John 6

I read John 6 yesterday and today. It took me an hour or so, longer than my usual 1/2 hour. The first part tells the story of a famous miracle--Jesus takes 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, prays, and from that lunch gives out enough for thousands of people to eat with leftovers besides. Then there is a transition, in which Jesus walks on a sea through a storm. The second part records Jesus talking about the meaning of the food miracle. And this part took me a long time to even think about.

I wish I could post this in two columns--one with the text, and one with the logic. (I do think Jesus is engaging with propositions. Statements such as "This is the work of God—that you believe in the One He has sent" and "The Spirit is the One who gives life; the flesh doesn’t help at all" typify Jesus' very direct style.) But this blog is no longer about its readers; I use it to think about things. So I'll just write some of the logic.

Work for eternal life food. How? By believing One who God sent from heaven. This One is the bread of God--Jesus. Therefore, believe Jesus to get Jesus and eternal life.

Everyone the Father gives Jesus will come, and the one who comes will not be cast out. Why? Because the Father wills it, and Jesus does the Father's will. More specifically, the Father wills that everyone who sees and believes in Jesus would then go on to have eternal life, raised up at the last day. Thus, Jesus will not lose any of these believers. This gives the divine mandate behind Jesus' previous statement ("believe Jesus to get Jesus and eternal life").

The previous statement ("everyone the Father gives Jesus will come...") is restrictive. That is, everyone the Father gives _and no more_ will come to Jesus. No one can come unless the Father draws him. The Father (though unseen by all but the One from God) teaches people such that they then go to Jesus.

The previous implication becomes explicit--"Anyone who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life." Like manna, Jesus came from heaven; unlike manna, Jesus is living. Eat this bread to live forever. Therefore, eating Jesus and believing Jesus are both necessary to live forever. [These may be the same.]

Eating and drinking Jesus is the only way to have eternal life. Why? Because Jesus' flesh and blood are real food and drink. The one who eats Jesus' flesh and drinks Jesus' blood lives in Jesus, and Jesus lives in him. Because of Jesus, this person will live. In the same way, because of the Father, Jesus lives.

Just as the living Father sent Jesus and Jesus lives because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Jesus will live because of Jesus. Part of this is unclear to me, but I think this: Jesus himself is living bread sent from the Father. The life in Him is from the Father. Thus, the life that a human gains from feeding on Jesus is the same kind of life Jesus has--not temporarily putting off death, but living as the Father lives, with life in himself. This describes the quality of the life that Jesus is talking about.

The Spirit is the One who gives life. Therefore this Spirit is a singular entity. Also therefore the Spirit gives life from the Father to Jesus. The flesh doesn't help at all. The words Jesus spoke are spirit and are life. The Spirit gives life to those who believe Jesus' words, eat his flesh, and drink his blood. The Father grants that these come to Jesus.

Therefore:

Believe this: The Father grants that people come to Jesus and wills that they have life. This life is given by the Spirit. This life is the same life that the Father has, life in Himself, which is the same that Jesus has, because Jesus was sent from the Father in heaven. It is not the life that the flesh has, i.e. eating bread and postponing death. This life is eternal. Jesus lives in those who eat, and they live in him.

Eating corresponds to having life--that is, if one eats, one has life; if one does not eat, one does not have life. Believing also corresponds to having life. Thus, eating and believing are inseparable.

But I don't think what it is to eat is clear yet...