This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”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 for ever.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.
3 sermons cite this verse
… In today's gospel, Jesus was telling the truth when he said he would give us his flesh to eat and blood to drink. And then he actually gave us himself the last supper, right? When he is with his apostles and he takes bread and wine and says, take this all of you and eat of it. This is my body. Take this all of you and drink of it. This is my blood. We know this, right? This Corpus Christi, that every mass, Jesus is truly and substantially present with us. It's incredible, incredible. maybe the most incredible gift. In fact, St. John Vianney once said this. He's a saint, parish priest. He said, there is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something better to give us, he would have given it to us. It is his greatest gift. And I think there's something powerful that happens when we discover this. Like for Catholics, when they discover that the mass really is Jesus, like this is what happened to me. …
… also live of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever. You've got to be committed to me, and this has to be understood. I'm going to give my flesh and shed my blood. Can you accept sacrificial atonement? Can you accept me as the sin offering? This is what eating and drinking means. personal appropriation of the cross of Christ. And, of course, 1 Corinthians 1.23, to the Jews, the cross was a what? A stumbling block. They didn't need a Savior. They didn't need a sacrifice. They didn't need a substitute. They were righteous on their own. And Paul had to relentlessly preach Christ and Him crucified, nothing but Christ and Him crucified. So what is the pathology here of a false disciple drawn by the crowd, fascinated by the prospect of the supernatural, desiring worldly benefits, demanding their requests be met, having no real interest in Christ at all, and completely indifferent, if not repulsed, by His atonement? …
Today, we begin in John chapter 6 at verse 51. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. And the Jews, therefore, quarreled among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? And Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you that 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 him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. And as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so He who feeds on me will live because of me. …