So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God.’ 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. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Comment: Jesus is here speaking to a group of religious people who have just seen the feeding of from virtually nothing to their satisfaction They all know (or should have known) the contents of the Old Testament law, prophets and writings pretty well. So what Jesus said to them didn’t fall onto gentile relatively ignorant ears – like ours. Jesus said that He came down from Heaven. He meant them to understand that He was the Messiah. They understood and rejected that because they said we know Joseph and Mary, we understand that he is just a boy who grew up in our midst. How widely had the story of the angels who came to Mary and Joseph been made known? If it had been then I suspect it had not been believed. But the shepherds and their confronting the heavenly host surely had been gossiped about.
Jesus having said what He said, and after they grumbled and said that it was not true, He made several points:-
- You won’t understand what I’m saying unless God opens the eyes of your understanding.
- I know that you haven’t seen God but if He calls and you come then I will give you ‘eternal life’. ‘Listen hard, I’m telling you to come to Me and you will eat not the manna type bread given in the Wilderness days. That manna served its purpose, but they still died – Belief in Me (eating Me) gives life that lasts for ever.‘
- And He repeats the same again! ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.‘
Prayer: Help me when necessary to think in Old Testament concepts, please.
As I read it! 