John 6:24-35
Once again Jesus is before a multitude, very possible the same multitude he fed last Sunday. This multitude followed Jesus to the other side of the lake and when they found him, they wanted to know how Jesus got there. Jesus ignored their questions and protests about the real reason why they had followed him. The real reason was, they wanted more bread; they followed Jesus because he gave them bread and they were hungry again. They wanted more. Jesus as a great teacher sees here the opportunity to give them another lesson and he took them back -as he did last Sunday- to the wilderness; he took them back to the book of Exodus and talked about the manna, the bread that descended from heaven. It is ironic that this multitude asks Jesus for a sign to prove he is a messenger from God. It is ironic because last Sunday we read that they followed Jesus because of the miracles he did, and they also ate the bread and fish that Jesus miraculously multiplied.
In verse 35 we find a beautiful metaphor of Jesus about himself. It is the first of several “I AM” in the Gospel of John. He said, “I am the bread of life” those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never go thirsty.”
In the Gospels interpretation, we find three central moments different from one another: one is the moment when the event actually happened, in our case when Jesus actually told the multitude, “I Am the Bread of Life.” Second, is the moment when it was written and third, is the moment when is read. When Jesus told the multitude, -whom most of them were Jews- “You follow me because you ate until you were satisfied” and “do not work for the bread that spoiled, but work for the eternal bread.” He meant to say: I came to give you something more meaningful, I came to feed your faith and your hope, not your body only; all the miracles I have performed are to show you, I am the ONE you have been waiting for; I am the ONE God sent. Come to me, believe in me, and stop waiting, I am the Bread of life.
Second moment happened about 60 years later when John the writer of the Gospel decided to share this story with his community. This was a completely different scenario. It was not a multitude, it was a church; it was not a Jew community but a Greek community; they were not the people who were expecting the Messiah, nevertheless they had embraced the new faith, and John chose to share this story because he believed this story was meaningful to their relationship with Jesus.
As we know Greeks were philosophers, they had an eternal search for truth. They were always in the search of new teachers and new doctrines, their hunger for knowledge, their thirst for knowledge was never satisfied. And here we have John telling them that Jesus is the bread who can take that hunger and thirst away. By telling this story John meant to said to his community, his Greek Church: knowledge and philosophy are food for your brain but Jesus is food for your soul. Philosophy doesn’t satisfy your hunger for knowledge because it’s not absolute, it always changes according to the teacher but Jesus and his message is absolute, never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and will be the same tomorrow. Greeks loved food for their brains, John is offering them the faith in Jesus the Christ, Jesus the bread for the soul.
There is a third moment in the interpretation of the Gospel, that it is when is read. In our case, today. Jesus did not say “I am the bread of life… and who ever come to me will never be hungry and who ever believes in me will never be thirsty again” exactly for us; John did not write it with us in mind. But still God’s message is relevant for us today, because it reveals a God who is always searching for the lost sheep, and also reveals what we have in our heart and who we are. What we have in our heart is a deep desire to be with our heavenly Father; we as human beings are the same, we have not changed. Since Jesus’ times we are creatures who need the guidance of his creator; we are men and women searching for the path to return home.
What can John 6:35 can tell me, can tell us today? Can John 6:35 tell me something about my reality? The answer is yes. Why? Because the times in which John lived are similar to ours. Paul describes them very well in II Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lust; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.
“… and will turn away their ears from the truth and turn aside unto fables.”
Those are our times; we cannot endure the sound doctrine. Greeks had itching ears for new doctrines; we have itching ears for new conspiracies. Sound doctrine like “love you neighbor” are not essentials anymore for many who call themselves Christians.
But Jesus is standing in the midst of our generation saying “I am the bread of life come to me and you will never go hungry; believe in me and you will never be thirty again. Jesus is inviting us to feed ourselves with Him and everything he offers us. He is inviting us to stop feeding ourselves with the junk food this world is feeding us. This world spiritual life is not healthy because this world is eating the wrong food.
Our world is hungry, hungry for HOPE. Jesus is the only one who can give us HOPE because he is the only one who can transform our lives and the lives of everyone who comes to him; he is the one who can change our mourning into joy and our fear in power, love and self-discipline.
Our world is hungry for FORGIVENESS. We are carrying our GUILT, only Jesus’ blood has the power to clean our lives, our hearts and make us new creatures. He is the ONE who died, so we could live; he paid off our debt and made us debt free.
Our world is hungry for SALVATION. People ask, What will happen with me after my physical life ends? Only Jesus can give us eternal life. Why is he the only one? because He defeated death, because he said, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth on me, though he dies, yet shall he live. John 11:25.
Our world is hungry to fill the EXISTENTIAL EMPTINESS of our souls. Saint Agustin said, “There is within every man a God-shaped vacuum, an emptiness that only He can fill,” he also said, “You had made us for yourself O God, and the heart of man is restless until it finds its rest in you.” There is no substitute for the bread of life Jesus can give us. He, and only he is the answer and solution to the questions and needs of our lives and of this world too. Do not search anymore; do not feed your soul with any other kind of bread. Come to Jesus, come to his table, and feed your life.