John 6:25-35
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." 28 Then they said to him, "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." 30 So 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.'" 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. 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." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:25-35 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.
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 has its basis on an earlier document containing accounts of Jesus’ miracles that they have dubbed “the Signs Gospel.” This “Signs Gospel” would likely have served as a kind of apologetic defense that Jesus was indeed the Messiah based on the kinds of miracles that he performed. Since both Moses and Elijah had come to be seen as models for a future Messiah (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15-18; Malachi 4:5-6), there was a particular interest in relating Jesus’ miracles 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. John 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 new information to the reader. 25 When they, clearly the same crowd as had the meal in 6:1-15, found him on the other side of the sea, near Capernaum, they said to him, "Rabbi, a generally accepted title for Jesus, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them, confronting them with their motives: "Very truly, suggesting Jesus is now speaking with divine power, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Jesus' sudden departure prompts them to follow him. However, it is soon evident that the crowd is following a trail of breadcrumbs, not the footsteps of the Messiah. They are looking for an easy hand‑out. They did not truly understand the sign. Further, they did not understand the sign revealed about the nature of the messianic work of Jesus. Thus, 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. 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. In any case, the crowds are looking for deliverance from physical difficulties (hunger, disease), but Jesus wants them to see beyond physical need to their spiritual needs. 27 Do not work in the sense of striving for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the eschatological figure of the Son of Man will give you in the future. This statement may contain dualism between physical bread and spiritual bread. Jesus distinguishes between the food that perishes and the food that endures for eternal life. The term endures is one of John's favorite words to describe 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 which establishes this shared life and personal link with the mediator of salvation in a special way. John also introduces a unique distinction between work and faith. 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 is the "beyond our grasp" but not "beyond our gain,” nature of eternal life that John emphasizes by use of the term "Son of Man." For it is on him that God the Father has set (aorist tense) his seal." “Seal” may refer to incarnation, baptism, consecration to sacrifice, seal of the Father, or image, even as he bears the divine name. It may also contrast with the crowd's attempt to make him king.
Verses 28-34 are similar to the temptation narrative. In Luke 4:3-4, Satan asks Jesus to turn stones into bread. Now, it is a test through his opponents.
In this context, we find verses 28-31 offering the solution of John to the faith and works question. 28Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Literally, this text asks how the people shall work for the works of God. Faith seeking is the work the text calls us to perform. 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. One has a brief hint of hope when the crowd asks what they must do to perform the works of God. Yet, Jesus finds fault their response. 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 and perhaps exclusively with the meeting of physical needs. 30 So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? While they previously believed Jesus was “the prophet,” they ask for a further sign in order to see and believe. 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.'" The further reaction of the crowd shows they understand neither faith nor the spiritual nature of the work of the Messiah. They seem to be having second thoughts about Jesus. After all, 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, correcting them on two points, "Very truly, I tell you, first, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. Second, the true gift of the bread of God was not a full stomach, 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Their hunger in the wilderness led them to eat a new food, manna, in order to make them understand that that one does not live by read alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:3). The Lord is giving them a land so that they can pursue justice (Deuteronomy 16:20). The good spirit the Lord gave them instructed them and the Lord also gave them manna and water to quench their hunger and thirst (Nehemiah 9:20). With regard to 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 particular period (as with Israel in the wilderness). Its purpose is to give “life to the world,” and presumably, that is the “eternal life” to which he had referred earlier (see v. 27). 34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." The questions are part of the method of Johannine misunderstanding. Jesus presents his new interpretation, following precisely 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.
35 Jesus said to them, in the first of the “I am” statements in this gospel, "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 Jesus himself. Jesus declares this to the crowd that stands with its hands out instead of its hearts open. The "bread which comes down from heaven" does not consist of flour and water, but of flesh and blood. The work of Jesus fulfills now the Old Testament. The passage concludes with a classic moment. 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.” The persistent theme is that only Jesus, the true bread of life, who can impart the gift of eternal life to the faithful. It is an eschatological message aimed at eliciting endurance in the present age. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. We have the theme of people choosing and God choosing. Because this bread is relational (“comes to me,” “believes in me”) rather than literal, it is able to continue to offer its benefits forever to those who relate themselves to the one who is “the resurrection and the life” (11:25). The spirits of those who receive Jesus “will never be hungry … [or] thirsty” (cf. 4:13-14). The gift of this bread is for here and now. Jesus' presence inserts the eternal into the earthly, the divine into the very midst of our human, day-to-day lives, as the bread of life. By turning to this bread by faith, one participates in the enduring gift today. John contrasts the historical food and drink of the wilderness with that which Jesus offers in the gift of himself. In Jesus the presence of God is available on a daily basis. Jesus is not only our ete4rnal bread but also our daily bread.
As the Bread of Life and the Living Water, Jesus offers spiritual satisfaction. Compare this to an account from Greek mythology. King Tantalus is a figure in one story whom the gods punished in the underworld by chaining him in a lake. The water level would rise to his chin, but when he lowered his head to slake his thirst, the water immediately receded out of reach. Over his head were branches laden with choice fruit, but they immediately withdrew whenever he reached upward to satisfy his hunger. A symbol of utter frustration, the English word “tantalize” immortalizes his name.
His name was Brad. His home was outside Brownstown, IN, where he lived with his wife and daughter. He taught Sunday School and he led the Council on Ministries. No pastor could ask for a better supporter and a better friend. When I first got there (1983), though, he puzzled me. He was about forty years old. He was always available. He never worked, except as he volunteered for the church or the community. After I was there for a month, I visited him in his home. I asked him how a person in his forties could lead the kind of life he did. His response was that in the 1960's and 1970's, he was able to make his money selling Volkswagen parts in Columbus. The business prospered. He made a lot of money. Yet, his daughter, now getting near her teen years, was almost unknown to him. He sold his part of the business, and with what he had made he was able to live off the interest and spend time with that daughter, and still provide for her college education. What made the decision more impressive to me was that he knew he would have to go back to work. They had a simple log cabin and lived what I would call a simple life. Quite honestly, I do not know if I would have done that. I would worry too much about the economy. I would want more security than that. Yet, something inside me respects him for doing what he did. Something inside me hopes I would have the courage to make that kind of decision. People like this remind me of what is important in life. It is not the sustaining of this body which is most important to me. It is decisions like Brad made, for family, for God, for his sense of calling in life. It gave his life a meaning and direction of which I sometimes lose sight.
Jesus leaves open the possibility that we can distort our spiritual lives by getting this bread metaphor wrong.
One distortion is to try to live on the bread of life alone. One person tells about a prayer chorus he learned as a teenager at church camp:
He’s all I need, he’s all I need,
Jesus is all I need.
He’s all I need, he’s all I need,
All I will ever need.
Roger was only a new Christian in those days, and he certainly had not yet had much life experience, but even at that point, that chorus struck him as unrealistic. Jesus is all he would ever need? Frankly, he doubted that. He says that he learned that chorus right about the same time he was starting to notice girls, and in his emerging adolescence, he was finding them pretty interesting. He concluded that no matter how close he became to Jesus in his life, there would be no danger of Jesus taking the place of a relationship with a girl about his own age.
Actually, no matter what our age, no matter how deep and vital our relationship with Jesus and no matter how committed we are to following his example and trusting his teaching, we will need other elements of spiritual life if we are to truly grow. Christians have found it essential to meet together for worship and fellowship. The author of Hebrews told his readers to not neglect to meet together, because they needed to encourage one another and to “provoke one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Jesus is not all that we need. Almost certainly some of the spiritual leaders we have heard of recently who have gotten themselves into moral difficulties prayed about their temptations and called on Jesus to help them. However, if they had also availed themselves of the accountability possible within a group of Christians, they might well have found the strength they needed not to fall. Jesus is the bread of life, but not the whole meal.
Another distortion of our spiritual lives can occur if we try to live without eating any of the bread of life. Thanks to Dr. Atkins, we have recently learned that it is possible to live without eating actual bread or almost any carb-bearing foods. However, the Atkins diet is no friend of athletes. Stan Purdum, author of two books about bicycling (Roll Around Heaven All Day and Playing in Traffic) and a member of the editorial team at Homiletics, was trying to lose some weight a few years ago — not that he needed to lose that much weight. So, he tried the Atkins diet. A few days into it, he set out to ride his bicycle on a 15-mile route that he had ridden many times before. He tells what happened:
From the first push on the pedals, I noticed that I felt drained. In fact, in the first mile of this ride I felt the way I normally feel at the end of a 50-mile jaunt. Nonetheless, I persevered, thinking my energy might kick in, but after about three miles, riding seemed like a terrible idea, and I took a direct path home, logging a total of less than five miles for the entire excursion. To use a car metaphor, I felt as if I were hitting on only two cylinders instead of the usual eight. I had similar experiences on two more rides I tried during that diet; long rides were out of the question and even short ones were enervating. I soon gave Dr. Atkins the boot.
Likewise, it is possible to be a spiritual (though not Christian) person without eating the bread of life, but such spirituality tends to be limp, unfocused and lacking in the kind of energy that Jesus provides. Certainly, one thing Jesus did mean when he said he was the bread of life is that our most basic and important human longings find satisfaction in him. He is the foundation for a healthy spiritual diet. To be a Christian, we need Jesus. Sounds axiomatic, but you would be surprised at how many people would love to be Christians without having to deal with Jesus, at least a Jesus who claimed, or for whom his followers made the claim, to be the Son of God.
A third possible distortion of our spiritual lives is that we eat so much junk food that the bread of life ceases to be our mainstay. This is different from the previous distortion in that in this case, there is no deliberate attempt to avoid bread, but rather that we fill up on so many empty calorie delicacies that we leave no room for truly nutritional things. Thus, while appearing to have eaten too much, we actually are starving for the nutrients we need. In terms of the spiritual life, we do the same thing when we give lip service to our faith, but do not bother with such ways of dining on the bread of life. I do not want to be mysterious here. When we pray, read our Bibles, share with each other, reach out to those in need, participate in worship and the Lord’s Supper, we are dining on the bread of life. Through means such as these God has made it possible for us to allow the bread of life to continually nourish us.
As grateful as we may be for all the good things of life, we need the constant reminder that the nourishment Jesus provides sustains us our lives. As grateful as we are, God is not the dispenser of all the good things we would possibly desire. Truly, God has nothing to give us at all – except himself.[1] In fact, in that sense, we keep circling our lives around him, walk with him, have our lives in him, and allow him to live in us. In that sense, he is all we need.
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