1 00:00:11,100 --> 00:00:14,400 Hi everyone. Welcome back to logical bible 2 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:16,300 study. This is where we take a look at 3 00:00:16,300 --> 00:00:20,300 the Gospel reading from today's Catholic mass and we give you 4 00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:23,100 the tools to do an exegesis on the text. 5 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:26,600 What might the literal sense of the text be? 6 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,400 What's the author trying to communicate to their original 7 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:31,300 audience? And that's where we always want 8 00:00:31,300 --> 00:00:35,400 to start as Catholics because that's where the true original 9 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,500 meaning is. And today we're looking at a 10 00:00:38,500 --> 00:00:41,800 really interesting text, which is generated a lot of discussion 11 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:46,600 and informs Catholic teaching a great deal. 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:52,600 So we're looking today, John chapter 6 verses 52 to 59 The 13 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,700 Jews started arguing with one another, how can this man give 14 00:00:56,700 --> 00:01:02,200 us his flesh to eat? Jesus replied, I tell you, most 15 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:06,500 solemnly, if you do not eat the Flesh of the son of man and 16 00:01:06,500 --> 00:01:09,600 drink his blood, you will not have life in you. 17 00:01:10,700 --> 00:01:14,900 Anyone who does, Eat My Flesh and drink, my blood has eternal 18 00:01:14,900 --> 00:01:18,600 life and I shall raise him up on the last day. 19 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,700 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 20 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:29,400 He who eats my flesh and drinks, my blood lives in me and I live 21 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:34,500 in him. As I who am sent by the living, 22 00:01:34,500 --> 00:01:37,900 father, myself draw life from the father. 23 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,200 So whoever eats me will draw life from me. 24 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,500 This is the bread come down from heaven. 25 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,900 Not like the bread, our ancestors ate, they are dead, 26 00:01:50,500 --> 00:01:53,800 but anyone who eats this bread will live forever. 27 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,500 He taught this Doctrine, a Capernaum in the synagogue. 28 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,300 So, what's the context if you've been following along in the last 29 00:02:04,300 --> 00:02:05,800 few days? You'll know that we're in the 30 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,100 Eucharistic discourse and that's happening at the synagogue in 31 00:02:09,100 --> 00:02:11,200 Capernaum. If you haven't been listening to 32 00:02:11,208 --> 00:02:14,900 the last few days episodes, then I recommend going back and 33 00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:17,800 listening to those. So you can get the context for 34 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,100 what Jesus has said in this long sermon just before this. 35 00:02:21,700 --> 00:02:26,900 So just before we get to verse 52 today, Jesus has said this, I 36 00:02:26,900 --> 00:02:30,100 am the true bread which comes down from heaven, whoever eat of 37 00:02:30,100 --> 00:02:32,300 it, whoever eats of Will never die. 38 00:02:33,500 --> 00:02:36,600 And then right at the end, he specified that the bread which 39 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,100 they need to eat, is his flesh. So that's what happened last 40 00:02:40,100 --> 00:02:42,500 time. So that prompts the crowd. 41 00:02:42,500 --> 00:02:46,800 Now listed here is the Jews sort of the crowd who's interested in 42 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,200 believing in Jesus. They start arguing with each 43 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,600 other because he has just said, you need to eat my flesh. 44 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,200 The Greek here for them arguing is literally fought. 45 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,600 It's quite an aggressive fight, amongst the people. 46 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,600 There's a big disagreement and then probably interpreting what 47 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:09,300 he said in different ways. So that thing that arguing with 48 00:03:09,300 --> 00:03:11,800 each other about is this phrase, how can this man? 49 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,700 Give us his flesh to eat and that is a fair question. 50 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,500 What do they mean by this? Well, there's two possible 51 00:03:17,500 --> 00:03:20,700 meanings here, they could be saying, how can he physically? 52 00:03:20,700 --> 00:03:23,800 Give us his flesh to eat as in? It's a physical science, 53 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,200 question, or it could mean something like this, why would 54 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,200 he want to give us his flesh to eat? 55 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,900 Because to the Jews? Some of them would be quite 56 00:03:32,900 --> 00:03:36,100 appalled by this idea that Jesus would want people to eat his 57 00:03:36,100 --> 00:03:39,800 flesh because according to the Jewish law, set out in the 58 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,700 Torah, Jews are not allowed to eat flesh or blood. 59 00:03:45,300 --> 00:03:47,500 Well, particularly flesh that has blood in it and that's 60 00:03:47,500 --> 00:03:50,500 specified in The Vedic has 17 and 19. 61 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:55,500 So to the Jews, eating flesh of a human would be Unthinkable. 62 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,700 Jews would not do that. So they're just not sure why 63 00:03:58,700 --> 00:04:00,700 Jesus would suggest such a thing. 64 00:04:01,900 --> 00:04:03,800 Now, they're if that's what they're thinking of their 65 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,800 thinking of it in terms that are quite cannibalistic. 66 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,000 Now, that's not what Jesus is teaching. 67 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,900 Jesus is not saying whatever he's saying, he's certainly not 68 00:04:12,900 --> 00:04:16,000 saying you need to physically eat My physical flesh that you 69 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,399 see right in front of you. He's not saying that. 70 00:04:19,899 --> 00:04:23,000 And as we go on to see, Jesus is talking about a different kind 71 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,800 of eating and in particular, he refers to himself as living 72 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:28,700 bread. So it's not a cannibalistic 73 00:04:28,700 --> 00:04:31,000 thing where the person is dead and you're eating their dead 74 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,400 flesh. Jesus flesh is constantly living 75 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:38,400 his the living bread. There's some other interesting 76 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,200 things about this, though, that's worth looking at. 77 00:04:42,100 --> 00:04:45,000 Jesus doesn't correct them. He doesn't if they have 78 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:46,700 misunderstood he doesn't correct them. 79 00:04:46,700 --> 00:04:50,600 So when they say, how can this man give us his flesh to eat if 80 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,600 they had misunderstood this would be his opportunity to 81 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,700 correct them which he does do. Another places in fact, two 82 00:04:57,700 --> 00:05:02,500 chapters earlier in John chapter 4, verse 32, to 34, Jesus is 83 00:05:02,500 --> 00:05:06,200 talking about bread and they misunderstand what kind of bread 84 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,000 he's talking about. He actually corrects them here. 85 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,100 He doesn't correct the crowd. He seems to think that what 86 00:05:12,100 --> 00:05:15,100 they're saying is basically right there are sumption. 87 00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:19,200 That Jesus is trying to give his flesh for them to eat is correct 88 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,000 and he doesn't, he doesn't try to correct them there. 89 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:26,200 But he doesn't answer their question, either. 90 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,600 How can this man? Give us his flesh to eat? 91 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,900 He doesn't really answer that in this discourse. 92 00:05:31,100 --> 00:05:35,000 He only answers that in the last supper and certainly at the Last 93 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,200 Supper, a lot of the people that were, there would have been here 94 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:40,700 in this scene as well. So, in the Last Supper, they 95 00:05:40,700 --> 00:05:45,200 would have looked back on John, chapter 6, and realized that the 96 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,700 last supper is the Fulfillment of what he promised about. 97 00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:52,800 Giving them his flesh verse 53. He says, I tell you most 98 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,100 solemnly, which means he's about How to say something quite 99 00:05:55,100 --> 00:05:58,700 serious. If you do not eat the Flesh of 100 00:05:58,700 --> 00:06:00,900 the son of man and drink his blood. 101 00:06:01,700 --> 00:06:03,200 Now, let's pause here. Jesus. 102 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,000 Adds in a new element that hasn't been in there before. 103 00:06:06,300 --> 00:06:09,900 So not only do people need to eat his flesh to inherit eternal 104 00:06:09,900 --> 00:06:11,700 life. They need to drink his blood. 105 00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:16,700 Notice the physicalness of it. The object of the eating is his 106 00:06:16,700 --> 00:06:21,700 actual flesh and blood If you do not eat the Flesh of the son of 107 00:06:21,707 --> 00:06:24,500 man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. 108 00:06:25,700 --> 00:06:29,100 So that means they won't have God's Divine Life if they don't 109 00:06:29,100 --> 00:06:30,700 eat his flesh and drink his blood. 110 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,800 Now, Jesus clearly here can't be teaching cannibalism because 111 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,400 he's talking as we know from other places in the Gospel of 112 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,400 John, he's talking about Divine Life, he's not talking about 113 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,700 physical immortality. He's talking about Divine life 114 00:06:43,700 --> 00:06:47,400 living forever in eternity. That's the kind of eating that 115 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,700 people can derive from his flesh and his blood so it's not 116 00:06:50,700 --> 00:06:55,400 cannibalism. Anyone who does Eat My Flesh and 117 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:57,400 drinks. My blood has eternal life. 118 00:06:58,100 --> 00:07:01,100 So, on the other hand, if you do what he's Flesh and Blood you do 119 00:07:01,100 --> 00:07:04,900 have eternal life. Now, what does it mean to say, 120 00:07:05,100 --> 00:07:07,000 eating? Jesus, flesh and blood and this 121 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,300 is the real question. There's two possible 122 00:07:09,300 --> 00:07:11,700 interpretations. It could mean something 123 00:07:11,700 --> 00:07:15,200 spiritual is in, its meditating on and following Jesus. 124 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,700 Recognizing his identity believing in him. 125 00:07:17,700 --> 00:07:21,600 Following him that's one interpretation or it could mean 126 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,600 that Jesus is being a bit more literal here. 127 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,600 And Jesus is saying, you need to literally eat his literal flesh 128 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:30,700 and literal blood, something like that. 129 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:34,200 Is there a way that we can work out which of the two? 130 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:39,400 He means there's Arguments for both views, and we want to look 131 00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:41,100 a bit about the pros and cons of each. 132 00:07:41,100 --> 00:07:44,700 Because this is such an important text in understanding, 133 00:07:44,700 --> 00:07:46,700 Catholic teaching, in fact, Catholic teaching on the 134 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:50,100 Eucharist is based largely on John chapter 6 here. 135 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:53,300 And so, in this podcast where we look at the literal sense, the 136 00:07:53,300 --> 00:07:57,500 very words of the text, we want to talk about the fours and 137 00:07:57,500 --> 00:08:00,500 against of different ways of understanding this text. 138 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:02,300 So the first interpretation Tatian. 139 00:08:02,300 --> 00:08:05,000 Is that his medal? He means meditating on and 140 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:06,600 following him in a spiritual way. 141 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,600 That's what it means to feed on Jesus. 142 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:15,100 The biggest argument for this interpretation is well, firstly, 143 00:08:15,900 --> 00:08:18,400 because any physical interpretation might suggest 144 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:20,400 cannibalism. I think we've dealt with that. 145 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,200 If we understand, Jesus, words correctly, his not implying 146 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,700 cannibalism. But the other argument for 147 00:08:25,700 --> 00:08:29,300 suggesting that this might be a spiritual meaning that Jesus is 148 00:08:29,300 --> 00:08:31,900 intending, is the context of what he said. 149 00:08:31,900 --> 00:08:35,400 So far up until this point in the sermon, his sermon has been 150 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,200 about believing in him believing that he is the son of man, and 151 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,700 that will give you eternal life. So there is a strong case there 152 00:08:43,100 --> 00:08:46,000 if he's continuing with the same theme, that would make sense. 153 00:08:46,900 --> 00:08:50,900 But there's also some strong arguments to suggest that Jesus 154 00:08:50,900 --> 00:08:54,300 here on the literal level. When we look at what Jesus is 155 00:08:54,300 --> 00:08:57,800 trying to communicate, here is talking in some sense about 156 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,900 literally eating his actual flesh and blood. 157 00:09:00,100 --> 00:09:01,900 So let's look at some arguments for that. 158 00:09:02,900 --> 00:09:06,200 So the Greek here suggests that Jesus is going for something a 159 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,400 bit more physical than just a spiritual eating of his flesh. 160 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,800 Shhhh, the reason we say that is because the word that's used for 161 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,900 eat, here is trog us and that has actually changed from the 162 00:09:17,900 --> 00:09:20,400 word he used earlier earlier in the sermon. 163 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,400 He used a very general word for eating when he was talking about 164 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,800 the Manna in the wilderness. But now this point from about 165 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,100 verse 53 onwards, he actually switches verbs. 166 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,900 So his original hearers or certainly John's original 167 00:09:32,900 --> 00:09:35,700 readers, who read the Greek would have noticed a shift in 168 00:09:35,700 --> 00:09:39,000 Jesus. Meaning here, chagos the verb 169 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,700 that's used here. For each is a Physical word. 170 00:09:42,700 --> 00:09:46,500 So the fact that he's changed verbs, suggest that Jesus has 171 00:09:46,500 --> 00:09:48,900 actually shifted the conversation to a deeper level 172 00:09:49,500 --> 00:09:51,900 trog. Us is a very graphic word and it 173 00:09:51,900 --> 00:09:56,300 means to nor or chew so, very graphic kind of chewing 174 00:09:56,300 --> 00:09:58,800 language. We know from other writings that 175 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,600 in this time period try gas was used to describe how animals 176 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:07,300 eat, it's what animals look like when they're eating, so that 177 00:10:07,300 --> 00:10:11,400 would suggest that Jesus is communicating to His audience 178 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,500 that he's referring to a physical eating of some kind, 179 00:10:15,700 --> 00:10:19,200 another argument that would suggest that he's talking here 180 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,200 about physical eating is because if you follow the conversation 181 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,600 up till this point, although it's true that he's been talking 182 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:27,900 about following him up till this point. 183 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,800 It seems that by this time most of the crowd that are still 184 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,900 there already believe in Jesus. They believe that he is the Son 185 00:10:34,900 --> 00:10:39,200 of God, but it's this additional teaching that his presenting 186 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:42,000 about eating his flesh and blood that they're struggling with. 187 00:10:43,300 --> 00:10:46,300 So they it seems that a lot of the crowd doesn't have a huge 188 00:10:46,300 --> 00:10:48,100 problem with believing his identity. 189 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:51,900 Now, that might not be correct, but that's one thing to consider 190 00:10:51,900 --> 00:10:54,900 here. Another interesting point to 191 00:10:54,908 --> 00:10:57,600 now, I think that this is quite convincing actually is that if 192 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,800 we want to say that when Jesus says you need to eat my flesh 193 00:11:00,900 --> 00:11:04,400 and drink, my blood, that that has a metaphorical meaning, the 194 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,300 problem with that is, we know that at that time period, the 195 00:11:07,300 --> 00:11:10,800 phrase to eat flesh and drink blood already had a metaphorical 196 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,700 meaning to the Jews. In fact, if you look at the Old 197 00:11:13,700 --> 00:11:17,800 Testament, the phrase to eat flesh and drink blood is used in 198 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,200 a metaphorical way, but it describes going to war it 199 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:25,000 describes the physicalness of Going to war as in killing 200 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,700 people, leaving blood in the streets, we see that in 201 00:11:27,700 --> 00:11:34,200 Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 42 and Ezekiel 39:17 to 18. 202 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,200 So that is the Jewish metaphorical meaning at the time 203 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,900 of, Jesus of eating, flesh and drinking blood, but that meaning 204 00:11:41,900 --> 00:11:43,700 doesn't make sense in this context. 205 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:47,200 So I think that is a pretty strong indicator that we should 206 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,800 rule out that the original readers would have understood 207 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:54,400 this metaphorically and then the last Going to make about this is 208 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,100 the way that this is later understood in the Bible itself. 209 00:11:58,100 --> 00:12:02,600 So later in the old, in the New Testament, Paul explicitly says 210 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,900 that communion meal is a participation in the body and 211 00:12:05,900 --> 00:12:09,100 blood of Christ. So that's in 1 Corinthians, 10, 212 00:12:09,100 --> 00:12:13,200 verse 16 and then in 1 Corinthians 11, the next 213 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,000 chapter, he gets even more explicit and emphatic about 214 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:17,800 communion. He says that if you don't eat 215 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,800 communion properly, you're guilty of the body and the blood 216 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,700 of the Lord, that's 1 Corinthians 11 verse 23 to 29. 217 00:12:25,300 --> 00:12:30,400 So certainly Paul understood at least the Last Supper when we do 218 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,800 communion at the Last Supper, that that is, in fact about 219 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,700 Jesus, flesh and blood. And so there is a reasonable 220 00:12:38,700 --> 00:12:42,000 connection between Paul's teaching and Jesus own words, 221 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,100 here of Jesus, mentions flesh-and-blood in John, chapter 222 00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:50,800 6, and then Paul mentions Flesh and blood in 1 Corinthians 11, 223 00:12:51,100 --> 00:12:53,800 it probably means they're both thinking of the last supper. 224 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:55,700 I think that's a strong argument to make you. 225 00:12:56,300 --> 00:12:59,600 So if we add in all those different factors, it does seem 226 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:03,400 that on the literal level Jesus is talking about some sort of 227 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,000 physical literal feeding on his flesh and blood though, not in a 228 00:13:07,008 --> 00:13:10,400 cannibalistic way. And that latter interpretation, 229 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:13,100 that it's a physical. Eating is the Catholic teaching 230 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,400 the Catholic teaching as most of you would know, is that Jesus 231 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,200 really is talking. About the Eucharist here, that's 232 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,300 the Catholic teaching. Jesus, offers his flesh and 233 00:13:23,300 --> 00:13:26,700 blood on the cross. But then his body is resurrected 234 00:13:26,700 --> 00:13:30,500 to glory and it's his glorified flesh, after his resurrected and 235 00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:32,400 gone to heaven. That's the flesh. 236 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:34,000 That's given to us in the Eucharist. 237 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,000 So in the Eucharist, we're not eating, Jesus, bloody Flesh on 238 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,500 the cross. Where actually consuming in a 239 00:13:39,508 --> 00:13:43,100 sense, when it's probably understood, we're consuming his 240 00:13:43,300 --> 00:13:46,700 body, that has been resurrected and glorified, so it's the real 241 00:13:46,700 --> 00:13:50,700 substantial presence of Christ. Iced and the Catholic phrase for 242 00:13:50,700 --> 00:13:52,800 the Eucharist. That's often used to describe it 243 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:54,500 is. It's the source and Summit of 244 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:57,700 the Christian life. So Jesus, finishes by saying 245 00:13:57,700 --> 00:14:00,600 that if you eat my flesh and drink, my blood, I shall raise 246 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,500 him up on the last day and that's been discussed in 247 00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:06,400 previous days when Jesus used that same phrase. 248 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:12,900 Verse 55 for my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 249 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:16,900 So Jesus is probably contrasting, this food with the 250 00:14:16,900 --> 00:14:20,100 manor, The Manor. Wilderness wasn't perfect. 251 00:14:20,700 --> 00:14:23,600 And in a sense, it's not real food and drink whereas Jesus 252 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,600 flesh and blood is real food and drink it's the true source of 253 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,300 eternal life. On the other hand, it could be 254 00:14:29,300 --> 00:14:31,600 that Jesus, here by using the word real. 255 00:14:31,700 --> 00:14:35,000 He's emphasizing that his body and blood, really our food and 256 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:40,000 drink verse 56, he who eats my flesh and drinks, my blood lives 257 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:45,400 in me and I live in him. So, this is quite a deep 258 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,300 theological teaching, Jesus is saying, but for those who choose 259 00:14:48,300 --> 00:14:52,400 to eat his flesh and drink his blood, whatever, that means, it 260 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,100 mean it brings about a real Divine communion between 261 00:14:55,100 --> 00:14:58,100 themselves and Jesus. Not a fake Community, not just a 262 00:14:58,100 --> 00:15:01,700 spiritual nice idea. Someone who chooses to eat his 263 00:15:01,700 --> 00:15:05,100 flesh and blood actually brings about a real communion between 264 00:15:05,100 --> 00:15:08,100 themselves and Jesus. The word therefore remain. 265 00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:12,500 Remains in me and I in him is meno in Greek. 266 00:15:12,700 --> 00:15:16,000 And in John's gospel, that would meno designates this Mutual 267 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,500 indwelling of the father. And the son, this eternal 268 00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:22,400 relationship between the father and the son, which people are 269 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,000 invited to be a part of. We see similar language when 270 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,100 Jesus talks about the Vine. I am the vine. 271 00:15:28,100 --> 00:15:29,800 You are. The branches remain in me. 272 00:15:30,100 --> 00:15:33,400 So that's very similar language. And what we see here in John, 273 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,800 chapter 6 is a similar thing, but it actually takes it 274 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,200 further. It's Jesus saying that to remain 275 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,600 in me. Must consume the Eucharist. 276 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:45,400 That's how we put all this theology together verse 57 as I 277 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,900 who am sent by the living. Father, myself draw life from 278 00:15:48,900 --> 00:15:52,000 the father. So, Jesus as the son, the second 279 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,000 person of the Trinity, derives, all of his energy and his 280 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,400 teachings. And in fact, his very life comes 281 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,900 from the father. So, whoever eats might, whoever 282 00:16:00,900 --> 00:16:05,100 eats me will draw life from me. Now, that's a pretty radical 283 00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:08,700 claim Jesus says that through participating in his flesh and 284 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,400 blood in the Eucharist, people will actually draw Divine Life 285 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:16,100 from Jesus in the same way that he draws it from the father. 286 00:16:16,500 --> 00:16:21,200 So it's like passing on that Divine Life down to us, that's 287 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,300 brought out later in John, chapter 17, verse 26. 288 00:16:24,700 --> 00:16:28,000 When he said Jesus says the love with which you loved me. 289 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,000 May be in them and I in them. So that's what Jesus wants. 290 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,700 He wants us to be a part of this communion that he already has 291 00:16:34,700 --> 00:16:39,700 with the father. We can say that this is why the 292 00:16:39,700 --> 00:16:42,000 father instituted the Eucharist in the first place. 293 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,900 It wasn't just a nice idea. God, the Father actually wants 294 00:16:45,900 --> 00:16:48,900 all believers to have real physical access to this Divine 295 00:16:48,900 --> 00:16:51,300 life. That's their inheritance. 296 00:16:51,900 --> 00:16:54,300 That's our inheritance as Christians as his sons and 297 00:16:54,300 --> 00:16:58,100 daughters to have this access to the, to the Divine Life, and his 298 00:16:58,100 --> 00:17:01,000 instituted, the Eucharist, so that we can have regular access 299 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,500 to that to the very flesh and blood of Jesus verse 58. 300 00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:08,599 This is the bread come down from heaven, not like Read our 301 00:17:08,599 --> 00:17:12,500 ancestors ate, they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread 302 00:17:12,500 --> 00:17:16,400 will live forever. So Jesus is summarizing his 303 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:19,200 entire discourse. He's finishing up now and he 304 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,400 sums it up by returning to the opening scriptural text. 305 00:17:22,700 --> 00:17:25,900 You remember this whole conversation started by talking 306 00:17:25,900 --> 00:17:27,200 about the Manna in the wilderness. 307 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,000 And so Jesus returns to that here. 308 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,800 Jesus main point is the unlike the Manna in the wilderness as 309 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,500 good as it was, it could not give people everlasting life 310 00:17:38,700 --> 00:17:40,000 even though it was bread from Heaven. 311 00:17:40,500 --> 00:17:43,900 Whereas Jesus flesh is the true bread from heaven and it can 312 00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:47,900 bring eternal life. Notice that phrase. 313 00:17:47,900 --> 00:17:51,300 Here anyone who eats this bread will live forever. 314 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:55,000 That will live forever phrase. Sounds like kind of a fairytale 315 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,800 phrase, It's not used very often in the Bible. 316 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,800 It only occurs three times twice in this. 317 00:18:00,900 --> 00:18:04,800 This discourse in John chapter 6 and one other place is in 318 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:09,600 Genesis 3:22 in connection with the Tree of Life, anyone who 319 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:11,700 eats from the Tree of Life we live forever. 320 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,900 The fact that that's the only place where these are mentioned 321 00:18:15,700 --> 00:18:18,100 implies a strong connection to the tree of life. 322 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,500 So the Tree of Life, originally bore fruit to the broad about 323 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:25,100 physical immortality and the bread of life, according to 324 00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:28,200 Catholic, tradition tradition is called the medicine of 325 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,200 immortality. That's what the Eucharist is a 326 00:18:30,208 --> 00:18:33,200 brings about. Divine Supernatural, eternal 327 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:36,500 life. Verse 59, he taught this 328 00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:38,600 Doctrine at Capernaum in the synagogue. 329 00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:42,100 So if you've been following through chronologically Jesus 330 00:18:42,100 --> 00:18:45,800 walks on water, the night before he then gets into the boat and 331 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,500 the boat lands at Capernaum, which is actually his hometown 332 00:18:49,300 --> 00:18:51,200 and at Capernaum all the crowds flocked to him. 333 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,600 And he taught from the synagogue on that day. 334 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,500 It was quite common to have traveling grep, rabbis preach in 335 00:18:57,500 --> 00:19:01,000 local synagogues and everyone would come from the township to 336 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,000 hear the local to hear the rabbi preach in the local synagogue. 337 00:19:05,900 --> 00:19:08,700 Now that's the end of the bread of life discourse, essentially 338 00:19:09,100 --> 00:19:12,500 in tomorrow's section will pick up ever 60 and we're going to 339 00:19:12,500 --> 00:19:16,300 see what the crowd's reaction was, because Don John isn't 340 00:19:16,300 --> 00:19:18,900 finished with this quite yet. He wants us to know how people 341 00:19:18,900 --> 00:19:22,800 react to what Jesus says about eating his flesh and blood. 342 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,000 So, I want to include this quote, now, from the Catholic 343 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,500 commentary on sacred scripture for the Gospel of John, which I 344 00:19:31,500 --> 00:19:34,000 think sums up this teaching on the Eucharist really. 345 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:38,700 Well it says the Holy Eucharist is the source and Summit of the 346 00:19:38,700 --> 00:19:41,500 Christian Life. It is the real substantial 347 00:19:41,500 --> 00:19:45,400 presence of Christ Among Us the body and blood together with the 348 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,200 soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. 349 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:52,000 And therefore the whole Christ is truly really and 350 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,000 substantially contained. According Adding to the Council 351 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:59,100 of Trent at every mess. Jesus gift of himself to the 352 00:19:59,100 --> 00:20:03,200 father on the cross is made present again sacramentally in 353 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,500 the Eucharist and offered to us as they are food for eternal 354 00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:09,100 life. Not only does the Eucharist 355 00:20:09,100 --> 00:20:13,000 unite Believers to Christ. It also unites us to one another 356 00:20:14,500 --> 00:20:19,400 as on radula back writes, the Eucharist makes the church. 357 00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:23,200 If the holy spirit is the soul of the church, the Eucharist is 358 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:26,200 it's beating heart pumping, Christ's blood at, through the 359 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:30,200 members of his body, the church. If we are to grow in Holiness 360 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,500 and love, we must make the Eucharist the center of our 361 00:20:33,500 --> 00:20:38,600 Lives because in doing so, We make a Christ, the center of our 362 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,600 Lives. If we receive Christ worthily in 363 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,600 the Eucharist and worship him, and Eucharistic adoration, he 364 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:49,400 will fill us with his grace and in larger Hearts to love and 365 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:52,600 serve more perfectly Eucharistic worship. 366 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:56,800 And adoration does not detract from works of Love, on the 367 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,600 contrary. It is what enables us to do them 368 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:03,100 in the first place. Consider these words of Blessed 369 00:21:03,100 --> 00:21:07,400 Mother Teresa of Calcutta, if we truly understand the Christ. 370 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:11,200 If we make the Eucharist to the central focus of Our Lives, if 371 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,600 we feed our lives with the Eucharist, we will not find it 372 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:19,500 difficult to discover Christ to love him and to serve him in the 373 00:21:19,500 --> 00:21:23,700 poor. So that's an extended quote, and 374 00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:26,700 it brings together Church teachings and various courts 375 00:21:26,700 --> 00:21:28,500 there. But I think it summarizes the 376 00:21:28,500 --> 00:21:30,600 Catholic teaching on the Eucharist very well. 377 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,600 So obviously because this is such a central text in helping 378 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,800 us understand the Catholic teaching on the Eucharist as you 379 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:42,600 would expect. There's a lot of catechism 380 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,900 references which talk about it. So I just want to talk about a 381 00:21:45,908 --> 00:21:48,500 few of the ones, you may not have heard before or possible 382 00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:52,200 connections to this verse that maybe aren't as obvious or that 383 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,100 we haven't talked about in the previous day's. 384 00:21:54,700 --> 00:21:57,200 So let's start with paragraph, 28, 37. 385 00:21:57,900 --> 00:22:01,100 And this is a commentary on the line from the Our Father, which 386 00:22:01,100 --> 00:22:03,400 says, give us this day. Day, our daily bread. 387 00:22:04,500 --> 00:22:07,900 Daily, a puz loss occurs, nowhere else in the New 388 00:22:07,900 --> 00:22:11,000 Testament taken in a temporal sense. 389 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,000 This word is, a pedagogical repetition of this stage to 390 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,900 confirm Us in trust without reservation taken in the 391 00:22:19,900 --> 00:22:22,700 qualitative sense. It signifies, what is necessary 392 00:22:22,700 --> 00:22:26,400 for life and more broadly? Every good thing sufficient for 393 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:31,600 substance taken. Literally Apu is yours is super 394 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:33,900 essential. It refers directly to the bread 395 00:22:33,900 --> 00:22:36,800 of life. The body of Christ, the medicine 396 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,100 of immortality, without which we have no life within us. 397 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,100 So, that's a really interesting one that in, if you look at 398 00:22:44,100 --> 00:22:46,800 where the, Our father is given by Jesus, the word that's used 399 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:51,500 for, that's translated. Daily is epic, use EOS in Greek, 400 00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:54,100 and there's some discussion about what that word means. 401 00:22:54,100 --> 00:22:56,200 And one of the legitimate connections, it's been made, 402 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,900 because it basically means it's super abundant bread. 403 00:22:59,500 --> 00:23:02,400 It could be a reference to the Eucharist and so that paragraph 404 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,900 links it here to John chapter 6. Where it says, without if you do 405 00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:09,900 not eat the Flesh of the son of man, you do not have any life in 406 00:23:09,900 --> 00:23:12,000 you. So that's an Interesting one 407 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:14,900 paragraph, 14 06. This is a summary of the 408 00:23:14,900 --> 00:23:18,500 teaching on the Eucharist. Jesus said, I am the living 409 00:23:18,500 --> 00:23:20,000 bread that came down from heaven. 410 00:23:20,100 --> 00:23:23,200 If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. 411 00:23:23,700 --> 00:23:27,600 He who eats my flesh and drinks, my blood has eternal life and 412 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,900 abides in me and I in him, and that's the entire paragraph. 413 00:23:31,900 --> 00:23:36,500 It's just a, a quote from John, chapter 6, and the church sees 414 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:39,000 that, as a great way of summarizing the Catholic 415 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,000 teaching on the Eucharist, Paragraph. 15 24 is about via 416 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000 tecum, which is a special kind of Eucharist that's given to 417 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,600 people just before they die. So that paragraph says, in 418 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,900 addition to the anointing of the sick, the Church offers those 419 00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:55,000 who are about to leave this life. 420 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,500 The Eucharist is via tucum communion in the body and blood 421 00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:01,600 of Christ received at this moment of passing over to the 422 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:05,000 father, has a particular significance and importance. 423 00:24:05,500 --> 00:24:08,900 It is the seed of eternal life and the power of Resurrection. 424 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:13,000 According to the words of the Lord, he who eats my flesh and 425 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:17,000 drinks, my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at 426 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:21,600 the last day, the sacrament of Christ once did and now risen, 427 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,900 the Eucharist is here the sacrament of passing over from 428 00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:27,900 Death to life from this world to the father. 429 00:24:29,300 --> 00:24:32,200 So the church sees the most appropriate thing you can do, 430 00:24:32,700 --> 00:24:36,000 just before someone passes away, is to give them the Eucharist, 431 00:24:36,100 --> 00:24:40,100 so that they have eternal life as Jesus says here, and can be 432 00:24:40,100 --> 00:24:45,500 raised up at the last day, paragraph 787 talks about that 433 00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:47,200 phrase. In John, chapter 6 about, he 434 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:51,200 lives in me and I in him. Jesus spoke of a still more 435 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,300 intimate communion between him and those. 436 00:24:53,300 --> 00:24:58,000 Who would follow him abide in me and I in you, I am the vine. 437 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,600 You are the branches. Is, and he proclaimed a 438 00:25:00,608 --> 00:25:04,400 mysterious and real communion between his own body and hours? 439 00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:09,300 He who eats my flesh and drinks. My blood abides in me, and I in 440 00:25:09,300 --> 00:25:14,800 him, And then in paragraph, 1391 will finish with this one. 441 00:25:14,900 --> 00:25:18,600 This talks about what community taking communion actually does 442 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,400 for us in our life. Holy Communion augments our 443 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,800 Union with Christ. The principal fruit of receiving 444 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,700 the Eucharist in, Holy Communion is an intimate Union with Christ 445 00:25:29,700 --> 00:25:33,600 Jesus. Indeed the Lord said he who eats 446 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,900 my flesh and drinks. My blood abides in me and I in 447 00:25:36,900 --> 00:25:40,800 him life, in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic 448 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,800 banquet as the living. Father sent me and I live 449 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:49,300 because of the father so he who eats me will live because of me. 450 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:53,900 So a whole lot of really interesting stuff there and 451 00:25:53,900 --> 00:25:56,000 there's some more paragraph references. 452 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,100 I'll include all of those in the show notes. 453 00:25:58,900 --> 00:26:00,700 Thanks for listening. I hope you learned something new 454 00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:03,000 about this. Really pivotal passage in John. 455 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:07,400 Chapter 6, please continue to share this podcast around, keep 456 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:11,200 this ministry in your prayers and if you believe it's a 457 00:26:11,208 --> 00:26:13,800 Ministry worth supporting, please consider becoming a 458 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,400 financial supporter. And there's details for that in 459 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,200 the show notes and there's heaps of information there about all 460 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,500 the awesome Benefits. You can get if you do decide to 461 00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:27,200 become a monthly Giver, thank you so much again for listening 462 00:26:27,500 --> 00:26:30,600 and please tune in again tomorrow as we continue from 463 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,100 this very spot in John, chapter 6.