The Bread of Wisdom
I read a passage in Proverbs chapter 9 the other day and it made me think of a misunderstood passage in John chapter 6. Here’s the passage I read:
“… she (Wisdom in the context) crieth upon the highest places of the city, Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Come, EAT OF MY BREAD, AND DRINK OF THE WINE which I have mingled.” (Proverbs 9:3-5)
King Solomon in Proverbs wrote a great deal about wisdom and even personified wisdom as a woman (chapter 8 and 9). There are some things in those chapters which do point to Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom/Word (John 1:1-3,14 – “Word” is translated from the Greek word “logos” from where we get the word “logic”).
“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.” (Proverbs 8:11)
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46)
Of course, not everything in those chapters can be properly applied to Christ*. For example, Jesus Christ is not a she and He has not literally killed beasts or literally hewn seven pillars (Proverbs 9:1-2). Nor does Christ have a kinswoman called “Understanding” (Proverbs 7:4). Besides, Wisdom is eternal and uncreated. Unless you think God lacked wisdom for some part of eternity and then decided to create “Wisdom”. God is omniscient and His knowledge and wisdom are immutable. He has always been wise and will always be wise.
* the Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtower Society) for example do not rightly divide the word of truth in those 2 chapters and misapply passages found therein to falsely teach that Christ is a created being (Michael the Archangel) rather than the Creator (John 1:1-3,14)
Solomon when writing of bread and wine in that passage used FIGURATIVE speech. Wisdom does not physically bake physical bread that can be physically eaten. Physical food enters the physical body and becomes part of the physical body through absorption. “You are what you eat.” Spiritual food enters the mind, nourishes the mind and becomes part of your thinking over time. Spiritual food shapes your thoughts, your being, your actions, your speech, etc…. In John chapter 6, Christ (the Incarnate, Eternal Wisdom; in other words, God in the flesh) spoke these words:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye EAT THE FLESH of the Son of man, and DRINK HIS BLOOD, ye have no life in you.” (John 6:53)
Christ was not teaching cannibalism or the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. He was using FIGURATIVE speech just as Solomon had used in Proverbs. In the same chapter, previous to verse 53, Christ told the Jews what He meant exactly by FOOD and DRINK:
“I am the bread of life: he that COMETH TO ME SHALL NEVER HUNGER; and he that BELIEVETH ON ME SHALL NEVER THIRST.” (John 6:35)
The “eating” and “drinking” are associated with coming to Christ and believing in Him. The “eating” and “drinking” are to be taken in a spiritual, figurative sense.
“It is the SPIRIT that quickeneth (gives LIFE); the FLESH profiteth NOTHING: THE WORDS that I speak unto you, THEY ARE SPIRIT, AND THEY ARE LIFE.” (John 6:63)
Let us compare verse 54 of chapter 6 and verse 24 of the previous chapter because CONTEXT is very important when it comes to properly interpreting the Scriptures:
“Whoso 1) EATETH MY FLESH, and 2) DRINKETH MY BLOOD, HATH ETERNAL LIFE; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:54)
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, 1) HE THAT HEARETH MY WORD, and 2) BELIEVETH ON HIM THAT SENT ME, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24)
By comparing those 2 verses which both speak of obtaining eternal life with John 6:35 (quoted earlier), we see that the acts of “eating His flesh” and “drinking His blood” are other terms for “coming to Christ” and “believing in Christ”. Figurative language not to be taken in the natural, physical sense… unless you are a heretic like the unbelieving Jews of John chapter 6 (John 6:60, 66) who misinterpreted the words of Christ and thought he was offering his physical flesh as physical food.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus used figurative language in other passages. He called Himself the Door (John 10), the Way (John 14), the Vine (John 15), the Light of the world (John 8 ) and the Temple of God (John 2) for example. The context of the Gospel of John would indicate to us that Jesus was using figurative language in chapter 6. In a previous chapter, Jesus spoke these words:
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never THIRST; but the WATER that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into EVERLASTING LIFE.” (John 4:14)
In chapter 7, we read the following:
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man THIRST, LET HIM COME UNTO ME, and DRINK. He that BELIEVETH ON ME, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow RIVERS OF LIVING WATER. (But this spake He of THE SPIRIT, which they that BELIEVE ON HIM should receive: for the HOLY GHOST was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:37-39)
Jesus was not speaking of physical water. He was again using figurative language. It is the SPIRIT that gives life. The flesh profiteth nothing. (John 6:63) We see in that quoted passage in chapter 7 a reference to drinking associated with “coming to Christ” and “believing on Him”. The “water” Christ spoke of was not physical water. It was figurative language for the Holy Spirit. Physical water purifies, satisfies physical thirst and is necessary for physical life. Spiritual water on the other hand purifies the soul, satisfies spiritual thirst and is necessary for spiritual life. Spiritual life and faith go together and are inseparable. You cannot have spiritual life (born of the Holy Spirit = born again - John chapter 3) and not believe in Christ. The object of faith is Christ. One must believe IN HIM. One must have faith grounded in TRUTH. Jesus Christ : “I AM the way, THE TRUTH and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) His teaching is food for the soul. Just as physical life must be maintained with physical food spiritual life must be maintained with spiritual food. One cannot have spiritual life without eating any spiritual food.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
Here is a passage in the Old Testament which sheds more light upon the passages previously quoted in John chapter 6:
“Ho, every one that THIRSTETH, COME ye to the WATERS, and that hath no money; COME ye, buy and EAT; yea, COME, buy WINE and MILK without money, and without price.*… INCLINE YOUR EAR, and COME UNTO ME: HEAR, and your SOUL SHALL LIVE… SEEK YE THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND… Let the wicked forsake his way… LET HIM RETURN UNTO THE LORD… For as the RAIN cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returned not thither, but WATERETH the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and BREAD TO THE EATER: so shall MY WORD be that goeth forth our of my mouth…” (Isaiah 55:1,3,6-7,10-11)
* salvation from eternal condemnation is a gift of God, freely given and not earned in any way by a sinner; Romans 3:24 : “… being justified FREELY by His grace…” and Romans 6:23 : “… the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet, used figurative language in chapter 55 when writing of sinners repenting of their sins and coming to God in faith and being nourished by His word. This chapter is not about drinking physical wine and eating physical food. The context of the chapter speaks of God’s mercy (v.3,7) towards sinners that repent. The preoccupation of the prophet is linked to spiritual issues and not to cuisine. The prophets of the Old Testament frequently used figurative language (using physical realities to describe spiritual realities):
“I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied VISIONS, and USED SIMILITUDES BY THE MINISTRY OF THE PROPHETS.” (Hosea 12:10)
Besides, Christ would have broken the Law of God had He taught others to drink physical blood. The Scriptures plainly declare that Christ was without sin and faultless before God and men so it is not possible that Christ would have taught anyone to drink physical blood during His earthly ministry. He was using figurative language.
“And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that EATETH BLOOD, and will CUT HIM OFF FROM AMONG HIS PEOPLE. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. ” (Leviticus 17:10-11)
Tags: apostle John, Bible, Book of Isaiah, Book of Leviticus, Book of Proverbs, Christianity, Gospel, Gospel of John, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, John, King Solomon, Law of Moses, Leviticus, Logos, New Testament, Old Testament, Proverbs, religion, Solomon, Theology, wisdom literature, Word of God, writings of Solomon
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