22 The next day the people who had stayed on the other side of the lake knew that Jesus had not gone in the boat with his followers but that they had left without him. And they knew that only one boat had been there. 23 But then some boats came from Tiberias and landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the people saw that Jesus and his followers were not there now, they got into boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.
25 When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Teacher, when did you come here?”
26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you aren’t looking for me because you saw me do miracles. You are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisfied. 27 Don’t work for the food that spoils. Work for the food that stays good always and gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because on him God the Father has put his power.”
28 The people asked Jesus, “What are the things God wants us to do?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.”
30 So the people asked, “What miracle will you do? If we see a miracle, we will believe you. What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. This is written in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; it is my Father who is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 God’s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 The people said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Then Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you before, you have seen me and still don’t believe. 37 The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them. 38 I came down from heaven to do what God wants me to do, not what I want to do. 39 Here is what the One who sent me wants me to do: I must not lose even one whom God gave me, but I must raise them all on the last day. 40 Those who see the Son and believe in him have eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day. This is what my Father wants.”
41 Some people began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that comes down from heaven.” 42 They said, “This is Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 But Jesus answered, “Stop complaining to each other. 44 The Father is the One who sent me. No one can come to me unless the Father draws him to me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns 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 I tell you the truth, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread that gives life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but still they died. 50 Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give up so that the world may have life.”
52 Then the evil people began to argue among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. Otherwise, you won’t have real life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. 55 My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. 57 The living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father. So whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 I am not like the bread your ancestors ate. They ate that bread and still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said all these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Read John 6:22-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Of all the things Jesus told the crowds while He was alive, probably the craziest of them all would be statements that can really only be thought of as cannibalistic. According to John’s gospel, during a conversation Jesus has with a group of people who traveled a significant distance to find Him, Jesus says the following crazy and challenging statement, “I tell you the truth, you must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. Otherwise, you won’t have real life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. The living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father. So whoever eats me will live because of me. I am not like the bread your ancestors ate. They ate that bread and still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (v. 53-58)
While most people, myself included, believe Jesus to be symbolically pointing forward to the bread and wine within the Last Supper, without this context that comes at the close of Jesus’ ministry, there are not many other ways to understand Jesus words outside of the surface-level cannibalistic approach.
However, to set this statement up, John gives us a key detail that we might miss if we are not paying close attention. Immediately before Jesus shared these words, John tells us “Then the evil people began to argue among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” (v. 52)
John describes those who were only looking at the surface level of Jesus’ statement as evil. In reality, the cannibalistic angle on these words was all they could see. Nowhere else in this passage are those who were present described as evil, and this distinction is important for us to pay attention to.
Throughout this entire conversation, Jesus wants to lead those present into putting their faith, trust, and belief onto Him – and for their belief in Him to be stronger than simply because He multiplied their meal the day before. Throughout this conversation, those present were being divided into two groups. One group was being drawn towards Jesus and they would ultimately put their faith in Him. The other group is the group that John describes as evil.
However, in setting up this challenging statement, John also shares something else that is interesting: the evil people argue among themselves. None of these people actually ask Jesus to clarify what He means. By arguing among themselves, this group moves further away from Jesus instead of humbly asking for clarification.
While I don’t fully understand what Jesus meant with these strong words, I do know that they were spoken to a group of people who had closed their hearts and minds off towards Jesus and God. Perhaps Jesus was trying to wake them up to the food metaphor, and He may have been trying to teach them the spiritual significance of the miracle of the food from the day before. However, their minds were closed and their hearts were evil, and they ultimately walk away instead of keeping the conversation going with more questions.
I don’t believe Jesus would have turned away an honest question from someone who wanted to understand better what He was saying. I just wish there was someone like this present in the crowd that day.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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