A friend writes inquiring concerning the teaching of John 6, "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood," etc. Some Catholic priests had come holding evangelistic services and perturbing the minds of many. Among other things they insisted on the literal interpretation of the passage referred to above. Now the presumption is always that any passage in God's word means what it literally says, and is not to be taken figuratively without evidence that a figure is intended. If only the Roman Catholic Church were willing to abide by that principle and by the authority of the word of God! But where it suits them they fiercely insist upon the literal meaning of the Bible; and where that does not fit into their scheme, they explain it away and go to the "fathers" and to the pope for authority. For the legs of the lame are unequal.

      Eating and drinking, when figuratively used, have a two-fold significance: either the figure is the satisfying of some inward longing, represented as a hunger or thirst of the soul, or the assimilating of a thing, so as to make it a part of ourselves. In the sixth chapter of John, Christ uses both these figurative meanings, showing also, as plainly as speech can, that a figure is intended. The first interpretation, given in advance, is: "He that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that [86] believeth in me shall never thirst." (John 6:35.) Here is the satisfying of hunger and thirst. The "eating" and "drinking" in this case which satisfies the hunger and thirst is shown to be equivalent to "coming to" Christ and "believing in" him. But as the thought of literally eating him took possession of his hearers' minds, Jesus gave them a further hint as to his meaning. As for his actual body--it was about to return to the Father. (Verse 62.) He was indeed the bread that cometh down and giveth life to the world, and he had indeed said: "The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." But now he adds: "It is the spirit that quickeneth [giveth life]: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (Verse 63.) (The quotations are from the Catholic Version, indorsed by Cardinal Gibbons.) That the Catholic hierarchy would accept Christ's explanation is not at all to be expected. But to those who hold to the word of God it should be plain that this has no reference to the Lord's Supper. Peter got the right idea and expressed it in verses sixty-nine and seventy. The Lord's Supper has nothing to do with, this, except as the taking of it reminds us of Christ's life and death and our faith is thus renewed and strengthened. It is through the word of life we are drawn to him and come to him and believing make him our own, until our hunger and thirst are satisfied, and, united with him through faith, we dwell in him and he in us.

[TAG 86-87]