John 6:35-51
The Bread of Life
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35Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
36But as I stated, you have seen Me and still you do not believe.
37Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
38For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
39And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
40For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
42They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus replied.
44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
45It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—
46not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
47Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.
48I am the bread of life.
49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.
50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die.
51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” Whoever comes to Him will never hunger, and whoever believes in Him will never thirst. Yet He says they have seen Him and still do not believe.
Everyone the Father gives Him will come, and Jesus will never cast out the one who comes to Him. He has come from heaven not to do His own will but the will of the One who sent Him. The Father's will is that He lose nothing of all He has given Him but raise it up on the last day.
The Jews grumble because Jesus says He came down from heaven. They know His father and mother and ask how He can now say He came down from heaven. Jesus tells them not to grumble among themselves.
No one can come to Him unless the Father draws that person, and Jesus will raise that person on the last day. He recalls Isaiah 54:13: God's people will be taught by God. Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Jesus. Faith begins in God's gracious work, not in our ability to recognize Him without help.
That dependence is joined to a welcome we can rely on. Jesus never drives away the person who comes to Him. His promise extends beyond the moment of coming: He will lose none of those the Father gives Him and will raise them at the last day. Our hope rests in the Son faithfully carrying out His Father's will.
Those who ate manna still died. Jesus gives a life death cannot finally take away, and He says the bread He will give for the world's life is His flesh. This gift will cost Him His own life. The bread of life is not something Jesus hands over while remaining untouched; He gives Himself.
Questions
1 What does Jesus call Himself?
AnswerHe calls Himself the bread of life and promises that whoever comes to Him will not hunger and whoever believes will not thirst.
2 What does Jesus promise the person who comes to Him?
AnswerHe promises never to cast that person out and to raise the person on the last day according to the Father's will.
3 Why do the Jews grumble?
AnswerThey know Jesus' earthly family and cannot reconcile that familiarity with His claim to have come down from heaven.
4 What bread will Jesus give?
AnswerHe says the bread He gives for the life of the world is His flesh, pointing to His self-giving for the world's life.
What This Means for Us
Jesus offers more than temporary satisfaction. He offers Himself, and His promise includes welcome for the person who comes and preservation through the Father's will.
When someone fears that Jesus will reject them, return to His words: the one who comes to Him will never be driven away. We can ask the Father to draw us to His Son and rest our hope on what Jesus promises, rather than on how strong our faith feels that day.
Prayer
Jesus, nourish our household with Your self-giving love. Keep us from grumbling at what we do not understand, and teach us to receive Your life with gratitude. Amen.