Joh 6:33 | KingComments | STEP | That the crowd asks for a sign is once again proof of their unbelief. As if the Lord has not yet given enough signs. And they themselves have just seen a great sign in the multiplication of the loaves. It seems that the sign He has given through the feeding has not convinced them of His mission. For them, the bread He gave did not come out of heaven, but from the earth, and the fish from the sea. No, but the manna that their fathers had eaten in the wilderness, that bread, they say, came from heaven. It is as if they were saying that the sign that Yahweh did in the wilderness ( ) was far greater than that of the Lord Jesus. After all, Yahweh provided food for a nation of millions for forty years. They even quote a word from the Old Testament, showing that the manna is called “bread out of heaven” ( ; ). If He, Jesus, would do such a thing, they would believe Him. By reminding the Lord of this word from the Old Testament, they make a distinction that is not there for faith. Jesus is the Same as Yahweh of the Old Testament. They also forget that the people in the wilderness finally did not believe these wonders and sinned against Him ( ), just as they also forget how Israel later despised the manna ( ). The Lord reprimands them, once again with that emphatic, double “truly”, followed by the powerful and authoritative “I say to you”. He first points out that it was not Moses who gave them the bread out of heaven. Perhaps in they mean that Moses gave them the bread out of heaven and that they did not even attribute the giving of manna to Yahweh . It is very short-sighted to attribute the wonder of manna to Moses. The Lord does not elaborate on that. It is about the ‘kind’ of bread. The bread of which they say Yahweh or Moses gave it, is bread that the people needed time after time. In addition, it could not have prevented them from dying after all ( ). Therefore, the Lord proceeds directly from Moses and the bread that came out of heaven in his days, to the true bread that the Father gives out of heaven. He wants them to realize that the true life of the Father comes out of heaven and that this is now given to them, not to their fathers. Next, He points out that the bread out of heaven is a Person, “He”, Who descends from heaven and gives life not only to a certain people, but to the world. The Lord speaks of “the bread of God” meaning Divine bread, bread that comes from God to serve as food for those to whom He gives it. It is spiritual bread, bread that must be eaten in a spiritual way. Because He gives this bread, there is life in it for those who take it. In this bread the true life for the world can be found. It is offered to everyone, indiscriminately. Linked to ‘the bread of God’ is also the thought that God feeds Himself with the Lord Jesus. Of course this is not in the same way as people do, but as the joy for His heart (see Leviticus 21, where some translations speak of the ‘bread of the LORD ( Yahweh )’, ). What is joy for the heart of God, He gives to the world as life.

‏ John 6:33

The Bread Out of Heaven

That the crowd asks for a sign is once again proof of their unbelief. As if the Lord has not yet given enough signs. And they themselves have just seen a great sign in the multiplication of the loaves. It seems that the sign He has given through the feeding has not convinced them of His mission. For them, the bread He gave did not come out of heaven, but from the earth, and the fish from the sea. No, but the manna that their fathers had eaten in the wilderness, that bread, they say, came from heaven.

It is as if they were saying that the sign that Yahweh did in the wilderness (Exo 16:15) was far greater than that of the Lord Jesus. After all, Yahweh provided food for a nation of millions for forty years. They even quote a word from the Old Testament, showing that the manna is called “bread out of heaven” (Neh 9:15; Psa 78:24 ; Psa 105:40). If He, Jesus, would do such a thing, they would believe Him.

By reminding the Lord of this word from the Old Testament, they make a distinction that is not there for faith. Jesus is the Same as Yahweh of the Old Testament. They also forget that the people in the wilderness finally did not believe these wonders and sinned against Him (Psa 78:32), just as they also forget how Israel later despised the manna (Num 21:5).

The Lord reprimands them, once again with that emphatic, double “truly”, followed by the powerful and authoritative “I say to you”. He first points out that it was not Moses who gave them the bread out of heaven. Perhaps in Jn 6:31 they mean that Moses gave them the bread out of heaven and that they did not even attribute the giving of manna to Yahweh. It is very short-sighted to attribute the wonder of manna to Moses.

The Lord does not elaborate on that. It is about the ‘kind’ of bread. The bread of which they say Yahweh or Moses gave it, is bread that the people needed time after time. In addition, it could not have prevented them from dying after all (Jn 6:49). Therefore, the Lord proceeds directly from Moses and the bread that came out of heaven in his days, to the true bread that the Father gives out of heaven. He wants them to realize that the true life of the Father comes out of heaven and that this is now given to them, not to their fathers.

Next, He points out that the bread out of heaven is a Person, “He”, Who descends from heaven and gives life not only to a certain people, but to the world. The Lord speaks of “the bread of God” meaning Divine bread, bread that comes from God to serve as food for those to whom He gives it. It is spiritual bread, bread that must be eaten in a spiritual way. Because He gives this bread, there is life in it for those who take it. In this bread the true life for the world can be found. It is offered to everyone, indiscriminately.

Linked to ‘the bread of God’ is also the thought that God feeds Himself with the Lord Jesus. Of course this is not in the same way as people do, but as the joy for His heart (see Leviticus 21, where some translations speak of the ‘bread of the LORD (Yahweh)’, Lev 21:21-22). What is joy for the heart of God, He gives to the world as life.