saying: “Amen, amen, I say to you: You seek me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth[1], but for that which endureth[2] unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
Then they said to Him: “Lord, give us always[3] this bread.” But He answered: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. The bread which I will give is my flesh for the life[4] of the world.”
Hearing this, the Jews who were in the synagogue began to dispute among themselves, saying: “How can this man[5] give us His flesh to eat?” Jesus, far from putting an end to their dispute, by applying a figurative meaning to His words, repeated[6] with even greater earnestness and solemnity what He had spoken: “Amen, amen, I say unto you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood, hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My Flesh is
- ↑ Which perisheth. i. e. earthly food.
- ↑ Which endureth. You seek me so as to obtain food which can sustain your mortal life. I, however, fed you in that wonderful manner in order that, your faith being awakened, you might be prepared to receive that food which will give unto you everlasting life.
- ↑ Give us always. The Jews, being fleshly-minded, could not perceive the meaning of our Lord’s words. They thought He was promising them some miraculous earthly food, such as the manna, the receiving of which would take away all necessity of providing for their daily bread. Therefore they exclaimed eagerly: “Lord, give us always this bread!” using words very similar to those used by the woman of Samaria.
- ↑ For the life. Thus our Lord promised 1) to give, i. e to sacrifice His human Body (His Flesh and Blood) for the life of the world, and 2) to give His Body to be our food. And in this sense the Jews, as we shall see, understood His words.
- ↑ How can this man. The incredulity of the Jews contrasts jarringly with the great promises of our Lord. Setting aside all respect for Him, they spoke of Him as “this man”, and loudly disputed with one another, how it was possible for Jesus to give them His flesh to eat and His Blood to drink. Our Lord wished them to believe the fact, and leave the how to Him.
- ↑ Repeated. Our Lord does three things: 1. He insists that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood. 2. He threatens the unbeliever with loss of eternal life. 3. He comforts the believer with the assurance of eternal life.
