Jesus’ frustration in today’s Gospel reading is obvious— “You got it, but you didn’t get it!” The crowd is basically saying, “We’re back!” And Jesus is saying, “But why?”
The excerpt today is a clear reminder that the desire to be taken care of, to be “fed” in that sense, did not originate with the New Deal or the Great Society or any notion of State-sponsored welfare. We’ve always had those looking for a handout and not a hand up, as the old political saw once put it.
Jesus is trying to set things straight. He’s telling the people, “You experienced the event, but you didn’t grasp the true meaning.” He is telling the people, in effect: “You want a free lunch; I want to give you the ‘lunch’ that sets you free. And you should be working for that, not the other.”
Jesus is telling the crowd: “I have come to be the nourishment of your deepest desires and needs. I have come to set you free from eternal death. I have come to give you life, and life to the full (John 10:10). I am the true manna, the living Bread. Do you believe this? (John 11:26).”
According to the rabbis, one of the things pre-existent from before the foundation of the world was Torah. And throughout the rabbinical writings, “bread” is a metaphor for Torah. So Jesus is asserting that He is the ultimate “instruction,” the ultimate Torah, the ultimate manna, for which the people should be longing. He is saying that the manna of Moses and the Law of Sinai were foreshadowings of Himself. “Come to Me,” Jesus is saying, “and know how good you can truly have it! It will be the fulfillment of Isaiah 25 and 55: Come to the rich food and juicy, choice wines, come to the water to drink wine and milk, to eat bread without price.” Why? This is because He Himself IS the price (paid on the Cross)—the Bread of Life is Jesus Himself, freely given to us to give us life (“All you who are thirsty [and hungry], come…”). “Well done, Son of Adam…for this fruit you have hungered and thirsted and wept.” (CS Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew). What did Digory long for? It was the healing of his Mother. What do we long for? What do we want that will satisfy our hearts’ desire? It won’t be a five-course dinner at a three-star Michelin restaurant; the following morning we’ll be looking for more. What is it that truly, ultimately, finally, satisfies our deepest needs? Jesus has the answer—it is Himself. Don’t look for a free lunch; look for the “lunch” that sets us free.