John 6:51-58 Commentary by Dr. Tom Boomershine
Summary
TLDRThe script delves into the provocative discourse of Jesus, where he speaks of giving his flesh to eat, not symbolically but literally, emphasizing the doctrine of transubstantiation. It explores the intimacy of the relationship between Jesus and believers, conveyed through the metaphor of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. This relationship is described as one of ongoing love and trust, leading to spiritual and eternal life. The discourse concludes with Jesus' passion prophecy, offering his life for the world, inviting listeners to a radical closeness with God, contrasting the emotional distance often found in religious communities.
Takeaways
- 🤔 The script discusses a provocative question from the biblical tradition about Jesus' words on eating his flesh and drinking his blood, suggesting a deeper meaning beyond literal interpretation.
- 🍞 The doctrine of transubstantiation is mentioned as an attempt to interpret these words, suggesting that the bread and wine in the Eucharist become the body and blood of Jesus in substance.
- 🔍 The discourse emphasizes relationship over substance, indicating that Jesus' words are about the intimate relationship believers have with him through the act of eating the bread.
- 💞 The term 'abide' signifies the ongoing intimate relationship of love and trust between Jesus and believers, highlighting the importance of spiritual oneness.
- 🌟 Spiritual life and eternal life are found in the intimacy of this relationship with God, as described by Jesus in the Bread Discourse.
- 📜 The Greek word 'meno' is used to convey the idea of remaining in an intimate relationship, suggesting a deep connection and togetherness with Jesus.
- 🙏 The discourse is a call to believers to enter and remain in the intimacy of the relationship with Jesus, which is central to their spiritual journey.
- ⚔️ The use of radically realistic language serves to break through the cultural sense of alienation and separation from God, offering a close and intimate presence instead.
- 🏛 The script contrasts the emotional distance often found in religious communities with the intimate closeness that the discourse invites.
- 🕊️ The climax of the discourse is a passion prophecy, where Jesus gives his flesh for the life of the world, symbolizing his sacrifice for the sake of believers.
- 🌐 The invitation to closeness in relationship with God is presented as radically different from what was the norm in the ancient world and is often still the case today.
Q & A
What is the provocative question and statement that begins the bread discourse in the script?
-The provocative question and statement that begins the bread discourse is 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' which introduces a set of statements that have been the subject of intense theological debate and interpretation.
What is the doctrine of transubstantiation as mentioned in the script?
-The doctrine of transubstantiation is a theological explanation that suggests during the Eucharist, the bread and wine are transformed into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ, not just symbolically but in their substance.
How does the script interpret the literalism of Jesus' words about eating his flesh and drinking his blood?
-The script interprets the literalism of Jesus' words as a metaphor for an intimate relationship with God, rather than a literal consumption of physical flesh and blood.
What is the main focus of the bread discourse according to the script?
-The main focus of the bread discourse, as per the script, is the intimacy of the relationship between Jesus and those who believe in him, rather than the substance of the bread and wine.
What is the significance of the term 'abide' in the context of the bread discourse?
-The term 'abide' signifies an ongoing intimate relationship of love and trust between the believer and Jesus, indicating a state of remaining and staying connected spiritually.
How does the script describe the relationship of spiritual identity mentioned by Jesus?
-The script describes the relationship of spiritual identity as one of intimacy, where believers become one with Jesus through the metaphor of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, leading to eternal life.
What is the passion prophecy referred to in the script?
-The passion prophecy is Jesus' statement that he will give his flesh for the life of the world, signifying his impending death and sacrifice for the sake of humanity.
How does the script suggest that Jesus' words were meant to break through cultural norms?
-The script suggests that Jesus' radically realistic language was intended to overcome the sense of alienation and separation from God present in the culture of his time, offering an intimate and close relationship instead.
What is the contrast the script draws between the religious communities of the ancient world and the message of the bread discourse?
-The script contrasts the often emotionally distant nature of many religious communities in the ancient world with the message of the bread discourse, which invites believers into a closeness and intimacy with God that is radically different.
What is the climax of the bread discourse as described in the script?
-The climax of the bread discourse is Jesus' invitation to his listeners to enter into an intimate relationship with him and to remain in that relationship, symbolized by the act of eating the bread and drinking the wine.
How does the script relate the message of the bread discourse to the experience of being part of a religious community today?
-The script relates the message by highlighting the need for a close and intimate relationship with God, which is often lacking in many religious communities even today, and invites believers to seek that depth of connection.
Outlines
🍞 The Intimacy of Communion
This paragraph delves into the provocative discourse of Jesus' words regarding the consumption of his flesh and blood, as a metaphor for a deep spiritual relationship. It challenges the traditional doctrine of transubstantiation, suggesting that the literal interpretation of Jesus' words is not about the physical transformation of bread and wine but about the intimate connection believers have with Jesus. The paragraph emphasizes the ongoing, intimate relationship of love and trust ('abide') between Jesus and believers, highlighting the spiritual life and eternal life found in this union. It concludes by explaining that this metaphor of eating flesh and drinking blood symbolizes oneness and spiritual identity in Christ, leading to eternal life.
🕊️ The Passion Prophecy and the Invitation to Intimacy
The second paragraph continues the theme of intimacy, focusing on Jesus' passion prophecy where he declares his intention to give his flesh for the life of the world, signifying his sacrificial death. This act is portrayed as the climax of the discourse, calling for his listeners to enter into and maintain an intimate relationship with him. The use of realistic language serves to counter cultural alienation and separation from God, offering instead a close, personal relationship. The paragraph contrasts typical religious experiences, which can be emotionally distant, with the proposed closeness in the religious community. It concludes with an invitation to a radical form of relationship with God, as presented by Jesus in the discourse, which is a stark departure from the norms of both the ancient world and contemporary religious practices.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bread Discourse
💡Transubstantiation
💡Intimacy
💡Spiritual Life
💡Eucharist
💡Abide
💡Metaphor
💡Oneness
💡Prophecy
💡Religious Community
💡Radical Language
Highlights
The bread discourse begins with a provocative question and statement, introducing a puzzling aspect of the biblical tradition.
Jesus' words in the discourse are highly realistic and literal, not symbolic, emphasizing 'eat my flesh and drink my blood'.
The discourse explores the meaning behind Jesus' statements, often interpreted as the doctrine of transubstantiation.
Transubstantiation is the medieval church's conclusion that bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.
The literalism of Jesus' words became the basis for a philosophical description of the Eucharist.
The discourse emphasizes relationship over substance, focusing on the intimacy between Jesus and believers.
Jesus describes the climax of the relationship movement as an intimate connection with spiritual and eternal life.
The Greek word 'meno' conveys the ongoing intimate relationship of love and trust between Jesus and believers.
The metaphor of eating flesh and drinking blood symbolizes oneness and spiritual identity in the relationship with God.
Jesus invites listeners to enter into and remain in the intimate relationship for eternal spiritual life.
The discourse is a passion prophecy, with Jesus giving his flesh for the life of the world through his death.
Jesus' sacrifice is for those in relationship with him, whom he loves.
The climactic appeal is for listeners to enter into and abide in the intimate relationship with Jesus.
John uses radically realistic and potentially offensive language to break through the sense of alienation from God.
The discourse contrasts the emotional distance often found in religious communities with the intimate relationship offered by Jesus.
The invitation extends to experiencing a closeness of relationship radically different from the cultural norm.
Transcripts
this section of the bread discourse
begins with an incredibly provocative
question
and statement
it is a puzzle
that
introduces one of the most provocative
set of statements in the whole of the
biblical tradition
Jesus words
explaining
his answer to the question how can this
man give us his flesh to eat
are
highly realistic
he does not
make
these words symbolic
rather
it is
that you eat my flesh and drink my blood
now part of the question that underlies
the puzzle of this
discourse and of this particular section
which is the
which is what it leads up to
is what does this actually mean
generally
these statements are taken as doctrinal
descriptions of what has become the
doctrine of transubstantiation
that is that is a way of trying to
interpret what Jesus means here
the church in the medieval period
concluded that in the Eucharist
that the
Bread and Wine became Jesus body and
blood in their actual substance
so that the literalism of this
of these statements then became the
basis for
a philosophical description that was
itself
even more
realistic and literal in its uh hearing
of these words but the thing that
becomes clear in the telling of the
story
is that this is not so much about
substance as it is about relationship
the bread discourse has what is in
effect a kind of long decrescendo it's a
long getting softer and softer and more
and more intimate
and this is the climax of that movement
of relationship
what Jesus is describing here is the
intimacy of relationship that exists
between himself and those who
believe in him
and who then
eat the bread that he provides
and
the understanding of the bread
that was given at the feeding of the
five thousand
is then made very explicit
in terms of relationship
the relationship is a relationship of
intimacy
and that in that intimacy
people will find
spiritual life they will find
eternal life
by being part of this intimate
relationship with God the words are not
them pronouncements
so much as they are descriptions of
intimacy
so one of the key words in the middle of
this is the word abide whoever eats my
flesh will abide in me
this word meno in Greek
means to remain to stay
to be in an ongoing
intimate relationship of love and Trust
you and me I and you I am them
it is an intimacy of contact
an intimacy of togetherness
of literally being one body by being
joined through eating
flesh drinking blood that's the metaphor
is Oneness
and whoever eats this bread whoever
enters into this relationship then
this relationship of spiritual identity
will live forever
in that spirit
that Spirit of love
so
what
matters in the telling of this story is
to communicate that intimacy
that love
and the climax of that
of this discourse is
Jesus
saying that though that what he will
give for the life of the world is his
flesh
this is a passion prophecy
that what he will do for the life of the
world is to die
that he will literally give himself
for the sake of the world
for the sake of those who
are in the world
those who are in relationship with him
Those whom he loves
so what is happening
in this climactic
part of the discourse is an appeal
from Jesus
two his listeners
to enter into that intimacy of
relationship
and
to remain to stay to abide
in that intimacy of connection
so why would John use such a
radically realistic
language here that is so offensive
one of the reasons may be
that John is trying to break through
the sense of alienation separation
distance from God that was present in
his culture
these words
are
about God
in Jesus being intimately present with
everyone who believes
not distant
but close
this is also true of
religious experience
terms of worship the scriptures
the overall experience of being part of
a religious community
Many religious communities are
emotionally distant
they are not intimate close
this discourse
ends with an invitation to an a
closeness of relationship
that
is
radically different than what was the
norm in the ancient world and also often
most of the time today
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