Theme of the Bread of Life in the Gospel of John Matthew Philip Miller

INTRODUCTION: PRELIMINARY ESSENTIALS OF BIBLICAL SIGNS AND MIRACLES

Before attempting to understand the signs contained within chapter six of the Gospel of John, one must have a proper understanding of biblical signs, and this section will provide a short treatment to prepare the reader for the scope of this work as a whole. Most biblical scholars and theologians agree that miraculous signs are intended to point to something other than the sign itself. God does not empower his messengers to perform signs for the purpose of having the signs themselves become objects of worship but to re-direct worship to the Empowerer. This is the nature of signs in general, to not bring attention to themselves but to that which they signify. For example, a stop sign is not itself a law, but it points to a law written in a book which is stored in county, state, and federal courthouses. This written law demands the driver to come to a complete stop before proceeding through the intersection. The stop signs octagonal shape, red background, white lettering, and reflective surface do not constitute the law but bring the written law to the drivers attention. Apart from that to which it points, a sign is mere matter. A biblical example is the signs which Moses performed in Pharaohs courts in the Book of Exodus. These miraculous signs were meant to display Gods power and convince those who saw these miracles that the God of Israel was the one, true God. The Lord intended Pharaoh and his people to see His awesome power and repent, but they hardened their hearts toward these signs and did not marvel at the displayed power, nor did they take the next logical step of fearing and worshiping the sign-Giver. Pharaohs heart was not moved when the Lord turned the water of the Nile River into blood (NKJV, Exodus 7:23). However, the reader may see the true, intended effect of these signs in Rahabs words to the Israelite spies in Joshua 2:9-11: I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt

And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. (NKJV) However, signs are not limited to physical manifestations of Gods power, although they predominantly happen in this way. Words can function as signs when they are used to point to deeper, greater realities. Jesus and the prophets often taught and spoke in this manner, using mundane realities to point to spiritual realities. For example, in John 4:1-26, Jesus uses a water-well to demonstrate the eternal satisfaction of the life which is found in Him. The words which are used in conjunction with signs differ from figurative language in that they are not merely symbolic representations of something but are communicated via Gods power and wisdom. There is a significant difference between Jesus figurative teaching at the well and the use of figurative language in describing a calm mood by comparing the mood to the sound of waves breaking against a shore. And when words are employed by Gods messengers and hence fall into the sign category, they are always accompanied by a greater demonstration of Gods power, such as the display of Jesus omnipotence in John 4:17. In conclusion, signs may be either physical manifestations of Gods power or the words which accompany a display of His power (though the latter is not always the case). The purpose and intention of a sign being given is to point to something other than the sign itself; biblical signs point to the signGiver. The anti-purpose and anti-intention of a sign being given is for the sign to become a replacement for what it signifies; a mere stop sign, with its material, color, and shape, cannot serve nor explicate a lawful ultimatum to a driver aside from the common sense in the drivers mind to stop at an intersection.

FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND

To understand the theme of Jesus teaching that he is the bread of life in John chapter six, one must understand the events which precede this teaching, which include two signs: (1) the feeding of at least five thousand people with five barley loaves and two fishes and (2) Jesus walking on water. The signs contained within this chapter provide the framework for the theological teaching which accompanies the narrative, which includes (1) Jesus as the bread of life from heaven and (2) the necessity of partaking of him in order to be owned by him. These events and teachings happen in a logical order and will be addressed as such in this work. The chapter begins with a multitude following Jesus and his disciples because of the signs which they saw him perform when he cured the diseased earlier in the Gospel. John records other events which occur as a result of masses of people following Jesus because of the signs he performed, and this is generally not a positive thing. For example, in chapter 2, many people believed and were excited about Jesus because of the signs he had performed during the Passover, but Jesus did not want to have anything to do with them for he knew that in their hearts they did not truly love or desire him but were excited about him because of his works (see verses 23, 24). It was not Jesus they were pleased with but his signs (refer to this works introduction). Jesus does not flee from the multitude in chapter six but uses this opportunity to demonstrate who he is and the nature and scope of his coming, life, and ministry. This demonstration begins with Jesus making asking Philip, his disciple, how they should go about feeding this great multitude. Jesus knew he was going to perform a sign and expound upon the greatness of himself, but he asked Philip in order to test his faith (Henry 1535). This is the first element of the sign: the need and means by which the sign will be performed. Jesus ends up literally creating enough bread to feed thousands upon thousands of people, for from five loaves of bread and two fish they all ate until they were full. His disciples were his waiters in this amazing, gospel-powered feast. At the end of this miraculous event, there were twelve baskets of bread and fish fragments leftover.

To what does this sign point? There are two hugely significant theological implications of this sign which give insight into what Jesus will later teach about himself as the bread of life: (1) Jesus created enough bread to fill the multitude and (2) Jesus created enough bread to fill the disciples. Jesus physically created physical provisions, a sole activity of the uncreated Creator. The sign had an effect on the people: They saw that Jesus displayed the powers of God to such a magnitude that they figured he was the expected Prophet, the Messiah. But to what extent did they see Jesus as the Messiah and Prophet? Just as Jesus knew the minds of the people who believed in him in chapter two, so here Jesus knew the people only wanted to make him king of Israel for political expediency. Their hearts did not treasure Jesus but his power and the fruit thereof, and they exalted the sign above the sign-Giver. A miracle-worker who could create food out of nothing and fill the bellies of thousands, who could cure all manners of diseases, who could turn water into wine, would make the perfect candidate for a king who would overthrow the Romans and re-establish Israel1. This was the first-century Jews expectation of the Messiahs role. Jesus withdrew himself from such a role. The multitude only saw the material component of the sign as did Nicodemus in chapter three (shall I crawl back into my mothers womb in response to the new birth teaching) and the woman at the well in chapter four (but you dont have a bucket in response to the living water teaching). Seeing, they did not see.

WALKING ON WATER

The thoughts expressed in this section are shaped by the teaching and insights of John Piper in his sermon entitled The Allst Providing King Who Would Not Be King as preached on November 1 , 2009 (transcript available at DesiringGod.org).

What of the disciples response to this sign? Was their response the same as the multitudes? Jesus had withdrawn himself immediately after the multitude was full, and that night the disciples departed by boat to Capernaum. A fierce storm arose, but they were more frightened by a faint apparition in the distance which was heading towards their boat and seemed to be walking upon the raging waters (Henry 1536, col. 2). Yet, when they saw this was Jesus, they took him into the boat with gladness. No mention is made of Jesus awesome power in calming the storm and having amazing, divine power over nature. In fact, no mention is made of the storm subsiding at all. Instead, John emphasizes the disciples relief in Jesus presence. They treasured him for who he was, without regard to the threatening physical surroundings. He was enough for them. He satisfied them. They loved him. They had just spent the day serving thousands and thousands of people, yet they did not outserve God as he provided for them more than enough food, one basket for the each of them2 (cf. Matthew 16:5-10). Not only did he provide abundant physical provisions for them, but he was their emotional and spiritual Provider and Comforter even when he met them on the boat. They saw and delighted in Christ as a result of the walking on water sign, which is the exact intended effect of a sign.

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

Jesus had laid a sufficient enough framework in verses 1-21 to move into teaching about the nature and scope of his coming, life, and ministry as signified in the prior two signs. The crowd followed Jesus and his disciples across the sea. Again, this is not a positive indication of their desires, but their actions are still within the scope of Jesus intentions as mentioned in 6:6. Indeed, they were only following Jesus because their bellies were no longer full of bread. The time is ripe for Jesus to launch into his teaching and take them into the meaning of the sign. Instead of, as they had been, seeking the Messiah for his physical-provisional benefits, they should have been
2

The thoughts expressed in this section are shaped by the teaching and insights of John Piper in his sermon entitled Twelve th Baskets of Bread and the Walk on Water as preached on November 8 , 2009 (transcript available at DesiringGod.org).

seeking him for his spiritual-provision benefits (verse 27). This is the first real insight Jesus gives to what it means that he is the bread of life: What they had sought from the Messiah would perish when the digestion cycle of their intestines was completed, when what they should have been seeking from him was something of eternal value and duration (compare Jesus response in verse 27 to his response to the woman in 4:14). The next insight comes when the crowd responds, What are we supposed to do to be doing the works of God? Surely works come to mind because Jesus just told them to labor for food which lasts unto eternal life. Jesus tells them that believing in Him is to be doing the works of God. The Jews knew that works afford the righteousness necessary to please God and be saved, and this believing will becomes integral in understanding how Christ is eternal bread. Again, the peoples bellies are empty and they require another sign from Jesus to validate what he is saying to them (v. 30). The Jews associated Jesus words of food that doesnt perish to the manna which God provided for them in the wilderness. Jesus responds with another insight into what it means that he is the bread of life: It was not Moses who gave them the bread, but God. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world (NKJV 6:33). God gave them manna in the wilderness and now gives His Son to the world. Just as Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman were blind to Jesus sign-language, the crowd immediately associated verse 33 with physical bread. They did not at all understand what Jesus was saying. Jesus is making the point that it was not the physical manna that God provided in the wilderness that was the miracle, but the manna was given to point to Him and his provisional work and grace towards them. This was well revealed within the light of the Old Testament Scriptures, for Deuteronomy 8:3 states that man is not to live by manna alone but by every word that comes from the Lords mouth. The nature and scope of Jesus as Messiah, as bread of life, is not the mere signs he works but the spiritual provision he affords in the giving of his body to give life to the world.

This is why whoever partakes of this heavenly bread, and drinks of his eternal waters shall never hunger or thirst. He expounds on this idea a few verses later in verses 47 and 51: those who believe, who see what the sign is intended to show, have eternal life and partake of this heavenly bread, and he equates this heavenly bread with his flesh. Those who ate the manna in the wilderness died, but those who eat the heavenly bread will never die. But Jesus doesnt make this point without bringing up another insight which will ultimately cause many of his disciples to leave him. He tells them the reason of their resistance to accept his words: They despised this heavenly bread just as the rebellious generation had in the wilderness, which cared only for the physical provisions, despising Gods sustaining, miraculous bread to the point that they wished to return to the foods of Egypt (Numbers 21:5)3. Jesus thus creates a paradox: believing in Him to the point of partaking of Him is to work the works of God, yet the unbelieving, sign-seeking crowd was totally unable to come to this point. Seeing, they did not see. They were dead to these spiritual realities, as were Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. The disciples believed in Jesus in this way, but the crowd did not; Jesus had healed the disciples of the political atmosphere of revolutionary excitement (Shepard 265) and brought them into His kingdom, but the crowd would only ever see Jesus as a bread-giver and sign-worker until they believed in Him for who he was. How is this paradox resolved by Jesus? How does a spiritually dead person partake of heavenly bread? How does a spiritually dead person enjoy Jesus the way the disciples had enjoyed Him? How does a spiritually dead person come to and believe in Jesus (6:35, 47)? No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him (NKJV 6:44). The commencement of believing, coming to, and partaking in Jesus flesh, the bread of life, is the drawing of the Father. Jesus states this in verses 37, 39, 44, and 45. The Fathers drawing the people to Christ and
3

The thoughts expressed in this section are shaped by the teaching and insights of John Piper in his sermon entitled Do Not th Labor for the Food That Perishes as preached on November 15 , 2009 (transcript available at DesiringGod.org).

the Fathers giving the people to Christ are one in the same and are what initiates the belief and satisfaction found in Him as the true bread: Observe that the donation of the Father is the first step in our delivery into the charge and protection of Christ (Calvin 619). Jesus is really tearing into them with this teaching, and in doing so He exposes their utter need for him as well as their scandalous expectations and perversion of his provisions. In verses 60 and 66, we see that the crowd had a very hard time accepting this teaching. It was not only the cannibalistic motif which Jesus used to present this teaching to them but also His continual revealing of their spiritual deadness and need for the drawing of the Father which caused them to leave Him. Those only interested in the signs and not in Him as he truly was and is, left. Yet, the disciples remained, believing in, satisfied with, and feasting on the real Jesus Christ. The bread of life is Jesus body and is given for the world (through His Passion). Eternal life comes to all who come to feast upon Christ as his saving death and resurrection from the dead [are] the pledge of eternal life to us (Harrington). It is unnecessary to go so far as to say that our sacramental medium must be Christs body and blood (Kavanaugh) because partaking of his body and blood is to participate federally in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-10, Colossians 2:11-15). As bread satisfies, strengthens, comforts, sustains, and fills our stomachs, so is Christ to our spirits. True belief sees the Giver in the gifts. This satisfaction is found only in Jesus Christ (John 6:68).

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Works Cited Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. New York: Hendrickson, 2007. Harrington, Daniel J. "Spiritual Hunger and the Bread of Life." America 195.3 (2006): 39-39. Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999. Kavanaugh, John. "Laboring to believe in the bread of life." America 171.2 (1994): 31-31. Shepard, J. W. The Christ of the Gospels: An Exegetical Study. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Company, 1967.