The Bread of Life- John 6:25-70

Today, Jesus explains that he is the Bread of Life.

Today’s reading picks up the day after Jesus walked on water. The crowds are diligently searching for Jesus and finally find him. They are seeking him because he fed them physically with the fish and the loaves. He tells them they should not be searching for food that spoils; they should be searching for eternal life.

The crowd wants to know what they have to do to get this eternal life. Jesus says,”They must believe in the one God has sent.” Their reply is, “Give us a miraculous sign.” I’m annoyed at this point because I’m thinking, “Didn’t he just feed five thousand plus?” Of course, they may not be aware of the walking on water miracle, but seriously!

Jesus tries to explain to them that God gives bread from heaven. They are looking for the manna that their forefathers ate, but Jesus tells them that he is the true bread from heaven. He is the bread of life. They were looking for manna to feed them everyday like they were fed in the desert. Jesus fed them once. Moses fed them daily. They demand to see more.

Of course, Jesus is talking about the spiritual while they are focusing on the physical. They completely miss the point. He then goes on to talk about coming down from heaven and raising up people on the last day. The Jews start grumbling at this point because they know his parents are Joseph and Mary. They can’t fathom how it would be possible for Jesus to come down from heaven.

Jesus than tells them they must eat his flesh and drink his blood to gain eternal life. At  this point, the crowd decides he’s nuts. How can they eat his flesh and drink his blood? Jesus is looking towards the cross that he knows is coming. He’s referring to the sacrament of the Last Supper. The crowd can’t possibly know this and the disciples can’t understand it either. But, I wonder if this large group of doubters remembers this conversation after the Resurrection?

Clearly, the Apostle John remembers, because he wrote it down. What must they have thought about this truth on the Easter side of the Last Supper and the Cross?

Many of the disciples who had been following him, desert him at this time. His words are simply too shocking for them. We have to remember that there were more disciples than the twelve who were specifically called. There were others who followed Jesus too. Many of those chose to leave.

Then he addresses the twelve and asks them if they will leave too. Peter tells him , “We know you are the Holy One.” Outspoken Peter, nails it this time.

Then Jesus tells them that he has chosen each one personally, but one of them is a devil. I’ve always wondered about Judas. Did Jesus know from the very first that Judas would betray him? Did the disciples ever discuss among themselves who “the devil” was? Did any of them ever ask Jesus along the way?

The fact that Jesus allowed Judas to remain in his company day in and day out is close to unfathomable to me, but Jesus knew what his mission was and he never wavered from it. What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂