Introduction
We have 5 full weeks of the Bread of Life and for some reason we skip verses in chapter 6. For this week in particular, I encourage you to add the missing verses of 36-40 because that’s where I think the incredible grace is for this section. So, let’s talk about these missing verses a little bit.
Verses 35-40
This Is Where the Conflict Is
So, first, this is the reason the religious authorities are upset. Sure, there is some frustration about Jesus talking about himself as the Manna in the wilderness. But this is the section where Jesus fully says that he is from God and that belief in him (that is Jesus) is what is required for eternal life. You might be able to see how this would offend religious authorities who have not acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah. So, it’s important to lift up these verses in order to explain why the religious authorities are getting upset.
Grace upon Grace
But the grace of this section comes in verse 37. Jesus says, “37Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away.” This “drive away” (ἐκβάλω) could also be translated as “throw/cast out.” This is the verb that Matthew uses when ‘casting out into the outer darkness.’ It’s what each of the Synoptic authors use for ‘casting out demons.’ John uses this verb less than any other gospel by far (only 5 times).
- First is when Jesus drives out the moneychangers out of the temple (2:15).
- Next, it’s this time in 6:37.
- And the next two times are in reference to the man born blind in chapter 9. In 9:34 and 35, “They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out. Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’”
- Finally in chapter 10, Jesus is talking about being the Good Shepherd and says, “When he has [sent] out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
Here in 6:37, Jesus promises that all that are a part of his followers will never be “cast/thrown/driven out.” In later chapters we hear about a man who is being thrown out of the community for witnessing to the power of Jesus. But immediately after being cast out by others, Jesus finds this man and brings him into Jesus’ community. And when Jesus “sends out” his own [flock] in chapter 10, it is stipulated that Jesus goes ahead of them. Jesus never sends out those whom he cares for to places that he has not already been himself.
The Importance of the Presence of God
Because we talk about Bread so much these weeks, we often link this to food and feeding. We link it to the manna in the wilderness and provision from God. And so, these missing verses feel distant because they don’t fully seem bread related. But what we miss is that this text is intimately tied to the Presence of God. Jesus, the I AM, IS the Bread of Life.
Karoline Lewis writes on this well,
“One of the reasons these verses may not be included in the lectionary reading is a lack of certainty as to how this imagery fits into the dominant image of the bread of life. At the same time, the bread that comes down from heaven means the promise of heaven exists for all believers. What heaven means for this Gospel, of course, is being the presence of God. Heaven and earth are no longer locations but a truth about God’s character, that God’s presence is wherever the believer is. ‘All who see him may have eternal life and I will raise them up on the last day’ (6:40). What eternal life means is the certainty of provision, the source of what sustains life that you know and trust witnessed in the feeding of the five thousand. At the same time, it is this same promise carried into the future that Jesus prepares for all believers.”[1]
When we read this pericope in the context of the missing verses, then we come to see that this is about the presence of God being among us and more so that we will not ever be separated or driven away from the presence of God. The Bread of Life takes the provision of the Manna in the wilderness to a more explicit level. We, and the crowd in vs 25 and the Israelites in the wilderness, crave the bread, the provision of food and drink to sustain our bodies. But Jesus is saying that the true provision that we need is the presence of God among us.
Preaching Possibilities
Presence Not Communion/Cast Me Not Away
Verse 51 pushes us into a conversation about Communion but I would encourage you to hold off on that conversation until next week. While there is an easy segue into the “real presence” of Christ in communion, this is a good week to talk about these missing verses and that we are promised God’s presence among us even here and now.
I wish that Psalm 51:10-12 was assigned for this day.
“10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.”
Of course, there are conversations going on these days about cancel culture and boycotting businesses and leaders whose ideologies contradict our own. I am not speaking to that. While I think there is a volatileness that harms our society when so much of the “conversation” happens passively and publicly rather than directly, this is a form of protest in our capitalist society and is an effective tool to enact change and promotes the possibility of justice.
That being said, there is also an increased casting out and villainization of folks from all sides without any direct conversation. The idea seems to be that if you are not with me on all things, then you are against me. And there is no in-between.
If you are not with every nuance of the movement to free Palestine, then you promote genocide and the slaughter of innocents.
If you even slightly critique the Israeli government, then you are antisemitic and a Nazi.
If you are not fully pro-choice, then you hate women and support sexual offenders.
If you are not fully pro-life, then you support murder.
If you do not agree with all of my values, then you are not an actual Christian.
The polarization and villainization goes on and on. And it leads to casting away. The removal of friends, family, congregation members, coworkers. Immediately discarding them from our lives. Because if we can’t agree on everything, then we better not talk about anything.
Jesus says, “37Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away.” Nicodemus comes by night and Jesus engages him in conversation. The Samaritan woman at the well is of a different faith tradition and Jesus engages with all her questions and concerns and calls her to be a witness to the gospel. Martha and Mary scold Jesus for arriving late and not healing her brother before he died, and Jesus weeps. Accepting their pain. Hearing their grief. Jesus welcomes the twelve from all walks of life. He responds to their concerns and fears. He knows that they are going to deny him and run away. He knows that they will stay in the locked room for fear of also being caught and arrested. And he comes to them where they are, promising to always be with them.
Jesus engages every person’s questions, fears, concerns, and hopes, and gives them opportunity to voice them. Not every thought or perspective is deemed appropriate by Jesus, but he hears them out first and responds to them where they are. He responds to Nicodemus’ educated background with studied responses. He responds to the Samaritan woman’s questions with connection to her faith experiences. He leans into the grief and pain of Mary and Martha and honors their hurt. He brings the disciples along, even though they don’t fully know where all of this is going. He never casts one away. Not even Judas, who is with him until the very end.
What does it mean for us to hear these words of promise? In a time when everything seems to polarize us and cast us from each other, what does it mean for us to hear that Jesus will never cast us away? What does it mean for us to hear that presence of God will always be with us with grace upon grace?
We are not Jesus, and we cannot be as gracious. And yet, is there a way that the grace and presence that we receive from God in this promise, can call us to be a better community toward one another? Is there any room for us to be a little slower in our judgments? Is there any room for us to be a little more gracious in our conversation? Is there any room for us to see the other as a Beloved child of God too?
[1] Karoline Lewis, John, 91.
Micah Krey 