John 6:22-35 begins the the Johanine discourse on the Bread of Life. This section which goes on till the end of chapter 6 explains the meaning of the sign of the feeding of the multitudes (John 6:1-15). What has been called "the Johanine discourse on the Bread of Life" is actually a dialogue between Jesus and the crowd that follows him to Capharnaum. It is a dialogue that occurs the day after the feeding of the multitudes.
The current selection until v. 33 is the first part of this dialogue. Verses 34-35 form part of the second leg of the dialogue. This first part can be divided as follows:
- vv. 22-24. Introductory section having the theme "seeking the Lord"
- vv. 25-27. Jesus reveals to the crowds the reason why they sought him: it was because of the food that perishes, not the food that remains unto eternal life.
- vv. 28-29. Jesus reveals to the crowds the work that God requires
- vv. 30-33. Jesus corrects the notion that it was Moses who gave the bread from heaven. The bread that comes down from heaven, the true one, is given by the Father.
- vv. 34-35.
Jesus reveals to the crowds that he is the Bread of Life.
The Preliminary Question
When the crowds find Jesus they ask him "Rabbi, when did you get here?" The previous night's episode of Jesus walking on the waters is something that only the disciples knew (see vv. 16-21). The last time that the fed multitude saw Jesus was after the collection of fragments (v. 13-15). Jesus knew that the people wanted to make him king so he fled from them, going up a mountain to be alone. Jesus does not answer the question about "when" he got there. During the course of the conversation, however, he would answer the question "from where". He will by allussion say that He is from heaven (vv. 32-33.35), that is "from above" (John 3:31; 8:23).
Jesus' direct response to the question of those who seek him is not really an answer but an admonition. Just as in the dialogue he had with the Samaritan woman at the well (see John 4), Jesus reveals his interlocutors to themselves. He tells them the reason why they have come to him: it was not because of the sign he has performed; they've come because they have eaten and were satisfied. The contrast between "seeing the signs" and "eating the bread and being satisfied" shows the shortsightedness of the crowd. A "sign" points to something other than itself. The multiplication of the loaves was a sign that pointed to who Jesus was. But it was lost to the crowd: they were thinking in terms of the political (they wanted to make Jesus king) and the dietary (food that can spoil). Jesus will subsequently educate the crowd to go beyond their present hopes.
The Works of God
The question of the crowd about what works to perform (v. 28) is related to Jesus' admonition about not working for food that perishes (v. 27). "What shall we do so as to perform the works required by God?" For Jesus' interlocutors "working for food that does not perish" could have meant religious activities that would ensure for them eternal life. Their question therefore shows that they had a particular understanding about Jesus statement regarding "the food that remains unto eternal life". Their situation is the same as the Samaritan woman at the well who understood Jesus' statements about "living waters" one way, although Jesus meant it in another sense (John 4:10). Jesus reduces the expected "works" into just one: "to believe in the one whom God has sent" (v. 29)
Jesus is the Son whom God has sent; believing in him means receiving eternal life (see John 3:15-16). Those who believe in Him are no longer subject to condemnation (3:18.36); they will be raised up on the last day (6:40). This last anticipates the story of the raising of Lazarus where Jesus will say "I am the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25). Finally, at the beginning of His hour, Jesus will reveal himself to his disciples as "the Way, the Truth and the Life". To believe in him means everlasting life because in his person is summed up all that the believing Jew has known to be the source of God's life and holiness: the Torah.
The Bread from Heaven
In John 6:30-31 the crowds ask Jesus for a sign that would validate His claim. They expect that it would be greater than the one written about the manna which the Israelites ate in the desert. The Scriptural reference given is from Psalm 78:24:
God rained manna upon them for food;
bread from heaven he gave them.
Jesus however corrects the claim. First, he says that it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven, but it is Father who gives the true bread from heaven (v. 32). Second, Jesus tells them that the bread is something that descends from heaven and gives eternal life. The use of the participle form in v. 32 for "descending" and "giving life" is a reference to the "coming" of the Bread of Heaven in the eucharistic celebration. The present tense makes the descent of the bread of heaven and its giving life as something contemporaneous to the readers of the gospel.
Jesus contrasts "my Father" and "Moses" on the one hand, and the "present tense" of the Father's giving to the past tense of Moses' "giving" on the other thereby underlining the provisional character of the feeding of manna in the desert. In addition, the "manna" in the desert was something perishable; it melted away like the dew that brought it about (see Exodus 16:21). Thus even the food that the ancestors ate in the desert was perishable and was like the food that Jesus admonished the crowd not to work for (see v. 27). The "true" bread that the Father gives is also the Son whom He has given to the world out of love. Thus in v. 35 we find Jesus declaring: "I am the Bread of Life"
I Am the Bread of Life
Jewish expectations of the last days include not only the Messiah, but also a new feeding of manna from heaven. The Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch for example states that "at that time the storehouse of manna shall descend from on high again; and they shall eat of it in those days, because it is they who have come to the final consummation" (29:
1. The crowds that were fed saw the multiplication of the loaves as a miracle related to the Messiah. It was for this reason that they wanted to make Jesus king. By mentioning that Jesus fled from the crowd because he knew they were about to make him king, John actually creates a link to the crucifixion of Jesus, specifically to the sign that hung above his head: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John 19:20). When Jesus declares himself to be the Bread that comes down from heaven and gives life (v. 35), he is also saying that with his coming, the last days of popular Jewish expectation has come. The crowds who were satisfied readily recognized in Jesus the Messianic provider. That Jesus is also the Bread from Heaven would be difficult for the crowd to accept. In fact, we will find the "crowd" taking on a different designations as "Jews" (41.52) and as "his disciples" (vv. 60-66) as the dialogue progresses. In the end, it would be Peter and those with him who would insist on their loyalty to Jesus (6:68-69). It is about this group that Jesus would later on pray to the Father: they have accepted my words knowing that I came from you and have believed that it was you who sent me (John 17:8 ).
- 1. HFD Sparks (ed) The Apocryphal Old Testament (Oxford:1984), p. 857.
