John 6:53-54
Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood,
you have not eternal life in yourselves. Whoso eats My flesh, and drinks My
blood, has life in himself.
When we converse of spiritual things, let there be
nothing secular in our souls, nothing earthy, let all such thoughts retire, and
be banished, and let us be entirely given up to the hearing the divine oracles
only. For if at the arrival of a king all confusion is driven away, much more
when the Spirit speaks with us, do we need great stillness, great awe. And
worthy of awe is that which is said today. How it is so, hear. Verily I say
unto you, Except a man eat My flesh, and drink My blood, he has not eternal
life in him. Since the Jews had before asserted that this was impossible, He
shows not only that it is not impossible, but that it is absolutely necessary.
Wherefore He adds, He that eats My flesh and drinks My blood, has eternal life.
And I will raise him up at the last day. For since
He had said, He that eats of this bread shall not die for ever John 6:50, not
verbally quoted, and it was likely that this would stand in their way, (just as
they before said, Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and how sayest
Thou, that he shall not taste of death? John 8:52, not verbally quoted) He
brings forward the Resurrection to solve the question, and to show that (the
man who eats) shall not die at the last. He continually handles the subject of
the Mysteries, showing the necessity of the action, and that it must by all
means be done.
John 6:55
For My flesh is true meat, and My blood is true
drink.
What is that He says? He either desires to declare
that this is the true meat which saves the soul, or to assure them concerning
what had been said, that they might not suppose the words to be a mere enigma
or parable, but might know that it is by all means needful to eat the Body.
Then He says,
John 6:56
He that eats My flesh, dwells in Me.
This He said, showing that such an one is blended
with Him. Now what follows seems unconnected, unless we enquire into the sense;
for, says some one, after saying, He that eats My flesh, dwells in Me, what
kind of a consequence is it to add,
John 6:57
As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by
the Father.
Yet the words harmonize perfectly. For since He
continually spoke of eternal life, to prove this point He introduces the
expression, dwells in Me; for if he dwells in Me, and I live, it is plain that
he will live also. Then He says, As the living Father has sent Me. This is an
expression of comparison and resemblance, and its meaning is of this kind, I
live in like manner as the Father lives. And that you may not deem Him
unbegotten, He immediately subjoins, by the Father, not by this to show that He
needs, in order to live, any power working in Him, for He said before, to
remove such a suspicion, As the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to
the Son also to have life in Himself; now if He needs the working of another,
it will be found that either the Father has not given Him so to have it, and so
the assertion is false, or if He has so given it, then He will need no other
one to support Him. What then means the, By the Father? He here merely hints at
the cause, and what He says is of this kind: As the Father lives, so I live,
and he that eats Me shall live by Me. And the life of which He speaks is not
life merely, but the excellent life; for that He spoke not simply of life, but
of that glorious and ineffable life, is clear from this. For all men live, even
unbelievers, and uninitiated, who eat not of that flesh. Do you see that the
words relate not to this life, but to that other? And what He says is of this
kind: He that eats My flesh, when he dies shall not perish nor suffer
punishment; He spoke not of the general resurrection, (for all alike rise
again,) but concerning the special, the glorious Resurrection, that which has a
reward.
John 6:58
This is that bread which came down from heaven; not
as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eats of this bread shall
live forever.
Continually does He handle the same point, so as
to imprint it on the understanding of the hearers, (for the teaching on these
points was a kind of final teaching,) and to confirm the doctrine of the
Resurrection and of eternal life. Wherefore He mentions the Resurrection since
He promises eternal life, showing that that life is not now, but after the
Resurrection. And whence, says some one, are these things clear? From the
Scriptures; to them He everywhere referrs the Jews, bidding them learn these
things from them. And by saying, Which gives life to the world, He incites them
to jealousy, that from very vexation that others should enjoy the gift, they
may not stay without. And continually He reminds them of the manna, showing the
difference, (between it and His bread,) and guiding them to the faith; for if
He was able to support their life for forty years without harvest, or grain, or
other things in course; much more now will He be able to do so, as having come
for greater ends. Moreover, if those things were but types, and yet men
collected what came down without sweat or labor; much more shall this be the
case, where the difference is great both in the never dying, and in the
enjoying the true life. And rightly has He spoken often of life, since this is
desired by men, and nothing is so pleasing to them as not to die. Since even
under the old Covenant, this was the promise, length of life and many days, but
now it is not length merely, but life having no end. He desires at the same
time to show, that He now revokes the punishment caused by sin, annulling that
sentence which condemns to death, and bringing in not life merely, but life
eternal, contrariwise to the former things.
John 6:59
These things said He in the synagogue, as He
taught in Capernaum.
The place where most of His marvels had been done,
so that He ought there especially to have been listened to. But wherefore
taught He in the synagogue and in the Temple? As well because He desired to
catch the greatest number of them, as because He desired to show that He was
not opposed to the Father.
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