“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51)
In this passage we see the miraculous “feeding of 5000” which, when you count the women and children, was probably closer to 10,000. Imagine Blaisdell Center Arena with every seat filled, plus people standing in the aisles, and youʻll get a sense of how many people were involved! Unsurprisingly, some of the crowd were less interested in his message and more interested in the food. Jesus used parables so that the “religious frauds” would hear but not understand. When Jesus told them to “eat of his flesh” they didn’t bother trying to understand the metaphor but immediately rejected the teaching as barbaric and illogical.
You can make a lot of excuses to not follow Christ. You could hear a message and jump to conclusions without seeking an explanation. One could see a “so called Christian” do something questionable and you reject the one they are attempting to follow. You might even see something miraculous and then ignore the proof in front of you (because you don’t like the action you will need to take).
Jesus used figurative language, a parable, to tell them the good news—God sent his Son so that whoever believes in him will inherit eternal life. Jesus came in the flesh, his blood was spilled as payment for our sins, and we need to embrace it, consume that truth, and be hungry for more of Jesus! If we try to justify ourselves by our own work, we will fail. Ignoring Jesus – even if we try to explain it away as “craziness” or “illogical” – wonʻt change the reality. Jesus is real and his words are true. Read the Bible and if you have a question or doubt, go ask a Pastor or friend—I know you’ll find the answer. All the questions lead to Jesus, and Jesus is who we need for life.