请看约翰福音 6:52-59（和合本）的这段经文：

因此，犹太人彼此争论说：“这个人怎能把他的肉给我们吃呢？”耶稣说：“我实实在在地告诉你们，你们若不吃人子的肉，不喝人子的血，就没有生命在你们里面。吃我肉、喝我血的人就有永生，在末日我要叫他复活。我的肉真是可吃的，我的血真是可喝的。吃我肉、喝我血的人常在我里面，我也常在他里面。永活的父怎样差我来，我又因父活着；照样，吃我肉的人也要因我活着。这就是从天上降下来的粮。吃这粮的人就永远活着，不像你们的祖宗吃过吗哪还是死了。”这些话是耶稣在迦百农会堂里教训人说的。

    多年前，当我初读这段经文时不太理解，但看着上下文里的意思后又觉得理解了，尤其是后来读过整部圣经后更加觉得似乎已经非常‘熟悉’了，可其中的比喻的确需要信主多年的肢体深入思考。

1、2000多年前，在犹太的会堂里，犹太人对耶稣说的话感到惊奇：这个人怎么能把他的肉给我们吃呢？在这一点上，犹太领袖很可能故意误解了耶稣。然而耶稣只是解释说，饼（或称面包）是祂的身体，将作为为世人赎罪并赐新生命的祭物（约翰福音6:51 我是从天上降下来生命的粮；人若吃这粮，就必永远活着。我所要赐的粮，就是我的肉，为世人之生命所赐的。”）。

    那些无知的犹太人真的以为要把他们变成食人族，把祂吃掉。今天的你可能会对如此荒谬的想法一笑置之；然而，你知道这个想法在当初的罗马教会中仍然很普遍，神父郑重地向会众说，那些吃饼喝酒的人，或者祂称之为面包和酒的东西，实际上扮演了食人族的角色，吃了基督的身体，喝了祂的血。（司布真）

2、除非你吃人子的肉，喝祂的血，否则你就没有生命在你里面：耶稣对上述犹太人别有用心的‘误解’做出了回应，甚至说得更夸张，并藉约翰福音6:51的观点进一步放大了——祂的“肉体”就是祂降世为人、道成肉身的生命。

    生命的粮是一个比喻，从天而降的面包是一个比喻，活面包是一个比喻，上帝的粮也是一个比喻。耶稣将饼的比喻延伸到祂实际的、即将到来的十字架上的牺牲也就顺理成章了。因为被钉十字架和复活的耶稣必须被信祂之人接受和内化——用‘吃’来比喻恰如其分，否则就没有真正的属灵生命，没有永生。

    “在饮食方面，人不是生产者，而是彻底的消费者；他不是一个创造者，也不是一个给予者，他只是单单的接受。即便是皇后要吃饭，她也只能像济贫院里的穷人一样完全接受。在任何情况下，吃饭都是一种接受行为，信心也是如此：你不必去做，不必成为怎样，也不必去感受，只需要单单的接受。（司布真）

    重要的是，“吃基督的肉，喝基督的血，指向约翰福音3:16（“　神爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信他的，不至灭亡，反得永生。）中描述的救赎行为。基督的死打开了通往生命的道路。人们凭着信心进入那条路......吃肉和喝血代表了一种超乎寻常的表达方式。（莫里斯）

    在第54节中，吃人子的肉，喝人子的血的人，在末日要因祂复活；在第40节（#047b02）中，同样的应许被赋予了'凡看见圣子，信他的人'。（布鲁斯）

3、在信徒的日常生活中更会发挥分别为圣的功效，以基督为食的：“就是在我所有的做工场所和恩典中接受耶稣基督的，将同样会分享我的人格、功德、激情、特权”。这些特质让我们与众不同。我们对基督的渴求恰似我们对食物（面包）的饥饿感：

    ·看到盘子里的面包并不能满足我们的饥饿感。

    ·知道面包中的成分并不能满足我们的饥饿感。

    ·给面包拍照发朋友圈并不能满足我们的饥饿感。

    ·告诉别人有关面包的情况并不能满足我们的饥饿感。

    ·卖面包并不能满足我们的饥饿感。

    ·用面包玩接球并不能满足我们的饥饿感。

    除了吃面包之外，没有什么能满足我们的饥饿感并给我们带来全新的生命，吃这面包的人将永远活着。是的！

（如有建议敬请留言讨论，邮箱：[email protected]）

The Parable of Eating the Bread

Please refer to John 6:52–59 NKJV:

“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.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. “

Years ago, when I first read this passage, I did not quite understand it. But upon studying the context—and later, after reading the entire Bible—I gradually felt that I had come to grasp its meaning. Still, the metaphor requires the deep reflection that only those who have long walked in faith can truly appreciate.

1. Two Thousand Years Ago in the Synagogue: In the synagogue, the Jews were astonished by Jesus’ words: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Likely, the Jewish leaders deliberately misinterpreted what Jesus meant. However, Jesus explained that the bread—which represents His body—would be offered as the sacrifice for atonement and as the grantor of new life (see John 6:51: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. For I will give the life of my flesh for the life of the world.”). Those ignorant Jews truly believed that they were being turned into cannibals, literally consuming His flesh. Today, such an idea might sound absurd to us; yet, you know that even in the early Roman church this concept was commonly misunderstood. Priests solemnly declared to the congregation that those who partake of the bread and the wine—what Jesus termed as His body and blood—were, in effect, consuming Christ.(Spurgeon)
2. The Necessity of “Eating His Flesh, Drinking His Blood”: Jesus emphasized that unless one eats the Son’s flesh and drinks His blood, there is no life in the person. In His response to the misguided Jewish interpretation, Jesus spoke even more radically, reinforcing the idea (as in John 6:51) that His “flesh” signifies His incarnate life—the life given for the salvation of the world. The metaphor of the “bread from heaven” represents a far deeper reality: not merely a food symbol but an invitation to internalize the sacrifice of the crucified and resurrected Jesus. Only by accepting Him in this manner can one experience true spiritual life and eternal existence. As one writer(Spurgeon) expressed, “In matters of eating, man is not a producer but a pure receiver; he is neither a creator nor a giver—he simply accepts. Even a queen must eat in the same way as a pauper in the almshouse. Under all circumstances, eating is an act of receiving, and so is faith—you need not do or become anything, nor even feel anything, but simply receive.” It is crucial to understand that “eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood” points to the redemptive act described in John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world… that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”). Christ’s death made the way to life possible, and it is by faith that people enter that way. The act of eating His flesh and drinking His blood is an extraordinary expression of that faith. (Morris)

In verse 54, those who partake of the Son’s flesh and blood will be resurrected on the last day; similarly, in verse 40, the same promise is given to “all who see the Son and believe in Him.”(Bruce)

• The Daily Impact on the Believer’s Life: In the everyday life of believers, the concept of taking Christ as one’s food manifests itself in sanctification. It means that in every field of work and in all the graces received, when one accepts Jesus Christ, they also share in His character, virtues, passion, and privileges—qualities that distinguish us. Our hunger for Christ is akin to our hunger for bread:
• Simply seeing a loaf of bread on a plate does not satisfy our hunger.
• Merely knowing the ingredients of bread does not satisfy our hunger.
• Taking a photo of the bread for social media will not satisfy our hunger.
• Talking about the bread to others will not satisfy our hunger.
• Selling bread will not satisfy our hunger.
• Playing catch with bread will not satisfy our hunger.

Nothing can fulfill our hunger and give us new life except for eating this bread. Those who partake of it will live forever. Yes!

NOTE: SOME OF THE EXEGESIS IS EXCERPTED FROM ENDURING WORD.

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