Jesus said to them, “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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” – John 6:53-69 (NIV)
Do your ears long to hear the words of Jesus? Mine do, but not as often as they should. They are the words that make us who we are. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Just as we look forward to this meal, we should look forward to hearing the words of Jesus.
Imagine knowing only a religion where it’s dependent on you to make good choices, so that you may be reincarnated in a better state in life. Or where your ultimate hope is not the joy of Heaven and being with the God you love, but eternal nothingness and silence. Would your ears not long to hear that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, you can be forgiven? That there is a God who sacrificed Himself so that you—yes, you—can spend eternity with Him? The Gospel satiates the itching ears of the world, filling them with words of life, faith, hope, and love.
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