Daily Inspiration

“The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.” —John 6:52-59

At the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, He did not say, ‘This bread is my flesh…this wine is my blood. “…He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.”Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” -Matthew 14:22-24

It is important to note that, in biblical Judaism, blood sacrifice was the required method for atonement of sins, maintained the covenant, and gave purification, as blood represents life. Any first-century Jew would have noted the significance of what Jesus said.