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John 6:1. After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of ​​Galilee, in the vicinity of Tiberias. The Lord, after a stern speech to the Jews, which aroused envy and anger in them, tames them by moving away from them and goes to the other side of the Sea of ​​Tiberias. The lake is called a sea, because Divine Scripture “called the collections of waters seas” (Gen. 1:10). John 6:2. Many people followed Him because they saw the miracles He performed on the sick. Otherwise: he moves from place to place in order to test the favor of the people. For while the careless remained in their place, the more diligent followed Him. However, look, those who followed followed not because of the teaching, but because of the bodily benefit from miracles, “because they,” he says, “were amazed at His teaching, for He taught as one having authority” (Matthew 7:28, 29). John 6:3. Jesus went up the mountain and sat there with His disciples. “He ascends “to the mountain” because,” he says, “they saw the miracles that He performed on the sick.” The followers mentioned in Matthew are better and wiser, “because they,” he says, “marveled at His teaching, for He taught as one having authority” (Matthew 7:28, 29). He ascends “to the mountain” because he intended to perform a miracle. For He did not love honor and glory, so as to work miracles in the midst of cities, but, avoiding the empty glory of men, He seeks solitude, teaching us the same. He also ascends “to the mountain” because he wants to tell his students something mysterious. For He usually always did this. Because the one who has to conduct such a speech needs to be free from all embarrassment and needs a place free from all noise. John 6:4. Passover, the Jewish holiday, was approaching. “The Passover, the Jewish holiday,” he says, “was approaching.” And yet, He does not go to it, but retires to Galilee, because He was no longer subject to the decrees of the law in order to observe the legal holidays. And otherwise: since the malice of the Jews pursued Him, He, having received opportunities, little by little weakens the law; the image stopped. Note also this: “Feast of the Jews.” It was not the feast of Christ, when Christ did not go to it, but only the Jews. John 6:5. Jesus lifted up his eyes and saw that many people were coming to Him, Why is it said, “Jesus lifted up his eyes”? So that we know that His eyes did not wander here and there, but He sat with consciousness, attention, and concentration, talking with the disciples about divine objects, and finally looked up with His eyes and asked about the people, what to feed them. He said to Philip: Where can we buy bread to feed them? He asks no one else, but Philip. For he demanded more training, since subsequently he says: “Show us the Father, and it will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Therefore, he prepares him long in advance and with a question encourages him to always remember this miracle. For if the miracle had been performed simply, it would not have seemed such a great miracle. And now He first forces him to announce a shortage of bread, so that he better understands the greatness of the miracle that is about to happen and cannot forget what was said. Therefore he says: “Where can we buy bread to feed them?” John 6:6. He said this, testing him; for He Himself knew what He wanted to do. He says this, testing Philip, that is, wanting to discover what kind of faith he has. Without a doubt, He asks Philip not because He Himself does not know his thoughts, but because He wants to reveal them to others. “For the Lord Himself knew what He wanted to do.” John 6:7. Philip answered Him: There will not be enough bread for them for two hundred denarii, so that each of them gets at least a little. John 6:8. One of His disciples, Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, said to Him: John 6:9. Here one boy has five barley loaves and two fish; but what is this for such a multitude? Having tested Philip to see whether he has faith, and having discovered that he is not yet free from human weakness, he finds Andrei the same, although his idea was somewhat higher than Philip’s. Philip said that “there will not be enough bread for two hundred denarii.” Andrew points to “five barley loaves and two fish,” perhaps remembering the miracles of the prophets, like, for example, Elisha performed a miracle on the loaves when Samaria reached extreme destruction (2 Kings 4:42–44). However, it turns out that Andrei also had a thought that was not at all worthy of the Lord. He says: “But what is this for such a multitude?” He thought that the Lord would perhaps multiply these loaves, but if there were more of them, the multiplication would be greater. Obviously, his idea is not correct. For the Lord could create bread out of nothing in sufficient quantity for the people. However, so that they do not think that creation is alien to His wisdom, He uses creation itself as an instrument for performing miracles, and taking the loaves as a certain substance as a reason, thus performing a miracle. Let the Manichaeans be ashamed, who say that bread and everything created is the work of an evil god and therefore, if someone gives them bread, they do not take it from his hands, but order it to be thrown from afar, while they themselves stand and curse the one who gave it: “let the one who sowed you (bread) scatter himself! Let the one who ground you be ground to pieces!” and so on. Let them be ashamed when they hear that Christ, the Son of the Good God, multiplied the loaves. If they were an evil creation, the Good One would not have increased the evil, not to mention the fact that He Himself would not have eaten bread. Perhaps someone will ask: “Is this miracle of the loaves the same with the miracle described in the Gospel of Matthew?” (Matthew 14:15–21) Same thing. If there the disciples come up and remind the people to let them go, and here Jesus Himself asks how to feed the people, then one should not be surprised. For, probably, it was both: first the disciples reminded the Lord about the release of the people, and then the Lord asked Philip what to feed him? John 6:10. Jesus said: Command them to lie down. He commands them to lie down immediately, as if the table is already ready. The disciples did not believe before, but now they are willing to invite people to lie down. There was a lot of grass in that place. There was “grass”, it was spring. “For it was,” he says, “Easter”; and it took place in the first month of spring. So the people, numbering about five thousand, sat down. The Evangelist counts only husbands. He follows legal custom in this. For Moses also numbered the people from twenty years old and upward, but did not mention a single wife (Num. 26). Scripture shows that everything masculine and youthful is valuable and worthy of being counted by God. John 6:11. Jesus, having taken the loaves and given thanks, distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those reclining also distributed the fish, as much as anyone wanted. Taking the loaves, he thanks. This shows that before eating food one should thank God. And since the people were here, he gives thanks in the presence of the people and so that everyone knows that He came according to the will of God, that He is not an adversary to God, but refers everything to the Father. When He performs signs in private, He does nothing of the sort, although He performs a greater miracle. But when he works miracles in the presence of many, then he lifts his eyes to God. And that He does this not out of impotence, but with the intention that we spoke about, this is clear from the fact that He works great miracles with dominion and autocracy. According to some, He gives thanks in order to hide from the prince of the world until the time of suffering, so that by this action he would not consider Him to be God, but would be seduced and deceived, and thus would be killed by the cross. John 6:12. And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the remaining pieces so that nothing is lost.” The Lord allows a surplus of bread to remain, not to show Himself, no, but so that the satiation of the husbands would not be mistaken for illusory, and everyone would see clearly that they were truly filled, so that there was a lot left. For the same reason, he commands that the pieces be collected, so that when they see them, they will remember more about the miracle that was performed. John 6:13. And they gathered and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over from those who ate. One must be surprised not only by the fact that there was a remnant, but also by the number of the remnant. He arranged it so that there were no more or less boxes of leftovers, but according to the number of disciples, so that everyone would carry them, and Judas would not be left without a plot, but even in this miracle he would have an indication that his Teacher is God, and from here he would receive benefit; although, due to his malice, this turned into a greater condemnation for him, since he betrayed the One who made so much of the remainder that he also had a box. Not without a purpose, He commanded the apostles to carry boxes, but so that they, as future teachers of the universe, would always remember the miracle. For the people did not think of receiving any important benefit, but immediately forgot about the miracle; he is so unreasonable! And the disciples were able to receive benefits, and not just random ones. From this incident we learn not to be faint-hearted in the cramped conditions of poverty, not to shy away from welcoming strangers and giving alms, but to believe that even if we have one loaf, He who made such a remainder from five loaves will multiply it. In a figurative sense: when the Lord retreated from Jerusalem, according to what was said by the prophets: “I left My house; left My inheritance” (Jer. 12:7), then He goes to pagan Galilee and receives the pagans, and many people follow him. He ascends “to the mountain,” or to the cross, in order to draw everyone to Himself, or to heaven, to God-worthy honor and glory. For since we, after His ascension into heaven, glorify Him as God, and not a mere man, it is said that He ascended the mountain. The mountain signifies a high thought about Him. He gives us, who are subject to the five senses, five reasonable loaves, for he gives to each sense decent bread or teaching, just as Paul says: “I would rather speak five words in church” (1 Cor. 14:19), that is, serving to correct the five senses. However, we cannot eat all these five words, but the remainder remains. For none of us can contain all the mysterious teaching. What is incomprehensible and indigestible for us, rude ones, the apostles contain in their righteous souls, as if in some boxes. The boxes are made from date branches, and the righteous will flourish like a date (Ps. 91:13). John 6:14. Then the people who saw the miracle performed by Jesus said: This is truly the Prophet who is about to come into the world. Look how the people love the womb. While Jesus performed countless and most amazing miracles, they were not surprised. But because of food they say: “This is that Prophet.” They no longer accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath, they no longer take revenge for breaking the law, but because of the loaves they consider Him so great that they not only call Him a prophet, but also consider Him worthy of the kingdom. John 6:15. Jesus, having learned that they wanted to come and accidentally take Him and make Him king, again withdrew to the mountain alone. But He withdraws, teaching us to despise worldly virtues. He retires to the mountain alone, without taking any of the disciples, in order to test their love, depending on whether they will bear His absence. John 6:16. When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea John 6:17. And, getting into the boat, they went to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. It was getting dark, and Jesus did not come to them. The Lord retired to the mountain alone only for, as we said, to test the love of the disciples, whether they would seek Him. They wait for Him until evening, thinking that He will come. When He did not come, they were not deterred, but, prompted by love to seek Him, they entered the boat. For the evangelist did not simply and as if accidentally indicate the time, but in order to show their strong love in the fact that even the evening did not stop them. John 6:18. A strong wind was blowing and the sea was rough. He allows them to experience the storm so that when silence comes after the storm, they will be more rejoiced at what happened and so that an indelible memory of this will be imprinted in their hearts. John 6:19. Having sailed about twenty-five or thirty furlongs, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching a boat, and they were afraid. The Jews crossed the Red Sea under the leadership of Moses, but he did everything as a slave and by the power of prayer, while He acts with perfect authority. There, the strong south wind raised by the Lord parted the waters, so that they crossed on dry land (Ex. 14:21, 22); and here a greater miracle took place: the sea remained in its own nature, and yet carried the Lord on its surface, so that the prophetic word would be fulfilled: “it walks on the sea as on earth” (Job 9:8). John 6:20. But He said to them: It is I; don't be afraid. When they were in danger, He appears before them and with His word drives away their fear, and creates silence on the sea, and thus creates a double silence - it tames the confusion in their souls and the excitement at sea. And now many of us are in mental darkness and in danger of drowning in the mental sea. But let us accept Christ to ourselves, and we will be completely freed from troubles. And if some of our tempters, demons or people, often instill fear in us and try to shake us with fear, then let us listen to Christ crying: “It is I (am); don't be afraid." His words have this meaning: fears pass; therefore do not be afraid of what passes. And “I am,” that is, I always remain; and as God, I am He who is (Is). So, since fears are temporary and do not have true existence, but I am, that is, I remain and never cease to be, but truly am, then do not change your faith in Me because of what is temporary. See, perhaps, how Christ appears and destroys fear not at the beginning of danger, but at the extreme. He allows us to stand in the midst of dangers, so that we, having struggled with grief and oppressed by it, become more acceptable and, having used all our strength and wisdom in action, but finding it weak, resort to Him alone, who can save in an unexpected way. For when the human mind becomes tired, then suddenly salvation from God appears and prompts us to strive for Him, the only Savior, and not attribute salvation to ourselves. John 6:21. They wanted to take Him into the boat; and immediately the boat landed on the shore where they were sailing. He did not enter the boat to perform a greater miracle. Look, three miracles: one, that He walked on the sea; another that tamed the waves; third, that the boat suddenly landed on the shore where they were sailing, although it was still far from that shore when the Lord landed on it. If we wish to accept Christ into our boat, that is, to place Christ in our hearts, then we will immediately find ourselves on the land to which we are sailing. What kind of land is this? Without a doubt, this is the promised land, heaven, the land of the meek and reconciled from all malice. John 6:22. The next day, the people standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except for one boat into which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus did not enter the boat with His disciples, but only His disciples sailed away. Jesus crossed to the other side of the sea on foot. The people, looking for Him the next day and seeing that there was only one boat in which the disciples were placed, but into which Jesus did not enter with them, came to the idea of ​​​​this miracle and assumed that Jesus crossed the sea on foot to the other side. For if there had been another boat, then it would be natural to assume that He, without sailing with the disciples, entered it and crossed over. And now, when there was only one boat and only the disciples entered it, but the Lord did not enter, the miracle is obvious. John 6:23. Meanwhile, other boats came from Tiberias close to the place where they were eating bread with the blessing of the Lord. John 6:24. So, when the people saw that Jesus and His disciples were not there, they got into boats and sailed to Capernaum, looking for Jesus. The people, having come to this idea and finding other boats sailing from that side, entered them and crossed over to Capernaum. John 6:25. And finding Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him: Rabbi! when did you come here? Having found the Lord here, the people do not fall before Him, do not want to find out how He came, do not ask about this miracle, but so casually say: “When did you come here?” Those who wanted to accidentally take Him and make Him king when they found Him no longer want anything like that. They do not pay attention to the miracle, but want to be satisfied another time, as before. John 6:26. Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw miracles, but because you ate bread and were filled.” That is why the Lord reproaches them. “You,” he says, “seek Me because you ate bread, and then stick to Me so that I can feed you again.” Note: although He denounces them, He does not use strict reproof. He did not say, “You are gluttons and gluttons,” but he said it meekly. For He convicts them with a desire to correct them and, through the revelation of the secrets of their hearts, to lead them to greater faith. That the purpose of their reproof was correction, this is clear from the following. For He teaches them the most saving teaching and says: John 6:27. Do not strive for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for the Father, God, has set His seal on Him. “You,” he says, “are looking for Me because of the loaves, wanting to be satisfied with them. But you should not be entirely concerned with your belly, but should primarily try to take care of the spiritual and not devote all your attention to bodily food.” For He called it food that perishes. Since many who want to live idlely, and especially Masalians, use these words in defense of their idleness, it is necessary to understand this saying. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not say this because he wanted to stop bodily activity and encourage idleness: “for idleness has taught many evil things” (Sir. 33:28). And if it is necessary to say more precisely, then it is precisely the desire to live idlely that is that perishing food. And a follower of Christ must work so that he can give to others. For as a reward for this, a future kingdom is promised. “How,” they will say, “did the Lord say that we should not strive for food that is perishing?” He said this in order to stop their increased concern for food and transfer it to spiritual objects. Yes, they will say; but that Christ eradicates bodily activity is clear from His words to Martha: “Martha, you are worrying and fussing about many things, but only one thing is needed”; “Mary chose the good part” (Luke 10:41, 42), and from the words: “do not worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34). This is how those who want to be without labor reason. What shall we say? What was said to Martha is said neither about business, nor about activity, nor about idleness, but about the fact that you need to know the time and the time of hearing not to use it to take care of food. He said this in order to teach her that the time of study should not be used in vain, doing things that belong to the womb. And then, as he says, “don’t worry,” he does not reject activity, for one thing is care, another is activity. It happens that a person does something, but does not care at all. So, the Lord, teaching us not to be tied down to everyday things, not to worry about peace for tomorrow, but rather wanting us to work every day, says: do not worry about how, having worked today, you will be calm the next day, but, acquiring food every day through daily labor, do not worry about tomorrow. “Abiding food” refers to the mysterious communion of the Flesh of the Lord, which He Himself gives to us, having become the Son of Man, on whom the Father “put His seal,” that is, showed, confirmed that He is His Son. Although Christ Himself confirmed His dignity with miracles, yet as He tells the Jews so that they would not be indignant, He turns to the Father and says that He was sealed, that is, proven, attested. Since the Son is the image of the Father, and the seal, and the reflection, then He is sealed by the Father, since there is His image and seal. Therefore, these words have the following meaning: This One, who in appearance is the Son of Man, the Father sealed, that is, begot with His seal and image, preserving perfect immutability and natural identity with Him. John 6:28. So they said to Him: What must we do to do the works of God? The Jews want to learn about the work of God not in order to do it, but in order to get a reason to speak. John 6:29. Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Therefore, although he knows that they will not receive any benefit, nevertheless, for the general benefit of the teaching, he gives an answer and shows them, as well as all people, that the work of God is to believe “in Him whom He sent.” Faith in Him is a truly sacred, and perfect, and sanctifying thing for those who have it; for solid faith leads to every good work, and good activity preserves faith; and just as works without faith are dead, “so faith without works is dead” (James 2:17, 26). John 6:30. To this they said to Him: What sign will You give, so that we may see and believe You? What are you doing? Look how ingratitude and insensitivity. After they have seen so many such miracles, they again ask for a sign, and moreover, for more of the loaves with which they are satisfied. Like gluttons, they again demand such a miracle that would serve their belly. The justice of this can be seen from the following. John 6:31. Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat. It was not in vain that we said that they ask for a sign as slaves of the womb. Such was the miracle over the loaves. So they remember the manna (Ps. 77:24), and not about some other miracle, whether performed over the Egyptians, or over the Red Sea. Wanting to arouse Him to perform such a miracle that could nourish their flesh, they remind them of manna out of extreme gluttony. John 6:32. 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.” John 6:33. For the bread of God is the one that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. What does the untested Wisdom of God, our Lord Jesus, answer them? “Moses did not give you this bread,” that is, Moses did not give you the true bread, but everything that happened then served as an image of what is happening now. Thus, Moses represented the image of God, the true Leader of the mental Israelites, and this bread represented Me, Who came down from heaven, Who truly nourishes and truly exists. He calls himself the true bread, not because the manna was false, but because it was an image and a shadow, and not the truth itself. For the Only Begotten Son of God, who became Man, is in the proper sense “Manna,” an amazing word and hearing. Manna means “what is this?” For the Jews, each seeing her in large numbers falling near his tent, amazed at the extraordinary and strangeness of the vision, asked each other: what is this? And the Lord, the Son of God, became Man, He Himself is the Manna that strikes everyone, so that everyone says in bewilderment: what is this? As the Son of God and the Son of Man? How can there be one Person from two opposite natures? What is this Sacrament? So, this Bread, being Life by nature, as the Son of the living Father, creates what is characteristic of Him, animates everything. Just as the bread of the earth supports the weak nature of the flesh and does not allow it to decay, so Christ, through the action of the Spirit, revives the soul, and maintains the body itself in incorruption. For Christ has granted to human nature the resurrection from the dead and the incorruption of bodies. John 6:34. To this they said to Him: Lord! always give us such bread. But the Jews, still busy with their belly and being entirely earthly, understand these words about sensual bread and say: “Give us such bread.” By going crazy in this way, they exposed themselves. “Always,” they say, “give us such bread, not just one day, not two.” They said this out of love of money. So that we do not use our money to buy food, always serve this easily obtained bread. John 6:35. Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst. Since the Jews, being of the earth, think that the Lord is talking about sensual bread, and therefore persistently ask for it, the Lord, denouncing them and showing that they were striving for Him as long as they expected sensual food, and when they find out that it is spiritual, they will no longer run, says: “I am the bread of life.” He did not say “bread of food,” but “of life.” Since everything was put to death, He revived us by Himself. He is Bread, since we believe that the leaven of human mixing is baked by the fire of the Divine. The bread of “life” is not simple, ordinary, but special and unstoppable by death. He who believes in such Bread will not hunger, will not endure the hunger of hearing the word of God, and will not have reasonable thirst, which occurs from the lack of the water of baptism and the sanctification of the Spirit. For the unbaptized person has thirst and great dryness, not participating in holy water, which revives the soul, but the baptized person, having the Spirit, is always quickened by Him. John 6:36. But I told you that you have seen Me and do not believe. John 6:37. Whatever the Father gives Me will come to Me; Showing that faith in Him is not an accidental matter, but the gift of God, given from the Father to those worthy and well-behaved in heart, he says: “everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me,” that is, those who the Father gives Me will believe in Me. But you Jews, as unworthy, are not given to Me by the Father, therefore do not come to Me. For you do not have a right heart, so that God and the Father, having loved you, would lead you to faith in Me. and whoever comes to Me I will not cast out, But I “will not cast him out”, that is, I will not destroy him, but I will save him and give him much pleasure. John 6:38. For I came down from heaven not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. For I did not come down from heaven to do anything other than the will of the Father. He says this so that they will know that he who does not accept Him is disgusted with God, as one who opposes the will of the Father. Since they called Him an adversary to God, He turns this accusation against them and says, although implicitly: by not accepting the One who follows the will of the Father, you become opponents of God. Where is Nestorius here, who says that Christ was deified after the resurrection? Don't you hear, wretch, that He came down from heaven? And the one who came down from heaven was obviously not an ordinary man, but God. For a simple person does not descend, but sometimes ascends to heaven when God grants him this for virtue. Since the descent of the Lord preceded the resurrection, He Himself descended from heaven as God, descending to become man, and ascended to heaven in the flesh as a man, where before He was as God. So, Christ is not a simple man, deified later, as Nestorius babbled, but the eternal God, who became human in recent times. John 6:39. The will of the Father who sent Me is this, that of what He has given Me I should not destroy anything, but raise it all up on the last day. He constantly says “The Father gave it to me” in order to strike their hearts and so that they know that they are unworthy of this gift of God. For if the Father gives faith in Christ as something great, but they do not have it, then, obviously, they have lost the gift of God. John 6:40. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. “So, I,” he says, “will not destroy those whom the Father gives Me, that is, those who believe in Me, but I will resurrect them, that is, I will make them worthy of a bright resurrection.” The resurrection is of two kinds: one general and universal, by which all sinners will be resurrected, and the other, by which only the righteous will be resurrected, caught up in the clouds through the air to meet the Lord and meeting the Lord with boldness. Paul calls this last resurrection exaltation because of the raising from the earth. For sinners, although they will rise from the graves, will not rise from the earth into the air, but will remain below, as condemned. Therefore, the righteous will rise and rise, caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17), and sinners will only rise again. The Lord, explaining the meaning of the words “I will not lose anything that the Father has given Me,” expresses the same thought in other words, “so that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life.” For He says nothing other than what He said above. The words “all that the Father has given Me” are identical with the words “everyone who sees the Son and believes,” and the word “I will not destroy” is identical with the words “has eternal life.” He often mentions the resurrection so that people do not limit the Providence of God to one visible order of affairs, but know that there is another state when they will undoubtedly receive rewards for virtue, and do not abandon the flow towards virtue due to the fact that reward is not revealed in real life. John 6:41. The Jews grumbled at Him because He said: I am the bread that came down from heaven. When the Lord said: “I am the bread,” the Jews murmured against Him because they were deceived. For as long as they thought that He was talking about sensual bread, they behaved meekly, hoping that He would give them this bread and satisfy their belly. And when He revealed to them that He was not talking about sensory bread, but about spiritual bread, they grumbled in despair. For where can they think about spiritual food, life and resurrection? They were tempted about Him, seeing, on the one hand, His Mother, and on the other hand, hearing “I came down from heaven.” John 6:42. And they said: Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He say: I came down from heaven? Looking at what was visible and not understanding that He is also God, they grumbled as if the Lord was deceiving, and said: “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” The Savior Himself does not answer them: “I am not Joseph’s son”; for they could not understand the ineffable birth from the Virgin. If their thought did not embrace birth according to the flesh, much less could it embrace the pre-eternal birth from the Father. John 6:43. Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves.” John 6:44. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; What does He answer them? “No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him.” He says this without destroying self-will, but showing that he who has faith needs much assistance from God. Otherwise: the Father attracts those who have the ability according to their will, but does not attract those who have made themselves incapable to faith. For just as a magnet does not attract everything it approaches, but only iron, so God approaches everyone, but attracts only those who are capable and show some kinship with Him. The Father attracts and leads to the Son; and the Son resurrects and gives life, giving breath in goodness and life, which is the Holy Spirit. So, the whole Holy Trinity benefits believers, and not in particular the Father alone or the Son alone, but just as the Nature is one, so the action of beneficence is one: the Father brings, the Son quickens, the Holy Spirit serves as breath for those quickened; for every living thing has breath. and I will raise him up at the last day. Look at the power of the Son. “I,” he says, “will resurrect.” He did not say, “My Father will raise up,” but “I.” For He does not always speak of Himself in a humiliating manner, but sometimes reveals the height of His Divinity. John 6:45. It is written in the prophets: and they will all be taught by God. I said above that whoever the Father attracts comes to Me. Wanting to confirm this, he refers to the prophets. “It is written among the prophets,” he says, “and they will all be taught by God” (Is. 54:13); everyone, of course, who wants to. Everyone who has heard from the Father and learned comes to Me. The Father is the common Teacher, who through revelation makes those worthy know about His Son. For, touching the hearts of simple and gentle ones, He reveals the Son to them, just as He revealed Him to Peter (Matthew 16:17). So, he who hears from the Father, that is, who accepts the revelation of the Father and becomes His true disciple, comes to Me. Look with what precision He speaks about everything. He did not say that the one who hears from the Father comes to Me, but added “and who has learned.” For it is not enough to hear, one must also stay and learn. So what? Could it be that before this they were not taught by God in the Old Testament? There were, but not like that. For here, that is, in the New Testament, there is a peculiarity. Then we learned the knowledge of God through people, and now, when the Only Begotten has become incarnate, knowledge comes from the Father Himself in the Holy Spirit, so that the prophetic word is fulfilled: “in the light of You, the Father, that is, in the Spirit, we will see the Light, which is the Son” (Ps. 35:10). John 6:46. It is not that anyone has seen the Father except He who is from God; He saw the Father. John 6:47. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me has eternal life. Truly, all of us who have accepted faith in Christ are now taught by God. Since he said that the one who heard from the Father comes to Me, so that no one would think that He is talking about the sensual Father, he adds: “I do not say that anyone sees the Father except the Son, who truly is from Him and begotten from His Being. For we are all from God, but in fact the Son is the only One who knows the Father.” John 6:48. I am the bread of life. John 6:49. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died; He compares the food he serves to manna. “I,” he says, “am the bread of life, but those who ate the manna died.” He didn’t just add the word “in the desert,” but in order to show that the manna did not last long for the fathers, only in the desert, but it did not enter the Promised Land with them. John 6:50. The bread that comes down from heaven is such that whoever eats it will not die. This bread is not like this, but endures forever, so that if they want, they will receive much greater benefits than their fathers. What more is that which is given by Christ? For although everyone tastes death, yet he lives in the hope of the resurrection. John 6:51. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; And the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. He clearly speaks here about the mysterious communion of His body. “The bread,” he says, “which I will give, is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Showing His power that He was crucified not as a servant and lesser than the Father, but according to His will, He says that “I will give” My Flesh for the life of the world. Although it is said that He was given by the Father (John 3:16), He also gave Himself: first, so that we might know oneness of mind with the Father, and second, so that we might know the autocracy of the Son. Note that the bread we eat in the Sacrament is not an image of the Lord’s body, but is the very Flesh of the Lord. For He did not say that the bread that I will give is an image of My Flesh, but “it is My Flesh.” For this bread, with ineffable words, through the mysterious blessing and influx of the Holy Spirit, is transformed into the Flesh of the Lord. Let no one be afraid to believe that bread becomes flesh. For when the Lord walked in the flesh and took food from bread, this bread, when eaten, was used in His body and became likened to His holy Flesh, and, according to the custom of human nature, served to grow and strengthen. And now this bread is used in the Flesh of the Lord. How then, they will tell us, is it not the flesh that appears, but the bread? This is so that we do not have an aversion to the food. For if flesh were shown to us, we would be unpleasantly disposed towards Communion; and now, when the Lord condescends to our weakness, the mysterious Food appears to us such as we usually have. He gave His Flesh to die for the life of the world, for by His death He destroyed death. Understand, perhaps, by the life of the world also the resurrection. For the death of the Lord brought about a general resurrection for the entire human race. Perhaps He also calls life in holiness and bliss the life of the world. For although not everyone received illumination and life in the Spirit, the Lord gave Himself for the world, and as for Him, the world is saved and all nature is sanctified, since it received the power to overcome sin, and sin escaped through one Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, just as through one Adam mankind fell into sin. John 6:52. Then the Jews began to argue among themselves, saying: How can He give us His flesh to eat? The Jews, having heard about eating the Flesh of the Lord, do not believe; That’s why they pronounce the word of disbelief “how?” . For when thoughts of unbelief enter the soul, then the word “how?” also enters. . John 6:53. Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” John 6:54. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Therefore, He, wanting to show that this is not impossible, but also very necessary, and that it is impossible to have life otherwise, says: “unless you eat the Flesh,” and so on. So Nicodemus said out of unbelief: “How can a man enter his mother’s womb?” (John 3:4) Therefore, when we hear that without eating the Flesh of the Son we cannot have life, we must have undoubted faith when accepting the Divine Mysteries, and not ask “how?” . For a “spiritual man,” that is, following human thoughts, spiritual or natural, “does not accept” the supernatural and spiritual (1 Cor. 2:14). Likewise, he does not understand spiritual food, the Flesh of the Lord. Meanwhile, those who do not partake of it will not have participation in eternal life, as they have not accepted Jesus, Who is true Life. For what is eaten is the Flesh not of an ordinary person, but of God, and capable of being idolized as united with the Divine. John 6:55. For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink. It is truly food, because it does not satisfy for a short time, does not spoil like transitory food, but contributes to eternal life. In the same way, drinking the Blood of the Lord is truly a drink, because it does not quench thirst for a while, but protects the drinker from thirst and need forever, as the Lord said to the Samaritan woman: “Whoever drinks the water that I give will not thirst” (John 4:14). For whoever receives the grace of the Holy Spirit through communion of the Divine Mysteries will not, like unbelievers, feel either reasonable hunger or thirst. John 6:56. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him. Here we learn the sacrament of Communion. He who eats and drinks the Flesh and Blood of the Lord abides in the Lord Himself, and the Lord in him. There is a strange and incomprehensible union, so that God abides in us, and we in God. The teaching you hear is not terrible. We do not taste God Himself, for He is intangible and incorporeal, and is incomprehensible neither to the eyes nor to the teeth; nor again do we eat the Flesh of a common man, for it cannot bring any benefit. But just as God united the Flesh with Himself through an inexpressible mixture, the Flesh also gives life, not because it has changed into the Nature of God, no, but in the likeness of red-hot iron, which remains iron and reveals the power of fire. So the Flesh of the Lord, being Flesh, gives life as the Flesh of God the Word. John 6:57. Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live through the Father, so he who eats Me will also live through Me. “As I,” he says, “live by the Father (that is, because I was born of the Father, Who is Life), so he who eats Me will live by Me, united and, as it were, transformed into Me, who is able to give life.” When you hear that “I live,” do not think that He lives by the participation of life. Otherwise, an animal would be called God. But no! For neither an animal is called God, nor a creature created by Life. John 6:58. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers ate manna and died: He often repeats the words “your fathers ate manna in the wilderness” in order to convince listeners that if it was possible for people to eat without harvesting and sowing for forty years and their life was maintained, how much more now will the Lord support our rational life with the best bread, His Flesh, formed from the earth - the Virgin, without sowing - the man. whoever eats this bread will live forever. He mentions life everywhere and often cites this name, because nothing is as pleasant to people as life. However, you can eat the Flesh and drink the Blood of the Master not only in the Mysterious Communion, but also in other ways. He who follows the path of activity eats flesh. For the flesh is indigestible, just as activity is difficult. The contemplator drinks blood like wine, gladdening the heart. For contemplation is not associated with labor, there is even calm from labor, and is similar to drinking, just as drinking is easier than food. John 6:59. These things He spoke in the synagogue, teaching in Capernaum. Why did He teach in the synagogue? Partly to attract more people, partly to show that He was not opposed to the law read in the synagogues. John 6:60. Many of His disciples, hearing this, said: What strange words! who can listen to this? Why did He make such speeches before the people when He knew that no one would benefit from them, and many would even be offended? For His disciples, hearing them, said: “These words are strange; who can listen to this? What is the use of these words? Very big and important. They constantly mentioned bodily food and made manna appear. Showing them that all these were images and shadows, but what He now says is the truth. He says this and mentions spiritual food in order to convince them to deviate somewhat from the sensory and leave images and shadows, and strive for the truth. But they, not being able to understand anything supernatural, do not improve, but even turn away and say: “These words are strange, that is, harsh, inconvenient.” For who, being carnal, can receive spiritual food - the bread that comes down from heaven, the flesh that is eaten? When you hear that the disciples fell behind Him, do not understand this about the true disciples, but about those who followed Him in the ranks of the disciples and showed by their mere appearance that they were learning from Him. For among the disciples there were some who, in comparison with the people, were called His disciples, because they spent more time with Him than the people, but in comparison with His true disciples they were worth nothing, since they believed Him for a time and, so to speak, out of cold ardor. Look how foolish it is. You should ask and find out what they don’t know, but they retreat and do not understand anything in the spiritual sense, but everything is based on appearance. Hearing about the flesh, they thought that He was forcing them to become carnivores and bloodsuckers. But we, who understand this in a spiritual sense, are not only not carnivores, but are even illuminated by such food. John 6:61. But Jesus, knowing within Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this, said to them: Is this tempting you? Wanting to show them that the thoughts of their hearts are not hidden from Him as God, he says: “Is this tempting you?” John 6:62. What if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? Well, what if you see Me, in the form of the Son of Man, ascending into heaven, where I was before as God? For One and the Same ascends as Man to where He was before as God. He said this in order to distract them from their opinion of Him as the son of Joseph. For whoever believed that He was previously in heaven will, without a doubt, believe that He is not the Son of Joseph, but of God, and, finally, will believe His words. When you hear that the Son of Man was previously in heaven, do not think that the body descended from heaven (this is what the heresy leaders Marcellus and Apollinaris say in vain), but since the Son of Man and God the Word were one and the same, then, as we said, it is said that He ascends as Man to where He was before as God. John 6:63. The Spirit gives life; the flesh does not benefit at all. The words that I speak to you are spirit and life. They understood the words of Christ in a carnal way, as we have often said, and were tempted. Therefore, He says that only a spiritual understanding of My words is useful, but the flesh, that is, a carnal understanding of them, is not at all useful, but is a reason for temptation. Thus they were tempted, understanding the words of Christ carnally. He adds that the words that I speak are “spirit”, that is, spiritual, “and life”, have nothing carnal, but bring eternal life. John 6:64. But there are some of you who are unbelievers. For Jesus knew from the beginning who the unbelievers were and who would betray Him. Manifesting the property of deity, precisely by revealing the hidden, he tells them that some of you do not believe; Having said “some”, he excluded the students. And the evangelist, wanting to show us that He knew everything before the foundation of the world, says that Jesus knew from the beginning who the unbelievers were, and also knew the malice of the traitor. And this was proof of true Divinity. For the prophet speaks of God: “knowing all things before his being” (Dan. 13:42). John 6:65. And he said: This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is given to him from My Father. We have often said that when you hear that the Father gives faith in the Son, do not think that the Father does good to some and not to others, according to lot, for this is characteristic of the unrighteous, but understand that the Father does good and gives the gift of faith to those who have the will. For he who does not have the will will not benefit from God’s help. I'll explain. God gives His gifts to everyone. Some accept and use what is given well and, by preserving it, show the gift of God. And others accept, but lose what is given and find themselves receiving nothing. So, when the evangelist says that whoever has not been given from the Father cannot come to the Son, his words mean that he comes to the Son to whom the Father gives and who keeps the gift given to him from God. John 6:66. From that time on, many of His disciples left Him and no longer walked with Him. “Many of the disciples went back”; that is, having separated from Him, they did not go to something better, but returned back, that is, to unbelief. For, truly, whoever is separated from Christ goes back, and whoever, like Paul, “cleaves to the Lord” (1 Cor. 6:17), constantly “stretches forward” (Phil. 3:13). John 6:67. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Will you also go away?” He, showing that he does not need anyone or any service or care from them, says to them: “Do you also want to leave?” Why, on the contrary, did He not praise the twelve disciples for not going away with the rest? On the one hand, to preserve the dignity of the Teacher, and on the other, to show us that in this way we can attract even more. For if He had praised, then perhaps they would have experienced something human and become proud, thinking that by following Him they were doing Him a favor. And by showing that He did not need them to follow Him, He was more able to keep them as those who do good rather than those who do good, and those who receive grace rather than those who give. Notice how wisely He expressed himself. He didn’t say “go away,” because that would mean pushing away, but he asked, “Would you like to go away?” . Thus, he provides complete freedom to follow or not, showing that He wants them to follow Him not out of shame before Him, but out of the knowledge that they will receive grace for following. John 6:68. Simon Peter answered Him: Lord! who should we go to? You have the verbs of eternal life: John 6:69. And we believed and knew that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter, having tender love for Him and for the brothers, is responsible for the entire face of the apostles. He didn’t say “Lord! to whom shall I go?” and “I” have known and believed,” but – “to whom shall we go?” and so on. He says that the Lord has the words of eternal life, because he heard Him say: “I will raise up the one who believes in Me, and he will have eternal life.” For they have already accepted the truth of the resurrection and all the teaching. Therefore, the cause of the temptation was not the words of Christ, but the inattention, negligence and ingratitude of the listeners. For these twelve also heard the same thing, and yet they were not offended, but remained faithful. John 6:70. Jesus answered them: Have I not chosen you twelve? but one of you is the devil. What about Christ? Does he approve of Peter, as He did on another occasion (Matthew 16:17)? No, in order not to seem flattered for being with Him. What does He say to Peter? “I have chosen twelve of you, but not all of you are worthy of this election, but one of you is the devil.” This can be understood in two ways: either because the devil even now distorts everything Mine and does not accept anything from it, or because he slanders Me. For this is what Judas really turned out to be, slandering the Lord before the Jews and revealing to them His secrets, just as David says about him: “He went out and spoke together,” went out and spoke for one thing (Ps. 40:7). The Lord says this to Peter to correct him. Peter said, “we have known everything and believed.” And He says: “Don’t think so; you are not all faithful, and not all of you have recognized Me.” See, perhaps, how the Lord prevents the traitor’s anger from afar and, as if forcibly holding it back, says this, although he knows that it will not bring any benefit, nevertheless, he carries out His work. And he did not discover it and did not leave it completely unknown; I did the first so that, having lost shame, he would not become more stubborn; another thing is that he should perform a brave act not without fear, and not think that he will hide. From here we learn that God does not do good by force and force, and that God’s election does not constrain our will; and when he is angry, he does not force him to become good. And the election of God consists in the fact that God predisposes us to good and gives us His grace. To be saved and to act worthy of election, or vice versa, depends on our thoughts and will. John 6:71. He spoke this about Judas Simon Iscariot, for he wanted to betray Him, being one of the twelve. Marvel at how much the devil is at enmity. He was able to captivate one of the twelve apostles, who raised the dead, performed miracles and heard the spiritual and life-giving teaching of the Lord. And where, finally, is our hope for salvation, when from our youth we have voluntarily enslaved ourselves to evil? Therefore, the evangelist, as if in surprise, said: “being one of the twelve.” “Although,” he says, “he belonged to this holy face, nevertheless, due to evil arbitrariness, he turned out to be unworthy of it.” So man is receptive to evil! Let not the Manichaeans be mistaken. We are not evil by nature. In this case, anger would constantly operate in us. But Judas was not always evil, but was once holy. This means that evil is born and grows from arbitrariness.