Tuesday, September 24, 2019

John Bergsma on John 6 Containing Eucharistic Texts and Theology


Often, as a knee-jerk reaction to the Catholic use of John 6 to support their theology of the Eucharist (i.e., Transubstantiation; Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice), some reject John 6 as containing any Eucharistic theology. This, however, is, absurd, and results in a lot of eisegesis of the text. I addressed this at:


Catholic scholar John Bergsma wrote the following showing that it is pretty clear, exegetically speaking, that John 6 contains much Eucharistic theology:

First of all, notice that John records Jesus performing this miracle on the Passover (Jn 6:4), the east on which the Last Supper would later take place (Mt 26:17). Secondly, note that the occasion for the miracle is Jesus sitting own on a mountain with his disciples (6:3), just as later, he will sit down with his disciples on Mt. Zion to celebrate the Last Supper (c. Lk 22:30). Thirdly, note that Jesus commands the people to “lie down” (Greek anapipto). The only other times this verb occurs in the Gospel of John are in reference to Jesus (13:12) and the apostle John (13:25, 21:20) reclining at the Last Supper. Fourthly, note that at the heart of the miracle account (v. 11), John describes Jesus multiplying the loaves by using five words that occur in the Last Supper/Institution narratives of the other Gospels: take (lambano), loaf/bread (arton), give thanks (eucharisteo), give/distribute (didomi) and recline (anakeimenos). Then, he escribes the bread that remains after everyone has eaten using the rare word klasmata, literally “breakings,” which echoes the Last Supper accounts that speak of Jesus “breaking” the bread.

Common Words in John 6 and the Institution Narratives
John 6:11-12
Matthew 26
Mark 14
Luke 22
Paul (1 Cor 11)
Take/lambano
v. 26
v. 22
v. 19
v. 23
Bread/arton
v. 26
v. 22
v. 19
v. 23
Give thanks/Eucharistein
v. 27
v. 23
v. 19
v. 24
Give/didomi
v. 26, 27
v. 22, 23
v. 19
-
Recline/anakeimenos
v. 20
v. 18
v. 27
-
Break/breaking klao/klasmata
v. 26
v. 22
v. 19
v. 24

In the discourse that follows (John 6:16-71), more themes from the Last Supper/Institution of the Eucharist crop up. Jesus discusses the idea of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, and other places in the New Testament where eating Jesus’ boy and blood are mentioned are in the Last Supper accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul. In particular, nothing in John 6 prepares the reader for the introduction of the idea of “drinking blood” in verse 53, and it adds nothing to the discourse except to reinforce the Eucharistic interpretation of his words. Jesus also discusses his desertion by his own disciples (vv. 60-66) and predicts the betrayal by Judas (vv. 70-71), both of which are major themes in the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper.

Common Themes in John 6 and the Institution Narratives
John 6
Matthew 26
Mark 14
Luke 22
Paul (1 Cor 11)
Eating Jesus’ flesh (Greek phago sarx) (vv. 51-53, 56)
v. 26
v. 22
v. 19
v. 24
Drinking Jesus’ blood (Greek pino haima) (vv. 53-54, 56)
v. 27-28
v. 23-24
v. 20
v. 25
Desertion of the Disciples (vv. 60-66)
vv. 31-35
vv. 26-31
vv. 31-34
Cf. vv. 17-22
Betrayal by Judas (v. 70-71)
vv. 21-25
vv. 18-21
vv. 21-23
Cf. vv. 27-32!

One can’t reasonably argue that all the connections between John 6 and the accounts of the Last Supper and the Institution of the Eucharist are merely coincidental. Any trained Bible scholar will concede that, by the standards of modern exegesis, one must acknowledge a connection. (John Bergsma, Stunned by Scripture: How the Bible Made Me Catholic [Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor, 2018], 81-83)

 For responses to Roman Catholic theology of the Eucharist, see: