Difficult Sayings of Jesus: "Eat of My Flesh"

A particular passage in the Gospel of John has puzzled readers for centuries, and the texts indicate that many of Jesus's followers had a difficult time with it too. Later, the Romans accused Christians of cannibalism on account of this teaching.

In these words, Jesus said:

“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. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him.
- John 6:53-56

As a child in the Catholic church, I can still remember how my imagination ran wild hearing these words before communion.

I was aware of the concept of Transubstantiation, that the bread and wine somehow transform into the literal body and blood of Jesus after accepting communion.

And though I later understood this passage as a metaphor, I was still unclear on the takeaway.

As is our custom at The Hidden Orchard Project, we'll unpack these ideas and rebuild them with the Rabbinic metaphoric language to find understanding.

Barley and Wheat

Beginning with the mention of Barley, John 6 anchors the chapter into the theme of Bread. The Barley harvest was historically tied to the time of Passover, whereas the wheat harvest with Shavuot.

However, Barley is typically viewed as a lesser form of bread, and something eaten when wheat is not available. On this, Commentator Rashi shares:

One says to a child, “Why are you eating barley bread?” “Because I have no wheat bread.” - Rashi on Joshua 5:12

It seems to me that John Chapter 6 is drawing a connection to the 5th Chapter of Joshua. Many parallels can be found in these accounts, but one of interest to me is that both events seem to occur around the time of Passover.

Most notably though, in Joshua 5, the provision of manna ceased for the nation. The loss of manna carries a metaphoric meaning which we will explore shortly.

The Metaphor of Bread

Bread is recognized as a special food category in Jewish tradition, requiring a unique blessing and hand-washing ritual.

In Rabbinic vernacular, Bread often represents Torah knowledge. As bread can come in different forms, so too Torah with the written, oral, and mystical levels¹.

We see this idea expressed through the metaphors of water, milk, and wine². This is prominently featured in the Gospels, and letters of Paul. (ie: 1 Cor. 3:2).

As far as bread metaphors go, Manna is superior.