“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”' So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen [me], you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day (Jn. 6:27-40).”
Those who believe in Jesus will receive living water (Jn. 4:14), and the bread of life (Jn. 6:35) through his words of revelation of the Father. Jesus told the crowd that they should believe in the one who was sent by God. The crowd demanded a sign similar to when God provided bread from heaven to the Jews wandering in the desert (Ex. 16:13-36; Ps. 78:24). The Israelites expected the Messiah to do the same (Eccl. 1:9). The true bread from heaven is not food but the bread of God that comes down from heaven which gives life to the world (v. 33). The angels in heaven feed of the bread of God (Wis. 16:20) so we must eat the bread of life while on Earth to prepare us for the heavenly life. Only those given to Jesus by the Father will come to Jesus in faith and none of them will be lost. The Jews who believed in Jesus were cast out of the Synagogues, but Jesus does not cast out anyone who comes to him. Judas was not given to Jesus by the Father.
Almighty God, we thank you and we praise you for giving us to Jesus who lovingly cares for his flock and does not lose any. Feed us with the bread of life that we may be strengthened to follow your Son no matter where the journey takes us or what crosses we have to bear until we come to the heavenly banquet in your kingdom. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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