To eat of the Lord as the bread of life is to feast on Him.

[jidong xiao]

约翰的著作主要不是为着研读和领会，乃是为着神儿女的享受。你赴筵席时，目的不是要研究一道道不同的菜色。在这样的时候研究，会打岔你，使你吃得不彀享受。同样的，我们来到约翰的著作─他的福音书、书信和启示录时，该把这些看作属灵筵席的菜肴。有人听到这话，可能会希奇我们怎能说约翰的著作是筵席。答案乃是：圣经中没有别的著作，像约翰的著作那么强调吃的事。当然，保罗说到属灵的吃，但他不像约翰说得那么多。约翰福音有一章，就是第六章，几乎完全讲到吃。在那里主耶稣说，“我就是生命的粮。”（约六35，48。）然后祂接着说，祂是活粮，人若吃这粮，就必永远活着；（约六51；）我们若不吃人子的肉，不喝人子的血，就没有生命在我们里面；（约六53；）吃祂肉喝祂血的人，就有永远的生命，（约六54，）且住在祂里面：（约六56。）并且那吃祂的人，也要因祂活着，（约六57，）因为“吃这粮的人，就永远活着。”（约六58。）约翰六章的确有力的强调吃。吃主这生命的粮，就是以祂为筵席。

John's writings are not mainly for study and understanding; they are primarily for the enjoyment of God's children. When you come to a feast, it is not your purpose to study the different courses of food. Study at such a time would frustrate you from the enjoyment of eating. In like manner, we should come to John's writings- -to his Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation--regarding them as courses of a spiritual feast. When some hear this, they may wonder how we can say that John's writings are a feast. The answer is that no other writings in the Bible emphasize the matter of eating as much as John's writings do. Of course, Paul speaks about spiritual eating, but he does not speak about this as much as John does. One chapter in the Gospel of John, chapter six, is almost entirely devoted to eating. There the Lord Jesus says, "I am the bread of life" (vv. 35, 48). Then He goes on to say that He is the living bread and that if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever (v. 51); that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, we have no life in us (v. 53); that he who eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life (v. 54) and abides in Him (v. 56); and that the one who eats Him will also live because of Him (v. 57), for he who "eats this bread shall live forever" (v. 58). To be sure, eating is strongly emphasized in chapter six of John's Gospel. To eat of the Lord as the bread of life is to feast on Him.