Manfred Diefenbach - THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS, THE CHRIST AND THE SON OF GOD, ACCORDING TO JOHN

v. 47:The basis/precondition for the life-giving (to “ have eternal life” in vv. 40b, 47b, 54a 2and in John 3:15–16, 36; 5:24, 39[; 10:10; 20:31]; 1 John 3:15; 5:13) is the continual faith/belief of the believers in Him (cf. vv. 29c, 35d, 40b, 47b and John 3:15–16, 36; 5:24).

v. 48:The phrase of self-revelation mentions again the topic: “ I am the Bread of Life” in verse 35b as “ eternal life” (vv. 40b, 47b, 54a 2). So He shares His life with those who believe in Him. He is essential for our life.

Verses 49–51show the alternative as a contrast – eternal death versus eternal life 575– with the help of an antithetic parallelism 576:

v. 49:In the past, the Jewish “ fathers ”/ancestors (v. 48a) “died” (vv. 49b, 50c) in spite of “eating ( ) the manna ” (in Greek “ mánna ” in vv. 31a, 49, [58c]) “( in the desert )” (cf. Exodus 16:16–18, 21–26) as physical and temporal food.

v. 50:Now, however, Jesus is the “ Bread from Heaven ” (vv. 33a, 41c, 51b) and the “ Bread of Life ” (vv. 35b, 48, 51a) which “ you / may / eat” (vv. 49a, 50c) “ and / do / not die” (vv. 49b, 50c)

v. 51:and you “ will live forever ” (vv. 51c, 58e – in others words: You have “ eternal life ” (vv. 27b, 40c, 47b, 51d, 54a 2, 58e) – note the parallelism 577in verses 50a–c and 51a–c. He has finished the lack of eating, drinking, dying 578. God, our Father in “ Heaven ”, had given the manna as His life-giving food to the ancestors in the desert, but Jesus, His Son, is more: He, the “ Son of Man ” (v. 53c) is the real, “personal life-giver” for the believers in Him. The life-giver is also the giving/gift of God in Jesus 579. This gift, the “ eternal life ”, based on the personal relationship/faith/belief in Him (cf. vv. 29c, 35d, 40b, 47b and John 3:15–16, 36; 5:24), the teacher, helper and guide like a “Good Shepherd” (cf. 10:11–21).

In a nutshell, verses 51 and 58 are a summary of the (Eucharistic) discourse “ Bread from Heaven ” in verse 31c. The main points in verses 51 and 58 are as listed below:

v. 51a:Jesus is (“ I am ” 580– cf. Exodus 3:14 in the sense of JHWH) the “ Bread ” (vv. 41b, 58a – note the inclusion here!) “ of Life ” (vv. 35b, 48), “ the ( living 581) bread ( )” (cf. v. 51a);

v. 51b:The “ manna ” respectively Jesus has “ come down from Heaven ” 582(vv. 33a, 41c 2–d, 50a 2–b, 51a 2–b, 58a 2–b). Once God gave Moses the manna for the Jewish forefathers in the desert 583(cf. vv. 31a–c, 32c–d, 49, 58a–d). However, Jesus, the “ Son of Man ” (vv. 27e, 53c, 62a), the “ son of Joseph ” (v. 42b), and “ Son of God ” (cf. v. 40a), gave His life for the life of “ the world ”/people (cf. vv. 33, 51g) like the “ Lamb of God ” (cf. 1:29, 36).

And the new main points of His speech are:

v. 51c:He gives “ eternal life ” 584(cf. vv. 27b, 40c, 47b, 51d, 54a 2, 58d);

v. 51d:Jesus identifies/personifies His “ flesh ” 585(cf. vv. 51–55 and 1:13–14) with the “ Bread from Heaven ” “ for the ( life ) of the world ( )” (cf. vv. 14, 33 and John 15:13) – “pro nobis” (in Greek “ hupér ” in v. 51d and Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24).

+ Jesus’ Eucharistic 586Discourse as a Monologue (vv. 52–58/59)

The significant words in verses 52–58 are “ flesh ’, “ blood ”, “ eat ” and “ drink ”. The “ flesh ”/“ body ” of Jesus in biblical language signify the person of Jesus, the “ son of Joseph ” (v. 42b). The reference is not to the physical “ flesh ” (in Greek “ sárx ” in vv. 51g, 52b, 53c, 54a, 55a, 56a, 63b) and “ blood ” (in Greek “ a ῖ ma ” in vv. 53d, 54a, 55b, 56a – cf. Leviticus 7:26–27) of the earthly Jesus, but to the spiritual, Spirit-filled “ flesh ” and “ blood ” of the heavenly “ Son of Man ”. The Eucharist as “the sacramental body” of Jesus, is the real heavenly bread which God gives to human beings/us, as spiritual nourishment for the eternal life, and everlasting being with Jesus: Someone “ stays in Me and I in him ” (v. 56b) – in Saint Augustine’s words (13 thNovember 354–28 thAugust 430 A.D.):

“To be what you see and receive what you are” (Sermon 272) “and to live as the ‘body of Christ’ so that their Amen will be true”. In other words:

“Receive what you are – ‘body of Christ’/‘corpus Christi’ so that

you become what you receive – ‘body of Christ’/‘corpus Christi’”.

# The Question of “ the Jews ” (v. 52)

Jesus will give His own “ flesh ” for “ the life of the world ” (v. 51g). In the ears of the Jewish people, this is the next scandal – note the verb “ máchoma ɩ ” 587in verse 52a (cf., for example, Exodus 17:2). The Jews’ misunderstanding 588of Jesus’ self-revelation leads to their third protest (cf. vv. 28b–c, 41a–42e) and intervention in the form of an inquiry: “ How can this ” man– “ the son of Joseph ” (v. 42b) – “( ) give ( us) [ His ] flesh [ ] / to / eat ” 589?

# Jesus’ Answer (vv. 53–58)

v. 53:In the description of the Eucharist as “eating flesh” and “drinking blood”, “ flesh and blood ” is a Hebrew idiom for the whole person (v. 42b). In this way, the “sacramental communion is a personal communion (encounter) with Jesus who shares his life and the life of his Father with us” 590: “ This is my body which is given for you ” – so Jesus’ words during the Last Supper according to Luke 22:19 and 1 Corinthians 11:24. In the Jewish way of thinking, (life-)blood (cf. John 19:34) stands for the life (cf. Genesis 9:4; Deuteronomy 15:23). After the “ Amen-amen ”-phrase (vv. 26b, 32b, 47a, 53b) Jesus replied to this question with a condition: You have to “ eat the flesh of ‘ Son of Man ’” (cf. vv. 27c, 62a and John 1:51; 3:13–14; 5:27; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23, 34; 13:31) and to “ drink 591 His blood ” (cf. vv. 53c, 54a, 56a). He expressed this in a contrasting way: the first one is in a negative way in verse 53d like the (earthly) attitude of “ the Jews ” with the result: “( ) You have ( no ) life in you ”.

v. 54:The second one is in a positive 592( heavenly, spiritual) way (cf. vv. 54a–c, 56) – “have ( eternal ) life ( )” (v. 54b – cf. v. 53d) as an imperative and a basic necessity for the eternal life as a “ raising them up / on / the last day ” (vv. 39c, 40c, 44c, 54c) like the Easter event.

v. 55:The phrase “( my ) flesh ( ) … and ( my ) blood ( )” (vv. 54a, 55, 56a) as “ real food ” and “ real drink ” (v. 55) appears to represent the Eucharistic formula. The meaning of the conclusion of the (Eucharistic) discourse is: Someone who “ eats ” the “ flesh ” (vv. 54a, 55, 56a, 58d) of the Glorified “ Son of Man ” as “ real food ” (v. 55 – cf. v. 57c: “ me ” [= Jesus]) and drinks His “ blood ” as the “ real drink ” (v. 55 – cf. v. 57c),