DrInk My Blood & You will Have eternal Life

John 6:41-58

The Jews continue to grumble about Jesus, and it is clear that they do not believe Jesus’ claims that God sent. Jesus, acting from His nature of grace and truth, shows the grumblers who He truly is using the Old Testament scriptures they were familiar with.

First, look again at verse 6:45, “It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.”

Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 54:13, where Isaiah writes of God’s people, “All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.”

Jesus is telling the Jews that the reason they do not understand Him is because they are not truly taught by God. If they had heard the Father and learned from Him like they claimed to, Jesus’ deity would have made sense, and they would have come to Him.

This is a hard truth, but Jesus knew He had to speak it. Ultimately, Jesus wants even His enemies to know the truth and trust Him. Though this claim seems harsh, this is Jesus’ grace on display.

Jesus then brought up the manna from heaven, which, as recorded in Exodus 16, was the bread that fell from heaven to sustain the Israelites in the wilderness. This bread was miraculous. It was powerful. It came from God. This story was foundational to the Jewish people, and the grumblers believed it was true.

And Jesus, desiring for the grumblers to know the truth about Him, claims that He is the better manna. Jesus doesn’t satisfy hunger for a moment but satisfies it for all eternity. He is more powerful and more miraculous. Just as the Jews believed the manna was sent by God, they have the opportunity to recognize that God sent Jesus. There is nothing that they can or could do to receive life outside of Jesus. The only way to life is to “eat and drink '' of Jesus, the true bread and the true drink.

Ultimately, through this interaction, we see three key truths about Jesus on display:

One cannot claim to know God without knowing Jesus.

Jesus desires even those who oppose Him to repent and believe the truth about Him.

Receiving Jesus’ blood and body is the only way to eternal life with God.

How do you need to respond today? Is there a truth about Jesus you need to meditate on? Because we have received Jesus’ blood and body as a sacrifice on our behalf, we now have a relationship with God with unhindered access to life Himself. As you respond, spend some time simply being with Jesus.