Monday 27th February
Read John 6:28-35
“Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’
29 Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’
30 So they asked him, ‘What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’
32 Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’
34 ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘always give us this bread.’
35 Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (NIVUK)
For nearly two thousand years scholars have been seeking to understand two important things about the sixth chapter of John’s gospel. The first is whether John 6 is speaking of the eucharist, the Lord’s supper, or in modern parlance – the communion ceremony. The second is why John’s gospel is the only gospel that does not record the Lord’s supper on the eve of Jesus’ death. Matthew, Mark, Luke and even Paul, all tell us the circumstances and details around that last meal, but John remains silent.
We will consider the arguments over the course of the next two weeks. Having read many of them I lean towards the argument that John, having written his gospel last, may have seen a tendency amongst early Christians to place altogether too much mystical significance in the taking of the bread and wine and invested them with power to save. By not recording the last supper, at which he was most likely present, he may have been seeking to direct his readers to the true meaning of communion. He does so by recording a conversation Jesus had in the synagogue in Capernaum after feeding the multitude with bread. If John is seeking to draw our attention away from any mystical power in the ceremony to save us, he does so by pointing us directly to Jesus. True power to save lies in believing in Jesus. He is the one who declared ‘I am the bread of life’…
There is much wisdom in the considered conclusions of F.D Maurice: “If you ask me, then, whether he is speaking of the Eucharist here, I should say, ‘No.’ If you ask me where I can learn the meaning of the eucharist, I should say, ‘Nowhere so well as here’”. Let us ask God to teach us the true meaning of the eucharist and fix our eyes firmly upon Jesus as we remember.
