Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who he was.  This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Yeshayahu: "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.  He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.  In his name the nations will put their hope."  Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Yahusha healed him, so that he could both talk and see.  All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" (Matthew 12:15-23)

Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Eliyahu, nor the Prophet?"  "I baptize with water," Yochanan replied, "but among you stands one you do not know.  He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."  This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Yarden, where Yochanan was baptizing.  The next day Yochanan saw Yahusha coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of Elohim, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'  I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Yisrael." (4th Gospel 1:24-31)

And again, Yochanan reveals the same:

The next day Yochanan was there again with two of his disciples.  When he saw Yahusha passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of Elohim!"  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Yahusha. (4th Gospel 1:35-37)

By announcing Yahusha as the Lamb of Elohim, Yochanan was clearly alluding to the well known prophesy of Yeshayahu 53:7-8, where the prophet says,

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

This "lamb" of Isaiah 53 is the one who bears the "transgression of my people."

Yochanan's reference to the Lamb of Elohim also calls to mind not only the numerous instances in the Torah where a lamb was to be slaughtered to provide atonement and forgiveness of sins, but to the Pesach.  The Pesach, according to Torah, was to be a year old lamb:

Tell the whole community of Yisrael that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.  If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.  The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.  Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Yisrael must slaughter them at twilight.  Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. (Shemot 12:3-7)

This Pesach lamb was to take the place (substitute) for the firstborn son of the house. 

In each house that night, where the lamb was not slaughtered and its blood splattered on the doorpost and lintel of the house, the firstborn was put to death.  But in those houses who slaughtered the yearling male lamb, and who splattered its blood at the entrance of the home, the firstborn were spared and allowed to live.  Thus, the Lamb was killed in their stead.

The writers of the New Testament recognized that Yahusha's death was in fulfillment of the picture of the Pesach lamb.  Shimon Kepha, also called Simon Peter, wrote of the death of Messiah:

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Messiah, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in Elohim, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in Elohim. (1 Peter 1:18-21)

The "lamb without blemish or defect" is obviously a reference to the Pesach lamb.  This redemption Kepha writes about is accomplished according to the Torah by the slaughtering of the innocent lamb.

The apostle Sha'ul (aka Paul) also makes this same identification.

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast-- as you really are. For Messiah, our Pesach lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)

For Sha'ul, the death of Messiah as our Pesach lamb provides a reason why sin should no longer be tolerated in the assembly.  He calls for the expulsion of the brother who flagrantly transgresses Torah.

So we have clear testimony in the New Testament that the disciples of the Master understood Yahusha's passion and death as a fulfillment of the picture and type of the Pesach sacrifice.

Eating His Flesh and Drinking His Blood

Great and long lasting has been the disagreement between Roman Catholics and Protestants over the teaching by the Master regarding his flesh and blood.  I have no grand delusion that my brief comments here are going to end this debate and set everyone straight on this topic.  Nevertheless, what I have to say about it is pertinent and should be considered by those who are open-minded to change and want to know the truth.

The Fourth Gospel tells the account of a curious teaching by the Master Yahusha.  This teaching provoked many of his disciples to leave him.  They were so appalled at what he was saying that they could no longer stomach listening to him and following him.

Yahusha had fed a large hungry crowd by multiplying 5 barley loaves and 2 fish.  He had then passed over the sea by walking on the water.  The crowds were looking for him - evidently for another meal!

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"  Yahusha answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.  Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him Elohim the Father has placed his seal of approval." (4th Gospel 6:25-27)

Yahusha turned the occasion of the people seeking another free meal into a discussion of seeking the really important food - that of the Word of Elohim.  Having engaged the people, they inquired about what he meant:

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works Elohim requires?" Yahusha answered, "The work of Elohim is this: to believe in the one he has sent."  So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?  Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Yahusha said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Mosheh who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of Elohim is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."  Then Yahusha declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (6:28-35)

The manna which Yahuwah fed the people in the wilderness was only a picture to illustrate the true bread coming down from heaven which would give eternal life to those who eat it.  Yahusha declares that he himself is that bread from heaven.

Next, he describes his purpose in coming down out of heaven:

But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.  For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (6:36-40)

His mission is to do the Father's will (teach and keep Torah) and ultimately to raise up all those who belong to Elohim.  But the Yehudim didn't receive his teaching that he came down from heaven:

At this the Yehudim began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."  They said, "Is this not Yahusha, the son of Yoseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"  "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Yahusha answered.  "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by Elohim.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.  No one has seen the Father except the one who is from Elohim; only he has seen the Father.  I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. (41-47)

Since the Father sent this "Bread" from heaven, his people ought to receive this bread.  Yahusha is that "Bread".

Next comes the controversial part.  Yahusha tells his audience that they must eat this bread, which is his flesh!

I am the bread of life.  Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."  Then the Yehudim began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"  Yahusha 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.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.  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.  This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."(6:48-58)

Yahusha's words, taken literally, are extremely offensive.  How could anyone eat the flesh and drink the blood of another human being?  It's an appalling thought - in any culture or place in the world, or at any time in human history.  Cannibalism is not an acceptable human practice and is deeply disgusting.  So, many left him after that teaching:

This he said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.  On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"  Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Yahusha said to them, "Does this offend you?  What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!  The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.  Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Yahusha had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.  He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."  From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.  "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Yahusha asked the Twelve.  Shimon Kepha answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of Israel.  (6:59-69)

So why did these disciples leave the Master at this time?  Because they were offended when they interpreted what he had just said as literal.  They thought that the Master was actually instructing them to eat his flesh and drink his blood!

Yet, this is what the Master said, isn't it?  Some point out that the Greek word employed in verses 54, 56, 57 and 58 is trw,gw (pronounced trōgō).  This word means strictly to crunch; literally, of animals gnaw, nibble, chew.  Thus, these verses could rightly be translated:

Whoever chews my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.  Whoever chews my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.  Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who chews on me will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who chews on this bread will live forever."

Since Yahusha taught his disciples "to chew" on his flesh, some today believe that we should literally be doing this.

The Roman Catholic doctrine called transubstantiation basically says that the bread wafer and wine of communion is transformed into the literal flesh and blood of Messiah when the priest so blesses it.  Although the bread and wine may continue to take the form of a wafer cracker and grape juice in a cup, that is only its form.  Its actual substance, though, is the literal body and blood of Christ.  Thus, Roman Catholics believe they are chewing on Jesus' literal flesh and drinking down his literal blood when they take communion.

Is this a valid interpretation of Scripture?  Is it possible that Messiah wants his disciples to actually chew on his flesh and drink his blood?  I would answer, "NO", and provide you with the following reasons why this is simply impossible and unthinkable.

First, we understand that Messiah came to uphold the Torah and teach the true meaning of the Torah to his disciples. He made this very clear in his teaching as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)

If not even the least detail of the Law was to be done away with, and is to be valid until heaven and earth pass away, then we can be sure that every detail of the Law was kept by Messiah because heaven and earth are still with us (We're here, aren't we?).  Furthermore, we should be doing the same.

This being the case, then Messiah always obeyed the Torah in every detail.  He could not break or transgress the Torah.  This was his mission - to teach Torah as the correct walk of faith for his disciples.  This agrees with the prophecy which states that Messiah would teach the Torah to the nations:

In the last days the mountain of Yahuwah's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahuwah, to the house of the Elohim of Ya'acov. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The Torah will go out from Zion, the word of Yahuwah from Yerushalayim. (Micah 4:1-2)

This prophecy speaks of the time when Messiah will rule and reign in Jerusalem.  Since this has not yet happened, we can be sure that Messiah will do this soon.  And since Messiah will teach Torah to the nations, we can easily see and conclude that Messiah did not do away with the Torah when he came as Messiah ben Yoseph - the Suffering Servant.

Now the Torah provides detailed instructions on what flesh is fit for human consumption.   Though the eating of human flesh is not specifically addressed by the Torah (the very thought of it is sickening and so did not need to be singled out), the Torah does tell us what animals may and what animals may not be eaten:

Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.  'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you.  The coney, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you.  The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you.  And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.  You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. (Vayiqra [Leviticus] 11:2-8)

Since the last time I looked, humans do not have a split hoof and do not chew the cud, then humans cannot be eaten by humans.  They, like the pig, camel and rabbit, are unclean to us.

The Hebrew word for "unclean" is amej', (pronounced tǎmā) which means unclean, polluted, defiled.  So, eating anything that is unclean would defile us.  A synonym for unclean is used throughout Vayiqra 11.  That word is  #q,v, (pronounced shekets) and it means abomination, detestation.  The teaching says that we should detest and abominate those things which are unclean for us.  It should be disgusting to us to even think about eating those animals, birds and fish which Elohim has declared to be unclean to us.  As such, eating human flesh is also a detestable practice which would pollute and defile us.

How do we know that eating human flesh is detestable and an abomination in the eyes of Yahuwah?  Simply because he gave us clear instruction about what flesh is considered to be clean and could be eaten.

You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. (Vayiqra [Leviticus] 11"3)

That's it!  It is that simple.  And since humans do not have a split hoof, nor do they chew the cud, that, by definition, makes human flesh an abomination as a food source.

Not only does the Torah insinuate human flesh to be unclean and detestable to us as food, but there is clear instruction that blood is never to be drunk.  It is an abomination to drink any kind of blood.  Such an action separates us from fellowship with the living Elohim and with his people.

Any son of Yisrael or any alien living among them who eats any blood-- I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.  For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.  Therefore I say to the sons of Yisrael, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."  Any son Yisrael or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the sons of Yisrael,  "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off." (Vayiqra 17:10-14)

Eating the blood of any creature is such a grave offense to Elohim that anyone who does it is cut off from the people and community and shut out of the presence of Elohim.

Not only does the Torah teach that eating blood is forbidden and a grave offense, but the New Testament emphasizes this teaching as well.  When the elders of the assembly in Jerusalem gathered to discuss the issue of what would be required of new Gentile converts, they decided that four things would be necessary for the Gentiles to comply with in order to be accepted into the Messianic community:

It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to Elohim.  Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. (Acts 15:19-20)

The meat of strangled animals would still have blood in them and those who eat strangled animals would also be consuming the animal's blood as well.  So the third and fourth requirement both have to do with the prohibition in the Torah of drinking blood.  For all New Testament believers in Messiah, drinking blood is still an abomination.

Since it is so clear that eating human flesh and drinking blood are both strictly forbidden by Elohim, how could it enter anyone's mind that the Messiah whose mission is to uphold the Torah of Elohim could be suggesting that his followers not only break these two commandments of Torah, but also eat and drink his own flesh and blood.  Such a concept is so far askew from proper behavior for anyone with the remotest understanding of morality and ethical conduct, that it boggles the mind how anyone could attribute such behavior to the righteous Messiah who came to save us from such sin!

When we read that Messiah was teaching the crowds that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, it surely is obvious that he was not speaking literally.  He must be speaking figuratively.  His words must carry another meaning, or else he could not be the true Messiah - because the true Messiah upholds the Torah as the proper walk of faith for those who love Elohim.

There is additional support in the Gospels that Yahusha spoke figuratively.  Matthew's gospel tells us that Yahusha spoke to the people in parables but that he spoke plainly and clearly to his disciples:

Yahusha spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.  So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world." (Matthew 13:34-35)

If it was his habit of speaking to the crowds in parables, in order to fulfill was was written about him in the Psalms (the quote is from Psalm 78), then why is it even debated about his words at this time to the crowds?

Also, the reason Messiah spoke in parables explains the reaction of the crowds in leaving him.

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"  He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.  Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.  This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.  In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Yeshayahu: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.  For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. (Mathew 13:10-16)

He taught the crowds in parables because they did not believe him to obey him, just as the gospel account tells us:

For Yahusha had known from the beginning which of them did not believe.

The crowds are always looking for an excuse to go their own way.  Their hearts are hard and they don't want to follow.

When he spoke, then, about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, it is obvious why so many people left him after he said those words.  They thought he actually wanted his followers to eat his flesh and drink his blood.  No reasonable person would do that.  They didn't understand that he was speaking figuratively.  And they didn't believe him to be the Messiah anyway.  But his true disciples didn't leave him.  Their response as to why they weren't leaving was:

Shimon Kepha answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of Israel. (4th Gospel 6:69)

So just what did Yahusha mean by eating his flesh and drinking his blood?  Since he must have been speaking in a parable, what was he alluding to in his figurative speech?  The clue is given to us at the beginning of the account of this curious teaching about his flesh and blood.

Some time after this, Yahusha crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.  Then Yahusha went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.  The Yehudi Pesach Feast was near. (4th Gospel 6:1-4)

This entire episode of the feeding of the 5000 and the subsequent teaching about the Bread coming down out of heaven and the requirement of his disciples to "eat his flesh and drink his blood" was set in the context of the arriving of the season of Pesach.  Messiah was teaching the deeper meaning of the Pesach!  He was teaching his disciples the symbolic meaning of the bread and wine of Passover as a representation of his flesh and blood.  Thus, the eating of unleavened bread and the drinking of the wine was, figuratively speaking, like eating his flesh and drinking his blood.

Messiah Yahusha Affirms the Perpetual Remembrance of Pesach

Messiah Yahusha himself effectively endorsed the annual observance of the Passover with all its customs, which is a retelling of the story of redemption, when he instructed his disciples to "do this" with him in mind:

Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).

The annual retelling of the story of the working of the powerful hand of Yahuwah is a feature of the appointed time of the Pesach.  Every man is to retell the account of how Yahuwah cut a covenant with his people and of the redemption (rescue) he enacted to deliver them from the bondage of slavery.  This deliverance provides the basis for Yahuwah's insistence that his people obey his commandments.

Through the prophet Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah, chapter 31), Yahuwah had later promised a renewal of the Covenant he made with them at Sinai.  This renewal of the agreement between Yahuwah and his people was to place the Laws of Elohim upon the minds and hearts of his people. 

This is precisely the same Covenant which Yahusha was renewing with his disciples as he explained that the new understanding of the elements of the Pesach were to be with reference to himself.  Paul recalls these well known words of Yahusha:

For I received from Yahuwah what I also passed on to you, that the Master Yahusha on the night in which he was betrayed took bread,  and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."  In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me."  For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim Yahusha's death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:23-27).

The covenant Yahuwah made with his ancient people was enacted by the blood of the lamb.  Likewise, the "new covenant" was put into effect by Yahusha's blood ("my blood"). 

Yahusha Himself even plainly told his disciples that his death had to occur at an appointed time:  

He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near.'" (Matthew 26:18)

Now, many Christians have no clue what Yahusha meant by "my appointed time" because their teachers don't teach it to them.  But his disciples have a respect for the Torah and knew precisely what he was alluding to.  Israel's life was framed around the scriptural "appointed times" - the Sabbath day, the three annual feasts and the seven annual set-apart days.  So his disciples knew he was alluding to a specific calendar day when he spoke of "my appointed time."

Yahusha was suggesting that the Pesach was His appointed time.  And in fact, He was to die on that very Pesach as the Pesach lamb!  Yahusha's death was to occur at the annual appointed time of Pesach and was to be incorporated into those historical events which were to be "remembered" from year to year at the set time.  This is the context for the "Lord's Supper."  Messiah was instructing us that when we do the Pesach, according to the commandment of the Father, that we should be remembering him and his death for us in the doing of the Pesach.

In the eating of his flesh and in the drinking of his blood, he was drawing an analogy between the eating of the unleavened bread of Pesach and the drinking of the wine of Pesach with his own flesh and blood.  The wine, he explained, is the blood of the renewed covenant:

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:27-28)

His blood, which he was about to shed, is the shedding of blood of the renewal of the covenant.  This is what the wine of Pesach represents.  And the unleavened bread of Pesach represents his flesh which is given up for us:

While they were eating, Yahusha took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." (Matthew 26:26)

Thus, because he was giving up his flesh and shedding his blood on Pesach as the Pesach lamb of Elohim, we are to remember his death in the eating of the unleavened bread and wine of Pesach.