The King of Stories -- Passings Over (Part 2 of 2)
Introductory note from Jason Pratt: see here for the previous entry; and see here for the first entry of the series. (It explains what I'm doing, and how, and contains the Johannine prologue.)
This chapter was longer than usual, so I'm presenting it in two parts. The scripture references will be given at the end of this part.
Passings Over (Part 2 of 2)
On that morning (tells the Evangelist, alone for this part of the story), the crowds standing over on the other side of the lake (where Jesus had taught the day before) saw there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not gotten into this boat with His disciples but had gone away alone.
Other small boats from Tiberias (about 3-1/2 miles across the lake from Bethsaida-Julias, in the southwest quarter of Lake Galilee, by which the Romans named the lake 'Tiberius' as the Evangelist says) came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
When the crowds therefore saw that Jesus wasn't there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
And when they found Him on the other side of the lake, they said to Him: "Rabbi, when did you get here!?"
Jesus answered them, saying:
"I promise, I promise, I tell you the truth: you seek Me not because of the signs you saw, but because you ate those loaves, and were satisfied.
"Do not work for the food which is perishing; but the food remaining into God's own life, this the Son of Man will be giving you--for this the Father has sealed, even God."
So they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may be working the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said: "This is the work of God: that you should trust in Him Whom He commissions."
So they said to Him, "What sign then will you do, that we may see and be believing you? What are you working? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written (in the Law and the Prophets), 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat'!"
Jesus therefore said to them:
"I promise, I promise, I tell you the truth: Moses is not Who gave you bread out of heaven! But My Father gives you true Bread out of heaven--for the Bread of God is He descending from heaven and giving life to the world!"
So they said to Him, "Master, give us this bread evermore!"
Jesus then said to them: "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE!
"He who comes toward Me shall under no circumstances be hungering!--and he who trusts in Me shall under no circumstances be thirsting!
"But I said to you, that you have seen Me; yet you do not believe.
"The 'all' that the Father is giving to Me shall come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I shall under no circumstances be casting out; for I have come down from heaven, not in order to do My own will, but to do the will of the One Who sends Me.
"Now here is the will of Him Who sends Me: that I should lose nothing of the everything ('the all') that He has given to Me, but I shall be raising it up in the final day!
"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone seeing the Son and trusting in Him may be having God's own life; and I Myself will raise him up in the final day!!"
The Jews (meaning the Jewish religious leaders, per the Evangelist's standard usage, here in the Capernaum synagogue where this is happening) therefore were growling about Him, because He had said, "I am the bread descending from heaven!"
And they were saying, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then is he saying, 'I have descended from heaven'?!"
Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not be grumbling among yourselves.
"No one can come toward Me unless the Father who sends Me is drawing him; and I will raise him up in the final day.
"It is written in the prophets (Isaiah and Jeremiah): 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone therefore who hears from the Father and is learning the truth, is coming toward Me.
"Not that the Father has ever been seen by any except the One Who is from God--He has seen the Father.
"I promise, I promise, I tell you the truth: he who will trust Me has God's own life. I am the bread of life!
"Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness--and died! This is the Bread coming down out of heaven that anyone may be eating, and not be dying!
"I am the living Bread which descends out of heaven!--if anyone eats of this Bread, he shall be living for the age; and the Bread which I shall be giving for the sake of the life of the world, is also My flesh!"
The Jews then disputed violently with one another (i.e. the pro and anti Jesus factions among the priests), saying, "How can this man give his flesh for us to eat!?"
Jesus therefore said to them:
"I promise, I promise, I tell you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and be drinking His blood, you do not have life in yourselves!
"Whoever is chewing My flesh and drinking My blood has God's own life, and I shall be raising him in the final day; for My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink!
"Whoever is munching My flesh and drinking My blood is remaining in Me, and I in him. As the Living Father sends Me with this mission, I also am living because of the Father; and whoever chews Me up, will also be living because of Me!
"This is the Bread which descends out of heaven!--not of the sort that the fathers ate and died! Whoever is chomping this bread, shall be living--into forever!!"
He said these things (the Evangelist says), teaching in a synagogue, in Capernaum.
.......
Therefore many of those who were following Him, when they heard, said: "This is a difficult statement..." (and) "Who can (even) listen to this?!?"
Now Jesus, being aware in Himself that His disciples are muttering about this, said to them: "Are you stumbling on this? If you beheld the Son of Man ascending from where He came--!
"The Spirit gives life; the flesh does not give any benefit.
"The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe..."
For Jesus (adds the Evangelist) knew from the beginning who they were who didn't believe--and who it was who would betray Him.
Now He says, "This is why I told you: no one can be coming toward Me, unless the Father grants him (that gift or ability)."
.......
As a result of this, many of His disciples went away into the distance behind, and walked with Him no longer.
Jesus then said to the twelve, "You do not also want to go away, do you?"
Simon Peter answered Him, "Master--to whom shall we go? You have words of God's own life... and we believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Jesus answered and said to them, "Have I Myself not chosen you, the twelve--and yet one of you is an adversary?"
And He meant Judas son of Simon Iscariot; for he, one of the twelve, would betray Him...
.......
And after these things (says the Evangelist), Jesus walked in Galilee (a while), for He would not walk in Judea (so soon after saying such things)--for the Jews were seeking to kill Him.
And whenever He entered villages or cities or fields (says the Follower), they were laying the sick in the marketplaces, and pleading that they might simply touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being saved.
During this season (adds the three Synoptic storytellers), Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, for His name was becoming well-known, and he was saying, "... ... John the Baptist is raised from the dead!! And that is why powerful deeds are being worked through him!"
And others said, "He is Elijah returned!"
And others said, "He is a prophet, like prophets of old. Maybe even a prophet risen!"
But whenever Herod would hear of Him, he kept on saying: "John, whom I beheaded, is risen!!! ... Isn't he? If not, who is this whom I keep hearing about?"
And he was quite perplexed; and sought to become acquainted with Him.
Matthew 14:1-2
Matthew 14:6-36
Mark 6:14-56
Luke 9:7-17
John 6:2-71
John 7:1
[Next time: Blind Sheep, Blind Shepherds, and the Door of Life]
This chapter was longer than usual, so I'm presenting it in two parts. The scripture references will be given at the end of this part.
Passings Over (Part 2 of 2)
On that morning (tells the Evangelist, alone for this part of the story), the crowds standing over on the other side of the lake (where Jesus had taught the day before) saw there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not gotten into this boat with His disciples but had gone away alone.
Other small boats from Tiberias (about 3-1/2 miles across the lake from Bethsaida-Julias, in the southwest quarter of Lake Galilee, by which the Romans named the lake 'Tiberius' as the Evangelist says) came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
When the crowds therefore saw that Jesus wasn't there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
And when they found Him on the other side of the lake, they said to Him: "Rabbi, when did you get here!?"
Jesus answered them, saying:
"I promise, I promise, I tell you the truth: you seek Me not because of the signs you saw, but because you ate those loaves, and were satisfied.
"Do not work for the food which is perishing; but the food remaining into God's own life, this the Son of Man will be giving you--for this the Father has sealed, even God."
So they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may be working the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said: "This is the work of God: that you should trust in Him Whom He commissions."
So they said to Him, "What sign then will you do, that we may see and be believing you? What are you working? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written (in the Law and the Prophets), 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat'!"
Jesus therefore said to them:
"I promise, I promise, I tell you the truth: Moses is not Who gave you bread out of heaven! But My Father gives you true Bread out of heaven--for the Bread of God is He descending from heaven and giving life to the world!"
So they said to Him, "Master, give us this bread evermore!"
Jesus then said to them: "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE!
"He who comes toward Me shall under no circumstances be hungering!--and he who trusts in Me shall under no circumstances be thirsting!
"But I said to you, that you have seen Me; yet you do not believe.
"The 'all' that the Father is giving to Me shall come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I shall under no circumstances be casting out; for I have come down from heaven, not in order to do My own will, but to do the will of the One Who sends Me.
"Now here is the will of Him Who sends Me: that I should lose nothing of the everything ('the all') that He has given to Me, but I shall be raising it up in the final day!
"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone seeing the Son and trusting in Him may be having God's own life; and I Myself will raise him up in the final day!!"
The Jews (meaning the Jewish religious leaders, per the Evangelist's standard usage, here in the Capernaum synagogue where this is happening) therefore were growling about Him, because He had said, "I am the bread descending from heaven!"
And they were saying, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then is he saying, 'I have descended from heaven'?!"
Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not be grumbling among yourselves.
"No one can come toward Me unless the Father who sends Me is drawing him; and I will raise him up in the final day.
"It is written in the prophets (Isaiah and Jeremiah): 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone therefore who hears from the Father and is learning the truth, is coming toward Me.
"Not that the Father has ever been seen by any except the One Who is from God--He has seen the Father.
"I promise, I promise, I tell you the truth: he who will trust Me has God's own life. I am the bread of life!
"Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness--and died! This is the Bread coming down out of heaven that anyone may be eating, and not be dying!
"I am the living Bread which descends out of heaven!--if anyone eats of this Bread, he shall be living for the age; and the Bread which I shall be giving for the sake of the life of the world, is also My flesh!"
The Jews then disputed violently with one another (i.e. the pro and anti Jesus factions among the priests), saying, "How can this man give his flesh for us to eat!?"
Jesus therefore said to them:
"I promise, I promise, I tell you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and be drinking His blood, you do not have life in yourselves!
"Whoever is chewing My flesh and drinking My blood has God's own life, and I shall be raising him in the final day; for My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink!
"Whoever is munching My flesh and drinking My blood is remaining in Me, and I in him. As the Living Father sends Me with this mission, I also am living because of the Father; and whoever chews Me up, will also be living because of Me!
"This is the Bread which descends out of heaven!--not of the sort that the fathers ate and died! Whoever is chomping this bread, shall be living--into forever!!"
He said these things (the Evangelist says), teaching in a synagogue, in Capernaum.
.......
Therefore many of those who were following Him, when they heard, said: "This is a difficult statement..." (and) "Who can (even) listen to this?!?"
Now Jesus, being aware in Himself that His disciples are muttering about this, said to them: "Are you stumbling on this? If you beheld the Son of Man ascending from where He came--!
"The Spirit gives life; the flesh does not give any benefit.
"The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe..."
For Jesus (adds the Evangelist) knew from the beginning who they were who didn't believe--and who it was who would betray Him.
Now He says, "This is why I told you: no one can be coming toward Me, unless the Father grants him (that gift or ability)."
.......
As a result of this, many of His disciples went away into the distance behind, and walked with Him no longer.
Jesus then said to the twelve, "You do not also want to go away, do you?"
Simon Peter answered Him, "Master--to whom shall we go? You have words of God's own life... and we believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Jesus answered and said to them, "Have I Myself not chosen you, the twelve--and yet one of you is an adversary?"
And He meant Judas son of Simon Iscariot; for he, one of the twelve, would betray Him...
.......
And after these things (says the Evangelist), Jesus walked in Galilee (a while), for He would not walk in Judea (so soon after saying such things)--for the Jews were seeking to kill Him.
And whenever He entered villages or cities or fields (says the Follower), they were laying the sick in the marketplaces, and pleading that they might simply touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being saved.
During this season (adds the three Synoptic storytellers), Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, for His name was becoming well-known, and he was saying, "... ... John the Baptist is raised from the dead!! And that is why powerful deeds are being worked through him!"
And others said, "He is Elijah returned!"
And others said, "He is a prophet, like prophets of old. Maybe even a prophet risen!"
But whenever Herod would hear of Him, he kept on saying: "John, whom I beheaded, is risen!!! ... Isn't he? If not, who is this whom I keep hearing about?"
And he was quite perplexed; and sought to become acquainted with Him.
Matthew 14:1-2
Matthew 14:6-36
Mark 6:14-56
Luke 9:7-17
John 6:2-71
John 7:1
[Next time: Blind Sheep, Blind Shepherds, and the Door of Life]
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