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them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.

59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, terms, the sentiment which he had namely, between him and every bealready expressed. His design was, liever there exists a most intimate to fix deeply in their minds the union, he dwelling in the believer, that thought that men's spiritual welfare is, constantly imparting blessings, must be derived from him, as the one and guiding him by spiritual influwhose death was to be the distin-ence; and the believer dwelling in guished means of procuring for them Christ, that is, receiving spiritual pardon and eternal life. It was to himself, then, as a suffering, dying Saviour, that he wished to draw their attention; and to an implicit reliance on him, in the character of a dying Saviour, as the author of real, abiding bliss to their souls. Hence he spoke not only of his flesh, but also of his blood. | Ye have no life in you; ye have not spiritual, eternal life; your souls are dead in trespasses and sins, destitute of real, everlasting bliss. Eternal life must be bestowed by the Saviour, the Lamb of God; and it pertains to those only who trust in him as his disciples.

54. Whoso eateth my flesh, &c. As the bodily life is dependent on food and drink, so a healthful, happy state of the soul depends on receiving Christ and trusting in him.

55. My flesh is meat indeed; my blood is drink indeed; sustaining the soul and nourishing it for endless bliss; food indeed, as contrasted both with the manna which sustained the Israelites in the desert, and with the ordinary food of men.

56. Dwelleth in me. The Saviour then mentioned a reason why trusting in him would secure eternal life:

good from him. This intimate union
of Christ with the believer, and of
the believer with Christ, in mutual
affection and interest-this superin-
tendence of Christ and dependence of
the believer-
eternal life.

secures the believer's

57. The living Father; the Father who "hath life in himself" (5: 26), that is, who is the source of all life. || I live by the Father; I also have life in myself (5: 26), by the Father's arrangement. || He that eateth me; he that relies on me for spiritual life. See vs. 53, 54. || Shall live by me; shall enjoy eternal life by means of me.

The possession of eternal life, by the believer in Christ, is here placed on an immovable foundation. The Father, who has life in himself as its great source, has appointed the Son to be the Saviour, and has ordained that, in the capacity of a Saviour, he too should have life in himself. As certainly as this arrangement on the part of the life-giving Father secures a life-giving power to the Son, so certainly will every believer in the Son receive eternal life through him.

60. His disciples. This word is here used in a large sense, meaning

said, This is a hard saying; unto you, they are spirit, and who can hear it?

61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

they are life.

64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man 63 It is the Spirit that quick-can come unto me, except it eneth; the flesh profiteth noth- were given unto him of my ing the words that I speak Father.

the persons who had lately attended soul, the animating principle, that on the instructions of Jesus, though maketh alive. The flesh profiteth their hearts had not become attached nothing; the body, considered by itto him. A hard saying; an address self and alone, is of no avail in respect hard to be understood and believed. to life and true enjoyment. They They referred to his speaking of hav-are spirit, and they are life; my ining come down from heaven, of his structions are an animating princibeing the bread of life, of the neces-ple to the soul; they are the means sity of feeding on him in order to enjoy eternal life, and of the need of God's influence to turn their hearts to him. Who can hear it? who can comprehend and receive such an address?

me?

of spiritual, eternal bliss. The idea conveyed by the whole verse, may be thus expressed: The spirit, the animating principle, is necessary to give life to the body; without it, the body has no power. So my in61. Offend you? prove a stum-structions are an animating principle bling-block, induce you to forsake See on Matt. 5: 29. 13: 21. 62. What and if ye shall see, &c. If my declaration, that I came down from heaven, seems to you a hard saying, what will ye think hereafter, should ye see the Messiah ascending, &c. Up where he was before? to heaven, where he dwelt before he appeared among men. Compare 1: 1, 18. 3: 13 17:5.

63. The people were unable also to see the propriety of his calling himself the bread of life on which a man must feed, and of his declaring it necessary to eat his flesh and to drink his blood, in order to have eternal life. They did not comprehend his meaning; but were ready to reject his instructions as unintelligible and absurd. He cautioned them against thus regarding his instructions, and declared that they were indispensable to the true life of the soul. It is the Spirit that quickeneth; it is the

to the soul, and are the means of its enjoying eternal life; without my instructions, the soul will be destitute of spiritual, eternal bliss, just as without the spirit the flesh is lifeless and powerless. Thus the Saviour declared the necessity and the efficacy of the truths which he had communicated, and cautioned the people against rejecting them.

64. From the beginning; that is, of his public entrance on his office.

65. Therefore said I unto you, &c. See v. 44. Jesus was so well acquainted with the character of man, and so thoroughly read the hearts of those who professed belief in him, that he knew how necessary was a special divine influence to a just apprehension of his teaching, and to right feelings towards him. Hence too, he knew that of those to whom he had now been speaking, there were some who would not receive him as the Messiah

66 From that time many of ❘ sure that thou art that Christ his disciples went back, and the Son of the living God. walked no more with him.

67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

69 And we believe, and are

66. Disciples. See on v. 60. 68. Words of eternal life; instructions which guide to eternal bliss.

69. That Christ; the Messiah. 70. Chosen; selected to be my apostles, and to enjoy a more intimate acquaintance with me. A devil. The disposition of Satan, as the adversary of Christ, might well be said to have been possessed by Judas. The word, however, here used in the original, may have been employed in the general sense of adversary, without fastening on Judas the appellation devil. When the original word properly means Devil, it has the article connected with it, thus; The Devil. There being no article here used in the original, the Saviour probably intended merely to declare that one of the little company would act the part of an insidious enemy.

71. Judas Iscariot. See on Matt. 10: 4. That should betray him; that was going to betray him, though he was one of the twelve.

TOPICS FOR REFLECTION. 1. Spiritual and everlasting blessings are chiefly worthy of our pursuit. v. 27.

2. Spiritual blessings can be secured only by believing in Jesus Christ and becoming his disciples. vs. 29, 35.

3. True faith in Christ has respect to him as the giver of spiritual good, and as blessing the world through his sufferings and death. vs. 48, 53.

4. True faith in Christ is a real reliance on him for blessings, which arises from a feeling of our necessities. Such a feeling of need must exist before a person will trust in Christ;

70 Jesus answered them Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

71 He spake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

and a feeling of need can be satisfied only by a sincere application to him, and a reception of his blessings; just as hunger must be felt, in order that food may be sought; and the food must be received in order to satisfy hunger. v. 51.

5. If we are sensible of our spiritual necessities, there is great encouragement to trust in Christ. God has appointed that many shall receive the Saviour's blessings; hence every one, who feels his need, is encouraged to apply to the Saviour. Whoever, of any nation or condition, of any age or circumstances, however deep his sense of ill-desert, whoever is inclined to come to Christ, is assured of a welcome reception. v. 37.

6. Such is the natural disposition of men towards God, that without a special, divine influence inclining them to come to the Saviour, they will not come. Are we sensible of our utter sinfulness, and of our liability to destroy our souls by refusing to come to Christ? Let us, then, not trust to our own hearts. How condescending is God, not only in providing a Saviour, but also in drawing men to him! O, let us beware of resisting and grieving the Spirit. On the contrary, let us be solicitous to be so taught of God, that we shall receive the Saviour and trust in him. v. 44.

7. If the doctrines of the Bible appear to us difficult of comprehension, and repulsive, let us seek for more enlightening influence, for higher and more spiritual views. A ray of light may strike on our minds, and scatter all our darkness. Obscure as some

CHAPTER VII.

2 Now the Jews' feast of

AFTER these things Jesus tabernacles was at hand.

walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.

parts of divine truth may appear to us, yet let us rely on Christ as the infallible Teacher and the safe Guide to heaven.

8. A true disciple will continue in his attachment to the Saviour. vs. 66 --69.

9. How awful the guilt of rejecting the Saviour after having received abundant knowledge respecting him! vs. 70, 71.

CHAPTER VII.

1. Jesus walked; went about, dwelt. Jewry; Judea. Because the Jews sought to kill him. Galilee, as well as Judea, was inhabited by Jews; but the principal men of the nation lived in Judea, and Jerusalem, in Judea, was the seat of the Jewish power. There was consequently much more opposition to Jesus in Judea, than in the other parts of the country.

2. The Jews' feast of tabernacles; one of their annual festivals. There were three great annual festivals (see Deut. 16: 16); the passover, or festival of unleavened bread (Deut. 16:1-8. Ex. 12: 14-17, 27), the pentecost, or festival of weeks (Deut. 16:9-12), and the festival of tabernacles (Deut. 16: 13-15). This last received its name from the manner in which it was celebrated. The people erected booths of green branches and leaves, both on their houses and in the courts and streets in which they dwelt during the continuance of the festival. They also carried about fruits of choice trees, and branche of palms, willows, and other trees. It was intended as a memorial of the Israelites' journeying through the desert from Egypt to Canaan, during which they dwelt in booths. See Lev. 23: 40-43. It was also intended as a season of thanksgiving for the harvest, and was therefore called the festival of ingathering. See Lev. 23: 39.

3 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples Deut. 16: 13-15. Ex. 23: 16. 34: 22. It commenced on the fifteenth of the month Tisri, corresponding to our October (Lev. 23: 34, 39), and was held eight days; the first and the last of which were days of special solemnity. See Lev. 23: 35, 36. It was a time of much joy, and of the public reading of the law. See Deut. 31: 10-13. Compare Neh. 8: 1418. It was called, by Jewish writers, the greatest festival; and it was commonly said, that if a person was not acquainted with this festival, he did not know what joy was. Besides the ceremonies prescribed by Moses, the later Jews say there was added the ceremony of drawing water, every morning during the festival, from the fountain Siloam, in a golden vessel, and, after conveying it with much solemnity to the temple, the priests poured it out on the altar, while the Levites were engaged in singing. Another ceremony was added, in order to celebrate the conquest of Jericho by Joshua. Every day of the festival, the Jews, holding branches in their hands, would pass around the altar, shouting Hosanna. On the seventh day, they would go around it seven times in the same manner.

3. That thy disciples also may see, &c. The word disciples is here used in the same extensive sense as in 6: 60, 66. The near relatives of Jesus, knowing that he had attracted much attention in Judea, thought it would be wise in him to confirm the good opinion which many there had formed. They did not correctly judge respecting Jesus, nor rightly estimate his proceedings; they were actuated by worldly views. Though they did not believe in him as the Messiah (see v. 5), yet they knew he was an uncommon man, and they would rejoice, should their expectations of a great Deliverer be realized in him

also may see the works that | thou doest.

4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world.

5 (For neither did his brethren believe in him.)

6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready.

7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.

9 When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.

Should he be generally acknowledged, in the sense of the term then cherished, the king of the Jews, they would probably have coincided with the current opinion, and have felt a pride in being his relatives.

4. If thou do these things. The word if does not here express doubt, for his brethren had just acknowledged (v. 3) that he had performed wonderful works. It is equivalent to our word since. To the world; publicly. Judea was the more important part of Palestine; and the festival, which was now at hand, would draw visitors to Jerusalem from all quarters. Galilee was comparatively an obscure region, where, as they might say, he was burying himself from public

notice.

6. My time is not yet come; a suitable time for me to be going up to the festival. Your time is always ready; any time is suitable for you. There are no special reasons in respect to you for preferring one time before another.

10 But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.

11 Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?

12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.

13 Howbeit, no man spake openly of him, for fear of the Jews.

14 Now, about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.

15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

7. The world cannot hate you. The immediate relatives of Jesus were not so different from other men in religious respects, as to be exposed to their ill-will. Nor did they, like Jesus, sustain any public relation to men which required them to reprove the sins of the world.

8. My time. See on v. 6.

10. Not openly, but as it were in secret. It was customary among the Jews to visit Jerusalem at the great festivals in companies. Jesus chose to go on this occasion alone, in a retired manner; and perhaps not on the most public roads. He wished neither to create excitement among the populace, who were ready to proclaim him as a king, nor needlessly to provoke the hostility of the chief men.

12. Murmuring; not complaining, but conversing, or disputing, in a private manner, so as not to be detected by the rulers.

13. For fear of the Jews; of the chief men among the Jews.

15. How knoweth this man letters?

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