Below is an actual email from a Catholic on the importance of the Eucharist (Catholic communion) to her. Her exalted view of the Eucharist is typical among Catholics. To some it is more important than the mother of Jesus! Especially the response is important to read, verify with Scripture and remember.
(Comment) I have remained Catholic because of what Jesus says in John 6 after He fed the 5000, then told them He was the Bread from Heaven....When His disciples leave because of this, He let them go. He did not call them back & say "I meant the bread & wine are only symbolic." I do not mean to be argumentative, but seek your explanation of those verses. I too try to follow the Bible, so when Jesus says something so plainly, I think He means it. I will appreciate your answer. Thank you!
(Bible Answer) Greetings in Jesus’ name. Here is the passage in question:
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)
When I was a Catholic the Eucharist was a big deal to me too. What will help any person to know for sure if communion (the Catholic Eucharist) is needed for “life” (salvation) or not is to see if people got “life” without communion. If they did, then whatever Jesus meant in John 6:53 must mean something other than communion. Note the following:
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50)
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:8-10)
**IMPORTANT: Communion never began until Luke 22! Hence, the aforementioned got spiritual “life” WITHOUT communion! The same can be shown in Acts. John 3:15,16, 36 all use the same Greek word for “life” as in John 6:53, which is shown to come by an OBEDIENT FAITH IN JESUS. We “eat” the “Bread of Life” (Jesus) when we obediently follow him and trust him for our salvation—when our faith is in Him.
Remember this passage too:
They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:3,4)
The word “ate” in 1 Cor. 10:3 is the same Greek word “eat” found in John 6:53 and is not to be understood as chewing in your mouth and swallowing into the stomach. They spiritually ate and drank from the rock—the Lord Jesus!
Moreover, IF the Catholic interpretation of John 6:53 was correct, then transubstantiation would be needed to change the bread and wine into Jesus’ literal flesh and blood. Though the Catholic church claims this ability, they do NOT have the genuine transubstantiation. How can we be sure of this? We have an actual transubstantiation in John 2 where Jesus changed the water into wine! NOTE: When the water was transubstantiated into wine, it no longer tasted like water! It now tasted like wine. Hence, the Catholic Church does NOT have a true genuine transubstantiation because the consecrated communion elements do NOT taste like raw human flesh and human blood.
Did you know the Catholic church teaches the consecrated communion wafer is to be “worshiped” as God? That is a clear example of idolatry and all from a wrong interpretation of Jn. 6:53.
It is also vital for Catholics, and others, to know that the devil can give one a sensation of peace and perform miracles. Regarding peace, the devil is active with Transendental Meditation giving a false peace (not peace with God) through that false religion.
Here is a link to many articles on Catholicism. Click here for more information on Catholic communion. You now have no reason to stay in the Catholic church. It is to your spiritual advantage to quickly leave such a religious environment. Consider getting a copy of our book, “Is This The Mary of The Bible?” It can help you too. God bless you.
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