When people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, «Master, when did you come here?». Jesus answered, «Truly, I say to you, you look for me, not because you have seen through the signs, but because you ate bread and were satisfied. Work then, not for perishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give it to you, for he is the one the Father has marked».
Then the Jews asked him, «What shall we do? What are the works that God wants us to do?». And Jesus answered them, «The work God wants is this: that you believe in the One whom God has sent». They then said, «Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe you. What sign do you perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says: ‘They were given bread from heaven to eat’». Jesus then said to them, «Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread God gives is the One who comes from heaven and gives life to the world». And they said to him, «Give us this bread always». Jesus said to them, «I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty».
Source: http://evangeli.net/gospel/
Analysis
Today's passage is a harsh reminder to us on believing Jesus. Do we truly believe Jesus down to His hidden sides, or do we only believe because of miracles? The passage opens with people trying to find Jesus but not finding Him. As such they went to Capernaum and found Jesus and His disciples on the other side. The Jews asked how Jesus got there, but Jesus answered harshly that they came not because they understood the signs, but only because they ate the multiplied bread and were satisfied. Jesus then reminded to work for eternal food, and not perishable food. The Jews asked again, what kind of work is willed by God.
Jesus answered that it is to believe in the One that is sent by God, i.e. Jesus Himself. The Jews seems to understand, and asked what kind of signs Jesus has performed, saying that their ancestors have ate the manna in the desert. Jesus then reminds them that it is not Moses who gave the food, but it is God who gave it from the heavens. Then Jesus said that the bread God gives is the One who comes from heaven and gives life to the world. The Jews asked Jesus for that bread, only for Jesus to answer that He is the bread of life, whoever comes to Him shall never go hungry, and those who believe shall never be thirsty.
This is quite the interesting passage here. In the first part, what Jesus means is that the Jews only believed in Jesus because He performed miracles, miracles that benefited them none the less, not because the Jews truly believes in the signs. What are the signs? Signs here refer to the actual teachings and sayings of Christ, and the general trend of society, which basically proves Jesus' words of warning. They do not believe Jesus because of the truth, they believe Jesus merely because Jesus can perform miraculous acts. Jesus harshly reminds them not to just work for perishable food, but for eternal food, that is the truth and the kingdom.
The Jews asked Jesus what work is to be done, and Jesus answers that they must believe in Him. Of course, this does not mean to acknowledge Jesus as king or as God, but to acknowledge His words, that is the truth and work towards it. Even then, the Jews question Jesus to give them signs, which shows that they only believe in Jesus in the surface, materially, if Jesus were not to perform signs, they would not believe. They used the example of the manna to compare Jesus with Moses, and thought that Moses was the one who made the manna fall, but Jesus reminds that it is God who gave it, and not Moses.
Then, Jesus tells the Jews that the bread of life is not manna, but it is the One who comes from heaven and gives life to the earth, the Jews asked for Jesus to always give that bread, and finally Jesus proclaimed that He is the bread of life. Why is it that Jesus describes Himself as one that gives life to the earth? This is because as He dies, He gives up His eternal life for everyone else, thus allowing them to have a second chance to fix their lives and not die eternally. And why is it that if we come to Jesus, we will never be hungry or thirsty? Of course this is a metaphor, but the point is Jesus bears the truth, and the truth is more valuable than anything else, that it shall satisfy us for all time.
One may wonder, is the manna miracle historical? That is, did it actually happen and is not just a Jewish fabrication? If it isn't, why did Jesus mention it? Again, Jesus is only human, and He is limited by human limits, and He lives in a Jewish community and is taught Jewish thoughts. As such, it is only sensible to think that Jesus would mix up Jewish teachings with the truth, thus this happens. On the other hand, is it actually possible that bread can come from the sky, scientifically speaking? Yes, but with a lack of historical evidence, it is unlikely.
Now, what can we learn from this passage from ourselves? There is one thing that we can learn, that we should believe Jesus truly and understand Him truly. You see, many of so called Christians now only believe Jesus by name, by songs, by scriptures, as such they only believe Him for the materialist wonders He has. They do not go deeper and try to understand or get to know Jesus personally. They go to Jesus not for eternal truth, but only for temporary pleasures and satisfaction. This is what must be avoided, when we believe in Jesus, do not go for the Gospel or the Church, but ask ourselves, who is Jesus in our life and why does it matter? We must not worship Him, but understand Him. However, when we truly understand Him, and follow Him we must sacrifice many things, are we ready and willing to do so? That is all I have to say, have a nice day and see you tomorrow.
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