John 6:24-35 (NRSV)
John 6:25-34 continues with Jesus at Passover, offering the preface to the discourse on the Bread of Life. Verses 25-34 are parallel to Mark 8:11-13, where the Pharisee asks for a sign. This passage will invite us to contrast physical and spiritual food. Although that is appropriate and true, we must not forget that the mission of the people of God concerns both. The question of bread for me is a material question. The question of bread for my neighbor is a spiritual question.[1]We need to remember that some people in the world are so hungry that God cannot come to them except in the form of bread.[2]
At the center of this passage from John’s gospel is the issue of “signs” (vv. 26, 30). Modern scholarship on the Fourth Gospel has theorized that the gospel of John as we have it in the New Testament began with an earlier document containing accounts of Jesus’ miracles that they have dubbed “the Signs Gospel.” The early church would likely use this “Signs Gospel” as a kind of apologetic defense that Jesus was indeed the Messiah based on the kinds of miracles that he performed. Since the Jewish people had come to see both Moses and Elijah as models for a future Messiah (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15-18; Malachi 4:5-6), there was a particular interest in relating the miracles of Jesus to the wonders performed by these leading figures of the Jewish tradition (cf. John 1:20-21, 45).
The text skillfully brings together two motifs that John just addressed separately. He interweaves the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 (6:1‑15) and Jesus' miraculous walk on water (6:16‑21) in ways that instruct the obstinate crowd and reveal added information to the reader. However, it is soon evident that the crowd is following a trail of breadcrumbs, not the footsteps of the Messiah.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, the generally accepted title for Jesus, when did you come here?” Although in this direct context the question recalls Jesus' early arrival on the other side of the lake by walking upon the water, there is no grammatical reason not to read into this query deeper questions of Jesus' origin and identity. Since it is Jesus' identity and the faith it should evoke that form the nucleus of this discourse, it is not unreasonable to suppose John intends the double entendre here. Where has Jesus come from? How did he come to be among the people at that time and that place? 26 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, speaking with divine power, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs of the messianic work of Jesus, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 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. Jesus has already provided bread, albeit basic barley loaves, to feed this crowd in the wilderness. Following that miracle, Jesus performed yet another Exodus‑inspired act ‑‑ walking on water. Just as Moses had been able to part the waters so that the people could cross, Jesus uses the water as a walkway to join his disciples aboard their boat. Jesus immediately confronts them with their motives: They are looking for an easy hand‑out. Jesus first scolds the voracious crowd for what he suspects as their true motive for following him -- the proverbial free lunch. At least on the surface, the statement contradicts verses 14-16, although Jesus has concern for the deeper level of meaning involved. The accusation here is that they seek Jesus due to the sign of the loaves. Verses 14-15 say the people believe Jesus was the prophet who is to come into the world. They were about to make him king. 27 Do not work, in the sense of striving after, for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life. In the wilderness, they were to pursue only justice so that they could live and occupy the land the Lord is giving to them (Deuteronomy 16:20).[3] “Endure” is a favorite of John, describing the essence of the relationship between true 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. More than just “food that perishes,” what the Messiah brings is “the food that endures for eternal life.” The enduring food is that which the Son of Man will give you. This may suggest the Eucharist. It may suggest dualism between physical and spiritual food. The Johannine use of the term used here for work, strongly suggests working or laboring, but not at all earning. While people who desire eternal life must actively seek it, in the end the Son of Man freely gives it. This "beyond our grasp" but not "beyond our gain,” nature of eternal life finds further emphasis by John's use of the term "Son of Man." This text asks how the people shall work for the works of God. Faith seeking is the work the text calls us to perform. For it is on him that God the Father has set (aorist tense) his seal.” This could refer to the “seal” of the Incarnation, baptism, or even consecration to sacrifice. It may be an explicit contrast with the desire of the crowd to make him king. In this context, we find verses 28-31 offering the solution of John to the faith and works question. Verses 28-34 are like the temptation narrative. In Luke 4:3-4, Satan asks Jesus to turn stones into bread. Now, it is a test through his opponents. 28 Then they said to him, offering the Christian reader a hint of hope, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Faith is the supreme work. Faith is the only work that matters in seeking eternal life. There would seem to be two continuing problems with the crowd’s response. First, they have not yet realized that this work is not theirs to perform apart from the Messiah, which is why they must “believe in him.” Second, they still seem to be identifying the “works of God” primarily with the meeting of physical needs. Both these points are borne out by the crowd’s further reaction to Jesus. 30 Therefore, they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” They seem to be having second thoughts about Jesus. Moses had provided their ancestors with “manna in the wilderness” for some 40 years and Jesus for only a single afternoon. Was Jesus willing to continue “performing” this miracle for them each day for decades to come? If so, then they would know that he was fulfilling the promise of the prophet like Moses. If not, they would continue to look for that prophet. Verses 32-34 show that God has fulfilled the eschatological expectation. 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. The hunger the people in the wilderness experienced had the goal of God feeding them manna, but even that miracle had the purpose of helping them understand that they do not live by bread alone, but every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:3).[4] The Lord freely gave them manna for their mouths (Nehemiah 9:20).[5] 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”As we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
The questions Jesus asks are part of the method of Johannine misunderstanding. Jesus presents his new interpretation, precisely following the order of the quotation. The sign they want is a supply of bread. The crowd suggests the theme of manna as a pattern. If they think of him as a prophet-like-Moses this would be natural. There is evidence that Jewish hopes included the provision of manna.
Many of us find it so tempting to satisfy our spiritual longing with crumbs that happen to drop from the table of society. We pick up little phrases, stories, or bumper stickers that satisfy the surface curiosity we have for a meaningful and happy life. As John Chrysostom put it, “People are nailed to the things of this life.” We have thoroughly grounded ourselves in this world and take pride in having done so. To be fair, we have improved our lives on this planet, and surely, God has placed us here to do that.
Francis Bacon wrote an essay “On Studies,” in which he comments that we should just take a taste of some books, swallow others, but some are worth chewing and digesting. We need to learn the difference in our reading. Even at a political level, these matters surface. Zbigniew Brzezenski, Out of Control, says the West is offering the world a philosophy of only the satisfaction of appetite without self-control. In our spiritual life, we need to discern the difference as well.
However, and this is big “however,” do we ever experience that longing for something “higher?” Maybe Paul Tillich was right when he said that idolatry is elevating a preliminary concern to an ultimate concern. Idolatry is giving something finite an infinite significance. We grasp at things, such as materialism, pleasure, political ideology, and I am sure the reader could add more. We cling to them as if they can provide satisfaction for the longing of the human spirit. They will not satisfy. It will lead to a conflict of ultimate claims upon our lives.[6]
Maybe now is the time we reach out to God and receive the nourishment God offers. Believing in Jesus and devouring the Word will lead to the spiritual health for which I hope we long.[7]
John 6:35 begins a passage that continues to verse 50, continuing the story of Jesus at Passover, offering a discourse on the bread of life. 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Only now is Jesus prepared to give the manna so hotly desired by the crowd. However, notice what "manna" they get: Their nourishment takes the form of the first of Jesus' "I am" statements that run through John's gospel. Jesus offers seven such "I am" declarations throughout John's gospel ("bread of life," 6:35; "light of the world," 8:12, 9:5; "door of the sheep," 10:7,9; "good shepherd," 10:11,14; "resurrection and the life," 11:25; "the way, the truth, and the life," 14:6; "the true vine," 15:5) with each addressing what it is Christ does for humanity. The crowds have their hands out but do not have open hearts. The bread from heaven is the flesh and blood of Jesus. The work of Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. The crowd surrounding Jesus knows what it wants, knows it is in dire need, but persistently identifies wrong solutions to solve the desperate e human condition. 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). Whoever comes to me, meaning this bread is relational, will never be hungry; whoever believes in me, emphasizing the relational quality of the bread, will never be thirsty. Since this bread is relational, it will offer its benefits forever to those who relate themselves to it.
[1] "The question of bread for myself is a material question, but the question of bread for my neighbor is a spiritual question." - Nikolai Berdyaev
[2] There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread. --Mahatma Gandhi.
[3] Deuteronomy 16:20 Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
[4] Deuteronomy 8:3He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
[5] Nehemiah 9:20 You gave your good spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and gave them water for their thirst.
[6] "Idolatry is the elevation of a preliminary concern to ultimacy. Something essentially finite is given infinite significance. The conflict between the finite basis of such a concern and its infinite claim leads to a conflict of ultimates; it radically contradicts the biblical commandments." Paul Tillich, in Systematic Theology, I:13.
[7] John Wesley noted in his Journal, At five [a.m.] I preached once more on "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." They all devoured the Word. Oh, may that Word give them health for their souls and marrow for strong bones!
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