY way to truly receive from the Lord's table, "the flesh and the blood", of which we partake. A focus and adherence to the "carnal understanding" is exactly what certain disciples had a problem with.

So, why were Jesus' words so naturally offensive?

For the natural Jew, even the thought of 'drinking blood' was offensive! Under previous covenants, all drinking of blood was forbidden. We saw yesterday how this was forbidden under the Noahic covenant (Gen 9:4). The blood was to be regarded as sacred, for all blood pointed to that precious blood shed by our Lord Jesus. Drinking blood was also forbidden under the Mosaic covenant: "Moreover you shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eats any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people" (Lev 7:26-27; 17:10-16; 19:26; Deut 12:16; 23; 15:23). The life of the flesh is in the blood, and therefore the blood was to be sacred, and poured out before the Lord.

Under the Law covenant, and all covenants, the blood was forbidden to all. Furthermore, under the Law covenant, the shewbread was also forbidden to the people, and could only be eaten by the priesthood. Heathen nations in their festival idolatries would eat the flesh and drink the blood, as forms of worship to pagan gods. But the Lord forbade the covenant nation of Israel to do so, and for good reason.

Thus, it's no wonder why these sayings of Jesus came across as "hard sayings". Unfortunately, because the disciples didn't understand it, they left Him. How could they eat His flesh and drink His blood, when such behavior was strictly forbidden under the Law by fear of excommunication? Would Jesus, in His absolute righteousness, really require such a dreadful thing?

What the disciples failed to realize was that Jesus was speaking of spiritual meat and spiritual drink. His Words are SPIRIT and LIFE! What was forbidden literally under the Law is now given spiritually under Grace. The paradigm has shifted. Under the New Covenant, we lovingly eat and drink both His flesh and His blood. While the Law was a ministration of death (2 Cor 3:7), Jesus, under grace, gives us life. As we eat and drink by faith, there is an impartation of the life of Jesus! How? Because the life is in the blood! And except we eat His flesh (the bread) and drink His blood (the cup), we have NO LIFE IN US!

How thankful we are for that impartation of life, health and healing which comes to us as we partake in faith of His flesh and His blood! Friend, let's eat, drink and receive the RISEN LIFE of our Lord! His life is in the blood.