If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world

The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

- John 6:41-51

In this section of John's Gospel, we have just read about Jesus' feeding of five thousand men on the mountaintop. They wanted to make Jesus their king, but He eluded them. While his disciples went into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee, Jesus went alone back to the mountaintop. In the night, as the disciples crossed the Sea, the wind blew, and it was so rough they feared they would perish. There was Jesus, walking on the water to them. He said, "It is I; be not afraid." Then He got into the boat, and they were on land at Capernaum, toward which they'd been rowing. The crowd followed the disciples to Capernaum, and when they saw Jesus they wondered how He had arrived there. Jesus told them they sought Him not because they saw His sign of feeding in the wilderness, but because they were filled. In yesterday's reading, He told them, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life." What is that work, they asked Him. Jesus told them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he sent." They asked what sign He would do, so that they would believe, and spoke of the manna from heaven given their ancestors. He said, "My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They asked to have this bread. Jesus told them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." But they don't believe. He told them, "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?" We remember John's Gospel refers generally to the religious leadership when the term "the Jews" is used. Here, Jesus is speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum, His Galilean headquarters. His relations and family connections are scattered throughout Galilee (we've read about the wedding in Cana, where Jesus' first sign was performed), so perhaps these are familiar with His family. Galilee is His "home country." John has already told us earlier in the Gospel, as Jesus made His way toward Galilee, For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father." Again, Jesus refers to those whom the Father will gather to Him. It is an interesting and powerful affirmation that somehow, though we ourselves have not seen the Father, the Father is at work in us, and leads us to the Son. The words Jesus quotes are from Isaiah.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven." Again, Jesus repeats, that those who "work the work of faith" have everlasting life; they are gathered to Him in spirit and truth and will be raised with Him. The manna in the wilderness did not give eternal life. But, here He repeats again, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven." Not only are we led by the Father, but Christ Himself will become a part of us; as we abide in Him, so He will abide in us, and raise those given to Him with Himself.

"If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." Here, the powerful Eucharistic significance is unmistakable, as is the reference to the Cross. He has told Nicodemus, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Here, He affirms in yet another way His gift to the world. He will give His whole life, for the life of the whole world. My study bible says, "His offering is not for His people only but for the life of the world."

We learn of layers upon layers of intersecting relationships in this passage. The Father will lead those toward Christ that are His own. He speaks of Isaiah's prophecy, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God'" and refers to "everyone who has heard and learned from the Father" -- these will come to Him. He is the bread from heaven; He knows and has seen the Father, their wills are united. But we too in some sense have learned from the Father, and we are drawn to Christ by the Father. We will abide in God as Father and Son also are "at work" in us. And this is part of the "work" or labor of faith that Jesus referred to in the readings of the past two days. The interrelationship of the "work" of faith extends back and forth through Father and Son and also through us. This is His testimony. Ultimately, the message reaches us here, Jesus will give His life for us, and not only "us" but more -- for the life of the world. He will be raised on the Cross so that we may be raised. His whole life may be poured into us as we give ourselves to Him. Jesus' I AM here is an echo again of God in the desert, leading ancient Israel through Moses. But here, again, this living bread is for the life of the whole world, all that is, all of creation. The word in Greek is kosmos. That "world" in its fullness is unimaginable to us; it's given without limit. It's not the people standing before Him, it's not only their kin and who they know, it's not only for those of His time but for all time. There are no limits on this kosmos. The bread He gives is His eternal sacrifice, which He gives for the life of the world, an eternal gift for an eternal life. Those who will "all be taught by God," "everyone who has heard and learned from the Father" is not limited. Let us remember that God's abundance, this living bread, is unlimited. It is a gift in scope for the life of the world, the kosmos for as long as the kosmos exists, an eternal gift. It is a faith of worship in spirit and truth, unlimited by both time and space. Can we doubt this abundance that may be present for our life? We can't set limits on it. Let us look again to the sign of the loaves and fishes, and remember they all ate until they were filled, with twelve baskets left over so that nothing was lost.