October 18, 2015: I Am Bread – Scott Oppliger

It’s one thing for Jesus to say he is the bread of life. That stirred enough controversy … but then he went on to say, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood.” While we can understand this today as a metaphor, we must know it was quite literal for those hearing Jesus say it. In Asia Minor; this practice of eating flesh and drinking blood was something done in the pagan cults! In the worship of Dionysus, (the god of wine) you ate raw meat and you drank his blood (and you drank wine) – and were initiated into the covenant.

Of course, Jesus was not saying to do this, but his words were still powerful and controversial. Remember, Jesus is in a synagogue filled with those who knew the Bible. And he is playing off some serious themes from Exodus and Sinai. It was there, God gave the Israelites Torah, and Manna (bread). And bread is a metaphor of the Torah. 

The picture of the manna coming down from heaven is a reminder to the Israelites, the rabbis say, that God gave them the true bread from heaven. After all it says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” It’s not just manna; it’s the Word that came down. And this is what Jesus is.