John 6:41-51

“Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall 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 the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors 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. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’”

Comment:

The Gospel of John is less concerned with the story of Jesus of Nazareth than it is with the spiritual phenomenon that he taught and demonstrated: The Christ, the Presence of God that lies at the heart of every person. In all of the great “I am” statements that are unique to this Gospel, Jesus is speaking as Jesus Christ, describing not his human personality, but the spiritual Truth that is common to us all. Thus “I am the bread of life” really means “I AM” is the bread of life. The Christ is the great I AM, the indwelling Presence that Moses was called to recognize when he stood before the burning bush (Exodus 4:13). The Christ is the spiritual substance that nourishes our human selves. We “eat of it” when we know the truth about ourselves as expressions of an infinite God, and once we know our true spiritual identity, we will see death as the meaningless illusion it truly is.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed