The bread of life discourse

JESUS said to the crowds: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to My Father and learns from Him comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is My Flesh for the life of the world.” REFLECTION

TAUGHT BY GOD. Referring to God who draws people to faith in His Son, Jesus looks back to the prophets who said, “They shall all be taught by God.” In his time, Isaiah prophesied of the redeemed Jerusalem (Zion), “All your children shall be taught by the Lord; great shall be the peace of your children” (Is 54:13). In turn, Jeremiah foretold of the new covenant, with the Lord Himself writing His Law upon people’s hearts: “They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, ‘Know the Lord!’ Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know Me” (Jer 31:34).

The prophets foresaw that in the last days, God would be known not by hearing about Him but by personal experience; people would be taught directly by God. Now, in Jesus, God has assumed a human form, and people can recognize Him. Jesus is for human beings the bread that comes down from heaven for the life of men and women. He is the bread that brings people to communion with God.

Now, Jesus speaks of the bread pointing to His person. He speaks of His “Flesh” given for the life of the world. His discourse shifts from bread-person to bread-eucharist. This is “the mystery of faith”; we need the grace of God to embrace it. “Make known to me your ways, Lord; teach me Your paths” (Ps 25:4).