Jesus: The Bread of Life, chapter 6. (Part 3) Jesus answers the questions of the Jews (vv30-40)
Posted on November 7th 2010 in St. John's Gospel
The Jews now demand a sign from Jesus to confirm His teaching on the food that ‘endures to eternal life’ (v27). The Jewish tradition combined Moses, the Exodus and the gift of the manna together in the celebration of the Passover, and the gift of the Law. The continuing power of the Law was akin, in their minds, to that of bread. The crowds do understand that Jesus’ claims to move beyond this would require belief in His identity. Jesus answers them by demonstrating that God is the same author who gave the manna in the desert, not Moses himself, and the Father of Jesus Christ who now gives new bread through His Son. Both are gifts from the same God but the second gift replaces and surpasses that of the first. The replacement by the second gift of the first gift, of Moses by Jesus looks back to the major theme of the Prologue.
The following statement by Jesus that ‘I am the Bread of Life’ gives the conclusion before giving the reasons that form the rest of the Chapter. Jesus is the definitive, the once and for all gift of bread. This bread both truly satisfies and is open to all people. The dynamic set up between Jesus and believer is one of believer coming to Jesus in order to receive life from Him. At the moment the satisfaction of this bread will have to wait for some future moment. This dynamic though has already begun, but is one that the Jews have failed to grasp, obsessed as they are by their past history of manna in the desert. The source of this dynamic of faith is the Father, since He both propels the believer to Jesus, and has sent His Son to gather the new community. The act of faith on the part of the believer is neither solitary, nor static, nor unaided by grace. The future point implied in the expressions ’will never hunger’ and ‘will never thirst’ are connected to Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Good Friday. The Cross as the universal act of liberation will replace the Exodus as the historic act of liberation of the Jews.