Dont understand this verse..

Meena_Ameen

John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?  When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend  you?  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

k so if you are unfamiliar with what is going on in this verse, Jesus just said that he who doesnt eat of his flesh or drink of his blood has no life in him... the disciples are saying this is hard saying, who can hear it.... the verse i dont understand is the part in red

I was looking for where i can find the meaning of this verse and on one website i believe the person explaining the verse was protestant becasue this is how this verse was explained... it was broken down first

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

It is the Spirit — The spiritual meaning of these words, by which God giveth life.

The flesh — The bare, carnal, literal meaning, profiteth nothing.

The words which I have spoken, they are spirit — Are to be taken in a spiritual sense and, when they are so understood, they are life - That is, a means of spiritual life to the hearers.


so what this man is basically saying is that... when Jesus said that verse he meant that the flesh and blood he will give us is NOT communion, and that Jesus is saying NOT to take what he said literally but his words are spiritual. and if you take the literal meaning of it, it means nothing...

this ofcourse is against what the orthodox church believes because we believe that he was talkking about communion.. but i dont know how our church would explain that verse in red.. does anyone know?

Unknown

Homily 47 of St John Chrysostom on the Gospel according to St. John:

[center]
His meaning is, “Ye must hear spiritually what relateth to Me, for he who
heareth carnally is not profiled, nor gathereth any advantage.” It was carnal
to question how He came down from heaven, to deem that He was the son
of Joseph, to ask, “How can he give us His flesh to eat?” All this was
carnal, when they ought to have understood the matter in a mystical and
spiritual sense. “But,” saith some one, “how could they understand what
the ‘eating flesh might mean?” Then it was their duty to wait for the
proper time and inquire, and not to abandon Him.
“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.”
That is, they are divine and spiritual, have nothing carnal about them, are
not subject to the laws of physical consequence, but are free from any
such necessity, are even set above the laws appointed for this world, and
have also another and a different meaning. Now as it, this passage He said
“spirit,” instead of” spiritual,” so when He’ speaketh of “flesh,” He meant
not “carnal things,” but “carnally hearing,” and alluding at the same time to
them, because they ever desired carnal things when they ought to have
desired spiritual. For if a man receives them carnally, he profits nothing.
“What then, is not His flesh, flesh?” Most certainly. “How then saith He,
that the flesh profiteth nothing?” He speaketh not of His own flesh, (God
forbid!) but of those who received His words in a carnal manner. But what
is “understanding carnally”? It is looking merely to what is before our
eyes, without imagining anything beyond. This is understanding carnally.
But we must not judge thus by sight, but must look into all mysteries with
the eyes within. This is seeing spiritually. He that eateth not His flesh,
and drinketh not His blood, hath no life in him. How then doth “the flesh
profit nothing,” if without it we cannot live? Seest thou that the words,
“the flesh profiteth nothing,” are spoken not of His own flesh, but of
carnal hearing?[/center]

I don't think I need to add more. It's actually quite brilliant.

Meena_Ameen

wow.... that is amazing... thanks a MILLION thomas, i honestly did not think i could ever find a more brilliant answer than that. God Bless. thanks alot

Unknown

No, let's thank the Lord who spoke through St. John Chrysostom.