6:25 thru 6:70 (Mar 2)

"What must we do to do the works God requires?" Wow, that is a great question. Jesus gives the same answer that he gave Nicodemus in 3:16: "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent". This is the work that does not "spoil" and "endures to eternal life" (v27). The people respond by asking for a sign and citing scripture: "He gave them bread from heaven to eat". My study bible says that a popular Jewish expectation was that when the Messiah came he would renew the sending of manna. The people saw the miracle of the loaves and fish, and it seems that they wanted the renewal of the manna to start right then and there.

Jesus declares that he is "I am", the living bread who has come down from heaven. He offers them something better than free food - eternal life! Their response is similar to Nicodemus. How can Jesus have come down from heaven when we know his parents? Jesus repeats the truth: "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life". How can we eat his flesh? Jesus repeats the truth and goes even deeper: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life". Believing in Jesus means believing in why he was sent down in the flesh - the significance of his blood to forgive sins.

This is a hard teaching, to be sure. It is not the free meal that many in the crowd were looking for, and they turned back and no longer followed Jesus (v66). Tragically, Jesus was offering them something "free", if they would believe. And it was much more than physical food. Not everyone falls away, though. Simon Peter gives voice to the believers: "You have the words of eternal life. We believe!". The application for me, again today, is to not get so focused on my daily problems and struggles [manna] that I cannot see and accept the more abundant, more wonderful things that God has for me [spirit and life, the work He has for me] - if I will submit to Him and listen for His voice.