They said therefore unto him: Lord, give us always this bread.
ειπον ουν προς αυτον κυριε παντοτε δος ημιν τον αρτον τουτον
10 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 11 commentaries
But the Jews, still occupied with the belly and being wholly earthly, understand these words of sensory bread and say: give us such bread. By raving in this way, they exposed themselves.
"Always," they say, "give us this bread," not for one day, nor for two. They also said this out of love of money. So that we may not spend our own money to buy food, always give us this bread, easily obtained.
In these words the purpose of the Jews is clearly revealed, even though they greatly wished to conceal it. From this, everyone can see with unalterable truth that they strove to follow Him not because they had seen signs, but because they ate of the loaves and were filled (Jn 6:26).
For this great ignorance they come under just condemnation. I think one may truly say to them: "Behold, a foolish and heartless people. They have eyes and do not see; they have ears and do not hear" (Jer 5:21).
Christ our Savior, as may be seen from the Gospel, turned them away from bodily thoughts by many words. Through all-wise teaching He gave them wings for spiritual contemplation.
Yet they do not rise above fleshly needs. Hearing of bread that gives life to the world, they still imagine earthly bread. They have their belly as god, as it is written (Phil 3:19).
They are held fast by the vices of the belly, so as justly to hear that "their glory is in their shame" (Phil 3:19).
You will find this speech very similar to the words of the Samaritan woman. Christ our Savior spoke at length with her and taught about spiritual water.
He said clearly: "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst forever. The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water flowing into eternal life" (Jn 4:13-14).
But because of the ignorance present in her, she is carried off in another direction. She leaves the spiritual spring and, giving it no thought at all, turns her mind toward the supply of perceptible water.
She says, "Lord, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw" (Jn 4:15). The speech of the Jews is like these words of hers.
As she proves weak by nature, so also, I think, they have nothing manly or youthful, so to speak, in their thinking. They appear effeminate in the unmanly desires of the belly.
They prove the truth of what is written about them: "For the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will think vain things" (Is 32:6).
It was like the Samaritan woman, to whom it was said: "Whoever drinks of this water will never thirst" (Jn 4:13-14). Understanding carnally, yet wishing not to experience thirst, she says: "Lord, give me this water" (Jn 4:15).
So also these say: "Lord, give us this bread, by which our strength will increase, while the bread itself will not diminish."
Jesus said to them: "Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (Jn 6:32-33).
Thus the true bread is He who gives life to the world. It is the food of which a little earlier it was said: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which can give eternal life" (Jn 6:27).
"So then, that manna symbolized this food, and all these were My signs. You have highly esteemed My signs, and you despise Him who was proclaimed by these signs? Therefore Moses did not give the bread from heaven; God gives the bread."
But what bread? Perhaps manna? No. He gave the bread prefigured by the manna, that is, He gave the Lord Jesus Himself.
"My Father gives you the true bread, for the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." To this they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always" (Jn 6:32-34).
It was like the Samaritan woman, to whom it had been said, "Whoever drinks this water will never thirst forever" (cf. Jn 4:13-14). At once, understanding this bodily and yet wishing to be freed from need, she said, "Give me this water" (Jn 4:15).
So also they said: "Lord, give us such bread, which would strengthen us and not run out."
Up to this point they still imagined this bread in a sensory way. Therefore, because of greed, they asked Jesus Christ to give it to them not once, but always.
Like the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:13-15), the hearers of Jesus Christ understood His words about the bread of life in a sensory sense. By this bread they understand something like the manna in the wilderness.
But Christ says: "I am the bread of life, so there is no reason for you to ask that this bread be sent down. It has already been sent down to you from God, and it remains only for you to receive Him, to believe in Me.
But you have both seen Me and do not believe. If you had faith in Me, I would give you eternal life. For all that the Father gives Me, all who are obedient to the grace of the Father calling them to salvation, come to Me.
And I answer this obedience to the saving call of the Father with full and all-embracing love. For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me.
The will of the Father is this: wherever there is perception and consciousness of the need for salvation, and therefore striving for it, I should use all the means of My saving grace to complete the salvation of such people.
And I should raise them up for eternal life. On your part, the will of the Father requires faith in His Son. For the sake of this faith, He will also give you eternal life."
Discourse on the Bread of Life. To this question Jesus meekly answered: "Moses did not give you the heavenly bread of which I am now speaking. That manna, which God gave your fathers through Moses, nourished only their bodies.
But I speak of that heavenly bread which nourishes the soul and prepares it for eternal life. This very bread My Father now gives you, having sent Me to you, for the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
Since man constantly needs bread to maintain the life of his body, he also cannot do without nourishment for his soul, without spiritual food, unless he wishes to be a beast-like being and does not strive for self-perfection.
The best souls of the ancient world languished in vain searches for truth and righteousness. They thirsted to know the Unknown God. Yes, they languished, because the dissatisfaction of the spirit's demands is no less painful than bodily hunger.
The answer to these demands is that spiritual food without which man cannot live consciously. This answer was brought by Christ from God, or, as it is customary to say, from heaven.
This Word is the bread from heaven of which Christ now speaks, and this Word is He Himself.
The impatient hearers did not understand of what bread Jesus was speaking. They supposed that the bread He promised, which gives life to the world, would free them forever from cares about obtaining food.
Therefore they interrupt His speech with this request: "Lord, give us this bread always."
Having already said that the manna nourished only the Jews, while the bread of God which He brought from heaven will give life to the whole world, Jesus continues the interrupted speech and says: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
These words express the same thought Jesus expressed to the Samaritan woman. He said: "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst forever.
The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water flowing into eternal life."
Their minds were still captivated by material goods. They began to ask for this heavenly bread with the same zeal with which the Samaritan woman asked for the water that quenches every thirst: "Lord, give us this bread always!"
"Give us this bread always." The Jews understood the Lord's words as though He were speaking to them of bread that was special and miraculous, yet still sensory. They declared a desire always to feed on such bread.
In that case, it is implied, they would be devoted to Him and would recognize Him as the Messiah. But it is evident that this expresses a completely fleshly direction in their spirit, their hopes, and their beliefs.
This was clear to the all-seeing eye of the Lord. He begins a more decisive discourse, filled, however, with a sorrowful feeling, yet solemn and striking to the fleshly understanding of His hearers.
Verse 34. They said to Him: "Lord, give us this bread always." These are again simple people speaking, those who had seen the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves.
They think that the Lord is speaking of miraculous material food. In the simplicity of a soul oppressed by earthly needs, they humbly express their request: if only they might always have such miraculous food!
In all these questions and requests addressed to the Lord in Galilee, one can almost distinguish two groups, two crowds of questioners, with two different dispositions.
Some appear to be unlearned and simple people. Perhaps they ask, "Rabbi, when and how did You arrive?" and, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"
They probably also say, "Give us this bread always." This is an ignorant and partly unruly people, though always under the strong influence of the scribes.
Yet in their words we do not notice that tireless malice heard in other questions and remarks, which undoubtedly belong to the influential party of synagogue leaders.
To these latter seemingly belong the words, "What sign, then, do You perform?" in verse 30, or "What do You do?" in verse 30, or "Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness" in verse 31.
These were those malicious and constant murmurers who are called Jews in verse 41. They formed the unbelieving element in a crowd almost as ready to believe as the simple and good Samaritans.
They were tares in the midst of a field ready to ripen into a Christian community.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 11 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS