Is John 6:54 a reference to the Lord’s Supper?

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:54). Is this passage referencing the Lord’s Supper? That question has been debated throughout the history of Christianity.

At the Marburg Colloquy in 1529, Ulrich Zwingli used John 6:54 to argue that since John chapter 6 teaches that “to believe is to eat,” the eating and drinking done in the sacrament must also be spiritual eating, merely representing the body and blood of Jesus. Martin Luther argued that John chapter 6 does not refer to the Lord’s Supper and the truths of the Lord’s Supper should be drawn from the sections of Scripture where it is taught.

Timing is important

When Christians read this portion of God’s Word, they will likely think of the gift of the Lord’s Supper because of the similar phrases involved. This is a blessing in a devotional way!

However, Jesus had not yet instituted the Lord’s Supper when he addressed the people in John chapter 6, even though he called himself the Bread of Life (vv. 35,48). They would not have known what the Lord’s Supper was. If Jesus were speaking of the sacrament here, then he would be expecting the listeners to receive the Lord’s Supper a year before he even instituted it. In John 6:53, Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” Jesus was not teaching the people they were lost until he instituted the Lord’s Supper a year later. Timing is important.

Context is important

Some will draw a connection between John chapter 3 and John chapter 6. In John 3:5, we see a reference to the Sacrament of Baptism when Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” If John chapter 3 teaches Baptism, then why doesn’t John chapter 6 teach the Lord’s Supper?

Context is important. In John chapter 3, Jesus instructs Nicodemus, who would have been familiar with John’s baptism. In that way, we can point to John’s baptism as being preparatory for Christian Baptism. The context favors that Jesus’ audience (Nicodemus) would have understood the reference to Baptism. If John chapter 6 refers to the Lord’s Supper, there would have been nothing to prepare the audience for the proper understanding. The context of Jesus’ discourse shows that he had just fed the five thousand and the people wanted more food from him! Jesus explains in John chapter 6 that physical bread is not what they needed but spiritual bread. Jesus is showing that he is what they needed.

Content is important

Finally, a few phrases in John chapter 6 show that the Lord’s Supper is not being spoken of. As mentioned, John 6:53 says that you cannot have eternal life without the eating and drinking that Jesus described. This is not true of the Lord’s Supper. It is true of saving faith. “Whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

In addition, Jesus said in John 6:54, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” Jesus guarantees salvation to the one who eats and drinks of the Bread of Life. Again, this is true of saving faith. The same cannot be said of the Lord’s Supper, as it can be received to one’s harm (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:27,29). Content is important.

For these reasons, it is good to understand that the mention of the spiritual eating of the Bread of Life in John chapter 6 refers to faith in Christ. At the same time, we rejoice in the comfort of receiving Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, which is clearly taught elsewhere in Scripture.

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The most blessed meal

Anyone who attends church services knows how the Words of Institution begin: “On the night he was betrayed . . .” How striking! Any other night would have made more sense. But on the night humankind was at its worst, Jesus gave us his body and blood to eat and to drink for our forgiveness. What love!

What is the Lord’s Supper?

The Lord’s Supper was instituted on Holy Thursday in the upper room while Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples.

The Passover’s focal point was the lamb. The Israelites in Egypt were to take the blood of the Passover lamb and smear it on the doorframes of their houses. When the angel of death saw the blood, he would pass over that home, and the firstborn in the home would not die. Every year, God’s people were to celebrate the Passover festival, looking forward to the day God would send the Lamb of God to take away the world’s sins. Now, on Holy Thursday, that Lamb, Jesus, used the Passover as the occasion to institute the Lord’s Supper and to give us his body and blood for our forgiveness. This is the most blessed meal!

The institution of the Lord’s Supper is recorded for us in three of the four gospels. Paul also gives an account in 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

Read Matthew 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; and Luke 22:7-22.

What are the similarities and the differences in these three gospel accounts?

What do we receive?

There are three understandings of what people receive when celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Some wrongly believe the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus (transubstantiation). That understanding teaches that people receive only two things: Jesus’ body and blood. Others wrongly believe that the bread and wine merely represent or symbolize Jesus’ body and blood (representation). That understanding teaches that people receive only two things: bread and wine or grape juice. Finally, Scripture teaches that we receive four things: Jesus’ body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine (real presence).

Read Matthew 26:26-28 and 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:27.

Imagine you are talking to a Christian who believes in representation. Think about the context of Jesus’ words (e.g., this was his last will and testament) and defend the teaching of the real presence.

What are the blessings?

In 1 Corinthians 11:25, Paul quotes Jesus as saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” The old covenant given at Mount Sinai was marked by the blood of Old Testament sacrificial animals, but the blood of Christ marks the new covenant. So, what are the blessings of this new covenant?

Read Matthew 26:26,28 and 1 Corinthians 10:17; 11:26.

Identify a blessing of the Lord’s Supper from each verse.

What is the most comforting thing about the Lord’s Supper for you?

Apply each blessing you discovered to someone who is overcome with guilt and feels weighed down by sin.

Author: David Scharf
Volume 111, Number 11
Issue: November 2024