Journey through John 6:47-65

Good Morning Church Family – Journey Through John

Read John 6:47-65

Devo Thought: Today, I want to address a passage that has been the source of debate for centuries. In fact, it was this passage that was the source of one of the great debates of the Reformation, which was the historical movement that led to the split between the Roman Catholic Church and those who would become the Protestants. This is where it is important to apply the hermeneutical principle to allow clear passages to help us interpret more difficult passages. In this passage, it seems like Jesus is inviting us to quite literally eat his flesh and drink his blood. This is exactly what the Jews (religious leaders) and many of the people who were following Jesus thought, which led to many of them turning away from following Jesus. Roman Catholics interpret this passage literally. They believe that when they take the Eucharist (the Lord’s Supper) that the bread turns into the literal flesh of Jesus and the wine turns into the literal blood of Jesus. Protestants questioned this interpretation, claiming that it should be understood as a spiritual metaphor. Pointing to verse 63, where Jesus says, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” We see this type of spiritual metaphor used in other places in John’s Gospel in particular. Jesus also says that he is the light of the world, but no one assumed that he would be glowing. Jesus says that he is the good shepherd, but no one was confused when he was carrying a shepherd’s crook and walking around with actual sheep. Jesus says that he is the door, but no one was offended when they didn’t find a latch on his body. With each of these statements, Jesus is communicating deep spiritual truths, but we must be careful to interpret them. Let us carefully and faithfully read the word of God and trust in Jesus more and more.

Let us ask God to lead us into the truth.