d given them manna; and after all, the manna had been but
ordinary food in that those who ate of it hungered again; but now the
Father offered them bread from heaven such as would insure them life.

As the Samaritan woman at the well, on hearing the Lord speak of water
that would satisfy once for all, had begged impulsively and with thought
only of physical convenience, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst
not, neither come hither to draw,"[728] so these people, eager to secure
so satisfying a food as that of which Jesus spake, implored: "Lord,
evermore give us this bread." Perhaps this request was not wholly gross;
there may have been in the hearts of some of them at least a genuine
desire for spiritual nourishment. Jesus met their appeal with an
explanation: "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." He reminded
them that though they had seen Him they believed not His words; and
assured them that those who really accepted Him would do as the Father
directed. Then, without metaphor or symbolism, He affirmed: "I came down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."
And the Father's will was that all who would accept the Son should have
everlasting life.

There were present in the synagog some of the rulers--Pharisees,
scribes, rabbis--and these, designated collectively as the Jews,
criticized Jesus, and murmured against Him because He had said, "I am
the bread which came down from heaven." They averred that He could do
nothing more than any man could do; He was known to them as the son of
Joseph, and as far as they knew was of ordinary earthly parentage, and
yet He had the temerity to declare that He had come down from heaven.
Chiefly to this class rather than to the promiscuous crowd who had
hastened after Him, Jesus appears to have addressed the remainder of His
discourse. He advized them to cease their murmurings; for it was a
certainty that they could not apprehend His meaning, and therefore would
not believe Him, unless they had been "taught of God" as the prophets
had written;[729] and none could come to Him in the sense of accepting
His saving gospel unless the Father drew them to the Son; and none save
those who were receptive, willing, and prepared, could be so drawn.[730]
Yet belief in the Son of God is an indispensable condition to salvation,
as Jesus indicated in His affirmation: "Verily, verily, I say unt