Did Jesus promote cannibalism?

Human sacrifice was widely common in the pagan world when Israel first entered the land we now know of as “Palestine.”  Cannibalism exists today in many remote tribes as a ritual and normative practice.  But this was an abomination of the highest degree for the God of Israel.  Man was God’s image bearer, and He does not endure such practice with much patience.

So it was definitely the most unusual and highly controversial command of Jesus: “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” (John 6:53).  Most of those present stopped following Jesus as a result.  What did Jesus mean by such a provocative statement?  We must ask ourselves what Jesus must have in mind when he made this statement to the priests and leaders of Israel.  Jesus certainly had Leviticus 7 in mind.

In Leviticus 7 we are given strict guidelines for the sacrifice of any guilt offering.  It was required that only the priests were allowed to handle the animal sacrifice.  The flesh of the animal was to be butchered, separated, and burned upon the altar.  The blood from the slaughtered animal was poured out into the basin under the altar and used in the sprinkling ceremony symbolizing the guilt-cleansing and satisfaction of God’s wrath against sin.  Only the priest could do this.  The priest was to burn up the choice fats and organs as a guilt offering for the sins of the individual and community, and he and his associates would eat the remaining burnt flesh.  The left over flesh was to be burned up completely.  The blood was not to touch anything except those things it was to be sprinkled on.

So when Jesus makes the claim that those must eat his own flesh and drink his own blood, he was thinking of the means by which God made available to sinners, who were in need of a substitutionary death as God required for sin since creation.  Jesus was referring not to cannibalism but to his own sacrificial death, which was to be partaken of by faith.  He would go to the cross to have his flesh torn open and his blood shed as the ultimate and final sacrifice God required.   God again in grace provides the sacrifice, His own Son.

So when you accept Jesus, you accept his flesh and blood as a substitute for your eternal destiny.  You are pardoned from the holy wrath of God, who has always required flesh and blood for sin.  So next time you partake of communion, remember that Jesus became your substitute.  Eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, and be nourished by the risen Jesus who is present with you in that moment!