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 chapter 6 of St. John's Gospel, we first began with the miraculous feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness, the fourth of seven signs given in this Gospel.  Following that, the people wished to take Him and make Him king by force, but Jesus evaded them, sending His disciples across the sea.  In the fifth miraculous sign of the Gospel, Jesus walked on the water to His disciples.  When they came to shore, those who had been fed found Him again.  He taught them, "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."

 

  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."  Here Jesus emphasizes once again His connection to the Father, but expresses also the Father's role in bringing the faithful to Christ.  Jesus references Isaiah 54:13 in speaking of the people taught by God.   In these verses we are given the contrast of the earthly or worldly perspective of those who know the members of His family, contrasted by Jesus' assertion of His identity as Christ, Son of Man and Son of God.  Jesus is speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum in Galilee; the reference to the Jews is intended to mean the religious rulers affiliated with Jerusalem and those who will reject Jesus (it might be more literally translated "Judeans"), as it does throughout St. John's Gospel.  All the people in this story are Jews by birth, including Jesus and the author of the Gospel.

 

"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."   This begins a longer passage (to continue in the next lectionary reading) in which Jesus speaks even more explicitly of Himself as the living bread.  As He continues, the eucharistic significance of the passage becomes even more clear; my study Bible calls this indisputable.  It says that Christ's declaration that He is Himself the living bread that gives life is a revelation of the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church.  Moreover, in speaking of the gift of His flesh Jesus anchors this teaching as tied to the Crucifixion.  

 

Once again, as we've commented throughout the recent readings from this chapter, we come to a grappling with the significance of the Giver and the gift, and we are forced to recognize that these two things are inseparable from one another.  We recall that this chapter began with the feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness, and their subsequent desire to take Jesus by force and make Him king.  This materialist perspective is brought about through their desire to continue to be fed by Him; in a sense this is a paradigmatic perspective on human nature geared toward the self.  He has given them something they want and need, a commodity which they want to continue to receive.  But Jesus is Himself Son of Man and Son of God; He has been sent into the world by the Father, and He is in the world not simply to do the bidding of humankind from our perspective.  He honors the Father who sent Him, and gave Him the "works," "signs" and miracles He does for a purpose.  Here in today's passage He significantly ties the work of the Father to those who are drawn to Jesus.  So the Father from whom He has been sent out of love for the world is also at work in us, and Jesus reveals an even greater depth to the ties of Giver and the gift.  Jesus is prepared (and sent by the Father) to offer us the gift of eternal life, but we must recognize that reality in order to properly receive it and cooperate with the grace offered to us.  For in today's reading, we are not simply taught about the bread from heaven who is Christ Himself, but He also brings into His teachings the Crucifixion; that He will give His flesh for the life of the world.  That He will lay down His life for His friends is the ultimate gift of love (John 15:13), and so, again, the gift and the Giver are bound even more deeply than we can imagine, through this great love.  Let us endeavor to love and appreciate our gifts and the grace we're given even more, for it is the key to understanding who we are in the sight of God, and how much we are loved.