35-36 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38-40 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

41-42 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43-44? Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45-46 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me - not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.” John 6:35-46 English Standard Version

Crowds came looking for Jesus after He miraculously provided a feast from a few loaves of bread and some fish for over 5000 people. But Jesus said to them: “Don't labour for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:27) In today's reading we see that He plainly told them that He Himself was the 'bread of life' that they needed. Yet, despite the miracle they’d seen, they refused to believe His words. What was the startling response that Jesus gave, first in vs 37, and again in vs 43-44?

I'm sure that all the books in the world cannot explain the mystery those words imply. But because we can't understand the decisions God makes, it doesn't mean we should reject His words. While the crowds that day were stubbornly rejecting Him, Jesus knew that the Father who had sent Him into the world would open the hearts and minds of others to come to Him. He pointed out (in vs 45-46) that this was a truth even the prophets had spoken of, namely, that God would Himself teach men and women who Jesus really is.

The hardness of heart and darkness of understanding of the people that day is further seen in what they grumbled about. They weren't perplexed at His words that only those who the Father drew would come to eternal life – what was it that troubled them? (vs 41-42)

They were upset with His claim that He had come down from heaven! Because they knew who His parents were, they could only see His humanity. This brings us to the heart of what it is that the Father reveals to those whom He draws to His beloved Son. At the end of this Chapter we will read how, because of all that Jesus was saying, many would-be followers turned away from Him. Then Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” And Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69)

On another occasion Jesus asked His closest disciples: “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this wasn't revealed to you by flesh and blood - but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:15-17) It takes an act of God for men and women to realize the true identity of Jesus. If someone today is struggling to accept that Jesus came down from the Father, let them cry out to God to open their eyes and heart to see this truth. And for any who have believed that Jesus is the Messiah, but fear that their faith is weak, or that they may not be welcomed by Him, look at the precious promise Jesus makes in vs 37?

Take heart too in that He also said: “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”