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. 36 But I told you that although you have seen [me], you do not believe. 37 Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, 38 because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 39 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. 40 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.”
Jesus feeds about five thousand with five loaves and two fish; the leftovers fill twelve baskets (vv. 1-15). That night He comes to the disciples walking on the sea and brings the boat safely to shore (vv. 16-21). The crowd tracks him to Capernaum and He tells them not to work for perishable food but for the food that endures to eternal life (vv. 22-27). When they ask what God requires, He answers: believe in the One He has sent (vv. 28-29). They press for a sign like the manna in the wilderness (vv. 30-31). Jesus replies that it was the Father, not Moses, who gave the manna, and now the true bread from heaven gives life to the world (vv. 32-33).
The crowd asked Jesus for the “true bread from heaven” and He answered, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst”. When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” He is not offering a new rule but a new relationship. Bread sustains life; He gives God’s own life. “Comes to me” and “believes in me” run in parallel: to come is to believe, to trust his person. The promise—“never hunger… never thirst”—names the satisfaction of the heart that only God can give. Our deepest desires settle, not because we get everything we want, but because we finally come to the One for whom we were made (cf. Is. 55:1-3).
Israel once ate manna in the wilderness (Ex. 16), a daily gift that could not finally satisfy. Isaiah urged the people to “come… eat… listen, that you may live” (Is. 55:1-3). Jesus gathers these threads into himself. He is the true gift from heaven, the Word we must “listen” to and trust, the One who gives life that does not spoil and ends in resurrection.
Jesus adds that some have seen him and still do not believe (v. 36). Signs can start a search, but they cannot replace trust. The point is personal faith, not a quest for endless proofs. When faith is delayed, the appetite shifts from the Giver to his gifts.
He then lifts our eyes to the Father’s initiative: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me” (v. 37). The Father draws; the Son welcomes. There is firm assurance here: “I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” Divine grace does not cancel our coming; it makes it possible and secures our welcome.
“I came down from heaven” (v. 38) grounds this welcome in Jesus’ origin and mission. He is not a teacher guessing at God’s will; he is the Son doing the Father’s will. That will is pastoral and preserving: “that I should not lose anything… but should raise it on the last day” (v. 39). The same Lord who feeds us now will keep us to the end.
Jesus then restates the promise: everyone who “sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life,” and He “will raise him on the last day” (v. 40). Eternal life is not only future; it begins now as shared life with God. But it also has a horizon: bodily resurrection. The present gift matures into a future glory. Faith today meets a promise that reaches to the last day.
Lord Jesus, Bread of Life, draw us to yourself, steady our faith, and keep us in your hands until the day you raise us up. Amen.
____________________
Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel of John (Tractate 25), 4th–5th c.
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: John (2008).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990).
Comments