John 6 Footnotes

6:52-59 Based on these verses, critics of the early church thought Christians condoned a form of cannibalism. This is not the case. The reference here is twofold, both foreshadowing the Lord’s Supper and emphasizing complete submission to Jesus as Lord. To many insiders, it has seemed as if the Lord’s Supper was a requirement for salvation. But v. 63 makes plain that only the Spirit gives life; Jesus’s flesh does not do so. These are simply striking metaphors for identifying with Christ in his atoning death for the sins of humanity.