[Trapped]

I think the main value Lee's ministry has had for me is that his conclusions so frequently furrow my brow that it drives me to really search the verse/chapter/passage/book that he so recklessly handled.

I've read the latter half of John 6 numerous times now since yesterday morning (when Lee's quote was posted). I have to say that I first agreed with the Jews who grumbled about what Jesus was saying ("Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life") and I kind of grumbled myself, thinking the same thing as the disciples......."this is hard to take".

I just read it again. I noticed that I think in verse 35 Jesus actually says, in a backwards way, what eating His flesh and drinking His blood means.

35 Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.

Up until that verse, all the discussion was about bread or manna only. Then Jesus mentions hunger AND thirst in verse 35.

What do hunger and thirst tie to? Eating and drinking. It seems to me that "comes to Me" is the eating, and "believes in Me" is the drinking.

So "eating My flesh" means coming to Him, and "drinking My blood" means believing in Him. So....no, we don't need to be Witness Lee, triumphantly shutting up other Christian ministers by claiming they don't understand that we need to "eat Christ". We need to understand the metaphor, so we can come to Him and believe in Him.

Half of me wonders if the Christian teachers were really "defeated" like Lee says they were, or if the typical ministry double-speak and refusal to hear just turned them away like has happened to so many others. Sheesh.