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

 

 "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, Christ's 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."   It is important that we understand that Jesus is saying that to believe in Him, who is sent by God, is the work of God. 

 

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."   Let us take notice that the first thing the people do is demand a sign, even though they are the same people who were miraculously fed in the wilderness from five barley loaves and two small fish (see Monday's reading).   But rather than directing the people back to the sign which they've just received, Jesus directs them to God the Father who sent Him.  He explains clearly that it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven, but rather the Father who gives the true bread from heaven -- even to them.   For even as the bread from heaven was given by God the Father to Moses and the Israelites, so God the Father has sent the bread of God who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.   Notice the comparison between the words of the people, "Lord, give us this bread always," and the words of the Samaritan woman 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."   Jesus clearly calls Himself the bread of life.   And this bread of life is clearly linked to faith.  Once more it is all linked to the Father; even those who will come to faith in Christ are those whom "the Father gives Me."  We would do well to recall here that Jesus said Peter's confession of faith in Him was revealed not by flesh and blood, but by My Father who is in heaven" (see Matthew 16:16-17).  

"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."  My study bible comments here that Christ has two natures -- and therefore two wills.  That is, the divine will and a human will.  It notes that the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which was held at Constantinople (AD 680-681), 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."  

Christ gives extra emphasis on the bonds and promises of God for those who believe in Him.  First, He proclaims, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out."   Further down He repeats, giving yet another new emphasis:  "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."  He makes a promise:  "He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst," meaning that this food is imperishable, and will always nourish us.  And finally there is this additional promise:  "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."  All who are given to Christ by the bond of faith through which the Father gives to Him will by no means be lost or cast out, and He will lose nothing of all the Father has given to Him.   Moreover, this bread is for eternal life.  In Christ's words there is a picture of a tremendous circle of communion, in which we are not only given to Christ through our faith which the Father gives to us ... but also we will be held and never lost.  Moreover to be held in this circle or communion of faith is to be promised a bond and nourishment which will sustain eternal life.  It is a kind of eternal circle of communion, expanding and teaching us what it is to be held in God's steadfast love and mercy, an understanding already running throughout all of Jewish spiritual history, notably through the Psalms of King David, and now made more explicitly and fully manifest through Jesus, the Son of Man.  Of course, we are endowed with free will as human beings, and so we also may destroy relationships of all kinds through sin.  But on the part of God the Holy Trinity, the promise is absolutely steadfast and eternal, and given to us so explicitly here in the words of Christ.  He is the bread of heaven, a bread which is given for eternal life, and so that nothing might be lost of all that the Father has given to Him.  Its nourishment is inexhaustible, its supply always there for us.  Let us receive that bread in all the ways available to us, for our real nourishment!