seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[c]”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’[d] Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
c. John 6:31 Exodus 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Psalm 78:24,25
d. John 6:45 Isaiah 54:13
The first verse... is a continuation from the walking on water story. "They" means the people looking for Jesus. The apostles and disciples who were traveling with Jesus, working directly with the Mission.... were in the boat with Him. These men "they" had walked around to the other side. "They" figured they would help Him out of the boat on the other side.... and some of them figured they would get another slice of bread or little fish. "They" were hungry.... in human language.
When I opened this part of John's Gospel.... I admit... I was very intimidated.... I have been put to sleep by a lot of "Bread of Life" sermons. It's not that I mean to fall asleep... it's just way over my head.... I think I avoided it all together when I went through chapter by chapter. But now.... here it is.... the Bread of Life.
I think we need to look at the story and not be sidetracked by the words..... because sometimes heavenly thoughts can't be described to human [earthly] beings.
When Jesus fed the 5,000 men along with unnumbered women, children, and slaves..... His miracle caught the attention of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. It was not a good idea to have a popular descendant of Jacob[Israel] drawing huge crowds and performing miracles while the Temple leaders were already being required to walk a tightrope by the conquering Roman Government watching their every move. Rome didn't like large crowds..... they might get too full of themselves and troops might have to be called in.... and the Temple might suffer.
So when the Pharisees and the Sadducees saw the crowd... they sent infiltrators to find out what was going on.... and destroy it from within.
I figure.... in verse 30.... where it says "“What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ".... it was rhetoric.
OK... a few of the people in the crowd were Pharisees, Sadducees, or leaders from the Temple. a few of the people in the crowd were gentiles, Romans..... some of those in the crowd had been following all along and they figured Jesus was a honest guy who may be starting a movement... and they liked to attend movements... rallies... A lot of them were there for the free bread and fish. They were probably in a bad way and could not hold a job or get ahead... and free food would help... a lot. But they couldn't take it home to the family.... because it was a buffet.... not a long line to get a couple of grocery bags or products to make a meal out of.
John gets wordy.... this is a difficult topic.
Jesus ignored the question about "how did you get here?" They wouldn't believe if He told them.... they would have gotten all wrapped up in how He got to the boat in the first place... and that many people playing telephone with His answer would have totally destroyed it.... and they still wouldn't believe it if they understood it.... so He didn't answer.
They asked Him for another sign.... they wanted Him to feed them again... and the Pharisees said "Yeah.... let's see you do a miracle...." I wonder... did they say it like a Believer reveling in the miracle of it all..... or did they say it like a jeering Pharisee..... "I dare you to create something from nothing so I can lock you up for performing magic without a permit".
All this talk about manna and bread and flesh is really deep. It all goes back to taking care of humans.
When God moved the descendants of Jacob [Israel] to the promised land under the instruction through Moses.... He had to feed them while they were on that forty year trip. They were refugees.... millions of refugees.... and they ran out of the food they brought with them.... so God provided "manna" a bread like fond that fell at night.... was there to be harvested in the morning... but dissolved in the sunlight if not "harvested". It was there every day.
The people wanted Jesus to provide bread and fish daily. Jesus told them.... look I'm hear to teach you.... to feed you instruction on how to get along.... what I'm teaching you will do a lot more for you than a pot luck.
Jesus told them.... God... the One True Living God... the One that delivered Moses and those refugees to the Promised Land... sent Me to teach you.
They didn't want to be taught.... they wanted to be fed.... they were hungry and thirsty.
Let me ask you this.... do you think a little of the "miracle" got included when Jesus touched the fish and bread and broke it so it would go around? Was there a little Jesus DNA that got into the bread and fish as He was breaking it... creating a desire for more Jesus? Did they get addicted to Him?
One of the games I play is a seek and find game.... a murder mystery where I have to find the clues and solve the murder mystery. It's set in Europe in the 20's based on the clothes the characters wear. One of the characters is a wizard with devices and he has created something that will study the murder clues for DNA. A little skin cell would give DNA.... is that what Jesus says is the manna of his flesh?
I have heard it said that they have found humans who have the "Jesus" DNA. Is it possible that their ancestors ingested His DNA as they ate the bread and fish that day back by the sea? Is that what Jesus meant when He said... "here.... it's my flesh"?
He confused them.... I wonder... did Jesus confuse people on purpose so they would study harder? Did Jesus throw in trick phrases that would confound the Pharisees and false prophets? Or did John spend a lot of words trying to describe a concept he himself didn't really understand? If God can read our thought.... then God can relay those thoughts to the Gospel writer... telling them what to write. Maybe it's obscure on purpose... because we wouldn't believe it if we knew what it really said.
Jesus put on that human life so that He could be sacrificed for us.... instead of the ox or lamb..... His human flesh was going to be sacrificed for them. How does a human describe the thinking behind becoming a sacrifice?
"They" wanted to know.... "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
