At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:41-51)
What does 'unless the Father who sent me draws him' mean?
Jesus is saying that those who seek the Supreme Being are directed to God's messenger and representative of God. It is God who directs us to His messenger if we are seeking the Truth.Furthermore, Jesus is clarifying that the Supreme Being sent him and authorized him. This clearly makes Jesus God's messenger and representative.
Jesus also indicates here that the Supreme Being directs us according to our desires. If we desire to know Him, then the Supreme Being directs us to someone He has empowered to represent Him. This is the meaning of: "No one can come to me unless the Father Who sent me draws him" and "Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me."
Jesus is explaining how people are given the vision to see Jesus' relationship with the Supreme Being: God gives that vision from within, should there be a sincere desire to come to know the Supreme Being.
Via God's direct and indirect arrangements, we are each directed towards our particular goals. If we have certain physical desires, then God's physical mechanisms automatically direct us to those means. Or if we want to pretend we are religious to impress others, then God or His mechanisms will direct us to charlatan religious teachers and their institutions to achieve those goals.
But if we are serious about knowing Him, the Supreme Being will direct us to His bona fide representative.
Jesus also indicates here that the Supreme Being directs us according to our desires. If we desire to know Him, then the Supreme Being directs us to someone He has empowered to represent Him. This is the meaning of: "No one can come to me unless the Father Who sent me draws him" and "Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me."
Jesus is explaining how people are given the vision to see Jesus' relationship with the Supreme Being: God gives that vision from within, should there be a sincere desire to come to know the Supreme Being.
Via God's direct and indirect arrangements, we are each directed towards our particular goals. If we have certain physical desires, then God's physical mechanisms automatically direct us to those means. Or if we want to pretend we are religious to impress others, then God or His mechanisms will direct us to charlatan religious teachers and their institutions to achieve those goals.
But if we are serious about knowing Him, the Supreme Being will direct us to His bona fide representative.
What does 'they will all be taught by God' mean?
Jesus is quoting Isaiah when he said, "'They will all be taught by God.'" What did he mean by that? We find the meaning when we read Isaiah in context (Isaiah 54:5-13):
"For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is His Name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
He is called the God of all the earth.
The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.
"For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
In a surge of anger
I hid My Face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.
"To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor My covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
"O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your sons will be taught by the LORD,(Here is Isaiah 53 in context.)
and great will be your children's peace."
Who are these verses referring to?
Here God is referred to as "Maker," "Holy One of Israel," "LORD" and "LORD Almighty" in the above verses.God is communicating through Isaiah that He wants us back. He wants us to return to our relationship with Him. We belong to Him. We are His loving companions and He is our husband. He is our Redeemer. He is our ultimate Master and He loves us deeply.
But because He also gives us the free will to love Him or not, each of us has the choice to love Him or not. We have strayed from Him, but He wants us to choose to return to our relationship with Him.
We might carefully consider God's statement above:
"For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion, I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness, I will have compassion on you."What kind of God is speaking these words here? Is this coming from a vague force or cloud in the heavens? Are we talking about a burning bush or a thunderous voice?
No. The Supreme Being is a Person. He has a Personality and a Face. The Supreme Being also has feelings and emotions. He cares deeply about us. He is Someone we can love and care for. He is someone we can love and serve.
Why isn't this a common interpretation?
We might wonder why so many teachers of sectarian institutions do not see that these and so many other verses and books of the Bible are referring to a beautiful, loving Supreme Being. Why do so many interpret this as God being a vengeful, jealous and angry God?The answer is that the leaders and teachers of these institutions are not ready to accept a superior being. We don't want to accept that the Supreme Being is greater than ourselves and He is in charge. This has caused a gross misinterpretation and in so many cases, a mistranslation of the Bible scriptures with respect to the Supreme Being.
This is a common thread among humans simply because we want to be masters rather than caregivers or servants. This has created a barrier between us and the Supreme Being - caused by our intention to be superior.
This is why we are away from the Supreme Being, and why we misunderstand His communications to us over the centuries. Because we wanted to be superior, we were tossed out of the spiritual realm into a rehabilitation center of sorts. We abandoned our natural position as caregivers and servants.
Yes, the physical world is a rehabilitation center, and our rehabilitation efforts are voluntary. This means we have the freedom to keep ignoring the Supreme Being and His dedicated children - or not. We have the choice to work ourselves back into the spiritual realm to be with Him - or not.
Now should we desire to return to Him, as Jesus stated above, He will direct us to His empowered representative. God's representative is like an ambassador in a foreign country. A traveler who gets put in jail in a foreign country will have no other hope but the ambassador of his home country to negotiate his return to his homeland.
The Supreme Being is doing the same thing when he embarks His representative. We are in a foreign country, in that this physical world is not our home. We are trapped here, without a refuge other than God and His representative. Should we sincerely desire to return home, God directs us to His representative, who guides us back home.
Is it really this practical?
No fantastic or imaginative scenarios are needed. The Supreme Being is a very pragmatic and practical person. He has a purpose for each of us - but still gives each of us the freedom to decide whether we want to be part of that purpose or not.“I will raise him up on the last day,” refers to the time of death. Being raised up means having a spiritual consciousness at the time of death. Such a consciousness can be given to us by following the teachings of Jesus. Should we have such a consciousness, we'll be raised up back to the spiritual realm.
This is ultimately the power of the Supreme Being. Jesus states clearly elsewhere, these teachings are coming from the Supreme Being:
“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me." (John 7:16)As indicated, above, the “last day” is the time of death of our current physical body. Each of us has a last day of the physical body. It is not some mysterious day in the future when there will be an apocalypse (an interpretation originally conjured up by ecclesiastical teachers of the church - dictated by the Roman government - to scare followers into paying their tithings). It is the day that each of us dies.
On that day, everything in our physical world is torn away from us: Our family, our name, our reputation, our money, our home and all our material possessions are ripped away from us in one fell swoop. This is the day that each person dreads.
This is also the day we are judged for our activities in this lifetime: It is Judgement Day. If we have taken refuge in the teachings of the representative of God, we are guided back to God's spiritual world. If not, we are given more training and sent back to the physical world for continued rehabilitation.
As explained with that verse, the reason why Jesus says, "I am the bread of life" is because He is representing God, and delivering God's message - which gives life: "But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die."
This is also the day we are judged for our activities in this lifetime: It is Judgement Day. If we have taken refuge in the teachings of the representative of God, we are guided back to God's spiritual world. If not, we are given more training and sent back to the physical world for continued rehabilitation.
Why does Jesus say, 'I am the bread of life' again?
Jesus also mentioned this earlier, when he said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry."As explained with that verse, the reason why Jesus says, "I am the bread of life" is because He is representing God, and delivering God's message - which gives life: "But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die."
We are obviously not talking about eating Jesus. That is ridiculous. Jesus is using bread as a metaphor.
So what would Jesus be bringing to the people that would give them the ability to not die?
Jesus many times spoke of the physical body as differentiated from our actual identity as spiritual:
So what do the metaphors of "bread" and "flesh" mean, then?
Jesus was speaking of the knowledge he was giving to others: His teachings. This is Jesus' very substance - what his focus was as he walked the earth. Jesus spent so much time teaching people. He stood before masses and he spoke to small groups. He spoke privately and he spoke publicly.
So what would Jesus be bringing to the people that would give them the ability to not die?
Why did Jesus say, 'the bread is my flesh'?
Jesus also spoke about the bread being his flesh at the last supper. Was he speaking of his literal flesh? Many teachers of sectarian institutions say that Jesus was speaking of his sacrifice on the cross, thinking that by devouring his dead physical body we are saved (as is done ceremoniously during rituals with wine and crackers). This doesn't make sense. It is also ghoulish - akin to cannibalism. Jesus was not referring to them literally eating his physical body.Jesus many times spoke of the physical body as differentiated from our actual identity as spiritual:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear...." (Matt 6:25)He taught that we should seek the higher realm:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matt. 5:6)Why would Jesus suddenly want people to start eating his physical flesh to become saved?
So what do the metaphors of "bread" and "flesh" mean, then?
Jesus was speaking of the knowledge he was giving to others: His teachings. This is Jesus' very substance - what his focus was as he walked the earth. Jesus spent so much time teaching people. He stood before masses and he spoke to small groups. He spoke privately and he spoke publicly.
The four books of the New Testament contain only some of his teachings. Biblical scholars say there were at least 50 books of Jesus' teachings being distributed before the Roman government compiled their own set into the Bible and banned the rest.
In other words, simply accepting God's or Jesus' existence does not save us. Anyone can accept God's existence - even the most selfish, evil person can believe in God's existence.
Rather, Jesus is speaking of trust. This means to rely upon God. It means to trust that Jesus' instructions come from the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being cares for us.
It means trusting that the Supreme Being wants the best for us, and everything that happens is ultimately for our welfare. The Supreme Being wants us to be happy. If we follow the instructions from God's representative, we will become happy, and fulfilled.
Jesus represented the Supreme Being as he delivered to others the knowledge about how they could come to know and love God. Once we come to know and love the Supreme Being, we can return to Him at the time of death ("raise him up on the last day.").
This is also precisely what the Supreme Being spoke of through Isaiah. God wants us to return to Him, and He sends His loving servants as His representatives to give us the knowledge and instructions to be able to return home to Him. And what is the central instruction given by Jesus, Moses and all the other bona fide representatives of God?
What does 'bread' refer to?
The use of the word“bread” as analogous to hearing knowledge from the loving servant and representative of God is appropriate because this knowledge is like food in that it satisfies the spiritual living being - assuming the person takes that knowledge to heart and begins to act upon it. This culminates with taking up the loving service to the Supreme Being. Jesus stated this elsewhere:“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work." (John 4:34)Acting on the instructions from God's representative is also the meaning of "he who believes has everlasting life." "Believes" is not a good translation* of the Greek word πιστεύω (pisteuō). The word also means to trust - see below for a more appropriate translation*
In other words, simply accepting God's or Jesus' existence does not save us. Anyone can accept God's existence - even the most selfish, evil person can believe in God's existence.
Rather, Jesus is speaking of trust. This means to rely upon God. It means to trust that Jesus' instructions come from the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being cares for us.
It means trusting that the Supreme Being wants the best for us, and everything that happens is ultimately for our welfare. The Supreme Being wants us to be happy. If we follow the instructions from God's representative, we will become happy, and fulfilled.
Jesus represented the Supreme Being as he delivered to others the knowledge about how they could come to know and love God. Once we come to know and love the Supreme Being, we can return to Him at the time of death ("raise him up on the last day.").
This is also precisely what the Supreme Being spoke of through Isaiah. God wants us to return to Him, and He sends His loving servants as His representatives to give us the knowledge and instructions to be able to return home to Him. And what is the central instruction given by Jesus, Moses and all the other bona fide representatives of God?
" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)
*Here is the translation of this statement according to the Lost Gospels of Jesus:
“Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can follow me unless the Creator who sent me guides them, and I will raise them up at the end of their lifetime. It is written by the Prophets: ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Anyone who has heard and learned from the Creator also follows me. No one knows the Creator except one who associates with God; only he knows the Creator. Very truly I say to you, one who trusts in me achieves eternal life. I am the food of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, but they died. This is the food that descends from the spiritual realm, that which one may eat and not die. I am the living food that descends from the spiritual realm. If anyone consumes this food they will live forever. And the food I give for the sake of life in the world is my very substance.” (John 6:43-51)
