John 6:22-33

Part 1 of John 6:22-59

In this chapter, Jesus talks about himself as the Bread of Life, answers people’s questions, and tells them they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life.  The dialogue runs from John 6:22 through 6:59.  We will explore it in parts, beginning with John 6:22-33.

Read John 6:22-33 the crowd questions Jesus

The next day, the crowd expects to find Jesus still on the mountain, since they know that he went up the mountain to pray and his disciples left by boat.  When they don’t find him, they go to Capernaum because that was where he had been preaching before the feeding of the 5,000.  Matthew 4:13 tells us that Jesus had moved to Capernaum from Nazareth.  We might think of Capernaum as his Galilee headquarters.

In verses 22-24, why do you think the crowd is looking for Jesus?

In verse 26, what is the reason Jesus gives for why they are looking for him?

What is your main reason for following Jesus?

In verse 27, what does Jesus tell the crowd they need to do?

What would be examples of food that perishes?

Jesus is not telling us that we shouldn’t work to get food to feed ourselves.  What is his point?

Still looking at verse 27, what is food that endures for eternal life?  In what way does it endure for eternal life?

What is Jesus telling us about the things we work for or strive for?  How can we apply this in our lives today?

In John 4:14, Jesus said that the water he offers is a spring of water welling up to eternal life.  In 6:27, he says that the food that he gives endures for eternal life (6:27).  How are both images related to eternal life?

The crowd responds to Jesus’s comment about work by asking a new question: What do we need to do, to be doing the works of God (verse 28)?  In verse 29, Jesus tells them what the work of God is.  What does verse 29 mean to you?

In what way is believing in Jesus the work of God?

In verse 30-31, the crowd, or some people in the crowd who are more antagonistic toward Jesus, challenge Jesus.  Why do you think these people want still more signs?

The people in the crowd recall the manna that appeared daily while the Israelites were in the desert, which God called “bread from heaven” in Exodus 16:4.  The people were aware of Jewish writings that suggested that God would once again miraculously provide manna to the Jews in the last days.  It is possible that these people in the crowd were suggesting that if Jesus really was the Messiah he should provide bread every day.

Why do you believe in Jesus without more signs?

In verse 32, Jesus corrects some misunderstandings.  First, he says that it was not Moses who provided the bread from heaven; it was God.  We may have times when we forget that God is the source of our blessings and sustenance.  Why is it important to remember that God is the ultimate source of all the good we experience?

Second, Jesus says in verse 32 that it is not enough to say that God “gave” bread from heaven in the past; he “gives” the true bread from heaven now.  Jesus is not yet speaking about the Eucharist (that will come in verses 50-59); he is speaking of himself.  How is Jesus the true bread from heaven?

In verse 33, Jesus says he gives life to the world.  How does Jesus give life to the world?

How does Jesus give life to you?

Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus has been describing himself as coming from heaven – i.e., he is not just a human.  In this conversation, he redirects their focus.  They are thinking about manna provided to their ancestors in the desert in the past that fed them temporarily; he is bread given by his Father in the present that gives life to the world.  This sets us up for the text sentence, where Jesus says, “I am the Bread of Life.”

Take a step back and consider this:

In verse 29, Jesus uses the active verb to believe.  He does not say that belief (noun) in Jesus is the work of God, but that believing (verb) in Jesus is the work of God.  Believing is something you actively do, not something you passively accept.

Jesus is trying to draw the crowd away from thinking that they are there to passively receive something from him, whether it is teaching or food, and to instead see his words as a call to action.  But the action he seeks is not more of the works-oriented law-following that the Jewish religion was full of at that time, but instead a believing that enters into a relationship with the One in whom they are invited to put their trust.

Our faith does call us to embrace certain beliefs and spurs us to do good things for others, but Jesus is not focused on either of those things in this passage.  He is calling the people to engage with him personally just as they are engaged with the food they eat.  How do you keep your eye on believing in the person Jesus?

How can your relationship with Jesus invigorate you and sustain you the way bread and other food nurtures and sustains your body?

What is one step you can take this week to reinforce your decision to believe in Jesus?