The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but 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."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."

 And Jesus said to 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 I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  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." 

- John 6:27-40

Yesterday we read that when evening came, Jesus' disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."   Here is an extraordinary statement about faith:  that faith is the work of God.  Anyone who has struggled to truly live a life of faith in Christ at each turn and choice in life knows it is a labor or work indeed.

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but 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."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  The people return again to a material demand, even though He has just fed the five thousand in the wilderness from a few loaves of bread.  They quote from the Scriptures, the story of the Exodus.  The people's request, "Lord, give us this bread always" echoes the request of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in chapter 4, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

 And Jesus said to 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 I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  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."  From statements like this, we gain our understanding of theology.  Jesus speaks of His own will.  Christ has two natures, divine and human.  Therefore, He has two wills, divine and human.  The Sixth Ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople (AD 680-81), proclaims these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but rather "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."  Over and over again we have observed in John's Gospel this essential reality:  that Christ and the Father are united, they are one.  And it is in that original unity that we, too, are raised through faith in Christ.  Here is the statement of mission:  that He has come to claim His own, and to lose nothing that the Father has given to Him, even into everlasting life and Resurrection.

Jesus asserts His unity with the Father, not for the first nor the last time in the Gospel.  It is a truth repeated over and over again, and it is the essence of the identity of Christ.  But there is a greater truth for us here today, and that is teaching how we, too, are a part of this unity.  We are a part of the mission He's been given by the Father.  He has come into the world as Son and heir, to claim what belongs to Him.  That is, all that is His.  And what is particularly indicated here are those who have faith in Him; that is, specifically, "everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him."   These will be raised with Him, even to the eternal life that is His.  He says, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out."  But there is more to this statement than the faithful who are given to Him by the Father.  He has come down from heaven as the bread sent by the Father that "gives life to the world."  This isn't just about life that comes to each believer, but a life for the whole of the world, even creation, because what has come down from heaven, sent by the Father, has assumed a life in the world, and thereby brought the Kingdom into the world.  This is the essence of our understanding of Christ:  that heaven has assumed life in the world, so that the life of the world may be raised with Him.  Whatever is touched by His life brought into the world has a kind of potency to it that we can't limit.  This bread of life isn't merely a bread that brings us life; it is rather a kind of food that has absolute life in itself -- whatever is fed by it has an unlimited source, a kind of life that can't even be defined by our terms.  Just as Christ is united with the Father, so we become united by our faith in Christ so that this life can also be given to us.  Our work in this plan is faith, "that you believe in Him whom He sent."   Let us work the work of God, even as we find the infinite ways His life in us calls us to do so.