to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day V. 45. It is written in the Prophets And they shall be all taught of God Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me V. 46. Not that any man hath seen the Father save he which is of God he hath seen the Father V. 47. Verily verily I say unto you He that believeth on me hath everlasting Life V. 48. I am that Bread of Life V. 49. Your Fathers did eat Manna in the Wilderness and are dead V. 50. This is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die V. 51. I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven If any man Eat of this Bread he shall live for ever and the Bread that I will give is my Flesh which I will give for the Life of the world V. 52. The Jews therefore strove amongst themselves saying How can this Man give us his Flesh to eat V. 53. Then Jesus 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 no Life in you V. 54. Whoso eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood hath eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last day V. 55. For my Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed V. 56. He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him V. 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 V. 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 for ever V. 59. These things said he in the Synagogue as he taught in Capernaum V. 60. Many therefore of his Disciples when they had heard this said This is an hard saying who can bear it V. 61. When Jesus knew in himself that his Disciples murmured at it he said unto them Doth this offend you V. 62. What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before V. 63. It is the Spirit that quickneth the Flesh profiteth nothing The words that I speak unto you they are Spirit and they are Life V. 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 V. 65. And he said Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father V. 66. From that time many of his Disciples went back and walked no more with him V. 67. Then said Jesus unto the Twelve Will ye also go away V. 68. Then Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go Thou hast the words of eternal life V. 69. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the Son of the living God V. 70. Jesus answered them Have not I chosen you Twelve and one of you is a Devil V. 71. He spake of Judas Iscariot the Son of Simon for he it was that should betray him being one of the Twelve 31. 'T is true that in our need thou gavest us Bread to eat making five Loaves to serve above five thousand of us But what was this to Moses's feeding our Fathers in the Desert who were vastly many more and this Forty years with Manna also which was not earthly Food such as we are yesterday but Bread from Heaven as we are taught in Psal 78.25 32. Now the Reply that Jesus made to this supposed that these Men wanted not evidence of his coming from God and that they ought not to compare the Manna which their Fathers ate with the Bread that he had given them the day before but rather with that inestimable Blessing which God had now bestowed upon them in giving his own Son for the Life of the World And in this he pursued his constant Design of taking off their Affections from Worldly and directing them to Heavenly Things For he answered them to this effect Whereas you magnifie Moses for giving your Fathers Bread from Heaven I tell you it came not from that Heaven which is the place of Immortality but only from that Region of the Air which though it be also called Heaven shall at last perish with the Earth But now God offereth unto you that which in the most excellent sense is Heavenly Bread and which indeed comes from the place where his Majesty dwelleth 33. Whereas also you extol Moses for preserving the Lives of your Fathers in the Wilderness so long as he did you may consider it was but a short Life at longest which that Bread served to sustain But he whom God hath now sent from Heaven is indeed and desires therefore to be called the True Bread because he can preserve you to Eternal Life And Lastly the Bread which Moses gave your Fathers did indeed serve a great many yet they were but a very few in comparison for that which I speak of is sufficient to give Eternal Life to the whole World 34. They replied hereupon We desire no other Bread than this which thou so highly magnifiest give us but such Bread always as this and without all question we shall believe thee V. 34. They are still the same Persons that speak for there is yet no reason to suppose the contrary And by this saying it seems they understood Jesus as if he had spoken to them of Bread from Heaven in the literal and gross sence and by giving that to 'em from day to day had promised to make them live for ever So that from his last Words they seemed to conceive some better hope of him again and that he would go on to fill their Bellies every day Therefore they spake to him now with more respect So hard it was even for Jesus to bring them to any understanding or sence of things that concerned their Minds though he would lead them thereunto by allusion to things grateful to their Senses And this indeed was the general Temper of the Jews in our Saviour's days who were also in this respect rather worse than their Fore-fathers It was just such another Answer that the Samaritan Woman made to a like Speech of our Lord as you may see Ch. 4. 5 13 14 15. 35. Jesus answered If you understand me aright you have your Wish I do not now discourse of those Signs which you desire to see before you believe for you have already had Signs in abundance but of the far greater Benefits which you will gain by believing in me than your Fathers had from Moses I tell you therefore that I am the Bread of Everlasting Life and he that believeth in me and submitteth to my Doctrine hath the Bread and Water of Life and shall hunger and thirst no more for
And from the bottom of my heart I give thanks to Almighty God that I have had my Education in the Communion of a Church which at the same time that it prescribes to me a Rule of Doctrine and Worship does give me full liberty to enquire all manner of ways whether she has dealt sincerely with me or not Under the Discipline of so honest a Church I trust that I have learn'd to be an honest Man For though I am as confident of the main Question as I desire to be yet I have and by the Grace of God always will have a quiet Reserve for better Information And I shall not count him an Enemy but a Friend that both can and will discover my Mistakes For which Reason I have obeyed your Advice and asked the leave of my Superiors to let these plain Thoughts go into the World And I let them go much rather desiring that they may meet with Contradiction than Approbation in any part where they ought to be contradicted Nay I will not refuse to make allowance for them who cannot oppose an Adversary without Huffing and Vanity If I can see that they offer though but a little Reason I will readily acknowledge it or if they offer none at all let them but seem to believe what they say and they shall not go without a Reply As for that Sense which I have not without good Authority offered of those Passages in this Chapter concerning the Father's drawing and giving Men to Christ if it does not equally please all Persons I hope they who are otherwise minded will not be displeased with me when I have declared that I shall no longer care for it when any Man shall lead my Understanding to a better Sir I have but one thing more to say Let you and I observe and follow the Moral Instructions of this Chapter which if all would do I am confident none of us should run into any dangerous Mistake about the meaning of any part of it Our Lord hath said it That if any man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God In paraphrasing our Saviour's Discourses here I could not but observe how apt it was to infuse a truly wise honest and godly Temper into the Minds of his Hearers And therefore for a Conclusion I added to the Paraphrase what I thought was a suitable Exhortation that whilst we may happen to dispute about the sense of some more difficult Passages in this Chapter we may not forget to make the great Design of it the Subject of our Practice And so I commend you to the Grace of God and rest Your most c. The Sixth Chapter of St. JOHN The ARGUMENT This Chapter begins with a Narrative of the miraculous feeding of Five Thousand in the Wilderness and consisteth wholly of those Passages that happened upon this occasion The People were so overjoyed with the Miracle that they resolved to make Jesus a King which he avoided and secretly went to Capernaum But they not so satisfied followed him thither the next day when he took another course to prevent their design and that by reproving their worldly-mindedness and by calling them off from the Cares and Pleasures of this Life to mind Heavenly Things and everlasting Life which so turned their Stomachs against him that they fell to cavil at his Sayings and to disparage his Miracles by setting up the Manna wherewith Moses had fed their Fathers against his feeding them the day before Whereupon he inculcated two things upon them with great Earnestness The one was this That they might gain eternal Life by Him and his Doctrine which he therefore called the Bread of Life and the Bread that came down from Heaven and therefore that it was a vain thing in them to challenge him with Moses's giving their Fathers that Bread from Heaven which served only to sustain a mortal Life The other was this That they had sufficient Evidence of his coming from God but that they believed not because of their worldly Prejudices against him Whereupon he tells them that God had committed no other Persons to his effectual Care to convince and save them but such only who were disposed to receive the Truth by an honest Mind and that himself was not bound to conquer the obstinacy of unteachable Men. Notwithstanding all which they proceeded to cavil at his Sayings and because in allusion to the Loaves he had multiplied and to that Manna which they boasted of he had called himself the Bread of Life and in pursuance of such Figurative Speeches he did also express believing in him and trusting in his Death c. by eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood They exclaimed against him as if he had in the literal sense offered his Flesh to be eaten some of his own Disciples also understanding him in that manner To whom indeed he explained himself But for all that upon his free Reproof of their insincerity they left him And then he proved the Constancy of his Twelve Apostles permitting them also to go if they were not willing to stay shewing withal that he understood who were sincere and who were not The Chapter V. 1. AFter these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee which is the Sea of Tiberias V. 2. And a great multitude follow'd him because they saw his Miracles which he did upon them that were diseased V. 3. And Jesus went up into a Mountain and there he sat with his Disciples V. 4. And the Passover a Feast of the Jews was nigh V. 5. When Jesus then lift up his eyes and saw a great company come to him he saith unto Philip Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat V. 6. And this he said to prove him for he himself knew what he would do V. 7. Philip answered him Two hundred penny-worth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little V. 8. One of his Disciples Andrew Simon Peters Brother saith unto him V. 9. There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes but what are they among so many V. 10. And Jesus said Make the men sit down Now there was much grass in the place So that men sat down in number about five thousand V. 11. And Jesus took the loaves and when he had given thanks he distributed to the Disciples and the Disciples to them that were set down and likewise of the fishes as much as they would V. 12. When they were filled he said unto his Disciples Gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost V. 13. Therefore they gathered them together and filled twelve Baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over and above unto them that had eaten V. 14. Then those men when they had seen the miracle which Jesus did said This is of a truth that Prophet which was to come into the world V. 15. When Jesus therefore perceived
believing that all things would go well now he was with them and so it proved For though they had made so little Progress before yet now the Ship came presently to the place whither it was bound 22. Now the People whom Jesus had fed in the Desert were not so perfectly dispersed but that many of them kept together till the day following and came to the Shore where the Disciples took Ship the Evening before and although they knew there was no other Boat there when the Disciples went to Sea but that into which they entred and that Jesus did not go with them 23. Tho' there came other Boats from Tiberias afterwards which these Men found that morning near the place where the Miracle was wrought 24. Yet knowing that the Disciples were gone and not being able to find Jesus on that side they believed he was gone after them tho' they knew not how v. 25. And so they resolved to follow the Disciples in those Boats that were newly come from Tiberias hoping to find Jesus himself with them at Capernaum or Bethsaida 25. And when they found him they desired to know by what Miracle he got thither so soon for they knew he went not over with his Disciples and no other Boat was on the other side to transport him but those in which they came and the way by Land over the Bridge of Tiberias was too far about to get thither in so short a time 26. But Jesus without satisfying their curiosity in this matter turned the Discourse to things of greater moment and answered them in this manner I certainly know that ye do not follow me for the true end of those Miracles which I work which is that ye might believe in me and obtain everlasting Life but meerly for that present Benefit which you hope to receive by them as you did yesterday when you did eat c. 27. But I had a farther end in feeding your Bodies which now I require you to mind and that is to perswade you not to take so much pains for the prolonging of a Life which will shortly end as for that Vertue and Knowledge which are the Food of Souls and the means of living happily for ever when this Life shall be no more You should follow the Son of Man for such things as these the Father having shewed him to be the Person who should convey these Blessings to the Souls of Men and that by those wonderful Works which he hath sent him to do for the relief of their Bodies 28. These Men were so suddainly disgusted with this Spiritual Doctrine that they replied in this manner We who have the Law of Moses do already know what Works God requires And canst thou tell us what will be more pleasing to him than our keeping of the Law 29. Jesus answered God hath sent his Son into the World to reveal a better Doctrine and to prescribe a better Life than Moses did And that Work pleasing to God and necessary to your Salvation which you must do is in short this To believe him whom God hath sent and to take his Word for your Security in doing all that he requires 30. But they were so strangely prejudiced against Jesus upon his calling them off from the Cares of this World to a Heavenly Life and a better Hope that the late Miracle for which they had so extolled him v. 14. was now in their Opinion nothing at all And so they replied to him as if they had said If thou pretendest to a higher Doctrine than Moses taught why dost not thou shew us equal if not greater Signs and Wonders than he wrought that we may see them and believe thee for their sake What dost thou perform answerable to such a mighty Faith as thou requirest of us NOTES V. 30. This suddain Turn of theirs was so strange that Grotius does not allow those that said this to be the same Persons that were fed in the Wilderness the day before But I can see no reason for his Opinion for the Evangelist plainly seems to continue the Relation as of the same Persons and it is no unusual thing for Men either to keep or alter their Perswasions as they are led by their Prejudices and Interests And our Saviour told those that had been fed in the Wilderness that they followed him for worldly Advantages and not for Instruction in Spiritual and Heavenly matters v. 26. So that finding themselves disappointed it was not unlikely that they would fall in their Opinion of him To which we may add that one main Design of his following Discourse was to shew that external Evidence was not sufficient to create Faith without the inward preparation of a sincere and honest Mind Which was very pertinent to the Case of those Men who were made confident that Jesus was that Prophet by the late Miracle till they found that his Doctrine was contrary to their worldly Affections For which reasons I have chose to continue the Discourse in the Paraphrase as the Text seems to direct i. e. between Jesus and the same Persons that spake to him v. 25. rather than to substitute other Speakers for which there is neither Authority of the Text nor any need upon the account of avoiding inconvenience V. 31. Our Fathers did eat Manna in the Desert as it is written He gave them Bread from Heaven to eat V. 32. Then Jesus said unto them Verily verily I say unto you Moses gave you not that Bread from Heaven but my Father giveth you the true Bread from Heaven V. 33. For the Bread of God is he that cometh down from Heaven and giveth life unto the World V. 34. Then said they unto him Lord evermore give us this Bread V. 35. And Jesus said unto them I am the Bread of Life He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth in me shall never thirst V. 36. But I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not V. 37. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out V. 38. For I came down from Heaven not to do my own Will but the Will of him that sent me V. 39. And this is the Father's Will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day V. 40. And this is the Will of him that sent me that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day V. 41. The Jews then murmured at him because he said I am the Bread which came down from Heaven V. 42. And they said Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph whose Father and Mother we know how is it then that he saith I came down from Heaven V. 43. Jesus therefore answered and said unto them Murmur not among your selves V. 44. No man can come
Christ's speaking to them so much about it as he did For if it was not their own fault that they were not inwardly prepared and if it was impossible for them to do any thing considerable towards it his Reproof had seemed something unreasonable and unjust and if they had so understood it they had not been wanting to tell him so 41. But the People were by no means pleased with what Jesus said for they expected he would give them Bread from Heaven as Moses had done for their Fathers v. 34. but now they plainly perceived that by the Bread of Life coming down from Heaven which he spake of he meant Himself and his Doctrine v. 35. and that instead of feeding their Bodies he promised them everlasting Life which they were not greatly concerned about And upon this disappointment they again set themselves to disparage him all they could 42. And said one to another Why does this Man whom we know to be the Son of Joseph and Mary pretend such high things of himself How could he come from Heaven who was born into this World as other Men are and in as mean Circumstances as the most 43. To these Cavils Jesus answered Do not lose time by raising Difficulties about my Person and Doctrine There is another Work that lies upon your Hands which is at present more seasonable and necessary for you than to strain for Objections against what I say and that is to mend your Tempers to shake off your worldly Spirits to make eternal Life your End and sincerely to desire the Knowledge of that Way which leads to it 44. For if you are not thus qualified all my Sayings and Works will never convince you of the Truth For the Father did not send me into the World with any other Charge than that I should do what is abundantly sufficient to save Men of plain Honesty and sincere Intention which Dispositions therefore you should endeavour after and if by the Grace of God you obtain them then you will readily understand and embrace the Truth But till then you do but entangle your selves to no purpose And therefore I advise you to leave off objecting and disputing till you have learnt plain Duties and to become honest Men. And I tell you again I will take care that no such Persons shall want abundant means of Conviction and Salvation but they shall be my peculiar Charge from the time that they are so disposed till I shall raise them up at the last Day V. 44. St. Chrysostom observes that upon this saying the Manichees confidently affirmed that nothing was in our own Power For said they If a man comes to him what needs he to be drawn But says he this does not take away all power over our own Actions but rather shews that we stand in need of God's help and that not every negligent Person but he that takes great pains with himself will come to Christ The true sence of this Verse is more largely expressed in the Paraphrase and in Notes upon V. 37. 45. And these Admonitions I give you are warranted by the Prophets who have foretold that when the Kingdom of Christ shall begin to be established upon the Earth Men shall not want any reasonable means of Conviction for the saving of their Souls because God will then vouchsafe to appear more remarkably to instruct Men than ever he did since the World began And therefore if any Man remains in Unbelief or refuses to obey it cannot be for want of means to make him wise unto Salvation but for want of an humble and an honest Mind and a sincere Intention without which God's speaking to Men by his own Son will have no success upon them but will leave them as bad as they were before But because God is a Master in whom nothing can be wanting to instruct every one that desireth to know the Truth and to be saved will submit to the Doctrine of his Son and become his Disciple V. 45. The 54th Chapter of Isaiah containeth a Description of God's gracious Care and Providence over his Church one Instance whereof v. 33. is this And all thy Children shall be taught of God Which must needs imply these two things 1. That God would reveal that Truth which the Church should profess and this was eminently done by the Son of God himself coming down from Heaven to make it known and by the Holy Ghost inspiring the Apostles afterward 2. That God would abundantly satisfie Men by Divine Testimonies that he had sent his Son into the World for that purpose For these Reasons all that believe in Christ are taught of God Now the force of our Saviour's Argument from this Prediction lies in this If God hath promised to reveal to Men the knowledge of saving Truth and to convince them that he doth reveal it then no Man to whom this Revelation is made shall want sufficient means of Instruction and Conviction and consequently every Man that is not under the power of worldly Lusts and Interests will be effectually wrought upon by them And this freedom from such Prejudices our Lord here calls hearing and learning of the Father which is the same with being given or drawn to Christ the Phrase used before and this intimates that it is something we do towards the preparing our selves and that we may also hinder it For Hearing and Learning are voluntary Actions A Man may stop his Ears against Instruction and alienate his Mind from what is suggested to him Therefore something Men may do to attain that honest Heart which the Divine Inspiration worketh They may also quench this Work of the Holy Spirit The meaning of the whole is as if our Lord had said You must have God for your Master before you can be the Disciples of the Son You must be prepared by those qualities which there is no need of a new Revelation to teach you before you are fit to receive that Doctrine which the Son brings And now it is plain that these very Speeches and Reasonings of our Saviour tended to prepare them for Conviction and Faith For by shewing them the great need of a teachable Spirit in hearing and learning of God and what Blessings the want of this Disposition would bereave them of and by repeating and inculcating upon them that great Concernment of the Resurrection at the last Day he did what was most proper in it self to dispose them to a better Mind to weaken their Prejudices and to make them attend to those Testimonies of his coming from God which they had already seen instead of desiring more Signs which in the temper they were in at present would have done them no good if they had been granted 46. The meaning of which Scriptures is not that any Man shall be immediately taught by the Father For the Will of the Father is not thus to be manifested to any of you it being the Priviledge of the only begotten Son intimately to know his Mind
without the mediation of any other Person Ch. 1. v. 18. 47. Take notice therefore of what I say The Will of my Father which by me he makes known to you is this that he who receiveth my Doctrine firmly believing it and submitting his Heart and Soul to it shall as surely obtain Everlasting Life as if he were possess'd of it already V. 47. This Saying of our Saviour explains all that he says about the necessity of eating c. shewing clearly that he meant the believing of his Doctrine and being conformed to it in Heart and Life For if he that believeth shall obtain everlasting Life then he eateth Christ according to his meaning in this Chapter that believeth in him 48. And therefore as I told you before you are to look upon me as the True Bread of Life whereof I have been speaking to you for I came down from Heaven to guide you to everlasting Life V. 48. Here our Lord calleth himself Bread again thereby implying what he afterwards expressed that he is to be eaten Now most certainly we are in such a sence to eat Christ as that is wherein he is Bread But no Man will say that Jesus was or can be properly Bread therefore it is not eating him literally and properly that can be here meant but only believing on him which is by the same Figure called eating whereby he called himself Bread 49. Which should make you concerned to attend my Instructions instead of desiring such Bread as Moses gave your Fathers in the Wilderness which served only to sustain a short Life in this World for they are long since dead that ate it v. 31 34. 50. But I bring you Food from Heaven which whosoever eateth it shall preserve him to everlasting Life For I bring you a Doctrine the Belief and Obedience whereof will avail to your Salvation and I who bring it am come with the highest Authority to require your Faith and with Divine Testimonies of my Authority to justifie your Faith so that nothing is wanting to secure your Salvation but forwardness on your own parts to eat this Heavenly Food that I invite you to feast upon now that it is brought down to you from Heaven and is as near you as that Bread wherewith I fed you yesterday in the Wilderness Nothing is wanting I say but that you would think who it is that God hath sent to you and of how great concern to your Souls that Message is which I bring you from Heaven and how abundantly God hath testified that I am come from him to give you everlasting Life and that considering these things you would do like reasonable Men believe what I say and receive my Doctrine into your very Hearts and Souls and give thanks to God for his unspeakable Gift V. 50. This is the first place where our Saviour in pursuance of that Figure of calling himself Bread expresseth believing in him v. 35 47. by eating him In the 35th ver where he also calls himself the Bread of Life he did not pursue the Figure throughout by saying he that eateth me but he that cometh to me i. e. who is my Disciple shall never hunger and he that believeth on me not he that drinketh me shall never thirst Which makes it very plain that by eating here we are to understand believing not a corporeal but a spiritual Action And because it does not yet appear that he limits the Object of Believing we are therefore to understand him as speaking of the necessity of receiving his whole Doctrine and submitting to it in Heart and Life which whosoever does shall not die but live eternally 51. And when I tell you that I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven and which he that eateth of shall live for ever as you are to understand this with respect to all that Doctrine which I deliver so especially with respect to that part of it that I am come into the World to lay down my Life for the Salvation of Mankind And as I came for this end so I will give my Body to the Death for the Life of the World which is an infinitely greater Benefit than either your Fathers received from Moses when he gave them Manna to eat or than you received from me yesterday when you were filled with that Provision I made for your Bodies V. 51. Without doing great Violence to our Saviour's Words in this place they cannot be so understood as if he promised to turn Bread into his Flesh for the Life of the World as they must suppose who will ground the Roman Doctrine of Transubstantiation upon this place For if some such Change were here to be understood it must be quite contrary viz. a Change of his Flesh into Bread inasmuch as he calls himself the living Bread and says That the Bread which he would give was his Flesh that he would give for the Life of the World If therefore it be insisted upon that the Words are to be properly understood and that therefore a change must be supposed of one Substance into another it must not be of Bread into the substance of Christ's Flesh but of Christ's Flesh into the substance of Bread which Interpretation I think no body has ever yet been so unreasonable as to contend for What account therefore is to be given of these Words but this That our Saviour having hitherto pursued a Figurative way of speaking upon the occasion so often mentioned went on in the same way of expression to lay before them that principal Doctrine of the Gospel that Christ was to die for the Salvation of Mankind which is the plain sence of giving his Flesh to be bread for us For he gave his Flesh for the Life of the World when he gave himself to the Death for us all And his Flesh so given is Bread to us because his Death is the means of our living for ever And whereas Christ mentioned the giving of his Flesh for the Life of the World as a future thing and likewise the giving of his Flesh to be Bread it does not follow that because the former was to be performed on the Cross only therefore the latter was to be performed only in the Eucharist This I say does not follow unless it could be proved that he promised in those Words to give us his natural Flesh to be eaten properly in the Eucharist which I have shewn is impossible to be proved from hence Still therefore we are to understand not a corporal but a spiritual eating And whereas our Saviour said The Bread which I will give is my Flesh which I will give for the Life of the World the meaning is this that his Flesh shall be given for the Life of the World once for all but the Spiritual Food or Nourishment which his Flesh so given should afford would be given evermore not only in the Eucharist but in the whole ministration of the Gospel which holds forth the Death of Christ
shall be to him a means of that Eternal Life to which I shall raise him at the last day and this as certainly as if he were now in actual possession of it V. 54. Because our Lord continues in his Speech to make a separate mention of his Flesh and Blood it follows that he still speaks of his Death and the particular Doctrine concerning his Death which would be entertained with the greatest difficulty viz. that he was a Sacrifice for the Sins of the World and therefore a Saviour because crucified c. The lively belief whereof is that which our Lord means by eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood and not eating and drinking the Sacrament of his Body and Blood which a Man may do to his Condemnation And therefore although St. Austin sometimes understood these words of the Eucharist yet he did not so understand them as if every one who partakes of the Eucharist does also Eat the Flesh and Drink the Blood of Christ for he manifestly denied that the Wicked were partakers of the very Body of Christ though they partook of the Sacrament of his Body And yet 't is impossible but they must do the one as well as the other if it be true that the proper Substance of the Body of Christ is in the Sacrament as the Church of Rome pretends And by consequence if this corporal eating be intended it seems clearly to follow that no Man who partakes of the Eucharist can be damned which is certainly very false and therefore corporal eating cannot be meant here but only spiritual eating And so St. Austin understood it although he applied these Words sometimes to the Eucharist inasmuch as he denied that the Wicked do eat the Flesh and drink the Blood of Christ although with their Mouths they take the Sacrament of his Body and Blood But because this spiritual eating which is necessary to Salvation is by no means confined to the participation of the Eucharist and because many do not partake spiritually in the Body and Blood of Christ that yet do partake of the Sacrament I cannot understand why our Saviour should speak here directly and properly of the Eucharist and therefore I adhere to the sence of those Fathers who interpret this place and those that follow of spiritual Actions only 55. So that the Doctrine concerning my Sufferings and Death which will give the greatest offence to Unbelievers is the most excellent Meat and Drink because it is the Food of Souls when 't is received with a firm and efficacious Faith and will secure also the Resurrection of the Body to everlasting Life V. 55. He continues to distinguish the Flesh from the Blood and therefore still speaks of his Passion giving some kind of preeminence to Faith in his Death above the belief of other particular Doctrines though that would be admitted with greatest difficulty 56. And therefore he that believeth my Death to be a Sacrifice for the Sins of the World and does thereby learn that Duty which it teacheth and receive that Comfort which it affordeth he will love me and devote himself entirely to my Service because I have thus humbled my self though that be the reason for which such as you will be violently prejudiced against me And on the other side he shall be peculiarly beloved and cared for by me For though in love to Mankind I am to be made an Offering for Sin yet 't is a particular care I shall express towards those who have a true sense of my Sufferings in their behalf who make a right use of them and return that thankfulness and obedience which their Faith requires 1 Tim. 4.10 V. 56. His pursuance of the same Expression still shews that he speaks of the same thing viz. believing his death to be a Sacrifice c. And here he intimates that his Sufferings which would be a Stumbling block to Unbelievers would be an effectual Engagement to all good Men to love him and that their fervent Love and humble Gratitude would be rewarded with his especial Love For as God's dwelling in Men signifies his gracious Presence amongst them and his delight in doing them good so their dwelling in him signifies their Love to him and constant attendance upon the doing of his Will and the delight they have in knowing themselves to be always in his Presence 57. And one remarkable Expression and that of weight enough to make you consider what I say of my peculiar love to every such Believer is what I have told you already and I do earnestly repeat it again As sure as the Father who sent me will raise me from the Dead so surely will I raise up every one to everlasting Life that believeth my Doctrine and liveth by his Faith V. 57. Here our Lord seems to leave the special consideration of his Sufferings and Death and to speak now of his whole Doctrine as he had done before for as by eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood we are to understand believing the merit and instruction of his Death c. so by eating Him we are taught before V. 35 47 50. to understand believing him in general that is believing all his Doctrine 58. Mark therefore what I say to you V. 33 35. at first That I am that true Bread from Heaven wherewith the Manna that your Fathers ate and the Bread which you ate yesterday are not to be compared for they were good for nothing but to preserve a mortal Life for a short time whereas he that feedeth upon the Word and Doctrine which God hath sent you from Heaven shall be raised from the Dead to ascend thither and to live there for ever V. 58. Here he concludes all with returning to the same thing and using the very Expressions that he began withal V. 32 35.50 than which we need not a clearer proof that he all along spake in the same style and in those Expressions of eating and drinking perpetually alluded to the Manna and the Loaves in the Wilderness which gave occasion to all this Discourse 59. These things he said publickly in the Synagogue at Capernaum where the People whom he had fed in the Wilderness found him V. 24 25. and gave him the occasion of discoursing in this manner by following him for the Loaves V. 26. and when they found themselves disappointed by setting the Manna which Moses gave their Fathers against the feeding so many thousands the day before V. 31. And the great end of his Discourse upon this occasion was to draw their Minds from worldly to heavenly Things and to make them more desirous of the Spiritual and Heavenly Benefits of his Miracles than of the bodily relief which they had found by them 60. But because he expressed his Mind in this figurative way and was by many understood as if he had commended to them the eating of his Flesh and drinking of his Blood in the literal sence therefore many even of those that had for some time followed him