Church Fathers Commentary John 6

St. John Chrysostom: Just as missiles rebound with great force from a hard body and fly off in all directions, while a softer material retains and stops them, so violent men are only provoked to greater rage by violence from their opponents, while gentleness softens them. Christ quieted the irritation of the Jews by withdrawing from Jerusalem. He went into Galilee, but not to Cana again, but across the sea: After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

Alcuin of York: This sea has different names from the different places with which it is connected: the Sea of Galilee, from the province, and the Sea of Tiberias, from the city of that name. It is called a sea, though it is not salt water, as that name was applied in Hebrew to any large body of water. Our Lord often crossed this sea when going to preach to the people who lived near it.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He goes from place to place to test the dispositions of the people and to stir up a desire to hear Him: And a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles which He did on those who were diseased.

Alcuin of York: Namely, His giving sight to the blind and other similar miracles. And it should be understood that all whom He healed in body, He also renewed in soul.

St. John Chrysostom: Even though they were favored with such teaching, they were influenced less by it than by the miracles—a sign of their low level of belief. For Paul says of tongues that they are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to those who do not believe. Those of whom it is said that they were astonished at His doctrine were wiser. The Evangelist does not say what miracles He performed, since the main purpose of his book is to present our Lord’s discourses.

The passage continues: And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. He went up the mountain because of the miracle that was about to be performed. The fact that only the disciples went up with Him implies that the people who stayed behind were at fault for not following. He also went up the mountain as a lesson for us to retreat from the turmoil and confusion of the world and to pursue wisdom in solitude.

And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Notice that in a whole year, the Evangelist has told us of no miracles of Christ except for healing the disabled man and the nobleman’s son. His purpose was not to give a systematic history, but only a few of our Lord’s most important acts. But why did our Lord not go up to the feast? He was using the wickedness of the Jews as an occasion to gradually set aside the Law.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The persecutions from the Jews gave Him a reason for withdrawing, and in this way setting aside the Law. Now that the truth was revealed, the types were finished, and He was under no obligation to keep the Jewish feasts. Notice the expression, "a feast of the Jews," not "a feast of Christ."

The Venerable Bede: If we compare the accounts of the different Evangelists, we will find very clearly that there was a one-year interval between the beheading of John and our Lord’s Passion. For since Matthew says that our Lord, upon hearing of John’s death, withdrew to a desolate place where He fed the multitude, and John says that the Passover was near when He fed them, it is evident that John was beheaded shortly before the Passover. Christ then suffered at the same feast the following year.

The passage continues: When Jesus then lifted up His eyes and saw a great company coming to Him, He said to Philip, From where shall we buy bread, so that these may eat? The phrase "When Jesus lifted up His eyes" shows us that Jesus was not generally looking around with His eyes lifted up, but was sitting calmly and attentively, surrounded by His disciples.

St. John Chrysostom: He did not merely sit with His disciples, but He also conversed with them informally and won over their minds. Then He looked and saw a crowd approaching. But why did He ask Philip that question? Because He knew that His disciples, and Philip especially, needed more teaching. For it was this same Philip who later said, Show us the Father, and it is enough for us. If the miracle had been performed immediately, without any introduction, its greatness would not have been appreciated. The disciples were made to confess their own inability so that they might see the miracle more clearly. As the text says, And this He said to test him.

St. Augustine of Hippo: One kind of temptation leads to sin, and God never tempts anyone with this. But there is another kind of temptation by which faith is tested. It is in this sense that Christ is said to have tested His disciple. This is not meant to imply that He did not know what Philip would say; rather, it is an accommodation to human ways of speaking. For just as the expression "who searches the hearts of men" does not imply a search born of ignorance but one of absolute knowledge, so here, when it says our Lord tested Philip, we must understand that He knew him perfectly. He tested him in order to confirm his faith. The Evangelist himself guards against the misunderstanding that this imperfect way of speaking might cause by adding, For He Himself knew what He would do.

Alcuin of York: He asks him this question not for His own information, but to show His still-unformed disciple his own dullness of mind, which the disciple could not perceive by himself.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, He did it to show Philip's dullness to others. He Himself was not ignorant of His disciple’s heart.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But if our Lord, according to John’s account, asked Philip where they could buy food for the multitude—testing him—it is at first difficult to see how this can be true alongside the other accounts, where the disciples first told our Lord to send the multitude away. In those accounts, our Lord replied, They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat. We must understand, then, that it was after saying this that our Lord saw the multitude and said to Philip what John recorded, a detail which the other evangelists omitted.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, they are two different occasions altogether.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Thus tested by our Lord, Philip was found to hold human assumptions, as appears from what follows. Philip answered Him, Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.

Alcuin of York: In this, he shows his dullness, for if he had a complete understanding of his Creator, he would not have doubted His power in this way.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The reply that John attributes to Philip is put in the mouths of all the disciples by Mark. This either means we should understand that Philip spoke for the rest, or it is simply a case of using the plural for the singular, which is often done.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Andrew is in the same state of perplexity as Philip, only he has a slightly higher view of our Lord. He says, There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish.

St. John Chrysostom: Andrew probably had some reason in mind for saying this. He would have known of Elijah’s miracle, by which a hundred men were fed with twenty loaves. This was a great step, but he stopped there. He did not rise any higher in his understanding. For his next words are, But what are they for so many? He thought that less material could produce a lesser miracle, and more material a greater one. This was a great mistake, since it was just as easy for Christ to feed the multitude from a few fish as from many. He did not actually need any material to work with, but used created things for this purpose only to show that no part of creation is separate from His wisdom.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This passage confounds the Manicheans, who claim that bread and all such things were created by an evil deity. The Son of the good God, Jesus Christ, multiplied the loaves. Therefore, they could not have been inherently evil, for a good God would never multiply what was evil.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Andrew’s suggestion about the five loaves and two fish is presented in the other Gospels as coming from the disciples in general, using the plural.

St. John Chrysostom: Let those of us who are given to pleasure observe the simple and moderate eating of these great and wonderful men. He made the men sit down before the loaves appeared to teach us that with Him, things that are not are as things that are. As Paul says, He calls those things that are not as though they were. The passage then continues: And Jesus said, Make the men sit down.

Alcuin of York: To "sit down" meant to recline, as was the ancient custom. They were able to do this, as there was much grass in the place.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This means it was green grass, as it was the time of the Passover, which was kept in the first month of spring. So the men sat down, numbering about five thousand. The Evangelist counts only the men, following the instruction in the Law. Moses numbered the people from twenty years old and upward, making no mention of the women. This was to signify that a manly and mature character is especially honorable in God’s eyes. The passage continues: And Jesus took the loaves; and when He had given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

St. John Chrysostom: But why, when He is going to heal the disabled, raise the dead, or calm the sea, does He not pray, yet here He gives thanks? It is to teach us to give thanks to God whenever we sit down to eat. He prays more in lesser matters to show that He does not pray out of any need. For if prayer had been truly necessary to supply His needs, His praying would have been in proportion to the importance of each particular work. But since He acts on His own authority, it is clear that He prays only out of condescension to us. And, since a great multitude was gathered, it was an opportunity to impress upon them that His coming was in accordance with God’s will. Accordingly, when a miracle was private, He did not pray; but when many people were present, He did.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Five loaves are then set before the multitude and broken. The broken pieces pass into the hands of those who break them, while the source from which they are broken does not diminish at all. And yet, there are the pieces taken from it, in the hands of the people breaking them. The miraculous operation cannot be grasped by sight or touch: that which was not, is now seen; that which is seen, is not understood. It only remains for us to believe that God can do all things.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He multiplied the five loaves in His hands, just as He produces a harvest from a few grains of seed. There was power in the hands of Christ, and those five loaves were like seeds—not planted in the earth, but multiplied by Him who made the earth.

St. John Chrysostom: Observe the difference between the servant and the Lord. The prophets received grace by measure, as it were, and performed their miracles according to that measure. Christ, however, working by His own absolute power, produces a superabundant result. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost. Therefore they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the fragments.

This was not done for pointless display, but to prevent people from thinking the whole event was a delusion. This is also why He used existing material to work from. But why did He give the fragments to His disciples to carry away, and not to the multitude? Because the disciples were to be the teachers of the world, and therefore it was essential that the truth be impressed upon them. For this reason, I admire not only the great number of loaves that were made, but also the specific quantity of the fragments: neither more nor less than twelve baskets full, corresponding to the number of the twelve Apostles.

Theophylact of Ohrid: We also learn from this miracle not to be fainthearted in the most extreme situations of poverty.

The Venerable Bede: When the multitude saw the miracle our Lord had done, they marveled, as they did not yet know that He was God. Then those men, the Evangelist adds—that is, carnal men, whose understanding was carnal—when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.

Alcuin of York: Since their faith was still weak, they only called our Lord a Prophet, not knowing that He was God. But the miracle had a considerable effect on them, as it made them call Him "that Prophet," singling Him out from the rest. They call Him a Prophet because some of the prophets had worked miracles, and this is appropriate, since our Lord calls Himself a Prophet: It cannot be that a prophet should perish out of Jerusalem.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Christ is a Prophet and the Lord of Prophets, just as He is an Angel and the Lord of Angels. In that He came to announce something, He was an Angel. In that He foretold the future, He was a Prophet. In that He was the Word made flesh, He was Lord of both Angels and Prophets, for no one can be a Prophet without the word of God.

St. John Chrysostom: Their expression, "who is to come into the world," shows that they expected the arrival of some great Prophet. This is why they say, "This is truly the Prophet," with the definite article used in the Greek to show that He was distinct from other prophets.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But let us reflect here for a moment. Because the Divine Substance is not visible to the eye, and because the miracles of God's governance of the world and the ordering of all creation are overlooked due to their constancy, God has reserved for Himself certain acts to perform at fitting times, which are outside the established course and order of nature. He does this so that those who overlook the daily course of nature might be roused to wonder by seeing something different from—though not at all greater than—what they are used to.

The governance of the world is a greater miracle than satisfying the hunger of five thousand people with five loaves, and yet no one wonders at it. The feeding of the five thousand excited wonder not because it was greater, but because it was uncommon. But it would be wrong to gather only this from Christ’s miracles. For the Lord who is on the mountain, the Word of God who is on high, is not a humble person to be casually overlooked; we must look up to Him with reverence.

Alcuin of York: Mystically, the sea signifies this tumultuous world. In the fullness of time, when Christ had entered the sea of our mortality by His birth, walked upon it by His death, and passed over it by His resurrection, then crowds of believers from both the Jews and the Gentiles followed Him.

The Venerable Bede: Our Lord went up the mountain, which signifies His ascension into heaven.

Alcuin of York: His leaving the multitude below and ascending the heights with His disciples signifies that lesser precepts are for beginners, while higher ones are for the more mature. His feeding the people shortly before the Passover signifies our refreshment by the bread of the divine word and by His body and blood—that is, our spiritual Passover, by which we cross over from vice to virtue. The Lord’s "eyes" are the spiritual gifts that He mercifully bestows on His elect. He turns His eyes upon them, meaning He looks upon them with compassionate regard.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The five barley loaves signify the Old Law. This is either because the Law was given to people who were not yet spiritual but carnal—that is, under the dominion of the five senses (and the multitude itself consisted of five thousand)—or because the Law itself was given by Moses in five books. The loaves being made of barley is also an allusion to the Law, which concealed the soul’s vital nourishment under carnal ceremonies. For in barley, the grain itself is buried under a very tough husk. It also alludes to the people who were not yet freed from the husk of carnal appetite that clung to their hearts.

The Venerable Bede: Barley is the food of cattle and slaves, and the Old Law was given to slaves and cattle—that is, to carnal men.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The two fish, which gave a pleasant taste to the bread, seem to signify the two authorities by which the people were governed: the royal and the priestly. Both of these prefigured our Lord, who held both offices.

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, the two fish represent the sayings or writings of the Prophets and the Psalmist. While the number five refers to the five senses, a thousand stands for perfection. Those who strive to obtain perfect control over their five senses are called "men" because of their superior spiritual powers. They have no "womanly" weaknesses but, through a sober and chaste life, earn the sweet refreshment of heavenly wisdom.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The boy who had the loaves and fish is perhaps the Jewish people, who, in a way, carried them in a servile manner but did not eat them. What they carried was only a burden to them while it was closed up; when it was opened, it became their food.

The Venerable Bede: And it is well said, But what are they for so many? The Law was of little use until Christ took it into His hand—that is, fulfilled it and gave it a spiritual meaning. For the Law made nothing perfect.

St. Augustine of Hippo: By the act of breaking, He multiplied the five loaves. In the same way, the five books of Moses, when expounded by "breaking"—that is, by unfolding them—made many books.

Our Lord, by breaking open what was hard in the Law and opening what was shut—as when He opened the Scriptures to the disciples after the resurrection—brought out the full meaning of the Law.

Our Lord’s question revealed the ignorance of His disciples, which represents the people’s ignorance of the Law. They lay on the grass, meaning they were carnally minded and rested in carnal things, for all flesh is grass. Men are filled with the loaves when they fulfill in practice what they hear with their ears.

And what are the fragments but the parts that the people could not eat? This is an intimation that those deeper truths, which the multitude cannot grasp, should be entrusted to those who are capable of receiving them and later teaching them to others, as the Apostles were. For this reason, twelve baskets were filled with them.

Alcuin of York: Baskets are used for humble work. The baskets here represent the Apostles and their followers who, though despised in this present life, are filled within with the riches of spiritual sacraments. The Apostles are also represented as baskets because it was through them that the doctrine of the Trinity was to be preached in the four corners of the world. His not making new loaves, but multiplying what was already there, means that He did not reject the Old Testament, but only developed and explained it.

The Venerable Bede: The crowd, concluding from such a great miracle that He was merciful and powerful, wanted to make Him a king. For people like having a merciful king to rule over them and a powerful one to protect them. Knowing this, our Lord withdrew to the mountain: When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone.

From this we gather that our Lord had previously gone down from the mountain, where He was sitting with His disciples, when He saw the crowd coming and fed them on the plain below. For how could He go up to the mountain again unless He had first come down from it?

St. Augustine of Hippo: This is not at all inconsistent with what we read, that He went up into a mountain apart to pray, as the objective of escaping is quite compatible with the objective of praying. Indeed, our Lord teaches us here that whenever escape is necessary, prayer is also greatly necessary.

Yet He who was wary of being made a king was already a king. He was not made king by men (for He reigns forever with the Father, in that He is the Son of God), but was instead making people kings in the kingdom the prophets had foretold. By becoming man, Christ made believers into Christians—that is, members of His kingdom, incorporated and purchased by His Word.

This kingdom will be made manifest after the judgment, when the brightness of His saints will be revealed. However, the disciples and the crowd who believed in Him thought He had come to reign at that time. And so they wanted to take Him by force to make Him a king, wishing to anticipate His timing, which He kept secret.

St. John Chrysostom: See what the belly can do! They no longer care about violating the Sabbath; all their zeal for God has fled now that their bellies are filled. Christ has become a Prophet, and they want to enthrone Him as king. But Christ escapes to teach us to despise the honors of the world. He dismisses His disciples and goes up into the mountain.

When their Master had left them, they went down in the evening to the sea, as we read: And when even was now come, His disciples went down unto the sea. They waited until evening, thinking He would come to them. When He did not come, they no longer delayed their search for Him but, in the fervor of their love, entered a ship and went over the sea toward Capernaum. They went to Capernaum, thinking they would find Him there.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Evangelist now returns to explain why they went and to relate what happened to them while they were crossing the lake. He says, And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

St. John Chrysostom: The mention of the time is not accidental but is meant to show the strength of their love. They did not make excuses and say, "It is evening now, and night is coming on," but in the warmth of their love, they went into the ship. And now many things alarmed them: the time, And it was now dark; the weather, as we read next, And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew; and their distance from land, So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs.

The Venerable Bede: This is a way of speaking we use when we are in doubt; we say, "about twenty-five or thirty."

St. John Chrysostom: And at last, He appears quite unexpectedly: They see Jesus walking upon the sea, and drawing nigh. He reappears after His withdrawal, teaching them what it is to be forsaken and stirring them to a greater love, while His reappearance manifests His power. They were disturbed and afraid. Our Lord comforts them: But He said to them, It is I, be not afraid.

The Venerable Bede: He does not say, "I am Jesus," but only, "I am." He trusts that they will easily recognize His familiar voice, or, as is more probable, He is showing that He was the same one who said to Moses, I am that I am.

St. John Chrysostom: He appeared to them in this way to show His power, for He immediately calmed the tempest: Then they wished to receive Him into the ship; and immediately the ship was at the land, whither they went. The calm was so great that He did not even enter the ship, in order to work a greater miracle and show His divinity more clearly.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Observe the three miracles here: first, His walking on the sea; second, His calming the waves; and third, His bringing them immediately to shore, even though they were some distance away when our Lord appeared.

St. John Chrysostom: Jesus does not show Himself walking on the sea to the crowd, as such a miracle would be too much for them to comprehend. He did not even show Himself to the disciples for long, but disappeared immediately.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Mark’s account does not contradict this. He says that our Lord told the disciples first to enter the ship and go ahead of Him over the sea while He dismissed the crowds, and that when the crowd was dismissed, He went up alone into the mountain to pray. John, on the other hand, places His going up alone into the mountain first, and then says, And when even was now come, His disciples went down to the sea. But it is easy to see that John relates what the disciples did afterward, which our Lord had commanded before His departure to the mountain.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, take another explanation. This miracle seems to me to be a different one from that given in Matthew. In that account, they do not receive Him into the ship immediately, whereas here they do. There, the storm lasts for some time, but here, a calm follows as soon as He speaks. He often repeats the same miracle in order to impress it on people's minds.

St. Augustine of Hippo: There is a mystical meaning in our Lord’s feeding the multitude and ascending the mountain, for it was prophesied of Him in this way: So shall the congregation of the people come about You: for their sake therefore lift up Yourself again.

St. Gregory the Great: But why did He flee? For they could not have detained Him against His will. This flight has a meaning: namely, that His departure is beyond our comprehension, just as when you do not understand something, you say, "It escapes me." He fled alone to the mountain because He has ascended far above all heavens.

Upon His ascension, a storm came upon the disciples in the ship (that is, the Church), and it became dark, as the light (that is, Jesus) had gone. As the end of the world draws near, error increases and iniquity abounds. Light is also love, according to John: He that hates his brother is in darkness. The waves, storms, and winds that agitate the ship, then, are the clamors of evil-speaking and love growing cold.

Nevertheless, the wind, storm, waves, and darkness were not able to stop and sink the vessel, for he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. As the number five has reference to the Law (the books of Moses being five), the number twenty-five, being made up of five times five, has the same meaning. This Law was imperfect before the Gospel came. Now, the number of perfection is six, and therefore five is multiplied by six, which makes thirty; that is, the Law is fulfilled by the Gospel.

To those, then, who fulfill the Law, Jesus comes treading on the waves—that is, trampling underfoot all the swellings of the world and all the pride of humanity. And yet such tribulations remain that even those who believe in Jesus fear that they might be lost.

Theophylact of Ohrid: When either men or devils try to terrify us, let us hear Christ saying, It is I, be not afraid—that is, "I am always near you, God unchangeable, immovable; do not let any false fears destroy your faith in Me." Observe, too, that our Lord did not come when the danger was beginning, but when it was ending. He allows us to remain in the midst of dangers and tribulations so that we may be tested by them and flee for help to Him who is able to give us deliverance when we least expect it.

When human understanding can no longer help, then divine deliverance comes. If we are also willing to receive Christ into the ship—that is, into our hearts—we will immediately find ourselves in the place where we wish to be: heaven.

The Venerable Bede: This ship, however, does not carry an idle crew; they are all strong rowers. That is, in the Church, not the idle and weak, but the strenuous and persevering in good works attain the harbor of everlasting salvation.

St. John Chrysostom: Although our Lord did not actually show Himself to the multitude walking on the sea, He still gave them the opportunity to infer what had happened. The day following, the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto His disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples were gone away alone.

What could this mean, except for them to suspect that He had walked across the sea when He left? For He could not have gone over in a ship, as there was only one there—the one His disciples had entered—and He had not gone in with them.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Knowledge of the miracle was conveyed to them indirectly. Other ships had come to the place where they had eaten bread, and in these they went after Him. However there came other boats from Tiberias, near to the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither His disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.

St. John Chrysostom: Yet after so great a miracle, they did not ask Him how He had crossed over or show any concern about it, as appears from what follows. And when they had found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Unless we say that this "when" meant "how." And observe their fickleness. After saying, This is that Prophet, and wanting to take Him by force to make Him king, when they find Him, they think of nothing of the sort.

St. Augustine of Hippo: So He who had fled to the mountain now mixes and converses with the multitude. Just a moment ago, they wanted to keep Him and make Him king. But after the sacrament of the miracle, He begins to speak, filling their souls with His word, just as He had satisfied their bodies with bread.

Alcuin of York: He who set an example by declining praise and earthly power also sets an example for teachers of freedom in their preaching.

St. John Chrysostom: Kindness and leniency are not always advisable. The lazy or insensitive disciple must be spurred on, and this is what the Son of God does. For when the multitude approaches with soft words, Rabbi, when did you come here?, He shows them that He does not desire honor from man. He does this by the severity of His answer, which both exposes and rebukes their motive. Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is as if He said, "You seek Me to satisfy the flesh, not the Spirit."

St. John Chrysostom: After the rebuke, however, He proceeds to teach them: Labor not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures to everlasting life. He means, "You seek temporary food, whereas I fed your bodies only so that you might seek more diligently for that food which is not temporary but contains eternal life."

Alcuin of York: Bodily food only supports the flesh of the outer man and must be taken daily, not just once; whereas spiritual food remains forever, imparting perpetual fullness and immortality.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Under the figure of food, He alludes to Himself. He said, "You seek Me for the sake of something else; seek Me for My own sake."

St. John Chrysostom: But since some who wish to live in idleness pervert this command, Labor not..., it is good to notice what Paul says: Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs. And Paul himself, when he lived with Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth, worked with his hands.

By saying, Labor not for the meat which perishes, our Lord does not mean for us to be idle, but to work and give alms. This is the food that does not perish. To labor for the food that perishes is to be devoted only to the interests of this life. Our Lord saw that the multitude had no thought of believing and only wanted to fill their stomachs without working; this is what He justly called the food that perishes.

St. Augustine of Hippo: As He told the woman of Samaria previously, If you knew Who it is that said to you, Give me to drink, you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water. So He says here, Which the Son of man shall give to you.

Alcuin of York: When, through the hand of the priest, you receive the Body of Christ, do not think of the priest whom you see, but of the Priest whom you do not see. The priest is the dispenser of this food, not its author. The Son of man gives Himself to us, so that we may abide in Him, and He in us.

Do not think that this Son of man is the same as other sons of men. He stands alone in an abundance of grace, separate and distinct from all the rest, for that Son of man is the Son of God, as it follows: For Him has God the Father sealed. To seal is to put a mark upon something. So the meaning is, "Do not despise Me because I am the Son of man, for I am the Son of man in such a way that the Father has sealed Me." That is, He has given Me something unique, so that I should not be confused with the rest of the human race, but that the human race should be delivered by Me.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: A seal impresses a perfect image of the stamp, while at the same time receiving that impression into itself. This is not a perfect illustration of the divine birth, for sealing presupposes matter—different kinds of matter, with the harder impressing the softer. Yet He who was the Only-Begotten God, and the Son of man only through the sacrament of our salvation, uses this illustration to express the Father’s fullness as stamped upon Himself. He wishes to show the Jews that He has the power of giving this eternal food because He contained in Himself the fullness of God.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, "sealed" means that the Father sent Him for this purpose: namely, to bring us this food. Alternatively, "sealed" means He was revealed and the Gospel confirmed by means of the Father's witness to Him.

Alcuin of York: To interpret the passage mystically: "on the day following" means after the ascension of Christ. The multitude, "standing" in good works and not "lying" in worldly pleasures, expects Jesus to come to them. The one boat is the one Church. The "other boats which come" are the assemblies of heretics, who seek their own interests, not the things of Jesus Christ. Therefore, He rightly says, You seek Me... because you did eat of the loaves.

St. Augustine of Hippo: How many people seek Jesus only to gain some temporary benefit! One person has a business matter and wants the clergy's help; another is oppressed by a more powerful neighbor and flees to the Church for refuge. Jesus is hardly ever sought for His own sake.

St. Gregory the Great: In these people, our Lord also condemns all those within the holy Church who, when brought near to God by sacred orders, do not seek the reward of righteousness but the interests of this present life. To follow our Lord after being filled with bread is to use the Holy Church as a means of livelihood. To seek our Lord not for the sake of the miracles but for the loaves is to aspire to a religious office, not with the goal of increasing in grace, but of adding to one's worldly means.

The Venerable Bede: Those people also seek Jesus not for His own sake, but for something else, who in their prayers ask not for eternal blessings, but for temporal ones. The mystical meaning is that the assemblies of heretics are without the company of Christ and His disciples. And the "other boats coming" signifies the sudden growth of heresies. The crowd, which saw that Jesus and His disciples were not there, represents those who, seeing the errors of heretics, leave them and turn to the true faith.

Alcuin of York: They understood that the food which endures to eternal life was the work of God. Therefore, they asked Him what they must do to perform the work of God, that is, to obtain this food: Then said they to Him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God?

The Venerable Bede: That is, by keeping what commandments will we be able to fulfill the law of God?

St. John Chrysostom: But they said this not so that they might learn and follow them, but to obtain from Him another display of His generosity.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Christ, though He saw it would be of no use, still answered their question for the benefit of others who would come later. He showed them, or rather the whole world, what the work of God was: Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He does not say, "that you believe Him," but "that you believe in Him." For the demons believed Him but did not believe in Him; and we believe Paul, but we do not believe in Paul. To believe in Him is to believe in such a way that you love Him, honor Him, go to Him, and are incorporated as members of His Body.

The faith that God requires of us is that which works by love. Faith is indeed distinguished from works by the Apostle, who says, That man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. But works that appear good, when done without faith in Christ, are not truly good, because they are not directed toward the end that makes them good. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes.

Therefore, our Lord would not separate faith from works, but said that faith itself was the performance of God's work. He did not say, "This is your work," but, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him, so that he who glories might glory in the Lord.

To eat that food which endures to everlasting life, then, is to believe in Him. Why do you make your teeth and stomach ready? Only believe, and you have already eaten.

When He called on them to believe, they still asked for miracles by which to believe. They said therefore to Him, What sign show you then, that we may see and believe You? What do you work?

St. John Chrysostom: Nothing could be more unreasonable than their asking for another miracle, as if none had been given already. They did not even leave the choice of the miracle to our Lord, but tried to force Him to give them the exact sign that was given to their fathers: Our fathers did eat manna in the desert.

Alcuin of York: And to exalt the miracle of the manna, they quote the Psalm: As it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

St. John Chrysostom: Although many miracles were performed in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the desert, they remembered this one best of all. Such is the power of appetite. They do not mention this miracle as the work of either God or Moses, in order to avoid, on the one hand, raising Him to an equality with God, or on the other, lowering Him by a comparison with Moses. Instead, they take a middle ground, only saying, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, to put it another way, our Lord places Himself above Moses, who did not dare to say that he gave the food that does not perish. The crowd, therefore, remembering what Moses had done and wishing for a greater miracle, was saying, in effect, "You promise food that does not perish, yet you do not perform works equal to those of Moses. He gave us not barley loaves, but manna from heaven."

St. John Chrysostom: Our Lord could have replied that He had performed miracles greater than those of Moses, but it was not the time for such a declaration. He desired one thing: namely, to bring them to taste the spiritual food. Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

Did the manna not come from heaven? True, but in what sense? In the same sense that birds are called "the birds of heaven," and just as it is said in the Psalm, The Lord thundered out of heaven. He calls it the true bread, not because the miracle of the manna was false, but because it was a figure and not the reality.

He also does not say, "Moses did not give it to you, but I did." Instead, He substitutes God for Moses, and Himself for the manna.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is as if He said, "That manna was a type of this food of which I have just spoken, and to which all my miracles point. You like my miracles, but you despise what is signified by them." This bread that God gives, and which the manna represented, is the Lord Jesus Christ, as we read next: For the bread of God is He which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.

The Venerable Bede: Not to the physical world, but to humanity, its inhabitants.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He calls Himself the true bread because the only-begotten Son of God, made man, was the principal reality signified by the manna. For "manna" literally means, "What is this?" The Israelites were astonished when they first found it and asked one another what it was. In a special sense, the Son of God made man is this mysterious manna, about which we ask, "What is this? How can the Son of God be the Son of man? How can one person consist of two natures?"

Alcuin of York: He, through the humanity that was assumed, came down from heaven; and through the divinity that assumed it, gives life to the world.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But this bread, being life itself (for He is the Son of the living Father), does only what is natural for Him to do in giving life to all things. For just as natural bread sustains our weak flesh, so Christ, through the operations of the Spirit, gives life to the soul and even incorruptibility to the body (for at the resurrection, the body will be made incorruptible). Therefore, He says that He gives life to the world.

St. John Chrysostom: He gives life not only to the Jews, but to the whole world. The crowd, however, still attached a fleshly meaning to His words: Then they said to Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. They say, "Give us this bread," not, "Ask Your Father to give it to us," even though He had said that His Father gives this bread.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Just as the woman of Samaria, when our Lord told her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall never thirst, thought He meant natural water and said, Sir, give me this water, so that she would never be in need of it again; in the same way, these people say, Give us this bread, meaning a bread that refreshes, sustains, and never fails.

St. John Chrysostom: Our Lord now proceeds to reveal mysteries and first speaks of His divinity. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He does not say this about His body, for He speaks of that at the end: The bread that I will give you is My flesh. Here He is speaking of His divinity. The flesh is bread by virtue of the Word; this bread is heavenly bread on account of the Spirit who dwells in it.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He does not say, "I am the bread of nourishment," but of life. For while other things brought death, Christ has quickened us by Himself. The life He speaks of here is not our common life, but the life that is not cut short by death: He that comes to Me shall never hunger, and he that believes in Me shall never thirst.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The phrase, He that comes to Me—that is, who believes in Me—shall never hunger, has the same meaning as shall never thirst. Both signify that eternal community where there is no want.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Alternatively, to "never hunger or thirst" means that one will never grow weary of hearing the word of God, nor thirst for understanding, as if he did not possess the water of baptism and the sanctification of the Spirit.

St. Augustine of Hippo: You desire bread from heaven, but though you have it before you, you do not eat it. This is what I told you: But I said to you, that you also have seen Me, and believe not.

Alcuin of York: It is as if He said, "I did not say what I did about the bread because I thought you would eat it, but rather to convict you of unbelief. I say that you see Me and do not believe."

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, the phrase I said to you refers to the testimony of the Scriptures, of which He said previously, They are they which testify of Me, and again, I am come in My Father’s name, and you receive Me not. The phrase, That you have seen Me, is a silent allusion to His miracles.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But because you have seen Me and did not believe, I have not for that reason lost the people of God: All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.

The Venerable Bede: He said "all," absolutely, to show the fullness of the number who would believe. These are the ones whom the Father gives the Son when, by His secret inspiration, He makes them believe in the Son.

Alcuin of York: Therefore, whoever the Father draws to believe in Me will, by faith, come to Me to be joined to Me. And those who come to Me, following the path of faith and good works, I will in no wise cast out. That is, in the secret habitation of a pure conscience, they will dwell with Me, and in the end I will receive them into everlasting joy.

St. Augustine of Hippo: That inner place, from which there is no casting out, is a great sanctuary, a secret chamber where there is neither weariness, nor the bitterness of evil thoughts, nor the cross of pain and temptation. Of this place it is said, Enter you into the joy of your Lord.

St. John Chrysostom: The expression, that the Father gives Me, shows that whether a person believes is not an accident. Belief is not the work of human reasoning but requires a revelation from on high and a mind devout enough to receive it. However, those whom the Father does not give are not free from blame, for they are deficient in what is within their own power: the will to believe. This is a virtual rebuke to their unbelief, as it shows that whoever does not believe in Him transgresses the Father’s will.

Paul, however, says that the Son gives believers up to the Father: When He shall have given up the kingdom to God, even the Father. But just as the Father, in giving, does not lose them from Himself, neither does the Son when He gives them up. The Son is said to give them up to the Father because we are brought to the Father through Him. And at the same time, we read of the Father, By Whom you were called to the fellowship of His Son.

Whoever then comes to Me, our Lord says, will be saved, for to save them I took on flesh: For I came down from heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. But what? Do you have one will and He another? No, certainly not. Mark what He says afterward: And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes in Him, should have everlasting life. This is the Son’s will too, for the Son quickens whom He will. He says, then, that He came to do nothing but what the Father wills, for He has no will distinct from the Father’s. Indeed, all things that the Father has are Mine. But He does not state this plainly now, reserving these higher truths for the end of His ministry.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This is the reason He does not cast out those who come to Him: For I came down from heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. The soul departed from God because it was proud. Pride casts us out; humility restores us.

When a physician treats a disease by curing only the outward symptoms but not the underlying cause, the cure is merely temporary. As long as the cause remains, the disease can return. So that the cause of all our spiritual diseases—that is, pride—might be eradicated, the Son of God humbled Himself.

Why are you proud, O man? The Son of God humbled Himself for you. It might shame you, perhaps, to imitate a humble man, but at least imitate a humble God. And this is the proof of His humility: I came not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. Pride does its own will; humility does the will of God.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: This does not mean He does what He does not wish to do. He obediently fulfills His Father’s will, while also wishing to fulfill that will Himself.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Therefore, for this very reason, I will not cast out him that comes to Me, because I came not to do Mine own will. I came to teach humility by being humble Myself. He who comes to Me is made a member of Me and is necessarily humble, because he will not do his own will but the will of God, and therefore is not cast out. He was cast out for being proud; he returns to Me humble. He is not sent away again, except for pride. Whoever maintains his humility does not fall from the truth.

Furthermore, He shows that He does not cast out such a person—because He came not to do His own will—when He says, And this is the Father’s will which has sent Me, that of all which He has given Me, I should lose nothing. Everyone of a humble mind is given to Him. It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish. The proud may perish, but of the little ones, none can, for except you be as a little child, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, those who by God's unerring providence are foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified—even before their new birth or before they are born at all—are already the sons of God and cannot possibly perish. These are the ones who truly come to Christ. Through Him, perseverance in good to the end is also given, and it is given only to those who will not perish. Those who do not persevere will perish.

St. John Chrysostom: With the words, I should lose nothing, He lets them know that He does not desire His own honor, but their salvation. After the declarations, I will in no wise cast out and I should lose nothing, He adds, But should raise it up at the last day. In the general resurrection, the wicked will be cast out, according to Matthew: Take him, and cast him into outer darkness, and, Who is able to cast both soul and body into hell. He often mentions the resurrection for this purpose: namely, to warn people not to judge God’s providence by present events, but to extend their thoughts to the world to come.

St. Augustine of Hippo: See how the twofold resurrection is expressed here. The one who comes to Me, He says, will immediately rise again by becoming humble and a member of Me. But then He continues, But I will raise him up at the last day. To explain the words, All that the Father has given Me and I should lose nothing, He adds, And this is the will of Him that has sent Me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes in Him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up on the last day.

Previously He said, Whoso hears My word, and believes in Him that sent Me. Now it is, Every one which sees the Son, and believes in Him. He does not say, "believes in the Father," because it is the same thing to believe in the Father as it is to believe in the Son. For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself.

And again, He says, That whoso sees the Son and believes on Him, should have everlasting life—that is, by believing and passing over to life, as in the first resurrection. But this is only the first resurrection. He alludes to the second when He says, And I will raise him up at the last day.