John 6:1-21 (Year B July 24-30) has two segments, the first the feeding of the multitudes and the second Jesus walking on the water.
Verses 1-15 shows Jesus at the Passover and the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. A sign is a miracle that directs attention to the character of Jesus. The crowd will fail to understand the true purpose of the sign. In sitting down John indicates that Jesus is ready to teach. John will build a dialogue based upon the feeding of the multitudes. John makes the Passover setting explicit. The temporal reference clarifies the relationship between the miracle and the Lord’s Supper. The monologue by Jesus about bread from heaven in 6:26-65 will make this identification clear. In contrast to the synoptics, Philip and Andrew will play a significant role. Christians in Asia Minor revered these disciples. The question by Jesus regarding where they are to buy bread for the crowds is unique to John. John clarifies that Jesus had a plan to teach Philip and the rest of the disciples a lesson. In referring to six months wages not being enough, Philip shows his lack of trust in the ability of Jesus to address the problem. Andrew identifies a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, which he identifies as insignificant. Jesus has the crowd recline, as John will describe the last supper (13:23, 25), which also occurs at Passover. He took the loaves and after giving thanks, distributed them to those reclining, all actions of Jesus at the Last Supper. John has so deeply connected the Last Supper to this miracle that he felt comfortable replacing the Supper with the washing of the feet. Of the disciples. The leftovers signify the true abundance of the provision of Jesus. The response of the crowd is that this is the prophet who is to come into the world, such as Moses, who provided bread from heaven for the journey through the wilderness. The crowd wants to make Jesus king, giving Jesus a reason to dismiss the crowd. They have misunderstood the sign.
Verses 16-21 continues the setting of Jesus at Passover, this time the miracle of Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee. The Lord triumphs over the forces of chaos and death. It emphasizes the protecting presence of Jesus, rescue from distress, and reaching the goal. The “I am” in this passage is a theme of the gospel. Jesus is more than a king or prophet, but one experienced in the divine name. We might better understand this scene as an epiphany scene.
John 6:24-35 (Year B July 31-August 6) begins by describing the crowd with Jesus at Passover, the same crowd of 6:1-15, getting into boats and went to Capernaum. We then move the preface of the discourse on the Bread of Life. Verses 5-34 (Mk 8:11-13), invites a contrast between physical and spiritual food. When the crowd finds Jesus, they ask when he came. The response of Jesus is to speak with divine authority that they are looking for him, not because they saw the messianic work of Jesus, but because they had the results of a miracle. Manna is the greatest of Mosaic miracles. The crowd undoubtedly recalls the Midrashic teaching: “As the first Redeemer brought down the manna . . . so will also the last Redeemer cause the manna to come down.” (Midr.Qoh. 1:9). The people may have expected a prophet like Moses. Do not strive after the food that perishes, but for food that endures for eternal life, describing the essence of the relationship between believers and God. In this true food, one experiences authentic faith and a fulfilled life. It refers to the personal bearer of the divine life, to the saving gift of life that he conveys, and to the eucharist. We see the unique distinction between work and faith in John. The crowds are looking for deliverance from physical difficulties (hunger, disease), but Jesus wants them to see beyond physical need to their spiritual needs. This enduring food is that which the Son of Man will give, suggesting the bread of the Lord’s Supper. The seal of the Father was set on the Son of Man, in the Incarnation, baptism, or even the cross. While the crowd asks how they can perform the works of God, Jesus say is the work of God is to believe, providing an answer to the faith and works question. While people who desire eternal life must actively seek it, in the end the Son of Man freely gives it. Faith seeking is the work the text calls us to perform. Faith is the only work that matters in seeking eternal life. That they do not yet understand is revealed in their question regarding the sign Jesus will do so that they will see and believe, and what work Jesus is performing. They refer to the manna provided by Moses in the wilderness. The manna came for 40 years, but what Jesus did was just for an afternoon. The sign they want is a supply of bread. Jesus reminds them that it is his Father who gives them the true bread from heaven. Even the sign of the bread in the wilderness had the purpose of directing them to the deeper truth that they do not live by read alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord (Deut 8:3). The crowd asks for Jesus to give them this bread always, a phrase closely resembling “give us this day our daily bread” in the Lord’s Prayer.
In verses 35, Jesus affirms that he is the bread of life. He is the manna that will nourish them. Jesus’ own identity is different from that of Moses, Elijah, or any of the other prophets of Israel. He is the one who can uniquely speak of God as “my Father.” Regarding the purpose of what God is doing, the bread that God provides is not simply to sustain the physical lives of some people for some period (as with Israel in the wilderness). Its purpose is to give life to the world (verse 33) and bring eternal life (verse 27). To those who relate to the true bread from heaven, the benefits will be theirs forever.
We can learn other ways John invites us to consider Jesus as the focus of our lives through the other “I am” statements in his gospel.
• “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5) — His presence in your life sheds light on the very real dilemmas we face in these troubled times.
• “I am the gate” (10:7, 9) — He protects us and he offers us “abundant” life (v. 10).
• “I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14) — He knows you intimately (v. 14) and lays down his life for you (vv. 15, 17, 18).
• “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25) — He is the promise of God that life and hope have victory, even when death and suffering seem so powerful.
• “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6) — He shows the “way” to God.
• “I am the true vine” (15:1, 5) — He supplies you with the necessary nutrients for a life that will bear the fruit of love and grace.
Such statements make no sense apart from the traditional doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation.
John 6:35, 41-51 (Year B August 7-13) continues the story of Jesus at Passover and the discourse on Jesus as the Bread of Life. Beginning with verse 41, John incorporates the murmuring theme in the wilderness wandering account in Exodus into this situation. In a common thematic development in John, the inability to perceive Jesus and his words is due to inappropriate literalism. The Jews who have disrupted Jesus and become his enemy because they fail to see he is a sign of what God is doing, began to complain about him saying he was the bread that came down from heaven. Those listening to Jesus begin to “murmur” against Jesus and his gifts of heavenly bread even as the ancient Israelites began to “murmur” or “complain” against Moses – first out of hunger (Exodus 16:2,7,12), then against the monotony of the manna diet (Numbers 11:4-6). The Jews discount the statement of who Jesus because they know the family from which Jesus came. Jesus responds by connecting them to those who complained in the wilderness. He goes to point out that no one can come to him unless the Father draws them to him. Even those who have faith rely upon the prior activity of the Father. Jesus will raise such persons up on the last day, since he is the only one who can impart the gift of eternal life to those who have faith. It is an eschatological message aimed at eliciting endurance in the present age. John is the only New Testament author to write of the last day as one in which Jesus will awaken the dead. The return of Jesus in the Easter event is not yet as such his return in the Holly Spirit and is not yet the return at the end of days. In all of this, we have to do with the one new coming of the one who came before him. [1] paraphrasing Is 54:13, that they will be taught by God, insisting that all who have heard the voice of God will come to Jesus. This contrasts with the Judaism of the day, which viewed Torah as how God taught the people of God. Those who hear and learn from the Father come to Jesus, suggesting an inner voice of the Father, although we cannot be sure what form such a voice takes. Whoever believes has eternal life now, since the presence of Jesus inserts the eternal into temporal life, the infinite into finite reality. Jesus is the bread of life, contrasting his living bread with the historical gift of manna that people ate and died. As the bread, he is the wisdom revealed by God to whom we need to relate throughout our lives if we are to receive continual nourishment for our lives.
Verse 51 repeats the message of verses 35-51 in affirming that Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven. The presence of God, as found in the life of Jesus, makes this bread accessible daily. Jesus is not only the eternal bread; he is to be our daily bread. The bread of life Jesus offers promises deliverance from death. The theology of John makes it clear that he is speaking of a spiritual deliverance here. Understanding the statement poetically and pointing us to a spiritual reality, whoever eats this bread lives forever, identifying this bread that Jesus gives as life for the world as his flesh.
John 6:51-58 (Year B August 14-20, with verse 51 discussed in the previous paragraph) continues the discourse of Jesus on the Bread of Life at the Passover. The use of the flesh imagery invites us to consider the sacramental nature of this text as a Johannine version of the Lord’s Supper. Its Eucharistic language seems clear. They are part of the Last Supper tradition. Implicit Eucharist themes in the previous segment become explicit here. The verses resist over spiritualizing the Eucharist.
Beginning with verse 52, the Jews question how Jesus can give them his flesh to eat, but Jesus clarifies that they must eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, all of which would be appalling, given the prohibition against the consumption of blood in Torah (Lev 17:10-14), if they are to have life. Such eating and drinking, such true food and true drink, bring eternal life, and Jesus will raise such persons on the last day to their new, eschatological life, relating that life with the present life of the believer. The new eschatological life, eternal life, is life in the full sense, as here, in comparison with which earthly life is such only with reservations.[2] Beginning in verse 56, Christ delivers us from ourselves in order that we may find Christ within us. Our journey to Christ is a journey into the depths of our own reality and into the reality that is all around us. Finding God and finding our true self have an intimate connection.[3] Receiving the Eucharist has this effect because it brings about an intimate connection with Jesus. John now extends the sacramental doctrine. It is not the eating and drinking itself that is important, but the personal union with Jesus that it brings about. The sacramental link becomes a personal union. In this verse, we find for the first time in John what scholars call the immanence formula, expressing in a characteristic way the close union between Christians and Christ. By mentioning the immanence of the communicant in Christ and immediately afterwards the converse immanence of Christ in the communicant, this formula of reciprocal union indicates simply but impressively the uniqueness of the union. In the earthly and human sphere, there is no counterpart to such mutual permeation without surrender of personality. The remarkable simplicity and conciseness of the wording must have been the fruit of an extended period of meditation and reflection on this mystery of faith. The living Father has sent Jesus, and Jesus lives because of the Father, which is analogy with the affirmation that whoever eats on Jesus will live because of him. It offers a realistic view of participation in the Lord’s Supper. Through the meal, Jesus unites himself with its participants, they live through him, and he will give them eschatological life. He then affirms that this is the bread that came down from heaven, unlike the manna in the wilderness their ancestors ate and where they eventually died, but one who deeds on this bread will live forever.
John 6:56-69 (Year B August 21-27) continues to provide an opportunity to reflect upon the Lord’s Supper. I discussed verses 56-58 in the previous paragraph. Verse 59 identifies the synagogue at Capernaum as the place at which Jesus said these things. John continues by offering reactions to the bread of life discourse. While the Twelve believe, many disciples response with disbelief. The Galilean ministry ends with disbelief, as will the Jerusalem ministry in 12:37. Jesus’ surprise message in John 6:53‑59 causes the reaction in verses 60‑69. The text portrays two crucial events. It portrays Jesus’ final desertion by the synagogue establishment and by many disciples. The change in location and audience cited between verses 59‑60 suggests the profoundly personal and painful nature of this desertion. This section illustrates the effect of Jesus’ words on his hearers. Jesus’ words expose the attitudes of his hearers and lead to a split. The surprisingly substantial number of disciples find Jesus’ message more than “hard.” It “scandalizes” them. As a well‑unified group, they “murmur” against Jesus. There is no apparent debate or dissent within this large gathering of disciples. They all complain. Jesus has a supernatural awareness of the complaint. Many have taken offense. Jesus does nothing to ease the difficulty. The words are not a threat. His intention is to appeal to the disciples for a faith in which they can really see, that is, spiritually experience, the ascent of the Son of man. He suggests the saving specter of the cross itself. He contrasts the natural principles and the spiritual principle, as does 3:6. The Spirit gives life, suggesting the systematic evaluation in the link between the function of the Spirit in a theology of creation, the giving of the gift of the Spirit, and the eschatological function.[4] In recognizing that the words of Jesus were spirit and life, John is affirming the presence of the Holy Spirit filling Jesus in a way that enabled him to speak words from his Father. We have a hint of the Trinity.[5] Basic for the glorifying of the Son by the Spirit is the Easter event. For the Spirit does not merely give knowledge that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and the Son of the eternal Father. The knowledge thus imparted rests on the fact that he creates life. We find this notion here.[6] Jesus had supernatural knowledge of those disciples who did not believe and who would betray him, affirming that no one can come to him unless the Father grants it. Many turned away from Jesus and no longer traveled with him, even though the chapter began with many on a search for faith. The mass of disciples abandons Jesus and his hard words.[7] John sets the Twelve apart from the disciples whose faith fails. In Galilee, a falling away occurred in the sense that the people ceased to follow Jesus. This is what he has emphasized and dramatized in terms of his historical and theological outlook. The text concludes with the confession of faith by Peter. John can speak of a knowledge that comes after faith.[8] Under these conditions of abandonment by many disciples, Peter’s confession itself goes unnoted by Jesus and uncelebrated by the remaining disciples. The saying of Jesus exposes them to the same attack, but at the moment of decision, they remain loyal. They know that they have bound themselves to the person of Jesus, and accept his words, even when they cannot understand them, as words of the revealer that bring eternal life. The exemplary behavior of Jesus’ closest companions becomes an appeal to the later community. Why should we follow only one prophet? Why ought we not to give a little honor to our own prophecy alongside and in opposition to that of Christ? Jesus has offered a scandalous word, a difficult and even intolerable statement. It evoked muttering and grumbling among the disciples themselves. Will the disciples go away? The answer of Peter is the Johannine counterpart to the Messianic confession of Matthew 16:16, bearing witness to the way in which the disciples overcame an offence that they also had experienced.[9]
Do you wish to go away? At a time when John closes out the Galilean ministry of Jesus with the disbelief of many former followers, Jesus asks the question of the Twelve. “Lord, to whom can we go?” Peter asked the question. Yet, we could ask it as well. If we wish to go away, to whom are we going to go? Where will we go? What destination offers more hope than the place we are now? We may well need to sacrifice what we are for what we could become. What person offers answers that are more meaningful than those we get from Jesus? If we are not careful, we may simply be among those who accumulate spiritual peak experiences. We can become greedy. The more we get, the more we hunger for more. Our hunger, rather than yet another interesting and moving insight, may be a sign of our hunger for wholeness. Do we wish to go away? If we do, we should go. I find no record that Jesus tried to get them to stay.
Reflecting upon my spiritual journey through John 6 has been helpful.
I first tasted that bread when I was ten years old. My mother left the Lutheran church in Austin, Minnesota, and started attending Crane Addition Community Chapel. I did not want to attend at first, and thought I was old enough to say no to mom. I stayed up late on Saturday night so that I was too tired to attend the 8 am service mom liked attending. However, eventually, I went the first time, and I kept coming back. I saw something I wanted. The alcoholism of my father had broken our family. I wanted to connect with some people. It was not long before I caught Pastor Joe between the two worship services. He just finished teaching an adult study. He was on his way to lead the next worship service. Yet, he had time for me, a ten-year-old boy. I said I wanted to take Jesus into my heart. He focused upon me so directly, talked briefly about receiving Christ by faith, and I said that is what I wanted to do. We prayed a brief prayer together.
Later, I became involved in the youth group. I grew in friendship and in faith. I started taking more of the bread. The first part of the New Testament I studied was the letter to the Romans. I started chewing and digesting the bread. I even started sharing some of the bread with others. You see, I became one of the youth leaders, elected president for one year by my peers. I started accepting some leadership and sharing in witness.
When I went to a Christian college, I felt my call into ministry. I started chewing and digesting more of the bread. As I continued to grow in faith and discipleship, I grew in my grasp of the Bible, I grew in my appreciation for the teaching of the church, and I kept chewing and digesting. Yet, I also knew I needed to share the bread the best way I could do. For me, that meant offering who I was as a preacher and teacher. I hope I share the bread in the way I live my life at home, with friends, and serving in other ways. It is not enough to consume the bread. You see, always, God makes sure we have plenty of bread to share.
In retirement, Jesus continues to be my bread. He feeds me in my personal study, devotion, and reading. He feeds me in my participation in a local church. I am happy to be around the edges this time. I am happy to serve where I can on occasion. Today, the feeding is more intimate and personal.
We can affirm and say yes to the idea that Jesus is the bread of life all day. However, until we can say from hearts, “Jesus, you are my bread of life,” it will mean nothing.
Like many of you, I have had experiences in which I could almost hear Jesus, “George, do you also wish to go away.” Most of us go through times of doubt and question. I have had those times. When you go through a divorce, when you go through the loneliness, when you find a new person to love, and when you are with congregations when they make difficult decisions, one needs to keep coming back to the bread of life. Clearly, I have not left. I keep coming back to this bread.
Do you find this notion of Christ being the center of your life or the bread of your life a difficult teaching? You may find it difficult to accept the gift. You may find it difficult to think of Jesus as the only real bread. You may have decided that bread in matters spiritual does not exist.
I hope you do not mind if I speak quite personally here. The bread is here. It does not come from George. Rather, it comes from God. We find it in Jesus. Feed upon this bread. Allow this bread to nourish your life. Like Peter, we say, “Lord, to whom [else] shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (v. 68 NIV).
What is the church but a bakery outlet, offering the real Bread of Life? A hungry world is out there, looking for something to fill the gnawing emptiness in the pit of its collective heart. When people come into this bakery outlet, we want them to find bread. They will freely receive the bread. They keep learning what it means to have this bread nourish their lives. They can learn how to share the bread, the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ, with other people.
[1] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3 [69.4] 294.
[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 347.
[3] Thomas Merton, The Living Bread, 93
[4] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 6.
[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 1, 267.
[6] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 395.
[7] (see John Painter, "Tradition and Interpretation in John 6," New Testament Studies volume 35, 1989, 421‑450).
[8] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 138.
[9] Barth, Church Dogmaitcs IV.3 [69.2] 87.
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