This week’s readings are all from John chapters 6. Click here to see a full listing of each day’s reading and the full chapters for this week. Full readings of each day’s smaller segments of the readings will be posted on this site during the week.
Today's Reading
52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began to argue with one another, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ate, but then later died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
I don’t know what, if any, additional meaning the difference makes. But I thought it was interesting where the words change for “eat”:
v52, 53 - eat - esthio: to eat
v54, 56, 57 - eats/consumes - trogo: to crunch/gnaw/chew
v58 - esthio (ancestors) and trogo (living forever)
This is a very interesting section, and it’s hard to know exactly to what level he means this as a metaphor! Obviously, there’s a connection with the last supper and Passover and what becomes our Communion tradition… and also just the intensity with which we should “partake” in Jesus. He should be part of us.
As much as food and drink enter our bodies and are processed and nourish us, so should the Spirit of Christ should be sought after and consumed and processed. Just as he said in yesterday’s section, He is the bread of life from which we will never grow hungry.