Who's Leading Here?

Read Jn 6:35, 41-51

It’s worth spending another week on the ‘Bread of Life’ story. It shows how Jesus deals with people. It can help us understand how to deal with people.

Last week, we heard a bit about how Jesus handled the crowd. They thought they knew what they wanted, but Jesus knew better. After he did the bread miracle, he went off quickly. One reason was because people in the crowd wanted to make him king. He disappeared, then later the disciples followed.

The next day, the crowd returned, but Jesus still wasn’t there. They went off to find him. What did they want? They definitely wanted more of Jesus. But maybe they didn’t really know what they wanted.

When they found Jesus, he challenged them. Do you remember? He said they had come just for belly-bread. But he worked with them anyway. He had something more to give.

Did they respond well? Not really. He explained that the bread from heaven was really about food from God the Father. Jesus explained that he came down from heaven. And some of them wouldn’t believe, because they thought they knew where he came from. His father was Joseph, and his mother was Mary.

Isn’t that the way with people so often? They think they know. But they only know half of it. We can be like that, too. Often, a non-Christian can pull us up with a truth about life that teaches us. We should never limit God. Everyone, in a way, comes from the Father.

Jesus didn’t give up on these people. But he didn’t go easy on them. He spoke difficult truths. His language became harder.

Jesus was certainly hard to understand if you started from wanting to be a master. Some in the crowd wanted to make him a king. Some of them wanted more practical home deliveries like Moses. Some of them wanted him to act like a carpenter’s son. What did Jesus want?

Jesus wanted to point them to the Father. To God. He was here to do that job. To show the love of the Father. To show the way to the Father through him.

He was following his Father’s will. Jesus had discipline. He was his Father’s disciple, as well as his Son.

Jesus didn’t let the people make him into their leader. He was already the leader. He was calling for disciples.

If we have a disciple’s ear, we will stick with Jesus even when his words are difficult. In this passage, his words become more and more difficult! It was hard for the complainers to believe he was ‘bread from heaven’. It was harder to believe he was directly from God the Father and could grant eternal life. And finally, he made the hardest statement of all: “This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (v 51). Disgusting! “How so?” asked the complainers.

Sometimes, the biggest gift is the least appreciated. The person who works hardest to provide life can be rejected and belittled. Many mothers know this. But a disciple of Jesus begins with trust. Feed on Jesus. Then, bit by bit, the disciple, too, starts living like Jesus – spending of themselves to give others eternal life.

Our actions will not always be understood. People will take wheat bread and reject our words of truth, spoken in love. But how people receive is in God’s hands. We sow the seed and know that among the crowd, there will be some who are ready to grow.