CONSUMING MESSIAH
by Jeremy Chance Springfield
5/1/2024
Controversy is something Yeshua never shied away from in His brief ministry. His teachings elicited all manner of responses by those who heard, and His topics were often points of contention for the religious elite. The response to these different events of inflammatory language varied: at times the reaction was minimal, while others took great offense to His willingness to address the difficult points of our faith.
The Gospel of John chronicles an isolated incident in a synagogue wherein Yeshua’s words caused a response that led to many of His own followers to abandon their investment in His Messianic status. While His words were indeed hard to accept on their surface meaning, the truth is they were meant to be received on a deeper level—one that holds in it an important spiritual truth about what the role of the Messiah entails and accomplishes for humanity.
The passage of importance is in John 6:53-57.
The passage of importance is in John 6:53-57.
|
53 And Yeshua said to them, “Amin, Amin! I say to you that unless you shall eat the body of the son of man, and shall drink his blood, no life is for you in your beings.
54 Yet, he who eats from my body and drinks from my blood has for himself life that is everlasting, and I shall raise him on the final day. 55 For my body is truly food, and my blood is truly drink. 56 He who eats my body and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 As the Father sent me, and I live on account of the Father, then he who shall eat me—even he shall live on account of me.” |
|
This brief assertion was not easy for anyone who originally heard it to accept. We who read it now after so long do so with the benefit of knowing Yeshua often spoke symbolically, in the language of proverb and parable. He would present some truths in a more mystical-sounding manner, and knowing that now helps us to not be so quickly astonished at His words.
Still, this incident is the basis for a major misunderstanding in Christianity—that the bread and wine of the Passover meal, which Christianity carried over as the central elements of the communion event, somehow transforms into the actual body and blood of Yeshua when it enters the believer’s mouth. This was championed by Catholic Christianity and subsequently exists in various other Christian expressions in subtly different understandings. While not every Christian interprets it in that way now, it is understandable why someone would have asserted such a thing to be the case based on what Yeshua said.
Indeed, even those who originally heard His assertions had difficulty with accepting them, as we see in John 6:60.
Still, this incident is the basis for a major misunderstanding in Christianity—that the bread and wine of the Passover meal, which Christianity carried over as the central elements of the communion event, somehow transforms into the actual body and blood of Yeshua when it enters the believer’s mouth. This was championed by Catholic Christianity and subsequently exists in various other Christian expressions in subtly different understandings. While not every Christian interprets it in that way now, it is understandable why someone would have asserted such a thing to be the case based on what Yeshua said.
Indeed, even those who originally heard His assertions had difficulty with accepting them, as we see in John 6:60.
|
And many who heard from his students said, “A hard word is this! Who is able to hear it?” |
Talk of His body and blood being eaten was incorrectly understood on a literal level, and it truly bothered so many who heard His words. In fact, this concept of the Messiah being consumed by the people and it being a hard concept to accept is also encountered a few centuries later, as we see in an account from the Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 99a, where the rabbis were discussing aspects of the coming of the Messiah.
In a startling assertion, Rabbi Hillel claimed any hope for Messiah had passed, for the best Messianic candidate in his eyes was none other than King Hezekiah, and the people of his reign “ate” him—in other words, they benefited from the merit of his righteous character.
This is the same type of context Yeshua was using when He told the people they needed to “eat the body” of the Messiah: He was claiming that His purpose as the Messiah is so that the people benefit spiritually from His merit.
The Talmud continues in that same passage and we see that the statement of Rabbi Hillel—like Yeshua’s words before him—was not well received.
This is the same type of context Yeshua was using when He told the people they needed to “eat the body” of the Messiah: He was claiming that His purpose as the Messiah is so that the people benefit spiritually from His merit.
The Talmud continues in that same passage and we see that the statement of Rabbi Hillel—like Yeshua’s words before him—was not well received.
This attitude of immediate rejection concerning such terminology towards consuming the Messiah is unfortunate, but it is also due to the fact that Judaism as a whole in the first several centuries did not properly understand the full purpose of the Messiah. They viewed the role largely as a position affecting the national status of Israel, manifesting as a king who would lead the people into victory from oppression and freedom to establish the Davidic Kingdom in its Torah-based context. Not so clear even with all the intensity of study was the personal role He would also play for Israel in affecting the spiritual status first in order to create the necessary conditions for the eventual establishment of the Kingdom.
This more personal role is most famously presented in the words of the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 53:7 we see the Messiah acting in a very giving context: as a lamb who is slaughtered for food.
|
He was harassed, and he was afflicted, and he did not open his mouth. As a lamb to slaughter he was led, and as an ewe before her shearers is silent, so did he not open his mouth. |
|
This imagery of a lamb is significant, and points to the Messianic concept of the Moshiach ben Yoseif “Messiah son of Joseph,” who undergoes a suffering for the good of the people to the point of being slaughtered in his mission. This he is understood to willingly accept upon himself like a lamb being taken to the slaughter.
This part of the Messianic role was understood in first-century Judaism, but the concept of individuals “consuming” His merit on a personal level was the part that was not widely recognized when the Scriptural passages were studied.
This detail is further developed in the text in Isaiah 53:10, which uses additional imagery to build upon the idea.
This detail is further developed in the text in Isaiah 53:10, which uses additional imagery to build upon the idea.
|
And it pleased YHWH to break him: He weakened him. Since You appointed his soul a guilt offering, he shall see seed; He shall lengthen [his] days, and [the] pleasure of YHWH in his hand shall prosper.
|
The phrase of immediate interest to this study is “Since You appointed his soul a guilt offering.” The Hebrew term ASHAM “guilt offering” is first encountered in the book of Leviticus and is treated there with details that are significant for us to appreciate what is going on with the Messiah’s role and the hard words Yeshua spoke in John 6.
It is noteworthy that Isaiah refers to the Messiah with the imagery of a “lamb” and an “ewe,” and then brings some clarity by calling the Messiah a “guilt offering,” for Leviticus 5:6 and 5:15 explains that the only four-legged animals that can be brought as a guilt offering are a lamb (or a goat kid), an ewe, and a ram.
The fact that Yeshua as the Messiah is called a “lamb” twice by His cousin, John [see: John 1:29 & 1:36], and Isaiah 53:10 calls the Messiah a “lamb” and a “guilt offering,” should not be overlooked. This is information that is meaningful in His role as the Messiah.
Furthermore, Leviticus 7:1 tells us something about the merit status of the guilt offering.
Furthermore, Leviticus 7:1 tells us something about the merit status of the guilt offering.
|
And this is [the] Torah of the guilt offering: it is holy of holies.
|
|
The nature of the guilt offering is elevated: it is “holy of holies.” This nature is only shared among the sacrifices of a flour meal offering [see: Leviticus 2:3], and a sin offering [see: Leviticus 6:25], and likewise, the twelve loaves of bread set out in the Holy Place are also given this status as a fire-offering that is “holy of holies” [see: Leviticus 24:9]. None of the other offerings possess this status of “holy of holies.” This unique category showcases the higher spiritual reality inherent in them.
For Messiah to thus be labeled as a “guilt offering” is another way to speak of His higher spiritual status than what is normal for the common believer. As the text in Leviticus 7 continues, however, we see another detail concerning the guilt offering that brings further clarity on its connection to the Messiah’s role.
Leviticus 7:6 tells us what is done with the guilt offering.
For Messiah to thus be labeled as a “guilt offering” is another way to speak of His higher spiritual status than what is normal for the common believer. As the text in Leviticus 7 continues, however, we see another detail concerning the guilt offering that brings further clarity on its connection to the Messiah’s role.
Leviticus 7:6 tells us what is done with the guilt offering.
|
Every male with the priests—they shall eat it. In a holy place it is to be eaten: it is holy of holies.
|
The guilt offering is not to be utterly consumed in fire on the altar. Rather, it is to be eaten by the priests. The passage restates that it is “holy of holies,” which is the explanation for why it is eaten: its higher spiritual status must be taken into the priests by consuming the substance of the guilt offering.
Now we can better appreciate the context of Yeshua’s words in John 6 about the need for eating His body! His assertion that He must be symbolically eaten is linked to His role as the Messiah, a concept which is metaphorically likened to a guilt offering in Isaiah 53.
With these things in place, we can learn even more about what we have already examined and how it further connects to what Yeshua asserted in John 6. Returning to Isaiah 53:10, we see that the prophet says about what the Creator has done concerning the Messiah: “You appointed his soul a guilt offering.”
Note the term “soul,” which is NEFESH in Hebrew.
Now we can better appreciate the context of Yeshua’s words in John 6 about the need for eating His body! His assertion that He must be symbolically eaten is linked to His role as the Messiah, a concept which is metaphorically likened to a guilt offering in Isaiah 53.
With these things in place, we can learn even more about what we have already examined and how it further connects to what Yeshua asserted in John 6. Returning to Isaiah 53:10, we see that the prophet says about what the Creator has done concerning the Messiah: “You appointed his soul a guilt offering.”
Note the term “soul,” which is NEFESH in Hebrew.
The word NEFESH has a broad range of meaning in its Hebrew usage. Beyond signifying a higher invisible nature of a creature, it can also refer to a “body,” as we see in Leviticus 22:6.
|
A soul which touches a [creeping] thing, and is unclean until the evening, then he shall not eat from the holy [things], except if he wash his flesh in water.
|
|
Here we see without question that a NEFESH “soul” can touch something physical, which tells us that the term can also mean a physical body of a person under very specific contexts. Knowing this, we can apply this meaning to what Isaiah 53:10 said about the Messiah having “his soul a guilt offering” to mean that His body is being referenced.
The term NEFESH “soul” also is used in Leviticus 17:14 to refer to blood.
The term NEFESH “soul” also is used in Leviticus 17:14 to refer to blood.
|
[The] blood of all flesh you shall not eat, for [the] soul of all flesh is its blood.
|
This passage clarifies for us that a living being’s blood is inherently linked to its soul. For this reason we are not to eat blood, as that would inevitably entail the consuming of a being’s soul.
The soul of a being serves another purpose instead of eating, as we discover if we read a few verses prior, in Leviticus 17:11.
The soul of a being serves another purpose instead of eating, as we discover if we read a few verses prior, in Leviticus 17:11.
|
For [the] soul of the flesh is in its blood. And I have given it to you upon the altar for atonement over your souls, for it is the blood with [the] soul that atones.
|
|
According to Torah, the purpose of sacrificial blood is to give the Creator a soul that is untainted with sin that atones for the sinful individual’s own inability to approach the Creator.
With this detail clarified we can appreciate what Yeshua was saying when He included the concept of drinking “his blood” in John 6. By speaking of both His “body” and “blood” being consumed, He was emphasizing that one needs to accept His merit--His atoning nature—into themselves if they wish to live. This means He was telling His listeners they needed to take His very soul into them in order to have life—that is, be wholly atoned for beyond the temporary atonement provided by an animal’s blood.
This idea of taking someone else’s soul into your own may seem odd, but it actually is a completely Jewish concept referred to in Hebrew as IBBUR “insertion” or “impregnation.”
With this detail clarified we can appreciate what Yeshua was saying when He included the concept of drinking “his blood” in John 6. By speaking of both His “body” and “blood” being consumed, He was emphasizing that one needs to accept His merit--His atoning nature—into themselves if they wish to live. This means He was telling His listeners they needed to take His very soul into them in order to have life—that is, be wholly atoned for beyond the temporary atonement provided by an animal’s blood.
This idea of taking someone else’s soul into your own may seem odd, but it actually is a completely Jewish concept referred to in Hebrew as IBBUR “insertion” or “impregnation.”
The idea is that the souls of two different individuals can become connected in a very special and strong union, and spiritual benefit flows from that profound link. Such a concept can be seen in Scripture blatantly in 1st Samuel 18:1, where it describes the concept regarding the special union enjoyed by David and Jonathan.
|
And [the] soul of Yehonatan was tied into [the] soul of David. |
Some in Christianity have seen this reality and call it by the title “soul-ties,” although it is typically understood in that manner in a negative sense. Scripture’s description of it here is decidedly a positive thing and alludes to the positive reality believers experience in connection to the Messiah. In the end, however, the important aspect to understand is that this is the Jewish concept of IBBUR “insertion” or “impregnation” of one soul with another—an intense spiritual union.
The concept of IBBUR gives insight to later passages in the New Testament, such as the famous statement by Paul in Romans 8:10.
The concept of IBBUR gives insight to later passages in the New Testament, such as the famous statement by Paul in Romans 8:10.
|
And yet, if the Messiah is in you, the body is dead on account of sin, yet the spirit is vivified on account of righteousness. |
|
The several other passages scattered throughout the New Testament that speak of Yeshua being “in” a believer are referring to this concept of a soul connected to another soul in the Jewish notion of IBBUR. This is why Yeshua spoke of drinking His “blood”—He was speaking of the necessity for a believer to receive His atoning soul into their own being in the concept of IBBUR and not actually imbibing His blood.
Those who heard His statements were comprehending the words He spoke in a literal sense, and so their familiarity with the commandments against literally consuming such things would have prevented them from properly perceiving the deeper symbolic meaning of doing such an otherwise prohibitive action.
Incredibly, this concept of consuming a rabbi’s “blood”—for as much as it was initially misunderstood and rejected concerning Yeshua’s words—is a concept that was encountered again in Judaism’s history about a century after this. It is recorded concerning the reaction of the disciples of the esteemed Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai after his death, which is chronicled in the text of the Zohar, Ha’Idra Zuta Kadisha 296b.
Those who heard His statements were comprehending the words He spoke in a literal sense, and so their familiarity with the commandments against literally consuming such things would have prevented them from properly perceiving the deeper symbolic meaning of doing such an otherwise prohibitive action.
Incredibly, this concept of consuming a rabbi’s “blood”—for as much as it was initially misunderstood and rejected concerning Yeshua’s words—is a concept that was encountered again in Judaism’s history about a century after this. It is recorded concerning the reaction of the disciples of the esteemed Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai after his death, which is chronicled in the text of the Zohar, Ha’Idra Zuta Kadisha 296b.
Yeshua’s words in John 6 were a call to do the same: to take His nature into them and by His merit live in a new and spiritually invigorated manner. Although they admitted to the harsh nature of His words, and some of them even ended their discipleship due to them, others continued on and followed His lead—a dedication that led them to see Yeshua, like the lamb to the slaughter of Isaiah 53:7, eventually be brought before the priests.
It was there that an event is recorded for us in the Synoptic Gospels whose deeper meaning is only appreciated when we read how it was worded in the Aramaic of the Peshitta’s text of Matthew 27:12.
It was there that an event is recorded for us in the Synoptic Gospels whose deeper meaning is only appreciated when we read how it was worded in the Aramaic of the Peshitta’s text of Matthew 27:12.
|
And when the chief priests and elders were slandering him, a thing of a word he did not reply. |
This same treatment by the priests as Yeshua stood before Pilate is recorded in Mark 15:3, and then in Luke 23:10 we see it also occurred when He was afterward sent to be judged by Herod.
|
Yet, the chief priests and the scribes stood and were strongly slandering him. |
|
The term “slandering” in the Aramaic of those passages is actually a phrase, and that phrase is meant to be understood as an idiom for the concept of “slandering” or “accusing” someone. However, if we chose to read it in its literal meaning, the phrase provides a shocking symbolic detail that connects to the topic of this study in an amazing way. The Aramaic phrase is ACHLIN H’WA KARTZAHI, which is literally: “they were eating pieces of him.”
Yes, the two Aramaic texts read in their literal wording:
And when the chief priests and elders were eating pieces of him, a thing of a word he did not reply.
~ Matthew 27:12
~ Matthew 27:12
Yet, the chief priests and the scribes stood, and they were strongly eating pieces of him.
~ Luke 23:10
~ Luke 23:10
As Yeshua stood in silence before the priests—just like was prophesied about Him in Isaiah 53:7 in the lamb terminology—He was being slandered by their words when He was yet not guilty. His Messianic purpose was to be the guilt offering of Isaiah 53:10, and as the Torah demands of it, He had to be “eaten” by the priests. The Aramaic of the Peshitta’s text reveals that their words of slander against Him were fulfilling that concept symbolically, as if “they were eating pieces of him.”
The Messiah is meant to be consumed.
The Messiah is meant to be consumed.
Yeshua’s own words affirmed this necessity in John 6.
He did not explain how that must happen, as His words were intended in a non-literal sense, but be it by His dedicated disciples who remained faithful even after He spoke those hard words, or by those opposing priests who should have been the ones to most easily recognize His Messianic role, He was always destined to be consumed for the atonement of His people.
He did not explain how that must happen, as His words were intended in a non-literal sense, but be it by His dedicated disciples who remained faithful even after He spoke those hard words, or by those opposing priests who should have been the ones to most easily recognize His Messianic role, He was always destined to be consumed for the atonement of His people.
All study contents Copyright Jeremy Chance Springfield, except for graphics and images, which are Copyright their respective creators.