Tag: blood

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Discover What the Bible Says about Drinking Blood

drink my blood

Don’t Drink Blood versus Drink My Blood

Among the many “laws” (that is, rules and regulations for right behavior), that God—through Moses—gave the nation of Israel was an unconditional prohibition against drinking blood.

Every Hebrew would have been taught this from early childhood. Breaking this law would have been unthinkable to them, a repulsive act to even consider. Drinking blood was strictly verboten.

Then Jesus came along with his radical teaching that shocked many. He told his followers that they needed to drink his blood. 

His followers—all Hebrews—were appalled. Viewing his statement as heresy, many turned their backs on him and left (John 6:54-55).

The idea was so repulsive to them that they were unable to get past the shock of a literal interpretation to consider that it might just have a figurative meaning.

Instead many of his followers saw this statement as an act of heresy, and they left him in a huff.

In making this bold statement, Jesus foreshadowed his sacrificial death. Succinctly, his blood would be spilt as a redeeming, life-restoring sacrifice.

Jesus wasn’t contradicting the laws of Moses. Instead, he voiced his intention to fulfill it.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Leviticus 16-18, and today’s post is on Leviticus 17:10-12.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Is There Cannibalism in the Bible?

Cannibalism

Jesus Shocks His Audience

Jesus said many things that surprised and even shocked his followers. One of his more appalling statements was that we needed to eat his body and drink his blood. That’s a hard thing to swallow—literally and figuratively. Gross.

He asserted that those who ate his body and drank his blood would have eternal life. Jesus’ followers had trouble dealing with this and many stopped following him because of that. I would have had second thoughts, too.

Of course, Jesus wasn’t issuing a call for cannibalism, he was speaking metaphorically. However, ascertaining precisely what he meant is a bit challenging.

Just as we need food and drink for physical life, we need Jesus’ body and blood (his death) for spiritual life.

Eating his body and drinking his blood is a euphemism for accepting him and his death as the solution for the wrong things we have done.

Also, eating his body and drinking his blood foreshadows communion (aka the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist), which serves as a regular reminder of his sacrificial death for us.

Eating his body and drinking his blood was not a physical call to cannibalism, but a spiritual invitation to salvation.

[John 6:54-55, John 6:60 & 66]

Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Three Versions of the Last Supper

Last Supper

The final time Jesus ate a meal with his disciples before he was executed is commonly called the Last Supper; he celebrated Passover with them. Today, we continue this tradition in memory of him.

Though people use different names for this, such as Communion, Holy Communion, The Lord’s Supper, The Eucharist, and Holy Eucharist, among others, the intent is the same: remembering what Jesus did for us.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record this event in their biographies of Jesus. However, each of them presents it differently.

Matthew’s version is the one I’m most familiar with, having heard it read hundreds of times in church as part of a Communion service (Matthew 26:26-29).

Mark’s version is similar, which I’ve also heard when partaking of the Lord’s Supper (Mark 14:22-25).

However, Luke’s version is different, with a pre-dinner sacrament for the wine and bread, along with a post dinner salute with wine. At the beginning of the meal, he gives thanks and reminds them to share the wine with one another.

Then he breaks the bread, referencing his body, which is about to be broken for their benefit.

However, it’s not until the second use of wine, after the meal, when Jesus refers to the cup as a new covenant signified by his death (his spilt blood), which is for them.

With Luke’s version, we can’t miss the fact that an actual meal occurs between the two acts with the wine. I think that’s what most of us miss today in the Eucharist.

The celebration of communion isn’t so much about a tiny cracker and sip of wine, it’s a meal shared in the community—all in the name of Jesus.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Luke 22-24, and today’s post is on Luke 22:17-20.]

Read more about the book of Luke in That You May Know: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.