Constant Coulibaly

Jesus came into the world for the salvation of the soul, not to offer material and social well-being to men. Not all Christians understand this truth, as evidenced by the attitude of the disciples in John 6.

The context of John 6 is that Jesus fed a large crowd of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Instead of concluding from this miracle that Jesus was the Son of God, the disciples identified Him as a prophet in reference to the Messiah promised in the Old Testament (v. 14; Deut. 18:5).

The disciples had long imagined the coming Messiah as a revolutionary man who would overthrow the Roman Empire and free the Jewish nation from its oppressive rule (Acts 1:6). They longed for the Messiah or Saviour to elevate the nation of Israel to the status of a world power and then to provide for their everyday food. They for that reason planned to force Jesus to become their king. Jesus saw through their intentions and did not want this to happen. So, He went up a mountain alone to get away from them. (v. 15) After that, the disciples went out to try to find him.

When the disciples found Jesus on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they asked Him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?". Jesus replied, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” Then He said, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” (v. 27)

Jesus was here speaking of spiritual bread in contrast to material bread. But the disciples did not get the lesson as they were too focused on physical bread. Jesus tried a second time to convey the lesson on the importance of spiritual nourishment, but the disciples' minds remained fixed on physical food. When they asked what they needed to do to obtain the bread He mentioned, Jesus clarified that he was not referring to material bread, but rather wanted them to believe in Him - the One whom God had sent (v. 29).

For the third time, Jesus attempted to make these Jewish disciples understand the lesson about the spiritual food. They had questioned Him to find out if He would provide them with bread, just as Moses did by giving manna to their forefathers in the desert (Exo. 16-17). This was a subtle way for them to say that they would only follow Jesus if He met their material needs. These men struggled to move past visible provisions to see spiritual realities. The reason for that failure was that they were not truly interested in the spiritual food. All they wanted was something they could hold in their hands, which is the case for many people today, including Jesus’ professed followers.

Jesus again makes an effort to get His teaching across to these men when He declared, "I am the bread of life." (v. 35) He meant that He could forgive their sins, deliver them from the punishment of sin, and give them eternal life with God in heaven.

Jesus later explained that eternal life would be possible because of His perfect sacrifice. He would offer Himself to make up for our sins by dying on the cross. Through His crucifixion He would give his body, and this is how we could have our sins forgiven. It is by faith in Jesus' sacrificial death that we "eat" His flesh and “drink” His blood, and therefore receive the blessing of eternal life (v. 51-52). The disciples interpreted Jesus' words as meaning they would have to literally eat his body, which they thought was cannibalism. Their minds were still focused on earthly concerns.

The statement Jesus made saying that He was the bread of life disappointed His followers. Many of them at that point began to question whether they should continue to believe in and follow Him. What Jesus had said meant for them that he was refusing to provide them with more bread than he had given when he miraculously fed the multitude. (v. 60)

Finally, in a profound statement that sums up the teachings of Jesus in John 6, the Lord said, "...The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." This means that while God can give life to our physical bodies through material food, He can also give life to our souls through spiritual food. The word of God is that which gives life to our souls (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3).

Jesus teaches that true, lasting life is found not in the physical but in spiritual things. Even if we nourish our bodies daily, we will still eventually die. Simply taking care of our physical needs cannot satisfy our deeper purpose and longing.

Wealth and material possessions don't provide lasting satisfaction. The rich will still die and have to leave all their riches behind. Earthly pleasures also can't truly fulfill us. All material things of this world vanish when we die.

These truths are not hard to understand, but accepting them is the real challenge. The twelve apostles eventually came to understand them, except for Judas Iscariot who, driven by greed, accepted thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16). When many of Jesus' disciples decided to no longer follow Him, Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked them, "Do you also want to go away?" Simon Peter then answered on behalf of them all: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (v. 66-68). Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the source of eternal life (John 1:1, 1:4). So, if we want to live in heaven with God, we must listen to Jesus Christ, submit to Him and obey his teachings.