by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
In the same chapter, after the episodes of our Lord feeding the 5,000 and then walking on the Sea (Lake) of Galilee, the Gospel of John 6:22-25 narrates that the crowd looked for the Lord and found him at Capernaum. The contextual discussion in John 6:26-59still flowed from the previous miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. One can see that as in his night time meeting with Nicodemus in Chapter 3 and his discussion with the Samaritan woman in chapter 4 there is a sense that in much the same way, the Lord Jesus was kept busy educating the throng about things that were more than what meets the eye. In our previous trips to Israel, I took some pictures of a 4th century AD White Synagogue at Capernaum which was built on top of a 1st century Jewish synagogue. The 1st century synagogue might have been the one that our Lord Jesus visited and where he taught (see my photos below).
In the synagogue at Capernaum, the Lord Jesus in the course of his teaching used the words Ἐγώεἰμι,“I AM” again but this time with the accompanying expected and explicit nominative predicate which is presented as a metaphor. This time also in John 6:26-59, he repeats these words 3 times; giving the “I AM” and the metaphor greater emphasis. The Lord Jesus only repeats his “I AM” and the metaphor here in Chapter 6; and also in Chapter 10 (where he uses 2 different words but related metaphors); and in Chapter 15. My ESV and NIV Study Bibles collectively classify and label these declarations containing the “I AM” and the metaphorical phrases as “The 7 Great I AMs” of the Gospel of John.
Here are the 3 Greek verses and my translations:
John 6:35: Ἐγώεἰμιὁἄρτοςτῆςζωῆς· (“I AM the bread of life;”)
John 6:48: ἐγώεἰμιὁἄρτοςτῆςζωῆς· (“I AM the bread of life;”)
John 6:51: ἐγώεἰμιὁἄρτοςὁζῶνὁἐκτοῦοὐρανοῦ καταβάς· (“I AM the living bread, the (one) having come down from heaven;”)
[It should be noted that in John 6:41 the “I AM the bread of life” statement is used and it is also mentioned that the crowd was grumbling and arguing among themselves about the Lord’s first utterance in John 6:35 and his accompanying teachings, specifically John 6:33 and 6:38. But the Gospel of John says that the people were quoting and summarizing what the Lord said so we should not count it as another distinct and direct declaration apart from what is listed above (6:35; 6:48; and 6:51).]
One should recognize that an outcome of this discussion about “ὁἄρτοςτῆςζωῆς” (“the bread of life”) was the fact that some of the disciples of the Lord decided to turn away and not follow him anymore. There are some prophecy teachers/writers who say that the Anti-Christ of the Book of Revelation is alluded to in John 6:66 where former believers fell and turned away (becoming apostates in the process). Although the chapter ends with the Lord already hinting of his betrayal by his close-in δώδεκα (“dodeka,” Twelve), these disciples and others made a faith affirmation and continued to follow our Lord after this. Indeed, it is clear that the “the bread of life” metaphor and the teaching about its meaning had an apparent polarizing effect on some of the people who were fed miraculously just the previous day.
Let us now look closer at these verses and their context which caused such a sharp reaction among the Ἰουδαῖοι (“Ioudaioi”).This term would normally just mean the Jews, in general. But the Gospel of John uses this noun as a negative way of pointing at the Jewish authorities, their instrumentalities and those people who ended up vehemently opposing the Lord Jesus and his teachings/message in narratives featuring controversies and conflicts. So as not to refer to the Jewish people in general, we can just use Ἰουδαῖοι as we encounter it in context.
In his teaching at Capernaum’s synagogue, in John 6:26 the Lord may have been partly addressing the Ἰουδαῖοι when he chided them for not properly discerning the sign of his being the Messiah but only concentrating on their satisfaction with the physical feeding with bread (and fish). The Lord asks them not to toil for βρῶσις (“brosis,” food) that perishes, but for food that is for eternal life that the Son of Man gives from the God the Father (John 6:27). The people then ask him what they must do so that they may do the works of God. The Lord responded by saying that they must believe the One sent by God. Then the Ἰουδαῖοι asked him for a sign (John 6:28-31). And they mentioned the feeding of the Hebrew nation with manna (“bread from heaven”) in the wilderness (Exodus 12). The Lord corrected them that it was not Moses who fed the nation but his Father who gives the true bread from Heaven. The Lord added that the bread of God is the One coming down from Heaven giving life to the world (John 6:32-33).
Their reaction is an analogy of the episode with the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s well. They asked in John 6:34 that this “true bread from Heaven” to be always given to them as the Samaritan woman asked for the “living water” to be given to her. It is not clear whether there was an undercurrent insinuation here that in the minds of the Ἰουδαῖοι asking for a sign, the Lord’s feeding of the 5,000 for only for a day pales in comparison with the Exodus feeding that went on for 40 years for many more people. But similar to his truthful revelation to the Samaritan woman, it is precisely at this point that the Lord Jesus responds and makes his declaration in John 6:35 using the first metaphor. The verse also states that the one coming to the Lord Jesus shall never hunger and the one believing in him shall never thirst.
We have already seen the great significance of the emphatic “I AM” used by the Lord. Now we momentarily turn our attention to bread. Is it an important word in scripture?
In the Old Testament (OT) alone, bread is mentioned 392 times. OT scripture reveals many other names aside from ordinary bread or food (לחם “lechem”) and unleavened bread (מצה “matzah”). Hebrew names exist for showbread, cake (for offering), leavened (bread), morsel, manna, disc of cake, white bread, and flat cake/wafer.
On the other hand, bread in the New Testament (NT) is mentioned 106 times. There is basically a noun: αρτος (“artos” meaning “bread”) and an adjective αζυμος (“azumos” meaning “unleavened”). But there are also other Greek names for food (i.e.,“broma,” “brosis” and “manna”).
So as it turns out the word(s) for bread in the Bible are mentioned nearly 500 times and are found in both the OT and the NT. There seems to be 2 basic types and names. And like the “I AM” we shall see that the metaphor has deep symbolic significance.
We will continue next week.
God bless us all.