Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Friday, February 14, 2014 Read John 6:35-59 The crowd has asked Jesus to give them the bread that comes down from heaven. But were they asking for the right bread? Did they understand what Jesus was saying? Jesus now makes a bold proclamation – “I am the bread of life.” We have met the words “I am” already in the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. There it was clear that the name of God “I am” from the story of the burning bush was claimed by Jesus – Jesus is “I am.” Here the claim is not as clear since Jesus adds a predicate to the words, “I am,” but the connection should not be missed. This is the first of several descriptive instances of who “I am” is. Who will be willing to receive Jesus, the bread of life? Jesus promises that whoever comes to him will never be hungry again and whoever believes in him will never thirst again. The idea of drinking is now brought into the conversation. There had been no mention of drinking earlier in the narrative. But, Jesus knows that they are still thinking about their bellies. One can almost hear them saying, “What do you mean that those who come to Jesus will never be hungry again. Of course, those who eat will be hungry.” But Jesus is speaking of something far different from digesting food. Jesus knows that the people who have seen this sign do not believe. The next portion of John’s gospel struggles with the ultimate question of why some come to Jesus and believe and others do not. That is a question we struggle with too. And the answer that Jesus gives in John’s gospel is both comforting and troubling. Jesus says that no one can come and no one can believe unless one is drawn to Jesus by God. Human beings cannot take the initiative. Jesus makes it clear that it is God’s will that all come but they must come on God’s terms not their own. It is God’s work to draw people to himself. Belief happens only because God makes it happen. John now tells us “the Jews” started complaining about Jesus because he says that he is the bread of life. Aren’t all the people in this story Jews? At least in this context they are. This is not Samaritan territory. There are plenty of Gentiles in Galilee but the context does not lead one to think that Jesus has been dealing with Gentiles. So why does John use the term “Jews?” It is most likely true that the use of the term “Jews” has more to do with the circumstances of the final author of the gospel of John than the contemporary time of Jesus. There is evidenced sprinkled throughout John’s gospel that a painful break has occurred between the followers of Jesus in John’s community and those Jews who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. We will look at this more closely later. John’s gospel has a distinct bias again “the Jews” even though at the time of Jesus’ ministry they were all Jews. So it is “the Jews” who do not believe in Jesus who are said to complain here. The Jews who complain think they know who Jesus is. He is the son of Joseph. They know his father and mother. They claim to know the origin of Jesus. But they are mistaken. And soon the conversation begins to sound a little like the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus. Jesus claims to be from above. They think he is from below. And so the classic misunderstanding that is so much of John’s gospel unfolds once again. As the conversation moves forward Jesus ups the ante. In words that clearly refer to the sacrament of Holy Communion, Jesus not only says that he is the bread of life but that in order to have life one must each his flesh and drink his blood. Blood has not been a part of the narrative until this point. The allusion is crystal clear. The allusion is to Holy Communion. We have mentioned earlier that John does not tell the story of the bread and the wine in the upper room on the night in which Jesus was betrayed. There is no celebration of Passover and thus no transforming of Passover into Holy Communion in John’s gospel. But it is clear that John is aware of Holy Communion – “eating Jesus flesh and drinking Jesus blood!” There are those who suggest that the event in the upper room and the words spoken by Jesus then have been modified by John and brought forward to this place in his gospel – much like the cleansing of the Temple has been brought forward early in John’s gospel. John would need to move story of the institution of Holy Communion to another place in his storyline because he has deemed it critically important that Jesus – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world – dies just as the Passover lambs are being slaughtered during the day in preparation for Passover that evening. Whether or not this is John’s version of the Lord’s Supper is debatable, but it is clear that he is referring to Holy Communion here. We have thought about John’s use of the metaphor that Jesus replaces OT feasts and places where God is present. Jesus replaces the Passover Lamb – he is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus replaces the Temple – the Temple is his own body. Here Jesus replaces the bread (manna) in the wilderness – he is the bread of life. Throughout this section John has been providing his interpretation of the multiplication of the loaves by Jesus. That event for John is far more than a miracle. It is a sign that rightfully seen points to Jesus and the salvation found in him. It’s not about getting your belly full. It’s about receiving life through believing in Jesus. John has added so much more to the story that Mark, Matthew, and Luke also told. His understanding of the feeding of the five thousand is far more profound than theirs. And while Mark, Matthew, and Luke, do allude to Holy Communion in their telling of the story, John makes all the connections much firmer. What will be the reaction of those who have now heard Jesus’ words – Jesus’ interpretation of the feeding of the five thousand as the sign that Jesus is the bread of life – that he gives life in the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood?