Jesus: The Bread of Life, chapter 6. (Part 4) I am the Bread of Life. (vv52-58)
Posted on November 28th 2010 in St. John's Gospel
Jesus concluded the previous section with the statement, ‘I am the living bread come down from heaven’, and that this flesh ‘is for the life of the world’. The Chapter began with the feeding of the five thousand, later followed by the crowds searching Him out. Jesus educates their hunger towards the food that will last, but the crowds become antagonistic. They become the ‘Jews’. The only access to this living bread is the acceptance of Jesus’ divine origin. This proves impossible and so their antagonism becomes greater. They ask, ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?’ The ‘how’ of the gift is implied by the raising up on the last day. This refers to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The death of Jesus, the one sent by the Father, the Word made flesh (1:14; the key theme of the Prologue) through His self-giving on the Cross will provide flesh and blood for the world. The word used for eat here, ‘trogo’, means, in its literal translation, ‘crunch’, thus giving a graphic sense of the physicality of eating, rather than the gentler sense of eating the manna as a symbol of the Law.
The ‘crunching’ of the flesh and blood is the source of life for the believer, who now participates in the life of Jesus, Himself coming from the living Father. The new emphasis on ‘crunching’ shows a growing intensity from simple belief in Jesus, the subject of His conversation with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. The reception of this bread will ensure a continual mutual in-dwelling of the risen Jesus. He will ‘remain’, thus bringing the foretaste of heaven with Him. Heaven is where God dwells, and Jesus, who shares life with the Father, now brings this life to those who ‘crunch’ His flesh and blood. Eternal life, life with God, is now already being given and, in one sense, the end is being experienced now. Jesus concludes His arguments by stating that those who ate the physical food of the manna are dead, while those who eat this food will live forever as they participate in God’s own life.
Eucharistic themes occur throughout this passage, and the Eucharist replaces the Law as the definitive place to encounter Jesus Christ. Participation in the Eucharist forms the key element in the practise of the faith. The use of the verb ‘to crunch’ anchors this liturgical celebration in the once only sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.