- John 6:54-58, and the Meaning of the Verb “to Eat” FleshA solid discussion of the verb “trogo” in John 6:54-55 as it relates to Christ and the Eucharist.tags: catholic, sacraments, apologetics
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Thus, Jesus can use “phago” in John 6:53 when he is referring to the
Eucharist, since “phago” refers to “essential nourishment,” which is true of
the Eucharist — it leaves us with God’s grace. In fact, Jesus completes John
6:53 with “unless you eat (phagete) the flesh of the Son of Man….you have NO
LIFE IN YOU,” showing a lack of nourishment (sanctifying grace) if one refuses
to eat.
But in the next verses, John 6:54-55, Jesus says, “Whoever eats (trogon) my
flesh…has eternal life…for my flesh is REAL food” (Greek: aleethos =
truly, really). Notice that now the emphasis is on “REAL” food. In other
words, Jesus is saying, “Look, I’m not kidding when I say I, personally, am
food for you [as he just intimated in John 6:53]. In fact, I am so REAL that
you will actually have to chew me [trogon me] as you would dine at a meal.”
This distinction between “phago” and “trogo” wherein the latter refers more to
intimate dining, would also explain why John 13:18 and Matt. 24:38 can opt to
use “trogo” instead of “phago.” John 13:18 uses “trogo” as a translation for
the Hebrew “akal” in Psalm 41:9. “Akal” is the normal Hebrew word for “eat,”
being used in various forms about 800 times in the OT. But the Jews did not
have a specific word for “chew” or “gnaw,” which is probably why the LXX
(Septuagint) never translated “akal,” or the other Hebrew words for “eat” such
as “barah,” “lacham,” “raah,” “team,” or “okel,” into the Greek word “trogo.”
The Greeks had a word for everything. -
Hence, in using “trogo” in John 6:54-58, Jesus is not merely saying that the
Jews must “chew” him (like animals chewing a cud, or like humans taking a
vitamin pill), but that they must chew as if they were dining at a fine meal
of celebration, savoring every bite of him, thinking about the food as they
eat it. This is why the Jews are upset at Jesus — not only because he is
telling them to eat him (phago, which, admittedly, could have been interpreted
either physically or spiritually), but because he is treating himself, without
equivocation, as if he were an intimate dining experience, which was indeed
the nature of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and continues to be in the
Mass. The Jews are no longer to eat like their ancestors who consumed manna in
the desert merely to fill their stomachs, and who even complained that they
didn’t like the taste of the manna. No, the food that Jesus will give is a
savory meal which one must intimately chew, taste and enjoy. We do this by
contemplating who we are eating — God himself. Colloquially speaking, it is
gourmet food that must be chewed and savored; you must really know what you
are consuming, which starts by literally sinking your teeth into it. Since
chewing connotes the idea of getting into the inner essence of the object,
“trogo” is the most intimate and specific word afforded in the Greek language
to get this point across — that God himself wishes to become a physical part
of every part of our being. We can thus enjoy a “trogo experience” when we
receive the Eucharist, literally savoring the presence of God in our mouth and
then contemplating him permeating our entire body and filling us with his
grace. Wow, what a rush!!
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