What Old Testament references help explain the meaning of "eat His flesh"? Setting the Scene John 6:53: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.’” To grasp the weight of “eat His flesh,” Scripture itself sends us back to earlier pictures God had already painted. Echoes of the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12) • Exodus 12:8: “They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” • Israel’s rescue hinged on two linked acts—slaughtering the lamb and actually eating its flesh. The life-saving blood on the doorposts and the sustaining meat inside the home formed one seamless act of faith. • Jesus is called “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). When He speaks of eating His flesh, He ties Himself to the once-for-all Passover Lamb whose flesh had to be taken in for the household to be spared. Manna in the Wilderness (Exodus 16) • Exodus 16:15: “Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.’” • God fed Israel daily with bread from heaven. In John 6 Jesus has just multiplied loaves and identifies Himself as “the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32-35). • The manna sustained physical life; eating Christ’s flesh brings eternal life. The Old Testament event supplies the category: God gives a heaven-sent food that must be gathered and eaten personally. The Covenant Meal on Sinai (Exodus 24:8-11) • After blood is sprinkled to confirm the covenant, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders “saw God, and they ate and drank” (v. 11). • Blood, covenant, and table fellowship converge. Jesus, speaking of His flesh and blood, signals a new covenant meal where fellowship with God comes through His own sacrifice. Eating the Sacrifice (Leviticus 7 & 17) • Leviticus 7:15: “The meat of his thanksgiving peace offering must be eaten on the day he offers it.” • Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood…” • Certain sacrificial meats were consumed by worshipers, making atonement personal and communal. Jesus’ invitation to eat His flesh gathers up these peace-offering meals—He is both Priest and Offering, shared by His people. Prophetic Pictures of Consuming God’s Word • Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” • Jeremiah 15:16: “Your words were found, and I ate them…” • Ezekiel 3:1-3: “Son of man, eat this scroll… I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.” • These texts train us to see “eating” as internalizing and delighting in what God gives. Jesus, the incarnate Word, presses the metaphor to its ultimate reality—receiving Him Himself. Messianic Banquet Promises (Isaiah 25:6-8) • “On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples… He will swallow up death forever.” • Isaiah links a lavish feast with the defeat of death. Jesus takes that promise forward: whoever eats His flesh will live forever (John 6:54). Tying It All Together • Passover teaches substitutionary sacrifice that must be personally appropriated. • Manna teaches daily, heaven-sent sustenance. • Sinai’s meal shows covenant fellowship sealed by blood. • Levitical sacrifices show worshipers sharing in the offering. • Prophets show “eating” as embracing God’s Word. • Isaiah points to a death-shattering feast. All those streams flow into Jesus’ startling words. To “eat His flesh” means to receive, trust, and participate in Him—the true Lamb, the true Bread, the covenant sacrifice—so completely that His life becomes ours. Old Testament pictures weren’t mere symbols; they were God-ordained previews, now fulfilled in the One who says, “Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:54). |
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