60Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
61But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?
62“What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
63“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
64“But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
65And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
66As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
67So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”
68Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.
69“We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” John 6:60-69 NASB
The aftermath of this encounter with the Jews comes back to faith in Him...not eating/drinking His flesh and blood as He never told anyone else this is how eternal life is appropriated.
Peter and the remaining disciples understood it was about belief...not eating/drinking flesh and blood.
The Greek for have believed is a Perfect Indicative Active verb.
The perfect indicates an action that was brought to completion and whose effects are felt in the present from the vantage point of the speaker/writer.
Peter and the disciples, at some point, had believed (had faith) in Christ before this encounter.
Jesus, in His encounter with Nicodemus and the woman at the well, never mentioned eating/drinking His flesh/blood....it was always about faith/belief.
He was continuing this line until the Jews refused to understand.
Rome would have us believe that everywhere in the New Testament where the texts speak of coming to Him in faith they were wrong and this one passage in John is correct???
Paul must have dropped the ball in Romans as he did not mention this.
This was what He was trying to get them to understand before they grumbled about His statements about being the bread of life.
He called Himself the Bread of Life here as He called Himself living water to the woman at the well.
13Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”John 4:13-14 NASB
If Rome wants to stay consistent then they have to say Jesus is now saying it's water that will give eternal life.
Christians understand both passages are about having faith in Him.
So much for giving more weight to the very words of Jesus themselves.
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Christians understand that both passages are about having
faith in him.
..................
Very true.