John 6:56-69

Ancient Lens

What can we learn from the historical context?

A Hard Saying

There are (at least) two leaps that Jesus’s listeners have to make here.  One is the reality of the incarnation and the other is the anticipation of the crucifixion.  The language of sacrifice would not be lost on the people, as they ate the flesh of sacrificed animals regularly in festivals of worship.  The blood would certainly be a hard part of the saying, since blood was associated with life and was supposed to be drained from animals, although this part of the saying would fit with Jesus being the “living” bread. 

Human sacrifices, however, could be outside their range of comprehension, to say nothing of  cannibalism.  This…