“ Then Jesus said unto them, ‘ Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, —hath— eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 

This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.’ 

These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.” - John 6:53-59

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The words of this weeks text, from a Sermon by Jesus Himself, caused many of His rabbinical disciples to leave Him, (as mentioned immediately after this passage in John 6:66), and even His inner circle faltered…. 

Given the strict injunction against consuming blood in the Law ( we looked at it last week ), these words would be enough to brand Our Lord a HERETIC , and are in direct contrast to His own statements !!!!  

“ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 5:17-19

—-How can we reconcile these opposing statements?—

We have to pay careful attention to the Words… there are some things to note :

#1 —-Fulfilling— the Law is DIFFERENT from TEACHING the Law or OBEYING the Law. Teaching and Obeying are important components involved in keeping the Law, but only ONE MAN was destined to FULFILL —ALL— that was prophesied in the Law and the Prophets, and second please note …

#2 Heaven and Earths passing have 0 impact on even ONE jot or tittle ( marks indicating pronounciation ) being removed from the Law, —- UNTIL —— ALL IS FULFILLED!

—-ONCE THE LAW IS —-FULFILLED— THE INJUNCTION TO KEEP EVERY JOT AND TITTLE OF THE OLD COVENANT NO LONGER APPLIES!

Christ had to perfectly keep the Law till His mission was accomplished, and His Mission was to give us a means to have the Law in our Hearts, to Walk by the Spirit and fully keep the INTENT of the Law, not its LETTER!

This annulment of slavery to the letter of the Law and Christs mission —- was prefigured in the Passover before the Exodus,  and typified in the priestly sacrifices given to Israel for atonement.

Before His crucifixion Christ gives the Church the New Covenant….

“ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” 

This was what He meant when He spoke those cryptic and hard words in our text this week ( spoken at the beginning, but explained only near the end, of His ministry! )  —- A New Covenant with Man is being ushered in, and it will be sealed with the blood of one sacrifice for all mankind … we —must—- partake in that sacrifice, and apply that blood to our doorposts, so that the wrath of God can pass over us! 

Christ fulfilled not just the Law, but what was prophesied about Him in the prophets, and sacred writings …. in EVERY BOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT !  

Yes, there are some things ( other than Christ ) that have yet to come to pass ( Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariahs prophecies ) and we KNOW that Heaven and Earth WILL pass away before they are revealed …. 

…. but Christs appearance signaled the fulfillment of what was spoken of in Genesis, continues beyond Revelation, and was heralded by John the Baptist…..

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and it is within you! The prophecies to give people a new heart of flesh instead of stone, of a fountain being opened for the cleansing of people are all FULFILLED !!

The New Kingdom invites its citizens to partake of the Divine Nature by being united with it in Spirit, so that by walking in the Spirit, we may accomplish the purposes for which God has called us …. good works !!!

The one commandment ( other than make disciples ) given in this New Law is — 

“ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. “ - John 13:34

That is what Jesus Christ flesh eating , blood drinking followers are expected to do !!

Hallelujah!!!