Imagine you were in Capernaum in the time Jesus walked the earth. You follow him because he performs miracles. You listen to him because he is wise. And then he says this:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

John 6:53-55 (ESV)

Whoa there, Jesus. You want us to what?

One can easily see how the people were a bit offended by these words. Here was a man pretty much encouraging cannibalism. But there was no revelation. Remember that this is before the Book of Acts when the Holy Spirit showed up and filled the believers.

Mosey on down a few verses.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

John 6:63 (ESV)

Remember back to this post (or read it if you haven’t). Jesus and the Word are one and the same. And if you go one step further, Jesus and the Spirit are the same. God is Father, Spirit, and Son. Each are separate. All three are one. There is no way we can really wrap our minds around the concept of the trinity, but we know that the three-in-one has been around since before time. In Genesis, the first instance where God is mentioned, the Hebrew word used is actually plural. More than one. Three in one.

So if Jesus is the Word and Jesus is the Spirit, can we go one step further and say that Jesus isn’t really telling us to literally eat him (because, let’s face it, that’s gross), but rather to consume the Word. His words are spirit and life. By keeping his Word in us, we have life in us. We have the Spirit in us. We have Jesus in us.

Daily Bible reading: 2 Kings 20-22; John 6:45-71