41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Je- sus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven ?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, ex- cept the Father which hath sent me draw liim : and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Everyman therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, Cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath ever- lasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, aid are dead.
50 This is the bread which com*
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eth down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the hving bread which came down from heaven : if any man
eat of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Truths cf the weightiest importance follow each other in rapid succession in the chapter we are now reading There are probably very few parts of the Bible which contain so many " deep things " as the Sixth Chapter of St. John. Of this the passage before us is a signal example.
We learn, for one thing, from this passage, that Chrisfs lowly condition^ when He was upon earth, is a stumbling- hlocJc to the natural man. We read that " the Jews murmured, because Jesus said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. And they said. Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven ?" — Had our Lord come as a conquering king, with wealth and honours to bestow on His followers, and mighty armies in His train, they would have been willing enough to receive Him. But a poor, and lowly, and suffering Messiah was an offence to them. Their pride refused to believe that such an one was sent from God.
There is nothing that need surprise us in this. It is human nature showing itself in its true colours. We see the same thing in the days of the Apostles. Christ crucified was " to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness." (l Cor. i. 23.) The cross was an offence to many wherever the Gospel was preached. — We may see the same thing in our own times. There are thousands around us who loathe the distinctive doctrines of the Gospel on account of their humbling character. They cannot away with the atonement, and the sacrifice, and the substitution of Christ. His moral teaching they approve. His example and self-denial they admire. But speak to them of Christ's blood, — of Christ being made sin