The conclusion of the Bread of Life Discourse is a judgment: the disciples who cannot take the words of Jesus separate themselves from those who would: "From that moment, many of his disciples left him and no longer walked with him." It is Peter who speaks for the Twelve who would remain. He says:
Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life;
and we have come to believe and recognize
that you are the Holy One of God (v. 69).
While in the Synoptic gospels the Twelve were chosen by Jesus and raised to the level of intimates (Mark writes that he chose them "to be with him."), in John, the group emerges as those who remain with Jesus; and they remain with him because he has the words of eternal life.
This section isalso the equivalent of Peter's confession. John rewrites and breaks apart the account of Matthew in this regard, distributing them throughout his gospel:
| Matthew 16 | John |
| (Simon) replied: You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God (v.16) | You are the Holy One of God |
| I tell you, you are Rock (Petros) (v. 18) | You shall be called Cephas (which means "Peter") (1:42) |
| I give you the keys of the kingdom... (v.19) | Feed my sheep (21:15-19) |
When the first two disciples began following Jesus, it was because they wanted to see where he was staying (1:38). They came and saw where he stayed and from then on, they remained with him (1:39). The controversy about the Living Bread confirms them in their decision to stay with Jesus.
In John 4:34, Jesus says to his disciples:
My food
is to do the will of Him who sent me
and bring His work
to perfection.
Jesus' substance is God's will; he is after all, "Word of God-made-flesh". It is this same substance which he offers as "real food" and "real drink" (John 6:55).
In John 5:26, Jesus tells his interlocutors:
Just as the Father has life in himself
so too He has give to the Son
to have life in himself.
The vitality of the Father given to the Son is what the Son, in his turn, offers in his flesh and blood as source of life.1 Thus when Peter says: "Lord to whom shall we go...?" he is actually bringing to a head all that the reader of the John's gospel knows about Jesus and his intimates until this point in the narrative. It is a question that echoes the formed conviction of the disciple who has been partaking of the eucharistic meal even before John wrote his gospel. At the same time, the question is also an invitation for the reader to join the apostles in their decision to stay with the Lord inspite of the difficulties that he may be having in his time about the eucharist.
1. The Augustinians have a beautiful prayer for the Blessed Sacrament which is based on the most part on the Johannine Bread of Life Discourse:
sign of our unity
bond of our fraternity
Whoever longs for life has here its very source
let him come here and believe
unite with You and live.
