Jesus has just fed the five thousand with five barley loaves and two small fish. The next day, the people came seeking Him. Jesus accused them of seeking Him because they ate the loaves and were filled. He proceeded to tell them in John 6:48-51 “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” The Israelites travelled in the wilderness for forty years. God sustained them by giving them manna from heaven. But Jesus said He was the living bread which came down from heaven.
John 6:52-58 “The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.’” Note that Jesus said that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, we have no life in us.
Christians eat the flesh of Jesus and drink His blood when we partake of the Lord’s Supper. The apostle Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” Jesus died upon the cross and gave His body and blood that we might have life – eternal life. It is important that we partake of the body and blood of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of His redeeming sacrifice for each of us. Without His sacrifice, we do not have life.
But the disciples of Jesus did not understand when He told them they must eat His flesh and drink His blood. Many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. John 6:61-63 “When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” Note that He said “It is the Spirit who gives life” and “The words I speak to you are spirit and they are life.” I believe we also eat Jesus when we take His words and His teachings so that they become a part of us.
Whenever you eat a meal, you may eat bread or meat or vegetables. This food becomes a part of you. The calcium from the food may go into your bones. The iron may go to your blood. The protein may go to rebuild your muscles. The elements of the food go into building, replacing and repairing different parts of your body. Your physical body is built from the food you eat. In addition, the food gives you energy to work and play. In a similar way, the words of Jesus become a part of you when you take them inside of you and apply them to your life. His teachings on love, forgiveness, praying and many other subjects should change you and give you life. The characteristics of Jesus become your characteristics. He comes to dwell within you.
This principle of Christ living in you is taught in the Bible. Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” If you have been crucified with Christ, you should want Him to live within you. John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’” If you love Jesus, and keep His word, Jesus and the Father will make their home with you.
The following scripture talks about Christ dwelling in our hearts and being filled with the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”
Most of us don’t like to miss a meal; we don’t like being hungry. Unless you are fasting, you certainly wouldn’t want to go a day without eating. But what about your spiritual food? Do you go a day or longer without feasting upon the words of the Bible? John 6:57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” I encourage you to feast upon Jesus because He told us that His words are spirit and they are life.