Bread That Does Not Spoil

Here are my rough translation and initial thoughts regarding John 6:24-35, the Revised Common Lectionary gospel reading for the 11^thSunday after Pentecost. If you would like to read my reflection called “Bread that Spoils; Bread that Lasts,” click here. For that perspective, I recommend an excellent article by James F. McGrath, “Food for Thought: The Bread of Life Discourses in Johanine Legitimation,” which you can find here.  

[By the way, I've begun blogging some thoughts about the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025" on my other blog. If you are interested, you can find it here.]

²⁴ ὅτε οὖν εἶδεν ὁ ὄχλος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκεῖ οὐδὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, ἐνέβησαν αὐτοὶ εἰς τὰ πλοιάρια καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ ζητοῦντες τὸν Ἰησοῦν. 

Then when the crowd saw that Jesus is not there nor his disciples, they climbed into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 

εἶδεν : AAI 3s, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know

ἔστιν : PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

ἐνέβησαν : AAI 3p, ἐμβαίνω, 1) to go into, step into

ἦλθον : AAI 3p, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

ζητοῦντες : PAPart npm, ζητέω, 1) to seek in order to find  1a) to seek a thing 

1. “Then” (οὖν) This word could imply sequence (then) or consequence (therefore). “Then” seems to be how John is using it throughout this story. 

2. The lectionary reading, for some reason, starts in the middle of a natural paragraph of thought, which would include vv.22-23, where the boats are introduced into the story. 

²⁵ καὶ εὑρόντες αὐτὸν πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης εἶπον αὐτῷ, Ῥαββί, πότε ὧδε γέγονας;

And having found him on the other side of the sea said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

εὑρόντες : AAPart npm, εὑρίσκω, 1) to come upon, hit upon, to meet with  1a) after searching, to find a thing sought  

εἶπον : AAI 3p, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

γέγονας: PerfAI 2s, γίνομαι, 1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being  2) to become, i.e. to come to pass, happen

1. “When did you come here?” This seems to be a colloquialism that is not quite captured by my translation. It might literally be something like “When did you become here?” using the word for ‘becoming’ (γίνομαι) more than simply ‘coming/going’ (ἔρχομαι). At any rate, the question of “when” seems odd and Jesus does not answer it. I’m not convinced that a simple translation captures the meaning of the seeking crowd’s question. 

2. Notice the pairing of “seek” (ζητέω, v.24) and “find” (εὑρίσκω, v.25). While it seems a common pairing, for those of us who are readers of the synoptic Gospels, one expression of discipleship is captured in “seek and you will find.” Here, Jesus will question the motive behind the seeking, or the specific thing sought. It makes me wonder if this pericope ought to be held alongside of others, like Matthew 7:7, when we explore the multi-faceted spaces of discipleship.

²⁶ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν, Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ζητεῖτέ με οὐχ ὅτι εἴδετε σημεῖα ἀλλ' ὅτι ἐφάγετε ἐκ τῶν ἄρτων καὶ ἐχορτάσθητε. 

Jesus answered them and said, “Amen amen I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs but because you ate out of the bread and were satiated.  

ἀπεκρίθη : API 3s, ἀποκρίνομαι, 1) to give an answer to a question proposed, to answer

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

λέγω : PAI 1s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

ζητεῖτέ : PAI 2p, ζητέω, 1) to seek in order to find  1a) to seek a thing

εἴδετε : AAI 2p, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know 

ἐφάγετε : AAI 2p, ἐσθίω, 1) to eat  2) to eat (consume) a thing  2a) to take food, eat a meal

ἐχορτάσθητε: API 2p, χορτάζω, 1) to feed with herbs, grass, hay, to fill, satisfy with food,  to fatten  1a) of animals  2) to fill or satisfy men  3) to fulfil or satisfy the desire of any one 

1. “Amen amen” is a phrase that was made known popularly in the KJV’s “Verily verily I say unto you.” It is not a quaint phrase, but an emphatic one. Ἀμὴν is transliterated from the Hebrew term אמן and indicates certainty or truth. In John, it is used very often and always appears as a double “Amen amen” except for the very last word of the Gospel. 

2. I think of these “Amen amen” (or “Very truly” as some translations put it) phrases as proclamations. That is, they don’t always flow easily or directly from what has been said previously. In this verse, Jesus says nothing about when he got to Capernaum, which was the question preceding the proclamation. He is, however, saying something about the crowd and their motivation for seeking him. We need to keep reading to see if their motive for seeking him – not because they saw a sign but because they ate and were satisfied – is good, bad, or merely an observation. (Even at this point, it is probably not the latter, because a mere observation would not be set off by “Amen amen.”) 

3. Some Johannine scholars feel that cc. 2-12 of John pre-existed the gospel in some form around the theme of “signs,” calling it “the book of signs.” Such matters of source criticism are beyond my pay grade, but the suggestion sticks because of the persistent reference to “signs” and various sight-related words, such as seeking and finding, in these chapters. And, in turn, that makes the post-resurrection story of Thomas interesting in a new way, where Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (The word “signs” itself is not in the Thomas story.) 

²⁷ ἐργάζεσθε μὴ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἀπολλυμένην ἀλλὰ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ἣν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὑμῖν δώσει: τοῦτον γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ἐσφράγισεν ὁ θεός. 

Do not work for the food that spoils but for the food that lasts in life age-during, which the son of man will give to you; for the father the God sealed him. 

ἐργάζεσθε : PMImpv 2p, ἐργάζομαι, 1) to work, labor, do work 

ἀπολλυμένην: PMPart asf, ἀπόλλυμι, 1) to destroy  1a) to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin  1b) render useless 

μένουσαν : PAPart asf, μένω, 1) to remain, abide  1a) in reference to place

δώσει: FAI 3s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone

ἐσφράγισεν : AAI 3s, σφραγίζω 1) to set a seal upon, mark with a seal, to seal  1a) for security

1. “Work” (ἐργάζεσθε) is a deponent verb in the middle voice, so it is translated ‘work for.’ 

2. “Spoils” and “lasts” are set as opposite possibilities for food. There may be better word selections, but I think these two bring out the opposition. 

3. “Life age-during” (ζωὴν αἰώνιον): I found this phrase in Young’s Literal Translation. It is awkward and unwieldy and I would probably change it in later refining steps of translating, but I keep it in the rough translation because it keeps me mindful that the word that is usually translated ‘eternal’ or ‘everlasting’ is a complex word. We often think that it simply means “without end,” like something that we have now, going on forever. It can also mean “without beginning,” because it is a Greek philosophical and mythological word that refers to timelessness. I’m convinced that this is one of those concepts that arose during the very fertile theological Intertestmental period, when – after the Greek empire spread under Alexander the Great – Greek thought began to displace earlier ways of thinking. I don’t believe there is a consistent concept of pre-existing life or never-ending life in the Hebrew Bible until the 2^ndcentury BCE (which would include the 2^ndhalf of Daniel and many of the Apocryphal books). By the NT time, this is a common way of speaking about life, except among the traditionalists like the Sadducees. Since they only considered the Torah as Scripture, they didn’t accept this new way of thinking.

4. The word αἰώνιον literally means something like “of the ages.” In John’s gospel – see the language about Lazarus’ death in c.11 for example – the phrase “life age-during” (ζωὴν αἰώνιον) does not mean the same thing as in Greek philosophy. Lazarus is raised from death. It is not simply that his eternal soul was re-acquainted with his previously dead body. Mary awaited the “resurrection” for him to live again. She did not think that somewhere out there he was still living and smiling down on her. When Jesus goes on to say, “I am the resurrection and the life,” he is not responding to the Greek concept of the immortality of the soul; he is responding to the newish Jewish concept of the resurrection. There’s a difference. 

5. The “food that lasts in life age-during” seems to be similar to the “living water” in c.4

6. “sealed him” (ἐσφράγισεν): The ESV translates this as God setting a “seal of approval” on Jesus. The NRSV and NIV are more ambiguous: “set his seal.” The word could mean ‘to mark’ as in a seal that someone imprints on a letter, which could signify the sender or is a way to ensure that it remains closed until the intended recipient opens it. I remember hearing this terms described years ago as someone putting their seal on logs, then transporting them by floating them along a river. As the logs are gathered where the river widens, the owners can collect theirs by looking for the seal (not unlike branding cattle that travel with other herds). A more contemporary image that comes to mind is Tupperware or storage bags, with their sealing qualities which preserve the food inside. The Dead Sea Scrolls were sealed in clay jars for almost 2,000 years and remarkably preserved. 

7. “God has sealed him”: I expected an ‘it’ not a ‘him.’ ‘Him’ implies that it is Jesus (the most previous and predominant masculine singular antecedent) is the one whom God has sealed. 

²⁸ εἶπον οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν, Τί ποιῶμεν ἵνα ἐργαζώμεθα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ; 

Then they said to him, “What may we do in order that we may work the works of God? 

εἶπον : AAI 3p, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

ποιῶμεν : PASubj 1p ποιέω, 1) to make  1a) with the names of things made, to produce, construct,  form, fashion, etc. 

ἐργαζώμεθα : PMSubj 1p ἐργάζομαι, 1) to work, labour, do work

1. The idea of “doing something” seems a response to Jesus’ imperative voice in v.27 to “work … for the food that lasts.” 

²⁹  ἀπεκρίθη [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα 

πιστεύητε εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος. 

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you may believe in him whom he [God] sent.  

ἀπεκρίθη : API 3s, ἀποκρίνομαι, 1) to give an answer to a question proposed, to answer

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

ἔστιν : PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

πιστεύητε : PASubj 2p, πιστεύω, 1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place  confidence in  1a) of the thing believed

ἀπέστειλεν : AAI 3s, ἀποστέλλω, 1) to order (one) to go to a place appointed  2) to send away, dismiss 

1. Believing is the ‘work for the food that lasts’ that they are called to do. In John’s gospel, believing is doing. 

³⁰ εἶπον οὖν αὐτῷ, Τί οὖν ποιεῖς σὺ σημεῖον, ἵνα ἴδωμεν καὶ πιστεύσωμέν σοι; τί ἐργάζῃ; 

Then they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, in order that we may see and may believe in you? What do you work? 

εἶπον : AAI 3p, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

ποιεῖς : PAI 2s, ποιέω, 1) to make  1a) with the names of things made, to produce, construct,  form, fashion, etc.

ἴδωμεν: AASubj 1p, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know

πιστεύσωμέν : AASubj 1p, πιστεύω, 1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place  confidence in  1a) of the thing believed 

ἐργάζῃ: PMI 2s, ἐργάζομαι, 1) to work, labour, do work 

1. At play here is that Jesus’ work should be – according to this crowd – to give a sign by which they can do their work, which is to believe. Curiously, these folks who have just eaten bread in the wilderness are asking Jesus to give a sign like the manna-bread in the wilderness that Moses (or, God, as Jesus corrects them) provided. 

³¹ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τὸ μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καθώς ἐστιν γεγραμμένον, Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν. 

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is what has been written, “Bread out of the heaven he gave to them to eat.” 

ἔφαγον : AAI 3p, ἐσθίω, 1) to eat  2) to eat (consume) a thing  2a) to take food, eat a meal  3) metaph. to devour, consume

ἔστιν : PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

γεγραμμένον: PresPerfPart nsn, γράφω, 1) to write, with reference to the form of the letters 

ἔδωκεν : AAI 3s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone

φαγεῖν: AAInf, ἐσθίω  1) eat  2) to eat (consume) a thing  2a) to take food, eat a meal

1. Another awkward phrase that will be refined is “just as it is what has been written.” I translate it woodenly to point out the juxtaposition of the present tense (“is” ἐστιν) and the present perfect participle (“is written” γεγραμμένον). I like this description of the present perfect: present tense+ the perfect aspect = a past event that has present consequences.

2. There is something very attractive to me of thinking about the scriptures as the present consequences of what was written in the past. The phrase lends itself to musing on the historical and contemporaneous senses of the Bible. 

³² εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ Μωϋσῆς δέδωκεν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἀλλ' ὁ πατήρ μου δίδωσιν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ το ῦοὐρανοῦ τὸν ἀληθινόν.

Then Jesus said to them, “Amen amen I say to you, Moses did not give to you the bread out of the heaven, but my father gives to you the true bread out of the heaven. 

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

λέγω : PAI 1s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

δέδωκεν : PerfAI 3s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone

δίδωσιν : PAI 3s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone

1. Again an “Amen amen” saying. Is the point that it was God and not Moses? That is clear enough from the story itself. My guess is that the point is in the next verse, not in the clarification of their language. I’m not sure what is at stake in this clarification, unless there is actually a tension at play between the activity of God in the past and the activity of God in the present. If nothing else, of all four gospel accounts of the feeding stories, John makes the most explicit connection between the bread Jesus broke and the manna. 

2. I wonder if, by attributing the manna to Moses, it is a way of framing the story as the past, a story about Moses, who is dead and gone. But, by re-framing the story and reminding them that God gave them the bread of heaven, Jesus brings the contemporary meaning of the story out, since God is. The manna story and the true bread of life come down to them is one story. 

³³ ὁ γὰρ ἄρτος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ καταβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ζωὴν διδοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ.

For the bread of God is that which has come down out of the heaven and gives life in the world.”

ἔστιν : PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

καταβαίνων : PAPart nsm, καταβαίνω, 1) to go down, come down, descend  1a) the place from which one has come down from 

διδοὺς : PAPart nsm, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone

1. [Personal aside: John's constant string of metaphorical language and circular manner of conversations often loses me, especially when I am engaging in the fine work of word-by-word translating. I have to assume that there is something wonderful happening in those moments when my best response is, "Whaa???" Case in point: Something about this verse seems delightful to me, beyond what I can articulate. Jesus and the crowd are talking about the manna event from ages past, which Jesus has just ensured they remember is an act of God and not Moses. And now, Jesus is the bread from heaven. Perhaps it is a way of drawing on the familiar past experience of God to proclaim the present experience of the Christ. Or, perhaps this is a way of saying that the manna of yore and the Christ before them are one and the same. I forget sometimes how chronos-bound the human mind is, when God is eternal. What may be a past event to us, can be a contemporary or even simultaneous event to God, without contradiction. That blows my mind.] 

³⁴ Εἶπον οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν, Κύριε, πάντοτε δὸς ἡμῖν τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον. 

Then they said to him, “Lord, always give to us this bread.” 

εἶπον : AAI 3p, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

δὸς : AAImpv 2s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone

1. The crowd’s request is intriguing. The verb is an aorist imperative. When in the indicative mood, an aorist refers to past tense (something like a single immediate instance of a past). But, in the imperative mood, aorist refers more to the aspect of urgency in what is being commanded than the tense. An aorist imperative often carries the feel of “right now, be silent!” or something that expresses immediacy. Here, it would carry the sense of “Lord, give us this bread right now!” except that it is qualified by the adverb “always.” Perhaps it is less about demanding immediacy and more like a “now and forever!” kind of feel behind this request. 

2. By asking Jesus to give the bread, the people are looking at Jesus as the new and improved Moses. They see Jesus as one who can feed them as Moses once fed their fathers. There is reason for them to feel this way, since Jesus did feed them in the feeding of the 5,000 story. Like an improved Moses, they see Jesus’ bread as an “always” kind of provision, not just a 40-years-in-the-wilderness provision. 

³⁵ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς: ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρός ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ πεινάσῃ, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ διψήσει πώποτε.

Jesus said to them, “I AM the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in my shall not thirst ever. 

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

εἰμι : PAI 1s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

ἐρχόμενος : PMPart nsm, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

πεινάσῃ: AASubj 3s, πεινάω, 1) to hunger, be hungry  1a) to suffer want  1b) to be needy  2) metaph. to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire 

πιστεύων: PAPart nsm, πιστεύω, 1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place  confidence in  1a) of the thing believed

διψήσει : FAI 3s, διψάω, 1) to suffer thirst, suffer from thirst 

1. Now the metaphor changes in a very significant direction! “The bread that comes down out of the heaven” is not an analogy between manna (God’s provision via Moses) and the feeding story (God’s provision via Jesus), but an analogy between manna and Jesus himself. Jesus is the bread that comes down from heaven, but instead of merely feeding “our fathers in the wilderness,” he is nurture for the cosmos and – drawing from the previous verses – instead of a 40 year provision his bread is into the ages. 

Jesus continues this thought throughout John’s 6^thchapter, in vv.48-51: I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.