12-26-2021, 10:00 AM
(I thought I had posted this Saturday, but I can't find it anywhere on the forum.)
John's is the only Gospel to share this story, and he puts a different spin on the context. Jesus has been performing miracles and teaching massive crowds all around Galilee. After feeding the 5000, John notes the crowd came very near to forcibly declaring Jesus King. This adds a critical element to the story, as to why Jesus disappeared up the ridge to pray. It was necessary to ensure He was about to do the right thing. A confrontation was brewing.
This same crowd wasn't ready to give up. Next morning they went back to the wilderness place where the miracle feeding took place. They knew the disciples had left in their boat, and that Jesus had stayed. The disciples had not returned for Him, yet Jesus wasn't there, either. So they all rowed or walked back to Capernaum, hoping to find Jesus there. No luck. Eventually they heard that everyone was gathering around Gennesaret, so they hurried there. They acted almost a little peeved, perhaps thinking He was playing games with them. How did He get there on the far shore during the night without being noticed?
The miracle of walking on water was for the disciples to experience, so Jesus didn't bother to explain. Instead He pointed out that it wasn't even the miracles that drew them, but the simple fact that He filled their bellies. He warned them that their worldly focus was contrary to the eternal nature of the Messianic Kingdom. They should invest their efforts in securing the bread that fed their souls, for which God the Father had placed His stamp of approval on Jesus.
To this they asked what kind of work was He referring to. Jesus replied that the primary work of the Kingdom was declaring Him their feudal Lord. Wasn't this more or less what they had tried to do the day before? What miracle sign would He display now that would make it obvious He was actually going to lead them into the Messianic promises? Up to now, it seems like He's playing head games, showing miracles that would qualify Him as Messiah, yet not doing anything to lighten the burden of bad government. Was He going to reign or not? How about that manna during the Exodus they heard so much about?
They weren't following Moses in the first place, and certainly didn't have to endure what their forefathers did on the journey from Egypt. Manna would be part of that package. Besides, it didn't really do the forefathers that much good. They should rather focus on the Bread of Heaven that would give them eternal life. Being so tightly locked into their worldly orientation, all they heard was that it would be something better than manna. Sure; why not?
Jesus then used the figure of speech that He was the Bread of Life. Anyone who bowed the knee to Him as Messiah would never lack for anything they really needed for Kingdom service. Yet He has already warned them that they can see Him with their eyes -- meaning His teaching and miracles -- and still weren't ready to offer the level of commitment He wanted from them. It's one thing to be ready to face Rome and the Jewish rulers with these nifty miracles, but it's another thing to ignore all of that and focus on something spiritual in nature.
Anyone who truly embraces Him as Lord has no reason to doubt His power and promises. He's didn't come down from Heaven to seek His own convenience as a man, but to press the moral and spiritual claims of His Father. When He grants citizenship in His eternal kingdom, nothing in this world can take it away. Stop worrying about your short miserable life here on earth; consider the eternal life that will see you resurrected on the Day of Judgment.
In the crowd were some Pharisees and such; they began to rumble about this claim to come down from Heaven. They knew where He grew up, so how could He claim to be from Heaven? The whole crowd was hung up on fleshly thinking. Jesus told them to stop derailing the discussion.
He acknowledged that this was not a rational decision. The only people who would declare Him Lord were those whom the Father granted faith. Those people would live into Eternity. As a hint, Jesus quoted Isaiah 54:13, from a passage long established as symbolic, not literal. God Himself is the only one who can grant a listening heart, and such people would be the only ones able to embrace Jesus as the Messiah. It's not a question of sitting in class with God as your literal teacher; humans can't see God that way. The only people who could grasp the meaning of this kind of figurative language were people of faith, people already marked as eternal.
So Jesus said it again: He was the Bread of Life. People who ate manna during the Exodus died, if that was all they had going for them. But those who could operate by faith and embrace this Bread of Life would not see the grave. They would leave their mortal bodies behind and live in Heaven. So Jesus was going to give up His mortal flesh so they could follow Him into Eternity.
The Pharisees were being obtuse. Going to give us His flesh to eat, eh? Jesus pressed it home. Yes, if you don't consume what His human life accomplished on your behalf, then you cannot hope for Eternity. His flesh was the real food of Heaven, and His blood was the true wine of the Spirit Kingdom. Feed your soul; let God worry about feeding your body until you no longer need it.
John takes a moment to note that this thread of discussion carried over into His return to Capernaum in the synagogue there. The symbolic language choked a lot of people who had been following Him around up to that point. Even without their saying anything out loud, He knew in His heart that many hearts in the crowd weren't with Him. It was time to make a clean break, to polarize these people the way His message would eventually polarize the whole nation.
Was this kind of talk too much for them? Would it make it any easier if He literally ascended to the Heavens in their presence? No, they would still not be able to embrace Him as Lord. The business of the Spirit Realm cannot be formulated in concrete terminology. His Words beckoned them from that higher realm of existence. But only those who were enabled by the Father could shift their focus from fleshly concerns to eternal concerns.
Finally, the empty souls in the crowd stopped following Him around. They went back to their drab lives of flesh. He turned to the Twelve and asked if they were put off, as well. Peter's answer was that they had nowhere else to go. They might not understand everything He taught, but they were convinced it was the Word of God. Whatever happened now, He was still the Messiah.
"Did I not choose wisely with you Twelve? And yet, one of you is a devil." Of course, He was referring to Judas Iscariot, who would later betray Him. This, even though he had performed miracles himself by Jesus' authority. John was pointing out that the time had not yet come for Judas to betray his lack of spiritual understanding.
John's is the only Gospel to share this story, and he puts a different spin on the context. Jesus has been performing miracles and teaching massive crowds all around Galilee. After feeding the 5000, John notes the crowd came very near to forcibly declaring Jesus King. This adds a critical element to the story, as to why Jesus disappeared up the ridge to pray. It was necessary to ensure He was about to do the right thing. A confrontation was brewing.
This same crowd wasn't ready to give up. Next morning they went back to the wilderness place where the miracle feeding took place. They knew the disciples had left in their boat, and that Jesus had stayed. The disciples had not returned for Him, yet Jesus wasn't there, either. So they all rowed or walked back to Capernaum, hoping to find Jesus there. No luck. Eventually they heard that everyone was gathering around Gennesaret, so they hurried there. They acted almost a little peeved, perhaps thinking He was playing games with them. How did He get there on the far shore during the night without being noticed?
The miracle of walking on water was for the disciples to experience, so Jesus didn't bother to explain. Instead He pointed out that it wasn't even the miracles that drew them, but the simple fact that He filled their bellies. He warned them that their worldly focus was contrary to the eternal nature of the Messianic Kingdom. They should invest their efforts in securing the bread that fed their souls, for which God the Father had placed His stamp of approval on Jesus.
To this they asked what kind of work was He referring to. Jesus replied that the primary work of the Kingdom was declaring Him their feudal Lord. Wasn't this more or less what they had tried to do the day before? What miracle sign would He display now that would make it obvious He was actually going to lead them into the Messianic promises? Up to now, it seems like He's playing head games, showing miracles that would qualify Him as Messiah, yet not doing anything to lighten the burden of bad government. Was He going to reign or not? How about that manna during the Exodus they heard so much about?
They weren't following Moses in the first place, and certainly didn't have to endure what their forefathers did on the journey from Egypt. Manna would be part of that package. Besides, it didn't really do the forefathers that much good. They should rather focus on the Bread of Heaven that would give them eternal life. Being so tightly locked into their worldly orientation, all they heard was that it would be something better than manna. Sure; why not?
Jesus then used the figure of speech that He was the Bread of Life. Anyone who bowed the knee to Him as Messiah would never lack for anything they really needed for Kingdom service. Yet He has already warned them that they can see Him with their eyes -- meaning His teaching and miracles -- and still weren't ready to offer the level of commitment He wanted from them. It's one thing to be ready to face Rome and the Jewish rulers with these nifty miracles, but it's another thing to ignore all of that and focus on something spiritual in nature.
Anyone who truly embraces Him as Lord has no reason to doubt His power and promises. He's didn't come down from Heaven to seek His own convenience as a man, but to press the moral and spiritual claims of His Father. When He grants citizenship in His eternal kingdom, nothing in this world can take it away. Stop worrying about your short miserable life here on earth; consider the eternal life that will see you resurrected on the Day of Judgment.
In the crowd were some Pharisees and such; they began to rumble about this claim to come down from Heaven. They knew where He grew up, so how could He claim to be from Heaven? The whole crowd was hung up on fleshly thinking. Jesus told them to stop derailing the discussion.
He acknowledged that this was not a rational decision. The only people who would declare Him Lord were those whom the Father granted faith. Those people would live into Eternity. As a hint, Jesus quoted Isaiah 54:13, from a passage long established as symbolic, not literal. God Himself is the only one who can grant a listening heart, and such people would be the only ones able to embrace Jesus as the Messiah. It's not a question of sitting in class with God as your literal teacher; humans can't see God that way. The only people who could grasp the meaning of this kind of figurative language were people of faith, people already marked as eternal.
So Jesus said it again: He was the Bread of Life. People who ate manna during the Exodus died, if that was all they had going for them. But those who could operate by faith and embrace this Bread of Life would not see the grave. They would leave their mortal bodies behind and live in Heaven. So Jesus was going to give up His mortal flesh so they could follow Him into Eternity.
The Pharisees were being obtuse. Going to give us His flesh to eat, eh? Jesus pressed it home. Yes, if you don't consume what His human life accomplished on your behalf, then you cannot hope for Eternity. His flesh was the real food of Heaven, and His blood was the true wine of the Spirit Kingdom. Feed your soul; let God worry about feeding your body until you no longer need it.
John takes a moment to note that this thread of discussion carried over into His return to Capernaum in the synagogue there. The symbolic language choked a lot of people who had been following Him around up to that point. Even without their saying anything out loud, He knew in His heart that many hearts in the crowd weren't with Him. It was time to make a clean break, to polarize these people the way His message would eventually polarize the whole nation.
Was this kind of talk too much for them? Would it make it any easier if He literally ascended to the Heavens in their presence? No, they would still not be able to embrace Him as Lord. The business of the Spirit Realm cannot be formulated in concrete terminology. His Words beckoned them from that higher realm of existence. But only those who were enabled by the Father could shift their focus from fleshly concerns to eternal concerns.
Finally, the empty souls in the crowd stopped following Him around. They went back to their drab lives of flesh. He turned to the Twelve and asked if they were put off, as well. Peter's answer was that they had nowhere else to go. They might not understand everything He taught, but they were convinced it was the Word of God. Whatever happened now, He was still the Messiah.
"Did I not choose wisely with you Twelve? And yet, one of you is a devil." Of course, He was referring to Judas Iscariot, who would later betray Him. This, even though he had performed miracles himself by Jesus' authority. John was pointing out that the time had not yet come for Judas to betray his lack of spiritual understanding.