Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 6:53-60

"Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven: not as the fathers ate, and died; he that eateth this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when the heard [this], said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" — John 6:53-60 (ASV)

1. Previously, our Lord checked the grumbling of the Jews over the origin of this spiritual food; here, he stops their dispute over the eating of this same food.

   The passage presents three points:

   1. We see their dispute.
   2. Our Lord stops it, at then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you.
   3. The Evangelist mentions the place where all this happened, at these things he said teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

2. Regarding the first point, note that the Evangelist introduces the dispute among the Jews as a conclusion, saying, the Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? This is fitting. For, according to Augustine, our Lord had just spoken to them about the food of unity, which makes those who are nourished on it one, according to the verse, let those who are just feast and rejoice before God. It then continues, according to one reading, God makes those who agree to live in one house (Psalms 67:4). And so, because the Jews had not eaten the food of harmony, they argued with each other: when you fast, you argue and fight (Isaiah 58:4). Furthermore, their quarreling with others shows that they were carnal: for while you are envious and quarreling, are you not carnal? (1 Corinthians 3:3). Therefore, they understood these words of our Lord in a carnal way, that is, as meaning that our Lord’s flesh would be eaten as material food. Thus they say, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? It is as if to say: This is impossible. Here they were speaking against God just as their fathers did: we are sick of this useless food (Numbers 21:5).

3. Our Lord stops this argument at Jesus therefore said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you.

   1. He states the power that comes from taking this food.
   2. He expounds on it, at he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

   Regarding the first point, he does three things.

   1. He states why it is necessary to eat this flesh.
   2. He states its usefulness: he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
   3. He adds something about its truth, at for my flesh is meat indeed.

4. Jesus said: Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. It is as if to say: You think it is impossible and unbecoming to eat my flesh. But it is not only possible but very necessary—so much so that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have—that is, you will not be able to have—life in you, meaning spiritual life.

   For just as material food is so necessary for bodily life that you cannot exist without it—they exchanged their precious belongings for food (Lamentations 1:11); bread strengthens the heart of man (Psalms 103:15)—so spiritual food is necessary for the spiritual life, to such an extent that the spiritual life cannot be sustained without it: man does not live by bread alone, but by every word which comes from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3).

5. We should note that this statement can refer either to eating in a spiritual way or in a sacramental way. If we understand it as referring to spiritual eating, it causes no difficulty. For a person eats the flesh of Christ and drinks his blood spiritually who shares in the unity of the Church, and this is accomplished by the love of charity: you are one body, in Christ (Romans 12:5). Thus, one who does not eat in this way is outside the Church and, consequently, without the love of charity. Accordingly, such a person does not have life in himself: he who does not love, remains in death (1 John 3:14).

   But if we refer this statement to sacramental eating, a difficulty appears. For we read above: unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). Now, this statement was given in the same form as the present one: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man. Therefore, since baptism is a necessary sacrament, it seems that the Eucharist is also. In fact, the Greeks think it is, and so they give the Eucharist to newly baptized infants. For this opinion, they have in their favor the rite of Dionysius, who says that the reception of each sacrament should culminate in the sharing of the Eucharist, which is the culmination of all the sacraments. This is true for adults, but it is not so for infants, because receiving the Eucharist should be done with reverence and devotion, and those who do not have the use of reason, like infants and the insane, cannot have this. Consequently, it should not be given to them at all.

   We should say, therefore, that the sacrament of baptism is necessary for everyone and must be truly received, because without it no one is born again into life. It is necessary that it be received in reality, or by desire in the case of those who are prevented from doing so. For if contempt within a person excludes a baptism by water, then neither a baptism of desire nor of blood will benefit him for eternal life. However, the sacrament of the Eucharist is necessary for adults only, so that it may be received in reality, or by desire, according to the practices of the Church.

6. But even this causes a difficulty, because by these words of our Lord, it is necessary for salvation not only to eat his body but also to drink his blood, especially since a meal is not complete without drink. Therefore, since it is the custom in certain Churches for only the priest to receive Christ’s blood, while the rest receive only his body, they would seem to be acting against this command.

   I answer that it was the custom of the early Church for all to receive both the body and blood of Christ, and certain churches have still retained this practice, where even those assisting at the altar always receive the body and blood. But in some churches, due to the danger of spilling the blood, the custom is for it to be received only by the priest, while the rest receive Christ’s body. Even so, this is not acting against our Lord’s command, because whoever receives Christ’s body also receives his blood, since the entire Christ is present under each species, even his body and blood. Under the species of bread, Christ’s body is present by virtue of the conversion, and his blood is present by natural concomitance; while under the species of wine, his blood is present by virtue of the conversion, and his body by natural concomitance. It is now clear why it is necessary to receive this spiritual food.

7. Next, the usefulness of this food is shown at unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you.

   1. For the spirit or soul.
   2. For the body, at and I will raise him up on the last day.

8. There is great usefulness in eating this sacrament, for it gives eternal life; thus he says, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. This spiritual food is similar to material food in that spiritual life cannot exist without it, just as bodily life cannot exist without bodily food, as was said above.

   But this food has more to offer than the other, because it produces in the one who receives it an unending life, which material food does not do. For not all who eat material food continue to live. As Augustine says, “it can happen that many who do take it die because of old age or sickness, or some other reason.” But one who takes this food and drink of the body and blood of our Lord has eternal life. For this reason, it is compared to the tree of life: she is the tree of life for those who take her (Proverbs 3:18); and so it is called the bread of life: he fed him with the bread of life and understanding .

   Accordingly, he says, eternal life, because one who eats this bread has within himself Christ, who is the true God and eternal life, as John says (1 John 5:20). Now, one has eternal life who eats and drinks, as it is said, not only in a sacramental way but also in a spiritual way. One eats and drinks sacramentally if he receives the sacrament; one eats and drinks spiritually if he attains to the reality of the sacrament. This reality of the sacrament is twofold: one is contained and signified, and this is the whole Christ, who is contained under the species of bread and wine. The other reality is signified but not contained, and this is the mystical body of Christ, which is in the predestined, the called, and the justified.

   Thus, in reference to Christ as contained and signified, one eats his flesh and drinks his blood spiritually if he is united to him through faith and love, so that one is transformed into him and becomes his member. For this food is not changed into the one who eats it, but it turns the one who takes it into itself. As we see in Augustine, who says: I am the food of the robust. Grow and you will eat me. Yet you will not change me into yourself, but you will be transformed into me. And so this is a food capable of making man divine and inebriating him with divinity. The same is true in reference to the mystical body of Christ, which is only signified, if one shares in the unity of the Church. Therefore, one who eats in these ways has eternal life. That this is true of the first way, in reference to Christ, is clear enough. In the same way, in reference to the mystical body of Christ, one will necessarily have eternal life if he perseveres, for the unity of the Church is brought about by the Holy Spirit: one body, one Spirit . . . the pledge of our eternal inheritance (Ephesians 4:4; Ephesians 1:14). So this bread is very profitable, because it gives eternal life to the soul; but it is also profitable because it gives eternal life to the body.

9. And therefore he adds, and I will raise him up on the last day. For as was said, one who eats and drinks in a spiritual way shares in the Holy Spirit, through whom we are united to Christ by a union of faith and love, and through him we become members of the Church. But the Holy Spirit also merits the resurrection: he who raised Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead, will raise our mortal bodies because of his Spirit, who dwells in us (Romans 8:11). And so our Lord says that he will raise up to glory whoever eats and drinks; to glory, and not to condemnation, as this would not be for their benefit.

   Such an effect is fittingly attributed to this sacrament of the Eucharist because, as Augustine says and as was said above, it is the Word who raises up souls, and it is the Word made flesh who gives life to bodies. Now in this sacrament the Word is present not only in his divinity, but also in the reality of his flesh; and so he is the cause of the resurrection not just of souls, but of bodies as well: for as death came through a man, so the resurrection of the dead has come through a man (1 Corinthians 15:21). It is now clear how profitable it is to take this sacrament.

10. We see its truth when he says, for my flesh is meat indeed. Some might think that what he was saying about his flesh and blood was just an enigma and a parable. So our Lord rejects this and says, my flesh is meat indeed. It is as if to say: Do not think that I am speaking metaphorically, for my flesh is truly contained in this food of the faithful, and my blood is truly contained in this sacrament of the altar: this is my body . . . this is my blood of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:26).

    Chrysostom explains this statement in the following way. Food and drink are taken for a person’s refreshment. Now, there are two parts in a person: the chief part is the soul, and the second is the body. It is the soul that makes a person to be a person, and not the body; and so that which is truly the food of the soul is truly the food of the person. And this is what our Lord says: my flesh is meat indeed, because it is the food of the soul, not just of the body. The same is true of the blood of Christ: He has led me to the waters that refresh (Psalms 22:2). It is as if to say: this refreshment is especially for the soul.

    Augustine explains these words this way. A thing is truly said to be such and such if it produces the effect of that thing. Now, the effect of food is to fill or satisfy. Therefore, that which truly produces fullness is truly food and drink. But this is produced by the flesh and blood of Christ, who leads us to the state of glory, where there is neither hunger nor thirst: they will neither hunger nor thirst (Revelation 7:16). And so he says: for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

11. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. Here our Lord shows that this spiritual food has such power to give eternal life. He reasons this way: whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood is united to me, but whoever is united to me has eternal life; therefore, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. Here he does three things:

    1. He gives his major premise.
    2. He gives the minor premise, which he proves, at as the living Father has sent me, and I live because of the Father.
    3. He draws his conclusion: this is the bread that came down from heaven.

12. We should note, with respect to the first point, that if his statement, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him, is referred to his flesh and blood in a mystical way, there is no difficulty. For, as was said, that person eats in a spiritual way, in reference to what is signified only, who is incorporated into the mystical body through a union of faith and love. Through love, God is in man, and man is in God: he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16). And this is what the Holy Spirit does; so it is also said, we know that we abide in God and God in us, because he has given us his Spirit (1 John 4:13).

    If these words are referred to a sacramental reception, then whoever eats this flesh and drinks this blood abides in God. For, as Augustine says, there is one way of eating this flesh and drinking this blood such that he who eats and drinks abides in Christ and Christ in him. This is the way of those who eat the body of Christ and drink his blood not just sacramentally, but really.

    p>And there is another way by which those who eat do not abide in Christ nor Christ in them. This is the way of those who approach with an insincere heart, for this sacrament has no effect in one who is insincere. There is insincerity when the interior state does not agree with what is outwardly signified. In the sacrament of the Eucharist, what is outwardly signified is that Christ is united to the one who receives it, and such a one to Christ. Thus, one who does not desire this union in his heart, or does not try to remove every obstacle to it, is insincere. Consequently, Christ does not abide in him nor he in Christ.

13. Now he presents his minor premise: that whoever is united to Christ has life. He mentions this to show the following similarity: the Son, because of the unity he has with the Father, receives life from the Father; therefore, one who is united to Christ receives life from Christ. And this is what he says: just as the living Father has sent me, and I live because of the Father. These words can be explained in two ways concerning Christ: either in reference to his human nature or in reference to his divine nature.

    If they are explained as referring to Christ the Son of God, then the word as implies a similarity of Christ to creatures in some respect, though not in all respects—namely, that he exists from another. For to be from another is common to Christ the Son of God and to creatures. But they are unlike in another way: the Son has something proper to himself, because he is from the Father in such a way that he receives the entire fullness of the divine nature, so that whatever is natural to the Father is also natural to the Son. Creatures, on the other hand, receive a certain particular perfection and nature. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has also given to the Son to have life in himself (John 5:26). He shows this because, when speaking of his procession from the Father, he does not say, “as I eat the Father, so I live because of the Father,” as he said when speaking of sharing in his body and blood: he who eats me, he also will live because of me. This eating makes us better, for eating implies a certain sharing. Rather, Christ says that he lives because of the Father, not as eaten, but as generating, without diminishing his equality.

    If we explain this statement as applying to Christ as man, then in some respect the word as implies a similarity between Christ as man and us: that is, in the fact that as Christ the man receives spiritual life through union with God, so we too receive spiritual life in the communion or sharing in this Sacrament. Still, there is a difference: for Christ as man received life through union with the Word, to whom he is united in person; while we are united to Christ through the sacrament of faith. And so he says two things: sent me and Father. If we refer these words to the Son of God, then he is saying, I live because of the Father, because the Father himself is living. But if they are referred to the Son of man, then he is saying, I live because of the Father, because the Father has sent me, that is, made me incarnate. For the sending of the Son is his incarnation: God sent his Son, made from a woman (Galatians 4:4).

14. According to Hilary, this is a rejection of the error made by Arius. For if we live because of Christ, because we have something of his nature, as he says, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, then Christ too lives because of the Father, because he has in himself the nature of the Father—not a part of it, for it is simple and indivisible. Therefore, Christ has the entire nature of the Father. It is because of the Father, therefore, that the Son lives, because the Son’s birth did not involve another and different nature.

15. Next, at this is the bread that came down from heaven, he presents his two conclusions. For they were arguing about two things: the origin of this spiritual food and its power.

    1. The first conclusion is about its origin.
    2. The second is about its power: he who eats this bread will have eternal life.

16. With respect to the first, we should note that the Jews had been troubled because he had said, I am the living bread, which came down from heaven (John 6:51). Therefore, in opposition to them, he arrives at this same conclusion again from his statement, I live because of the Father, when he says, this is the bread that came down from heaven. For to come down from heaven is to have an origin from heaven; but the Son has his origin from heaven, since he lives because of the Father. Therefore, Christ is the one who has come down from heaven. And so he says, this is the bread that came down from heaven, that is, from the life of the Father. Came down, in relation to his divinity; or came down, even in his body, insofar as the power that formed it, the Holy Spirit, was from heaven, a heavenly power. Thus, those who eat this bread do not die, as our fathers died, who ate the manna that was neither from heaven nor was living bread, as was said above. How those who ate the manna died is clear from what has been mentioned before.

17. The second conclusion, concerning the power of this bread, is given when he says, if any man eat of this bread, he will live forever (John 6:52). This follows from his statement, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. For whoever eats this bread abides in me, and I in him. But I am eternal life. Therefore, whoever eats this bread, as he ought, shall live forever.

18. Jesus said this in the synagogue, in which he was teaching at Capernaum. He used to teach in the temple and in the synagogues in order to attract many, so that at least some might benefit: I have proclaimed your justice in the great assembly (Psalms 40:9).