We turn our attention now to one of the longest chapters in the Gospel. There is a lot happening here with the feeding of the five thousand, walking on water, bread of life, blood of life, and disciple desertion.
Other than the miracle of walking on water, which gets short shrift here, and the awkward moment at the end of the chapter, this whole chapter focuses on Jesus being the break of heaven, the bread of life – offering us the way to eternal life by giving us all we ever need to eat or drink. This theological principle is illustrated with a miracle – the feeding of the 5,000.
Note the interesting piece of scripture that wraps this section up at 6:15 – “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” Jesus wanted to bring people to the faith but He was not the king they were looking for and He knew it.
In John 6:22-40, we see a reiteration of the theme that Jesus laid out to the woman at the well. The people are coming to Jesus because they are hungry – physically. Jesus is saying that what they should be seeking is the bread of life – bread that only Jesus can offer. When asked what they need to do – focusing on what works they need to perform to receive God’s blessing, Jesus answers simply: “to believe in the one he has sent.”
They still didn’t get it and were demanding miraculous signs. Jesus wants them to understand that God is the giver of life. It was God that gave their ancestors manna. It is God who has provided His one and only Son.
Well, let’s just say that Jesus declaring Himself the “bread of heaven” did not go over too well for some of the religious leaders. We see this in John 6:41-42.
What? Who is this guy? He comes in here and says that He is sent from heaven by God? Are you serious? I’ve known Jesus since He was knee-high to a grasshopper. I know His momma and daddy – Joseph and Mary. I mean, come on, the family is not any great shakes. Joseph is a carpenter for goodness sakes.
After hearing this, Jesus really doesn’t do anything to help Himself. It is here that a strong public relations person would step in and speak on Jesus’ behalf. Instead, Jesus just puts it out there in John 6:43-58.
He is further clarifying that He is the bread that will feed them forever. If they feast on Jesus, then they will never die. Then He gets even more graphic in verse 53: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
Okay. . .let’s face it, that just sounds gross. Like a bad episode of some vampire mini-series. And He hammers it home again. And, guess what? He loses a bunch of disciples. But here’s the deal. . .Jesus knew He had a little time to do a lot. He didn’t have time for straddlers. He wanted disciples who were going to understand who He was and why He was here. He needed disciples who believe in Him and who believed He was indeed the Son of God.
I kind of find the last few verses of Chapter 6 interesting. If you’ve ever been in a situation where you’ve had to stand up for something that was not particular popular, this hits home. After challenging the crowd to either believe or not believe, Jesus saw many people choose to leave. That’s the problem with free will – people can choose not to believe.
It doesn’t say it in scriptures, but I’ll bet it hurt. I’ll bet it made Jesus sad to see people walk away from eternal life. As such, Jesus turns to the 12 that he selected and asks a simple question: “You don’t want to leave, do you?”
I like Peter’s response: “Well, heck, Jesus where would we go? You have the words of eternal life. What else is there?”
Amen.
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