John 6:30-40

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? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ 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. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

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. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’

The crowds have picked up the reference to the Exodus. They have Moses in mind and the manna that their ancestors received in the desert. So, amazingly, they ask Jesus for a sign. One might ask where this crowd has been. How short is their memory? Have they already forgotten that Jesus fed them on the hillside? Jesus reminds them of a very important fact – namely that it was not Moses who gave the people manna in the desert but God. “It is the bread of God which comes down from heaven that gives life to the world.”

So the crowd, still far from understanding what Jesus is talking about, ask Jesus to give them this true bread. Here one is reminded of the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well and the discussion about physical water and the water of life.

Verse 35 removes all ambiguity. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” From this point onwards until the end of the chapter the question of who Jesus actually is comes to the fore. But what a leap of understanding this revelation demanded. This passage underscores the difficulty of faith – the intellectual, cultural and even religious barriers in the way of true belief.

The passage also introduces the idea of eternal life – a quality of life in both the here and the hereafter which will be further explored in the rest of the chapter.

Blessings as we pray that we might truly believe that Jesus is the “bread of life” that brings us salvation.  Be safe!  Be well!  The Spirit has come!

  To Ponder:

• The identity of Jesus is a theme found throughout the Gospel accounts. We remember Jesus asking his close disciples, “Who do you say I am?” in the context of the Transfiguration. This is as much a question for us as it was for them. Who do we say Jesus is?
• We can feel a frustration at the attitude of the crowd in this passage who repeatedly keep asking for signs. Are there ways, perhaps more nuanced, in which we continue to display this behavior in our faith?