2. Unless You Eat My Flesh And Drink My Blood
John 6:53-54

3. John 6:53-54
“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.”

4. Unless You Eat My Flesh And Drink My Blood
Hard Saying

5. Deemed A Hard Saying
“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?” (John 6:60-61).

6. Deemed A Hard Saying
“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?” (John 6:60-61).

7. Deemed A Hard Saying 1) Word “hard” and “offend” defined.
“offensive, intolerable” (Thayer, p. 579). “of words, offensive” (Bullinger, p. 352). “Of things spoken as hard, harsh, offensive, such as words” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament).
“to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey; to cause to fall away” (Thayer, p. 576). “In Jn 6:61 a crisis of faith is apparent. Lack of understanding causes many disciples to leave Jesus” (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament).

8. Deemed A Hard Saying 2) One blessed if not offended.
“And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matthew 11:6).
Offended – “to be offended in one, [find occasion of stumbling in], i.e. to see in another what I disapprove of and what hinders me from acknowledging his authority” (Thayer, p. 577).

9. Deemed A Hard Saying 3) Pharisees were offended.
“When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” (Matthew 15:10-12).
Offended – “to cause one displeasure at a thing; to make indignant: to be displeased, indignant” (Thayer, p. 577).

10. Deemed A Hard Saying
4) Are you offended at the words or deeds of Jesus?
(a) He came to call sinners to repentance (Mark 2:16-17).
(b) His speaking to a Samaritan woman (John 4:27).
(c) I must love and pray for my enemies (Matthew 5:43-44).
(d) Forgiveness of others must be a part of my life (Matthew 6:14).

11. Unless You Eat My Flesh And Drink My Blood
Hard Saying
Some Turned Away

12. Caused Some To Turn Away
“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:66-69).

13. Caused Some To Turn Away
“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:66-69).

14. Caused Some To Turn Away
1) Some sought Him for the wrong reason.
“Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him” (John 6:26-27).
How many today are seeking the wrong thing: physical food, entertainment, camps, basketball, softball, vacation trips, financial planning, etc.

15. Caused Some To Turn Away
2) The pull of the world.
“Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia” (2 Timothy 4:9-10).

16. Caused Some To Turn Away
3) Material possessions.
“Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich” (Luke 18:18-23).

17. Caused Some To Turn Away
4) His teaching has caused some to turn away.
(a) Marriage, divorce, & remarriage (Matthew 19:9).
(b) Homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
(c) Put others ahead of self (Philippians 2:3).
(d) Faithful attendance (Hebrews 10:24-25).

18. Unless You Eat My Flesh And Drink My Blood
Hard Saying
Some Turned Away
Life By His Death

19. Life By His Death
“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” (John 6:53-54).

20. Life By His Death
“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” (John 6:53-54).

21. Life By His Death 1) A body prepared to be offered.
“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:5-7).

22. Life By His Death 2) We’re saved by His sacrifice.
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

23. Unless You Eat My Flesh And Drink My Blood
Hard Saying
Some Turned Away
Life By His Death
Figure of Obedience

24. Figure of Obedience
“And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst…And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day…Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:35,40,47).

25. Figure of Obedience
“And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst…And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day…Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:35,40,47).

26. Figure of Obedience 1) Only the obedient will be saved.
“though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:8-9).

27. Figure of Obedience
2) Benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice received when we obey Him.
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).

28. Figure of Obedience 3) Notice this statement of John.
“So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings” (Revelation 10:9-11).

29. Unless You Eat My Flesh And Drink My Blood
Hard Saying
Some Turned Away
Life By His Death
Figure of Obedience
Eat Drink & Abide

30. Eat Drink & Abide
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56).

31. Eat Drink & Abide
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56).

32. Eat Drink & Abide 1) The need to abide in Him.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:5-8).

33. Eat Drink & Abide 2) John plainly tells us how He abides!
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3:22-24).

34. Eat Drink & Abide 3) Christ was abiding in Paul.
“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” (Galatians 2:20).

35. Unless You Eat My Flesh And Drink My Blood
Hard Saying
Some Turned Away
Life By His Death
Figure of Obedience
Eat Drink & Abide
Not The Lord’s Supper

36. Not The Lord’s Supper
“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” (John 6:57-58).

37. Not The Lord’s Supper
“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” (John 6:57-58).

38. Not The Lord’s Supper 1) One can eat the Lord’s Supper and not live!
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:26-30).

39. Unless You Eat My Flesh And Drink My Blood
Hard Saying
Some Turned Away
Life By His Death
Figure of Obedience
Eat Drink & Abide
Not The Lord’s Supper