After feeding the 5000, the crowds continue to follow Jesus to Capernaum. Jesus challenges them with the statement “Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life” (v. 27). The crowd can only think about the bread they were given as well as the manna given to their forefathers in the wilderness. Jesus shows them that what they need is not a miracle of bread but “true bread from heaven.” Also, the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The turning point is verse 35 where Jesus declares: “I am the bread of life.” This must have been difficult for the crowd to understand.  

There are some parallel statements that Jesus uses to help understand how to receive the bread. He uses “comes to me” and “believes in me” in verse 35. He uses “sees the Son” and “believes in him” in verse 40. The writer of this gospel continues the believing thought in this section.  Jesus as the bread of life who gave himself for the life of the world should be a guiding principle for our daily life.