32 Jesus therefore said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you: Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you true bread from heaven. 33 For the true bread is that which descends from heaven, and gives life to the world.”
34 They then said to him: “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 But Jesus said to them: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger; and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I have told you that you have both seen me and do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and the one who comes to me I will not cast out, 38 because I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39 Now it is the will of him who sent me, the Father, that of all that he has given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, who sent me, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him, should have eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
906 Having told us the question the Jews had asked Christ, the Evangelist now gives his answer. First, Christ tells us of the origin of this spiritual food; secondly, he proves what he has just said (v 33).
907 Concerning the first, we should note that the Jews had mentioned two things to Christ concerning the bodily food which had been given to their ancestors: the one who gave this food, Moses, and the place, that is, from heaven. Accordingly, when our Lord tells them about the origin of spiritual food, he does not mention these two, for he says that there is another who gives this food and another place. He says: Amen, amen, I say to you: Moses did not give you bread from heaven. There is another who gives to you, that is, my Father; and he gives, not, just bodily bread, but the true bread from heaven.
908 But was it not true bread that their ancestors had in the desert? I answer that if you understand “true” as contrasted with “false,” then they had true bread, for the miracle of the manna was a true miracle. But if “true” is contrasted with “symbolic,” then that bread was not true, but was a symbol of spiritual bread, that is, of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom that manna signified, as the Apostle says: “All ate the same spiritual food” (1 Cor 10:3).
909 When the Psalm (77:24) says, “He gave them the bread of heaven,” this seems to conflict with, Moses did not give you bread from heaven. I answer that the word “heaven” can be understood in three ways. Sometimes it can mean the air, as in “The birds of heaven ate them” (Mt 13:4); and also in, “The Lord thundered from heaven” (Ps 14:14). Sometimes “heaven” means the starry sky; as in, “The highest heaven is the Lord’s” (Ps 113:16), and in, “The stars will fall from heaven” (Mt 24:19). Thirdly, it can signify goods of a spiritual nature, as in “Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven” (Mt 5:12). So the manna was from heaven, not the heaven of the stars or of spiritual food, but from the air. Or, the manna was said to be from heaven insofar as it was a symbol of the true bread from heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ.
910 When he says, For the true bread is that which descends from heaven, and gives life to the world, he proves that it is from heaven by its effect. For the true heaven is spiritual in nature, and has life by its own essence; therefore, of itself, it gives life: “It is the spirit that gives life” (below 6:64). Now God himself is the author of life. Therefore, we know that this spiritual bread is from heaven when it produces its proper effect, if it gives life. That bodily bread used by the Jews did not give life, since all who ate the nianna died. But this [spiritual] bread does give life, so he says: the true bread, not that symbolic bread, is that which descends from heaven. This is clear, because it gives life to the world: for Christ, who is the true bread, gives life to whom he wills: “I came that they may have life” (below 10:10). He also descended from heaven: “No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from heaven” (above 3:13). Thus Christ, the true bread, gives life to the world by reason of his divinity; and he descends from heaven by reason of his human nature, for as we said on the prior text, he came down from heaven by assuming human nature: “He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7).
911 Now he considers the acquisition of this spiritual food. First, we see the Jews asking for it; secondly, he shows the way it is acquired (v 3 5).
912 We should note with respect to the first, that the Jews understood what Christ said in a material way; and so, because they desired material things, they were looking for material bread from Christ. Hence they said to him, Lord, give us this bread always, which physically nourishes us. The Samaritan woman also understood what our Lord said about spiritual water in a material way, and wishing to slake her thirst, said, “Give me this water” (above 4:15). And although these people understood what our Lord said about food in a material way, and asked for it this way, we are expected to ask for it as understood in a spiritual way: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt 6:11), because we cannot live without this bread.
913 Then, he shows how this bread is acquired. First, he shows what this bread is; secondly, how to obtain it (v 37). Concerning the first, he does three things. First, he explains what this bread is, I am the bread of life; secondly, he gives the reason for this, Whoever comes to me shall not hunger; thirdly, he shows why this had to be explained (v 36).
914 Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life, for as we saw above, the word of wisdom is the proper food of the mind, because the mind is sustained by it: “He fed him with the bread of life and understanding” (Sir 15:3). Now the bread of wisdom is called the bread of life to distinguish it from material bread, which is the bread of death, and which serves only to restore what has been lost by a mortal organism; hence material bread is necessary only during this mortal life. But the bread of divine wisdom is life-giving of itself, and no death can affect it. Again, material bread does not give life, but only sustains for a time a life that already exists. But spiritual bread actually gives life: for the soul begins to live because it adheres to the word of God: “For with you is the fountain of life,” as we see in the Psalm (35:10). Therefore, since every word of wisdom is derived from the Only Begotten Word of God—The fountain of wisdom is the Only Begotten of God” (Sir 1:5)—this Word of God is especially called the bread of life. Thus Christ says, I am the bread of life. And because the flesh of Christ is united to the Word of God, it also is life-giving. Thus, too, his body, sacramentally received, is life-giving: for Christ gives life to the world through the mysteries which he accomplished in his flesh. Consequently, the flesh of Christ, because of the Word of the Lord, is not the bread of ordinary life, but of that life which does not die. And so the flesh of Christ is called bread: “The bread of Asher is rich” (Gn 49:20).
His flesh was also signified by the manna. “Manna” means “What is this?” because when the Jews saw it they wondered, and asked each other what it was. But nothing is more a source of wonder than the Son of God made man, so that everyone can fittingly ask, “What is this?” That is, how can the Son of God be the Son of Man? How can Christ be one person with two natures? “His name will be called Wonderful” (Is 9:6). It is also a cause for wonder how Christ can be present in the sacrament.
915 Next (v 35), he gives the reason for this from the effect of this [spiritual] bread. When material bread is eaten, it does not permanently take away our hunger, since it must be destroyed in order to build us up; and this is necessary if we are to be nourished. But spiritual bread, which gives life of itself, is never destroyed; consequently, a person who eats it once never hungers again. Thus he says: Whoever comes to me shall not hunger; and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
According to Augustine, it is the same thing to say, whoever comes , as to say, whoever believes : since it is the same to come to Christ and to believe in him, for we do not come to God with bodily steps, but with those of the mind, the first of which is faith. To eat and to drink are also the same: for each signifies that eternal fulness where there is no want: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for what is right, for they will be filled” (Mt 5:6); so that food which sustains and that drink which refreshes are one and the same.
One reason why temporal things do not take away our thirst permanently is that they are not consumed altogether, but only bit by bit, and with motion, so that there is always still more to be consumed. For this reason, just as there is enjoyment and satisfaction from what has been consumed, so there is a desire for what is still to come. Another reason is that they are destroyed; hence the recollection of them remains and generates a repeated longing for those things. Spiritual things, on the other hand, are taken all at once, and they are not destroyed, nor do they run out; and consequently the fulness they produce remains forever: “They will neither hunger nor thirst” (Rv 7:16); “Your face will fill me with joy; the delights in your right hand (i.e., in spiritual goods) will last forever,” as the Psalm (16:11) says.
916 Then (v 36), we see why Christ had to explain these things. For someone could say: We asked for bread; but you did not answer, “I will give it to you,” or “I will not.” Rather, you say, I am the bread of life; and so your answer does not seem to be appropriate. But our Lord shows that it is a good answer, saying, I have told you that you have both seen me and do not believe. This is the same as a person having bread right in front of him without his knowing it, and then being told: Look! The bread is right before you. And so Christ says: I have told you (I am the bread of life) that you have both seen me and do not believe, i.e., you want bread, and it is right before you; and yet you do not take it because you do not believe. In saying this he is censuring them for their unbelief: “They have seen and hated both me and my Father” (below 15:24).
917 Then (v 37), he shows how this bread is acquired. First, he mentions the way to acquire it; secondly, the end attained by those who come to him (v 37b); thirdly, he enlarges on this (v 38).
918 Concerning the first, we should note that the very fact that we believe is a gift of God to us: “You are saved by grace, through faith; and this is not due to yourself, for it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8); “It has been granted to you not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Phil 1:29). Sometimes, God the Father is said to give those who believe to the Son, as here: All that the Father gives me shall come to me. At other times, the Son is said to give them to the Father, as in 1 Corinthians (15:24): “He will hand over the kingdom to God and the Father.” We can see from this that just as the Father does not deprive himself of the kingdom in giving to the Son, neither does the Son in giving to the Father. The Father gives to the Son insofar as the Father makes a person adhere to his Word: “Through whom (that is, the Father) you have been called into the fellowship of his Son” (1 Cor 1:9). The Son, on the other hand, gives to the Father insofar as the Word makes the Father known: “I have made known your name to those you have given me” (below 17:6). Thus Christ says: All that the Father gives me shall come to me, i.e., those who believe in me, whom the Father makes adhere to me by his gift.
919 Perhaps some might say that it is not necessary for one to use God’s gift: for many receive God’s gift and do not use it. So how can he say: All that the Father gives me shall come to me? We must say to this that in this giving we have to include not only the habit, which is faith, but also the interior impulse to believe. So, everything which contributes to salvation is a gift of God.
920 There is another question. If everything which the Father gives to Christ comes to him, as he says, then only those come to God whom the Father gives him. Thus, those who do not come are not responsible, since they are not given to him. I answer that they are not responsible if they cannot come to the faith without the help of God. But those who do not come are responsible, because they create an obstacle to their own coming by turning away from salvation, the way to which is of itself open to all.
921 Then (v 37b), the end attained by those who come is mentioned. For some might say, “We will come to you, but you will not receive us.” To exclude this he says, the one who comes to me, by steps of faith and by good works, I will not cast out. By this he lets us understand that he is already within, for one must be within before one can be sent out. Let us consider, therefore, what is interior, and how one is cast out from it.
We should point out that since all visible things are said to be exterior with respect to spiritual things, then the more spiritual something is the more interior it is. What is interior is twofold. The first is the most profound, and is the joy of eternal life. According to Augustine, this is a sweet and most interior retreat, without any weariness, without the bitterness of evil thoughts, and uninterrupted by temptations and sorrows. We read of this: “Share the joy of your Lord” (Mt 25:21); and, “You will hide them in the secret of your face,” that is, in the full vision of your essence (Ps 30:21). From this interior no one is cast out: “He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of the living God; and he will no longer leave it” (Rv 3:12), because “the just will go to everlasting life,” as we see from Matthew (25:46). The other interior is that of an upright conscience; and this is a spiritual joy. We read of this: “When I enter into my house I will enjoy repose” (Wis 8:16); and “The king has brought me into his storerooms” (Sg 1:3). It is from this interior, that some are cast out.
So, when our Lord says, the one who comes to me I will not cast out, we can understand this in two ways. In one way, those who come to him are those who have been given to him by the Father through eternal predestination. Of these he says: the one who comes to me, predestined by the Father, I will not cast out: “God has not rejected his people, the people he chose” (Rom 11:2). In a second way, those who do go out are not cast out by Christ, rather, they cast themselves out, because through their unbelief and sins they abandon the sanctuary of an upright conscience. Thus we read: I will not cast out such; but they do cast themselves out: “You are the burden, and I will cast you aside, says the Lord” (Jer 23:33). It was in this way that the man who came to the wedding feast without wedding clothes was cast out (Mt 22:13).
922 Next (v 38), he gives the reason for what he just said. First, he mentions his intention to accomplish the will of the Father; secondly, he states what the will of the Father is (v 39); and thirdly, he shows the final accomplishment of this will (v 40b).
923 Concerning the first, we should note that this passage can be read in two ways: either as Augustine does, or following the interpretation of Chrysostom. Augustine understands it this way: the one who comes to me I will not cast out; and this is because the one who comes to me imitates my humility. In Matthew (11:29), after our Lord said, “Come to me, all you who labor,” he added, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.” Now the true gentleness of the Son of God consists in the fact that he submitted his will to the will of the Father. Thus he says, the one who comes to me I will not cast out, because I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. Since a soul abandons God because of its pride, it must return in humility, coming to Christ by imitating his humility; and this humility of Christ was in not doing his own will, but the will of God the Father.