Church Fathers Commentary John 6:35-40

"Jesus said unto them. I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye have seen me, and yet believe not. All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." — John 6:35-40 (ASV)

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.