52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. John 6:52-59
The Jews turn from arguing with the Lord Jesus to arguing among themselves. According to the Law, the Jews were not permitted to eat any meat that had not had all the blood drained from it. Thus the thought of drinking blood was most offensive to these Jews. They were offended because they didn't realize the Lord Jesus spoke in figurative language.
These Jews did not think, as most do today, that they were all that bad. Thus, they couldn't accept the fact that the Lord Jesus was sent to die for mankind's sin, partly because they thought they were pretty good people. Yet everywhere in Scripture, there is this emphasis upon the necessity for blood to be spilt, in order to render God's forgiveness and deliver us from the evil grip of sin and death. This is why the Jews were arguing among themselves.
In addition, the Lord Jesus largely taught and spoke in metaphors. A metaphor is a figure of speech used to describe, illustrate or apply something to a lesson that it does not usually denote. And these "religious leaders" lacked the ability to think deeper, to think metaphorically. As a result, they did not come close to understanding what the Lord Jesus was teaching.
The Lord Jesus used metaphors in His teaching all the time. He did this because He knew that we learn best when we are able to move from what is known to what is unknown. By using metaphors, He made the complex simple and easier to understand. He used figurative language because He knew that we tend to think in terms of comparisons which enables us to see far more deeply than is natural for us.
According to Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus spoke in metaphors in order to require His hearers to think more deeply about what He was saying. And, if they were not willing to think more deeply, they didn't get what was being given. He shaped truth in ways that people could picture it in their minds and contemplate on its depth. In fact, He taught forgiveness by giving us the story of the Prodigal Son. To bring the point home, the Lord analogized the forgiving father to our heavenly Father who forgives those who turn back to Him for restoration and life.
The Lord Jesus used metaphors because He spoke to people in terms of how much they could understand. He knew just how much to present based on real level life. He realized that many people were not at a high enough level of spiritual maturity to comprehend what He taught. However, when He was alone with His own disciples, He explained everything.
Most of the time, most people find the teaching of the Lord Jesus difficult to understand. In Scripture a mystery is a truth which cannot be known by the normal exercise of human wisdom and knowledge. It is a truth about life which, if we are to know it, God must tell us about it, because it could never be discovered by the exercise of human intelligence. That is why these religious leaders never understood, they needed God's help.
These religious leaders were too proud to humble themselves for help. They thought themselves to be superior with a special ability which others did not have, therefore, they missed the most important person ever.
This underscores the most important lesson we could ever learn, for without this lesson, we miss God. The lesson is captured in a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “A great man is always willing to be little.” James puts it this way, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Or, as C.S. Lewis put it, “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.”
Nebuchadnezzar went from I, to ME, to MY, to MOO.
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