Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 6:36

"But I said unto you, that ye have seen me, and yet believe not." — John 6:36 (ASV)

The request that Jesus should give the people the “bread [GK 788] of life” parallels the request of the Samaritan woman for the water of life . Jesus had already startled the people by saying that Moses did not give them real bread from heaven. Now he shocked them a second time by announcing that he was the bread the Father had given. Jesus was claiming to be the only permanent satisfaction for the human desire for life. The attainment of this satisfaction hinges on belief. The definition of this term varies between the people’s use of it (v.30) and Jesus’ use (v.35). To them “belief” meant acceptance of his competence on the basis of miracles; to him it meant commitment, not on the basis of the miracles, but on trust in his person.

The assertion “I am the bread of life” is the first in a series of such declarations that are peculiar to this gospel (8:12; 10:7, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). Each represents a particular relationship of Jesus to the spiritual needs of humans: their light in darkness, their entrance into security and fellowship, their guide and protector in life, their hope in death, their certainty in perplexity, and their source of vitality for productiveness. He desired that people should receive him, not simply for what he might give them, but for what he might be to them.

Jesus was talking about the bread that gives eternal life; but this was beyond their comprehension, just as the miracles Jesus had performed in their sight did not lead them to believe in him.