The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 399

The foll Rrrcptoncn or Christ rro,i.!ra this 1 Bread, he will live I for ever, With "li'l"ing ~... trr" for the thirsty, "living this verso ~-e eee, insteo.d of monotony, o. bread,"" hrt'Rd from hea'l"on," for the hungry threefold ndvauce. (I) In pll\co or the life- -nn imrnrd refreshment, B Divino nourish- giving Brt'lld, he dcoln.res himself to bee.a ment, nn inexhRustible supply. "He thnt Brend, yet I\ Ii,·ing Person, possessing thero- belicvcth on mo" (whether the £ls /µ.~ wcro forc in himself tho cssentinl principle o.nd in the originlll text or not, tho; arc invoked energy of life. (2) Insteo.d of coming down, in the Fcnsc) has entered on the possession used ehnrncteristico.lly or universally, he or an eternal blessedness of being, superior points to a dofinito, concrete, historic fa.et- to dC'nth, trRnscending time and souse-he " that has come down out of heu.ven." (S) "lmth elcnml life." Instead of snying, " he mlly uot die," we find. Yer. 48 rcpC'ats once more the et.atement the glorions assertion," he lllill livo /or ever." of vcn;. 32, S5 (1me notes): I nm the Bread The kind or eating of which he speaks be- of life. Not only do I give you more thnn comes clearer; the kind of food, the kind of Moses gnve your fntbers, but I am the denth, the kind of life, all burst iuto light Father's Gift. I m'l"self am the Gift-I which points back to the first great word of am the Brend of whici1, if you pnrtnko, yon this discourse, viz. ," Labour for that food will hunger no more, you will need no more, which cndureth unto eternal life, whioh the you ~ill die no more ; the lifo then thrill- Son of man will give to you, for this one ing through you will be eternal. •• The in- the Father, even God, hnth eeo.led." " The visible God is the Source or eternal life; miracnlous feeding of yesterday wns but the hnman nature of the Son of God is the the metaphor by which I wns conveying this visible form which contains and imparts thought, that I was providing an inexhausti- this to the souls of men" (Archdeacon Wat- ble supply for the eternal life of that hu- kins). lllllJlity which I he.ve assumed." In the last Yers. 4fl, 50.-Your fathers did eat the clause of the verse he mnde a yet further mll.lllla in the wilderness, and they died. advo.nce: Yea, and the bread whioh I shall The Lord went back to the very words of give is my flesh (whioh I shall give)• for the Jews in ver. 31. The Henven-given the life of the world. The ,cal • • , B~ of the me.nne. by which Jehovah sustained the commencement of the clause show e. con- temporo.l life of the fathers in the wilder- tinuation of the thought with o. new de- ness did not convey the antidote to death.. po.rture, eo-ordination, nnd progress, "Yea, " The carcases [ of these fathers J fell in the e.nd the bread which I sho.11 give is my wilderness." He does not sny, "perished out flesh." Though the word "flesh" is often of God's sight for ever," or were condemned, described by some of its frequent eh1Lraeter- but thnt there was nothing in the eating istics and qualities, nnd might be and has of manna which o.rrested, or averted, or been regarded as the bodily and sensuous triumphed, over death ; yet he added : This nature, and also as the seo.t of sin, it is, (llread of life) is the Bread whioh cometh 1 down from heaven, in order the.t any one Tisehcndorf (8th edit.) here reads, '" (.,-ls) may eat thereof, and may not die. 'T'oii lJ-Lou lf.p.,-ou, with N, a, e, and with four The eating of the Bread of life (the life- Latin quotations. Toil-rou .,-ou lip.,-ou is read giving Bread), which I myself am, the by R.T., Westcott and Hort, as well as thorough aesimile.tion, the entire acceptance T.B., with B, 0, L, T, and numerous other of me ns God's Gift of life to the worlrl, con- uncials e.nd all cursives and ve1"Sions. fer. the very principle of life; and, though • Tischendorf (8th edit.) also reads C.f,,rn, n parto.ker may eeem to perish, he docs 11ot with N, D, L, 33; the reading of T.R., Al- die (cf. eh. viii 51-xi 2G, notes)-he ,vill ford, and B.T., C.f,a-,.,-a,, rests on the great not "taste of dee.th," "he will never die.'' bulk of other authorities. 1 Tischendorf (8th edit,) here reads, •o The life will be stronger than death; it will survive apparent extinction. Meyer says 11.p-ros B, 3v fycl, Uurw {m,p T,is Tou ,cdtTJJ,OU Cr.nis, that here Christ reserves to ver. 51 the posi- .;, a-a.pE µ,ou la-nv, with ~ and m, and quotation tive offer "of his own concrete Personality, from Tertullian. The reading of Tregelles, o.nd is exhibiting the true Bread, according Westcott o.nd Hort, and R. T. is that of B, to its real nature." Still he he.a said, "I C, D, L, T. The It.a.lie, Syrie.c, Thebaio Ver- am the life-giving Brood," and is undoubt- sion.s, involve the omission of the clause, fl• edly preparing for the following announce- l-ycl, 5,:,,,...,_ This clo.use is supposed by them ment, which adds ·a new and startling to be a device .to clco.r up the difllculty and thought, ce.lcnlo.ted to sustain the former harshness of the reo.ding they p1·efer. It is, one. however, found in the great bulk of manu- Ver. 51.-I am (not onl,Y the " :Cread of scripts (A is defective). Meyer and Godet God," the "Bread of life,' the life-giving regard the omission of the clause as an early Personality, bnt) the living Bread whioh error, occo.sioned by the words occurring Ln oamti down out of heaven: if any man eat of the pretioU8 part of the sentence. en, v1. 1-71.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 2r,;