John 6:53-54

John 6:53-54

[53] Then  Jesus  said  unto them,  Verily,  I say  ye eat  the flesh  of the Son  of man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye have  no  life  in  you.  [54] Whoso eateth  flesh,  and  drinketh  blood,  hath  eternal  life;  and  him  up  at the last  day. 

What does John 6:53-54 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This is the fourth and last of Jesus" strong prefaces in this discourse (cf. John 6:26; John 6:32; John 6:47). It should be obvious to any reader of this discourse by now that Jesus was speaking metaphorically and not literally. By referring to His flesh and blood He was figuratively referring to His whole person. This is a figure of speech called synecdoche in which one part stands for the whole. Jesus was illustrating belief, what it means to appropriate Him by faith ( John 6:40). He expressed the same truth negatively ( John 6:53) and then positively ( John 6:54 a). He referred again to resurrection because it is the inauguration of immortal eternal life (cf. John 6:39-40; John 6:44).
Jesus was again stressing His identity as the revealer of God with the title "Son of Man." Blood in the Old Testament represented violent death primarily. Thus Jesus was hinting that He would die violently. He connected the importance of belief in Him with His atoning death. The idea of eating blood was repulsive to the Jews (cf. Leviticus 3:17; Leviticus 17:10-14). Jesus" hearers should have understood that He was speaking metaphorically, but this reference offended many of them ( John 6:60-61).
Many interpreters of these verses have seen allusions to the Lord"s Supper in what Jesus said. Sacramentalists among them find support here for their belief that participation in the Eucharist is essential for salvation. However, Jesus had not yet said anything about the Christian communion service. Moreover He was clearly speaking of belief metaphorically, not the communion elements. Most important, the New Testament presents the Lord"s Supper as a commemoration of Jesus" death, not a vehicle for obtaining eternal life. Nevertheless these verses help us appreciate the symbolism of the Eucharist.
"In short, John 6 does not directly speak of the eucharist; it does expose the true meaning of the Lord"s supper as clearly as any passage in Scripture." [1]