Catholic Biblical Apologetics: Hermeneutics: Literary Form and History of John 6:25-69

Continuing to look at the Gospel of John

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Any comments on the Gospel of John. I’ve been told by a priest that there is NO word in John that the Evangelist didn’t want in it. Every word, therefore, is of utmost importance.

Any other thoughts on the Gospel of John?

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You said:

“I’ve been told by a priest that there is NO word in John that the Evangelist didn’t want in it. Every word, therefore, is of utmost importance.”

I am a little confused. Of which Gospel account would this not be true?

Of Mark, it is probably true, although Mark has a lot of “ands” in it.

I guess, in the eyes of my priest, that Matthew and Luke have little extra words here and there too.

But he said that’s not so with John. John’s Gospel was well-thought out over a long lapse of time since it is the latest Gospel.

John 6 is a metaphor please read the 6th chapter of John from verse 1 until the end with me .

Jesus preformed a miracle where thousands were fed bread. He then went away from the crowd.

The crowd followed him, but not because they sought Christ as teacher or Savior, not because they knew he was the Christ, but because they wanted to get their stomachs full of bread.

Read the rebuke of Christ to them

Jhn 6:25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
Jhn 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

It was then He began to teach that they were looking for a miracle that would fill their stomachs ( as did the nation of Israel in the desert) and not for His presence or teaching. They only wanted their temporal needs met.

Jhn 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Jhn 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Jhn 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Jesus laid out that salvation was by FAITH, and that Faith was a work of the Father

Then then decided to put Christ to a test ...Give us PROOF. It was THEY that brought up the manna (bread) Not Christ

Jhn 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Jhn 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Jesus clarified where salvation comes from;

Jhn 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven

He was pointing out that the "bread from heaven " that kept their fathers only gave them physical life.. HE on the other hands was sent from the Father to give them eternal spiritual life.

They did not "get it" they were looking for REAL bread to give them physical life as had happened in the desert, they were looking for tangible bread like manna, justy as they were looking for an earthly savior not a divine salvation.

Jhn 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

Jesus then patiently explained to them that His flesh is life for the world.. His crucified body was what was going to bring eternal life, not a temporal one

Jhn 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Jhn 6:36 But I said unto you,That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
Jhn 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Jhn 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
Jhn 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

Jhn 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The entire message is on salvation by faith .

The listeners did not get it , they were hung up on another point .

Jhn 6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Jhn 6:42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

Notice the focus of the crowd was not on Him being the BREAD or eating Him but that He said he came down from heaven ( a claim of divinity )

Jhn 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Jhn 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Jhn 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Jhn 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

Jhn 6:48 I am that bread of life.
Jhn 6:49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Jhn 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Jhn 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Jesus here declares that the manna was a TYPE of Christ.. The manna gave physical life, His flesh is for the eternal life of men

Jhn 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?
Jhn 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Jhn 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Jhn 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. Jhn 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Jhn 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Jhn 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Keep in mind He had already taught at some length that He that believed on Him would be saved. He has already taught that the man that is taught by the Father comes to him and are saved. So to interpret this as other than a metaphor of being saved by His soon to be broken body and his shed blood, by internalizing the fact of the atonement in faith is not a good reading and it is not the understood by the new church

< Jhn 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

If they were offended at that, he was saying wait until you hear the rest

Jhn 6:62 [What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Jhn 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.
Jhn 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Jhn 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Jhn 6:66 From that [time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

They did not like hearing that salvation had to be given them and much like the manna in the desert, it was totally a gift of the Father. They could not do anything on their own to earn it, they only had access to it by faith ( remember the Jews could only gather enough manna for the one days meals, and for 2 days on the day before the sabbath, they had to have faith in God to provide what was necessary for their life) . The idea that salvation was all of God and not found in law keeping was blasphemy to the law oriented Jews that felt their salvation was based on their will, their law keeping etc

To make an attempt to make this a teaching on the Lords supper misses the mark. Christ was still alive and in His flesh and he was, by your reckoning , telling them to do something they could not do because the Lords Supper had not been instituted yet,it is a spiritual eating and drinking that is here spoken of, not a sacramental.

This was clearly a metaphorical teaching to Jews looking for a Physical savior like Moses, and for physical bread to meet their physical hunger. Jesus always used symbols that the Jews and the apostles understood to make spiritual points.

It may be metapahorical to you, but to Catholics, it speaks the truth directly and simply. No metaphors.

John
Chapter 6

25: And when they found him across the sea they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
26: Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
27: Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, ¹⁵ which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
28: So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
29: Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
30: So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?
31: ¹⁶ Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
32: So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33: For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34: So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
35: ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
36: But I told you that although you have seen (me), you do not believe.
37: Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
38: because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.
39: And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it (on) the last day.
40: For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him (on) the last day."
41: The Jews murmured about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven,"
42: and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
43: Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring ¹⁸ among yourselves.
44: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.
45: 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.
46: Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.
47: Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
48: I am the bread of life.
49: Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
50: this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
51: 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."
52: The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"
53: Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
54: Whoever eats ¹⁹ my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55: For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
57: Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
58: This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."
59: These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60: ²⁰ Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
61: Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?
62: What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? ²¹
63: It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh ²² is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
64: But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.
65: And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."
66: As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
67: Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"
68: Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
69: We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Foortnotes:

¹⁵ [27] The food that endures for eternal life: cf John 4:14, on water "springing up to eternal life."

¹⁶ [31] Bread from heaven: cf Exodus 16:4, 15, 32-34 and the notes there; Psalm 78:24. The manna, thought to have been hidden by Jeremiah (2 Macc 2:5-8), was expected to reappear miraculously at Passover, in the last days.

¹⁷ [35-59] Up to John 6:50 "bread of life" is a figure for God's revelation in Jesus; in John 6:51-58, the eucharistic theme comes to the fore. There may thus be a break between John 6:50-51.

¹⁸ [43] Murmuring: the word may reflect the Greek of Exodus 16:2, 7-8.

¹⁹ [54-58] Eats: the verb used in these verses is not the classical Greek verb used of human eating, but that of animal eating: "munch," "gnaw." This may be part of John's emphasis on the reality of the flesh and blood of Jesus (cf John 6:55), but the same verb eventually became the ordinary verb in Greek meaning "eat."

²⁰ [60-71] These verses refer more to themes of John 6:35-50 than to those of John 6:51-58 and seem to be addressed to members of the Johannine community who found it difficult to accept the high christology reflected in the bread of life discourse.

²¹ [62] This unfinished conditional sentence is obscure. Probably there is a reference to John 6:49-51. Jesus claims to be the bread that comes down from heaven (John 6:50); this claim provokes incredulity (John 6:60); and so Jesus is pictured as asking what his disciples will say when he goes up to heaven.

²² [63] Spirit . . . flesh: probably not a reference to the eucharistic body of Jesus but to the supernatural and the natural, as in John 3:6. Spirit and life: all Jesus said about the bread of life is the revelation of the Spirit.

Catholic Biblical Apologetics

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Literary Form of John 6:25-69

Literary History of John 6:25-69