Jesus promised: “I come to divide.” Jesus has been separating sheep from goats for 2,000 years.
Who are His “obedient sheep”? He began separating them in the last half of John, 6.
He repeated His Great Winnowing Command, “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.” an amazing twelve times in the verses leading up to John 6:66.
A large crowd was following Him when He said those words. They were all “free-lunchers”. He had just fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes.
They were all smart enough to realize: “If we follow Him, we get more free food! If He can turn a few loaves and fishes into enough food to feed thousands of us, with lots of leftovers, He can keep on doing that!”
The smarter ones understood more: “If Jesus could turn a few fish into thousands, He could turn a few coins into millions! I’m following Jesus because He could make me really rich!”
Then, Jesus began to repeat His Great Winnowing Command: “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.”
They were puzzled, but still full from the free lunch. “That doesn’t make any sense! Is He telling us to be cannibals? Still, if Jesus could turn a few fish into thousands, He could make Me rich!”
After they heard Him repeat that twelve times, once for every Tribe in Israel, they were fed up. They agreed: “‘This is HARD!’, and they left Him.”
Later, at The Last Supper, the first Catholic Mass, He repeated His Great Winnowing Command: “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have live in you.” two more times and He gave His Obedient Sheep the Sacred, Actual Essence of His Body and His Blood.
That’s how Jesus has been separating sheep from goats for 2,000 years.
