The scripture quoted above, was Jesus' response to the disciples who sought Jesus after the "feeding of the five thousand".  After coming to Capernaum they found Jesus and asked Him "when comest thou hither"?  Jesus responded by telling them they weren't seeking Him because they saw the miracle (of the fishes and loaves), but because they ate, and were filled.

   Jesus was using this opportunity to show the disciples where they had erred; by concerning themselves more with the satisfying of the flesh, and it's desires, than meeting their spiritual needs.

John 6:26-27 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

   Again, keep in mind that Jesus initiated this conversation with these particular disciples because they were of the ones who were fed miraculously with the fishes and the loaves.  After Jesus explained to the disciples that they should not labor for meat (or food) which perishes, but for that meat which is eternal (spiritual).  

   These disciples (unlike most of us today), were accustomed to working for food, searching for food, and laboring to prepare it.  Things weren't like they are today, we buy ready to eat meals or fast food; with no thought to where our next meal is coming from.  These disciples took the statement by Jesus to labor for eternal meat to mean they must 'work for it'.  

     John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

   Of course, Jesus wasn't teaching that in order to receive spiritual food they must work in the traditional sense.  But the work Jesus was referring to was to believe in Him, which is an action on the part of man to change his mind from previous beliefs regarding justification, and trust God's plan for justification, which is simply belief in Jesus.

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

   The next two verses (30 and 31) records the disciples reminding Jesus of the miracle of Moses in the wilderness, where over six hundred thousand were fed for forty years with "Manna from heaven", as they asked Jesus what sign He would give to prove Himself a prophet to them. The Jews always required a sign, and although they had been given one (the miracle of the fishes and loaves) they were seeking a better sign; almost as if to tempt Jesus to do one better than Moses did in the wilderness, to which Jesus responded...

John 6:32-33 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

   This statement seems to be Jesus' goal of the conversation with the disciples; to show them that HE IS that miracle which exceeded Moses' miracle in the wilderness. HE IS what that manna from heaven symbolized.  Which leads us to the passage that was quoted at the beginning of this article...

John 6:35-40 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst... For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me... And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

   Now, it is interesting to see what happens next, and how Jesus handled the following situation.

John 6:41-42 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.  And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

   Obviously, by the previous quote we can see that the Jews still did not understand the spiritual gift that Jesus was trying to explain to them that He was. Jesus was not attempting to convince the Jews that His flesh was food in a physical sense at all.  In fact, previously in verse 27 Jesus told the Jews that they should not labor for "meat that perisheth", but for that meat that endures unto everlasting life that the Son of Man would give them.  Jesus insisted that it was not food that He was referring to in the traditional sense, but a 'spiritual sustenance'.  If the meat Jesus was speaking of was an actual food that was to be taken by placing it in your mouth, and chewing it up... that would have been labor over and above believing, which Jesus said was the "work of God" required to receive the "bread of life" (v. 29 and v. 35).

   Jesus, expressing tolerance and mercy, upon hearing (or perceiving) their murmuring once again attempted to clarify His teaching that He (as the bread of life) was not to be considered equivalent with Moses' miracle of "manna from heaven", but compared with it as being the fulfillment of that sign.

John 6:47-51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.  I am that bread of life.  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

   Now, in verse 52 we see as Jesus did, that some of the Jews still did not understand what Jesus was teaching; again, that He is the "bread of life", which is in no way equivalent to 'sustenance' that edifies the physical body through the digestive system, but that spiritual meat which quickens the 'spirit' to eternal life.

   The important thing to understand at this point, is that the Jews did not believe because they required a sign (v. 30 and 31). It wasn't that it was impossible for them to understand, but that they were unwilling to accept Jesus' teaching regarding Himself as the "bread of life" because they desired some magnificent miracle that would prove He had more authority than Moses as a prophet.  They missed the point Jesus was making, that He Himself was the sign they were looking for.

   In a marvelous display of apologetics, Jesus employed 'irrational logic' to persuade the Jews to believe that He was "the bread of life", without giving them the magnificent sign or wonder they so earnestly desired.  This 'irrational logic' was to concede (in part) to the only position the Jews could take concerning Jesus and His statements about Himself, since they so stubbornly refused to believe that He Himself was the sign.  Although He did not lie, the tone of His statements changed at this point.  Jesus began to speak to the Jews regarding Himself, on the level they were accusing Him in verse 52...

John 6:53-57 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

   Of course, Jesus did not lie here; He was still speaking of Himself as the "bread of life" in a spiritual sense. He only worded the teaching in such a way to make it sound irrational for those who refused to believe that He was the giver of spiritual life; the author, supporter, and maintainer of it; and eternal life which He gives a right to for those who believe in Him.  The only conclusion the Jews could arrive at by refusing the fact that Jesus was the "bread of life from God" in the spiritual sense, was to assume Jesus was speaking of actually eating His flesh, and drinking His Blood in a very real sense... which caused those Jews to say...

John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard [this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

   Which is exactly the response Jesus intended to draw from those disciples. And the response to Jesus' sayings was... murmuring.  This time they were not murmuring that Jesus was claiming to be the "bread of life", but that (as they chose to take it) that His flesh was sent for the purpose of eating as food, and His Blood was sent by God for drinking as water.  To which Jesus responded...

John 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

  The fact is, it did offend them... very much.  They knew according to Levitical law that any man that drank blood would be cut off from his people (Lev. 7:27).  But, Jesus brought them to the end of their disbelief, and presented them with the only option left... to disobey Levitical law.  So, again Jesus clarified once more His previous statements regarding Himself...

   John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.

   "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" has a two-fold meaning.  First, Jesus was telling the Jews that this teaching was a spiritual teaching, and to believe this teaching and Him who taught it will lead to eternal life.  But, the second and more significant meaning was that the very words Jesus had been speaking to them all along were spirit and life... He had been feeding them all along!  The Jews, had they believed would have been fed throughout this entire lesson, because the very words that came from Jesus' were spiritually edifying, and life giving for those who believe.

   The "Bread of Life" is the Word of God.  Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14), and whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life (John 3:15-16; John 5:24; Acts 10:43; Romans 3:26;  1John 5:10; )

   Jesus did not teach that we are to actually eat his flesh and drink His Blood, to take this passage this way is to follow those same Jews in their unbelief and denial of the gift of God, the "Bread of Life", Who is Jesus Christ.

John W. Hardin