CANNIBALISTIC DISCIPLESHIP
Jesus shocked his audience, evoking criticisms of cannibalism, when he stated that his followers need to eat his flesh and drink his blood.
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell 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 them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. (John 6:53-56)
Jesus could have stopped short of saying that we need to believe in him, which is true and the first step in our journey of discipleship. But to eat his flesh and drink his blood makes it quite intense. What does it mean?
First, it indicates the sacrifice that was required to make our salvation possible. You cannot eat and drink of the Son of God without first him being put to death. When we consider the death of Jesus and ask the question, ‘who killed Jesus?’ the answers may vary from Judas, to the Jews to the Romans and so on; but the most culpable are we who believe his death cleanses us from all sin. For in his death we escaped death, for by sending him to the cross, we escaped eternal death. So Jesus asks his disciples to carry that consciousness with them and hence the command.
It also indicates the intimate nature of our relationship with Christ. Anyone can believe, but it is another thing to live out that belief. For most, belief in Christ is reduced to knowing that he died on the cross for our sins, being reminded of it on a regular basis, but choosing to live as the world does. But when you eat the flesh and drink his blood, you are internalizing his nature at a deeper level, just like the food we ingest gets internalized as nutrients into our bodies. That is when discipleship becomes real.
So what was the response of the audience when Jesus said this?
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”………From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. (John 6:60,66)
Many believe, only a few persist to become disciples and enter into eternal life.
