LECTURE XXVII.

THE BREAD OF LIFE.

JOHN vi. 52-59.

LECT. TRUE to their character, the Jews receive literally, XXVII. and so reject remorselessly, the spiritual saying of the Lord. As Nicodemus, that "master of Israel,” inquired, "How can these things be?"-so here, only with less willingness to be taught, these men inquire, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" But, unlike Nicodemus, they did not propose their question reverently to our Lord Himself. They canvassed among themselves His strange saying; thinking probably, as they afterwards expressed openly, "He hath a devil, and is mad":" regarding him with a feeling akin to that of Festus, when he said, " Paul, thou art beside thyself."

The Lord, who knew the state of their minds, and what was passing in those unholy conferences, becomes to them even yet more enigmatical. They were not willing to believe, and this was

ach. iii. 9, 10.

c Acts xxvi. 24, 25.

66

b ch. x. 20.

Ne pedem offendamus ad Scripturæ phrases, quæ ducuntur a rebus corporeis nobis vel maxime necessariis. Non decet nos Nicodemi, Samaritanæ, Capernaitarum crassas habere cogitationes: ille nonnisi corpoream cogitabat generationem; hæc aquam, isti cibum duntaxat corporeum, et manducationem quæ ore et organo corporis sit, somniabant." Cameron. in Crit. Sac.

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the punishment of their iniquity. Had they LECT. humbly received His first sayings, they, like the faithful disciples, would have found those which followed become more and more distinct. But since they are not "willing and obedient," since they are not "in a readiness to obey," since they are not prepared to hear or disposed to receive the word, that which was at first dark becomes darker still. To the willing mind those early clouds shall soon pass away; but he who will not look for light, waiting and watching for the morning, shall find them come on the thicker.

So then the Lord repeats, with His usual solemn affirmation, and expands His former saying'. He adds thereto a particular at which perhaps they would especially take offence, seeing that the blood was to them a forbidden thing". And He tells them, that not only does He offer this to them, but that they must of necessity partake thereof. And that particular, "new as it was, and abhorrent from their habits and law," was "specially and purposely added"." But to those who would look beneath the surface of things it would not give offence, but rather set them on considering the reason of the prohibition,

d Matt. xiii. 10-16. ch. xvi. 25-29.

e Ps. cxxx. 6.

The lav μn of v. 53, is, as Dr. Wordsworth observes," a form of speech parallel to that used by Christ to Nicodemus concerning the other Sacrament. (John iii. 5.) Observe also," he adds, "that the ear μh is, in the two cases, introduced by 'Aun àμǹv (used twice in both cases, iii. 3. 5; vi. 47. 53.), and makes the parallel more solemn."

Gen. ix. 4. Lev. xvii. 10-14. "The mention of blood here as well as body contains a prophecy, i. e. that our Lord would not die,' sicca morte, sed cruenta,' i. e. be slain and pierced, and that by this body slain and blood shed He would give life to the world." Wordsworth.

Alford in loc.

XXVII.

LECT. and ultimately lead them to that "blood of the new covenant, which is shed for the remission of sins." "For the blood is the life." And "in Him was life." And "except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you."

That which these too literal Jews had asserted to be impossible, He in a spiritual sense declares to be absolutely necessary'. For except ye believe in Him who for our sakes became the Son of Man; who, laying aside the glory which He had with the Father before the world was, took upon Him our nature, that He might be able to suffer in our stead, and gave for us His most blessed body, and shed for us His most precious blood; except ye feed on Him in your hearts by faith; ye have no life in you: in God's sight ye are dead; ye are yet in your sins; ye are not partakers of Christ, and of that life whereof He is the Author and Giver to all them that believe". Here is the negative side of the case.

And then the Lord affirms it positively"; re

Deut. xii. 23, 24.

See Chrys. ad loc. Hom. xlvii.

m In v. 56, the pronoun shews it to be emphatic.

k ch. i. 4.

"Diserta totius phraseos repetitio non solum fit propter stuporem Judæorum, sed etiam ut indicaretur indissolubile inter esum et potum hunc spiritualem vinculum, quoniam deficiente alterutro non potest satietas oriri. Hoc fundamentum est, cur Apostolus non solum in deserto olim cibum potumque spiritualem conjuncta fuisse notat 1 Cor. x. 3, 4. sed cur etiam Jesus poculum cum pane in S. Eucharistia conjungere voluit. Quare per consequentiam saltem justam ex hoc loco Bohemi pro Calice pugnare poterant." Lampe.

In the words of Dr. Wordsworth's careful note, "There is a gradual ascent in the language of this discourse, from one spiritual altitude to another. Each sentence in succession is an exercise of faith, and invites it to climb up higher, and to surmount new difficulties. First, He speaks of pros, bread, what He Himself had just multiplied, to feed the bodies

XXVII.

peating and expanding the truth to which He LECT. had given utterance before, in the earlier part. of the conversation, one expressed also in the earlier part of this Gospel: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on himP." For as He took part of our flesh and blood to save us, even so must we partake of His flesh and blood if we would be saved.

And our Lord adds, that His flesh is truly food', and His blood truly drink: not as those figurative, archetypal, and imperfect things on which they so fondly dwelt, whether manna of the wilderness or sacrifices of the law for He, His flesh and blood, is the substance of all those shadows, and can satisfy as they never could.

Then the Lord proceeds further to assert this mystery. Such as are here described, every such a one, each and all, become united to Christ: they are one with Christ and Christ with them. "He dwelleth in me," saith Christ, "and I in

of the five thousand, and so connects His Sermon with the Miracle, (v. 26.). Then of bread from heaven (v. 32.); then of the bread of God (v. 33.); then of the bread of life (v. 35.); then of living bread (v. 51.); and then He says that this is Himself (v. 51.); and then that it is His flesh (v. 51.); and then that it is necessary to eat (payeîv) that flesh and drink His blood (v. 53.); and then He adopts a new word for eating, a remarkable one, тpwyw. Here, in this word, is the climax of difficulty. It is repeated no less than four times (vv. 54. 56-58.) in relation to this subject; and it only occurs in two other places of the N. T. John xiii. 18. Matt. xxiv. 38. It seems to be intentionally chosen as a σκληρὸς λόγος. It means something more than mere φαγεῖν. Properly it is not applied to food prepared

by man."

o v. 40.

....

'Aλnows v. 55. So v. 32. and ch. xv. 1. The Vulgate has "vere."

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LECT. him. As the branches are very members of the vine, so are they of Him. This is the secret of their life. They have eternal life because they are partakers of Christ, because they are united to Him who is "the Prince of life." Here we learn how we may dwell in Him. To feed upon Christ in our hearts by faith, this is to dwell in Him. Here we have the subject in its source, the principle of faith. Elsewhere our Evangelist shews it to us in its effects; as where in his first catholic Epistle, his first Epistle to the church at large, he speaks of keeping His commandments, of confessing that Jesus is the Son of God, of dwelling in love, as proofs that we dwell in Him'.

And our Lord confirms this comfortable truth to us yet farther, setting it forth to us by way of analogy, by a reference to the union between the Father and the Son". As there is a vital union between the Father and the Son, so is there a vital union between Christ and every soul that feedeth on Him. The Son liveth in the Father that sent Him. And in Christ every one thus by faith partaking liveth likewise. It was His meat to do the will of Him that sent Him'. It is ours by faith to feed on Him whom He hath sent.

sch. xv. 4. the same verb μévw is employed. Oppositum est eorum Sacerdotium transitoriæ Israelitarum in Hierosolyma terrestri et atriis Domini comparitioni, quando convivia sua eucharistica celebrabant, mox ad sua redituri." Lampe.

t 1 John iii. 24. iv. 12, 13. 15, 16.

"Intimating, that by whom He lived, by Him He was sent; and therefore sent by Him, because He lived by Him: laying His generation as the proper ground of His mission. Thus He which begetteth sendeth, and He which is begotten is sent." Pearson on the Creed, Art. i.

✓ ch. iv. 34.