Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood...

[Elijah John]

The Gospel of John quotes Jesus as saying "unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you."

For debate,

-Did King David, Moses, Elijah or any of the other heroes or heroines of the "Old" Testament/Hebrew Bible eat the flesh or drink the blood of the Messiah?

-If so, how so? If not, did they have any "life" in them? The kind Jesus was speaking of in John? (presumably eternal life)

[ttruscott]

[Elijah John]

[bluethread]

The Gospel of John quotes Jesus as saying "unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you."

For debate,

-Did King David, Moses, Elijah or any of the other heroes or heroines of the "Old" Testament/Hebrew Bible eat the flesh or drink the blood of the Messiah?

-If so, how so? If not, did they have any "life" in them? The kind Jesus was speaking of in John? (presumably eternal life)

This is one of those "hard sayings", where Yeshua stretches the cultural imagery for effect. That phrase is not an isolated statement. It is the culmination of a midrash comparing the manna to His teachings. He transitions from bread to meat, both consumed as blessings from Adonai. For a kicker, He throws in blood, traditional symbolized by wine. Thus, when they ask for "a sign", he points them to the manna, the b'ruchah recited at every meal, and Pesach. He reaffirms this at His Pesach Seder, where he states, “This is my body given for you;" and "This cup is the new covenant in my blood", referring to the Afikomen and the third cup of the Seder. The concepts are not foreign to His listeners. However, the blunt way He states it requires them to think more deeply about these things and connect the dots. This does not appear to be an uncommon practice for Yeshua. He often states things in ways designed to seperate the engaged listener from the ones who just want a quick simple answer.

Regarding the Patriarchs and Prophets, I believe they did "eat and drink" of the teachings of Yeshua. In fact, I have yet to see one of Yeshua's teachings that is "new". Everything He says is based on the Tanakh(OT).

[Wootah]

Exodus 12.

[brianbbs67]

[Replying to post 4 by bluethread]

Mostly Tanakh, but he ventured into the knowledge of the day, also. Hillel seems to have been a major influence there.

[brianbbs67]

EJ, as to the OP, this cleary must be figurative or it defies the other teachings. No one really could believe they cannabalize at Eucherist?? Only John writes it the way. But, if we can recognize , its not a literal instruction, all could be well.

[Elijah John]

Just a clarification. The OP does not seek to understand whether the consumption of Christ's body and blood is literal or metaphorical. It is a given that Christ was speaking metaphorically. (RCC interpretation and the Eucharist is another debate/question)

Just wondering how Christ can make such a statement. In effect, he was laying down another requirement for eternal life, namely eating and drinking his body and blood. Isn't it assumed that the heroes of the OT also were partakers of eternal life? Yet they did not consume the body and blood of the Messiah, whether literally OR figuratively.

Or did they? If so, how so?

[bluethread]

Just a clarification. The OP does not seek to understand whether the consumption of Christ's body and blood is literal or metaphorical. It is a given that Christ was speaking metaphorically. (RCC interpretation and the Eucharist is another debate/question)

Just wondering how Christ can make such a statement. In effect, he was laying down another requirement for eternal life, namely eating and drinking his body and blood. Isn't it assumed that the heroes of the OT also were partakers of eternal life? Yet they did not consume the body and blood of the Messiah, whether literally OR figuratively.

Or did they? If so, how so?

To provide a shorter answer, the manna and the wine, which is what He was referring to in the passage, represent sustenance and life respectively. He is saying that those who take sustenance from HaTorah as embody by Him will live forever. This is not an add on to salvation by faith, but an explanation of the Hebraic view of what it means to have faith. It is not just a mental exercise. It is a belief that results in action.

[RightReason]